From the Ashes

by Benjamin Lawe

Rating: everyone
Tags: Princess Celestia, Main 6, Nightmare Moon, Princess Luna, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Adventure
Length: 276826

A shadow falls over Canterlot as old wounds are opened, and a tradgedy best left buried re-emerges.

Haunted by memories of Nightmare Moon’s unnatural darkness, a mysterious stranger has staggered into Ponyville, the grand city on its horizon guiding him forth on a grim quest to have Princess Luna answer for a terrible tragedy. Fate quickly entangles Twilight and her friends into its designs, and it may take the combined efforts of the Elements of Harmony to stop what could very well spiral into catastrophe. Can they conquer their own doubts and inspire a conflicted soul to give up on revenge? Or are the mistakes of the past destined to repeat?

Published 2012-05-30 12:14:01 UTC
Last updated 2014-03-26 05:37:58 UTC

Chapter 1: Dead Reckoning

From the Ashes

Chapter One: Dead Reckoning

It was the middle of nowhere. Like the rest of the world, Nightmare Moon’s darkness had descended upon the land, and a hateful moon bathed everything in its malefic glow.

Some fifteen years ago, when the settlers first laid claim to the land they would soon call home, the dangers of the arid and desolate landscape were not unknown to them. And in braving the inhospitable environment, they named their town ‘New Eureka’ as if in spite of how little the earth had to offer.

But on that fateful night when the world was robbed of its sun, whatever knowledge the town had of the hazards on their doorstep was immediately betrayed. With the morning stalled and a foul darkness imposed, nature was suddenly wrenched from its natural order and the evils that the settlers had learned to abide underwent a horrid transformation.

Infected by the rage of a moon seething evil intent, the night became alive with beasts driven mad by the vengeful whisperings of a princess corrupted by hatred.

From deep dark marshes crawled mighty hydra, their many heads all howling in unison for something to destroy. From their slumber stirred great dragons, abandoning their hordes of treasure as they lumbered out into the night, utterly intoxicated by their newfound sinister desires. And following behind them were the shadows of every other monster the wilderness had to offer, all possessed by the same darkness, and all driven to the same chaotic end...

So for the town of New Eureka and the unsuspecting ponies who inhabited it, isolated and alone in their little corner of the world with no reason to expect the land to turn against them, the hell that the unfortunate township descended into would beyond compare.

And hell it was. Despite the deep black night that enveloped all of Equestria, the skies over New Eureka glowed red, illuminated by an all-consuming fire below. The entire town was crumbling away as dragon’s flame ate away at every standing structure that once defied the empty wasteland. And while every other building in the small town was a box-like ensemble of brick and timber, there was one structure that stood out. It was a curiously misplaced oak tree, made a home by virtue of its hollow nature. The only similarity it had to its neighbours was that it too had been ignited by the raging fires, barely able to maintain its form as the inferno ate away at its wood.

Indeed, as the only signs of life were the crazed creatures running rampart about the town, it was in the odd tree-house that something other than a monster dwelled...

Stumbling out of the entrance, the wooden door was almost wrenched from its frame as the grey-coated stallion inside let loose with a desperate kick.

Barely a metre from the flaming house, the earth pony fell to his knees, spluttering and gagging as he coughed out the smoke that had crept into his lungs. “Damn it.” he managed between haggard gasps, “Where are they?”

His cobalt eyes tinged red from the smoky haze he had just emerged from, the frantic pony scanned the destruction all around as he looked for some sign of anypony else. But all that was reflected in his wide eyes were the abandoned structures and the fires climbing high from their twisted remains and into the unnatural night sky.

Despite the fact he seemed to be searching for somepony, the realization crept into his panicked mind that he needed to evacuate the town proper. Before long, the fire would cut off his escape, and the monsters were far more concentrated here. But before the stallion could act upon this realization, the ambient sound of hydras howling was suddenly overpowered as a different voice grumbled out from behind him, low and quiet, and very close...

The earth pony reeled, nearly falling back as he turned to find the enraged eyes of a deformed timber wolf staring back at him. And while a timber wolf was a fearsome sight in and of itself, the one before him had been transformed, its wooden body hunched aggressively despite the fact it had somehow been set alight. The grey-coated stallion froze up as the wolf put its burning paw down, taking a steady step toward him. He was dead to rights, and he knew it. The disfigured beast was prepared to pounce and tear him limb from limb...

But in the next instant, the stallion who thought he’d met his end watched the flaming figure of the timber wolf collapse in upon itself, broken apart into a mess of embers and splinters by the fire burning at its heart.

His terror subsiding as the smouldering remains of the beast lost all life, the stallion could scarcely comprehend the nature of its madness if it could be a moment from killing and a moment from dying at the same time. What could possess these monsters to ignore their wounds and run wild like this? What could make them willing to erase the existence of this tiny town, and the lives of those who called it their home?

There was no time for such questions. He had to get out of here before the fires spread; he had to escape before a more formidable foe discovered that there was still a life to be snuffed out amid the carnage. Galloping now, the grey-coated earth pony left the town square in the dust, his numb hooves leading him to the only other place that the ones he had been so desperately searching for could still be.

And so, with fingers of smoke invading his nostrils and the odd raging howl diverting his path, the stallion ran towards his last hope amid this crisis. He ran home to the apple orchard, praying they were there, and that the destruction had not yet touched the fields.

But as he continued on, he could see fire lighting the sky above where he knew the orchard was. Shockingly, the brightness of it seemed to develop, the ambient red glow transforming into a shining white blur that was fast becoming blinding.

The alien light of the sun struck the young stallion in the eye, invading his unconsciousness and dispelling the daydream that had robbed him of his grip on reality. He backed up all groggy and confused, but as his face became bathed in light, his memories of that horrid night were gone.

It took him a moment to realize that the world he had just emerged from was one of dreams. He had been moving forward as if conscious, but it seemed that his waking mind was only now returned to him as the brightness of the sun broke through his befuddled senses.

It had been so long since he’d seen the sun, or at least it seemed that way. Days pass unannounced within the dusky confines of the Everfree Forest, the sun unable to penetrate the thick and thorny overgrowth that blocked out every last sliver of its light.

So as the battered and bruised earth pony confirmed that the sight before him was no illusion, his addled thoughts became refocused to know that he had finally escaped that murky twilight.

His attention was immediately drawn to his gut. His stomach churned with agonising cramps, and the lingering tug of hunger pestered his barely conscious mind. Something had it upset, but he couldn’t quite place what. Other than that, each step he took towards the deadly forest’s threshold was heavy and weak.

The combined ailments of his pained body cried out as one for him to rest, but he managed to silence them, his tired eyes set firmly upon the way out from this damn forest that was only a few steps away.

Minutes later, he was well away from thorny maze. He found himself upon a path, the very concept of such a thing almost a stranger to him. As his eyes followed its length, he could see the outline of a town not too far in the distance. If he had traversed the forest properly, then this town that was just waking up had to be ‘Ponyville’.

He made to place that first step toward it, but in being free of Everfree Forest, whatever willpower had been pushing him forward instantly evaporated.

A dreadful feeling snuck up on him and gripped his core. It was that feeling of being certain that one is about to pass out. It was the feeling of being weightless, and incapable of doing anything to stop the void of unconsciousness coming to claim you.

He stumbled left until he tripped over his own hooves, landing in a pitiful heap by the side of the road. He knew that the softness of the grass was an illusion crafted by a fatigued body, and that the sun shining down on him really wasn’t able to wrap him up in its glow like it felt it was, but he couldn’t find a reason for that to matter. The sounds of ponies starting their day drifted in with the breeze and set him at ease, and the warmth of a long-forgotten sunrise made him feel safe.

Somehow settled by these seemingly fake comforts, the stallion closed his eyes and begun to drift off. Despite himself, a type of peace cradled his pained body, his parched lips parting into a soft smile as he finally resigned to sleep.

Unfortunately, the moment of peace was gone as quickly as it had come. Plunged back into the world of dreams, his mind was became entrapped in the swirl of his fiery nightmares.

* * * *

Some distance from the stallion’s position outside Ponyville, Canterlot’s marble while palace took on an especially regal appearance, wrapped as it was in the yellow glow of the rising sun.

Outside its massive doors, a stalwart guard stood motionless, patiently awaiting the return of his princess. Like most pegasi in service of the royal guard, his coat was pure white in colour and his striking blue mane was hidden beneath a dazzling set of golden armour. Unlike other guards however, his golden armour had a very precise pattern etched into it and the crest of his helmet was inlaid with a foggy white gemstone. Though passersby wouldn’t realize such things identified him as the pegasus captain of the royal guard, they sure as hell realized it made him important.

The captain paid no heed to the subtle stares of the locals. But he did notice when a murmur rose up from among them, an object out of view spurring surprise from ponies that were simply going about their business a moment ago.

He too found his eyes widening in shock to see Princess Celestia trotting humbly through the street outside her palace. Her head wasn’t held high like it usually was, and her movements appeared heavy...

“Princess!” he called, making his way over to her, “What are you doing walking about? Did you come all the way from the night palace?”

“Oh, good morning Caliber.” Celestia replied, raising her head and smiling warmly for the captain, “Forgive me if I kept you waiting, I just felt like a walk. I needed to clear my head...”

Caliber relaxed his posture, doing his best to reflect the princess’ smile. “I’m guessing it didn’t go very well?” he said, moving aside for Celestia, “Your sister turned you away again it seems...”

“Yes.” she replied solemnly, opening the giant doors to her palace with the flourish of her magical horn, “I can empathize with her feelings, but I still don’t like it. The longer she continues to dwell in past mistakes, the closer she becomes to being consumed by regret.”

The pair continued to move into the palace, Celestia leading her guard up the winding stairs that would bring them to her private study.

“I still don’t understand why...” Caliber said, following close behind, “However many times you’ve offered to return her powers, and she still won’t take back her throne? Even if she is uncomfortable with regaining her power, surely she must understand you must continue to shoulder her duties.”

“That does not worry me.” The princess responded, “Do not forget that I have kept the sun and moon in balance for over one thousand years now. However many days, weeks, or months it takes for Luna to properly forgive herself... I do not care.”

“But still, there must be some other reason why she’s keeping you from giving her back her magic...” the captain continued, “You told me that she once looked as you do, with her mane ethereal and flowing with astral energies. But with her magic sapped she seems so fragile and uncomfortable. Why wouldn’t she want to go back to how things used to be?”

“I believe she fears for what might happen should she have power over anything again.” Celestia replied softly, “In her mind, my sister probably thinks she’ll only turn it upon others should history repeat itself.”

“Surely she doesn’t believe that?” Caliber asked, “After all you two have been through, the lessons she’s learned can’t be forgotten easily.”

“I am afraid that my sister may be too absorbed with what those lessons costs to realize that she can still move forward.” Celestia replied gravely, closing her eyes, “Months have passed since the darkness lifted, but she’s still wallowing in sorrow. It’s as if she’s still the same as the day she emerged from the remains of her hateful prisoner.”

The princess stopped in her tracks, not realizing they had already reached the top of the stairs. “I do not fear that she will ever again be consumed by hatred...” she continued, turning to face the captain, “What I do fear, above all else, is that a different darkness will take hold of her should she deny herself forgiveness.”

“It’s hard to imagine such things could lead somepony to ruin.” Caliber commented, but cocked his head as he made to correct himself, “Living for so long, those deep emotions must take on a whole new level. It’s impossible for a pegasus like me to understand...”

“I pray she will conquer them.” Celestia said seriously, “Make no mistake, Equestria needs Luna far more than anypony realizes. But they need the real Luna, not this shadow of her true self. In the end, these trials make her all the more capable to be a great princess. All she needs to do is realize that.”

The two remained quiet as they travelled the short distance from the top of the stairs to the start of the hall. To the left waited the princess’ study, and motioned for the captain to follow her in.

“You were there were you not?” Celestia suddenly asked, “The day after that night?”

“I was with you when you found her letter.” Caliber replied, his mind flashing back, “It was the first time I’ve ever seen you-”

“And you followed me there yes?” the princess cut the captain off, “To that field of ashes?”

“Yes. And I won’t soon forget it.” Caliber said, shaking his head, “My lieutenant deserted because of what she saw. Said she couldn’t protect a princess she couldn’t trust...”

“What about you?” Celestia asked, turning to face the captain, “What did you think when you saw what had happened there?”

“I thought it was a tragedy; nothing more.” Caliber answered honestly, dismissing Celestia’s doubtful tone, “It was regrettable that such a thing had happened or could happen... but placing blame is a child’s game.”

The study fell quiet as the princess silently accepted the captain’s reply. It was the heavy kind of silence that just begs to be broken...

“Just let me ask one thing.” Caliber continued, causing Celestia to raise an eyebrow, “Did your sister ever... you know, see it for herself?”

“Yes.” she replied simply, closing her eyes, “I thought it would help her recover, or reconcile with her mistakes... but...”

Celestia exhaled, not wanting to finish her sentence. Once again an uncomfortable silence reigned...

“Sorry.” Caliber apologised, “It’s far too early to talk about these kinds of things. Suffice to say I have faith in both your sister and you to come to an understanding.”

“Thank you captain.” Celestia smiled, “Once again your honest tongue proves most comforting. I truly value having somepony I can discuss such things with.”

“On that note I shall be off.” Caliber replied, “We both have a full day ahead of us.”

“Just a moment please captain...” the princess said as he made to leave, “Were you not waiting before the palace because you needed to see me?”

“Oh, I had forgotten.” he replied, “But it’s not important right now. I’ll come back tonight.”

“As you wish.” Celestia nodded, magically opening the door for Caliber, “I look forward to it.”

Now outside the palace, captain Caliber looked up to the sky, his mental checklist overflowing with the day’s duties.

“Well...” he said with a sigh, squinting before the light, “Where do I begin?”

* * * *

Unfortunately, there was no sun in the realm of dreams. Thrown back into a world where it had been stolen away, the grey-coated stallion was running and searching desperately through a night made eternal.

He charged fearfully through the chaos, ducking and weaving through the unrecognisable remains of what was once his home town. The whole place was wreathed in flames, and he could hear the hungry howls of vicious creatures all around. No matter how desperately he searched he couldn’t find a single soul, and no matter how far he seemed to run, the deadly creatures always seemed to be right behind him.

His chest heaved with each exhausted breath, and his fearful eyes panned across the carnage searching for any means to hope. But regardless of what direction he looked, the horizon yielded nothing but darkness. Alone and terrified beyond measure, the despairing stallion’s world had become synonymous with hell, blazing like a torch amid the impenetrable night.

And so he ran. Forcing his aching body onwards to the only place his hysteric mind could guide him, he galloped home to the apple orchard, somehow believing that getting home might solve this crisis.

His hope flickered as he finally made it to the farm, but his heart soon sank to see the entire orchard engulfed in dragon’s flame. The trees that had exceeded the harsh landscape and provided for the town had been twisted, and now only served to fuel the inferno that now consumed them.

It was then that he saw the actual farmhouse ablaze. Despite the fires, he felt a cold chill run up his spine as he became afraid that he may have been too late.

He didn’t think twice before he bolted up to the main door and knocked it open with a strong kick, fearing that somepony might still be inside. But as the door came free of it hinges, it was clear the place was empty.

He turned away from his abandoned home, uncertain of what to do. He was relived none had perished inside, but there was still nopony else here. He was still alone up here and he couldn’t think of anywhere else to-

The pony froze. A guttural growl rumbled out from behind, causing the fearful stallion’s limbs to lock. Unable to turn, his very breathing ceased as his eyes swivelled to meet with those of the dragon behind him.

The beast rose up off its haunches, it’s menacing growl evolving into a bone-chilling roar. The sickly white spines reaching from its head to its tail stood on end, and its deep black scales took on a whole new appearance, bathed as they were in the evil red glow emanating from the inferno around it. The indomitable foe glared down with crazed yellow eyes, parting its teeth in preparation for something most vile.

The stallion was absolutely petrified. The dragon exhaled a hot breath, and its eyes intensified as if to remove any doubt from its victims mind as to what was about to happen. Finally mustering the will to face the creature, the grey-coated earth pony didn’t have time to think before death came to claim him. Leaning forward and stretching its toothy maw wide, the dragon unleashed its fury with a jet of red-hot fire.

And it was at that moment, as the blinding light of a dragon’s flame filled his vision, the stallion knew for a fact that his nightmare was over.

The bright torch shining in his eyes flicked away, the bold whiteness replaced by the curious gaze of a frizzy-haired stallion who peered down at him through a pair of thin bifocals. “Well how about that...” he said, addressing some unseen party, “He’s coming around.”

Breaking from his dream, the grey pony tried to look about himself, but his vision was blurry around the edges. Before he could even begin to try and comprehend what was going on or where he was, the bifocaled stallion grabbed his head and shined his little torch in both of his eyes...

“Hey.” The doctor said, trying to capture the attention of his groggy patient, “Do you know what day it is? Tell me your name.”

He leaned in closely as his patient begun to mumble, but it was incomprehensible. It was clear to him that the pony before him would be under again any moment.

“That’ll have to do.” The doctor said quickly, acknowledging his patient’s vain attempt to reply, “Now, do you have any allergies I should know about? Try to answer. It’s important...”

The grey pony failed to utter a reply, but the doctor nodded knowingly as his patient feebly raised a hoof and waved it as if to dismiss the question. Immediately afterwards, his head fell back as his body went limp. He was unconscious again.

“No wonder he looked like he was in pain...” the figure said, turning to face his two observers, “You were right. This fool went and got himself poisoned. Seems like he ate one of Everfree’s troublesome Devilshrooms. It’s a poisonous little mushroom that takes on the appearance of neighbouring fungi so as to trick one into thinking it is safe. If you’re unlucky enough, eating one will leave you feeling faint and weak with a bad bout of abdominal pain to top it all off.”

Without delay, the doctor added a tiny green packet to the set of tubes that were currently getting the poor stallions fluids back up. “Thankfully, it’s also one of the easiest poisons to diagnose.” The doctor added, “Still, you did well in identifying it Ms. Fluttershy. I’m impressed.”

“Oh, it’s nothing really...” the pale-yellow pegasus responded meekly, “It’s just that Angel once ate something similar and got quite sick. After that I simply had to teach myself about all those nasty things hiding away in that scary forest.”

Next to her, a rainbow-manned pegasus shook her head impatiently and blew her fringe from her face. “How about a little credit here?” she pouted, taking wing and pointing proudly to her out-thrust chest, “I found him after all! And I even knew to get Fluttershy to help! And who, I hear you ask, carried the guy all the way over here? Huh?”

“Anyway...” Fluttershy mumbled, all but ignoring her friend, “Is he going to be all right?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. He’ll be fine.” The doctor replied reassuringly as he left the earth pony to his treatment, “In a few hours I’ll have his fluids back up the medicine will have run its course. Though he’ll need to take it easy, he’ll be back on his own hooves before sundown.

“That said, I’ll have to ask you girls to do me a favour.” The doctor said awkwardly, “You see, though it was simple enough to treat, that antidote I gave him isn’t cheap...”

As he trailed off, he felt Rainbow Dash’s cold eyes upon him. Fluttershy just blinked innocently...

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you to pay.” he continued, setting Dash at ease, “It’s just that, while I’d like to, I can’t afford to keep him under observation after giving him free treatment.”

He trailed off again as the pair of pegasi before him cocked their heads at what he’d just implied. It wasn’t that long ago that Dash had been cooped up here with a injured wing, and while she had been discharged while she wished to remain, it surprised her to think this place was so... inhospitable.

“Ah, anyway...” the doctor scrambled again, “He’ll be fine by tonight, but as a doctor I don’t like letting him stagger home to get the rest he needs. You’d be doing he and I a favour if you helped him get back to wherever it is he’s been staying.”

“Oh... in that case, it’s no problem.” Fluttershy said with a smile, oblivious to the fact that her friend was about to say the opposite, “Though I do need to head back home now, when should we come back?”

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash interrupted, “Don’t volunteer me! I was already going out of my way to cart the mushroom-eating doofus here, now you want me to take ‘em somewhere else? No way!”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Fluttershy apologized, scuffing her hooves, “I suppose I can manage it myself anyway.”

“Urgh... that’s not what-” Dash made to say, but cut herself off by pushing her hoof against her forehead, “You’re hopeless.” she continued, rolling her eyes in resignation, “Fine. I’ll help too. But only because Flutterclutz can’t handle it alone. An idiot who eats poison mushrooms is bound to be a hooffull.”

“Speaking of...” the doctor replied, pivoting to face the earth pony and his apparently agonized figure, “He’s a bit restless. I’ll give him a painkiller now that I know he’s not allergic.

“Anyhow, you two can leave for now.” he continued, tapping his muzzle as he stopped to study the clock, “How about you come back in, hrm... six hours? It’s when I’m supposed to close, and he’ll definitely be cured by then.”

“Oh, yes... that’s fine.” Fluttershy nodded, “Come on Rainbow, let’s leave the doctor to his work.”

“I owe you one girls.” he called out after them as the trotted away, “See you later on!”

Waving them off as they exited the theatre, the doctor set about organizing the painkiller he’d mention earlier. “Right then...” he muttered, directed at himself more than the grey-coated pony which lay before him, “Let’s see if we can’t get that agonized look of your face.”

* * * *

Though unconscious, the swirl of nightmares had not relented. Transported back to that horrid night before the burning orchard, the grey-stallion recoiled as the dragon’s flame became a moment from engulfing him.

But in that very same moment, without any warning or apparent cause, a luminescent wall of water was conjured and risen between the fast-moving breath of fire and the defenceless earth pony. Infuriated by the intervention, the dragon hissed and turned on the spot, searching for the one who had dared defy it.

The terrified stallion saw her first. She was silhouetted by the inferno behind her, but through her shadowed-out features the horn on her head was clearly visible, as was the faint glow of magical energies emanating from it.

And in being certain the figure was a unicorn, the stallion knew instantly who had saved him. There could be no other, for there was only one unicorn who called the small town her home.

“Arabelle!” the terrified earth pony cried, drawing the dragon’s attention, “I... I thought...”

Stepping forth from her shadowy position, the figure of Arabelle was a stark contrast of how the stallion knew her. Her gentle brown mane was normally styled to perfection, but in the middle of this disaster it had lost its lustre and hung down over her exhausted face in a saturated and tangled mess. Her coat that was always kept a pure white, was now tainted with blotches of ugly black mud and grime.

In short, the unicorn had seen better days. But despite the signs of exhaustion present all over her body, her face lit up as she saw that the familiar stallion before her had not been harmed by the dragon’s fiery blast.

“Thank goodness...” she said, her once elegant voice turned rasp and coarse, “Are you okay dear? Quickly now, run! Get away from that thing!”

As she cried out, the black-scaled beast stomped at the ground, reminding the two ponies of its fury as it turned to face the new intruder. It seemed that in sparing the dragon’s victim, she had also succeeded in redirecting its rage.

As the grey-coated stallion watched the vicious dragon stare down at his saviour, he failed to follow her command and continued to stay rooted in place. But as he finally begun to regain himself, he saw something that turned his blood to ice and caused the words to jam in his throat.

Like it had done moments before, the dragon’s eyes flickered as it opened it’s toothy mouth wide to make way for another unrelenting burst of flame. Signalling what was to come, two smokey puffs of hot air rose from the thing’s nostrils as his deadly attack became readied.

But Arabelle was faster. Before the flames welling up within could be properly released, her horn pulsed a brilliant blue and a magical chain coiled itself around the dragon’s open mouth and quickly constricted.

The effect was instantaneous. With its only way out stolen, the incoming burst of fire exploded violently inside the dragon’s forcibly closed mouth. The beast staggered slightly, the internal damage stunning it somewhat. As it tried to recover from its own concussive blast, Arabelle seized the moment to make her way over to the stallion still trembling before the alight farm.

“Quickly dear, hide!” she exclaimed as she approached, shuffling him from his position and towards the door he had previously kicked in, “Get inside and find a safe place!”

“What about you?” the stallion managed to ask as they fled, “That thing’s gonna kill us!”

As he said the words, the mighty dragon made its presence known. Shattering the chain around its jaw with an effortless flex, it arched its back low and levelled its infuriated eyes with those of the two ponies looking on in distress. But despite how much it wished to burn them with another gout of flames, it simply snarled, resiting the impulse as it seemed to realize that its efforts would be countered like they were a moment ago.

Though as the grey-coated earth pony took stride next to Arabelle, he quickly discovered that wasn’t the case. The frail unicorn’s chest heaved in and out with utter exhaustion, and her eyes were practically glazed over. It was obvious that the spell she had just conjured was only one among the many she had been casting since this disaster begun, and the toll they were taking on her body made him wonder if she really could manage another if it became necessary...

He wouldn’t have to wait long to find out. Just before the pair could reach the opening to the farmhouse, the dragon suddenly changed tactics.

It swept its spiny tail low, bringing it around in a wide arch to collect his foes before they could disappear from its vision.

In response, Arabelle’s forced her magical horn to light up, but it quickly waned and faded away. The grim realization set in as the fatigued unicorn slumped with a fatigued gasp, virtually collapsing on the spot.

The stallion beside her stopped to carry her onwards, but it was already too late. The overpowering tail rushed at them, the spiny mass of sickly white spines filling their visions before-

The incoming blow was suddenly halted, brought to a lurching stop but a few metres from the vulnerable pair. Arabelle looked up in a daze, confused at how the mighty dragon’s tail seemed to struggle against some invisible force.

It was then she saw the rope. It was a lasso, looped tightly between the spines a fraction down from the tail’s tip. Before she could announce her confusion, the frayed rope groaned audibly as the power behind it begun to win over the dragon’s strength and force it to slowly withdraw its tail.

Unlike her, the stallion beside her knew exactly what had happened. After all, from his position he could see what lay at the end of the rope, and whatever it was, it caused his terrified expression to transform into one of relief.

His jet black coat glistening from the surrounding fire, the mighty earth pony who struggled with his end of the rope didn’t surrender an inch as he continued to overpower the dragon’s tail in an absurd display of pure strength. As he managed to tug the beast’s tail far from the ponies before it, the stallion’s silver eyes blazed with retribution as he roared brazenly, unbalancing the dragon with a sudden burst of might.

As the heroic figure approached, the grey-coated stallion felt a new sense of relief wash over. He could recognise that black on black coat and mane anywhere, and he only knew one pony who could show such a degree of brawn. But most of all, the one thing that removed all doubt that this pony was anyone but his father was the broad-rimmed black cowboy had resting firmly upon his head.

“West!” the grey-coated stallion cried out, his voice now free of the tone of fear that had been plaguing it, “Thank Celestia you’re here!”

“Yeah, thank Celestia.” West replied gruffly, his concerns elsewhere, “You okay kid? How about Arabelle?”

As he spoke her name, Arabelle righted herself and attempted to acknowledge her saviour, despite the fact she was hanging from the very dregs of unconsciousness. “We’re fine...” she said tentatively, the unicorn in her still trying to save face despite her condition, “But don’t waste time worrying about us... it’s that dragon we have to-”

Before she could properly finish her sentence, the dragon interrupted with an absolutely enraged roar, manifesting its rage by blasting the empty air above it with a furious breath of flames. It seemed that having its bloodlust consistently denied was pushing its already maddened mind to the very borders of insanity.

Both Arabelle and the grey-coated stallion beside her staggered in the face of the infuriated form of the dragon. Yet one among them held his ground, his mind racing for a way out of this deadly situation.

“We can’t stay here!” West yelled above the din, spurring the attention of the others, “Help Arabelle inside!” he commanded, his son jolting back to life as he realized it was directed at him, “We won’t last a minute out here in the open! It’s our only shot!”

Even as the trio scrambled to take cover inside the burning farmhouse, the grey-coated stallion’s confidence in his father hadn’t wavered. Since his appearance, the hopeless fear that had unnerved him was kept at bay, and light of hope was rekindled as quickly as it had been snuffed out.

And that was because he knew that despite everything, be it a burning house, an endless night, or legions of blood-crazed monsters, his father was the kind of pony you could depend on...

* * * *

Staring out the window at a sun well on its way to setting, the doctor anxiously made his way to the room of his one remaining patient. He was eager to shut down his clinic and get home, so he really hoped that the mushroom-eating fool in theater six was ready to be discharged.

He opened the door wide, half expecting to find the earth pony still asleep. But he was pleasantly surprised to find him sitting upright and rubbing an understandably aching head. In his lap was his jet back cowboy hat, which he had apparently taken from the bedside table when he woke. the blond maned pony continued to stare down at it until he noticed the doctor enter.

“Ah, good. You’ve awakened!” the doctor announced, causing the stallion to turn, “And not a moment too soon!

“How’s the head?” he asked, “Dizzy? What about the stomach? Woozy perhaps?”

The earth pony looked about once more before finally regaining his bearings. “Not really...” came the reply, slow and tentative at first, “Where... where am I?”

“Ponyville Urgent Care.” The doctor said, moving over to the bedside, “But don’t mind the name, it’s usually pretty tame around here. Though I’ve gotta say, you’re the first one we’ve had in a while who thought it’d be a good idea to chow down on a poisonous mushroom.”

“A what?” the grey-coated pony made to ask, but quickly changed tune, “Wait, how’d I get here?”
“One of the locals found you passed out by the forest.” The doctor replied, running a number of checks on the equipment strapped up to the hospital bed, “I’m pretty sure they found a friend and brought you here.

“That was closer to this morning though.” he continued, satisfied with whatever his inspection had yielded, “The cure has run it’s course and you’re free to go if you feel up to it.”

At what the doctor had said, the stallion adjusted his posture and stared out the window. It seemed that up until now, he hadn’t realized the day was almost over, the evening sky stained orange by a setting sun.

“Oh, right. Yeah.” the stallion replied in surprise, his speech all mixed up, “Sure. It’d be better if I was on my way. What I mean is, I’m good to go.

“Thanks for all the help.” he continued, his tone laced with embarrassment, “But... well, I’m afraid I can’t pay.”

“Heh, well I kind of expected that.” the doctor said honestly, waving off the stallion’s apparent guilt, “You just get home and get some rest. The girls who brought you here have agreed to make sure you get there in one piece. I’m pretty sure they’re downstairs at the moment.”

“Wait, what?” the stallion questioned, negotiating himself off the bed and back onto his own hooves, “Look... I appreciate it, but it’s just that-”

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” The doctor interrupted, helping to balance the wobbling pony before him, “Regardless of whether or not you can pay, you are still a patient. And while it’s safe for me to discharge you with the advice to rest up, I’m not about to let somepony in your condition make their own way home.”

Still seeing an unsure expression on the earth pony’s face, the doctor stepped back to let him steady himself. “Look, if you don’t have anywhere to go, then just say.” he continued, “I’ll just have to keep you here under observation until-”

“No, it’s nothing like that.” the grey-coated pony replied, taking slow steps across the room and out the door, “I have a place in mind.”
“Thanks again doctor...” he said from the hall, “But I suppose I shouldn’t keep my ‘escorts’ waiting.”

His patient already gone, the frizzy-maned doctor just shook his head tiredly at the stallion’s behaviour. This stranger certainly was an odd one, and though he seemed fine, he couldn’t help but hope that he wouldn’t regret releasing him or charging those girls with getting the fool back to his home. As he continued to reflect on the strange encounter, he couldn’t help but realize he hadn’t even got a name out of the guy...

A few minutes later, the grey-coated stallion donned his black cowboy hat as he stood outside the front door to the hospital. He looked about, trying to regain his bearings and determine which way to go, but he was quickly interrupted as the front doors opened again, and a pair of pegasi trotted out in pursuit.

“I told you he snuck by us.” Rainbow Dash said sourly, nudging the yellow pegasus beside her before turning to berate the earth pony in front, “Hey, what’s the hurry buddy?”

“Um... I’m sorry, but did the doctor forget to mention us by any chance?” Fluttershy mumbled, stalling her words as she questioned the stranger, “We’re the ones who are supposed to help you get back home, if that’s alright I mean...”

“We’re also the one’s who hauled your sorry flank all the way down here.” Rainbow Dash interjected, a direct contrast to the quiet pegasus beside her, “But that’s okay. Don’t mind us. Go ahead and run along...”

“Ah... well, thanks for the help then.” came the awkward reply, “I’ll go ahead and get out of your mane.”

“Oh, she doesn’t mean that.” Fluttershy spoke up, doing her best to intervene, “We would be happy to help you home.”

The grey-coated stallion blinked a few times, either not expecting, or even understanding such an offer. “Right.” he finally replied, trotting off to the left as he did so, “See ya.”

“Hrm?” the quiet pegasus questioned, “Hey, where are you off to?”

“I appreciate the gesture, but I’ve nowhere to stay in this town.” he replied as he trotted away, not even looking over his shoulder, “I’m just passing through on my way to Canterlot.”

“Oh, okay.” The yellow pegasus replied, “It’s just that... well, I’m sorry but the train station is that way.”

Fluttershy sheepishly indicated the opposite direction to which the grey earth pony was going. “But I’m afraid the last train left several hours ago...” she added, “You may have to wait until morning to get to Canterlot.”

“I suppose I’ll just have to make do.” Marco shot back, still moving ever forwards, “It isn’t... that far. I’m not in a position to buy my way aboard a train anyway.”

“Wow, the doc was right.” Dash said not so subtly, zipping from Fluttershy’s side to intercept the earth pony’s path forwards, “This one’s not too bright. If you wanna trot your way to Canterlot, then that’s your business, but you won’t get one leg out of Ponyville without collapsing again!”

The stallion slowed to a halt as his path became blocked. With neither of them speaking, he just stared up at Rainbow Dash as her previous words continued to dominate the silence.

“She has a point.” Fluttershy said bravely, successfully drawing his attention, “I mean, it’d be bad if you ran off. The doctor told us that you needed to rest more before you can get better...”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Dash nodded, hovering down and landing solidly on the path, “It was either us taking you to wherever you’re staying, or you staying in that hospital until you were good to go.”

“I already told you...” the tenacious earth pony replied, brushing past the troublesome pegasus, “I’m just passing through. I haven’t got a place in this town. It’d be best if you just get out of the way and let me carry on to Canterlot. They’ll be plenty of places to rest up there.”

“And I already told you that you wouldn’t make it!” Rainbow Dash retorted, “At this rate you’re gonna end up passed out and waiting for somepony to scoop you up and carry you back to hospital again. And it’s not going to be me!”

The weakened stallion couldn’t help but look over the pegasus’ shoulder and see the dimming sun not far from meeting the horizon. Regardless of whether or not what she was saying had anything to it, it was clear he wouldn’t get any further today.

It was pretty much night after all. Travel to the city would problematic, but access to it would be even more so. If he had his facts right, that place had a curfew, and if the train Fluttershy had mentioned stopped running, it would be for that reason.

The pony sighed, not pleased with having to resign to the insistence of these pegasi. “Fine. You win.” he finally spoke, causing Rainbow Dash’s posture to soften, “I’d appreciate it if you showed me to a place I could stay a night...”

* * * *

Night time in the royal palace is an environment far different from its regular daytime hustle. The flow of important ponies with their royal appointments had ceased, and in their wake, a tired princess Celestia retired to her study, her duties for the day having been completed.

The day had been somewhat more demanding that it normally was, but as she ascended the staircase that led to her chambers, she took comfort in the fact there was nopony left who wanted something from her. But as she opened the big door to her room, she quickly discovered that wasn’t quite true. Funnily enough however, the circumstances of that realization caused a smile to brighten her otherwise tired face.

Upon her couch, dozing peacefully was the sleeping figure of Captain Caliber. It seemed as if he had come looking for her at some point, and in waiting for her return, the pegasus must have decided to take a load off.

“Ahem. Good evening Captain...” the princess spoke softly, but it was enough to stir the pegasus from his apparent slumber, “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Caliber practically popped up off the couch as her voice broke through his unconscious. Instinctively he wiped at his chin, but he was saved the shame as his hoof came back clean. “Please forgive me princess...” he scrambled, intensely embarrassed, “I was... I was waiting for you and I guess I... I... I’m sorry.”

“Well forgive me if I kept you waiting.” Celestia smiled, “But it seems as though you’ve been working a bit hard. Shouldn’t you be up the hall and in your own room perhaps?”

“Well I did say I would be coming back...” Caliber replied, willing the pink in his cheeks to dissipate, “There was something I was hoping to run by you...”

“Ah, yes... you mentioned it this morning correct?” the princess asked, recalling the purpose behind the captain’s visit earlier today, “If I knew you’d end up here when you clearly should be resting, then I would have insisted for you stay behind right then and there.”

“Well, I thought you needed some time to yourself with this whole ‘sister business’...” Caliber replied, “Because as it happens, this thing I wanted to run by you isn’t entirely unrelated.”

“Is that so?” Celestia said intrigued, “Let’s hear it then. It’s getting late.”

“Well, I’ve been in and out of meetings all day yesterday and today with the bigwigs of the royal guard.” Caliber begun, “And since Shining Armour is out in the field, I’m essentially all they have left to call on.

“Anyway, they’ve been clamouring for my input on a particular issue since your sister came back.” he continued, “We’ve been having trouble figuring out how to form a new royal guard now that there is a new princess for us to protect and serve. Normally, your sister would be in charge of organizing it herself, but as you know, she isn’t being very... well, cooperative.”

“I understand your dilemma.” Celestia replied easily, “But for now, just continue to devote half of the royal guard to my sister. Even if she won’t let them in the palace, it will more than suffice in terms of security.”

“Do you really think that’s enough?” Caliber asked, “Remember, Shining Armour took a significant portion of the guard with him to ease the unrest down in the deep sea. They will not be available for some time...”

“Well, even without him around, you are doing a fine job of keeping the guard together.” Celestia replied, “Give yourself some credit captain. We remain safe under your watch.”

“That aside, I myself had an idea for the long term that I was meaning to discuss with you.” Caliber said, taking the princess’ compliment in stride, “Should your sister resume her reign over the moon, I was thinking that the current night guard could be re-purposed as her personal royal guard. However long it takes for her to accept her powers back, I’d have to train and filtrate a specialized royal guard.”

“Hrm, now that I hadn’t thought of.” Celestia replied honestly, tapping her muzzle in thought, “But it is a good idea. They would be used to the dark, and would certainly be more useful than a whole mess of new recruits...

“I like it.” She concluded, accepting the proposition, “That said, can I ask you to take charge of it on my behalf? I must continue to focus on Luna, but I am comfortable with entrusting the formation of her guard to you.”

“Then I will begin immediately.” Caliber said with a bow, preparing himself to leave the princess to her own business, “That is, if there is nothing else you need from me?”

“No, you have done much.” Celestia said as she turned to face the captain, “As always, your service is most appreciated.”

Half in and half out the door, Captain Caliber nodded reassuringly and offered her a quick smile. “If you need me again, you know where I’ll be.” he said respectfully, “Don’t worry princess... I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before your sister comes to her senses.”

The door closing audibly behind her, Celestia stared out of her study’s window, watching her sun close in on the horizon. She simply sighed, exhausted not by her long day, but by the heavy thoughts that had been eating at her. Such doubts were not easy to abide either, for even after living for as long as she had, the princess was definitely not used to dealing with the weight of this thing called ‘uncertainty’.

“Well then sister...” she said aloud, alone in the safety of her room, “I wonder... what is it that you are waiting for?”

* * * *

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Rainbow Dash complained, thrusting her hoof out in a pointing motion, “A written invitation?”

Standing before the oak door of Fluttershy’s humble little cottage, the grey-coated earth pony that Rainbow Dash was currently teasing looked from her outstretched hoof to the little house in confusion. “Wait, this is the place?” he asked, unsure of himself, “You said you were taking me to a place I could rest... to an inn!”

“Just where do you think you are doofus?” Rainbow Dash questioned, “There’s nothing like that in Ponyville! But we promised to get you back to your place... and this is gonna have to do!”

“No way. This is too weird.” he said, turning as if to leave, “It’s a kind gesture, and I appreciate it, but this really isn’t what I thought you meant by a place to rest.”

Seeing that he really did intend to depart, Rainbow Dash exchanged a quick look with Fluttershy before the cyan pegasi dashed off in pursuit.

“Not so fast buddy.” she warned, “I don’t really care about what you’re hoping to achieve running off after being poisoned, but I made a promise to the doc. There’s no way I’m gonna let you hobble off just so somepony else has to deal with you!”

He made to refuse again, but he suddenly noticed where the two pegasi had led him. Not far beyond the cottage before him stood the harsh outline of Everfree Forest, complete with a haunting mist and thorny shroud of overgrowth. Seeing it again made his fatigue all the more present. He really did want to rest as soon as possible...

“It really isn’t a problem.” Fluttershy spoke up abruptly, reading the pony’s thoughts, “Truthfully, I’d be much more uncomfortable if I knew you were out there in need of help.”

The grey-coated earth pony just stared back at the shy pegasus. He couldn’t tell if it was his fatigued body or her kind nature, but despite his best efforts, there was simply no way to refuse her any longer.

“If it really isn’t any trouble...” he conceded, “Then can I please rest here?”

Seeing the stallion bow his head slightly, Fluttershy tilted her head to the side and smiled warmly. “Of course you can.” She replied happily, “In fact, I insist.”

“Urgh, finally!” Rainbow Dash announced in exacerbation, “Can I go home now?”

At this, Fluttershy suddenly jolted bolt upright and intercepted her friend before she could even think to leave her alone with a stranger.

Whatever whisperings that followed went unnoticed by the stallion, who shuffled tiredly inside without waiting for anypony to tell him to.

If he had a place for such thoughts, he would have been stricken by the inside of the deceptively simple cottage. In the centre of the living room was an odd pillar, contorted with curves and burrowed with hovels for what could only be small and agile critters.

Tiny eyes popped out from various cracks and warrens, and they simply watched the uncaring intruder glided uncaringly past their homes and through the living room in search of something to lay down upon.

It didn’t take him long to find it. Opposite a spiraling staircase adjacent to what seemed to be a kitchen was a flat and cushioned couch, which looked exceptionally comfortable given his tiredness.

His host probably had something else in mind, but he wasn’t about to waste time looking for it. Without delay he shuffled over and collapsed onto its spongy pillows.

Having followed him inside, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief, happy that the fool was finally off of his hooves.

“Can I get you anything?” Fluttershy asked the motionless earth pony, “Have you eaten or anything?”

There came no reply. In fact, the grey-coated stallion didn’t seem to register the girl’s presence at all...

“What’d I tell ya?” Rainbow Dash said nudging Fluttershy, having realized, “Dude fell asleep already. If I let him run off earlier, who knows what woulda happened!”

The cyan coated pegasus didn’t miss a beat, crudely poking at the stallion’s side with her hoof. “Check it out.” she chuckled, “He’s totally gone.”

“Oh, please don’t do that.” Fluttershy pleaded, pulling her friend away, “It’d be bad if he woke up.”

“Pft, fine.” Dash replied sourly, but quickly changed her tune, “How about that food you mentioned? If you’re gonna make me hang around, you should at least feed me! We’ve been running around after this guy all day, and I for one am starving!”

“Shhh, try to be quiet.” Fluttershy urged, moving Dash even further away from the dozing stallion, “I’ll get you some food so just relax.”

“By the way...” Dash interrupted, changing the topic before Fluttershy finally succeeded in moving her outspoken friend into the kitchen, “All this effort, but we didn’t even get a name yet did we?”

“Oh, I hadn’t noticed.” Fluttershy admitted, suddenly releasing her hold on Rainbow Dash, “I forgot to ask, and I don’t think the doctor could get anything out of him either.”

“Eh, whatever.” Dash replied casually, “Now hurry up and feed me! We can figure out names later; he’ll wake up eventually...”

* * * *

Back in the realm of dreams, the blazing skies had been replaced with a peaceful blue, and the frenzied chaos that had once dominated the awful nightmare was now a blissful clam. It was a different time; a different memory; a different feeling. It was the picture of peace. The settlement was in its prime, its bountiful fields and weathered structures still standing in defiance of the arid landscape. Nothing stirred, and not a thing threatened to disturb what would be yet another uneventful day in New Eureka...

“I know you’re in there!” somepony yelled, his booming voice cutting through the quiet afternoon air, “Come out already!”

The pony in question, jet-black in coat and donned in an equally dark cowboy hat to match, hammered down on the door in front of him, knocking on it with enthusiasm.

The door that was currently taking a beating belonged to the town’s library, which just so happened to be one of the few buildings in the town that virtually nopony visited. It was the home of the settlement’s one and only unicorn, and as she opened the door to find out who was causing such a ruckus, her eyes met with those of the visibly frustrated stallion on her doorstep.

“Oh, good afternoon Mr. West.” the unicorn said gracefully, “To what do I owe this, uh... pleasure?”

West looked over the familiar unicorn. Despite living in a town that would often leave grime patches on your coat and dust throughout one’s mane, her pure white coat was permanently spotless and her light brown mane was always perfectly styled. This, added to the fact that she was the only unicorn for a hundred miles and her alien mannerisms left most locals bewildered, no matter how many times West saw her she always looked like she didn’t belong.

“Cut the crap Arabelle.” West commanded, “Where’s my son?”

“Inside...” Arabelle replied tentatively, “But you mustn’t be so hard on the boy. He’s allowed to take a break from the orchard occasionally, no?”

The big black stallion pushed in past the unicorn without a word. He scanned the library, searching its loaded shelves for some trace of a little grey-coated colt.

“I’m waiting...” he said imposingly, knowing that the colt was hiding somewhere listening, “You’ve dabbled here long enough. Harvest is in two weeks and the chores only pile up every time I have to come and pull you away from this nonsense!”

“Then hurry up and go back already!” the colt called, popping up from the top of one of the bookshelves, “I’m staying here and learning more about history and magic and stuff!”

West turned and shot a glare at Arabelle who was minding her own business at the far side of the room.

Sensing his eyes upon her, the unicorn simply shrugged knowingly. “What?” she questioned innocently, “If ponies come here to learn, then I teach. I’m not about to turn away such a clever colt because his fussy father would rather have the poor thing dragging a plough.”

“He’s not my father!” the colt exclaimed, tossing a random tome down in protest, “He’s just a big stupid meanie!”

Arabelle just sighed, sidestepping the falling books and hovering them back up into their shelves with the glow of her horn.

“Even if he is a short-tempered brat...” she commented, disapproving of his antics, “That said, the more you try to force him into farm work, the less he’s going to want to help, and the more he’s going to resent you for it.”

West sighed as well, a rogue book bopping him on the head. “But still... why here? Why books?” he asked, questioning both himself and Arabelle, “He’s a pure blood earth pony at heart, but he’s always in here trying to play unicorn.

“Honestly...” he continued, shaking his head tiredly, “I’m the one who adopted him, but you might as well be his mother.”

“That’s enough young one!” she announced, as if to affirm West’s comment, “Get down this instant!”

Not waiting for the little colt to comply, Arabelle let her horn pulse bright blue and wrapped the pony before her in a luminous aura. Gripped by her magic, the tiny foal wriggled as he was carefully lowered down and placed in front of the expectant gaze of his father.

“No fair!” the grey-coated colt complained, “Arabelle! That’s cheating!”

“Life ain’t fair kid.” West said disapprovingly, lifting his son up off the ground now that he was within reach, “Now come on back to the farm. We’ve bothered Arabelle enough with your foolishness.”

West didn’t wait for farewells before dragging the boy out of the library. Securing him upon his back, the two were back on the road before the colt could even begin to complain.

Watching the pair disappear in a cloud of dust, Arabelle stood in the doorway and waved mischievously to the colt draped over West’s back. “Come again anytime little one!” she called out after them, paying no mind to West, “The next lesson is on predictions and prophecies! I have all the volumes so make sure you read them!”

“Yeah!” came the reply, the distance between the two quieting the shout, “I can’t wait!”

The library now a spec in the distance, West looked back to his son to see a bold smile cross his face. “Would it kill you to listen to anything I say?” he asked, his tone ambiguous, “Really... what am I going to do with you?”

At first, there came no reply. But sure enough, the little foal’s head turned to face his father with that same smile still creasing his face. “Hey.” he whispered, “I’ve decided.”

“Decided?” West repeated, “Decided what?”

“Arabelle keeps telling me that Equestria is so much bigger than this desert.” the colt replied distantly, “I wanna see it. I wanna know just how much else there is to find out there. I wanna learn everything there is to know about it.

“I decided... just then...” he continued, a fire in his eyes, “When I grow up I’m gonna leave this place and see that world with my own eyes!”

The two continued into the distance, a heavy silence reigning...

“Damn it Arabelle.” West said, half proud and half annoyed, “You’ve really gone and given the boy some crazy dreams.”

“Hrm?” the colt on his back mumbled, too absorbed in his own imaginings to hear his father, “Did you say something?”

“Heh, nope.” Came the reply, an invisible smile present on West’s face, “But you sound pretty sure of yourself back there. Are you sure you’re up for it? The world really is a big place, seeing all of it will not be easy.”

“Uh-huh. But I’m still gonna do it!” the blond-manned colt said resolute, “Arabelle can teach me everything I’ll ever need to know!”

“Still not that simple.” West commented harshly, testing his son’s determination, “You need to be fit, strong and hardy. Even if you were as strong as me it still wouldn’t be enough to take you the distance.”

The air went quiet again. That last part had apparently hit home-

“Then I’ll get strong enough!” the colt announced, taking his father by surprise, “I’ll buck every apple and plough every field until I’ve got what it takes!”

West stopped. Without a word, he plucked his son from his back and sat him down on the dusty path below.

“If you’re serious, then I’ll make you a deal.” he said, his bold black hat blotting out the sun from the colt’s eyes, “You can make your own way from the farm to Arabelle’s once each day and learn whatever drivel you wish.

“But in exchange...” he continued, pointing his hoof to his son, “You must be back in time to complete whatever chores I give you. It won’t be easy, and it’ll only get harder, but it’ll make you stronger.”

Beaming, the little colt nodded furiously to hear his father finally approve of his thirst for knowledge.

“Well then, the hard part starts now.” West said with a grin, “You can forget me carrying you around on my back. In fact, if you can’t beat me back to the farm, your punishment will be carrying a dozen cider barrels up from the cellar and back down again.”

West smiled again to see the little pony’s jaw drop. He might just be able to make a stallion out of him yet. “So? What are you waiting for boy?” he roared, “Start running!”

* * * *

They grey-coated stallion awoke to a harsh prod to his side. Having been so suddenly pulled from his dream, the pony rocketed upwards and almost fell right off his improvised bedding. Whatever force that was responsible for waking him was quickly hidden by a blue blur, the blanket draped over his sleeping figure flying off and collecting the intruder the moment he sprung up in his surprise.

The first thing he noticed was that the sun was still up, but he quickly realized that wasn’t true. It was a rising sun shining in his eyes, informing the dazed earth pony of the fact that it was morning.

He stared up, surprised that he had managed to sleep solidly throughout the whole night at some stranger’s house. It also didn’t escape his notice that this was one of the few times he had woken up from anything but his tormenting nightmares. The dream was still fresh in his mind, and he couldn’t figure out how he managed to get a reprieve from those horrid memories.

He would’ve continued to think about it, but his attention was quickly diverted as the blue blanket he had sent flying begun to shudder and tumble, until a tiny, yellow-coated filly emerged from the entangled mess. “Pwoah!” the red-ribboned filly exclaimed, shrugging off the tumble, “What in the-”

She cut herself off. Looking up, she noticed the confused stallion she had disturbed staring down at her with interest. It was she could do to stare back innocently with her adorable round eyes, countering any attempt the stranger might make to get her into trouble.

She must have sensed that the confused stallion was about to ask her something, because she instantly popped herself free from the blanket and bounced off with energetic steps. “Big sis!” the little thing called out, “The grey guy’s up!”

“Grey guy?” was all he could respond with, the little filly disappearing around the corner. For a fleeting moment the room went dead silent, and if the stallion had any idea of what were about to come, he would’ve savoured the quiet.

“What’s with all the ruckus?” an orange-coated earth pony called out, entering the room with the bouncing filly close behind, “Oh, I coulda guessed. Applebloom! What’d I say?”

“Sorry sis.” Applebloom mumbled, “I was just tryin’ ta get a look at his cutie mark.”

“I’m awful sorry for my sis.” the heavily accented earth pony said, moving her attention from her sister to the understandably confused stallion before her, “I guess poor Fluttershy still has some trouble keepin’ her in one place.

“So, ‘grey guy’...” she continued, quickly changing the subject, unconsciously overlapping her front hooves as she did so, “Dash tells me you ain’t hard to watch over. If you hadn’t noticed, you slept like a stone from dusk til’ dawn.”

“Dash? Fluttershy?” the stallion repeated, looking about himself, “Who’re they?”

“Never told you their names eh?” the heavy accented mare replied, “Heh, well there’s no way you could forget Rainbow Dash. She’s the blue one with the mane in all sorts of funky colours.”

“But she ain’t here right now!” the little yellow filly exclaimed, jumping up, “She does a lot of cool weather stuff around here and she couldn’t hang around. That’s when me an’ my sis came around!”

“That’d be me.” The orange-coated earth pony said with a wink, “Applejack’s the name. This here’s Applebloom if you didn’t figure that out already.”

“And I’m Fluttershy...” came a softly spoken voice, heralding the appearance of the yellow pegasus from last night, “Oh, I’m sorry if I interrupted you Applejack. I just wanted to make sure everything was alright.”

For the first time since the stallion had woken up, he finally recognized somepony.

“I was worried...” Fluttershy continued, flying over timidly to give her guest the once over, “You slept for so long. Maybe the doctor shouldn’t have let you out after all.”

“Nonsense.” the stallion replied, taking everypony by surprise with an honest smile, “I feel way better now!”

At his reply, Fluttershy almost fell over in surprise. Applejack simply voiced her surprise with a modest chuckle. “Well ain’t you uppity?” she commented honestly, “And here Fluttershy was warning me you were nothin’ but a grump!”

“I didn’t say that!” Fluttershy defended, quickly covering for herself, “Well, I didn’t say grump...”

“Hehe, anyway... it just goes to show what kinda good a nice snooze will do ya.” Applejack said with a nod, “I betcha you’d feel even better with a bit of breakfast in ya belly.”

“I’d hate to impose any more than I already have.” the stallion replied genuinely, “I would much rather be on my way.”

“Rainbow did get one thing right. This guy’s dense.” Applejack said unamused, “The fastest way for you to be back out there is to get your strength up. And I know you’ve gotta be hungry if its true you tried your luck on a poisonous mushroom.”

“Well I...” the stallion begun, but cut himself off with a sigh, “I... I give up. The ponies in this town are damn hard to refuse.”

“Yep, well that’s Ponyville for ya.” Applebloom interjected, bouncing up and down in a vain attempt to be included in the bigger ponies’ discussion, “I guess you ain’t from around here are you grey guy?”

You could say that.” came the reply, “A fair way from Ponyville at least.”

As he waved her little sister’s question off, Applejack seemed to be the only one who noticed how deliberately the stallion had dodged the question. But she didn’t think much of it, for a different question plagued her mind...

“Well then...” she begun, changing topic, “Unless you wanna get stuck with ‘grey guy’, how about we hear that name now?”

“My name?” the stallion repeated, “Oh wow, I guess I haven’t introduced myself yet huh?”

Fluttershy shook her head silently while Applebloom and her elder sister listened attentively. It seemed that they had been waiting for this for quite some time.

“Sorry, I hadn’t noticed.” he admitted, “Anyway... my name is Lawmark. But you can just call me-”

“Lawmark?” Applebloom said, cocking her head to the side as she tried to process the unusual name, “How weird. Makes you sound like you’re a policemare or something.”

“Yeah, I don’t like it either.” he admitted, “That’s why I prefer to go by-”

“Law... mark.” Applebloom tried rolling the name around in her mouth, “Hey, I got an idea. How about... Marco?”

“Marco huh?” he said, a sombreness to his voice, “Only one pony’s ever called me that before...”

“I like it.” Fluttershy interjected, sensing ‘Marco’s’ hesitation, “It’s much nicer that ‘Law’ or ‘Lawmark’ anyway...”

“So, Marco...” Applejack spoke up, asserting the new nickname, “Do you mind telling us how you managed to get yourself poisoned?”

The grey-coated stallion scuffled his hooves awkwardly, considering recounting the story. “Uh, well it’s not terribly interesting...” he finally answered, “But I ended up getting a bit lost inside Everfree Forest, and well...

“Well, you could say that I got a bit delirious after a while.” he confessed, “I’m normally pretty good with identifying herbs and stuff, but I guess I messed up and thought I’d found a safe mushroom. I guess you know the rest...”

“Hang on, y’all didn’t say nothing ‘bout no Everfree Forest...” Applejack said confused, turning to face Fluttershy, “What exactly were you an’ Dash doing out there then?”

“No, no... Dash found him outside the forest, close to here actually.” the softly spoken pegasus corrected her friend, “We never went into the forest.”

“So what were you doing in the forest?” Applebloom asked, butting in, “And how do you know so much about herbs and stuff?”

“Everfree Forest was my only path through to here.” Marco replied matter-of-factly, “And I just so happen to know a little herbalism on the side.”

Silently monitoring the exchange, Applejack made note of how Marco had apparently avoided specifics again. He had neglected to mention where he had come from, or where he was going, and on top of that, Applejack also wondered how many ponies there are who ‘just happen’ to know herbalism. Something about it wasn’t sitting right with her, but she continued to hold her honest tongue regardless.

“Oh, I forgot the most important question of all!” Applebloom announced, her excited bouncing pulling her sister from her thoughts, “Can we see your cutie mark?”

The question struck Applejack and Fluttershy too. They exchanged a quick look before realizing that, with everything else that was going on, they hadn’t paid due attention to Marco’s cutie mark.

By way of response, Marco hefted himself off of his makeshift bedding and turned to the side, proudly displaying his mark for the small group before him.

Applebloom couldn’t help herself. “Oooh...” she said in awe, “What’s that cutie mark?”

Blending nicely into his rich charcoal coat, Marco’s cutie mark was certainly an interesting one to behold. It depicted the image of a tightly closed tome, its black covers sealed with a gold metallic lining. The book was diagonally orientated, and the alicorn insignia on its cover faced forward. On second inspection however, the insignia wasn’t that of an alicorn after all, as there was no horn or wings. Either way, none of the girls had seen anything like it before...

“Growing up, I was about the only pony I knew who cared about reading.” Marco said, his voice distant, “I was at the library every chance I got learning anything and everything that I could get my hooves on.” he sighed quietly before continuing, “There’s not much I’m more proud of than having this mark.”

“Wow, that’s so cool!” Applebloom said in awe, her bouncing becoming even more energetic, “How’d you get it? Huh? How old were you?”

“I was still a colt, that’s for sure. Hrm, I was one of the last out of the ponies I knew to get it though.” Marco answered, his mind wandering, “I got it when...well, it was the first time I stuck up to my father and told him I wanted to learn over helping his orchard. He was about to rip me a new one too, but then it appeared.”

“Don’t get any funny ideas Applebloom...” Applejack warned playfully, “The Acres’d fall to pieces without ya.”

“Acres?” Marco asked, “Are you from an orchard too?”

“Too?” Applejack repeated, capitalizing on Marco’s apparent slip of the tongue, “That’d make you a farm pony then wouldn’t it?”

“Um, yeah... I guess.” Marco managed, realizing his mistake, “Small world.”

“No kidding! Apples right?” Applejack asked, in her element, “Where abouts? I know just about every apple orchard from here to Hordimare-”

“Nowhere really...” Marco tried in vain to cut her off, “I mean, you wouldn’t know it. Trust me.”

‘That’s it Grey Guy...’ Applejack thought, her suspicions finally finding solid ground, ‘Three strikes. You’re out.’

“C’mon, try me.” she retorted purposefully, seeking to expose a truth or two, “Or is there some reason you don’t want us to know?”

Applejack’s intent was not lost on Fluttershy. “Wait, what’s the matter?” she asked her friend, unsettled by the sudden change in tone, “What do you mean by that?”

“Sorry sugarcube, but this don’t sit with me.” Applejack replied, voicing her suspicions, “Listen here Marco, I don’t mind if you’re trying to be all mysterious on us, but I’m not about to stand for somepony who’s lyin’ to folk who’re only trying to help him.”

“Whoa there, settle down sis...” Applebloom spoke up, “What’s the problem?”

“The problem is, this guy hasn’t told the truth since he opened his mouth!” she replied, tuning to address Marco specifically, “Am I wrong? We got a nice story about a cutie mark, but you seem to be doing your best to avoid telling us what you were doing in the forest, where you came from and where you’re going...”

Marco grimaced. As Applejack’s focused gaze bared down on him, his mind raced to come up with a way to avoid going down this path, but there was something about her tone made him reconsider her seriousness. He could tell Applejack was far from convinced that anything about him was genuine, and he didn’t have to think too hard about why that was.

Marco didn’t want to tell them, but perhaps they deserved to know. Either way, the words wouldn’t come, and he couldn’t ignore the chill that was gripping him. His heart was beating hard and it felt like it was halfway up his throat. He was also perspiring rapidly, but it went unnoticed.

“Okay...” he said finally as he managed to regain his voice, however flimsy, “I came from a town called New Eureka...”

Applejack’s eyes narrowed. When she spoke, her voice was deep and flat. “Where?” she demanded, her voice laced with malice, “I didn’t quite catch that...”

“New Eureka...” Marco replied, his voice shaky and broken by short sharp breaths, “A settlement village... up... up north.”

Fluttershy was the first to notice what was happening. Marco wasn’t stressing out because he was lying, he was stressed out because he was being forced into something he couldn’t handle. She made to stop Applejack, but her tiny voice stood no chance, easily overpowered by the fiery interrogation.

“Never heard of it!” Applejack blasted, beyond convinced that the stallion was lying.

“I’m not surprised.” Marco said, pushing his words through clenched teeth.

“Um, Applejack...” Fluttershy tried again in vein.

Now even Applebloom was concerned. Her sister’s intentions were pure, but she was pushing Marco into a corner and he wasn’t dealing with it very well.

“Well then, what’s a settler pony doing here then?” Applejack asked, “Dash said you mentioned Canterlot...”

“Yes, well...” Marco struggled, “I have, some uh, family business...”

“Family huh?” Applejack pressed, pursuing her advantage, “Back home at ‘Eureka’ right?”

“Yes...” he said gasping, her words piercing like daggers. A combined wave of dizziness, nausea and claustrophobia hit him hard. Those key words echoed through his mind. ‘Family’... ‘Home’...

The black hat on his head suddenly felt ten times heavier. Everything was too heavy. Those fragile emotions Marco thought he buried came crashing down on him. He couldn’t handle the weight of it all. He felt faint...

Applejack still kept her momentum, ignorant of Marco’s imminent breakdown. She made to keep pushing him, made to dig deeper, but an unexpected force denied her next question.

The once timid pegasus darted between the stunned Applejack and the trembling Marco. Once she spoke, everypony felt the fury in her voice. “Applejack!” she cried with an uncharacteristic volume, “Stop this nonsense!”

The unexpected outburst snapping her back to reality, Applejack broke free from her zealous interrogation just in time to see what it had yielded. The stallion before her was almost breathless, and whatever expression he wore was masked beneath his downcast hat.

She regretted her behaviour immediately, but whatever she intended to say was denied as Fluttershy took the lead and zipped over to attend to him.

“Are you okay?” she asked alarmed, putting a cautious hoof to his shoulder, “You’re shivering. What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.” Marco replied, not looking up or registering the pegasus beside him, “I guess I’m still a bit sick...”

“Forgive me...” he said, little more than a whisper, “But I should probably rest some more.”

This time, Fluttershy was the first to understand that Marco wasn’t being genuine. And she wasn’t about to let that slide when something else was quite clearly wrong with-

“You heard him sugarcube.” Applejack said, grabbing her friend’s tail and tugging her from the stallion’s side, “We’d best leave him to it if you want him better.”

“But Applejack!” Fluttershy tried to argue as she was dragged away, “He-”

“Yeah, I know...” the earth pony replied, successfully getting the good-intentioned pegasus out of range of the living room, “But you gotta leave him be.”

A confused silence hung for a moment, but Applebloom came in to change the pace, scurrying over to the two as she followed them out of the living room. “What’s going on sis?” she asked innocently, “The ‘grey guy’ ain’t lookin’ so good.”

“Oh, I agree!” Fluttershy said nervously, moving beside little Applebloom as the two looked up at her with confused eyes, “He’s practically keeled over in there!”

“No amount of nursing is gonna fix that.” Applejack replied, her voice heavy with regret, “We’ll do nothin’ but make it worse if we don't leave him alone at the moment.” she sighed, “How could ah be so insensitive...”

“Now what’re you talkin’ about?” Applebloom asked, still ignorant to what was happening, “Wasn’t he sick?”

“Not from no poison he ain’t.” Applejack answered her sister, lowering her voice somewhat, “I thought he was just nervous ‘cause he was up to no good, but he got real shaky about all that home and family stuff. Something bad must’ve happened for him to freak out like that...”

“Oh my...” Fluttershy gasped, the pieces coming together in her mind, “What should we do?”

“The only thing we can...” Applejack whispered in reply, “Looking back to the living room where the poor stallion lay, “Let him sleep it off.

“But still...” she continued, her own guilt weighing heavily upon her, “This is all my fault. I was way out of line, and I don’t know what woulda happened if you didn’t stop me when you did... I need ‘ta make it up to him somehow.”

“Well, he still didn’t end up getting any food...” Fluttershy pointed out, “How about you help me in the kitchen? If he stirs, I’m sure he will be hungry.”

Applejack smiled lightly as her friend placed a comforting hoof upon her shoulder. “Try not to worry about it.” Fluttershy said reassuringly, “He was a nice pony... if you apologise, I’m sure it’ll all be water under the bridge.”

“Thanks sugarcube.” the honest earth pony replied, embracing the comfort of her friend, “Alrighty then... how about we get shakin’ in the kitchen?”

“Applebloom?” Fluttershy asked the filly, who’s head was still peering back to the living room, “Would you like to help?”

“Ya-huh!” she exclaimed, turning from the scene to follow her sister out, “You’ll have to teach me though...”

“She ain’t kidding.” Applejack joked, “My sis is a terror in the kitchen...”

From the darkened living room, the giggling and playful remarks faded away into relative silence as they moved into the furthest area of the cottage. Not that they would be heard anyway, the grey stallion laying quietly on his little couch already retaken by the realm of dreams.

* * * *

Unfortunately, this time the skies were no longer blue. The nightmare having been rekindled by the emotions that were just resurfaced, Marco’s mind saw fit to bring the conclusion of that fateful night back to life.

At the farmhouse, things had gone from bad to worse. With the once humble house barely remaining standing as it burnt away, Arabelle kept the dragon outside preoccupied with her spells while Marco and West resolved to find access to the underground cellar through the blazing ruins of their destroyed home.

Marco followed behind his father as the came upon dead end after dead end in the once familiar house. Flaming walls slanted, stairs had collapsed, and floorboards had burned away. And all the while, the dragon outside continued to roar periodically, engaged in a hopelessly one-sided battle with Arabelle.

But the unicorn was putting up a hell of a fight. From illusions to bolts of water, the exhausted pony’s spells thundered out one after another in a desperate attempt to keep the raging beast preoccupied.

Whatever power she had latched onto in order to exceed her previous exhaustion was itself pushed to its very limits as she managed to keep forcing spells from her overworked horn. The thing physically throbbed with pain, as if it were in danger of fracturing with each burst of magical energy.

Just as she thought she could defy the unstoppable creature no more, she was bailed off of her haunches as it buffeted its wings and sent a mighty artificial gust of wind rushing her direction. Arabelle unsteadily got herself back on her hooves, but she was surprised to see the dragon growl in satisfaction. She was confused for a moment, but then she heard the horrid groan of weakened timber evolve into the deafening crash of steel and splinters.

As half of the farmhouse broke away and collapsed in upon itself from the gust of wind tearing through it, Arabelle turned to witness the whole southern side crumble in a heap of twisted wood and snuffed embers. The exhaustion present on her face instantly transformed to one of utmost dread...

“Marco!” she cried, her voice rising above the roar of the carnage, “West!”

Inside the broken farmhouse, West’s world was turned upside down. When the wind ripped through, he sheltered his son with his own body and watched the whole room beside him get torn away in a flurry of flying wood. What remained of the house tilted slightly, pushed off of its axis by the dragon’s efforts.

Simply put, the flaming labyrinth through which the pair of earth ponies search had just been reinvented. Oddly enough however, the beast’s actions had been for the better. In one fell swoop, the smoke blinding West and his son had been collected by the raging winds, and the thick wooden wall next to Marco had lost a few pieces, and through the gaps the grey-coated stallion could see the dark coloured stone in the centre of the adjacent room.

“I found it!” he exclaimed, announcing his discovery, “West! The cellar’s on the other side!”

His father heard the words, but he didn’t acknowledge them. For through the gaping rend made next to him, he could see outside, the image of the dragon and its exhausted opponent clear before him.

“Arabelle!” he roared, answering her desperate call, “We’re fine! And we found the cellar! Hurry! Get over here!”

Her look of fear faded fast, replaced by one of relief. West couldn’t be sure, but it almost looked as if the unicorn begun to smile. “Oh, thank Celestia...” she breathed, closing her eyes, “I’m... so glad.”

“Arabelle!” West yelled again, seeing the dragon take a step forward from the darkness behind her, “Come on! You’ve gotta run!”

A deep, cold feeling sunk in the stallion’s chest. The dragon approached, yet Arabelle did not waver. Her legs did not move, her head did not turn, and her eyes remained shut...

“Arabelle!” West screamed, the dragon rising victoriously over the motionless unicorn, “Don’t do this-”

But it was too late. The choking black smoke rising to signal the end, the dragon took one final look down at the enemy who had finally reigned to her fate, the burning liquids welling up within its gullet begging for release.

The last thing West saw before the fire consumed her, was Arabelle’s open eyes. She still smiled, the bright and subtle gesture outweighing all the ugliness around her. And in West’s mind, his vision of her glimmered, her soiled coat and tangled mane purified by the beauty of that smile. Her look was a farewell that could not be conveyed in words. Even with the aid of every single one of the books she had spent her life accumulating, they would all fail in describing her goodbye.

The blaze blinding him, West turned away, either on reflex or from disgust. Every nerve in his body tingled with sadness, but as that damned beast looked up from what it had wrought and snorted with satisfaction, whatever emotion West was feeling transformed into a fury that outweighed the madness of any monster this night had to offer...

“West?” Marco questioned, ignorant to the death of Arabelle, “What’s going on-”

He never got a chance to finish his sentence. The very earth quaking, the dragon announced its victory with an ear-splitting roar that absolutely cut through the unnatural night.

West was beyond furious, but he knew he could not indulge his rage. As the dragon made long, purposeful strides over to the ruins of the farmhouse, the stallion knew his first priority was getting his son out of harms way and into the cellar. So he ran. Grabbing Marco as he passed, West charged toward the wall that stood between him and salvation.

There was no time for Marco to question his father’s actions. Because in the next instant, West collided with the one of the last walls that hadn’t been bested by the dragon’s earlier wing buffet. With a full bodied roar and his son in tow, the massive black stallion put all of his anger into the strongest tackle of his life. The damaged mass of wood didn’t have a prayer. Carving the way forward, West stumbled through the new opening with his dumbstruck son falling through behind him.

Shaking it off and helping Marco back up, West shuffled the stallion towards the stone entrance of their underground cellar. It was barely out of reach, and in letting his son go first, West shot a concerned look behind him, half expecting to see the dragon close behind. But as his eyes panned over every hole, crack and tear that provided an opening to the darkness outside, the stallion couldn’t see it anywhere...

That’s when it happened. Forewarned by its grumbling howl, the dragon shocked West to the core by peering down at his exposed figure from the torn-open wreckage to his right. He made to call for Marco to hurry, but it was already too late. Neither of them had a chance for a second thought before the beast swung its mighty tail, sweeping low in a vicious attempt to level the entire farmhouse.

Already weakened from the cutting wind and hungry flames, the farmhouse put up no resistance to the great blow. The spiny tail absolutely cleaved through what lay before it, putting West’s heroic tackle to shame as the once sturdy wall snapped and tore like it were made of twigs.

Still by the wall, West saw the future as the jagged mass crumpled down on him. Marco on the other hoof had gotten off relatively unscathed, wooden shrapnel bouncing harmlessly off of his motionless figure. He didn’t even notice it; he couldn’t tear his attention away as he saw the figure of West get completely buried in the flaming and jagged pieces of wall raining down on him.

“West!” Marco cried as he dived to the rubble, tearing at the flaming wood in a desperate attempt to unearth his father, “Are you okay?! Say something!”

There came no reply, but Marco didn’t slow down. Even as his hooves became filled with splinters, he continued to part the mess of twisted wood until the one remaining hulk of wall was lifted and thrown strongly to the side. But as he revealed what lay beneath it, the stallion stopped dead in his tracks. His aching hooves were gone from his mind, as was the intense heat all around. His pupils were dilated and still, reflecting the grizzly scene before the stallion through watering eyes.

“Quit your crying boy...” his father’s weakened voice rose up, “All those years... pushing you forward...” he continued, his speech broken as he gagged on a blood-filled cough, “Didn’t you put up with it... so you wouldn’t have to cry... anymore?”

Marco could barely believe his eyes. Before him lay the figure of his father, laid flat upon the crushed floorboards and surrounded by the rubble that had once been on top of him. His trademark hat lay before outstretched hooves that quivered as an intense pain raged throughout his body.

Even as his father spoke, Marco barely heard the words. All he could see was that long jagged piece of wood, somehow still alight, protruding grimly from his father’s side...

“Marco!” West yelled through bloodied teeth, forcing a shout, “Snap out of it!”

The stallion stirred this time, his father’s pained shout breaking his son from his transfixed stare. The flow of tears hadn’t yet halted, but through his fogged vision he could see West’s body jitter and try to rise, going in to shock...

“Dad!” Marco cried, his voice shaking and stuttering as he stepped up to his father’s agonized figure, “Please... you’ve gotta get up! The cellar... it’s right there!”

At that moment, the horrendous pain subduing West’s mind suddenly halted, some realization reviving the consciousness that was but a moment from fading. It was what Marco had said. West always knew that his son loved him a great deal, but despite everything, he had always been bitter and resentful of the fact he was adopted, and thus never called his father anything but his name. Yet that same bad-tempered, cry-baby brat had just...

His mind fogged by the mortal wound, West felt himself drifting weightlessly as he tried to regain focus. Though it was difficult, his willpower prevailed and granted his eyes the vision required to look up at his son. The face he saw was the one he was expecting, stupefied with sorrow, the tears bailing from his eyes like torrents, and his bottom lip trembling in the same pathetic fashion it always had...

As the black stallion looked upon his son, colourful flashbacks blessed his consciousness. He could see himself taking in the sobbing mess of a colt, pushing him hard at the orchard, watching him grow into the insatiable egghead he was, constantly defying him to terrorize poor Arabelle with his frivolous nonsense...

The sting of his wound cut the visions short, but West had seen enough to gain clarity. Blocking out his agony, and ignoring the flow of blood that slicked his mane red, he brought his sprawled hooves in, trying admirably to reach eye-level with Marco.

“What are you waiting for boy?” West spoke up, his voice crisp and loud in defiance of his injury, “You know what you have to do.”
“But... you promised...” Marco drivelled, his voice overtaken by wrecking sobs, “You said you’d always be there... that I could always depend on you! You have to get up! You have to!”

At first, West’s body wouldn’t obey, but through a huge force of will, he overcame the paralysis and denied the pain as he lifted his front legs up just enough for him to reach forward and press his trademark cowboy hat roughly upon Marco’s head. When his face re-emerged from under the loose fitting hat, Marco’s eyes had dried, the tears paused by his father’s gesture.

“It’s up to you to become somepony who others can depend on.” West said weakly, noticing the tears return to his son’s eyes, “Promise me.” he continued, his speech interrupted by yet another bloodied cough, “Swear to me... that as long as you wear that hat, you’ll be the kind of pony that even I could depend on...”

“Stop talking like you’re gonna to die!” Marco yelled, his vision of his father blurred beyond recognition through his overflowing eyes, “I’ll carry you, so just... so just stay alive okay?!”

Alerted to the pair’s survival, the black dragon still towering over the scene let its savage roar rip for one final time, its intention to close the curtain obvious to all.

“Go on an’ git!” West roared above the din, “That’s an order!”

The urgent plea resonated strongly within Marco. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how many times his father had barked that very same command over all those long years. Despite the heat all around him, Marco felt a different kind of warmth rise up in his belly. It was the kind of warmth that could only be described as love.

He lunged across the broken floor, not towards the open cellar, but towards his father and the flaming wreckage. He hugged him roughly and honestly, ignoring the blood as he wrapped his hooves around his father’s neck.

Whatever pain West was feeling became numbed out by the embrace. On the verge of death, it was all he could do to heft his front hoof onto his son’s shoulder and pull him closer.

“Goodbye dad.” Marco said as steadily as he could, “I’ll make you proud.”

“Even now, you really never listen huh?” West said, fading fast, “I guess we’re alike after all...

“We loved you kiddo.” he whispered, a smile forming as he drew that final breath, “Don’t you ever forget it.”

West’s dying moments were a blessing of bright, blissful memories. He saw a young Marco hanging from the scaffold, hammering a roof to completion, a field of lush apple trees, and his own proud smile reflected in the beautiful eyes of his favourite unicorn.

As his heart beat for that last time, there was no pain or fear, and no room for uncertainties. The light inside, flickering its way to extinction, flashed boldly before it became no more...

Marco’s heart sank to feel his father’s hoof go limp upon his back. He pulled away just in time to see the only tear ever shed by West roll silently down his lifeless face.

A million emotions buzzed like electricity, sorrow gripping him once more. His body locked up for the final time, frozen in place despite the all-consuming fire raging all around him. He was now alone in the middle of the destruction, hopelessly destitute in the middle of the hellish night. But as the feeling of helplessness begun to find purchase in the far reaches of his unstable mind, his father’s parting gift became weighty on his head.

And it was as simple as that. Championing the treasured hat, Marco rose above his fears and regained himself just in time to see the mighty dragon staring down at him with indifferent eyes.

But Marco wasn’t about to wait for what he knew was about to happen. He dashed across the broken floor, making a beeline for the cellar without even a glance backwards. His quick thinking would be his salvation. The instant he disappeared down the shaft like entrance to the cellar and slammed its great door shut, the floor above was utterly consumed by the most violent burst of flames yet.

Back on the surface, the black beast would continue to prowl. Through the flaming wreckage it would rifle, searching intently for any life it hadn’t yet snuffed out. After a few minutes, it would resume its devastation elsewhere, not noticing the layer of stone shimmering just below the remains of the destroyed farmhouse.

For Marco, diving into the cellar was like diving into another world. Outside, the night was lit up with flames, but down here, it was a world of total darkness. The thunderous crash of wood and the howls of crazed beasts were completely silenced, sound unable to penetrate the thick stone enclosure. The only thing that remained was the heat. It was positively boiling in the cellar, the flames outside transforming it into something not unlike an oven.

In what he could only guess to be the centre of the room, Marco collapsed as the trauma finally begun to take hold. His moment of bravery long gone, he laid there on the hot stone floor with his father’s hat tugged down over his eyes, biting his bottom lip in between quivering teeth as fresh tears begun to stream down his face once again.

And so, all alone in the hot dark silence... the exhausted pony just wept.

* * * *

Marco woke to the crash of pots and pans. Fluttershy had been transporting them from the living room to the kitchen, but she dropped them all as she passed his agonized figure. Seeing him squirming restlessly, sweating bullets, and muttering some curious things, the shy pegasus didn’t think twice before she rushed over to attend to him.

Having been so suddenly roused from his nightmare, Marco jolted upright, his mind lagging behind as he was thrown back into reality. As the realization struck that it was just that horrid dream again, Marco’s expression went from one of shock to sombre resentment.

As she saw his deadpan eyes drift over to face her, Fluttershy’s face ran red in embarrassment. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” the poor pegasus stuttered, “But you just looked so-”

“Save it.” Marco hissed sourly, but cut himself off and shelved those lingering emotions, “Ah... erm, sorry Fluttershy. I didn’t mean that. It’s just...” he continued awkwardly, fearing he might have said her name wrong, “It’s just... well, my mind was somewhere else.”

Fluttershy lit up to see Marco regain himself, her face regaining its colour as she took the apology in stride. Marco sighed in relief; she was obviously a shy and sensitive pony, a failed apology would have had bad consequences.

“Bad dream?” she probed, fishing for information. Marco was surprised that the pegasus had figured out what he’d meant. Or maybe she...

“You were so restless!” Fluttershy pushed, “I couldn’t not wake you!”

His surprise vanishing, Marco’s apologetic tone was instantly replaced by one of a most uncharacteristic seriousness. “Did I say anything in my sleep?” he asked directly.

“Oh, no, um, I didn’t hear anything” the yellow pegasus stuttered, obviously intimidated.

Marco could have guessed that Fluttershy was a bad liar, but that was pathetic. All he had to do was adjust the intensity of his stare to get her to finish...

“B...b...but you were mumbling things.” she whimpered, masking her face below her fringe, “I couldn’t make any of it out though...”

Marco was unsettled, but he realized he was being too hard on the poor pegasus. “Sorry about that.” he said suddenly, taking her off guard with his casual tone, “I sleep-talk sometimes.”

This time Fluttershy eyed Marco seriously. She tested his full smile, seeing if it was genuine. She never got a chance to finish her judgement, for as Marco made to rub his heavy head, his eyes snapped open as a type of shock struck him...

“Oh, no!” he breathed, “has anypony seen my-”

He stopped short as Applejack walked into the room, having been alerted to the fact Marco had risen from all the commotion he and Fluttershy had caused. As she saw little Applebloom mounted upon her sister’s back, the once-shocked stallion sighed in relief.

Applejack entered wearing her trademark tan cowboy hat, but Marco’s attention was drawn towards its jet-black twin, which was loosely resting on Applebloom’s tiny head.

“Looking for this?” the little filly chimed innocently as she bounced over to return the hat to him, “It’s kinda cool, just like my sister’s!”

“Sorry Marco, I told her not to touch.” Applejack said carefully as Marco accepted her sister’s offering, being mindful of their earlier discussion, “Is it something special by any chance?”

“Yes.” Marco replied, his memories of Applejack’s fervour returning, “It’s all I have left to remember my father by...”

Fluttershy and Applejack bowed their heads to hear their what they had suspected confirmed. Even Applebloom fell silent, though she didn’t really understand what was going on.

“Listen, Marco... I’m real sorry about before.” Applejack said, putting her tan cowboy hat to her chest in shame, “I didn’t realize that... well, there’s really no excuse.”

Comfortable once more with his hat upon his head, Marco paid Applejack her due by looking over to her apologetically downcast face. For a moment he found the apology curious, since he was still feeling bitter about their previous exchange, but a second glance revealed that the orange earth pony was being totally honest and genuine.

“It’s no big deal...” Marco said tentatively, not quite sure of how to put it, “In fact, I’m sorry too. I know how my story must have sounded, but the truth is, I’ve never had to talk about it before. I should have handled it better.”

“Hrm, I don’t really get it...” Applebloom said sagely, “But everypony’s happy again now right?”

“Happy and healthy.” Marco replied, surprising everypony by rising off of the couch and taking stance beside it in one fluid movement, “I really do feel a lot better actually. I’m glad I got a chance to get some proper sleep.

“In fact...” Marco continued, flexing his legs on the spot, “I might head off soon. It’d be better if you guys didn’t have to bother with me much more anyway...”

Marco raised a curious eyebrow to see Fluttershy snuff a giggle. Applejack simply smiled knowingly. “Well, Dash did say this feller’s had his heart set on Canterlot...” the orange earth pony commented smugly, gesturing over Marco’s shoulder to the window above the bedside, “Truly, I don’t mind if you want to walk there, but maybe you might wanna have a look outside genius?”

Marco obeyed, and much to the girl’s amusement, he visibly deflated to see the dying remains of a sunset on the horizon. It quickly dawned on him that this was virtually the same situation as when he was talked into staying here, which also meant he’d been here for what would soon be a whole day.

“I’ve got a lantern you can borrow.” Applejack remarked facetiously, “That’s if you still think it’s such a hassle to stay here...”

“I get what your saying...” Marco admitted, “But I really think-”

“Shh...” Applejack interrupted, “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Marco asked, “I don’t...”

“There it is again.” she replied smiling, “Shut your yap an’ listen.”

Marco quickly complied, joining the others in their silence. After a few moments, the sound Applejack was waiting for gurgled out for all to hear. The colour draining from his face, Marco placed his two front hooves over his belly in some vein attempt to snuff the deep and hungering roar rumbling out from his stomach.

As Fluttershy’s expression pinged to one of surprise, Applejack knew her little trap had worked perfectly. “Oh my, I completely forgot!” the pegasus announced as the realization clicked, “We even put aside a whole lot of food too! Wait right there!”

Marco feebly raised a hoof in an attempt to stall the pegasus, but she zipped out of the room with a speed that belied her. Applejack chuckled heartily, aware of just how feeble the stallion’s attempts to sneak off would be when apposed to Fluttershy’s nurturing instincts.

“That’s right...” Applejack said knowingly, “You just sit right there.”

Marco silently obliged, returning to the comfort of the bed-like couch. He put a hoof to his starved stomach, praying that its grumbling would show respite at the promise of food.

“I guess I’ll have to owe her one... again.” Marco said embarrassed, then turned to address Applejack, “Is she always this kind to strangers?”

“Well, I reckon you’re the first one who washed up on her doorstep...” she joked, “But it doesn’t surprise me. Kindness is her element after all...”

“Element?” Marco made to ask, but was quickly sidetracked as Fluttershy re-entered the living room, the pegasus doing a spectacular job of balancing half a dozen plates, each one loaded with various fruits, leaves, savouries and grains.

The sight of the spread dominated the stallion’s mind, his pupils filling his eyes as they widened to take it all in. He could feel the drool pooling in his closed mouth as the faint smell of it drifted on over to meet his nostrils.

“There’s a bit extra because we thought Dash was checking in tonight...” Fluttershy said, not sure if her voice could penetrate his consciousness, “But I guess she isn’t coming after all...”

Applejack could tell that Marco barely heard the quiet pegasus’ words. The previously reserved earth pony’s eyes practically begged for Fluttershy to hand over the plates.

“No need to hold back!” the yellow pegasus beamed, the hungry stallion’s eagerness perfectly clear to her, “There’s lots more, so make sure you eat your fill okay?”

Marco didn’t need to be told twice. As soon as Fluttershy’s offering left her hooves, the grey-coated earth pony practically pounced on the plates, determined not to waste a second.

* * * *

Night had fallen in Canterlot, allowing the great city a break from the day time commotion that typically dominated it. The now empty streets were illuminated primarily by the glow of the various structures towering above, most of which were packed with locals who had tired of their daily grind and retired to their homes or equivalent places of rest.

It was a shame really. Sure the city was a most beautiful sight in the light of day, but the night brought with it a splendour all of its own, cloaking the quiet scene in the most subtle moon-lit sparkle and the soul-striking stillness of a humid night air. Even among those who lived here, so few had seen this side to their home. But for those who appreciate it, night time in Canterlot truly was something special.

Down in the streets, there appeared to be but one figure walking their cobblestone lengths. Dark grey in coat, and adorned in a pale silver armour, the night guard walked alone and content, his head scanning as if searching and his wing holding a stack of large papers to his side. If anypony were watching, they might’ve considered him a bit old to be wearing the armour of a night guard. And while he was most definitely past his prime, he carried himself strongly, his eyes hardened with experience despite the light wrinkles that had formed around them.

He casually slowed to a halt, looking about the surrounding buildings so that they might inform him as to where he had wandered. He gazed upwards to the illuminated tower-tops, and was briefly taken by how their soft corners and gentle colours had been reborn beneath the moon’s glow. Shrugging it off, the aged pegasus left the glimmering structures to their attempts to outshine one another.

Before him was the beginning of a darkened alley, and without so much as a look inside, he lightened his grip on his stack of papers so that he could pull out a few. Each one of the sheets had a medium sized picture in its centre, with large black and bold text underneath. Below that was a few lines of information, followed by what appeared to be number that varied between each poster.

Utterly indifferent to the nature of the papers, the night guard affixed the first of the sheets to the wall next to the alley, then overlapped it with a second. He was a moment away from putting up a third, but a movement barely outside his field of vision caught his attention.

The older pegasus was momentarily stunned, not quite expecting the captain of the royal guard to come flying on down to greet him. And while any old night guard would be at a loss for words in his situation, his surprise ran significantly deeper than merely recognising the armoured pegasus as being Captain Caliber.

“You shouldn’t sneak up on an old pony like me Caliber...” the night guard breathed, “I’m liable to have a heart attack!”

“And a good evening to you too Ceasler.” the captain replied, greeting the pegasus like he would a friend, “I’ve been looking for you.”

“You? Looking for me?” Ceasler questioned in disbelief, “One would think that the royal guard captain would have more important things to do than spook his old teacher in the dead of night...”

“Heh, I’m not the one putting up posters...” Caliber said smugly, noticing the papers pinned up beside the alley and tucked under Ceasler’s wing, “What happened? Somepony’s pet run away?”

“There’s that conceited tongue of yours.” Ceasler replied, shaking his head, “Honestly... how does Celestia put up with you?

“Or maybe its just me you enjoy talking down at?” he continued, “Whatever. I’ll have you know these ain’t ‘lost pet’ posters. These are wanted posters.”

Caliber trotted up to get a better look at the papers plastered by the alley. Each one had a vicious looking individual in the centre, and a corresponding name and what looked like a bounty.

“Huh, you weren’t kidding...” Caliber said flatly, “But what are these going up in Canterlot for? Criminal types tend to keep away from here...”

“I don’t know.” Caliber replied dismissively, “The bounty list got updated, and I was told to put up some posters. That’s as deep as the mystery goes.”

“Hrm, weird.” Caliber said as he pondered the meaning behind it, “At least I haven’t heard about any villains running around...”

“I don’t really care if you pry, but...” Ceasler quickly tossed the captain a roll of posters, “If you’re just gonna stand there yapping, help me put them up.”

“Tsk, still trying to order me about?” Caliber asked as he bent down to pick up the papers, “Oh well, I suppose its good charity to help out crotchety old pegasi like you...”

“Oh, har-de-ha.” Ceasler faked a laugh, “I’m still young enough to teach a runt like you a thing or two. Now if you’d be so kind captain, go put those up on the other side of the street.”

Caliber rolled his eyes silently as he scooped up the posters and carted them to where Ceasler had directed. Flattening the first one against the featureless wall, he looked back to see the old night guard doing something similar.

As he put them up, Caliber couldn’t help but give each profile the once over. There was a mean-looking griffin, an ugly mane-less unicorn, and what looked like a dog with horribly disproportionate limbs.

But as he casually put the posters up, it was the last one that spurred his interest. For in seeing the picture and profile, he was certain that he was looking at a pegasus pony that he had once known. His old lieutenant it seemed, had turned outlaw and now had a sizable bounty on her head. Shaking his head solemnly, Caliber snuck a look to Ceasler before hiding the poster in the fold of his armour.

“Damn it Tager...” he whispered under his breath, “I can’t keep covering for you forever. What the hell are you thinking?”

“Hey Caliber!” Ceasler called out through the night, causing the captain to turn, “I don’t mind you doing my job, but didn’t you say you came out looking for me? What’d you want?”

“Ah, that’s right. I almost forgot.” Caliber replied, shelving his thoughts on the wanted poster as he remembered his true purpose, “Have you heard anything about the new royal guard?”

“Only rumours.” Ceasler replied, joining the captain on the other side of the empty street, “The night guard have been buzzing about the formation of a troop of special royal guards in service of Luna.”

“Well, it’s no joke.” Caliber responded, leading the way as the two pegasi begun moving further down the street, putting up more posters as they walked, “I’m in charge of putting the team together myself.”

“Really now? That’s quite the responsibility...” Ceasler said, moving in next to the captain, “But again, what’s that got to do with me?”

“Well... me being the genius I am, decided that a fitting royal guard for the princess of the night should be formed from re-purposed night guards.” Caliber said casually, “Naturally, that means I need the best, and I thought to myself: what grumpy old night guard do I know who has a nasty habit of expecting the best from his comrades?”

“So you want to know if I have anypony could make it as a royal guard?” Ceasler questioned, shaking his head as he did so, “Well I’m sorry kid, but I can’t help you.”

Surprised, Caliber stopped walking, prompting Ceasler to do the same. “Come on, don’t you have any recommendations?” he insisted, “I find it hard to believe that you of all ponies would abide any dead weight...”

“I’m not sure what you were expecting captain.” Ceasler replied callously, “It’s the night guard. We’re all lazy, inexperienced, and undisciplined. It’s a shadow of its former self.”

This time it was Caliber who shook his head. “You’ve gotten a bit more cynical with age it seems...” he shot back, “Your standards were always set pretty high, so I was hoping you’d have at least a few who might be good for the new royal guard.”

“Listen Caliber...” Ceasler said with a sigh, “Your generation was the last of those who actually took this duty seriously. These days, there’s no reason for anypony to want to be a quality guard. The nights are calm, the city is quiet, and the population is content.

“Let’s face it kiddo...” he concluded, “The crown has no more enemies. The guard has lost it’s way.”

“But it’s not just the crown we’re protecting anymore.” Caliber retorted, a tinge of passion sparking, “There’s a city full of innocents right here, and beyond that, a wide world who would look to us should disaster return.

“Maybe you’re right about the guard going soft...” he continued, “But that’s all the more reason to get them shaped up.”

“There’s that spirit Celestia loves so much...” Ceasler pointed out, “I don’t think my ramblings could make a dent on those ideals of yours...”

“Are you sure you don’t have any up and comers?” Caliber asked again, “You saw my potential all those years ago... are you certain there’s nopony you want to recommend to me?”

“I’ll think on it, but no promises.” Ceasler replied, “I’ll return to you if I can come up with any worthy candidates.”

“That’s all I can ask.” Caliber said, flapping his wings as if he intended to depart, “I’m sure your judgement is still as good as ever.”

“Aren’t you gonna ask me if I want to be a royal guard?” Ceasler called out after his old pupil as he ascended into the night sky, “What’s the paycheck like? The armour any good?”

“I’ll ask Luna if she needs a butler!” Caliber joked, his voice lingering despite having flown off, “But I wouldn’t quit your day- err, night job!

...

“Just keep putting up the damn posters geezer!”

* * * *

“Urg...” Rainbow Dash moaned, wiping away the remains of a sneeze as she wafted her way through the cold night air, “What a day...”

The cyan pegasus was exhausted. She had been on and off all day on the same damn weather job, alternating shifts with a whole lot of other weather pegasi in an attempt to disperse a vicious hail storm that had been sneaking up on Ponyville. The frosty conditions had been hard on them, as their wings were vulnerable to the freezing winds. Regardless, they had endured, pushing onwards in the knowledge that such a storm would spell doom for the local farmers if it happened upon their crop so close to harvest.

It had been a pain in the flank, but Rainbow Dash smirked despite her visible chilled exterior, content in the knowledge that Applejack owed her one for saving her orchard. The tired pegasus begun to fantasise about how she might best collect on her friend’s debt, but she was interrupted as her stomach rumbled out into the night, reminding her that she hadn’t had a chance at a proper meal since sitting in on dinner at Fluttershy’s cottage.

Well, truth be told, she had stopped by Sugar Cube Corner on her way to work, but what Pinkie Pie gave her ended up being a little too sweet to be called breakfast. Either way, Rainbow Dash made a detour on her shaky trip home, remembering that she had promised Fluttershy she’d drop by tonight. Her belly groaned again as she wondered if she had missed the chance to freeload off of her friend again. As her thoughts drifted to the topic of freeloaders, Dash wondered if that nameless earth pony from before was still hanging around...

With her path to Fluttershy’s house guided by an odd combination of hunger and curiosity, Rainbow Dash’s pace quickened as she zipped down lower into the empty streets of Ponyville. She was on a mission to quiet her nagging belly and make sure that the dim-witted stallion from Everfree Forest wasn’t causing her friends any more grief...

It didn’t take long for the rainbow-maned pegasus to make her way to her friend’s humble little cottage. But while the place was normally rather dull at this hour, she could hear the clatter of crockery and the general mumble of commotion emanating from within.

Intrigued, Rainbow Dash announced her presence with two quick knocks on the door as she passed through uninvited. Two seconds later, a smiling Applejack came to greet her.

“Hey there Dash.” she said energetically, “Didn’t think we’d see you show up tonight!”

“I didn’t think you’d be here either.” Dash admitted, “You been here since morning?”

“I sure-as-sugar have.” Applejack said as she ushered her blue-coated friend inside, “Somepony’s gotta help Fluttershy with the grey guy after all...”

“I thought he might still be here.” Dash replied, falling in behind Applejack as they resumed their slow pace through the house, “Grey guy huh? Still no name then huh?”

“Heh, no... he did end up telling us...” Applejack started, but stopped short as she put a confused hoof to her muzzle, “Darn it, looks like I forgot it. I think it was Lu... no, Le... La- Law! Lawsomething!”

Applejack saw the curious look form on Dash’s expectant face. “You can thank my sister for confusing me with all the nicknames.” she said defensively, reading her friend’s expression, “Anyway, we’re just calling him Marco for now.”

“Weird...” Rainbow Dash said, her eyebrows still raised, “But I guess it’s something. Is it him causing all the noise?”

“Probably...” Applejack replied knowingly, smiling as she finished leading her friend to the living room, “But why don’t ya see for yourself?”

Stepping in past Applejack’s pointing hoof, the scene Dash beheld was somewhat different from the one she had expected...

“That’s another one down!” Applebloom called out, her voice directed to the kitchen, “Hurry up in there!”

“Ah, slow down please!” Fluttershy’s normally tame voice cried out in reply, the clatter from the kitchen going up a level, “I can’t keep up!”

Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked on at the funny display, Dash’s eyes widening to see the grey-coated stallion before her devour what looked like a loaf of bread in two bites.

“You’d best back up a bit Applebloom...” Applejack warned playfully, “Lest he gobble you up once the last plate runs dry!”

“Eep!” the little filly exclaimed, playing along as she scrambled away from the ravenous Marco, “He’s gonna get me!”

“Looks like he’s more than a dopey, complaining, pain-in-the-flank sleepy-head after all.” Rainbow Dash commented, somewhat interested in the stallion’s apparent behavioural change since she last saw him, “He’s even got your sis warming up to him.”

“Yeah, well... the grey guy ain’t so bad.” Applejack replied, but suddenly quieted her voice for only Dash to hear, “He’s just, well... a little complicated.”

“Hrm?” Rainbow Dash questioned, mimicking her friend’s hushed tone, “What’d ya mean complicated?”

“Ah’ll tell you later Rainbow.” Applejack said easily, “For now, it looks like he ain’t the only one hankerin’ for a feed...”

The cyan pegasus’ stomach growled ever so quietly, as if responding to Applejack’s apparent ability to spot a starved pony. “Hehe, what’d ya know?” Rainbow Dash laughed it off as her blue cheeks went a tinge of pink, “I hope the blockhead left me something!”

“Looks like I need to give Fluttershy a hand in the kitchen anyhow...” Applejack commented, “Marco’s eating food faster than the poor girl can find it!

“Hey Applebloom.” she continued, “We’re off to give Fluttershy a helping hoof, so it’s up to you to make sure he doesn’t choke, okay?”

Applebloom snapped into a mock salute. “Aye-aye sis!” she exclaimed, “I won’t let ya down!”

As the little filly watched her sister disappear around the corner with her pegasus friend close behind, Applebloom tuned to see the last plate clatter on top of towering stack, making the wobbling formation about as tall as she was.

She then looked to Marco, and gulped nervously to see that he was far from sated. His eyes scanned the room, his mind still on autopilot, searching mechanically for further nourishment. As his hungry eyes landed upon her and stopped, the little filly suddenly felt her confidence in the fact she was inedible take a nosedive.

In the kitchen, Rainbow Dash munched on a plain bun while her two friends turned the place upside down in a fervent search for food. She herself found a renegade apple roll on by, but she kept it to herself for fear it might be the last scrap of food in the whole house.

Swallowing what was left of her bun, Dash finally addressed Applejack, curiosity getting the better of her concerning their earlier conversation. “So what were you saying about that guy?” she asked, rather confused about her honest friend’s apparent secrecy, “What happened here since morning?”

Before Applejack responded, Dash noticed Fluttershy stop rummaging and shoot a look to the earth pony, apparently wanting to hear a little of it too.

“Long story short, I wanted more than a name when he finally got around to answering our questions.” Applejack recounted the events, a kind of guilt plaguing her words, “But when I started digging too deep, he just flips out all of a sudden.”

“It was horrible.” Fluttershy confessed, a hoof held to her chest, “I don’t know what might’ve happened if she didn’t stop when she did. Oh, sorry Applejack... I didn’t mean-”

“Pay it no mind sugarcube. It’s the truth.” the honest earth pony confessed, “I damn near drove the fella to the edge before you snapped me out of it.”

“I don’t get it.” Dash confessed, “Sure, I can see A.J not taking no for an answer, but how does that make somepony go nuts?”

“Who knows?” Applejack replied reservedly, still ashamed of her behaviour, “But something must’ve happened to him, and my guess is its got a fair bit to do with the ‘quest for Canterlot’ you told me about.”

“So what do you think happened?” Dash asked, taking her first bite from her salvaged apple, “You gotta have some idea...”

“It’s nothing good, that’s for sure.” Applejack said gravely, recalling Marco’s comment about that hat of his, “But ah ain’t about to open up old wounds by guessing on it.”

“It really is best we don’t pry.” Fluttershy added, looking directly at Dash as if for approval, “He probably won’t be here much longer, and it’d be awful if we chased him out with thoughtless questions.”

“I get it, I get it...” Rainbow Dash said dismissively, “It’s not like I care anyway. He made me cart him around and ate all my food!” she said, finishing off her apple in one crude chomp, “He could charge off to Canterlot right now for all I care.”

“Heh, well be that as it may...” Applejack said, leading the way back to the living room, “We’d best check up on him and make sure my sister’s still in one piece.”

As the trio re-entered the room, Fluttershy already had her apology at the ready, worried that Marco had gone unsatisfied despite the fact her food stocks had been well and truly depleted in his wake. But as she saw they grey stallion laying back and nursing a fattened belly, she knew she wouldn’t need it.

“We did it!” Applebloom announced victoriously, the little yellow filly standing beside Marco as if he was some mighty beast that had been slain, “The great grey guzzler is defeated!”

“That’s pretty lame.” Rainbow Dash said, gesturing to the stallion’s sprawled out figure, “You had your fill there dude?”

Only just becoming aware of his surroundings, Marco’s head rose up ever so slightly to hear a voice he barely recognised call out to him. Then to the surprise of everypony, the stallion jolted in such a way that it looked as if he had been brought back from the dead.

Marco blinked back into the moment, apparently having been absent from his own actions until just now. He looked about himself as his sense of decency returned, and quickly adopted a more dignified posture. It seemed that as soon as that sought after food hit his lips, his hungry body robbed him of his consciousness so that it could not obstruct his stomach’s desire with troublesome notions of etiquette and restraint. But now that there was quite literally nothing left to consume, his mind was cruelly dropped back into his body so that it could deal with the consequences of his gluttonous rampage.

While he tried to cover his guilty expression, Marco was secretly glad that he managed to eat his fill. He was hard pressed to remember a time he had enjoyed a proper meal. Despite the silent onlookers, he allowed himself to fall roughly back into the comfortable furniture and voice his satisfaction with a contented sigh.

Despite everything that had led him to this moment, there was an undeniable feeling of peace rising up from within. Closing his eyes, Marco couldn’t help but think that it was only a dream; just another respite between his twisted nightmares. It was uncanny. He tried to push the feelings away as if they were unreal, but the tiny glimmer of serenity hounding him could not be defeated. It almost felt like some distant part of him was home again, and the pony he used to be was coming to the surface.

All the while he sat there entertaining his conflicted thoughts, the girls swapped brief looks with one another, the fact that Marco had become oblivious to their presence now clear to them. At that moment, Applejack and Rainbow Dash shared a look, silently asking each other what could be wrong with the fool this time...

“Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked tentatively, concerned about the nature of her grey-coated guest’s silence, “Oh, don’t tell me you’re still feeling ill...”

The timid pegasus floated over without waiting for a reply, and put a soft hoof to Marco’s head as if to test his temperature.

Brought back to reality by the touch, Marco backed up ever so slightly, totally bug-eyed. “Relax Fluttershy...” he said, surprising her with an honest smile, “I’m fine.”

The yellow pegasus paused to appraise Marco’s soothing smile, but she could find no hesitation or anything disingenuous about it. Although she wouldn’t realize it, she found herself mirroring his smile as she realized he was being truthful.

“Well isn’t that a relief?” Rainbow Dash said tongue-in-cheek, breaking the silence, “This must be that ‘sane’ side I keep hearing about...”

Marco blinked a few times as he became aware that the cyan pegasus was addressing him. He recognised the tomboyish demeanour and the funky coloured mane, but he couldn’t quite place a name or remember who she was.

Seeing her thrust an accusing eyeball his way, it dawned on Marco that he hadn’t done a very good job of concealing his confusion. “Oh, come on...” Dash pouted, almost offended, “You find a guy dying in the middle of nowhere, pick ‘em up and drag em to the doctor... and you even show them back to a place to kick their hooves up, and they don’t even remember you?!”

“I don’t think he would’ve died...” Fluttershy intervened, calming her friend, “And it’s only natural if he’s a bit fuzzy on what happened last night-”

“Oh! Rainbow Dash right?” Marco interrupted, the name clicking into his head, “Applejack said you were- ah, well... you.”

“So that makes you the one who found me right?” Marco asked as he bowed his head, “Thanks. You really helped me out.”

Rainbow Dash was taken aback by the stallion’s sudden expression of gratitude, his head lowered with his hat removed in a rather old-fashioned display of proper manners. “I- uh, don’t mention it.” Dash said cool and detached, contradicting her earlier insistence, “I’d do it for anypony...”

“Be that as it may... I owe you all a great debt.” Marco said, his voice weighted with responsibility, “There’s got to be some way I can repay your kindness.”

“Don’t be silly.” Fluttershy dismissed his formal attitude, “Your health is all we could ever ask for.”

Putting his hat firmly back atop his head, Marco raised his downcast eyes and looked upon the small group before him. It seemed that Fluttershy’s response was the one he was expecting. “I don’t think you understand...” he finally said, his tone imploring, “It was only yesterday. I was bleeding, exhausted, starved and alone. It was a terror I don’t wish to be reminded of. And yet...

“Now I’m laying here thanks to the kindness of strangers.” he continued, the truth of it invoking further emotion, “I have a full belly and a rested body. I... I was feeling hopeless, and you banished that fear.

“You saved my life.” he said softly, addressing even Applebloom, “Thank you.”

“I think you might be the only one who fancies us strangers Marco.” Applejack said easily, causing Marco’s head to rise for the final time, “You’ve been among friends ever since you walked in through that door.”

“Friends... huh?” Marco mused, the word having been made a stranger to him, “Such a thing...”

“That’s right!” Rainbow Dash announced, her loyalty shining through, “And there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to help my friends!”

“In that case, I must apologise.” Marco said cautiously, “I realize that you have your questions... and that I have been less than forthcoming.”

“Oh, you don’t have to tell us anything!” Fluttershy insisted, fearing a repeat of earlier, “As long as you’re happy... we’re happy.”

Marco bit his lip, extremely conflicted. These girls had done so much for him; they did deserve to hear the truth. But they were such innocent ponies... it was a truth that would do them no good.

Could he lie to them? Take from them the things he had and then leave them with such an insult? Perhaps it would be for the best in the long run, for both them and him. But even if that were true, a lie would not come easy. He tore himself from his doubts, and tried to find the answers on the faces of the ponies before him. True to Fluttershy’s word, they were the picture of patience, giving him his distance as if they could sense the indecision that was tugging at his mind.

Taking a deep breath, Marco came to his decision. “Before when I said I was from a place called New Eureka...” he begun, being oddly direct, “Are you sure you haven’t heard of it?”

Applejack paused to think, but the name still drew a blank. “Sorry... I really don’t know of it.” she said, “Did you want to tell us?”
“As I said last time, it was a little settler village up north.” Marco replied, recapping for the benefit of Rainbow Dash, “Technically it was outside of Equestria, so there’s really no surprise that you hadn’t heard the name.”

“Wait, did you say outside Equestria?” Rainbow Dash asked in disbelief, “As in...”

“It wasn’t too far from the border, but yeah.” Marco answered, “Don’t ask me why they thought it was a good idea though. I was a colt when it was founded.”

“It wouldn’t be the only town like it.” Applejack spoke up, “Every now and then, bands of settlers try to push the boundary out past pony lands, trying to start a spark of civilization out in those tricky spots. Some times it works... other times...”

“Well it wasn’t called ‘New’ Eureka for nothing.” Marco said, “I learned the history some time ago. In ages past, an en explorer ventured out past Equestria and found a fortune in gold. He started up a town over the payload, which ended up being located practically on the doorstep of Equestria.

“Enticed by the promise of gold, the town was named Eureka. It was a town sustained entirely by the mines beneath it.” he continued, retelling what Arabelle had taught him long ago, “The land could not support crop, there was no water for miles. But the town didn’t care, their gold bought them everything they ever needed...

“Of course, the gold ran dry, and the town was left with nothing.” he concluded, “Eureka was the first failed attempt to move beyond Equestria’s borders, and it wouldn’t be the last.”

“Now that I think on it, Granny Smith told me a story like that once.” Applejack said suddenly, thinking back, “Said it was a lesson for us farm folk... that money will leave you starved if its all you depend on, and that a healthy crop and a full belly is worth more that all fortune in the world.”

“It was a lesson New Eureka took to heart.” Marco said with a dull nod, “You can always count on a nurtured tree to bear fruit, but you can never know when your material blessings will abandon you... this was the ideal behind the town’s foundation. They pushed further into the lands which their predecessor barely dipped into, and found a place amid the wasteland where their trees could grow.

“The first tree that bloomed there would become the orchard on which I grew up.” Marco said conclusively, then smiled mirthlessly, “It’s funny... the amount of times I’d been fed this same story... I never expected I’d be droning on about it too.”

“That’s such a nice story.” Fluttershy remarked easily, trying to brighten Marco’s tone which was fast becoming sombre, “It sounds like it was a good place to grow up.”

“Actually, it was hell.” Marco countered, nipping the pegasus’ optimism in the bud, “In order for the town to survive the harsh environment, everypony had to pull their weight. That meant every colt and filly had a part to play in keeping the town afloat.

“Since my father ran the town’s apple orchard, I was certainly no exception.” he said, his mind wandering slightly, “If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have had any way to get an education...”

Marco bowed his head unconsciously, his mind drifting away as he left his story unfinished. He was aware that his little audience knew there was more to tell, but the words jammed in his throat as the dark side of his tale, and the grim emotions that came with it became closer and closer to surfacing.

Applejack closed her eyes solemnly, seeing right through Marco’s silence. After what had happened before, she had gained a keen eye with which to see that the stallion was quite uncomfortable. “Well, would you look at that?” she said all too deliberately, making a show of looking out the window, Why, with dinner and all this chatter out of the way, look how late it’s gotten!”

Rainbow Dash knew what her friend was up to, but Fluttershy followed Applejack’s gesture innocently enough. “Oh my, I hadn’t realized...” she stammered, genuinely surprised by how much time had passed, “I guess we got a bit caught up.”

“I know a little filly who should be in bed.” Applejack said none too subtly, spurring protest from her sister, “You’re supposed to be helping Mac out tomorrow remember?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll fix you two a room upstairs.” Fluttershy smiled, ever the perfect hostess, “Do you mind the couch down here Dash?”

“Forget it, I’ll sleep at home.” Rainbow Dash replied dismissively, “It’s not far and it’s better than being crammed up here...”

“Oh, nonsense.” Fluttershy shot back assertively, “It’s late, not to mention cold out. Besides...” she huddled her friend in closer and lowered her voice to a whisper, “I’d feel better if there was somepony down here just in case, well... you know.”

“Do I look like a foalsitter?” Dash pouted, making sure to keep her voice hushed, “If you’re so worried, then why don’t you take the couch?”

Fluttershy just cocked her head, the imploring gaze of her bulbous eyes unwavering. Though she didn’t speak, it was obvious to Rainbow Dash that her friend would not be swayed.

“Urgh... fine.” the cyan pegasus deflated in resignation, “Only for you Fluttershy...”

“How about you grey guy?” Applejack spoke up, bringing back the stallion from his break from reality, “You look like you could still do with a healthy dose of shut-eye.”

“If you haven’t had enough that is.” Dash teased, “Sleeping and eating... sleeping and eating. It’s all you do.”

“That actually sounds a lot like you R.D...” Applejack chuckled, but quickly adopted a commanding tone, “Now quit your yammering. I’m tired myself, and I’d rather not listen to you two bickerin’ all night. Get along.”

Dash pulled a face as her friend made her way upstairs, then zipped quickly over to a couch quite similar in form to the one Marco had claimed on the opposite side of the living room.

“You better not be a snorer.” Dash warned as she laid herself facing away from Marco, “Kitchen’s over there if you’re thirsty or something, so don’t wake me.”

Marco simply took her attitude in stride, quietly laying upon his familiar pseudo-bedding, also deciding to face away from his neighbour. Until now he was simply going with the flow in deciding to join the others in resting, but as his head touched cushion, his eyelids were hard to keep open. As he felt himself begun to drift off, he supposed his body really was committed to resting now that his belly was full.

The room fell silent as the pair of ponies became settled into their respective positions. The lingering pitter-patter upstairs faded soon after as the girls up there also retired. So with the curtain closing on what had been a rather eventful day, Marco’s tired ears perked to hear one last thing before his sense faded away as sleep claimed him.

“Oh, and goodnight...”

* * * *

It was around midnight in Canterlot, and as Captain Caliber stumbled his way back to the palace, the royal guards who normally attended its entrance had been replaced with a few night guards.

As he was allowed in with a brisk nod from the two guards by the main door, it didn’t escape Caliber’s notice that he may have been the only royal guard still on duty, or awake for that matter. Truth be told, he’d normally be among them, but seeking out Ceasler had kept him up later than he was used to. He was eager to rest up for tomorrow, and as a firm believer in sufficient rest, he intended to hit the sack the moment he got back to his quarters.

With that in mind, the tired pegasus floated his way up the great staircase at the far side of the foyer and up the hall. To get to his room, he had to go past the library wing, Celestia’s private study, her royal chamber, the royal washroom, the guest suite, and half a dozen other miscellaneous rooms.

But as he embarked upon the considerable journey to the other side of the hall, he didn’t make it past the princess’ private study. For as he made to pass it, his tired eyes registered the yellowish glow of light highlighting the door frame, indicating to him that the room was lit up despite the darkened hallway.

Now, Caliber knew it wasn’t his business to pry into the private life of his princess, but he was concerned as to why she might’ve been up so late. While her sister was still inactive, albeit tenaciously, it remained her duty to control the rise and fall of the moon and sun. That kind of responsibility invariably demanded a healthy sleep habit, one which Caliber had previously been certain that Celestia maintained.

His better judgement impaired by fatigue and possibly ill-conceived concern, Caliber decided it was best to impose as he knocked on the door. But as he followed through by pushing the door open without first waiting for his invitation, he found himself pushed back as the door became possessed by magic and virtually shut in his face.

“Just a minute please.” Celestia’s voice rung out, muffled as it was behind the closed door, “I’ll be right with you...”

Caliber simply rubbed his nose which had been bumped when he was unexpectedly denied entry. Faithful to his princess’ request, he just stood there awkwardly awaiting her word.

He could hear a light shuffling, like a thousand scattered papers being brought together again. A few whopping thumps advertised thick tomes being slammed shut, and the clunks that followed told of their hasty return to their homes amid the surrounding shelves. When the sounds of activity subsided, the magic on the door faded into nothingness. A few hoofsteps clicked out on the marble floor inside before the door finally creaked open at the flourish of Celestia’s horn.

“Oh, good evening Caliber.” Celestia said in surprise, “Forgive me, I thought you were my sister!”

“Were you expecting her or something?” Caliber asked, still nursing his nose, “And I think it’s closer to morning than it is to evening...”

“I suppose so...” the princess replied, “Did you want to come inside?”

“No, it’s fine.” Caliber said, shooting a glance down the hall, “I was just about to retire.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Celestia remarked, seeing the armoured pegasus yawn tiredly, “Were you simply saying goodnight, or did you need something from me?”

“I don’t need anything per-se...” Caliber replied, “I was just worried that you may have lost track of time with, uh... whatever it was you were doing.”

“Yes, well... truth be told, the time did escape me.” the princess admitted, “But fear not, I am not about to neglect raising the sun because I stayed up researching.”

“Forgive me for interrupting you then.” Caliber bowed, “Mind if I ask what is it that’s got you up so late?”

“Was there anything else I can help you with?” Celestia asked gently, surprising the captain by completely dodging his question, “Or can we both retire for the night?”

“Uh, no. Again, I’m so sorry to have bothered you.” Caliber stammered, not expecting the conversation to shift, “It was silly of me to think you needed anypony babying you on such things. I’ll be off.”

“It’s quite alright. I do enjoy having somepony around who’s not afraid to speak plainly with me.” Celestia smiled warmly, “Goodnight captain. Rest easy.”

“Thanks, and the same to you.” Caliber smiled back, turning to leave, “I’ll be seeing you tomorrow morning for the rising of the sun.”

As he departed, Caliber couldn’t help but reflect on how Celestia’s duties must’ve weighed down upon over all those years without Luna to aid her. And even now, after her return, Celestia still shouldered the burden while the young princess sat in her ivory tower, her hair cropped short and her conscience wallowing in guilt.

As he got closer to his own quarters, Caliber didn’t pay much mind to how Celestia avoided talking about what had kept her up. In his mind, the princess was welcome to keep whatever secrets she desired, and ask of him whatever she wished, simply because she believed in her.

He had been questioned before about what it was that kept him loyal, and it was always the same answer. He trusted the princess. Completely. Come hell or high water, that faith would never waver, and it gave him the edge needed to act without hesitation whenever it became necessary.

But as the captain stumbled through the door and into his rather spartan bedroom, he didn’t have much place for such thoughts. He didn’t even go to the trouble of negotiating out of his amour before collapsing onto his bed. Laying there, he shook of his helmet and let it fall to the ground, his tangled bold blue mane free to spill out onto the pillow.

And so, with his concerns dispelled by the soft bedding cradling his still-armoured figure, the exhausted pegasus delved instantly into the world of dreams.

* * * *

Far away from the royal palace of Canterlot, in Fluttershy’s more humble abode, everypony was sound asleep. Inside the virtually silent cottage, the sound of Rainbow Dash’s snoring was the only think to pierce the serenity.

Regardless, the slumbering faces of those within were the picture of peace, their blissful dreams filled with various pleasantries. But in spite of the calmness of the night, there was one among them who’s mind did not yet know peace. The memories revived once again by having those emotions brought back to the surface, Marco’s mind was quickly dragged back into his hellish nightmares.

The clocks had turned back on his reality, and he was once again back inside that dreaded cellar. It was still a dream, so his waking knowledge eluded him, but this was not the first time this part of the dream haunted him. Also, in some deep down recess of his consciousness, he knew that this was the final instalment of the terror.

Knowing that outside, the sun would not rise and the moon was just hanging in the sky, Marco couldn’t bring himself to count the hours go by. Because no matter how long he waited, a day would never truly pass, the world just trapped in the one never-ending night. All he could do was resign himself to the burning, silent darkness of the cellar, recoiling from the death of West and Arabelle.

The absurd heat was causing him to sweat profusely, and he was rapidly exhausting the fluids in his body. He managed to survive by drinking the near-boiling cider that loaded the shelves that dominated the walls around him, but the taste of his father’s apples was a profound insult to his parched tongue. Regardless, he was still alive in the cellar, the temperature only a few degrees short of being able to roast him alive.

And as he suffered, the destruction outside was concluding. The flames were finally dying down, but every structure that once stood in New Eureka had been reduced to a charred, crumpled mess. Marco wouldn’t know of course; not a sound could pierce the thick stone walls, and light had become but a stranger inside of its confines. The world outside could be fully ablaze and brimming with monsters and he wouldn’t be able to tell. The only thing he could be certain of was that the night still enveloped Equestria.

But there was little room inside his head to consider such things. The constant heat was driving him mad, and the cider he’d been forced himself to drink was numbing his mind. It wasn’t long before he just collapsed, from either heat stroke or intoxication, perhaps even a combination of both.

The darkness and the silence of the cellar left Marco’s senses deprived, and as time went on, he begun to slip mentally into a hell of his own creation. For when anypony’s brain is receiving no visual or aural stimulation, it descends into delusions, trying to fill the gaps with fake sounds and images. This, combined with a mind both maddened by heat and addled by alcohol, Marco’s brain essentially started waging war on itself.

In between the pulsing and vibrant blurs of dizzy colours constructed by his brain, Marco’s mind flashed with images of his treasured memories.

He could see himself toiling the fields, scrambling along in his father’s shadow in a desperate bid to keep up. He could see himself pouring over dozens of books in the centre of Arabelle’s library, and toying with the various herbal and alchemic quirks she would teach him night after night.

A wave of depression struck hard. ‘That’s all they are now. Memories.’ the thought was his own, but to Marco it sounded like something was whispering it into his ear, like an anonymous voice hissing with ill-intent, ‘The life you had is over, and there’s nothing you can do.’

The voice was taunting him, bullying him. Marco being the crybaby he was, simply exploded into... laughter?

He made to walk, crawl, or roll, he couldn’t tell; he couldn’t grasp his own intentions. He was tripping over his own hoofs, falling down over and over without feeling it, all the while giggling with utter lunacy. Marco was literally loosing his sanity.

He continued to act hysterically. His ability to judge his own behaviour had escaped him, and his body had all but surrendered itself to the whims of his unstable mentality. If this continued for much longer, the damage to his mind would be beyond repair.

Two days passed. In the world outside the confines of Marco’s cellar, the sun was shining once more.

Far away from where he lay passed out on the floor of the cellar, a group of brave ponies wielding the ‘Elements of Harmony’ had risen to the challenge and defeated Nightmare Moon, restoring the sun and saving the beloved princess Celestia. With the return of day, the legion of monsters that had been emboldened by Nightmare Moon’s unnatural night became demoralized. As quickly as they had assaulted the unsuspecting town of New Eureka, they were gone again, driven back to their old homes by the new dawn.

And although the nightmare had ended, Marco did not rouse. He continued to lay unconscious in his dark little world, oblivious to the fact that his life had been saved by the efforts of ponies he had never met.

Then came the crash. For a pony that had known nothing but absolute silence for two whole days, the immense sound of the cellar roof collapsing in upon itself was positively deafening. The shock of it caused Marco’s heart to skip a beat...

Marco tried to collect himself. He couldn’t tell what was more remarkable, the fact that the fright didn’t stop his heart, or that the falling rubble didn’t crush him. He slammed his eyes shut, for they couldn’t handle the sudden light any better than his heart could handle the sudden noise.

Marco’s mind was blurry... he didn’t have what it took to process the new stimulus despite the reflex to close his eyes. His attention went straight to his head. It throbbed intensely and his memory was the definition of fuzzy.

Marco’s senses finished rebooting and he registered the warmth of the sun bearing down on his face. But with his eyes shut, he just dismissed it as the heat of the fire outside radiating through the cellar. But then he felt the distinct chill of the stone floor beneath his head and the surprise caused his eyes to open wide and get assaulted by the light of day.

Marco reeled, more recovering from the idea of light than the pain of his unadjusted eyes. It took him a full minute to pry his eyelids open and take in the scene around him.

Aside from the solid stone remains of the cellar roof, the first thing Marco noticed was that the floor was absolutely littered with broken pieces of jagged glass. He ventured a look over to the walls of the cellar that hadn’t caved in with the roof coming down. The racks that usually held the cider were nearly bare. There were hardly any bottles left, and even less remained intact.

Marco abandoned this observation, more concerned with the glass on the floor. He could see a formation of fallen rubble he could negotiate up to get out of the cellar, but avoiding the glass would be a problem. His mind was still groggy, seemingly recovering from some stress he couldn’t quite remember.

Even still, he was mentally plotting a course through the jagged mess. His vision connected with the glass at his feet, and he saw that the pale stone floor around his feet was a distinctly darker shade than the rest of it. It glistened slightly, obviously wet with some substance. Marco couldn’t make out the colour properly against the already dark floor, but it looked relatively clear with blotches of red.

His assessment of the liquid was interrupted when a droplet of blood fell from his underside and plopped into the sheen below. His eyes instinctively followed its trajectory, but he stopped short when his vision was inadvertently drawn to his hoofs. All four of them bore shallow cuts, with the odd one extending up his legs and towards his body. Despite how it may have looked, the cuts were not too serious. Only a few were actually bleeding.

The mixture below Macro’s feet stunk terribly, and he quickly realized that not much of it was blood. It reeked of perspiration... it had to be sweat. He had no delusions that it wasn’t his sweat and his blood, but he couldn’t figure out why he would have sweat so much, or why the floor was covered in shattered cider bottles, or how he had cut himself-

His head suddenly started to throb, warning him that he was thinking too much. Putting aside his thoughts, Marco took his first steps through the glass. He avoided stepping on any of the jagged pieces, but he still felt pain in his legs when he moved. He had no energy and every part of his body ached as he negotiated through the maze of broken bottles.

Marco pulled himself painfully up the collapsed roof, nearing his escape from the cellar. ‘Why can’t I remember?’ he thought, ‘What happened to me in there?’

Marco’s train of thought was cut short as he emerged from the cellar and set hoof on solid ground. The scene was absolutely spectacular.

The once bright and bold apple trees had been transformed into slender, black and bare wood. Not a single tree in the massive orchard was spared; it had been reduced to nothing but a charcoal skeleton of its former self.

Every structure that once stood in defiance of the surrounding arid landscape had been reduced to lumps of rubble, either crushed flat from the outside or collapsed of their own accord from fire damage. And covering the whole scene was a thin layer of settled ash, the tiny particles still falling like snow and cloaking the entire dead town in a ghostly blanket. There would be no way that anypony could ever imagine that this place was teeming with life a mere two days ago.

With only this first look at what was once his home, Marco was overwhelmed with a profound sense of clarity. Everything that he couldn’t remember, all those fuzzy memories that were beyond his reach only moments ago came rushing back within a single, blinding instant. West, Arabelle, the sun, the moon, the darkness, the fire... they all rushed back to him in a hot flash of regained memories. Marco didn’t know what to do with himself. He just stood there, taking in the scene. Feeling the scene.

‘The night I feared would last forever.’ he thought to himself, ‘It may have barely lasted a day, but it doesn’t matter. Everything’s already gone.’

His own thoughts just reverberated inside his head. The silence was profound, it really typified that the whole ordeal was well and truly over.

Marco just remained in shock, coming to terms with his position. ‘Everypony’s dead.’ his mind buzzed with memories for the final time, ‘Everypony but me.’

He didn’t feel sad any more. He was done with crying, his spirit burning only with anger. He could feel the weight of the souls of everyone taken by the destruction bearing down on his shoulders. His eyes panned purposefully over what had become of the town, scanning the remains as if they were looking for some kind of sign...

‘Who would know what happened here?’ he thought, ‘Who would know we got taken in the night by monsters driven mad by the idea of ‘eternal’ darkness?’

Everypony Marco ever knew had been buried beneath the ashes. His was the only voice left, and it had fallen to him to keep the idea of retribution from extinction. He was all that had emerged from the ashes. His eyes looked up all on their own, letting him notice the hat on his head for the very first time. His father’s word echoed inside his head. ‘Become somepony that others can depend upon...”

‘If whatever happened here was overlooked...’ Marco mused, ‘I can’t imagine a greater injustice.’

Marco looked up to the sky furiously, as if that dreaded moon was still trapped in place. He couldn’t contain the rage that built within him. “You!” he screamed out into the silence, “You who unleashed this evil on us! You who loosed your darkness upon the world! I swear, upon the grave of everypony here... I swear, upon this hat, you shall be called to account! I shall make you understand the consequences of your will!

“For the crime of your negligence, and for your dark acclaim...” his voice died down somewhat, “This... is my responsibility. It was for this that I survived. No matter what it takes, no matter who gets in my way, even if it makes me the executioner, you will answer for these sins!

“Luna!”

Despite the immense volume at which Marco announced his resolution, it would be heard by nopony. The echo of his cries just faded away into nothingness.

And so, with nothing more to say, and a cause to push his aching body forwards, he took the first painful step towards Canterlot, and the first step towards his confrontation with the corrupted princess who had taken from him everything he had ever held dear.

* * * *

Marco’s eyes opened to meet the silent darkness of Fluttershy’s living room. He couldn’t guess as to how late it had gotten, but it was clear to him that it was still night out. The cold wind battered at the gently set window panes of the cottage, and the moon was on its return journey to the horizon, leaving Marco to think that it was probably between two and four in the morning.

His assessment was momentarily halted, his attention seized by Rainbow Dash as she suddenly grunted from across the room. But in seeing the steady rise and fall of her chest, Marco quickly realized that she was well and truly a sleeping pegasus.

With his nightmare having run its full course, Marco had woken for the first time since his arrival of his own accord. His freshly awakened eyes were void of any sleepiness, and the couch beneath him was no longer comfortable now that his rested body yearned to be off of it.

Looking about himself, the conclusion of his predicament became crystal clear. “I shouldn’t be here...” he said to nopony, his only possible spectator being sound asleep, “I swore to avoid these diversions.”

His grim determination fuelled by his passing nightmare, Marco could now see these welcoming ponies for what they were, an obstruction. True, they had provided for him when he needed it, and in doing so helped him on his path, but he was now here needlessly. In being committed to his mission, he saw his comfort and gratitude as obstacles. He had to be rid of them. He had to be rid of this place.

Marco looked over to the main door beyond the sleeping figure of Rainbow Dash, set on using it to escape out into the night. He was conscious of the fact that leaving in such a manner would most likely hurt them, but there was more at stake than offending four good-intentioned girls.

He had always wanted to avoid complications, yet bonding with these ponies had left him entangled. Putting his own feelings aside, Marco decided that cutting the ties that threatened to bind him here would never be as easy as walking through that door right now.

With this final thought, the grey-coated stallion glided quietly across the living room, stealthily making his way to the door. He couldn’t stop the thing from creaking, but nopony roused as the groaning wood sung out.

Taking his first steps out into the night, the full moon was awaiting him as if to taunt him. Ignoring it, Marco pointed himself towards the town of Ponyville that lay ahead, a single light among the darkened town serving as his beacon. Ready to put the memories of the cottage behind, Marco contemplated whispering a thank you or an apology to its sleeping occupants, but there would be little point.

And with that, Marco galloped off upon the road to Ponyville, not even looking back to what he left behind. He couldn’t afford to regret it, but he was thankful. Because of them, the gap between the ruins of his home and the one responsible had become one more encounter closer to being bridged.

With little else to guide him other than the desire to resume his journey, Marco charged towards the light in much the same way as a moth would to the flame. Though he knew it had to be a building of some sort, he wasn’t sure why he was compelled toward it. Certainly, the best path from here to Canterlot was through the town proper, and the fact that there was a structure still lit up made it a viable checkpoint on the way through the otherwise uninterrupted darkness.

Marco shook off the idea that he was trying to convince himself to travel there through some fear of the dark. What was an illuminated building was but a single blur of light in an otherwise shadowed-out town, and him being drawn to it was simply a matter of course on a journey that lacked direction. But still, he couldn’t deny this feeling that there was some force that was guiding him there. Perhaps the same kind of force that had him happen upon Fluttershy’s cottage.

Once again, Marco shook off the foolish notion. Giving fate no contest, he continued to close in upon the edge of Ponyville and consequently, the library smack bang in the centre, its illuminated windows glowing like a torch of destiny through the night.

Without any reason to think that tonight was unlike any other uneventful night in her hometown, Twilight Sparkle poured over her choice book of the evening with determined, but tired eyes.

It was later than she usually stayed up, but the particular magic book she was so engrossed in had proved more challenging than initially thought. Her baby dragon spike had long since fallen asleep, Twilight’s tendency to stay up until obscene hours not new to him by any stretch. Even the ever-attentive Owlicious, a nocturnal critter by nature, could not outlast the unicorn on a mission. The feathered owl’s beady eyes occasionally closed as he fell asleep, but was repetitively reawakened each time his master made even the most subtle noise.

Her pet’s struggle went unnoticed by Twilight. The magical world of learning that had taken a hold of her mind refused to release her until she had conquered the mysteries of the book before her.

Meanwhile, the mystery of the lit-up building was close to revelation. Still galloping toward it, Marco rounded the final corner, the idea that this curious glowing building was somehow worth checking out proving to be a persistent motive.

As his hooves slowed to a halt out the front of his destination, he realized why. “No way.” Marco breathed with wide eyes, not believing what he was seeing, “This can’t be...”

For reasons beyond explanation, the library before him was a familiar sight. No, it was more than that. The hollowed out tree, the shape of the windows, the very colour of the wood and shrub... it was like he was looking at a memory plucked from his mind and made real. The memory of Arabelle’s library.

He didn’t doubt that this place was also a library. Every feature was a mirror image of the one he had known; for it to be anything else would be ludicrous.

He still couldn’t figure out why, or even how the two houses could be so identical. But it soon occurred to him that this wasn’t the first time he had questioned the nature of such a building...

What was it Arabelle had told him when he asked her about her library? Her’s truly was a unique house among the village, much like the one here was, but she had explained why once upon a time.

He thought back, focusing until the memory became clear. ‘Ah, this?’ the memory of Arabelle’s voice played back within his mind, ‘No my dear, I didn’t build it. Nopony did, or could build such a thing. It was an enchanted seed, that bloomed into what you see before you in the blink of an eye! It was a parting gift from my teacher, the princess, given to me when she sent me along with your father to start this town.’

And just like that, the critical connection fell into place. “It can’t be a coincidence...” Marco said to himself, moving carefully towards the library door, “Is it possible that Celestia sent a student to this town as well?”

If there was any truth to it, then running into this place was an incredible opportunity. Everything he currently knew about the two princesses, be it their history, their powers, their responsibilities... it was all taught to him when he was young. And it was this library’s apparent twin that had provided the resources. Truly, stumbling upon this library was an opportunity too good to pass up.

He snuck his way up to the door and gave it a try. He remained unsurprised to find that it was unlocked. From his time here, he had come to expect such a thing from the innocent town. Without so much as a moment’s pause, Marco pushed it open and moved through silently. He was instantly taken aback by the absolutely loaded bookshelves.

Nostalgia washed over him. It looked so much like Arabelle’s collection. ‘This is perfect.’ he thought, nostalgia washing over him, ‘I can get a ton of info out of this place.’

He forced his excitement to subside as he reminded himself he was in somepony else’s house. Marco didn’t like the idea of trespassing, but this was an important chance to gather information. He wouldn’t let it slip by him...

He crept up a nearby staircase, wary of drawing the attention of whoever lived here. If this was the only place in Ponyville with its lights still on, then the owner must certainly still be awake. And if she really was a student of Celestia, that would make her a unicorn. Marco didn’t want to think about what might happen if such a pony busted him and happened to the unforgiving sort.

He continued stealthily up the stairs, but stopped short of the top. His eyes narrowed as he identified the figure of a unicorn reading a thick tome. For her part, the light-purple pony just sat there motionless, her head deep within the book she was reading. Perhaps too deep...

A quiet, telltale snore broke through the silence. The unicorn had fallen asleep, seemingly while reading. Her head had just ungracefully planted itself on the pages of the still-open book as if it were a pillow.

Marco didn’t stop to look at the funny scene; he was satisfied just to know that the unicorn was incapacitated. He returned to the centre of the massive assortment of books and looked about seriously. While anypony else may have been daunted by the huge amount of notes, tomes, letters and scrolls, Marco conducted himself confidently, navigating the towering shelves with expertise. As long as it was organized, he would have no trouble finding what he wanted in even the largest library in Equestria.

Marco wobbled as he climbed up the racks. ‘These clearly weren’t built with the limitations of earth ponies in mind.’ he thought to himself, ‘Then again, neither were Arabelle’s...’

Marco returned to the ground and laid the collection of books he removed on a spare table. He flicked the first one open. The title read: The Mare in the Moon.

Bingo. He turned to about the centre of the book, his eyes scanning the pages. The text told the story of the two regal sisters who controlled the cycle of the sun and moon, detailing how the youngest imposed her darkness upon Equestria one thousand years ago.

Marco focused upon the part where the eldest used some kind of magic called the ‘Elements of Harmony’ to permanently seal her younger sister into the moon. Of course, he had read this story before. In fact, it would be a hard task to find anypony who was unfamiliar with the old mare’s tale. But this copy was different to the one he had read in Arabelle’s library. This one was annotated, referencing another book. Marco discarded the tome in front of him, aware that he was on to something...

Marco quickly found the corresponding text among the ones he had collected. The title read: Predictions and Prophecies. He quickly flipped through the pages, looking for any references to Nightmare Moon or ‘The Mare in the Moon’...

“The Mare in the Moon...” he read to himself quietly, “Myth from olden pony times. A powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria. Defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned in the moon. Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape and she will bring about night-time eternal.”

This information was unsettling to Marco. “All this had been foretold?” he murmured in confusion, “Hrm, there it is again. Elements of Harmony. It’s come up twice in two different books relating to Nightmare Moon.”

He returned to scouring the shelves, and found only one relevant thing filed under ‘E’. It wasn’t a great find, just a little book titled: ‘Elements of Harmony, A Reference Guide’.

He could see that its pages had notes stuffed between them; it had been used frequently. Not wanting to waste any time, he opened it up to the first page. “There are six elements of harmony but only five are known.” he read aloud, “Kindness, laughter, generosity, honesty and loyalty, the sixth is a complete mystery-”

He stopped short. Just below the section that said the sixth element was unidentified was a note. It simply said ‘Magic’. It seemed that the owner of this book had figured out the ‘mystery’. Marco didn’t understand any of it, but his confusion was put on hold as he discovered a roll of parchment in-between the next two pages.

He pulled it out and unfurled it. On it was a photograph of a group of ponies and above each of them was a corresponding term. At first he thought it was their names, but that was wrong. A different element of harmony had been assigned to each figure in the picture.

‘The elements of harmony were ponies?’ Marco thought in shock, ‘Then that would mean...’

His eyes widened as he made the important connection. If the elements of harmony were what put an end to Nightmare Moon’s eternal night, and the elements weren’t objects, but actual ponies, then this picture showed him those who were responsible for saving his life. Naturally Marco had to look at the photo.

Bypassing the text above their heads, he stared intently at the faces of his saviours. But as he did so, the stallion found his heart stop, its function erased by shock. He recognized half of the figures as ponies he actually knew. Marco was in no way prepared to see the faces of Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash staring back at him...

‘It can’t be!’ his mind screamed, ‘There’s just no way-’

He never got around to finishing his thought. For in the next moment, the tiny owl that had snuck up on Marco let loose a deafening hoot, shocking his heart back to life. He collapsed backwards, toppling his little pile of books, unable to handle the two tremendous surprises.

The dumbstruck stallion looked up at the creepy owl that had sent him falling. Its feathered body was absolutely motionless, and its massive unblinking eyes were frozen in place, seemingly staring into his very soul...

“Owlicious?” a tired voice called out from upstairs, “What are you doing down there?”

Marco blanched. The unicorn from before had been woken up by the racket. He had to escape the house before she saw him. He bolted for the door...

Veiled in a luminous aura, the door slammed shut well before he could reach it. ‘Oh no.’ Marco’s mind raced, ‘Not good... Not good!’

He turned around slowly, his hoof in the proverbial cookie jar. The only way out was blocked by powerful magic, and he most definitely lacked the means to overpower it. The guilty stallion gulped as he prepared to face the furious gaze of the angry unicorn. For her part, Twilight just stood there, her deep purple eyes taking in the sight of an intruder.

Marco couldn’t help but look her over. She was light purple in coat and had a deep purple mane with pink and purple streaks.

Marco’s poor heart skipped yet another beat. He recognized this pony as well, having just seen a picture of her smiling away next to Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The unicorn staring down at him, was the pony that embodied the element of magic. The elusive element that the reader, apparently her, had awakened.

For her part, Twilight was infuriated by Marco’s inaction. To her, it just looked the pony was just standing there perplexed when he should be explaining himself. “Who are you?!” she demanded, snapping Marco back into the moment, “And what are you doing in my house?!”

“Who!” Owlicious echoed, hooting out his own demand...

Marco shifted his gaze between the pile of books he’d toppled, the observant Owlicious, the angry Twilight, and his own guilty self. It was at that moment, that the severity of his predicament truly set in.

“This...” he muttered with a sigh, “Isn’t going to be easy.”

Chapter 2: Quarrel in the Moonlight

From the Ashes

Chapter 2: Quarrel in the Moonlight

Marco squirmed as he resisted Twilight’s levitation spell.

The interrogation had been long-winded, but he had been compliant considering he now identified her as one of the ‘Elements of Harmony’, which made her part of the team responsible for thwarting Nightmare Moon.

“Let me get this straight...” she began, recapping on the discussion thus far, “You call yourself Marco, but your name is actually Lawmark. You came in through Everfree Forest, but you’re actually from a town called New Eureka...

“A town you say was destroyed by rampaging monsters...” she continued, counting off all the inconsistencies, “But it was actually Princess Luna.

Twilight sighed softly, almost smiling at the ludicrousness of it. “Stop me if I’m missing something won’t you?” she asked, eyeing the stallion suspiciously.

The unicorn’s sarcastic tone struck a nerve within Marco, but despite being held magically in mid air, he maintained his composure. “Look... I know I’m in the wrong here, but these are sensitive issues for me.” he pointed out, “I’d appreciate a little respect.”

Surprised by this, Twilight made to defend herself but quickly re-thought the idea. Even if he was lying, Twilight’s attitude was inappropriate. “I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean it like that...” she apologised, easing up somewhat, “But let’s not forget I was woken up in the dead of night by some stallion sneaking into my house. You have a lot of explaining to do.”

As the words left her lips, the magic holding Marco in place suddenly dissipated, leaving him to land solidly on the wooden floor. He felt better just by having his hoofs back on solid ground, but it didn’t escape his notice that Twilight was still magically keeping the door shut tight.

“You don’t have to apologise.” Marco replied, ignoring it and smiling lightly for the concerned unicorn before him, “After all, I can hardly hold a grudge against somepony who saved my life.”

“Yes, well...” Twilight suddenly paused, not understanding, “Wait, what?”

It was then that Marco went on to tell her about his recent revelation concerning the Elements of Harmony and the role they played in stopping Nightmare Moon, and how he’d made such a discovery just before she had caught him in the act.

“I was so shocked to see that the elements of harmony were real ponies, even more so when I realized I actually knew some of them.” Marco said genuinely, “And then you found me down here, and I instantly recognized you from the photo.

“Twilight Sparkle, the element of Magic...” he continued, his voice somewhat distant, “You played a key role in defeating Nightmare Moon and bringing back the sun, which in turn saved me from the darkness. I owe my life to you and your friends.”

Twilight tried to shake off the idea that she had inadvertently saved somepony’s life. “Wait...” she help up a hoof as if to prevent Marco from continuing, “Are you telling me you snuck in here during the night trying to get information on Nightmare Moon and the Elements of Harmony?”

“Yes.” Marco replied evenly, already knowing what was to come.

“Why?” Twilight shot back, “For what purpose did you come all the way to Ponyville? What’s your aim?”

Marco’s eyes narrowed. He’d been preparing himself for this moment ever since Twilight started firing away with all those questions. If he did this right, things might finally start going his way...

“I came seeking an audience with Princess Celestia.” he lied, “As I am all that is left to speak for the tragedy that befell my hometown, it’s my duty to make sure the same story I have told you gets the reception it deserves.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the mention of her teacher’s name. Even still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that this guy was suspicious. She was perceptive enough to know he was leaving something out of his story.

“I’m going to be honest with you Marco.” Twilight said formally, “I think you’re holding back on me.”

Marco hid his interest in Twilight’s powers of deduction. She was clearly more level-headed than he thought.

“I’m also going to tell you something I don’t have to.” she continued, taking back Marco’s attention, “I know the princess rather well and can arrange for a missive to be sent.”

Marco was more than surprised. If such a thing was true, meeting this unicorn was an even greater opportunity than he had realized. “However...” Twilight added seriously, “I can’t say that I trust you to act independently, so I must compromise. I will write and send the request on your behalf.”

“Twilight please, you have to understand...” Marco begun, “The things I need to tell her are not for somepony like you to know. It’s painful enough just discussing this much with you. What I have to tell the princess... I just couldn’t-”

He couldn’t allow Twilight to see what he intended to write. He cut himself off in an attempt to create dramatic effect. It worked.

While Twilight’s instinct was to deny her exclusion from the letter, she found herself feeling somewhat for the poor pony. ‘I guess it makes sense...’ she thought, ‘Whatever he’s refusing to tell me, he would have to tell Celestia. It’s understandable that he doesn’t want me to scribe.’

Twilight looked up to assess Marco. The stallion wasn’t making eye contact and was looking down timidly. Without a word, Twilight dispelled her magic on the door and hovered a piece of parchment and quill down towards Marco.

She reluctantly turned away, heading for some upstairs bedroom. “Be as sincere as you possibly can.” Twilight ordered, “Don’t make me regret my leniency.”

“I am indebted to you once again.” Marco said softly, “Thank you.”

He may have sounded grateful, but inside his head, diabolical gears were turning. This was his chance.

Upstairs, Twilight had arrived at her destination. “Spike...” she whispered, nudging the baby dragon from his sleep, “Wake up; I need you for a minute.”

By the time Twilight managed to get Spike awake and focused, Marco had finished his writing. She returned to his side just as he sealed the letter, prepared to have it sent off. She made to ask him how it went, but his face said it all. His eyes were watery and his posture carried the distinct kind of stillness that embodied the fact he had just done something very difficult.

And while Marco’s appearance was convenient and it suited his strategy, this time it was genuine. Twilight just approached reassuringly and gently took the letter from him.

“Spike.” she said passing the letter to the groggy dragon that had followed her from upstairs, “If you please...”

Without concern for who this grey pony was and why he had been woken up so late, Spike just incinerated the letter without delay, enveloping it in green flame so as to teleport it to its destination.

Seeing the green and grey smoke float away, Marco had trouble disguising his increasing seriousness with his solemn expression. The letter that had just been sent to the princess was not hiss account of the atrocities at New Eureka.

Indeed, it was not even his name signed at the bottom. It had been replaced with the that of somepony else...

*

In the quiet confines of her private study, Princess Celestia continued to dwell on the research that had kept her awake beyond the coming of night. And with everypony else who occupied the palace having retired some time ago, the only pony left who could convince her to abandon her secretive work was herself.

With a long drawn out sigh, the tired princess closed the tome in front of her with the pulse of her magical horn and hovered it out of reach. She could deny her tiredness no longer, and she knew full well that the fast approaching morning could not come without her consent. Even still, many thoughts were weighty on her troubled mind. She had yet to determine a way to appeal to her tormented sister, and her research had yielded more questions than answers. And while she didn’t like to admit it, her efforts had raised further concerns instead of granting her the relief she so dearly desired.

Celestia shook her head. This was enough for one night. She rose from her position and made towards the door, letting her tired eyes close for the briefest of moments...

No sooner than she did however, she heard the crackle of fire from somewhere behind her, and she turned just in time to see a tightly sealed scroll flame into existence and drop harmlessly to the floor. Wondering who in their right mind would think to send her a letter so late in the night, the princess did not delay before she wrapped the parchment up in her magic and floated it up to her eyes.
Curiosity commanded her to break the seal and discover who would have cause to contact her like this. All but ignoring the contents, she allowed her eyes to drift to the bottom so that she could determine the author. In seeing the name written at the bottom, Celestia’s eyes flickered with some kind of unidentifiable emotion. Letting it subside, she proceeded to read the letter in its entirety.

Dear Princess Celestia

I apologize for the plainness of this missive, but the matter is urgent. New Eureka is facing disaster at the hands of the rampaging beasts beyond our borders. I have little time to elaborate, but I fear the worst may happen if you and your guard cannot lend us your assistance. I pray that this letter reaches you swiftly, and that you receive it before it is too late.

Your faithful student, Arabelle.

The letter was a flawless forgery; Marco had perfectly adapted the style in which Arabelle wrote. The princess would have no way to tell that it was a fake...

Her eyes intense, Celestia discarded the letter and let her horn glow a brilliant yellow. A few seconds later, a droning alarm could be heard crying out from the far side of the hall outside. As quickly as it had come, the sharp sound subsided, but before silence could return, the hall was filled with the sound of brisk hoof-steps as a band of royal guards galloped their way to Celestia’s chamber.

Leading the hurried bunch was none other than Captain Caliber, fully armoured and alert, his reaction to being so suddenly woken up brought on by countess drills. “Celestia?” he questioned, putting a cautious hoof forward into her study, the half-dozen guards behind him following suit, “What’s the emergency?”

“Guards!” she boomed, her voice embodying authority, “We have urgent business to attend to! My student is in danger!”

*

Back at the library, Marco was continuing his explanation to Twilight of the experience he had with her friends.

“Wait...” Twilight interrupted, “How did you end up going from passed out in front of the Everfree Forest, to across town at the hospital, then all the way to Fluttershy’s cottage?”

“Well, we walked back from the hospital... but I honestly never asked how they found me, or how they managed to get me over to the doctor.” Marco replied frowning, “I’m afraid I didn’t get much of chance to ask questions, but I did get the impression it was Rainbow Dash doing most of the leg work. I know Fluttershy lent a hoof, but I’m pretty sure Applejack just got caught up in passing...”

Even though Marco talked normally, his mind was racing in an attempt to develop a method by which he could get out of Twilight’s house without causing suspicion. ‘My best bet is to keep talking about my relationship with her friends...’ he thought, ‘I could get her to trust me more if I get her to believe that her friends also trust me.’

He felt compelled to lie and say that they not only let him leave Fluttershy’s cottage, but also told him to come here. The fact that the two places were connected was exceptional, if Twilight turned around and said that it was chance or dumb luck that he went from one to the other it would be hard to back it up with logic, even though it was true.

Marco recalled how Twilight saw through his deception earlier. ‘No, that won’t work...’ he thought, ‘This one’s too clever.’

He was right. Twilight might be able to accept that her friends trusted Marco enough to send him here, but she would never accept that her friends would expect her to trust somepony she didn’t know, especially if he came alone. One of the girls would have to accompany Marco to vouch for him.

“Well I can’t imagine anypony other that Dash carrying a big stallion like you all the way to the other side of Ponyville...” Twilight said casually, taking Marco away from his thoughts, “Least of all Fluttershy...”

“About her...” Marco said, picking up on Twilight’s relaxed tone, “Is she a doctor or something?”

“She’s not qualified if that’s what you mean.” Twilight responded, “Still, she’s quite knowledgeable and if anything goes wrong she’s usually the first pony we see.”

“She must really know her stuff then...” Marco replied, “I was on my last legs when they found me, yet it seems as thought I’ve recovered rather quickly.”

“She knows a lot yes...” Twilight said, looking at the stallion seriously, “But I would say your health has more to do with her devotion than anything else.”

“Devotion?” Marco questioned, “What do you mean?”

“Her kindness.” Twilight begun, “The element you now know her to possess. If you’re feeling better, it’s because she wanted you to feel better. If you were under her care then you would have figured that out even before coming here and discovering her element.”

Marco looked down and nodded slowly. “Yes, you’re right; I couldn’t help but notice her selflessness. They were all so selfless.” Marco took a deep breath, “Which makes what I’m about to tell you hard to say...”

Twilight moved in closer; she could tell this was important. “They might have had faith in me, but I refused to tell them what happened to me or why I came to Ponyville.” Marco’s voice was low, “I... I didn’t trust them. I waited for them to fall asleep and I ran away.

“But it’s different now!” he exclaimed, his eyes imploring, “Coming here led me to find out just how connected to all of this they are. I don’t want to lie to them anymore, and now I don’t have to! They saved my life in defeating Nightmare Moon, and they saved it again by taking me in! Like you, they all deserve to know.”

Marco gulped, and decided to make his move. “I’m sorry Twilight, but I have to go.” he said suddenly, “I can’t afford for them to wake up and realize I am gone. It would be impossible to explain...

“I won’t let that happen.” he said determinedly, “I won’t loose their trust like this.”

Marco didn’t look at Twilight for her response, but addressed her for what would be the final time. “Don’t worry.” he said, reading her thoughts as he gestured to the tired figure of Spike behind her, “In my letter to the princess I mentioned that the dragon over there sent the letter for me.”

He began to move towards the door. “Her reply will come through you, and I’ll be sure to return before it arrives.” he continued, “Until next time. Thank you for all you’ve done for me...”

He knew how much Arabelle meant to Princess Celestia, which made him certain that she would have already departed to the remains of his hometown. But more importantly, the main body of the Equestria royal guard would have gone with her.

Twilight watched Marco leave, her hoof placed thoughtfully upon her muzzle. There was something that he had just said didn’t sit right with her. And as the door closed behind him, she suddenly figured out what it was. So she ran after him.

His mention of Spike didn’t make any sense. He had written and sealed the letter before Twilight revealed the means by which she used to communicate with Celestia, which meant he had no way of knowing how his letter would be sent. He had lied about telling the princess where the letter came from and doing so, shattered whatever faith Twilight had in the truth of whatever else he had said.

She bolted through her front door, accusations at the ready. But when she saw what was waiting outside, everything she was about to say was absolutely erased from her mind...

Outside, Marco was tensed up aggressively, surrounded by half a dozen royal guards. But Twilight’s eyes were immediately drawn to the sight of Princess Celestia, looking down on him condemningly.

Twilight reeled, absolutely flabbergasted. Marco had also been silenced by the princess’ appearance, but eyes his were narrowed with burning intensity.

“How?” he scowled, his teeth grinding in dark frustration.

Celestia’s expression was impassive. Slowly, her eyes wandered from the enraged pony before her over to her utterly shocked student. “It truly was a remarkable forgery.” she said flatly, her words as impassive as her face, “However, I am more impressed that you managed to send it. I could not think of a more likely place for you to find someone able to contact me so directly.”

Twilight was worried. Her teacher’s tone was unfamiliar. She did not recognize it, and she most definitely did not like it.

As her student remained silent, Celestia looked back to Marco, her tone tinged with the tiniest sliver of aggression. “Shall I assume you tricked her?” she asked, her prejudice clear.

Twilight had no idea what was going on. Questions clouded her mind but she was too afraid voice her concern; the words were choked out of her by the grim atmosphere.

“Leave her out of this...” Marco growled, “How did you know it was a fake?”

Celestia closed her eyes absently and sighed deeply, more focused on her thoughts than the words of the grey coated stallion. “It is how you imagined it.” she finally said, “Your letter was perfect. You must have known her well to be able to recreate her style so flawlessly... but I knew it was a forgery the instant I saw her name.”

Marco didn’t understand, but he refused to let his confusion show. His face remained the visage of anger. He watched as one of the guards opposite Celestia, apparently the leader, approached her and passed her a scroll.

“Because...” she continued, levitating the scroll disarmingly over to Marco, “I had already received her final message.”

Marco’s intensity wavered as he looked down at the letter and back up to the passive look of Princess Celestia. Abandoning his pride, he lunged for the letter. Reading this meant far more to him than any notion of maintaining his cool in front of the princess and her guards. With trembling hoofs, Marco unfurled the missive and became consumed by its text...

Dear Princess Celestia

I know that this letter will not reach you for some time, given the current state of affairs. If perchance the destined six return the sun, then I wish for you to accept this letter as our final correspondence. I know that you value me as your treasured student, but I am afraid I must disappoint you. I fear that I cannot allow myself to flee from the ensuing chaos. I also know that you didn’t simply send me here to maintain communication with the settlement. I am sure you know that once upon a time, I despised the earth ponies and their culture and I hated you for your decision to put me amongst them. I realize now that you were trying to change my attitude, and all it took was one foal full of eagerness and the will for learning to make me come to love them. It is my duty to them I cannot shirk. Marco is like a son to me, teacher. I know it is selfish, but I could never live a life without regret if I abandoned him now.

I have to have faith that he is still alive. I have to have faith that the sun is not yet extinguished. I have to have faith I can still protect what needs protecting.

Your faithful student...

Arabelle.

Celestia could tell Marco had finished reading. Everypony could. His eyes leaked painful tears; it was obvious he was done...

When the princess finally spoke, her tone was distant. “The moment Twilight and her friends thwarted my corrupt sister and I found that letter, I sped to the remains of New Eureka. I saw the rubble and the ashes.” she said, her voice weighted by sorrow and regret, “Even I could not stand idle as my guard upturned every demolished structure and every blackened home. We all sifted through the ashes in our search... but we found nothing. It was all gone.”

The princess pulled herself away from the memories of the destruction, resuming her stare at the stallion before her. “Marco. I don’t know how you survived, but you did. You pulled your dying body from the ashes and made it all the way here.” her tone became serious once more, “And now, I stand before you. I will not allow you to continue down this path young one.”

Marco said nothing. He just matched Celestia’s stare with his watery eyes, caught between sorrow and anger...

“Yours is a tragic fate Marco, but I cannot let you pursue Luna.” her voice became more gentle and caring again, “Can you not find it within yourself to forgive? The Arabelle I knew did not save you so that she could be avenged, and the West she told me of would not-”

“Don’t you dare say their names!” Marco yelled, the tears in his eyes glazed over and totally enveloped by rage, “What happened to them is bigger than you, me, and your sister! I will not let their deaths go ignored! I will not allow such an injustice to thrive!”

The royal guards tensed at Marco’s sudden outburst, but Celestia didn’t break composure. “Marco...” she begun, her voice carrying with it a grim seriousness, “I hoped it would not come to this, but I stand between you and my sister. I will not stand idly by if you will not cease your attempts at revenge.

“If you make Luna your enemy...” her words cut through the night air, “Then you make an enemy out of me.”

Everything suddenly fell quiet. The tension was unbearable.

“Let me say this only once. For I will not repeat myself, nor will I change my mind.” Marco said evenly, unfazed by Celestia’s overpowering statement, “Someone must be held accountable, and the blame lies solely on your sister’s head.”

Marco’s eyes became deadly. Looking on in fear, the fury in his words terrified Twilight to the core. “I do as I must princess.” Marco said, taking a defiant step forwards, “If you will not do the same, then get out of my damn way!”

Celestia just looked down at the brave, foolish pony. Neither of them would back down, and the grim choice was hers to make. “The dead do not suffer young one, nor are they capable of holding a grudge on the living.” Celestia tried to reason with the stallion for what would be the final time, “Can you not see that you are the only one haunted by this hatred?”

Marco did not reply. He didn’t need to. True to his claim, he refused to repeat himself, maintaining his threatening posture and sinister stare.

Celestia closed her eyes with regret, and let her long horn pulsed for a single terrifying instant. “Then I have no choice. I will make you understand...” her voice carried as the light from her horn enveloped the area, “Whether or not you can make peace with what lies ahead remains to be seen, but regardless... this tragic tale ends with you.”

Marco just dropped where he stood, gone before he even hit the ground. Without a word to the terrified Twilight, Celestia just left Marco where he lay. She wanted to be rid of the scene, so she ushered her escorts over to the carriage. But before they could make to leave, Twilight finally worked up the nerve to pursue.

“What have you done to him?” the unicorn managed, shocked beyond belief at her teacher’s actions, “Is... is he? Did you-”

“I did my duty as the princess.” Celestia said without looking at her student, “For the sake of us all I could not allow his pursuit of revenge to continue. Unfortunately even I was unable to dissuade him...”

Twilight’s eyes boggled. She didn’t want to believe what she had just seen. Or rather, it was easier to believe that she was mistaken than to accept that the princess could do such a thing...

Celestia could read her troubled student’s thoughts like a book. “Fear not, I have not stolen from him his life.” she said darkly, “But nothing we could have said would’ve changed his mind. I believe you saw that in his eyes just as well as I.”

“What did you do then?” Twilight asked, not understanding, “What happened to him?”

“I forced him to look inwardly.” the princess replied flatly, “I forced him to search inside for something without which he will not be able to wake. If there is any chance he can yet shed himself of his rage, then he must find the ability within himself.”

Even in her delirious state, Twilight could tell Celestia was being intentionally cryptic. The confusion showed on her face, but it seemed that the intention behind the princess’ words was something other than creating an understanding.

“However, if he fails this test I have imposed upon him, then his body will fade.” Celestia continued grimly, “You should return to him my student. Without the aid of you and your friends, I fear that he will not find a way from his torment.”

Twilight made to go, but a final comment from her teacher halted her. “But first, I must warn you...” she said purposefully, “Avoid getting too attached. No matter how this ends, it will bring only pain.”

Twilight had more to ask, but seeing this new side to her teacher made her speechless. Before she could bring back her voice, Celestia was gone.

The first thing Twilight did when she returned inside was send the traumatized Spike to Fluttershy’s cottage. It was beyond question that Marco was in dire straits, and at a this time of night, Fluttershy was the only one she could call on to provide a medical insight, at least for now.

Twilight looked over the motionless Marco. In forcing herself to push his eyes shut, she found it hard to believe that he was still alive.

Frantic, and with a potentially dying pony on her hooves, she couldn’t help but recall Celestia’s mention of her friends and how she would need their help. “Owlicious...” Twilight called, trying her best to remain calm, “I don’t even know if you understand, but please... see if you can find Rarity and Pinkie Pie and lead them back here! Do whatever you can to get them to follow you!”

*

“Marco did what?” Fluttershy asked bewildered.

“The princess did what?!” Rainbow Dash added.

“What in the hay is going on here Spike?!” Applejack threw in...

Secured on the back of Fluttershy’s currently galloping body, Spike took hyperventilated gasps with the aid of a paper bag. It seemed that now he was headed back to Twilight’s library, he was starting to stress out about what awaited.

The little dragon was breathless, having run all the way from Twilight’s house to Fluttershy’s cottage. He himself had no clue what in the world was going on, but much to the dismay of the unlikely group carrying him back home, he was failing to accurately explain what little he actually did know anyway.

All the girls knew was that the frantic dragon had charged in and woken up everyone staying at Fluttershy’s cottage, spouting some stuff about their being an emergency at Twilight’s house, and that Marco and Princess Celestia were somehow involved.

The telltale glow emanating from Twilight’s library quickly came into view. With not much else to consider, and Spike well beyond his ability to shed any more light on the situation, the unlikely group raced down the deserted street. Since the first-aid kit Spike had insisted they bring was weighing Applejack down, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy led the way as they closed in on the front door to their friend’s home.

At the same time as this was going on, in a more quiet corner of Ponyville, a pink bubbly earth pony bounced her way through the main street.

It hadn’t been very hard for Owlicious to tempt Pinkie Pie into following him back to his master’s library, and getting her to spring out of bed and out into the night was really rather effortless. In truth, it almost seemed as if Pinkie required no incentive to follow the feathered creature. Not that there was ever much convincing on the part of Owlicious; the pink pony just bounced along playfully in pursuit, trying to coax him into hooting.

Regardless, the keen creature led his pursuer onwards, aware that his partner in crime Spike was doing something quite similar on the opposite side of town. But while the dragon’s task was more or less completed, Owlicious’ mission was only about half done. There was still one detour the determined owl had to make before he could return to the library.

Further away from where he flew, that very same library was fast becoming something of a mess. Twilight had shoved all the books off of a spare table and magically floated Marco onto it.

It wasn’t looking good. In what time Twilight had, she had checked him for the basics. He was still breathing, though it was very weak. As for his heartbeat-

Twilight was interrupted by Fluttershy blasting through her front door with Rainbow Dash close behind. The yellow pegasus immediately raced over to the two of them. “Oh my goodness!” She exclaimed when she saw Marco, “What happened?”

“That will have to wait...” Twilight said seriously, “He’s barely hanging on! If we don’t do something I’m afraid he won’t be getting back up!”

Fluttershy didn’t wait for Twilight to finish before pressing her ear up against Marco’s chest as if to check his heartbeat. She heard a thump, followed by a long pause. Too long. She waited for what seemed like an eternity for a second beat. As the realization struck, Fluttershy felt a cold panic grip her; Marco’s heart was only moments away from failing at this rate...

“Where’s Applejack?!” she called out, the desperation clear in her voice, “She has my first aid kid!”

Rainbow Dash made to answer, but was stopped when Applejack charged in, carrying with her a pair of heavy looking saddlebags. “Here!” the orange earth pony replied, virtually breathless, “What’d you need?!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy called frantically, “Grab the red needle from the kit!”

Without even letting her friend even remove the saddlebags from her side, Dash buried her face in the leftmost one and begun to rummage around. When she emerged, she had a vicious looking needle gripped between her teeth.

“What’s in it?” she asked as she zipped over to Fluttershy’s side and passed it to her, the yellow pegasus’ concerned expression worrying Dash considerably.

“Adrenaline.” was all Fluttershy had time to say before she hit Marco with the business end of the needle, and injected the full dose right into his chest without wasting a second.

But to her abject horror, the stallion did not rise. His body remained motionless, and to understand what that meant, Fluttershy’s jaw dropped. “Oh no...” was all she could manage.

“What’s wrong?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking between the reactionless Marco and the appalled Fluttershy, “What happened?!”

But Fluttershy wasn’t listening, her mind racing to think of some solution. No matter what was wrong with anypony, a direct dose of adrenaline would always, always wake you up. She put her ear to Macro’s chest once more. She could barely hear a silence between the raging thumps of an energized heart.

“No!” she squealed, “Why won’t he move? The energy from the adrenaline isn’t being offloaded! It’s all going to his heart!”

“Isn’t that good?!” Twilight asked alarmed, not understanding her friend’s fear, “It keeps his heart from stopping right?”

“But it’s way too much!” Fluttershy exclaimed, “He’ll have a heart attack at this rate! The blood pressure is too high!

“We can’t take back the energy... we can’t lower his blood pressure.” Fluttershy resigned, caving into stress, “We can’t slow his heart! There’s nothing I can do!”

Medicine or no medicine, it was clear to everypony that Fluttershy was now useless. She had practically collapsed, and was totally frantic. It was all the small crowd could do to stand there and watch helplessly as Marco’s heart essentially begun to beat out of his chest.

Even Applejack stood there perplexed, her concern making her oblivious to everything around her. She didn’t notice as Rainbow Dash returned to her side and started to dig through the first aid kit still strapped to her side.

For Dash, there wasn’t time to doubt, or even think about what she intended to do. Grabbing the desired object between her teeth, Dash bailed across the room and towards Marco, paying no heed to what her friends might’ve been doing or thinking.

The only thing she knew, the only thing she could know, was that if somepony didn’t take action, the stallion before her would be dead. Whether or not that action was rational, instinctual, or even sane did not matter. All that mattered was that somepony did something before it was too late.

And so, without even a semblance of a second though, and to the absolute horror of her friends as they saw the shiny tool gripped firmly between her teeth, Rainbow Dash made her move...

*

Her face slathered in a nourishing goo and her mane coiled up in rolls, Rarity mumbled dreamily as she slept, with the occasional light and dignified snore sure to be in keeping of her regularly refined composure. She jostled peacefully, rolling to the side while still managing to keep the thick cut slices of cucumber covering her eyes in position.

Regardless of the measures entailed by Rarity’s unique take on sleep, it was something that she had earned. A deadline for some of her fashion designs had been baring mercilessly down on her for the past week and she been hard at work trying to complete them. She had spent dawn to dusk scribbling away, cutting, stitching, correcting and redesigning, determined to complete her designs before she took to rest.

And completed them she had. A series of large, intricate sketches lay overlapping one another at the far end of the room, propped up next to her open bedside window.

And overlooking the whole scene with his beady eyes was the motionless figure of Owlicious, perched silently upon the windowsill by the stack of papers. In a flurry of feathers, the little owl broke from his statuesque trance and floated over to Rarity’s bedside. In an effort to stir the sleeping unicorn, he splayed his wings wide and let loose a mild hoot.

She rolled over as if to face his way, but her eyes remained closed behind their cucumber shields. To Owlicious’ dismay, Rarity’s sleepy mumbling resumed as did the rise and fall of her chest. She was still asleep.

Time for plan B. Owlicious fluttered closer to his target and sunk his talons into the blanket covering her. In discovering that her blanket was too thick for his claws to reach the pony beneath, he pecked furiously in an attempt to have his impacts penetrate.

It worked... sort of. The nuisance dismissed for what it was, the still snoozing unicorn rolled over once more and sent Owlicious hurtling from her back. Taking wing before he hit the ground, the frustrated creature shook his head vigorously from side to side. No more Mr. Nice Owl...

As his deceptively keen avian mind concocted a new plan, his observant little eyes flickered deviously as they happened upon the stack of sketches by the window. It seemed as if it was time for a change in tactics.

Making absolutely no effort to be subtle, Owlicious whipped up a storm of papers as he glided over to the designs and snatched them up in his grasp.

Rarity was out of bed and on her hooves in seconds. “Stop right there you scoundrel!” she cried, the cucumber popping dramatically from her eyes, “Don’t you dare touch my-”

But now that she could see the true nature of her unconventional intruder, whatever threat that was to follow jammed up in her throat. “Wait, aren’t you...” she begun, surprise and recognition melding into an expression made all the more comical thanks to the pasty green mud mask covering her face, “Twilight’s companion? What the devil are you doing here?”

Owlicious simply hooted coyly, reminding Rarity how foolish it was to ask him any sort of question. She wiped the goo from her face as she tried to adapt to the situation, but it was pointless. Before she could piece anything together, Owlicious flapped his wings and dived out of the window, taking his prize out into the night.

“Oh no you don’t!” Rarity exclaimed as she pursued, flicking the rolls from her mane with a quick flick of the hair, “Get back with my designs!”

Through some unfathomable process, in between gunning it from her bedroom upstairs to the front door on the ground level, Rarity emerged from her house invigorated, clean, dressed, and with her mane styled to its regular perfection.

And hovering above her, dangling the designs before Rarity like he would a red cloth before a bull, was Owlicious. And like a bull, the rage-filled unicorn snorted aggressively, her eyes locked firmly upon her target, her focus unwavering...

“Hi Rarity!” a familiar voice chimed out, “Whatcha doing out here?”

“Pinkie?!” Rarity exclaimed, seeing the pink pony bounce into view from the opposite side of her house, “You scared the living daylight out of me! And I could ask you the same question!”

“Well whadya think I’m doing?” Pinkie asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes as if her motives were the most obvious thing in the world, “I’m following Owlicious, duh!”

“Ah, that’s right!” Rarity swapped her gaze to the aforementioned owl, “Unhand those designs this instant!”

To Pinkie’s delight, Owlicious hooted pointedly and flew further out into the night. Sensing an adventure, she resumed her following of him, a spring to her step despite how late it was.

“Oh, what in blazes has gotten into that bird?” Rarity said, joining next to her friend, “And how come you of all ponies are up and about and chasing this, this... nuisance?”

“I thought he wanted something, so I decided to follow!” Pinkie beamed, her enthusiastic trot evolving into a full-blown skip, “What’s up that’s got you following him?”

“What’s up?!” Rarity repeated, her frustration clear, “What’s up is that I’ve spent every waking moment of the last two days working on my latest line of dresses! And when I finally finish and try to get my beauty sleep, Twilight’s infernal little minion sneaks into my room and makes off with all my hard work!”

“Oh...” Pinkie hummed, “Well, I’m sure he’s got a good reason!”

“Isn’t that a bit optimistic dear?” Rarity asked, “Besides, I believe I asked you what possessed you to be running around so late.”

“Oh right. It’s actually a funny story!” Pinkie replied, still leading Rarity onwards as the pair pursued Owlicious, “There I was, trying my bestest to crash for the night. But wouldn’t you know it, I couldn’t get to sleep no matter how hard I tried!

“You see, for some super-weird reason, my tail was a-twitchin’ and my knees were a-shakin’ like crazy!” she continued, animating her words by recreating the jittery spasms of which she spoke, “They wouldn’t settle down no matter what I did, and to be honest, I was kinda starting to freak out!

“And just when I didn’t know what to do...” Pinkie thrust her hoof out so to point at the flying figure of the owl leading them on, “Owlicious here flies into my room from out of nowhere, goes ‘hoot’ and zips out again!

“And you just followed him?” Rarity asked confused, “That doesn’t make much sense...”

“Pinkie Pie doesn’t believe in coincidence!” the bubbly pony announced, not caring for her friend’s doubt, “Ear flops and twitchy tails aside, the mystery of the sleuthing owl was one I just had to solve!”

“Oh good...” Rarity replied sarcastically, “Perhaps you can start by telling me why he come to terrorize me in my sleep them? Or explain to me why he would steal my designs?”

“Don’t say that! Of course Owlicious wouldn’t actually steal your drawings!” Pinkie Pie replied reassuringly, “And if we follow him we’ll definitely find out why he’s got us running around!”

“Sorry dear, but it all sounds a bit too silly for my tastes.” Rarity confessed, “I’m afraid you may be the only one who thinks this is some kind of adventure...”

“Now who’s being silly?” Pinkie shot back, laughing it off, “Can’t you tell he’s trying to lead us somewhere? He did a pretty good job rounding us two up, and now he’s taking us to a new place!”

“I still think you might be a bit too optimistic dear.” Rarity said doubtfully, “Even so... isn’t Twilight’s house just up ahead?”

“Oh gosh, you’re right!” Pinkie gasped, the surprise of the realization apparently rather strong, “Twilight must’ve told him to come get us!”

“Now why would she do that?” Rarity shook her head in disbelief, “Though I wouldn’t be surprised if that girl was still up at this late hour, I would be surprised if something was troubling her that couldn’t wait until morning.”

Even as she expressed her doubts, their continued pursuit of Owlicious brought Twilight’s unique tree-house into view.

“Looks like she’s still awake!” Pinkie Pie said, noticing the light emanating from her friend’s unique library, “She really must want to see us!”

Rarity still doubted Pinkie Pie’s conclusion, but as she saw Owlicious flutter on up to the windowsill close to the top of Twilight’s house and finally release his hold on the precious designs, she couldn’t deny the whole situation was quite curious.

“Perhaps you’re right.” she conceded, reclaiming her papers while looking up at the innocent figure of Owlicious perched above her, “It would seem that something truly ‘is up’ after all.”

“Well? Go on...” Pinkie Pie indicated Twilight’s doorstep with her eyes, “You first!”

Rarity gulped and put her hoof to the timber, then carefully and gently pushed the door open. No soon had it glided open however, Rarity stopped mid-stride and gasped as she unwittingly entered a world she was in no way prepared for.

The centre of the room was quite the shocking spectacle. Twilight fiddled and grappled with what appeared to be a chemistry set while Applejack of all ponies looked on, huffing and puffing like she had just ran a marathon. All the while, not too far from the pair, Rainbow Dash sat with her mane and coat soaked with water and eyes transfixed on some invisible object.

But these out-of-place things were only recognised in passing. Because, as her eyes connected with the floor in front of her, all of her attention went straight into making sense what had become of the carpet. It had been dyed a grizzly shade of red and Rarity knew better than to guess at how.

“W...wha...ga...” Rarity stuttered, the words not properly coming, “What’s going on in here?! Oh, please tell me that’s not what I think it is!

“It is, isn’t it?” she continued aghast, recognising the manner in which Rainbow Dash looked up to acknowledge her, “By Celestia... what in Equestria happened here?!”

“It wasn’t any use Twi...” Applejack panted, paying no heed to Rarity’s panicked questions, “I couldn’t find the doc anywhere! I checked the hospital, his house, everything! He musta been called out of town or something...”

“Then I guess this will have to do.” Twilight grumbled, the assortment of chemistry items coming together at the command of her horn, “It should work if we find somepony we can hook him up to...

“Speaking of which, where’s Rarity and Pinkie Pie?” she continued, apparently being too distracted to register the former enter and make a fuss, “They should be here by now-”

“Hello?!” Rarity announced herself again, not quite fathoming how her earlier questions managed to fall on deaf ears, “Don’t ignore me! I believe I asked you just what in blazes is going on-”

“Hi girls!” Pinkie Pie interrupted, bouncing past Rarity and sidestepping the red mess to take stance by the tired figure of Applejack, “Did you guys send Owlicious to come get us?”

“Yes, but there’s no time to explain!” Twilight exclaimed as she practically lunged over and pulled the pink pony with her as she made for upstairs, “I need... well, we need your help!”

“Whoa!” was all Pinkie Pie could reply with as Twilight dragged her along, the strange tube-like apparatus that the unicorn had pieced together bobbling behind them, levitated as it was by her magic.

Rarity could only watch the pair leave, left only with Applejack and Rainbow Dash to attend to her still unanswered questions. “Applejack, what was that you said about a doctor?” she asked, deeply concerned, “Is everything alright-”

She trailed off as she made the important connection. The blood could not have belonged to her friends, as they were obviously unharmed. But as she continued to think on it, her heart sank to realize one such friend was still unaccounted for.

“Fluttershy...” she said under her breath, “Where is she? Please, please tell me she’s okay!”

“Cool your jets Rarity...” Applejack replied weakly, seemingly exhausted, “She’s upstairs, and she’s okay. I’ll explain everything but... ah, just give me a minute.”

Rarity gave her friend time to catch her breath, but it was beyond her to simply wait for an explanation. She turned to her last resort, but Rainbow Dash was by all appearances even less fit than Applejack to bring peace to her concerns. The poor pegasus was saturated from head to hoof, and shivered from something other than the coldness of her wet body.

Nurturingly, Rarity powered up her magical horn and levitated a nearby towel over. She didn’t delay before seizing it and setting about the task of drying Dash off. Rarity became worried by her friend’s lack of response, but before she could ask what was troubling her, Applejack finally begun with the explanation she had promised.

“Yesterday morning, she found some stallion washed up outside Everfree Forest.” she begun, her words oddly neutral, “I don’t know all the details, but one thing led to another and he ended up under Fluttershy’s care...

“Then this morning, I was there helpin’ out.” she continued, noticing that Rarity paid due attention despite not knowing how this information related to her queries, “Over the day he told us about what he was doing here and where he’d come from. And we ate it up.”

“He wasn’t lying.” Dash suddenly said from underneath the towel trawling across her soaked body, “Don’t you remember what happened the first time you jumped to conclusions?”

“Then why don’t you try explaining what the princess did?” Applejack retorted, her voice insistent beyond her fatigue, “Because I’m betting Celestia didn’t just feel like ‘magicifiying’ Marco like she did!”

“Celestia? Magic? Marco?” Rarity counted off the confusing themes, “I don’t understand... can you go back the beginning please?”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash simply stared at one another for a for a moment or two, a point of difference having clearly been reached. “We’ll have to wait for Twilight to explain it better once she’s done with Pinkie up there.” Applejack conceded, “But the point is, Celestia put the stallion I was telling you about, Marco’s his name, under.

“Fluttershy tried to help when his heart nearly gave out, but it ended up almost killing him.” she continued, briefly looking between Rainbow Dash and the red puddle corrupting the floor, “There’s no doubt that Dash saved his skin.”

It didn’t take Rarity long to join the dots. “Wait, what?!” she exclaimed suddenly, eyes only for the pegasus she was idly drying, “You did... this?”

“I didn’t know what I was thinking!” Dash shot back, retreating inside somewhat, “The medicine was tearing the idiot’s heart to pieces! And... and I...”

“You did the right thing!” Applejack cut her off in an attempt to reassure her, “After all, it worked didn’t it?”

The true nature of what the pair was talking about continued to elude Rarity. But as she finished patting down Dash’s now-scuffed coat, she realized why she had been wet in the first place. And if Dash needed to clean herself so bad that she didn’t bother to dry, then Rarity needn't guess at what mystery substance had defiled her.

“What worked?” she asked gently, despite being significantly confused and alarmed, “What did you do Dash?”

“Fluttershy said we had to cut the blood pressure.” the cyan pegasus replied grimly, “So I cut it. I thought that, I dunno... if less blood was getting pumped, the pressure or whatever would go down!”

Applejack put a comforting hoof to her disturbed friend’s shoulder. “If you didn’t do what you did, he would’ve died right then and there.” she said, not a hint of doubt to her words, “You saved his life. And that’s a fact.”

Rarity could scarcely believe what she was hearing. Until now, it had just been a normal day. But to think that while she had been minding her own business back home, something like this was also going on... she didn’t like the feeling.

“Is that what is going on upstairs?” she asked, remembering how Twilight had rushed Pinkie Pie on up, “I mean, this stallion you mentioned... is he up there?”

“He is, but I couldn’t tell ya what’s going on.” Applejack answered honestly, “Fluttershy took the lead and sent me out to try and find the doc just as soon as I got here. My guess is that she’s been trying to fix up Marco’s, ah... cut.”

“Well of course she would be indispensable considering the circumstances...” Rarity replied, rolling her eyes in thought, “But me? Pinkie? Why where we brought here so urgently and why did Twilight need Pinkie Pie so badly?”

“I don’t know about you...” Rainbow Dash spoke up, knowing more about it that Applejack, “But Twilight needed Pinkie because-”

She never got a chance to finish her sentence. For in the next moment, the aforementioned pink pony came tumbling down Twilight’s staircase like a slinky. When her rolling came to a rest upon the bottom tier, Pinkie Pie’s eyes rolled about in their sockets, their owner rendered dizzy as she recovered from her comical stumble.

“I said...” Twilight’s voice rung out from upstairs, “Try to stand still for a moment!”

“Is she okay down there girls?” Fluttershy’s quiet voice followed behind, “Do I need to come down?”

At this, Pinkie Pie bounced up from her dazed stance and shook away the stars beginning to circle her head. “Relax guys, I’m fine!” she shot back, “I told ya, I give blood all the time! It’s no sweat!”

“So that’s what that funky tool was?” Applejack said to nopony, the image of Twilight’s odd contraption fresh in her mind, “But why did she need Pinkie?”

“She explained it before, but I don’t remember.” Rainbow Dash replied, her own recollection fuzzy, “”While you were gone, she had a whole set of weird chemical contraptions testing something. Egghead stuff.”

“I didn’t know you gave blood Pinkie.” Rarity said, moving over to her friend’s side, “Since when, may I ask?”

“Dunno, but I do it like, once a week.” the bubbly earth pony replied proudly, “I’ve got a super-rare type so I like to share it around!”
“How generous...” Rarity commented, not so much surprised but intrigued, “I don’t mind the concept, but... well, doesn’t it hurt?”

“Nah, not really.” Pinkie Pie dismissed, “The first time can make you all sick and dizzy, but I’ve been doing it long enough that it doesn’t affect me anymore.”

“You just fell down the stairs darling.” Rarity reminded her, “Forgive me for saying that it seems you are significantly affected...”

“I guess you’re right!” Pinkie giggled, “Twilight needed a fair bit of it after all!”

Listening in on the pair, Dash deflated somewhat in the background, disheartened by what her friend had just implied. Pinkie must not have demanded an explanation before donating something as precious as her blood, so she was apparently still ignorant to the fact Rainbow Dash was technically responsible for making such a selfless act necessary.

“Is Mar- uh...” Applejack cut herself off, not sure of what Pinkie Pie knew, “Is ‘he’ okay?”

“I think so.” she said uncertain, “I was gonna ask Twi what was up, but she said to ask you guys ‘cause I wasn’t allowed to bother her or Fluttershy.

“Oh, and she said they’ll be back down here soon.” she continued, tapping her head as she tried to remember the rest of her ‘orders’, “And Twilight also told me to tell you that they want Dash here to... ah, what was the word? ‘Procure!’ Dash needs to procureate a cart and bring it back here. Fluttershy also wants Rarity to come up and help with something.”

“Me?” Rarity questioned, confirming the obvious by indicating herself with a hoof to the chest, “Did they say why?”

“Nope.” Pinkie replied simply, “You don’t need to worry though, it’s got nothing to do with giving blood! Probably...”

Her friend’s carefree attitude prompted a subtle frown from the elegant white unicorn, but she moved on up the stairs regardless. Judging by the instructions Twilight had tasked Pinkie with delivering, it seemed she’d get a better explanation by joining her upstairs.

“I don’t get it...” Applejack frowned, “What do you reckon we need a cart for?”

“Well, even if we can’t find a doctor, there’s no way we can keep him here.” Dash replied, the conclusion obvious to her, “I’ll go find something we can use to-”

“No. I’ll do it.” Applejack interrupted, fearing that her friend was not fit to be going anywhere just yet, “You just sit tight for now R.D. I’ve got an apple-cart we can use parked over by market square. I’ll go get it.”

Silently watching the earth pony make to leave, Rainbow Dash could see that Applejack was still very exhausted from running about in a fruitless attempt to find a doctor. Even in her current state, it was clear that her friend was not the pony for the job. And with Pinkie Pie falling down staircases, it was obvious who should go.

“It’s alright A.J, I’m quicker.” Dash finally said, doubt no longer weighing down on her so much, “I’m fine now. Really. And you seriously need to rest a bit more, not go running off again.”

“I owe ya one Rainbow...” Applejack resigned, her exhausted mind taking the first chance it got at reprieve, “The cart I mentioned is about a block down from Sugarcube Corner, by the side of the main road. You can’t miss it.”

“I’ll be back before you know it.” Dash said confidently, her regular gusto returning in full force, “Count on it!”

And with those bold words, the cyan pegasus was gone into the night, a rainbow flair trailing behind in her wake.

With her gone, now there was only Applejack and Pinkie Pie left downstairs. With nothing else to do, the orange earth pony collapsed into a sitting position and took a few deep breaths.

“Hey Applejack.” Pinkie Pie spoke up, “Can I ask you something?”

Applejack exhaled and pivoted to face her friend. “Shoot sugarcube.” she replied weakly.

“I was just wondering...” Pinkie tapped her muzzle in confusion, “What in Equestria is going on here?”

“Well...” Applejack sighed again, “Where should I start?”

While this was going on, Rarity was upstairs and thus confronted with yet another grizzly scene. Attended on one side by Fluttershy, and flanked by a book-absorbed Twilight on the other, the unconscious figure of Marco was obviously having a bit of a bad day.

“Oh my...” Rarity breathed, noticing the seemingly stitched up gash taking up a significant portion of the stallion’s chest, “This must be that ‘Marco’ I was told so little about.

“Did you stitch that up?” she asked the pegasus beside her in disbelief, inspecting the cut contaminating the otherwise rich ashen coat, “Fluttershy, I had no idea you were capable of such a thing!”

“Oh, don’t get me started!” Fluttershy said, obviously pressured, “I’ve never had to do anything like this, even with animals! I’m just glad Spike made sure I brought the first aid kit!

“Is the stitching okay? she asked Rarity in her rut, “It’s not going to come undone, is it?”

“I’m afraid I am a sewer, not a surgeon.” Rarity said, not wanting to look at the ugly wound anymore, “Though, I suppose it should hold.”

“Hey! Fluttershy!” Applejack’s voice boomed out from downstairs, “If Marco’s alright, can you come down here? Pinkie ain’t looking so hot!”

“Oh my.” Fluttershy breathed, “I told her to lie down and take it easy. I better make sure she’s okay.”

The shy yellow pegasus took one step away from Marco’s side before wavering and turning to Rarity once more. “Quickly though, before I go...” she started, “Can you help Twilight out? The, um... ‘cut’ needs cleaning and anything but a steady hoof could cause problems.”

Without waiting for a reply, Fluttershy handed the unicorn a rolled up bolt of linen. “When you’re done, have Twilight float him downstairs with her magic.” she ordered, practically out of the door when she made to address Rarity one last time, “Do you have any questions?”

She most certainly did have questions. But there were far too many, and as they competed for superiority and the chance to be voiced, she had little choice but to remain silent in an attempt to decide which one was most relevant. Unfortunately, this silence told Fluttershy that she could leave Rarity to the task.

With Twilight enthralled in whatever it was she was reading and Fluttershy gone from the room, the only thing Rarity could direct her attention towards was the unconscious stallion she had been instructed to attend to.

She looked down with disgust at the ugly mark slashed into his chest. How her friends expected her to lower herself so far as to clean such a ghastly thing was beyond her. However, this was but a momentary lapse in her generous spirit. Like Fluttershy had indicated, it did need cleaning, and it was quite clear to her that it would be a delicate operation. Even she could tell that the makeshift stitching her friend had forced herself to apply was flimsy at best. Regardless of how Rarity felt about performing such a sickening task, she most certainly was the only one around who could do it safely.

And so, grabbing the appropriate materials with the pulse of her magical and precise horn, Rarity set about her task, lending her aid to this stallion which she did not know.

Downstairs, Applejack stood beside a laying down Pinkie Pie as Fluttershy flew in to attend to the pair. “We were just talking...” the panicked earth pony said, not understanding, “Then all of a sudden, she gets all wobbly and falls down and doesn’t get up!”

“I told you to stop worrying.” Pinkie mumbled form her position on the floor, her voice disorientated and weak, “I do this kinda thing all the time...”

Having given the pink pony the once over, Fluttershy dashed off and returned only a second later. Between her hooves she balanced a half-filled jug of water. “Drink this.” she ordered, putting the lip of the jug to her friend’s mouth, “Like I told you to do earlier!”

“Sorry...” Pinkie mumbled from her position on the floor, “I guess it slipped my mind.”

Fluttershy simply sighed and shook her head. “It’s fine...” she breathed, “Just lay there and rest for a minute.”

“What do we do now?” Applejack asked, still standing by Pinkie’s side, “Everything’s been happening so fast...”

“I need to go back and help Rarity.” Fluttershy directed her gaze upstairs, “Can you please keep an eye on Pinkie for me? Until Dash comes back, we’re all just waiting.”

*

Celestia’s escort finally touched down outside the royal palace. None of them, especially not the princess, had said a word during the return trip. Complementing the grim mood, the grounds on which they landed was cloaked with a cold midnight mist.

Sensing the atmosphere, Caliber disengaged himself from the carriage and turned to face his shaken group of royal guards. “Alright, listen up you guys.” he spoke, his breath forming into puffs of fog in the sharp night air, “You are free to return to your regular quarters, but you will not speak of what has happened, even among yourselves.

“Until the situation has been resolved, you are henceforth sworn to secrecy in regards to this matter.” he continued, his authority absolute, “I understand you may have concerns or questions, but this is my final word.”

The rag-tag group of royal guards looked between one another uncomfortably. For her part, Celestia simply stood a few paces from the carriage as if she was waiting for something. Caliber did not need to guess at what it was.

“Leave us.” he commanded, not even looking back to his pegasi.

Recognising his seriousness, the armoured band of royal guards flew off into the night, the only remnant of their presence a stray feather floating back down to earth.

Celestia watched it trail down, remaining silent until the moment it came to rest on the cold grass. “What of you captain?” she asked distantly, “You speak of questions... of concerns. Have you any?”

“I... will continue to trust you no matter what has or may yet happen.” Caliber said vaguely, “Regardless of whether I understand what is going on or why, that will not change.”

At his response, the princess simply sighed. “A perfect answer from the perfect captain...” she commented coldly, “But I do not believe you are being honest. I would prefer the truth.”

Caliber’s eyes intensified. He knew better than to lie to her. “The truth then?” he said uncertain, “Yes. I have questions.”

Celestia finally turned to face the pegasus. She stared down in such a way that she needn’t ask him to elaborate.

“What did you do to him?” Caliber questioned, “What was the magic you used on him?”

“Hearing him recount to me his pains, and in seeing the rage burning in his blinded eyes, I could gleam a touch of madness deeply rooted inside of his mind.” Celestia replied as if this was the question she had expected, “It was as clear to me then as it now that there is only one who may purge him of his demons. Himself.

“My spell was akin to something you would know as hypnosis.” she continued, finally being specific, “In order to wake, he must face his own horrors and prevail them, lest they consume him any more than they already have.”

“He seemed very twisted to me...” Caliber replied, driving the explanation closer to it’s crux, “What would happen if he couldn’t make peace with his darkness?”

Silence reigned. It appeared he had really driven the issue home. “Would he die?” Caliber asked, his voice sharp, “Like you said, would his body fade away?”

“Yes.” Celestia finally answered, “Without defeating the evils that lurk inside, he will not wake.”

When a deep silence resumed, the princess made to walk away, believing it to signal the end of the sombre scene.

“I have another question.” Caliber spoke up, “One that has haunted me for a while. One that I have yet to ask.”

Celestia turned. She had not been expecting this. “What is it?” she asked, knowing that her captain was not the sort to let concerns linger, “Speak.”

“What happened at that town of his... we’ve known since the day after it happened.” he begun, “It was Nightmare Moon’s madness that wiped it from the map, yet as he claimed, the world does not know this. Why?”

“I cannot change what is past. No one can.” Celestia replied, “I have lived a long time, and I have seen how vengeful obsessions play out. Pain breeds pain, and those who once had cause become consumed by their own vicious cycle.

“The dead are not able to hold a grudge. Whatever pain they are claimed to have is nothing but an illusion in the minds of those who choose to inherit their burdens.” she continued, her seemingly ideological words a product of experience, “We searched for survivors, but we could not find the one who has now been brought to bear down upon us. So I chose not to spread the pain. My sister’s hatred did indeed bring ruin to New Eureka, but that hate was buried along with the victims. As much as I wish I could bring back the souls of those unfortunate ponies, the only thing that would be revived if I were to speak of what had happened would be the same hatred that brought about their end.”

“I understand, but tell me just one thing...” Caliber said, “In hindsight, would you have still done the same thing?”

“It wasn’t an easy choice to make, but I feel as though it was the right one.” Celestia replied firmly, “Instead of allowing the seeds of chaos to spread, I chose the path that bred but one enemy. After tonight I am less certain of what is right and what is wrong, but regardless of if he will conquer or fall prey to his evils... that stallion is a foe I intend to be rid of.”

The princess’ words trailed off as some realization gripped her. Perhaps it was more of a feeling than a realization, but she had lived long enough to not discount such things. She strained her eyes in exacerbation as a series of unprecedented concerns emerged from the hidden crevices of her uncertainty.

“Princess?” Caliber spoke up, grasping at the nature of her silence, “What’s wrong?”

“I have a bad feeling.” she said, her words heavy, “As though I have overlooked something important. It is a something that warns me that the hardship of this night is not yet over.”

“What do you mean?” the captain questioned, not sure where this had come from, “What have you overlooked?”

“I have some more research to do.” was all Celestia replied with, even though it was directed more to herself than the Caliber, “For you captain, there is a task I would have you do...”

Caliber quickly shook off how Celestia weaved around his question. “From me?” he confirmed, “What do you need?”

“I cannot shake this feeling...” she said again, “Is it possible for you to organise the guard and raise defence for the city tonight?”

“Eh?” Caliber broke composure in surprise, “Well, it is possible, but only if I briefed the royal guard big-wigs and convened-”

“That’s no good...” Celestia dismissed, not wanting to waste time nor spread the knowledge of the incident beyond her control, “I suppose there is no other choice but to go over their heads.

“Captain Caliber.” she said with absolute authority, staring at him with unerring seriousness, “By royal decree, you are to double the night guard and organise defensive measures for the night palace.”

“A royal decree?” Caliber stammered in shock, “But princess... there hasn’t been an intervention in the guard for over-”

“I know how long it has been since such a decree, but it is possible that Luna remains in danger...” Celestia cut him off, “Let it be done.”

“Acknowledged.” Caliber bowed, “If we are done here, I will proceed immediately...”

“Please refrain from utilising any of the royal guards who accompanied us to Ponyville.” Celestia bowed her head too, “I do not wish for the night guard to know why they have been organised.”

“As you wish.” Caliber replied, taking wing, “Good luck on your end.”

“Thank you.” she said, her thanks extending much further than the simple acknowledgment of his well-wishes, “I shall need it.”

And need it she would. The mysterious studying she had been engrossed in prior to receiving Marco’s forgery was now made all the more prevalent. There would be no sleep tonight, the revelation of having talked with him might have been the missing piece that had rendered her research fruitless.

And so, with Caliber gone from the grounds, Celestia departed. She headed directly to her private study and, with any luck, the key to unravelling the mystery that had been secretly eating away at her.

*

“Steady... steady...” Twilight willed her magic, guiding the levitated figure of Marco downstairs, “Ah, there we go.”

The luminous magical aura that enveloped the unconscious earth pony faded away as he was gently laid down upon a cleared table that had been pushed to the centre of the library.

Applejack looked up and assessed the scene. The stallion was still well-and-truly out of it, and coiled around his chest was layer upon layer of linen bandage. Leaving the sleeping Pinkie Pie beside her, she joined Fluttershy who was standing idly by the re-purposed table. “How’d it go?” she asked, looking to the pegasus in preference of Marco.

“Good.” she replied quietly, even optimistically, “I keep checking on his heart, and it’s staying at a healthy rate. I don’t think it’s about to drop any time soon.”

“Well that is good...” Applejack said relived, and turned to Twilight standing perplexed by the other side of the table, “What about you sugar-cube? How are you holding up on your end?”

“No luck yet. I can’t find a spell that resembles anything like what the princess used.” Twilight closed and discarded yet another tome she had hoped to find some answers in, “But I have to figure something out soon. It’s a miracle Dash found a way to-”

“I wasn’t talking about him this time. I meant you. Are you okay?” Applejack cut in, genuinely concerned, “It looks like a whole mess of trouble’s bearing down on you, and we don’t properly know what even happened here...”

“Please Twilight...” a tiny voice surprised her from behind, Fluttershy not even looking up from Marco a she spoke, “I nearly killed him with that adrenaline...

“The only kind of thing that would keep him from waking up like that is magic.” she continued, her words with an uncharacteristic edge to them, “And if it wasn’t yours, then I know who’s it had to be!”

Twilight was startled by Fluttershy’s serious tone. “Look.” she begun, her tone uncertain, “I can tell everypony what happened, but even I don’t believe it-”

“I don’t think you understand Twilight.” Applejack cut in, her voice plagued by a grim seriousness as well, “Dash found that fool all beat up outside the forest, Fluttershy took him in, and the three of us were helping him back on his hooves and getting to know him as we went.

“But then for what seems like no reason, he runs off, ends up here, and we come along to find out that he got into a fight with the princess?” she exclaimed, her honest eyes staring imploringly through Twilight, “And then what happens? He starts dying, poor Fluttershy nearly blows his heart up with adrenaline, and Dash-”

Applejack cut herself off and caught her breath. “Who is this guy?” she continued, asking the million-dollar question, “Why did he come here? What did the princess do to him and why? Tell us Twilight, we deserve to know just what kind of mess we’ve gotten ourselves into!”

Everybody in the room shifted their gaze to Twilight. Applejack had asked the question everybody wanted an answer to, and they were looking at Twilight to provide.

“Okay listen... I’ll start from the beginning.” Twilight inhaled thoughtfully, not sure of how to put it, “Did Marco ever tell you what happened to his home town?”

“He talked about it once...” Fluttershy said, “But he didn’t tell us anything about what might’ve happened to it.”

Applejack found herself thinking back to how Marco had reacted during her misguided interrogation. About how he had commented vaguely on the history of that hat of his. “Why?’ she asked, “What happened to it?”

Twilight was surprised by Applejack’s question. It seemed that Marco had been telling the truth when he said he hadn’t told her friends anything. “You all remember what happened when Nightmare Moon came back?” Twilight asked, “About how sun was stolen away?”

“Remember?” Rarity questioned, “My dear, how could we forget? It was not that long ago.”

“Well, the point is, we weren't the only ones having problems.” Twilight continued, “Far way in this ‘New Eureka’ town, the night apparently came alive with dragons, hydras, manticore and every other type of vicious creature. I don’t know how, but there was something about Nightmare Moon’s darkness that made the monsters all full of rage. In the time it took for us to free Celestia and Luna from Nightmare Moon, the town was overrun and destroyed.”

“Oh mercy...” Applejack breathed, “Then what about Marco?”

“It seems as if he was the sole survivor.” Twilight replied, “He told me that it was because of this that he had to meet with Celestia and make sure she was aware. but...”

“But?” Fluttershy encouraged, “What happened?”

“When Celestia showed up, she revealed to me that Marco had been lying the whole time.” Twilight shook her head, “The letter he convinced me to send her was a fake, and in truth he didn’t actually want an audience with the princess. Celestia told me that what he really wanted was revenge.”

“Revenge?” Rarity interrupted, “As in, against Luna?”

“Yes...” Twilight answered with a sigh, “I think so. Celestia tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t back down so she-”

“There’s no way!” Fluttershy interjected, “You never saw it, but while he was still in our care he was genuinely kind!”

Twilight made to retort, but Fluttershy talked over her. “You said he deceived you and lied, and I already knew he was keeping secrets from us...” she continued, “But it’s not hard to understand why after what you just told us...”

“But it was a lie wasn’t it?” Twilight shot back, “I felt for him too, but the moment Celestia showed up, he changed instantly. He was so angry... so full of hatred.”

“Fluttershy’s right.” Applejack dismissed, “I can’t even describe how bad it must’ve felt for Dash to do what she did, so I can’t even imagine what it must take to want somepony dead. I know it, Fluttershy knows it, Dash knows it, and even my sister knows it; while he was with us, he was genuinely kind and grateful for our help. I refuse to believe that somepony like that is capable of hurting anypony!”

“Applejack, I know how you feel...” Twilight replied evenly, “But you didn’t see the anger inside him when the princess confronted him. It was terrifying.”

Applejack felt a measure of anger welling up as well. “I don’t think you understand.” she accused with a hint of venom, “You heard from him what happened, and after everything he’s been through, isn’t it understandable for him to be angry?”

“Of course I understand!” Twilight lashed back, “But it’s no excuse to go after Luna!”

“I’m not saying that.” Applejack replied, “But it is Luna’s fault isn’t it? Is this what he gets for blaming her?”

Now it was Fluttershy’s turn to speak up. “It’s not fair Twilight...” she said meekly, “He hasn’t done anything bad yet. I can’t accept what Celestia did to him, it’s just... wrong.”

“What did Celestia do to him?” Rarity asked, trying to steer discussion towards a solution.

“Like Fluttershy said, it was strong and strange magic.” Twilight replied, “I can’t figure out what it is exactly, but I know for a fact it’s what’s keeping him under...”

“So what you’re saying is we need to, hrm... what’s the word? ‘Neutralize’ the spell before he’ll wake?” Rarity asked in an attempt to keep the pace, the ponies around her watching the Twilight.

“No, I don’t think so...” Twilight thought back, “The princess told me that-”

“You might not yet noticed, but some of us don’t exactly trust Celestia right now.” Applejack cut in, “It doesn’t matter what Marco was planning on doing, the princess was out of line.”

“She’s right...” Fluttershy threw in, “We can’t leave it up to her to solve this mess. Not after what she’s done! We have to be the ones to fix this!”

Twilight could feel the two of them closing in on her. While she didn’t want to doubt her teacher, the objections were overwhelming. “Okay!” she cried, conceding, “But honestly, I don’t even know where to start! The spell is just too weird. Anything I could try would only backfire and make things worse!”

“You have to find a way...” Fluttershy pushed, “There isn’t anypony with stronger magic than yours. You’re the only one who can help!”

Somewhere in the background, Pinkie Pie sprung up from her once-sleeping posture and giggled heartily. “Hey! I’ve got an idea!” she said cheerfully, receiving a few strange looks, “When you have a weird problem, what you need is a weird solution!”

“Pinkie, this is not the time for your antics...” Rarity said gently, “This is serious.”

“I am being serious silly!” she said disappointed, “Come on girls! What do we always do when we have strange problems?”

A deep silence and collection of raised eyebrows awaited Pinkie Pie’s question; they weren't following her. Seeing their confusion, she responded with an exaggerated sigh, and curiously, hummed a little tune. It was familiar, and upon realizing what is was, her friend’s faces brightened one by one.

“Now you’re getting it!” Pinkie chimed, seeing her their reactions, “So tell me, who do we know who’s like, an expert on all things weird?”

“Pinkie you’re a genius!” Twilight exclaimed, “Certainly she will have something to help!”

“Who?” Rarity asked confused, everypony but her apparently having figured it out...

“Why, Zecora of course!”

Chapter 3: Behind the Lies

From the Ashes

Chapter 3: Behind the Lies

Zecora tried to sleep, but tonight she was unusually restless. It was so very late, but for reasons beyond her, she could not find the calm required to close her eyes.

Her humble hut, adorned with treasures of the land from which she came, was located deep within the Everfree forest and stood in spite of the deadly surroundings. And while it was true that the woods were so thick that they allowed no light, the overbearing gnarled trees did not surround her hut, possibly kept at bay by some effort of the mysterious zebra pony. Because of this, Zecora could bathe in the natural light of the day, and stare into the expanse of space during the night while the rest of Everfree forest was shrouded in a constant murky darkness.

To the average pony, going so far as to enter the forest, let alone live there, bordered on insanity. But Zecora was not the average pony, and while Ponyville had become more welcoming as of late, solitude was her comfort and the very nature of the forest, with all its perils and unknowns, reminded her of where she came from. She didn’t expect anypony to understand why, but to her this place was home.

Zecora leaped out of her bedding with a grunt. For too long she had forced her body to stay still in an attempt to trick her mind into relaxing, and the combination of wanting to sleep and not being able made her very agitated. Her frustration was translating into body heat, which in turn made it even harder to rest. Pretty much everypony knows how it feels when your desire to sleep is essentially what keeps you from it, but fortunately for the mysterious zebra, she had discovered how to remedy this vicious cycle some time ago.

She opened the door to her hut and stepped outside, breathing deep the cool night air. It instantly calmed her down; the heat of her body was quickly overwhelmed by the much more gentle coolness of the night air. She ventured a look upwards to the patch of sky that was not shrouded by the tangled foliage. It was rare for Zecora to be looking into the night at the same time the moon was making an appearance, but there it was, seemingly framed by the leaves and branches that encircled her viewpoint. She stared intently at the full moon, or rather, stared through it, taking it in with profound sombreness.

Zecora sighed heavily. She felt more relaxed than before, but knew she had no chance of getting any rest. Her mind was too active, buzzing with a hundred thoughts all at once. She could feel a strange sensation rising in her gut, as if her instincts were trying to warn her of something ominous.

Shaking it off, Zecora headed back inside her hut. She knew there would be no way she could get any sleep the natural way, but perhaps one of her many potions held the key to liberating herself of her troubled thoughts.

* * * *

“Okay!” Fluttershy said, her inspection of Marco’s vitals making her optimistic, “It looks like Pinkie’s little donation took. He’s stable... we can finally move him.”

“Well, that’s all well and good, but Dash isn’t back yet.” Twilight replied, “Is there anything we can do while we wait?”

Contemplating this, Fluttershy tapped at her muzzle. Eventually a thought did come to her. “Rarity?” she started, prompting the unicorn to turn from her position by Pinkie and face her, “About before... did you make sure to, umm... ‘clean’ up?”

“Urgh, I did... but please don’t remind me.” Rarity winced, “I still don’t understand why it was so important to do something so disgusting.”

“Me either...” Twilight expressed her own confusion, “What’s the deal with going so far to get rid of the blood?”

“First of all, it would be bad if it got infected.” Fluttershy’s replied, her limited medical knowledge sufficient enough to make her wary of such a thing, “But more importantly, when Dash returns, we will be leaving for the Everfree Forest. That place is filled with a whole bunch of hungry monsters that can smell even a little bit of blood from miles away!”

“Oh my.” Rarity said concerned, “If that’s the case, I suppose we cannot be too careful.”

Yeah, no kidding...” Twilight said nervously, “Forget Marco... if we get jumped it’ll be us who’ll be in real trouble.”

Fluttershy scowled slightly at what her friend had just implied, but thankfully Applejack redirected her concerns. “Hey, Fluttershy... something’s up with Pinkie again.” she said worried, “I thought she must’ve fallen asleep, but I can’t wake her.”

Leaving Marco to Rarity and Twilight, Fluttershy hovered over to Pinkie’s motionless figure and jostled her slightly. True to Applejack’s word, she didn’t display any sign of rousing. Applejack looked over to Fluttershy with that same worried expression tainting her face, but the pegasus simply exhaled lightly, not concerned in the least.

“Relax, she’s fine.” Fluttershy said quietly, “She just fainted is all. And after what she did for us, it’s only natural.”

“But still, is she gonna be alright?” Applejack said softly, trying not to stir the earth pony in question, despite the fact it was made clear it would take significantly more to rouse her, “She’s normally so energetic and stuff. I can’t help but worry...”

“I can pretty much guarantee she’ll be back to her old self as soon as she shakes off the dizziness.” Fluttershy replied, “She’s just a little lightheaded. She will be up again before you know it.”

As if to validate Fluttershy’s claim, The door to Twilight’s library blasted open, startling everypony and waking Pinkie Pie.

“Whoa! Hey there Dashie!” the pink pony exclaimed, bouncing up from Applejack’s side with whatever grogginess she ought to be feeling erased in a burst of energy, “Wow, you don’t look so hot!”

She was right. Rainbow Dash stood in the doorway panting heavily, and dripping with sweat. By all appearances, she had gunned it to and from the farm and ended up back here much sooner than anypony expected. It was clear that she hadn’t wanted to waste any time.

Fluttershy silently appraised her friend. From the beginning it had only been her and Dash helping Marco, so it was clearest to her how much her friend had made a turn since meeting him. Especially now, after the actions she took trying to save his life, it seemed she had become extremely dedicated to resolving this crisis. Loyalty was her element, and after everything she’d been through today, it was especially intense.

“If I don’t believe my own two eyes!” Applejack called, interrupting Fluttershy’s thoughts, “That was quick! Don’t tell me you ran the whole way?”

Rainbow Dash would have gloated, opportunities to show up Applejack didn’t come along often. She would have to let it slide just this once however, so drained was her energy. “Tell me about it...” she said panting, “I don’t know how you do it everyday.”

Rainbow Dash gave the room the quick once-over. “Have we figured out what we’re gonna do with this?” she asked pointedly, looking between the cart she carried and the two small groups huddled around Pinkie and Marco respectively, “I didn’t race back so we could all wait together!”

“It seems we’re trying our luck with our zebra friend Zecora and her unique methods.” Rarity replied, all but ignorant of Dash’s exhaustion, “So do be a dear and bring our improvised stretcher inside. We have a pony in need.”

Rainbow Dash made to comply, but Applejack intercepted. “Whoa there sugarcube...” she said gently, “You’ve done more than enough already. I’ll handle it from here; you take a load off.”

Applejack handled her cart with ease as she brought it around and poked the rear end through Twilight’s open doorway. Watching her operate it, Dash couldn’t help but marvel at how quickly her friend had recuperated. Dash would never admit it, but Applejack was strong. And not just as an earth pony. Even among her own kind, she was the strongest Dash had ever seen. Perhaps even more so than her brother Big Macintosh.

Rainbow Dash wasn’t jealous, she just didn’t like feeling weak. Sure she could fly, and was one of the best fliers in Equestria at that, but she would never view her flying abilities as being an exchange for physical weakness. To her, being strong didn’t have anything to do with being a pegasus, or a girl, and failures shouldn’t be attributed to such irrelevant things. And while this mentality was what made her intolerable when she felt inadequate, it was the same thing that drove her to be better at everything she tried.

Rainbow Dash was brought abruptly back to the world by Fluttershy, who had hovered over carrying an enormous mug filled to the brim with water. She didn’t wait for a response before she pushed it to her friend’s lips. Dash appreciated the nurturing attitude, but she quickly grabbed the mug and drunk deep, the contents dribbling all over the place. When her muzzle finally re-emerged from the now empty mug, she noticed Fluttershy was now over near Applejack, and Twilight had just finished magically hovering Marco into place on the back of the apple-cart.

Applejack firmly secured the cart’s harness to her back and smiled. She was ready to go. “Ready to roll partner?” she said coyly, smiling at Rainbow Dash.

Rejuvenated, the pegasus sprung up and bounded over. “Always!” she announced with fervour, “Let’s get this show on the road!”

“Yeehaw! That’s the spirit!” Applejack responded with a grin, “We good to go Twi?”

Twilight was at Pinkie’s side, holding a nursing hoof to her shoulder. “Did you want to stay here?” she asked her seemingly fine friend, “I can have Spike keep an eye on you...”

“Hrm?” the sleepy little dragon groaned, hearing his name, “Oh, yeah. You can count on me.”

“Spike...” Twilight hissed, an edge to her voice, “This is serious!”

“Take a chill pill Twi!” Pinkie Pie said, patting her friend on the head carelessly, “I told ya I give blood all the time! There’s no way I’m not coming too!”

“I guess I’ll go back to bed then...” Spike said relieved, “Since there nothing I-”

“In that case, can you try to clean some of this up?” Twilight cut in, gesturing to the mess her library had become, “Please?”

“Okay... okay.” the little dragon sighed, “I got it Twilight. shouldn’t you guys be going already?”

“Alright girls, lets go!” she said, stealing the words from his mouth as the ponies crowded around the cart acknowledged her with an attentive nod, “Oh, and Owlicious... keep Spike in line won’t you?”

The little owl let loose a piercing hoot and raised a feathered wing in what looked like a salute. It seemed the situation here was under control. Spike just shook his head tiredly.

And with that, Twilight left the library alongside the others, and promptly fell into stride next to Pinkie Pie, who was busy bouncing along, her normal bubbly attitude obvious unaffected by the lateness of the hour or the after effects of giving blood.

Twilight made to comment on this observation, but Pinkie Pie spoke first. “Hey Twilight...” she said, the confusion evident in her voice, “Where are we going?”

Twilight stopped mid-stride, unable to fathom how her friend had forgotten her own suggestion. In answering the question, Twilight decided to choose the path of least resistance. “We’re going to see Zecora...” she said simply, “She’s our best hope in helping this pony.”

“Oh! Right!” Pinkie replied, beaming, but her face fell and once again adopted a confused expression, “Ummm, who did you say he is?”

Somewhere in the background Rainbow Dash covered her face with her hoof in exacerbation.

This was going to be a long... long trip.

* * * *

Like every other night, the city of Canterlot seemed to glisten under the light of the full moon.

In the daytime, when the walls and towers shined in the vibrant light of day, they conveyed a sense of regal authority and general majesty. But during the night, when the pure white castle was bathed in darkness, Canterlot took on an entirely different mood. The way in which the structures lost their colour but retained their lustre made night-time in Canterlot tranquil and peaceful, and the way the white moonlight shimmered, reflected by the glossy buildings and still waters, generally set everypony at ease.

But unlike any other night, the peace was broken but an unusual amount of activity. Much to the interest of the locals who still happened to be awake, there was an unprecedented amount of guards about. And even though the average citizen was more or less ignorant to the inner workings of the night guard, it was rather clear that they had quite the specific purpose.

Indeed, standing guard outside Canterlot General Library, Sergeant Ceasler and his partner seemed to be the only night guards not taking their assembly seriously.

“I don’t believe this.” Ceasler groaned, “If being the night guard’s pack-mule on that ten-hour shift last night wasn’t enough, the captain decides to kick half the garrison out onto this stupid night shift for who knows what reason.

“I knew what I was signing up for when I became a night guard all those years ago...” he complained, “But I’m getting too old for this. My shift was supposed to end an hour ago.”

The frustrated pegasus furrowed his brow in the silence. “Slayde?” he asked pointedly, looking to the pony on his left, “Are you even listening?”

“It’s a drill dude.” his lethargic partner drawled, the only thing setting him apart from Ceasler being his youth and the horn protruding from his helmet, “Why else would they suddenly double the night guard? They are trying to keep us wary by acting like there’s some huge thing going on.”

“Hey. Is that any way to talk to your superior?” Ceasler berated his careless partner, “I may have been demoted, but I’m still a sergeant damn it...”

“Yeah, I know.” Slayde rolled his eyes, “So you keep telling me...”

“So?” Ceasler insisted, “Shouldn’t you be calling me ‘sir’ or something?”

“Sir?” the young unicorn snuffed a laugh, “Dude, we share a bunk. I don’t think a guy who shares a room with his underlings can be called-”

“Cut the chatter you two!” a gruff voice called out from behind them, interrupting Slayde and scaring the pair half to death.

The young unicorn nearly jumped out of his armour when the royal guard captain snuck up behind him. “Sir, yes sir!” he exclaimed, performing a hasty salute despite his reactionless partner, “Sorry sir!”

“At ease.” Caliber said dismissively, nodding at Ceasler, “Just testing the mettle.”

Slayde finally relaxed his posture. “Sir?” he asked tentatively, “Do you mind telling us just what is going on tonight?”

A sharp sidewards kick from Ceasler halted the question. “Dude, what?” Slayde said in response to his superior’s disapproval, “How can we do our job if we don’t even know why we’re doing it?”

“Hrm...” Ceasler paused, “My subordinate has a point. For what purpose did the garrison increase the night guard?”

Caliber raised an eyebrow at the pair’s antics, but responded to the query all the same. “To be frank, even I don’t know the details.” he lied, keeping his intimate knowledge of the situation out of the chance encounter, “But I’ll have you know that this isn’t the doing of the garrison.”

“Eh? What do you mean it’s not the garrison?” Ceasler asked in surprise, “You couldn’t mean...”

“I’m afraid so. That’s why the royal guard are involved.” Caliber nodded, “She wasn’t specific as to why, but the princess made it very clear. By royal decree, the presence of the night guard is to increase twofold.”

Inside, the royal guard captain knew exactly what had caused the princess to be so concerned, but he and the other royal guards who were present back then were sworn to silence in regards to the matter.

“Royal decree?” Ceasler repeated in shock, “That’s insane! There hasn’t been an intervention like that in all my time as a member of the night guard! There’s no way this is just some drill...”

“I agree.” Caliber said sternly, “And that is why I must ask you to be extra attentive to your duties.” he spread his powerful wings wide, preparing to leave, “Stay vigilant you two. Report any suspicious behaviour and remain careful in taking any action.”

“Yes sir!” the two guards called out, snapping into twin salutes and maintaining them until the captain was out of sight.

And with that, the pair resumed their task, staring out into the night. They spoke not a word to each other, and their expressions conveyed nothing but utter seriousness. For they knew that if this truly was a royal decree, then before the night was over, something big was going to happen. They didn’t know what, nor could they tell when, but before that sun rose, there was going to be action.

The two guards were not alone in their resolve. All over Canterlot, the entire night guard had come to the same conclusion and were bracing themselves for the eventual conflict. No matter what the coming threat was, the guard were steeling themselves, determined to do their duty and protect the princesses.

Celestia had informed Luna of the true nature of the royal decree, but she refused to allow any guards within her chambers, despite the essential threat made upon her. Like any other night, her security could do little but hover about the palace at a safe distance, making doubly sure that nothing could slip through their flawed defence.

Celestia was worried about her sister. Ever since she was pardoned, she had become recluse, spending all her time alone and locked within her chambers. In fact, her desire for solitude extended to such a degree that she remained the only inhabitant of her night palace. Celestia was wary about mentioning Marco to her sister, but she found that Luna was unusually calm about the fact somepony wanted her dead. Perhaps even too calm. Almost as if it she was a troubled mix of expectant and accepting of the fact.

Regardless of her concerns, Celestia respected her sister’s attitude even though she viewed it as a passing phase. Luna would eventually adjust to the role she was destined for; she just needed her space and enough time to come to terms with how she once acted and forgive herself for rising against her sister.

But ever since she had left Luna’s presence, Celestia couldn’t help but feel there was some other reason why her sister had dismissed the guards that had been sent to protect her. She couldn’t allow herself to dwell on it though. There was much work to do, and only had until sunrise to get it done...

* * * *

“Um, are you sure you’re okay back there?” Fluttershy called, noticing that Pinkie Pie appeared to be shivering, “Maybe you should’ve stayed back at the library after all...”

“I’m fit as a fiddle Fluttershy!” she replied casually, her voice vibrating as her body lapsed into another series of spasms. “Fit as a fit fiddle even! Why do you ask?”

“You sure you’re not cold darling?” Rarity asked in surprise, “You’ve been shaking in your boots since we entered this dreadful forest.”

“I’m fine silly!” Pinkie Pie said dismissively, “It’s not that cold. And I’m not even wearing boots!”

“It’s an expression dear.” Rarity replied flatly, “And I’m just worried about you, that’s all...”

“Hrm? Well okay-dokie then!” the bubbly earth pony replied, “But seriously, I’m fine. I’ve got the jitters!”

Applejack suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, bringing the cart behind her to a grinding halt. “The jitters?” she stammered, the concern evident in her voice, “Oh, boy... tell me it ain’t forest monsters!”

She continued to look around nervously, expecting to see a series of evil, glowing eyes staring hungrily at her. Confused, Rarity just swapped a passing look with Pinkie Pie. “What in Equestria’s gotten into you Applejack?” she called from her left, “Forest monsters? Jitters? What the devil are you talking about?”

Hijacking whatever explanation there was to be had, it was Twilight who took it upon herself to answer the question. “Nopony can explain it.” she said mysteriously, “But trust me Rarity, when Pinkie Pie starts twitching, the least you can do is be careful.”

Twilight’s mind couldn’t help but flash back to the consequences of her disbelief in Pinkie Pie’s natural gift. And while Twilight wasn’t one to indulge the more ‘random’ aspects of Pinkie’s personality, she had learned the hard way that she couldn’t afford to ignore the strange and unusual ‘instincts’ that she possessed.

“Well it can’t be too bad...” Rainbow Dash called with a hint of self-satisfaction to her voice, “Look!”

She thrust a hoof forwards, gesturing at the clearing in front of them. The thick woods they had pushed through had eased up, and the eerie glow of moonlight was shining down through one of the only gaps in the overhead foliage. But what drew the group’s attention was the structure standing in the centre. It was a structure that they recognized as being Zecora’s hut.

And While Zecora’s place was commonly referred to as a hut, technically that wasn’t entirely true. Strictly speaking, her house was a twisted oak tree that had been hollowed out and converted into a rather alien-looking home. In this sense, it was not unlike Twilight’s library back in Ponyville.

Strangely enough, the moonlight wasn’t the only thing illuminating Zecora’s house. Everypony could clearly see that there was light coming from within. For reasons unknown to them, it seemed as if Twilight and her friends were not the only ones who had a reason for being active so very late at night.

“Wow. And here I was wondering about the proper way to barge in, asking for her help while she was still asleep...” Twilight said in surprise, “Why in the world would she be awake so late at night?”

“Gee, I dunno know Twi...” Pinkie Pie started, “Don’t ya think it’s closer to being early in the morning as apposed to being late at night?” she frowned dramatically, “Wait, what goes in between again?”

Twilight didn’t acknowledge Pinkie’s questions, instead focusing her attention on working up the courage to approach Zecora’s door and give it two dull knocks. She had too many things to consider. First of all, Zecora would in no way be expecting the company of anything but some feral beast at a time like this. Secondly, time was of the essence. Marco’s condition would most likely be worsening, and something surely needed to be done soon. That said, they couldn’t afford to skip any of the details when explaining the situation to Zecora; overlooking even the smallest detail could prove to be disastrous.

Twilight’s thoughts were interrupted when the door in front of her rushed open. Before she could adjust herself, she found her eyes level with the confused stare of her zebra friend Zecora. “Is that Twilight Sparkle before my eyes?” the zebra blinked a few times in disbelief, “Or does my weary mind tell me lies?”

Twilight was intrigued by her response. It seemed that no matter what the situation, Zecora wouldn’t be caught dead speaking without rhyme.

“Tell me what brings you to this house of mine...” Zecora continued, “At such a strange and unusual a time?”

“We’re sorry to barge in on you like this Zecora, but we really, really need your help.” Twilight pleaded, gesturing to small group behind her, “This pony’s life may be in danger, and you just about the only one who can possibly help us!”

The zebra pony glanced over at Twilight’s friends, surrounding what appeared to be a stallion laying flat on the back of a worn out apple cart. It was an odd scene, but she didn’t doubt the seriousness of it. “Ah, yes... this I can tell.” she said cocking her head, “You seek the skills in which only I excel.”

Zecora took in the scene before her, or more accurately, took in the object of the efforts of Twilight and her friends. When she looked at Marco, she felt that same foreboding chill she had experienced upon looking at the moon. For a fleeting instant, she almost felt as if she shouldn’t help this stranger, but she no sooner discarded such an immoral idea.

“Bring your friend inside and make haste.” she commanded, “Time is something we cannot afford to waste.”

Zecora opened her door wide to make room for the whole group. “Come along, and follow me.” she continued, “We shall discuss the situation over my special tea.”

Twilight didn’t wait around for a second invitation. Applejack went in first, wagon and all, followed quickly by Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. Twilight made to follow, but when Pinkie Pie erupted into an especially intense shaking fit, she paused and addressed her friend.

“You alright Pinkie?” Twilight asked gently. “What is it?”

Her friend’s expression instantly alarmed Twilight. It didn’t look like the normal carefree Pinkie she knew. She almost looked... worried.

“I dunno Twilight...” Pinkie Pie said, her unsure tone contrasting her regularly peppy self, “I’ve never had anything like this before.

“But whatever it is...” she continued, a grim seriousness plaguing her voice “It’s definitely a doozey.”

* * * *

“Another fruitless diversion...” Celestia told herself, her tone frustrated, “How do these faded memories continue to elude me?”

The princess’ secretive research continued, but this time, the book she pored over was not one from her own royal archive. Indeed, she wasn’t even in the royal palace at the moment.

Celestia seemed to be the only one in Canterlot General Library, which did have its advantages; though to be fair, the place was supposed to be closed. She could hear the faint and regular sound of the guard hustling about outside, but she paid them no heed. To her knowledge, they did not even know she was in here. After all, what could one of the city’s more humble libraries have to offer that her own vast collection could not?

Celestia practically slammed the city census down against the desk she found herself sitting by. It was supposed to be the last resort in helping her solve this mystery, but it too had failed her.

Unknown to the princess, the slamming sound boomed out through the library, and found itself upon the ears of a once-sleeping attendant. Her soft orange mane was tangled and her dull white coat was scuffed from her sudden emergence from deep sleep. She dreamily readjusted the crooked spectacles that had been at some stage knocked loose, and wiped away the sliver of drool that had found its way down her muzzle.

It didn’t take the dazed mare very long to realize she was not alone in the library. There was a faint yellow glow lighting up the far end of the library, not far behind a circle of bookcases by the door. The startled librarian quickly ducked under her desk, wary that her library had an intruder.

Soon enough however, she eased up, realizing that the light was being magically conjured. She was an earth pony herself, but unicorns in Canterlot tend to a civil bunch, at least not the kind that raid the local library anyway.

Still cautious, but otherwise settled, she carefully and quietly sulked away from the safety of her desk. Perhaps the unicorn had simply lost track of time, or even fallen asleep the same as she had. Either way, there was little reason for the spooked librarian to suspect anything especially lewd from somepony who’s only crime could be loitering...

She finally closed in on the light source, taking cover by the encirclement of bookcases. “Excuse me?” she called out as she rounded the corner and finally came face to face with Celestia, “Sorry, but we’re closed-”

The wind must have changed, because as the sleepy earth pony realized that her intruder was not a unicorn, but an alicorn, and not a loiterer, but a princess, her stunned expression froze right then and there, trapped in an embarrassing display of profound shock.

Truly, Celestia did well not to burst out laughing at the funny sight. “Forgive me for intruding.” the princess said apologetically, “But I found you sleeping, and decided it was best to enter unannounced.”

“Uh... well thank you for that.” the librarian stuttered, taking a stressed step backwards, “I’m Pastel Pride. Sorry for interrupting. Holler if you need anything...”

“Actually, it seems that your appearance is rather well timed.” Celestia said curiously, “There is something you may be able to help me with, though I suppose I could ‘holler’ if you prefer...”

“I, uh... don’t worry ‘bout it.” Pastel said embarrassed, trying to mask her unusual mannerisms, “I’m here. What can I help you with?”

“Well, I’ve been trying to find the name of a certain pegasus who served me in the guard, though hers is a name that I have regrettably forgotten.” Celestia said discreetly, unashamedly investing herself in the insight of a laypony, “I know not of what happened to her beyond deserting the guard, so I thought that if she was a citizen, I could find her name in the census.”

“Hang on princess, you’ve lost me.” Pastel replied, “Didn’t you say that you couldn’t remember her name? How did you expect to find her in the census if-”

“I am certain that if I were to see the name, I would know it to be hers.” the princess cut her off, “So I studied the census in the hope it would be revealed to me.”

“Let me get this straight...” Pastel replied, “You read the whole census... every single name, of every single citizen, from Abacus Able to Zyedi Zyeek, looking for just one pegasus in a process of elimination?!”

“Yes.” Celestia nodded despite herself, “And yet I could not find it...”

“That’s crazy.” Pastel commended, “You must really, I mean really, want that name...”

Celestia didn’t respond to the librarian’s final comment. She rose from her seated position and looked about herself before finally leaning in to Pastel. “I loath to admit this, but I know little about the documentation involved with the census.” she said pointedly, “Is there any reason why somepony might not be listed?”

“Um, yeah... there’s a few.” Pastel answered, “The city census lists all the citizens of Canterlot, but that doesn’t mean it’s supposed to have every name. It’s designed so a single pony doesn’t appear on multiple lists, so if somepony isn’t on the census, it means they are listed somewhere else.

“For instance, the guard services have their own separate census.” she continued, “You said she was a royal guard, so she might be listed on-”

“That was where I first looked.” Celestia cut the librarian off, “It yielded nothing, so in my desperation I came here.”

“So if she’s not on either of those charters, it is possible that she died.” Pastel proposed, “Have you checked the-”

“No. She cannot be dead.” Celestia interrupted confidently, “It was clearly stated that the first...”

Celestia immediately cut herself off. She had been carefully keeping such things a secret, yet she had almost said more than she meant to. She couldn’t speak of it; not to this librarian, not her captain, and certainly not her sister.

“Are there any other lists?” Celestia asked, covering up her slip of the tongue, “Some other place where a name could be listed?”

“There’s really only one other, but you’re not going to like it.” Pastel delayed somewhat, not sure what impact what she was about to say would have on the princess, “The criminal census. If she’s listed as being imprisoned or at large for a criminal offense, then she’d be listed there.

“But that couldn’t be it...” she continued, “If she was a royal guard, and that history was known when she became listed as wanted, then she would have automatically been flagged as an A-class criminal. And that doesn’t go unnoticed. After all, the last incident of that happening was six years ago, and even I remember seeing the bugger’s face all through the newspaper.”

“If this is the only other place she could be listed, then I see no alternative than her being wanted.” Celestia reasoned, “But as you say, the last incident of a royal guard turning criminal occurred six years ago. If she did indeed become wanted, she couldn’t have been listed as a royal guard at the time...

The princess’ eyes flickered slightly as some small realization struck her. “I have something else to ask, though I would be surprised if you were knowledgeable enough to answer.” she said, her tone darkening somewhat, “Suppose one wanted to manually change somepony’s listing. Could it be done?”

“Technically yes, but it would have the same result.” Pastel replied, “If your pegasus was a royal guard, and was manually changed to a wanted criminal, she would still be flagged.”

“I see.” Celestia’s eyes intensified, “But what if one manually changed somepony’s listing from a royal guard to a citizen? Would they be flagged if they were then moved from the census to the wanted list?

“Well, technically no... but it’s impossible.” the librarian dismissed, “Sure, anypony can appeal to have somepony regarded as deceased, or report somepony as a criminal, but there aren’t many who have access to the guard listing, and even less who have the authority to change it.”

Celestia thought on it for a few moments. Was it possible for such trickery to impede her search? In any case, coming here had given her something to go off, and she certainly wasn’t about to squander the opportunity. Not when she feared she had such little time left in which to solve the mystery...

“Do you mind if I take this with me?” Celestia asked, indicating the census, “I believe I may yet have use for it, but I cannot afford to dwell here any longer.”

“Sorry princess, the census is available to research on permission, but it cannot be removed from the library.” the librarian replied bravely, “Sorry, but it’s the rules. I don’t want to get fired for giving out one of our most important documents...”

“You have my apologies as well; for I was not asking permission, but only if you minded.” Celestia smiled beyond her bone-shattering dismissal, “While it is unfortunate that you do, this book is coming with me.”

Pastel blanched. The princess did not raise her voice, nor did she emanate any venomous intent, yet the way in spoke was impossibly scary. Even as she turned and walked off silently, the poor librarian could barely muster up the will to address her.

“S... sorry your highness. Please go ahead.” she finally managed, her face pale, “Was there anything else I could do for you?”

The princess stopped. Indeed, there was one thing that was still bothering her about what she had found out here, but it wasn’t until now that she felt compelled to ask about it. “I do have one last question.” she said, not even turning around, “It’s in relation to what you said about those with the authority to alter the guard listings. Do you have any idea who has enough power to do something like that?”

"Well, there's you of course..." Pastel replied, placing her hoof upon her muzzle as she thought, "Your sister could do it too. But besides you two, the only others would be the guard captains."

“I see.” Celestia acknowledged, still not looking back, but continuing upon her way out of the library, “Thank you for all your help.”

“Don’t mention it-” Pastel made to reply, but cut herself off as the figure to which she spoke teleported away in a blinding flash.

Now alone in her library, she looked about despondently at the mess the princess had made with all the various papers and scrolls that had occupied her interest. She sighed deeply, shuffling over to her own desk and begun to rummage around inside. If she was going to tidy this place up, she needed energy. And like all librarians in the business know, the best solution to tiredness is always chemical.

* * * *

The first sip Twilight took of Zecora’s special tea was enough to blast away even the thought of sleep.

“Whoa Nelly!” Applejack exclaimed from the opposite end of the table, “That’ll wake ya up in the morning!”

Fluttershy shook her head vigorously from side to side, overwhelmed by the sudden burst of energy. “Oh my...” she said with a sputter, “What’s in this stuff?”

“It’s one of Zecora’s special recipes.” Twilight replied matter-of-factly, “Living in the middle of the Everfree Forest gives her access to a wide variety of unique materials. She mixes up a special herb in with the tea. It’s strong stuff; one cup will keep you up all night!”

Twilight stopped short. She quickly realized that she had just shared a suspicious level of knowledge on the subject.

Rarity gazed at Twilight as she gave her cup a tentative sniff. She had yet to sample the concoction. “Is that so?” she said coyly, “Don’t tell me this is how you manage to study all through the night these days!”

“Of course not!” Twilight exclaimed, her cheeks instantly burning red. It seemed as though she was a bad liar...

While the girls were talking, Fluttershy watched Zecora’s cauldron intently as it bubbled, the sleeping potion that the zebra had been brewing earlier frothing and gurgling menacingly. “Actually...” the shy pegasus whispered, picking up on her friend’s defensive response, “I have noticed her visiting Zecora more and more lately. Maybe she has a problem?”

“I’m sitting right here you know?!” Twilight fumed, “and no I don’t have a ‘problem!’ I only use it every now and then, to help me with my studies!”

“Whoa, take a chill pill Twi...” Rainbow Dash called out, making her presence known, “We get it. just go easy okay?”

Everypony at the table had their attention redirected to Rarity when she emitted an unrefined squeak, recoiling from finally giving her tea that first curious sip. But before anyone could call attention to one of Rarity’s ‘oh-so-rare’ lapses in finesse, Pinkie Pie bounded into the room with purpose...

“Alrighty guys!” she called warmly, erasing any remaining tension, “We’re done setting up in there. Zecora says she needs you now- Oh? Is that tea?”

All but distracted, Pinkie Pie leaned precariously in towards a vacant cup.

“NO!” everypony cried out as one. They didn’t want to find out what kind of reaction the already energetic Pinkie Pie would have to such a potent concoction.

“Wah?” Pinkie tilted her head, perplexed by the unanimous response, “Why?”

It was Rarity who saved the day. “Oh, by all means dear, do have a try...” she shot the girls a quick look, “It’s positively quaint. The perfect blend of bitter and sour! Truly superb!”

“Eeck! No thanks!” Pinkie said disgusted, “Come on already! Zecora’s waiting!”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but chuckle at the exchange. Reverse psychology was Rarity’s specialty, and it was also Pinkie Pie’s weakness.

Zecora’s living room was an interesting spectacle to behold. Lying flat on his back was the motionless Marco, all but surrounded by some strange looking, smouldering humps of powdered incense.

“What’s with the smoke?” Twilight asked almost immediately.

Pinkie cocked her head to the side. She saw it too. And even to her, the smoke was weird to say the least. In some places it rose fluidly like smoke ought to, but in other places its path upwards was jagged and jarring, zigzagging at varying degrees.

Applejack however, saw past the strange incense, instead directing her attention to the frayed rope that seemed to be fastening the grey pony to the floor.

“Now, what in tarnation did ya’ll go and tie him to the floor for?” she asked suspiciously, “I don’t think he’s going anywhere anytime soon...”

Zecora seemed to take the questions in stride as she made her way around the room. Applejack could only raise an eyebrow to the mysterious zebra pony. No matter how much she tried, she would never understand her strange ways.

She attempted a different approach. “So, what’s the deal with the rope?” she asked with a satisfied grin, “Or is this some kind of joke-

“Screw it, I tried.” she said bitterly, crossing her hoofs in embarrassment.

Zecora chuckled warmly at Applejack’s discomfort. “The rope stops him being shaken the moment he is to awaken.” she replied with less mystery, but could still see that the meaning behind her words were hard for the poor earth pony to grasp.

Applejack sighed; this wasn’t worth the effort. Twilight made to translate for her, but Zecora carried on with her explanation. “Certainly such questions are to be expected...” she dismissed, “But first, I now know to what your friend has been subjected.”

“Really?” Twilight said, more than surprised, “You mean you can tell what’s wrong? Can you fix-”

She cut herself off, the final words of her teacher floating into her mind. “Are you planning some sort of treatment?” Twilight said, her tone uncharacteristically cold.

Zecora raised an eyebrow at this change, but carried on all the same. “First, the incense you no doubt notice, is an ancient tool used in hypnosis...” she begun, noticing a few confused eyebrows rise, “The purpose of this smoke is to show us the dreams we aim to invoke.”

A particular word seized Twilight’s attention. “Hypnosis?” she questioned, “why would you do that? How does that help?”

Zecora shook her head. “You have the diagnosis and my remedy mistaken.” she claimed, “The hypnosis is what makes him unable to waken.”

In the background, Applejack was getting irritated. “Darn it, can’t somepony please talk sense?” she pleaded, “Or at least normal-like?!”

Twilight was deep in thought, resting her muzzle on her hoof. “She’s saying that Marco was already hypnotized when we brought him here.” she said, her uncertain words reflecting her confusion, “I don’t understand...”

“Wait a sec...” Rainbow Dash interjected, “You’re saying the princess cast some sort of hypnosis spell on him?”

Zecora simply shrugged. “An act that I understand Twilight saw first-hand.” she replied, her tone neutral as ever.

“Why?” Rainbow Dash shot back, half-addressing Twilight, “I’m no expert, but isn’t something like that, like, intentional?”

Applejack could tell Twilight wasn’t following. “What she means is, ya’ll don’t zap somepony and with your magic and just happen to hypnotise ‘em.” she clarified, “So him almost dying wasn’t part of the plan?”

“Well don’t sound so surprised!” Twilight replied, genuinely appalled, “This is the princess we’re talking about! How many times have you guys met her and talked to her? Surely you don’t believe for even a second she did anything without a proper reason-”

“Reason?!” Fluttershy cried out, her anger taking everypony by surprise, “What reason can there be for what she’s done?”

Fluttershy paused and took a deep breath, not used to having to clam herself. “As long as he’s yet to do anything bad, Marco’s still an innocent.” she continued, more level-headed than before, “He’s endured so much evil and clung to life for who knows how long. I hope I’m wrong about the princess, but how could she decide to put him through more hardship? Are you telling me that there can be a reason for such cruelty? Look me in the eye and tell me how any of this can be right!”

Twilight was undaunted by the weight of her friends words. “I can try to understand what you’re saying, but ever since Celestia took me in as her protégé, she has never given me a reason to doubt her, and I’m not about to start now!” Twilight countered, the aggression unconsciously welling up in her voice as she defended her teacher, “Marco on the other hoof has done nothing to warrant any trust! Ever since he came here, he’s brought nothing but chaos! Sneaking through the night, raiding my library, swearing revenge on Luna... everything I’ve seen him do, every truth about that pony over there, it all contradicts what you think of him!

“It’s painfully obvious that you don’t know all the facts, and I don’t either... but the princess definitely does!” Twilight stood her ground, “Whatever she did and why, I have faith that out of any decision she could have made, she made the right one. What we should do is trust Celestia’s judgment! Doesn’t she deserve it?”

It was clear that this was about to snowball into a heated argument that would only cause more problems. In an effort to calm the two, everypony seemed to intervene at the same time, and as a result, the room quickly descended into a verbal brawl, the girls all talking over one another in an attempt to stop Twilight or Fluttershy saying something they would definitely regret. Well, everypony bar one...

“Quiet!” the unexpected voice exclaimed, silencing each and every one of the bickering ponies.

The sound of Pinkie Pie yelling was a force that, by it’s very nature, was enough to utterly crush any voice that would dare oppose it. A condemning silence hung in the air as the ordinarily bubble earth pony stared her friends down, the shock knocking the words out of each of their mouths.

“Twilight.” she begun, “There is never a reason why you shouldn’t help somepony who really needs it. And whoever this guy is, he needs it bad. Needs our help and needs your help!”

Nopony spoke, too shocked by this scary new side to Pinkie Pie. “And Fluttershy! Celestia is our friend!” she reminded her, “Don’t say such harsh things behind her back! We don’t know all the facts!”

Pinkie Pie looked the two over disapprovingly. “You’re both jumping to conclusions.” she accused, her out-thrust hoof pointing to her divided friends, “The stuff you guys are arguing about isn’t for us to decide! It’s up to the two of them to sort it out! We need to help them figure it out themselves instead of telling them what they should and shouldn’t have done!”

Everypony still just stared at Pinkie Pie. Each word out of her mouth brought them closer to disbelief, but they could tell she had a point. A very good point.

“The only thing we should be worried about...” she concluded, “Is how to help, not why!”

Twilight blinked a few times, her bitterness melting away. Her friend’s deceptively wise words were taking hold of her and washing away her aggression. She snuck a tentative look over to Fluttershy, but the pegasus was already on her way out of the room. Before she turned away and disappeared around the corner, Twilight could see resentment darkening her eyes.

Inside, Twilight hated herself for what she had said. While they were both making some valid points, Twilight didn’t know where she was going with her argument. ‘If Pinkie Pie didn’t stop me...’ she thought to herself, the realization grim, ‘Would I really have suggested just leaving Marco to-’

Twilight’s grim thoughts were cut short as Rainbow Dash whizzed past in pursuit of Fluttershy. They were both gone before anypony could tell them to wait, but the look Dash shot at Twilight just before she disappeared could cut through stone. It penetrated right through to her core. It was a look that said much more than words ever could.

“Now where are those two running off to?” Rarity asked rather bluntly, “They are aware that it is night outside, are they not?”

“Pay ‘em no mind sugarcube.” Applejack said sincerely, talking past Rarity as she gingerly raised Twilight’s muzzle with her hoof, the honest earth pony able to see the regret in her friend’s eyes, “They’ll come around, don’t you worry. They just need some space is all. Them two have been through a lot after all...”

“I should go apologize.” Twilight whispered, shaking her head, “I was way out of line.”

Zecora stepped up to the group of ponies, stopping Twilight from leaving. “A noble endeavour, but you here you must remain.” she said, distancing herself from the quarrels of her guests, “Your skills are needed if his mind we are to regain.”

“Then I’ll go talk to them!” Rarity said reassuringly, “See if I can’t bring them back-”

Strangely enough, Zecora stopped her too. “I need the magic of two for my methods to apply.” she said, the claim shocking the pair of unicorns somewhat, “Lest this ailment remain impossible to deny...”

“Me?” Rarity asked in surprise, “I’m not even good with magic! Besides, I don’t even know the stallion...”

“Lack of connection makes your actions sincere, as I believe your friend made rather clear.” Zecora said, trying to keep the flow, “You are as neutral as I in this intervention, plagued not by the bias of intention.”

“Maybe I should go bring the girls back instead...” Applejack said curiously, trying in vain to hide the fact she couldn’t understand Zecora’s cryptic rhymes, “You three have got your hooves full with this mess, so I’ll go bring back them two. Pinkie Pie? You coming?”

Pinkie didn’t respond right away, caught up in reading a book Zecora had left out. “Hrm? Nah. I’m gonna stay here and watch this.” she replied without looking up, that odd level of seriousness still contaminating her normal bubbly voice, “But you should go talk to them. You’re good at that sorta stuff.”

Twilight just watched Applejack leave. “Hey, Pinkie...” she said, looking over to her, “What are you reading?”

Pinkie Pie didn’t answer. She didn’t even lift her head from the text. Twilight’s heart sank somewhat to think that she was ignoring her on purpose...

“Those are the instructions for what we are about to do.” Zecora jumped in, “Which is a good chance for me to explain why I need the both of you.”

Zecora motioned towards the incense rising up to the roof. “If you will, please observe the patterns in the smoke.” she indicated the varying patterns dominating the air above Marco’s motionless figure, “These are translations of the dream our spell serves to evoke.”

Twilight and Rarity exchanged a look. “Excuse me?” Rarity questioned, completely baffled, “Do you mind running that one by me again dear?”

Before Zecora could respond, Pinkie Pie started reading aloud from the book she was looking at, citing what sounded like instructions. “On a compatible subject, the incense constructs representations of a pony’s consciousness.” she read out,“The thin strands display a calm mind while the jagged strands indicate erratic visions.”

Pinkie Pie looked up from the book and stopped referencing it. “But almost all of them are jagged.” she pointed out, “Is that bad?”

Twilight paid Pinkie’s comment no heed, instead more interested in this book she was reading. “Hey, um Pinkie...” she said cautiously, realizing her friend would definitely still be bitter about what happened earlier, “Do you mind if I have a read?”

Without a word, the pink pony put the book down and trotted over to Rarity and Zecora. “Hrmm, ‘Erratic visions’...” she repeated, rolling the words around in her mouth, “Couldn’t that mean he’s having a reallyhappy dream?”

“I don’t know about that dear.” Rarity said flatly, “It’s good to stay positive, but look at the smoke. Whatever it is that’s going on inside that stallion’s head, it’s chaos in there. There’s no way it can be healthy...”

Twilight suddenly looked up from the book, something that Rarity had just having resonated. “I think I get it now...” she begun, thinking back to all the details she knew about what had happened tonight, “When the princess did ‘this’, she told me that Marco had to look inside himself for ‘something without which he wouldn’t be able to wake’. She was being really vague, but in reading this book I think I finally understand what she meant.”

Zecora looked on passively while Pinkie Pie and Rarity subtly cocked their heads to the side. They didn’t understand, but they remained silent and waited for Twilight to continue.

“This incense of yours show us that his mind is agitated, and after what the princess said, I believe that the spell prevents him from rousing as long as it remains that way.” Twilight nodded to herself as some of the pieces came together, “After comparing the stuff Celestia told me with what your treatment tells us about Marco’s condition, I think we can conclude that he won’t be able to wake up until he makes peace with whatever visions he’s having.”

I don’t think that’s about to happen.” Rarity scoffed, “As I understand it, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash barely kept him from ‘falling prey’ to such visions.”

Zecora swiftly placed herself between the two. “Thus is why we must intervene in this affair.” she swapped a quick look with the two unicorns, “Which brings me to why this responsibility is yours to share.”

The next time she spoke, Zecora had eyes only for Twilight. “Is it safe for me to accept that your magical powers are adept?” she asked without wasting a moment.

Before Twilight could answer, Pinkie Pie disappeared and then quickly reappeared in a puff of dust, bringing Zecora’s instructions over to her friend. “You must focus your mind on the visual representation of what you see before you.” Pinkie said, once again regurgitating the words from the book, “Focus your magic to make the form of the consciousness tangible.”

After she stopped talking, Pinkie Pie’s expression was completely blank. She did not understand a word of what she was saying despite how fluently she was saying it.

“Oh my, that sounds horribly difficult.” Rarity said nervously, “I couldn’t possibly do anything like that!”

“You can relax, for your task is far less complex.” Zecora replied cryptically, “Twilight gives the dream form, but it’s for you to grasp what she reflects.”

Pinkie Pie, perhaps sensing Rarity’s confusion pushed a hoof to the page the book was turned to. “It says here that if Twilight can successfully give the dream a physical form, it’s a simple matter of you connecting with it by using your horn!” she said optimistically, trying to reassure her friend.

“I still don’t understand.” Rarity replied with a frown, “how am I supposed to connect with something if it isn’t an object?”

“Actually, it’s rather simple Rarity.” Twilight started, her own knowledge kicking in, “It’s the same as when you use your magic to manipulate your tools and fabrics back home. It’s a matter of me being able to transform an intangible thing like a dream and make it into something even you can interact with.”

“Okay, okay... slow down for a moment.” Rarity put a hoof forward in an attempt to slow her friend down, “Suppose I can ‘interact’ with something so ridiculous. What then? You make it sound as if you’re trying to tell me that I’ll-”

Twilight was looking over Pinkie Pie’s shoulder at the instructions detailed in the book, her lips shaping invisible sounds as she skimmed over the details. “No, it’s nothing so bizarre as going inside somepony’s dreams.” she finally said, getting a better grasp of the process, “It’s more like a momentary combination of the consciousness of both parties.”

Rarity remained unsettled; it sounded like what she had said, just in different words. “That still doesn’t explain how this is supposed to help.” she pointed out, “How does this snap that stallion out of his hypnosis? What do I have to... rather, what can I do to assist with waking him up?”

Twilight was in her element, having read extensive studies on hypnotism before. “The core thing that maintains the act of hypnosis is the fact that the subject is unaware they are being manipulated.” her eyes were locked on to her friends so that she could be certain her words were being understood, “You won’t have to bother with convincing him that he’s been hypnotized. If you just tell him that he is, he’ll wake up instantly.”

Rarity was still feeling sceptical. “Is it really that simple?” she asked, “This is the princess’ magic we are talking about here.”

“Normally, you’d be right.” Twilight nodded, “The situation back at the library made it clear this isn’t any kind of normal hypnotism, otherwise Fluttershy’s adrenaline or whatever would have woken him up. But this time we are targeting the most basic element of hypnosis. The moment Marco becomes aware he’s dreaming, he will snap out of it.”

“Okay, okay.” Rarity said vacantly, “What about you? Do you think you can pull off such an odd spell? It’s bound to be complicated...”

“Oh, it’s complicated alright... believe me.” Twilight acknowledged, “But yes, I don’t think I’ll have too much trouble getting it to work.”

“Well if you’re sure...” Rarity nodded, “Shall we get started?”

Twilight was about to agree, but an interesting though stopped her in her tracks. “Wait just a minute Rarity...” she begun, a look of concern on her face, “Are you really okay with this? I mean, you don’t even know the guy. At all! I hope we’re not forcing you into doing something you’re uncomfortable with-”

“Oh Twilight, don’t be silly!” she replied, shaking her head, “It’s like what Pinkie said. There is no sense in standing idly by when you are the one with the power to fix a situation.”

Rarity’s aura wavered slightly. “Well, I must admit it is all a little strange, but nevertheless, my assistance is required.” Rarity looked up at her horn, “I won’t hold back my gift when somepony truly needs it”.

Twilight still had trouble comprehending the degree of her friend’s generosity, even though it was revered as her ‘element’.

At the other side of the room, Pinkie Pie smiled broadly, reinvigorated by the positive attitude of her friends. “That’s the spirit!” Pinkie Pie chimed, returning to her bubbly self, “Now, let’s get on with it!”

Zecora chuckled mildly. “Well said.” she replied with a light smile of her own, “Too long has this one rested, let us see if this magic can be bested .”

* * * *

Back in empty halls of Canterlot, Princess Celestia’s private study was an absolute mess.

Captain Caliber moved briskly down the hall, doing his best to stay alert despite the fact he had been on duty since morning. He had downed a full pot of coffee in all of about a minute, and he could already feel the energy rushing back to him.

He stopped in front of the entrance to the princess’ private study, collecting himself for a moment. After taking a few deep breaths, he made to enter, but one of the two royal guards positioned by the doorway stopped him with a subtle cough. Caliber looked over the two of his subordinates, and quickly registered the stare they were giving him. They didn’t need to say a word. Their faces said it all...

‘If you’re going in...’ their expressions warned,‘prepare yourself’.

With a final concerned look at the royal guards, the captain took a deep breath and made his way through the door.

By the time that the door thumped shut behind him, the captain’s jaw had all but hit the floor. In all his years of serving the princess, he had never seen the study in such a state, or even considered it possible for it to become so chaotic.

Celestia’s personal archive of tomes, scrolls, and books were practically bare, and Caliber’s eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw that the majority of the princess’ prized collection had been strewn all over the floor. There wasn’t even an inch of the pearl tiles visible under all the discarded texts. In a word, he was speechless. Celestia’s library was revered as a treasure trove of timeless artefacts, and there was not a single item in her shelves that wasn’t a unique and priceless treasure. Some of them even dated back thousands of years. These were stories that told of adventures long forgotten, and texts that spoke of a history recorded exclusively in their pages. And in spite of all these things, they had been cast aside like trash.

Captain Caliber’s bottom lip quivered as took in the sight of these invaluable objects discarded on the floor. He could remember a time where he himself had countered the attempts of thieves aiming to raid the library, fighting back fools that had become intoxicated by the immeasurable worth of any one of the treasures within.

He did his best to abandon his fixation with the condition of the library, for he had come here for a reason. Once he managed to look up from the mess of books, he instantly recognized the figure of the princess bent over a single tome. She had yet to look up, or even acknowledge the appearance of the guard captain in any way. It seemed she was utterly engrossed in whatever she was reading.

“P...p...princess?” Caliber stammered, failing to hide the concern in his voice, “What... what is the meaning of this?”

There came no response. A heavy silence hung in the air for a few agonizing moments before Celestia magically slammed the tome closed, hanging her head back with closed eyes. Caliber was instantly unsettled. He had yet to see the princess so stressed before. But since it was clear she was struggling with something, he decided it would be better not to impose, and give her the time she obviously needed to finish her thoughts.

He busied himself trying to figure out why the library had been turned inside out. He felt ashamed applying his tactical mind in such a situation, but the whole reason he had excelled and earned his rank was due to his keen intellect and ability to join the dots.

The strategic mind he had honed over years of service started to race, trying to form solid conclusions from the evidence he had been presented with. ‘Okay, first thing’s first.’ he thought, starting from scratch, ‘This place is a mess.But why? She’s thrown all these books away like nothing, but it looks like she’s been agonizing over one in particular.So she tore her own library apart trying to find it? No that doesn’t make sense.It’d have to be really important, or time was a...

‘Yes, it makes sense if time was the problem.’ Caliber reasoned, that aspect of the mystery clicking together in his mind, ‘It would also explain her sudden decision to increase the night guard.But what does that have to do with what happened with that earth pony? I assumed that was why she has everypony up in arms, but what connection could he have with some thousand year old book?

‘There has to something else at play here.’ he concluded, ‘And the princess knows what it is-’

“Did I do the right thing?” Celestia asked, her voice cutting thought the quiet and shattering Caliber’s train of thought. At some stage during his theorising, the princess had risen and was now looking at her captain with imploring eyes.

“Princess?” Caliber started, trying to put his thoughts on hold, “What... what are you talking about?”

Celestia just hung her head. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve felt this way.” she admitted, her voice distant, “a time when my mind was so... conflicted.”

Caliber wanted to ease the princess, but he didn’t know how to respond. She was being purposefully vague. “Felt what?” he probed, “Guilt?”

Celestia’s face was passive. She didn’t reply.

“I can understand...” Caliber continued, “You are the princess. Sometimes you must choose between two equally hard options, and what is right and what is wrong isn’t immediately obvious. But nopony can afford to dwell on what is past, especially not you. You have to have faith that you did the right thing and commit yourself to the course of action you decided upon. For if you start to doubt yourself, then we... we who have faith in you, our resolve is for naught.”

Celestia brightened slightly at the honesty of the guard captain. Those that spoke to her without fear of consequence were in short supply, and she really valued their input, especially when it entailed disagreement.

“As always, your words ring true captain.” the princess brightened ever so slightly, “But I hope you’re not alarmed when I say guilt is not what plagues my mind.”

“Then what is it?” he replied evenly, “Doubt? Remorse-”

“Fear.” the princess interrupted, casting her gaze to the book she had been agonizing over, “The utter helplessness of not knowing.”

The guard captain was confused, and would have asked her what she meant, but Celestia carried on with her what she was saying. “Tell me if you can...” she implored, “Can fate be conquered even when its designs are concealed? Or am I doomed to take step after step through this darkness, not knowing if I am moving to or from my demons?”

Celestia shook her head softly; she didn’t expect an answer. “Everything that this night has and will bring carries with it so much uncertainty.” she closed her eyes softly, “So many questions and so few answers. It’s simply terrifying.”

Her mind flashed back to visions of her confrontation with Marco. The memory was still so vivid, and the things she saw in his eyes came back to her with such ease. The depth of his fury, the reckless bravery and the unshakable tenacity, it reminded her so much of another. Even then, perhaps ‘remind’ was too weak of a word. The two were so similar that it was enough to awaken those thousand year old memories and make them feel like yesterdays...

While Celestia’s mind continued to swirl with such heavy thoughts, the guard captain was becoming more and more concerned about the seemingly unconnected thing she had mentioned. ‘What the hell?’ he thought to himself, ‘Fate? Fear? Uncertainty? This has got to be something bigger than just some rogue earth pony. What else is going on here?’

All of a sudden, Caliber’s eyes intensified. He knew what he was missing. “What’s this book you’ve been reading?” he asked undaunted, aware that it was the key element in his lack of understanding, “What does it have to do with this ordeal?”

Celestia snapped back to the present, seemingly stunned by the unexpected question. She had failed to notice the book in question had remained in full view this entire time. “Oh, this?” she said plainly, levitating the book off the table and towards a nearby shelf, “It’s nothing. Just an old mare’s tale.”

Caliber saw the side of the floating tome catch the light, and for a fleeting instant his mind cried out for him to recognize its cover. But he quickly shook the thought away; all the books here were unique and he had never read any of them. But even so, for some reason he couldn’t explain, he really felt like he had seen it somewhere before.

He had more questions, but before he could decide upon one, the princess’ horn pulsed brightly and a dozen books floated up off the floor and sprung open close to her eyes.

“I understand you have more questions...” Celestia begun, reading the captain’s mind, “But I have a lot more research to do, and I need to finish before it is time to raise the sun.”

“Wait...” Caliber blurted, suddenly remembering why he came here in the first place, “You’re supposed to raise the sun at dawn, but can’t you delay it just this once? If this guy’s going after Luna like you said he would, then he will defiantly make a move while you are preoccupied performing the sun ritual. If we just-”

“No!”Celestia boomed with authority, taking her captain utterly by surprise, “Do not underestimate just how important it is to maintain balance. Especially now!”

The princess recollected herself. “Look. We both have our duties and time is short. I am sure you still have preparations yet to make, as do I.” Celestia smiled warmly, almost as if she hadn’t just raised her voice so unexpectedly, “Please, trust in me as I trust in you...”

The captain took the hint and left the study, letting the door shut audibly behind him. ‘Damn it.’ Caliber thought, trying to work it all out in the safely of his mind, ‘She’s hiding something about that book of hers.And that outburst about ‘balance’? Where did that come from?’

Despite all the new information coming to light, absolutely nothing made sense. It felt like this whole thing was one intricate puzzle, and he was missing the one piece that would let everything come together.

“The missing piece.” he said to himself, the solution becoming clear, “Or in other words, the one unknownthat still remains. One way or another, that Marco guy is the key to figuring this mess out.”

Caught up in his own thoughts, Caliber didn’t notice that the twin royal guards from earlier were still stationed outside. “Uh... Sir?” one of them started, “Is something wrong?”

He didn’t validate the question, too focused on deciding what he ought to do. But just like that, his eyes seemed to change, flowing from uncertainty to the resolve of a veteran. “You two.”he said with an edge to his voice, “Maintain your post here and do notinterfere with the princess unless it is absolutely essential. You are to notify me immediately if she leaves this room. Do you understand me?”

“Sir! Yes, sir!” came the reply, the twin guards snapping into firm salutes.

“Good.” Caliber said, stretching his wings wide as he prepared to leave, “I’m counting on you!”

“Sir?” one of the guards asked in surprise, “You’re leaving the palace? Where are you going?”

“My task is better served in the field!” he called, already charging down the hall, “If you need me, I’ll be down in the streets!”

* * * *

“Okay then... here goes nothing!”

Twilight’s back arched as she focused all of her magic into the complex spell. The room filled with a blinding purple light as the thin tails of smoke swirled to the beckoning of her spell. When they converged, a blinding flash almost knocked Rarity off her hooves.

“Good heavens!” she exclaimed, but her wide eyes widened further when they adjusted to the scene in front of her, “Good heavens!”

The ‘thing’ Twilight had created was hard to explain. It was almost like a translucent, pulsing, green gem. Twilight’s horn glowed brilliantly as she channelled her magic into this strange creation, maintaining its existence through a continuous stream of magic.

“Oooh! Pretty!” Pinkie Pie gawked, “That’s a neat trick!”

“Th... thanks.” Twilight managed, her voice strained, “But I don’t know how long I can hold it!”

From the outside, it looked like Twilight was struggling to keep a handle on her spell in the same way a pony struggles to keep a handle on a heavy weight. “Urgh...” she moaned, “You better hurry Rarity. Just pretend you’re picking up the ‘object’. The spell... will do... the rest!”

Rarity emitted a nervous squeak. “Okay!” she said with clenched teeth, trying to steel herself, “Here... we... go!”

Rarity’s horn lit up with a gentle purple glow. Pinkie Pie immediately noticed that the funny-looking crystal thing was covered in the same purple aura. The connection had been made. “Look! Look Zecora, look!” Pinkie Pie said excited, “I knew she could do it! Way to go Rarity!”

“Quiet Pinkie...” Twilight said, still visibly struggling, “She needs to concentrate.”

Zecora stepped up to the motionless Rarity and clopped her front hooves together twice. “So long as you keep that spell, pay your friend no mind...” she said with a nod to Pinkie Pie, “For she cannot stir from what awaits inside.”

“Huh?” Pinkie Pie said perplexed, “What ‘awaits inside’?”

“There’s no way to tell...” Twilight replied with a groan, “Let’s just hope that they don’t take too long!”

Rarity’s mind was instantly plunged into a world of darkness. Absolute darkness. And silence. And heat; there was so much heat. She immediately felt fear grip her. Nopony is ever ready to have their senses confronted like this...

But suddenly, Rarity rose above her fear and remembered her reason for being here. She was here to make this pony aware of her presence and inform him that he was entrapped in a hypnotic spell. But how could she? Where would she begin? She knew that nothing was real, or at least she told herself nothing was real, but this wasn’t even her mind. The darkness and the silence felt so intensely real. So real it was terrifying. And the heat...

Rarity’s train of thought lurched to a halt when a tiny sound broke through the all-consuming quiet. Rarity listened intently, focusing her attention on the absence of sound until something else came along to pierce it.

She heard it again. It was too quiet to make out, but it was definitely a voice she was picking up on. ‘Should I call out?’ Rarity wondered, ‘They said all I had to do was tell him we was dreaming... if I just shout out, won’t he hear me?’

“Hello?” Rarity tried to yell out, but instantly cut herself off when she heard her own voice bounce back at her.

Since she couldn’t see or hear anything until now, she had assumed that the space she found herself in was infinite. But in hearing her own voice assail her ears, she instantly realized she was in a rather small space. It could have been anything. A room, a basement... or a cellar. In any case, her sudden shout did not receive a reply...

“Memories...” an anonymous voice hissed, “Nothing but memories...”

Rarity tried to look through the piercing darkness, but it was utterly impossible to see anything. She wasn’t even able to pinpoint the direction from which the voice had come from. It was almost as if the voice came from everywhere...

“No! No it’s not true!” a similar voice to the first cried out, and Rarity’s ears perked. She could identify a specific source of this reply; it was somewhere just in front of her, barely out of reach in the dark.

“Accept it!” the anonymous voice roared again, and Rarity really felt the omnipresence of the voice this time, as if it wasn’t coming from anywhere at all, “You’ve been left behind! There’s nothing for you anymore!”

Rarity was stunned beyond the ability to speak. The two voices were identical as far as sound was concerned, but one was filled with malice and had an overbearing presence while its twin was timid and puny by comparison.

Finally, clarity washed over Rarity as she tried to associate the two voices. They were the same pony! She was actually a bystander to the battle between the subconscious and conscious of tormented mind. As this became clear to her, she also realized what she needed to do to get the both of them out of this twisted nightmare.

Rarity took a tentative step forward through the darkness. “Hey you- er, Marco!” she said audibly, trying to seize the pony’s attention, “Listen! You have to snap out of it! You’ve been hypno-”

“Look at yourself!” the anonymous voice roared, cutting Rarity off, “You’re pathetic! Weak! Worthless!”

Rarity came to terms with her position. It seemed as if she would have fight for Marco’s attention. Not an easy feat. “Don’t listen to it!” she cried, “You have to wake up!”

“Yeah, wake up!”the hateful voice blasted,“Stop pretending! This is your fault!”

“No! No it’s not!” Rarity tried valiantly to wrest control from the dark voice,“It’s not your fault!”

“If you were stronger then this wouldn’t have happened!” the voice howled once more, “Take off that damn hat! You don’t deserve it! You’re a disgrace!”

“None of this is real!” Rarity pleaded, loosing the battle, “Don’t listen!”

“Haven’t you denied it long enough?” the tormenting voice spat, “Accept the truth! They are dead because of you! Admit it!”

Rarity could barely keep up. The voice was so overpowering, so full of hate. But she couldn’t give up... wouldn’t give up. She feared for what might happen to her and the stallion if this voice was allowed dominance.

“Don’t give in!” She cried desperately, “Please... snap out of it already!

“Marco!”

* * * *

“I said...” Applejack panted, “Wait up dang-nabbit!”

The orange earth pony was breathless, having run off into the night in pursuit of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

The two pegasi stopped moving when they heard the plea of Applejack ring out from behind them. “A.J.?” Dash called, “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask ya’ll the same thing you know!” Applejack replied, stopping briefly to catch her breath, “I know you need to cool off, but this ain’t like you...”

Rainbow Dash paused to gave her friend the once over, but Fluttershy had yet to acknowledge her.

“Come on sugarcube, talk to me!” Applejack pleaded, We’re all friends here! Please!”

Fluttershy dragged her hooves and stared intently at the ground beneath her, the expression on her face a mixture of guilt and spite. “Oh, I know Applejack... I know. But it’s just...” she exhaled a conflicted breath, “I just... didn’t know what else to do.”

“I know it’s tough when ya’ll disagree on important stuff like this, but that’s why we have to see it through!” Applejack tilted her head tenderly as she spoke, being very gentle in her approach, “It’s important that we do the right thing here, but we can’t do that without you guys there to remind everypony of what they might’ve forgotten...

“Look. Don’t go thinking that Twi doesn’t want to help.” she continued, “Because she really does. It’s just that, well... she ain’t seen the real Marco yet. So she’s worried about us. Don’t go forgetting that at one point, I had the wrong idea too...”

Rainbow Dash became visibly less tense as she considered what her friend had just said. “A.J.’s right Fluttershy.” she said softly, “Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie... none of them know Marco like we do. They don’t know what he’s actually like!”

Applejack could see that Fluttershy was still a bit reserved. “Come on sugarcube...” she tried once more, “If it makes you feel any better, Twilight’s feeling real sour ‘bout what she said. I’ll bet you anything that the first thing she does is apologize to the both of you.”

Rainbow Dash had already been swayed, so she threw in her piece for good measure. “At least give it a try.” she said with seriousness, “If not for our sake, then do it for him. He’s counting on us you know...”

Fluttershy still felt the need to pout, but Dash had made an infallible argument. Time and time again the meek pegasus had proven the extent of her kindness, and it just wasn’t in her nature to hold back her support for any reason.

“Oh... you’re right.” she said, abandoning her resentment, “This is hardly the time to get divided over these kind of things. Okay, I think I got it. let’s head back-”

Fluttershy’s wings suddenly tucked in tightly when she realized she had wandered out into the Everfree forest, at night, without paying attention to how far she’d come. “Eek!” she squealed, pushing up against Rainbow Dash for support, “What was I thinking coming out here in the dead of night? Let’s go back okay?”

Dash rolled her eyes dramatically while Applejack just gave an honest chuckle. “Heh, well where’d you two be without me?” she said with a broad smile, “Of course I remember the way back!”

Rainbow Dash finally managed to pry herself from Fluttershy’s desperate clutches and took stance beside Applejack. “Well?” she asked mischievously, eyeing the petrified pegasus beside her, “Let’s get moving before Fluttershy gets gobbled up by some scary monster!”

Fluttershy made to make squeal in fright, but Applejack blocked the reaction by shoving a not-so-subtle hoof to her muzzle. “Stop it.” she commanded, eyes only for Rainbow Dash as she faked a pitiful innocent face.

Applejack pulled her hoof from Fluttershy’s muzzle with a pop. “Stay close sugarcube.” she said with a carefully exaggerated degree of nurture, “Applejack here’s gonna take care of you!”

“Come on!” Rainbow Dash cried out impatiently, “I’d rather get there today maybe?”

“Hold your horses Rainbow.” Applejack replied disapprovingly, “Stick to me and we’ll be there lickidy-split!”

While this had been going on, the ponies at Zecora’s hut were having difficulties of their own...

“Urrngh...” Twilight moaned, the glow of her horn occasionally wavering, “What’s taking so long? I can’t keep this up forever!”

“Oh no!” Pinkie Pie said concerned, “Did something go wrong? Are they all right? Zecora?”

The mysterious zebra pony didn’t respond at first, too busy trying to determine what the problem was. Rarity had done perfectly, and Twilight was holding up on her end, so she couldn’t figure out why the spell didn’t work instantly.

“Calm yourself, for there are no problems on appearance.” Zecora said reserved, “But it would seem your friend is dealing with... interference.”

“Interference?” Twilight repeated, questioning the vague description, “What kind of interference?”

Twilight couldn’t help but let her mind flash back to the topic of the debate earlier. Thoughts concerning the mystery surrounding her teacher’s intentions crept up on her. “Could it be something the princess did?” she asked all of a sudden, taking the room by surprise, “Some kind of preventative measure to stop us meddling?”

Zecora and Pinkie Pie simply stared at Twilight. Zecora understood and appreciated that is was hard for Twilight to speak against her teacher, and was on some level, proud of her objectivity...

Pinkie Pie on the other hoof, didn’t care much for her friend’s apparent change of heart. “There’s no way she’d do something so mean!” she said with a tinge of that awful seriousness that had consumed her earlier, “Haven’t you, like, leaned anything?”

Pinkie Pie altered her expression to one of acceptance as she re-evaluated Twilight as she strained under the effort of maintaining her spell. Even she could tell it hadn’t been an easy thing for her friend to doubt her mentor.

“Besides, aren’t you underestimating Rarity a little too much?” Pinkie continued, changing her tune, “It doesn’t matter what gets in her way, she’s not about to let it stop her!”

Twilight didn’t appear to become motivated by this. Pinkie watched as her friend twitched with discomfort from the pressure of maintaining her spell. “Just you wait!” she chimed, determined to restore her friend’s morale, “Rarity’s gonna find this guy and show that dream who’s boss!”

At almost the same moment that Pinkie Pie finished her sentence, it happened. Rarity and Marco, who had been motionless this whole time, suddenly broke free from their respective trances.

Rarity, who had been locked into a stiff standing position, drooped like an entangled marionette as she wobbled from side to side, apparently having difficulty balancing despite the fact she was remaining eerily still. She was also breathing heavily and completely unresponsive. If anypony cared to look, it would be easy to tell that she had been overwhelmed by something.

But whatever was burdening her went unnoticed. The particulars of her ‘state’ were far too subtle to recognize right away, so since she appeared fine at a glance, the attention of her friends instead went to Marco who was making his condition significantly more noticeable. The grey earth pony writhed, struggling against the bonds that were securing him to the floor. The sudden shock of breaking free of hypnosis caused him to jostle in a fit of spluttering coughs, his wriggling causing the rope to audibly strain from the resistance.

When the two ponies regained consciousness, the others reacted in different ways. Pinkie Pie jumped up in fright at the unexpected turn of events while Zecora, who was also startled, responded with a more restrained step backwards. Twilight on the other hoof didn’t have the energy for any kind of reaction; she just allowed herself to slouch as the spell she had been agonizing over was automatically cancelled.

When Pinkie Pie quickly collected herself and saw Marco struggling, she rushed over only to have a pained Twilight block her. “Wait...” she said lightly, the exhaustion clear in her voice, “Let him adjust first.”

As if in response to what Twilight had just said, Marco’s coughing fit died down as his body finally settled. He was breathing heavy in his recovery from the surprise of being woken; his chest heaved up and down as his lungs gulped in the air.

In seeing that Twilight was still keeping Pinkie Pie at bay, Zecora approached the two and raised a gentle hoof to Twilight, causing her to lower her guard. “Relax, for he is now at ease.” she pointed out, “No harm can come from his release.”

Acknowledging this, Twilight moved up closer to Marco, readying her already overexerted magic in preparation for taking the rope off of they grey earth pony. But before she could, Rarity suddenly collapsed in the background.

Alarmed, everypony crowded around her, leaving Marco tied to the floor. “Oh my gosh!” Pinkie exclaimed, “Rarity! Are you okay?”

At first, Twilight feared that Rarity had become entrapped in a hypnosis of her own, but she quickly realized her friend was still conscious. It seemed that she had simply caved into some kind of intense stress. ‘Exhaustion perhaps?’ Twilight thought, ‘Physical? Emotional? Or maybe...’

“Rarity!” she called, putting her thoughts on hold, “Can you hear me?”

There came no response. Her friend just lay there, curled up and breathing heavily, being harassed by some kind of distress that Twilight couldn’t quite identify. In seeing her friend so agonised, Twilight’s mind shifted gears. Her friend was suffering and she wanted answers, and she knew who could provide them. She spun around to face Marco, to assail the recovering pony with a volley of questions, but she forgot what she was going to ask when she saw that he had all but negotiated out of his restraints.

His expression was a mixture of confusion and concern. After he tugged his back hoof out from under the rope, he immediately trotted over to Rarity’s side. “Is Rarity okay?” he said suddenly, surprising everypony, “Hey! What’s the matter?”

“That’s what I was going to ask you!” Twilight cried out in frustration, but quickly changed her tune, “Wait, how do you know her name?”

Marco simply stared down at the agonized unicorn. When he spoke, his eyes narrowed. “We spoke. I think.” he said awkwardly, not entirely convinced of the truth of his own words, “I know it sounds strange, and I don’t really understand how or why... but I think- I think we met. Or rather, she found me.”

Pinkie Pie’s bulbous eyes darted between Marco, Rarity and Twilight as she tried to make sense of the situation. “So... Zecora’s plan worked?” she asked pointedly, “Then what’s got Rarity so spooked?”

Twilight felt the need to emphasize the importance of the second element of Pinkie Pie’s question, but in looking at Marco, she could tell that he understood. He leaned in close to Rarity, evaluating her with an odd level of interest. “She...she saw everything.” Marco said vacantly, his voice laced with regret, “Visions of so much evil. Literally forced upon her. It must have been hard. She wasn’t supposed to...”

Twilight blinked twice. Could he talking about what happened back at his hometown? But before she could think of the appropriate way to bring up such a topic, Zecora cut in, not wanting to miss the chance to interact with the pony in which she had invested so much effort.

“Indeed, of this we too are aware. These burdens were not hers to bare.” she agreed, “The spell took long for your mind to breach, you must have been hard for her to reach.”

Twilight could see that Marco was confused. Not only did he have no knowledge of the spell Zecora spoke of, but he had just met the zebra pony, and interpreting her rhymes was not a skill that came to you immediately.

“But of course she didn’t give up!” Pinkie replied with energy, “She gave it her all and wouldn’t give up on ya!”

Marco eyed the weird pony. She seemed strangely comfortable talking to him even though she shouldn’t be. “Even though she didn’t know me?” his voice suddenly darkened, enough to give Pinkie Pie the chills, “I don’t deserve any of this selflessness.”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight stepped in, “We-”

“Hey Twilight... there’s something I don’t quite understand.” Marco cut her off, that heavy darkness still tainting his voice, “I mean, I don’t understand what happened to me or what the princess did... but that’s not what’s confusing me.”

Marco stared intently into Twilight’s purple eyes. It was overpowering to say the least. “It’s you.” he hissed, “You are what’s confusing me.”

Twilight felt confused herself. She didn’t credit herself with an outstanding level of knowledge of Marco’s personality, but this tone of his... it seemed off. “What do you mean?” she questioned, her expression one of bewilderment, “What don’t you understand?”

“To be frank...” he begun, staring into her eyes as if he were searching for something inside them, “I broke into your home. I put you in danger. I got you and your friends involved in my mess...”

“Was there a question hiding in there?” Twilight smiled, trying her best to be gentle.

“Why are you still here?” Marco said accusingly, “What is your connection? After everything, why did you decide to help me?”

Twilight was shocked. She hadn’t made peace with her own intentions yet, but it was true there was still some force motivating her. “Why wouldn’t I help?” she exclaimed, “Who would just leave somepony who needed help to die?”

Marco didn’t even flinch. “I would!” he cried, “Getting involved in this is nothing short of stupidity!”

“What?!” Twilight questioned in disbelief, “Are you saying that abandoning you would have been rational? The smart thing for me to do?”

Zecora simply watched the two descend into their argument, refusing to take sides. She was committed to remaining neutral in this matter.

Pinkie Pie however, was significantly more invested. “Then I’d rather be dumb any day!” she cried out, pulling Twilight and Marco away from the beginnings of their argument, “Besides, you’re lying! You wouldn’t give up on anypony either!”

Marco raised a curious eyebrow to the outspoken pony. “I can tell!” she blurted, reading his thoughts.

Twilight suddenly realized that this was the first time the stallion had met Pinkie Pie. “Marco, this is-”

“Yeah, I know.” he said, cutting her off, “I’m not about to forget the face of anypony from that photo. Pinkamina Diane Pie, element of laughter and the final heroine I had yet to meet. Well, maybe it’s not fair to count Rarity... though we did share a uniqueencounter.

“Speaking of...” he continued, becoming more aware of his surroundings, “Is she okay? We can kick and scream about shoulds and shouldn’ts, but aren’t there more important matters to attend to?”

Zecora sprung up. “That there is, and I agree.” she nodded, taking charge, “Rarity is more important than any petty squabbling could be.”

Marco nodded silently, and made to walk over, but he wobbled and nearly tripped over. He barely managed to reacquire his balance before he tumbled head over hooves.

“You okay there?” Pinkie Pie asked genuinely.

“Yeah. I think-” Marco begun, but stopped short when his eyes connected with the bandaging coiled around his chest, “What the hell?”

Twilight saw the stallion about to grab at the wrapping. “Whoa, hold up!” Twilight intervened, having realizing just how disorientated Marco ought to be, “You, umm... got injured while you were unconscious. You lost a lot of blood and the stitching is kinda flimsy.”

Marco swayed slightly, taken aback by the sudden realization. Twilight thought it was for the best that she keep from mentioning how he had attained such an injury. “It honestly slipped my mind!” she continued, “You’re bound to be feeling a little nauseous. You nearly bled out after all!”

Zecora had also neglected Marco’s physical injury. “You should lie down, this is a shock no doubt.” she gestured to her own bed by the far side of the room, “Are you well? You won’t pass out?”

Marco shook his head slowly. “I’m fine.” he said unconvincingly, “I could use some water though. Where’s the kitchen?”

“Just there.” Twilight answered from Rarity’s side, pointing her hoof towards the adjacent room, “Maybe I should help-”

“I’d rather you see to Rarity.” Marco cut her off a little too quickly, “I’ll bring her some water too. It might help.”

Zecora didn’t look up from the pained unicorn before her. “Please do, but I ask you to take care searching hydration.” she warned, “You do not wish to mistake water for a potion of my creation.”

With little more than a simple nod, Marco disappeared around the corner while Twilight, Pinkie and Zecora attended to Rarity. Since her collapse earlier, the unicorn had calmed somewhat. Her breathing had slowed to a healthier rate, but she was still completely withdrawn and unresponsive. Her eyes were shut tight, and it was evident she needed more time to distance herself from whatever was haunting her.

Meanwhile, in the clutter of Zecora’s kitchen, Marco found a jug of water that had been left out and he didn’t hesitate to gulp the whole thing down in a single breath. He did his best to hide it before, but he was feeling woozy. The water helped, but he knew better than to think that blood loss was something you could just shrug off.

Marco pulled open Zecora’s fridge as he searched for more water. There had to be more than that, or at least he hoped there was. He had promised some to Rarity, but he went ahead and drunk everything he had found without thinking.

“That zebra wasn’t kidding.” he said to himself as he rummaged through the maze of pots and vials, “This place is a mess of odd potions. Are these things even organized?”

Marco’s knowledge of herbalism and alchemy allowed him to recognize quite a few of the concoctions loading the fridge. He had to take his mind off the bandage on his chest lest his thoughts cause him to faint, and while it was a habit that had little place at a time like this, he occupied his mind trying to categorize each mysterious potion he happened across in his search for water.

“A blue-green colour in a mini-vial.” Marco muttered to himself as he analysed the first potion that he didn’t immediately recognize, “If it needs refrigeration then its gotta be an anti-toxin...”

Satisfied, he put the tiny container back and picked up the next one that piqued his interest. “Yellow-purple?” he asked himself as he handled the large pot, “Anti-inflammatory perhaps? No, it’s too thin. And it’s in the fridge- whoa...”

Marco’s analysis was interrupted when he saw a much more interesting vial hiding in the corner of Zecora’s fridge. Putting the yellow-purple pot aside, he pulled out a curious medium-sized jar and held it up to his eyes.

“Deep red?” he asked as he tried to remove the lid, “Blood maybe?”

The top came free and he made to investigate further. “Don’t tell me she’s some kind of voodoo-” Marco’s face fell as he sniffed at the substance, “Oh... tomato juice. Never mind.

“Ah!” he exclaimed as he put the juice back and reached deep into Zecora’s fridge, “Finally, water. I think...”

Struggling with the cap, Marco allowed his eyes to wander. The walls surrounding him had shelves stacked high, and held up an even more diverse collection of alchemical creations. As he scanned the collection, he almost dropped the jug between his hooves when his eyes met with a particular sight...

Upon one of the shelves stood a few concoctions that Marco immediately recognized. No matter what class of alchemist he considered himself, he would be a fool if he didn’t know what these potions were or what their function was. In truth, even though he would be expected to be familiar with them, you wouldn’t find even one of these potions in an apothecary, or instructions to create them in any book. And that was because potions such as this were illegal and the punishment for making, using, or owning them were very harsh.

Marco quickly realized that Zecora enjoyed a measure of freedom away from the prying eyes of authority here in the Everfree forest.

“Oh, Zecora...” Marco said to himself, an evil grin spreading across his face, “You’ve been a bad girl.”

* * * *

“Rarity?” Pinkie Pie nudged her friend gently, “Can you hear me?”

Twilight could only sit idle, her energy drained, as her friends tended to Rarity. This wasn’t Pinkie Pie’s first attempt to get through to the unicorn, but she still wasn’t loosing any momentum.

So when Rarity finally stirred and forced her eyes open, the glee that Pinkie felt was so immense she failed to resist giving the startled unicorn one of the roughest hugs she’d ever felt. “Urgh! Pinkie...” she groaned as the pink pony squeezed the life out of her, “Get... get off of me!”

Twilight watched as Pinkie Pie immediately complied, springing up and off her friend whilst grinning from ear to ear. Zecora also watched, but she wasn’t relived like Twilight was. She couldn’t shake the rotten feeling of concern that was eating at her.

“I knew you could do it!” Pinkie Pie said cheerfully, “I told ‘em you wouldn’t give up!”

Rarity bit her lip, not quite understanding what her friend was saying. It seemed like her mind was still too preoccupied with where it had returned from to re-adapt to reality.

“You did have us worried there for a minute.” Twilight said guiltily, “But you did it! You found a way to bring him back.”

At the implication of Marco, Rarity’s eyes budged as she realized he wasn’t in the room. “Oh no.” she gasped, almost fearful, “Where-”

“It’s okay.” Twilight said, trying to relax her friend, “He’s fine. In fact, I’d say he’s taking the whole thing rather well-”

“No!” Rarity cried out suddenly, causing everypony to inch backwards, “It’s a lie! You’re being fooled!”

“Whoa, Whoa!” Pinkie exclaimed, “What are you talking about? Sure he’s a bit mean and a little depressing, but... well... I guess I don’t really know him as well as you guys... but still, even I can tell he’s not such a bad guy deep down...”

Rarity took a few deep breaths as clarity returned to her. When she finally spoke, everypony noticed her tone switch. “You’re wrong.” she said grimly, “Everything you think you know about that pony is fake. It’s just a mask. A lie.”

Zecora frowned subtly, either from concern or simple intrigue. “To say such things, what did you find?” she asked softly, not wanting the stallion in question to catch onto the commotion, “What did you see inside of his mind?”

Rarity closed her eyes sombrely, thinking back to her experience. “I saw behind the lies.” she said, her voice grim, “I saw it. I couldn’t not see it. I felt it. I couldn’t not feel it...”

Twilight was disturbed to say the least. “Saw what?” she asked, her friend’s dark tone unlike anything she had ever heard, “Felt what?”

“The hatred.” Rarity said, the emotion welling up in her voice, “Nothing but hatred! I saw it all, and it’s consumed him completely.All the pain he’s suffered, and all the evil that haunts him... he couldn’t withstand it. The darkness has twisted his mind.”

Twilight let each word out of her friends mouth act like a puzzle piece, filling the blanks in the mystery of what Celestia had said to her. “The darkness?” Twilight questioned, “The princess was saying the same thing. She was telling me that he had to confront the darkness and find the power of forgiveness...”

“Forgiveness?” Rarity said dismissively, “It’s impossible. He... he is completely fixated on revenge. He won’t change. He won’t doubt that he’s doing the right thing because he can’t. His mind won’t let him think that way! I saw it myself. He stopped looking forward long ago... he’s only got his past to rely on, and it’s constantly screaming out for him to do just one thing-”

Twilight was dumbstruck. Everything had finally come together. The reasoning behind Celestia’s actions, the motivation behind what Marco was doing... it could all be explained. And in light of this new understanding, Twilight finally discovered what her own intentions were.

“Which is why we have to step in.” she called, interrupting Rarity, “We can’t let it unfold like this... for everypony’s sake! We know the truth, so we have to help in whatever way we can...”

Twilight didn’t understand it much herself. She had until now said so much to the contrary, and at the moment, every known ‘fact’ did nothing but reinforce her previous view. So why couldn’t she couldn’t ignore this feeling rising in her gut?

“He’s beyond help...” Rarity replied, her tone becoming fearful once more, “He’s lost; lost in the shadows of a past where he knows nothing but hatred. You might not realize it, but I’ve seen what drives him to such madness. Revenge has become his reality. He can’t escape it...”

Zecora suddenly snapped her head up and looked all over the room. Until now she had been too consumed by what was happening here to think that Marco might have returned and was now listening to all of this. He would have been well out of earshot if he was still in the kitchen, but he would definitely have come back by now.

At first, she was relived when he was nowhere to be found, but then she was shocked that he was nowhere to be found. He had only left to get water, and even if he had trouble navigating through all her potions, he was taking a long time. Had he taken the opportunity to run away? Or...

The colour drained from Zecora’s face as she realized just what kind of things a pony hell-bent on revenge could find among her potions. But he’d have to know what to look for, not to mention-

Zecora’s thoughts were cut short as Rarity concluded her plea. “He’s dangerous!” she cried, “No matter what stands in the way... by using any means necessary... he won’t give up on his hatred!”

One by one, the girls came to terms with what Rarity had just said. Even Pinkie Pie, who was only a moment away from trying to derail the negativity felt her optimism waver...

“You can’t...” Rarity’s voice carried, “You can’t let him out of your sight!”

The girls snapped up, alert and alarmed. Was it true? Were they in danger?

A blur of movement caught Zecora’s eye as a small, unidentified object flew into the room. In the second before the vial hit the ground and shattered, she recognized what it was and knew what was about to happen.

The tiny glass container smashed, shards exploding outward in from the impact. It was a potion, but its contents was no liquid. The container destroyed, a sickly green cloud of what could only be gas celebrated its freedom by filling the entire room in its mass.

In her surprise, Pinkie Pie reacted with a shocked gasp. But in doing so, her lungs filled with the strange gas. The effect was instantaneous... the pink earth pony dropped like a stone, immediately unconscious.

Twilight’s reaction went from confusion to absolute horror. “Pinkie!” she cried out desperately, but then lurched as she too inhaled the green fog. As the frightened words left her lips, Twilight’s world went instantly black, having also been rendered unconscious by the gas.

Following the sound of the unicorn thumping solidly against the floor, a shuddering sigh could be heard as Rarity also went under. Already laying down, her head just fell back as she was pulled back into a world of darkness.

Zecora gritted her teeth as she saw the three ponies surrounding her pass out. This was the sleeping potion she had been brewing earlier, but it had been altered. She hadn’t gotten around to finishing it, but this was more than complete. Enhanced even.

When she saw the vial break and the gas spread, she knew not to breathe it in as the others had, but it seemed she hadn’t been able to avoid it completely. Whatever amount had crept into her lungs was already taking its toll. Her vision was blurry and her head was heavy; she wouldn’t be able to fight the drug for much longer.

Just as the potion’s influence begun to overwhelm her, Zecora’s cloudy eyes showed her the silhouette of a pony standing eerily still beyond the haze. She made to speak, move, or even continue looking, but in the next instant, her consciousness finally faded.

As the thick gas started to dissipate, Marco was standing defiantly in the centre making sure to hold his breath. He stood over the unconscious Rarity, his expression impassive. Before him lay perhaps the only pony ever to know his pains on equal terms, and thus the only one who could possibly understand why he had no choice but to do this to them.

Marco made his way outside at a brisk pace, unable to hold his breath much longer. He threw the door open and breathed deep the uncontaminated night air.

“Everfree Forest.” he said, his tone mirthless, “We meet again.”

Marco readjusted the straps fastening Zecora’s saddlebags to his back. The lightly coloured sacks, emblazoned with Zecora’s distinctive runic spiral-sun marking were barely able to close, loaded as they were by an arsenal of the zebra pony’s creations. He grunted under their weight, but Marco knew that he would need every last thing he had stuffed into the bags. He had no delusions. He was in no fit state to wage a one-pony war on Canterlot, but his options were limited. And after what he just did, tonight was his one and only chance. As long as he had a plan and his newfound ‘assets’, he remained determined to fulfil his promise.

“Okay.” he said to himself as he took his first step into the woods, “Stay focused. After what’s happened tonight, I can’t afford to underestimate Celestia. Another run-in with her will not go well, but I bet she knows that too. She knows I have to avoid her, so that means she’s also able to predict when I’m gonna make my move. And it doesn’t take a genius to guess where I’m headed-”

Marco tripped and fell mid-sentence. He quickly hefted himself up, but even that was a struggle. “I need to be stronger...” he said pained, “Too much weakness.”

He could feel the weight of Zecora’s saddlebags pushing him down and his dizziness plaguing his co-ordination. The wound on his chest throbbed with each step. “I won’t fail. I won’t lose to this.” he groaned as he voiced his resolve, “I will turn weakness... into... strength!”

Marco’s eyes glazed over with a grim determination. There were so many things holding him back. He was injured and exhausted, morning was fast approaching, and Canterlot was miles away. He had no control over the when and where of his plan, so the only thing he could still manipulate was the how.

He had no choice but to depend on tipping all these odds stacked against him in his favour. He had to find the opportunities hidden in these weaknesses. “Right...” Marco breathed as he pushed on, “The first thing I need to do is-”

Upon hearing the sound of something approaching, Marco immediately cut himself off and adopted a firm defensive stance. He was familiar with the dangers of this forest, and while he normally would have fled, he knew he wouldn’t make it in time with his body in such a state.

Whatever this sudden threat was, it was coming straight for him and would be on him any second. He readied himself for battle...

“Marco?” A tiny voice called, taking him completely by surprise, “Is that you?”

“Fluttershy?!” he answered in disbelief, “You’re here too-”

He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence. Before he knew it, the timid pegasus raced in through the murky darkness and broke through his defences to embrace him roughly. Marco was so surprised by her appearance that he couldn’t produce a reaction...

“Oh my gosh!I was so worried!” she said, finally pulling herself away from the firm hug and looking up at Marco with an odd combination of relief and concern, “What are you doing out here?”

“Well, if I don’t believe my own two eyes!” Applejack called out, interrupting the question, “It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve seen you standing up on your own hooves...”

“Marco?!” Rainbow Dash yelled out as she raced over, “You’re, like... alive! Thankgoodness!”

After he got over the initial shock, Marco just stood there dumbly, trying to figure out what was happening. ‘They’re genuinely relived...’he thought, ‘All three of them.Why? What did I do to make them so attached to me?’

Marco snapped out of it as the seriousness of his situation dawned on him. Only moments ago, he had knocked out everypony at Zecora’s hut, and now, only a few metres from the door, the remaining three had stopped him in his tracks...

This was a slippery slope. If he didn’t get a handle on the situation, not only might the girls find out what he did to their friends, but they could go on to jeopardize his entire plan. He wouldn’t be able to stop one pegasus, let alone two, and he doubted his capacity to overpower Applejack in his current state. He had to tread carefully; any mistakes at this juncture and his whole plan would break down right here and now.

“You guys...” he said flatly, “Why... why did you come here? Actually, that isn’t important. What’s important is that you leave. You’re in the way.”

The bitterness of Marco’s voice sliced through the night air. Nopony saw it coming and it left all of the girls speechless...

All except Rainbow Dash. “Whoa, just wait would ya? Let’s just talk for a minute!” she blurted, trying her best to be comforting and assertive at the same time, “We know what you’re thinking, believe me. A lothappened while you were out, and we heard about what happened to you. We can help. It’s okay Marco... we understand-”

“Understand?!” Marco questioned, the word striking a nerve within him, “I never wanted to drag you into this! So why do you all insist on interfering? Just get out of my damn way!”

“We can’t do that!” Applejack yelled, “Just take a look at ya! You’re killing yourself!”

“Let us help you.” Fluttershy squeaked, “We can work this out... together!”

Upon seeing how the girls were trying to reach out to him, Marco suddenly realized what it was that compelled these ponies. Loyalty, honesty, kindness... they couldn’t help but to act this way. It was in their very nature to be like this, but he didn’t want any of it.

The three ponies were starting to close in on Marco, apparently trying to comfort him. But in his eyes, they were backing him into a corner. He needed to find a way to change the pace; things were getting dangerously close to collapsing in on themselves...

“Stay away!” he cried out in distress, talking two uneven steps backwards before he tripped and fell, Zecora’s saddlebags thumping heavily down beside him.

Concerned, the girls moved in even closer...

“Stay back I sai-”

Marco’s eyes budged dramatically, cutting him off mid sentence. But it was the shock of what happened next that turned everypony’s blood to ice...

Mid shout, with no warning and no apparent cause, a grim spurt of deep red fluid erupted from Marco’s muzzle. There was no reason for such a thing to happen, but there was also no reason to regard the substance as anything but blood. Frozen in horror, the girls could only watch as the grey pony collapsed face first into the red puddle. The moment of surprise eventually faded, and all three girls reacted in the exact same way. They couldn’t understand, or even comprehend what just happened or why, but their instincts took over as they rushed over to Marco’s side.

And it was these instincts that Marco exploited. The moment that all three ponies had crowded around him, he crushed a tiny vial that he had pulled from his pack when he had ‘accidentally’ tripped earlier. The familiar green gas exploded outwardly from the figure of Marco, and instantly enveloped all three of the ponies who had rushed to his side. Following the same fate as the ponies now unconscious in Zecora’s hut, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash collapsed instantly, out cold before they even hit the ground...

Applejack however, through some feat, had not yet breathed in enough of the gas and was now holding her breath the same as Marco. He instantly stood up and dismissively wiped away the red substance dripping from his muzzle. Looking directly at Applejack, he casually tossed an empty pot, a pot that had once contained Zecora’s tomato juice, to her hooves.

Marco had tricked the girls, playing on their feelings to create an opening he could use to incapacitate them. “How?” Applejack managed, wobbling as the effects of the drug begun to set in, “How could you?”

“How could I?” Marco repeated, his expression invisible through the haze, “You forced me to do this!

“Honesty... loyalty... kindness.” Marco called accusingly through the fog, “How can you privilege such things? Look at where they’ve gotten you!”

He indicated the two pegasi. “They make you weak, and I cannot afford to be weak!” Marco hissed, his voice trailing as his silhouette became blurred by the noxious fog, “Too much depends upon this. Too many are dependingon me! I have to what is right, and if ‘friendship’ gets in the way... then it must be cast aside!”

Applejack felt like she was loosing the battle against the drug, but what Marco just said ignited a fire within her. “You’re wrong.” she said bravely, “Friendship doesn’t make us weak!”

“No?” Marco questioned, but Applejack couldn’t see him anymore, “Then why didn’t you end up like these two? Isn’t it because somewhere deep down, you still didn’t trust me?”

Applejack forced her eyes to concentrate. They focused enough to see, but Marco wasn’t where she though he was anymore. Then, out of nowhere, the stallion snuck up on Applejack and hit her hard with a powerful kick to the stomach, forcing her now-winded body to reflexively cry out for air. She finally dropped as the sleeping gas overwhelmed her.

Marco limped out of the radius of the potion and took a much-needed breath. His kick had not come without a cost. He had overextended, and the stitching on his chest wound had given way.

Marco grimaced as the bandage ran red. Blood, real blood, begun to steadily leak from the wrapping. “Not yet.” Marco told the night, pushing onward, “Not yet...”

It hadn’t been easy, but he’d done it. He didn’t want to do it either, but he needed them out of the picture and this was the best way to do it without truly hurting them. He told himself it was for their own good. No matter what they said, not one of them understood anything. It was because they were so kind that he had to do this to them.

Marco stopped moving forward and turned to face the trio of unconscious ponies before him, as well as the shadow of Zecora’s hut beyond the fog. His practical mind told him that they were just an obstacle that he had forced himself to overcome, but something else deeper down was weighing down on him. Guilt.

‘Twilight, Rarity, Zecora, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy...’he thought, ‘I owed them all so much. And this is how I repay them? With betrayal?’

“In a different time...” he said solemnly, “In a different world... we could have-”

Marco took a deep breath. “We could have been friends.” his face was visibly pained, “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry... but this is goodbye.”

Marco finally tore himself from the scene before him and continued out into the night. The bonds had been broken, and it was time to close the curtain on the painful scene.

“We will never...” his voice lingered as he departed, “We will never meet again.”

Chapter 4: Keep it in Your Heart

From the Ashes

Chapter 4: Keep It In Your Heart

“If you’re hiding back there, come out now.” Slayde ordered, “And do it slow...”

On edge, the once lax night guard stood firm as the shadow that had been stalking him crept out from the darkness and into the light. But he soon relaxed his posture as he saw the figure emerge from the alley, his golden armour clanking as his stance softened.

The perpetrator, a miniature lime-coloured unicorn filly inched her way forwards, a mixture of guilt and fear evident in her quivering expression.

The young guard made to speak, but Ceasler quickly joined his side to inspect the scene. “What in blazes are you doing out here?” he bellowed, “This is no time or place for a child to be roaming!”

At this, Slayde’s ears perked up. “Chill out dude.” he insisted, “She’s only a filly.”

Ceasler looked on disapprovingly, frowning as his partner ignored him and turned his attention to the frightened unicorn filly. Due to his youth, the young guard wasn’t as seasoned as his partner, so his gentleness had yet to fade. In other words, he was far more approachable for a child. It probably also helped that both Slayde and the filly were unicorns.

“Don’t worry about Ceasler. He doesn’t bite.” he said casually, his approach taking the filly by surprise, “My name’s Slayde. What’s yours?”

Obviously still intimidated, the tiny unicorn just stood there quietly, blinking back what looked like tears. Her pasty green coat and soft brown mane were rendered impossibly dim in the night. “Olida.” she said finally, taking the guards by surprise with her distinct accent, rare as it was to be coming from a unicorn, “Mah... mah name’s Olida...”

“Olida?” Slayde repeated, trying to relax the clearly nervous filly, “As in the spice?”

“Nuh, as in the oil.” she remarked meekly, gesturing to a building not far down the street, “Mah ma and pa got a shop.”

At this point, Ceasler trotted closer to the two. “Oh?” he started, feigning interest, “And do you mind telling us why you wandered off Olida?”

“Uh... well, umm...” she stuttered, clearly uncomfortable, “It’s just that ah keep see’n lots of you guys running around like yer look’n for something. I wanted to know what was up is all.”

“We understand your concern little one, but it’s just not safe for you out here.” Caliber replied sternly, “You need to go back home to these parents of yours...”

“You said you lived up there right?” Slayde said with a smile, “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

He headed off in the direction of the filly’s house without waiting for the girl to take the lead. “Whoa, wait!” she cried, scampering off in pursuit, “Promise me ya won’t tell mah ma and pa that I snuck out...”

“Okay, but only under one condition...” he said to her as they walked, their hoofsteps clicking sharply through the silence, “You gotta be a good lil’ filly and stay put.

“You got school or something tomorrow right?” he asked curiously, “I know it’s probably hard to sleep watching us on patrol, but you gotta rest up. It’s seriously late you know?”

“Uh-huh!” she replied hopefully, “It’s a promise then, right?”

The young guard chuckled lightly. “Yeah, it’s a promise.”

Ceasler was gazing out into the black sky as his partner returned and fell into stead behind him. “Thanks for waiting.” Slayde said as he arrived next to him and mimicked his thoughtful gaze out into the night, “Shall we?”

Ceasler didn’t break away from his stare. “You sure you can afford to be so carefree?” he said distantly, “Remember what the captain said. Before sunrise, there’s going to be action.”

He finally looked over to the young unicorn who was now watching the moon descending. “Look to the skies...” Ceasler said seriously, “Daybreak is but a few hours away. We can’t afford to get soft now.”

“Get soft?” the young guard replied evenly, “She’s just a filly Ceasler...”

The older guard was stunned somewhat by Slayde saying his name in such a way. Calling one’s superior by name is generally frowned upon among the ranks of the night guard, and as a traditionalist, Ceasler didn’t much care for breaches in such mannerisms. In fact, he frequently scolded Slayde for less, but didn’t feel compelled to in this instance.

“I realize that things could get ugly at any moment...” the young guard continued, “But isn’t it my job to make sure she’s not part of it?”

Ceasler didn’t seem to respond, so the young guard maintained his defiance. “Or would you rather have her involved?” he questioned, “Protecting innocents like her is why I became a guard. They are what gives me strength.”

At first Ceasler still didn’t speak, simply staring at the brave unicorn. But after a moment or two, he cancelled his stare and nodded ever so slightly. “Humph...” he replied, inconspicuously acknowledging his partner’s bravado, “Good answer. You know, I used to be a bit like you when I was still a greenhorn”.

Ceasler shook his head from side to side. “Innocence, huh?” he said softly, “So that’s what you want to protect?”

He finally looked away from his partner, turning his gaze to the palace of the day, standing tall on the top tier of the Canterlot’s structural hierarchy. “The older generation will always be succeeded by the new.” he said distantly, “Old dogs like me, we signed up to protect the crown and uphold its law. But soon enough, it will be rookies like you leading the way, and the duty of keeping the peace will be yours.”

“Could you get any cheesier?” Slayde remarked playfully, breaking through the serious atmosphere, “You ain’t old enough to start getting all sappy on me.”

“Whatever.” Ceasler said with a deep sigh, “Just tell me you’ll keep that feeling in your heart. Don’t loose sight of what gives you strength.”

The young guard watched his superior, confused and interested at the same time. “Oh shut up already..” he replied, tongue-in-cheek, “you’re scaring me, ‘sir’!”

“Fine.” Ceasler said deflated, “Come on then; let’s do another lap of the outermost wall, finish our patrol, and maybe get an update or two on the way.”

“After you dude.” the young guard said facetiously, “I mean, after you sir...”

* * * *

Every weakened step that Macro placed was clumsy, but so far he had been making good progress.

Constantly focusing on his next checkpoint, he refused to look down at his bleeding chest. It still didn’t hurt, so he could only guess that whoever had mended it took the appropriate measures.

But even though he refused to watch the blood tricking out, he could feel the sluggishness setting in. It was as if he was running out of the very fuel that kept his body moving. He could also feel his senses beginning to dull. His sight occasionally wavered and his legs were numbing and he could tell it wasn’t from all the walking. In fact, of all his senses, his sense of smell was the only one that appeared to remain unhindered. The night was still, so the stench of blood hung in the air, spreading deep into the silent forest.

The disgusting metallic smell of it constantly pestered Marco’s mind, telling him to look down and see for himself, but he constantly denied the impulse. “It won’t change anything.” he muttered, snapping his droopy eyelids open, “Just... just stay focused, and keep moving.”

And he had to. If he allowed himself to pass out, he wouldn’t be waking up. He knew that if he collapsed again, this time he’d fade away while unconscious.

Marco forced his focus to sharpen, but just as he regained himself, he heard the unmistakable and foreboding sound of a twig snap somewhere behind him. He pivoted instantly, searching for something that might have been stalking him, looking for whatever caused the noise.

But as his eyes darted around desperately, they locked onto what he had been trying this whole time to avoid. His eyes met with the path he had been travelling, and his gut clenched as he saw the gruesome sight. The red line trailing behind him was virtually unbroken, fading away into the fog from which he had come.

The realization was too much for Marco to handle. He felt fear grip him as he futilely tried to fight it, but the shock quickly overwhelmed him and he fainted.

In Marco’s mind there was only blackness. Some part of him feared that this was his nightmare returning, but he quickly realized that this wasn’t that kind of darkness. It was more like a void. It was senseless and deprived, neutral and absolute... it was bone-chillingly similar to what he imagined death would be like.

Marco was surprised to hear a voice identical to his break through the silence. “Hey.” it said, “What are you doing?”

Again, Marco feared the voice, dreading it to be the familiar sort, come back to sink its teeth into his tender past. But he soon realized that this voice was different. It harboured no tone, and seemed to have no apparent intention. For a moment, Marco felt like he was talking to a mirror...

“I asked you what you are doing.” The voice repeated impatiently and without emotion, “You can still speak right? Or did you give up on that too?”

Marco took a moment to consider his situation. Where was he? What happened to him? Who was this voice? He would have thought of a hundred other questions, but a sense of urgency brought an end to his confusion. For reasons beyond him, the compulsion to answer the voice became too strong as he blurted out in response...

“Who are you?” he demanded, “What is this... place?”

“Can you not comprehend my question?” the voice replied, “If so, then I fear this really might be the end for you.”

“The end?” Marco questioned, a chill gripping him, “Where am I? How do I get out of here?”

“You are upon death’s door.” the voice said grimly, “And you can do little, save knock.”

“I don’t believe you!” Marco roared defiantly, “What the fuck is this?!”

“A crossroads.” came the reply, “There are two roads ahead, and this is where you choose between. But first you must answer my question.”

“Question?” Marco asked, “What question-”

“Need I remind you?” the voice was impatient, “My question was simple. What is it that you are doing?”

“What am I doing? I’m going to deliver justice!” he answered promptly, not entirely sure why he interpreted the question that way, “I am going to-”

“I asked you what you are doing, not what you’re going to do.” The voice interrupted coldly, “Try again.”

“I am dealing justice!” Marco replied, defiant once more, “I am living up to my promise!”

“Wrong.” The voice said unequivocally, “That is what you think you’re doing; what you want to be doing. Again, I asked you what you are doing.”

Marco refused to reply. “Because...” the voice said condemningly, “What you are doing is a statement of fact. And as a statement of fact, there can be only one answer. Now tell me what that answer is. You know it don’t you?”

“I’m dying.” Marco admitted, “I’m failing...”

“And here you are.” The voice was still vacant, “I don’t blame you. No one does. I don’t think anyone expected you to get this far, but it finally happened. You just didn’t have what it took-”

“Shut up.” Marco snapped back, “I’m not weak. It just... it just wasn’t fair.”

“Life isn’t fair.” the voice retorted, “If anyone knows that, it’s you.”

“So?” was all Marco said.

“So?” the voice questioned, “So then why can’t you take the truth? Is it okay to give up because it was too hard?”

The voice paused for a moment before continuing. “Do you expect your dad to come here and give you a on the back? Do you expect everyone to tell you that it’s okay because you tried your best?

“What... that if you complained enough, all your problems disappear?” the voice continued, finally adopting some emotion, “Well the world doesn’t work that way! There’s no two ways about it. You can’t lose here and still pretend it’s not your fault. Sure, it might have been unfair, but if you die, it’s because you were too weak.

“It’s fine if you want to throw in the towel, but it’s about time you accept that for what it is.” the voice said as it became neutral once more, “It means you weren’t the kind of guy for them to depend on. It means you were the kind of guy who could only get this far.

“What I’m asking you...” it said definitively, “Is are you okay with that?”

Another meaningful pause. “You’ve sworn so many oaths. You’ve talked big and promised much...” the voice continued, “But you’ll just be the guy who couldn’t deliver if you give up now. Are you okay with becoming just another casualty? Because you’re nothing more if you don’t get back up.”

“No...” Marco said dully, barely saying the word.

“What kind of half-arsed answer is that?” the voice said disapprovingly, “The path splits here, and you can’t have it both ways. Give up and fade away, or carry on and live?

“Be strong? Or be weak?” it asked, “Win or lose? Which is it?”

“I want to carry on.” Marco said wholesomely.

“What?” the voice yelled, “I can’t hear you!”

“I want to be strong!” Marco boomed.

“Make me believe it!” the voice roared.

“I wanna win!” Marco announced, silencing his interrogator and banishing all doubt. His voice alone served to fracture the darkness surrounding him.

Wherever Marco was, or whatever form he currently took, he felt his world start to change. Upon voicing his newfound resolve, his body overflowed with sensation as he felt power course through his veins. It almost felt like his determination was translating from an emotion into something much more tangible.

Whatever it was, it was bringing him back to the world. The blackness became whiteness as his earthy senses returned one by one. Touch, hearing, smell, taste, sight... they all returned in full force, and wasted no time in reminding him of his weakness. But the one thing that did not return was that feeling of helplessness. That overwhelming feeling of resolve, so potent it was that it felt like a power source, had remained with Marco as he was thrust back to reality.

Utilizing this new strength, Marco commanded his body to rise-

He spun, alerted by a sudden thump from close behind him. As he turned, it didn’t even take a second for him to identify the source. The sound of twigs snapping earlier had been caused by this intruder, and in Marco’s subsequent passing out, it appeared the beast had taken the opportunity to get within striking distance.

Marco reacted instantly, springing backwards lightning-fast as the massive creature jabbed the empty air with its scorpion-like tail.

The sudden movement was jarring for Marco, and he grimaced slightly as his chest wound responded accordingly. But he had his head in the game, and his thoughts were focused only on the best way to defeat a full-grown manticore in single combat. He didn’t waste a moment before he unclipped Zecora’s saddlebags and made himself ready for the monster to attack-

Marco swirled again as he heard twin snarling from behind him. There were two more of the beasts closing in, and together, the three had him surrounded. If he cared, he would have realized that this was a hunting party, the father and his two cubs. And while the cubs were considerably smaller than the father, they were more than formidable with their razor claws, jagged teeth and precise tails.

The group circled, the trademark ritual of a group of predators that know for certain they prey cannot escape. Yet for some reason, Marco’s determination did not waver. That feeling from earlier hadn’t diminished, and it was what kept him standing and alert enough to evade that first strike.

With nostrils flaring, the adult manticore roared monstrously, staring right at Marco with those hungry eyes.

He didn’t have time to analyse it, but even if he did he wouldn’t understand it. He wasn’t afraid, and he truly thought he could overcome these odds. Something deep inside was giving him confidence, so much confidence that it felt like power. In any case, Marco felt like he could do this, and he wasn’t his place to doubt that feeling.

He thought back to his experience only moments ago. “When life bares its fangs at you...” he said determined, to both himself and his foes, “The only thing you can do is deal with it.”

He looked at the passing beasts. “An enemy a normal pony couldn’t overcome...” he whispered, feeling his wound ache, “An injury that would kill a normal pony...

“I won’t lose to it!” he announced with a volume that caused one of the manticore cubs to twitch, “I can’t afford to be just normal...”

The manticore were about to pounce. He could tell. He could feel it in their stance and see it in their eyes. Their killing intent radiated from them with such intensity.

Marco braced himself, taking his newfound confidence to heart. “Just try it!” he roared as the large manticore made to attack, “I... I am not your prey!”

* * * *

At first, all Twilight could sense was a firm, but strangely comfortable surface beneath her. It was that kind of feeling one gets when they are tired beyond measure, so find practically any surface welcoming.

The second sense to return was her smell. She was instantly assailed by the sweet smell of candy. Hearing came next. It begun as only a ringing in the ear, but sure enough, a distinct sound penetrated through the hash, repeating over and over and increasing in clarity each time until finally she recognised the voice.

“Twilight!” it said urgently, “Can you hear me?!”

The purple unicorn’s bleary eyes sprung open, and she could feel her friend Pinkie Pie leaning heavily on her, see her face mere inches away from hers, and smell the sugary scent on her breath.

“Oh thank goodness!” the pink pony exclaimed as she took her weight off of her friend’s chest, “You gotta get up Twi! Something real bad’s happened!”

Twilight sat up, feeling very groggy as Pinkie zipped over to Zecora and Rarity, who were both still out cold. “I can’t get them up!” she said, the concern clear in her voice, “Are they gonna be okay?”

Twilight sat up, still recovering from her unnatural slumber. Strangely enough, it didn’t take more than a moment for her to collect her thoughts and take charge once again. “Relax Pinkie.” she said, standing up, “It was only a sleeping potion. They’ll wake up when it wears off.”

She raised a hoof and rubbed her forehead in exasperation. “How long have we been-” Twilight stopped short as she realized something, “Oh no... where are the others?

“Surely they would have come back at some point!” she asked as she ran over and opened Zecora’s door wide, “Why aren’t they here with you-”

Not far in the distance, partially enveloped by fog, Twilight could make out the silhouettes of three ponies not far beyond the clearing. “Pinkie!” she called, charging out the door as she did so, “Keep an eye on those two!”

Twilight arrived at her destination to find Rainbow Dash out cold with a fully conscious Fluttershy tending to a semi-conscious Applejack. “Fluttershy!” she called as she came closer to the pegasus’ side, “What on earth happened here?”

Fluttershy seemed uncertain and despondent. “I can’t say...” she muttered, barely looking up, “It all happened so fast-”

“I’ll tell ya what happened!” Applejack said pained, “Marco dun’ tricked us, that’s what!”

Applejack stood up, but slowed as her injured chest pulsed with pain. Fluttershy immediately noticed her friend’s strain, but Applejack put an end to her worrying before it began. “It’s fine, don’t it pay no mind...” she said disapprovingly, thrusting a hoof out over Twilight’s back, pointing at something, “Besides, I’m not the one who needs your help!”

Twilight and Fluttershy followed Applejack’s gesture and their eyes widened as they saw a dried puddle of blood that trailed off into the woods.

Anticipating what came next, Applejack limped steadily over to the still unconscious Rainbow Dash. “Hurry up and get going!” she called, “I’ll only slow ya’ll down like this. I’ll take Rainbow inside, you two go!”

She stopped for breath as she bent down to lift the unconscious pegasus. “Who knows how long we’ve been out...” she said seriously, “Find Marco and-”

“Don’t worry Applejack...” Fluttershy said as she anticipated what the earth pony’s was about to say, “I’ll do everything I can to help him!”

Fluttershy flew off without a word, following the grizzly trail and leaving Twilight with Applejack. “I was gonna say stop him.” Applejack said, staring right at Twilight, “I ain’t fooling Twi. some of the things he said...”

She cut herself off, but otherwise kept staring into Twilight’s eyes. “Soon he’s gonna be past the point of no return.” she said grimly, “Soon, he’ll really be beyond help. Don’t let it happen Twi. No matter what you have ta do, stop him before it’s too late. Before it’s too late for anypony!”

Twilight had a hard time catching up with Fluttershy as she followed the thin red trail, becoming more and more expectant of it to end suddenly with a dead body. There was just too much blood. He couldn’t possibly have gotten far...

“Can’t he die from all this blood loss?” Twilight asked the equally shocked pegasus flying alongside her.

“Who knows?” she answered vacantly, “There’s a lot of it in the body... but-”

The pegasus squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head hopelessly. “But we don’t know how much he lost at the library, or how much Pinkie Pie replaced, or how much he’s lost here...” Fluttershy counted off the uncertainties she feared, “But even then, that’s not the real problem! Everfree forest is full of predators that can smell even a little bit of blood from far away. With so much in the air, I can’t imagine what kind of-”

The two of them grinded to a halt, their eyes boggling and legs locking as they approached the end of Marco’s blood trail and saw what was waiting for them in the clearing ahead.

Before the girls were the remains of what looked like a fierce struggle. An entire tree had been levelled and there was broken glass of different types strewn about. And close to the scattered pieces of shattered potions, there also appeared to be remnants of some kind of fire damage.

Twilight found herself staring at the patch of ground that had been burnt bare, and the black grass fanning outwards from the still smouldering centre. “What in Equestria happened here?” she made to ask, but stopped short as her wandering eyes happened upon a shocking scene.

She all but had a heart attack upon seeing the pair of manticore hunched over each other on the edge of the clearing. Twilight was instantly fearful, but Fluttershy remained undaunted as she raced over to the two creatures. Twilight was surprised beyond words as her friend approached them, seemingly intending to aid the dangerous looking beasts.

Twilight couldn’t fathom how, but as Fluttershy approached the twin manticore, with one standing defencively over its injured counterpart, they didn’t react aggressively at all. It was almost as if her kind aura spoke any language, and her good nature was so clear that neither herself nor the intimidating beasts doubted either party’s intentions.

“What happened here?” Twilight repeated, not entirely level-headed enough to realize just who she was asking such a question to.

“A fight.” Fluttershy replied plainly as she inspected the injured manticore, “A big one.”

Twilight looked back to the blood trail she had been following, hoping to see it continue out into the woods, but to her horror, the path stopped suddenly in the middle of the clearing. It was almost as if Marco had simply disappeared from... Oh no.

Predicting what conclusion Twilight was about to draw, Fluttershy put her friend’s concern to rest. “I know what happened...” she said grimly, looking up from the injured manticore.

* * * *

“Come on...” Slayde encouraged, “Who am I gonna tell?”

“Look, it doesn’t matter anyway.” Ceasler said evasively, “The guard captain isn’t the same guy he used to be when he worked under me.”

“So?” the young unicorn probed, “All the more reason why you should share. Come on... how long have we been partners?”

“Fine.” Ceasler surrendered, “First things first. I’m sure you know about how our ranking system goes. Private all the way up through to general. Now, being a captain might not sound so flattering, since there are so many ranks above it, and these positions consequently wield more power-”

“Dude. Come on.” Slayde rolled his eyes, “I know all of this-”

“You asked.” He snapped back, “Shut up and let me explain.”

“Sheesh, fine.” Slayde said defencively, “Go ahead sir.”

“Thank you.” Ceasler nodded curtly, “Now, what you probably don’t know is that being the royal guard captain is, despite its name, an extremely prestigious position. Think of it this way, you can be a night guard like us, or you can be a royal guard like him. These two divisions rarely mix, and there isn’t any set distinctions for power relations between them-”

“Whoa, hold up a sec. You lost me there...” Slayde voiced his confusion, “What do you mean by power relations?”

“I guess I can dumb it down for you.” Ceasler said playfully, smiling to himself, “Let’s see... if a private like you were alone in a room with a royal guard, you’d feel nervous right?”

“Dude.” Slayde winced, “Bad mental image.”

“Grr... what I mean is, some part of you would think he somehow outranks you, even though there’s no formal distinction between the night and royal guard services.” Ceasler continued on, “It’s a stigma. Now, don’t go quoting me on this, but I’d say that members of the garrison who rank major or higher are the only ones comfortable looking down on royal guards.”

“What’s this got to do with the captain?” Slayde asked impatiently.

“I’m getting to that.” Ceasler replied firmly, “What I was about to say, was that the same thing doesn’t apply to the rank of royal guard captain. Wanna know why?”

“Does it matter if I do?” Slayde asked with a sigh.

“Because...” Ceasler continued, ignoring his partner, “It is a unique position, not only above all other ranks, but external to them.”

“Oh please.” Slayde shook his head, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Well, being the royal guard captain is an extremely privileged position for a reason.” Ceasler replied, “Only one unicorn and one pegasus can take the position at any one time, and there is no way to earn the position other than the princess specifically picking you for the job. But that doesn’t mean that we have always had two captains. In fact, it’s really rare, but throughout history there have been times when there was no guard captain, simply because there wasn’t anypony good enough to take the role.”

“So what does a guard captain do?” Slayde asked as his interest in the subject returned, “How much power do they have?”

“Ha! The better question is how much power don’t they have?” Ceasler replied, “I can’t think of many privileges the princess has that a guard captain does not.”

“Whoa.” Slayde said in awe, “That much huh?”

“Indeed. That is why there have been times when there was no guard captain. It’s a huge responsibility.” Ceasler nodded, “As a captain, he doesn’t just protect the princess, but acts as a medium for her and in some cases he even takes the liberty of making decisions on her behalf.”

“Jeeze, you’d have to be nothing short of perfect to be chosen for such a job.” Slayde reasoned, “So, what was he like when he wasn’t a captain? Could you tell he was perfect when you were still his boss?”

Ceasler laughed energetically as he thought back to the memories his partner had just stirred. “Perfect?” he chuckled, “Don’t be ridiculous. He was a pain in the ass. No respect, no diligence. Lazy, tardy, and he always had to have the last word. No... he wasn’t perfect.”

“And a guy like that not only didn’t get kicked out of the night guard, but went on to become the royal guard captain?” Slayde asked in disbelief.

“Oh?” Ceasler replied casually, “You know, I might as well have been describing you.”

The young unicorn stopped and pursed his lips. “Ah, well...” he said ashamed, “Well why do you think he was chosen?”

“I know why he was chosen.” Ceasler said purposefully, “Sure, he was casual and lethargic, but when the chips were down, I’ve never seen anypony so dependable. He could look at any situation and know exactly what to do. And he was strong too. It’s good for a pegasus to be fast, and trust me, he’s fast, but you gotta be tough too. And he was tough all right.”

Slayde just looked on thoughtfully, wondering if there was anything for a unicorn like him to take from the description of a strong pegasus.

“I guess I don’t need to tell you that strength and quick thinking isn’t enough to make you the guard captain though.” Ceasler continued, “Like any good warrior, he was smart, but more importantly, he was moral. He never did anything he didn’t think was right, and was always vocal about the things that went against his philosophy. In the end, I think that’s what got him the job. Celestia needs ponies like him close at hand. Ponies who don’t jeopardise their morals...”

“Wait. I just realised something...” Slayde interrupted, “How did he become a royal guard if he was in the night guard originally?”

“As I said before, the only way to become a guard captain is to be hand-picked by the princess.” Ceasler reminded, “But that’s the only requirement. There isn’t any other criteria. If Celestia sees potential, she can just pluck you from wherever you are and give you the job. It’s as simple as that.”

“So...” Slayde drawled, tilting his head dramatically as he considered his question, “If a guy like him can become guard captain, then that means I could too one day?”

“Oh? Aren’t we ambitious?” Ceasler said quirkily, “But yes, it isn’t beyond you to become a guard captain if you wanted it. That is to say, nothing external is going to keep you from it. If you became good enough, even somepony like you could be chosen.”

Slayde frowned at this. “I dunno. You say there can be only the one unicorn guard captain...” he said depressed, “So doesn’t that mean in order to get the job, I’d have to somehow be better than Shining Armour?”

“Yes you would. Normally at least.” Ceasler said mischievously, “But you could be in luck.”

“Eh?” the young guard replied, “What do you mean?”

“Well, there has only been the one pegasus and one unicorn captain because we’ve only had the one princess.” Ceasler pointed out, “But what some ponies forget is that, for the first time in over a thousand years, we now have two princesses.”

“You mean Luna?” Slayde replied brightening, “Become the first guard captain in service of Luna?”

“It’s possible isn’t it?” Ceasler said reassuringly, “I reckon the time isn’t far off when she finally gets around to accepting her sister’s offer to restore their dual leadership. When that day finally comes, she’s going to need her own royal guard captain. Perhaps even two.”

“Do you think I could do it?” Slayde asked in awe, “Be Luna’s guard captain?”

“Hrm...” Ceasler frowned as he wondered, “To answer that question, I guess you could say that if you asked me a few years ago if I thought that rookie could turn out to be the guard captain some day, then I’d tell you no.

“But you really are a lot like him you know.” he mused, “Maybe you do have potential. You stood up to me pretty good before, and stuck to your beliefs. But you’re gonna need more than that if you want the big job.

“Ha-ha, I wonder how weird it’d look for me to have taken two guard captains under my wing?” Ceasler laughed, “They’d probably take me off the field to teach the at the academy.”

“Heh, don’t you worry sir...” Slayde said enthusiastically, “When I become Luna’s royal guard captain, I won’t give you the cold shoulder like the captain did!”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself boy.” Ceasler warned, returning to his more stern self, “You’ve got a lot to learn before you can even dream about making captain.”

“And if your record is anything to go by...” Slayde beamed, “Then you’re just the pegasus to teach me!”

“Oh-ho?” Ceasler blinked a few times in surprise, “Finally showing a little respect are we?”

“Pfft, please...” the young guard remarked, nudging his partner fondly, “Maybe after you get your own room I’ll give you some of that reverence you love so much.”

The old night guard shook his head from side to side. “Oh, how I fear for the future.” he sighed, “It really wouldn’t kill you to show a little respect.”

Ceasler stopped walking as he realized they had overshot their mark, too engaged in conversation to notice they had come so far. His partner slowed to a stop as well, looking out over the wall and into the distance.

“Hrm...” Ceasler hummed, “Looks like our patrol’s over. Come on, let’s head back.”

As he looked over to his unresponsive partner, he was intrigued to see him squinting, focused intently on something beyond the city’s wall.

“Slayde?” he asked, addressing the reactionless unicorn, “What are you-”

“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Slayde asked as he tried to focus his gaze, “What is that thing?”

“What are you talking about?” Ceasler questioned, looking to the sky as he joined in the search, “I don’t- whoa, what the...”

Ceasler and Slayde’s eyes widened in horror as they finally recognised the figure rushing toward them...

Slayde might have hesitated, but Ceasler didn’t. “Watch out!” was all he had time to say as he crash-tackled his partner to the ground and out of the way of the shadow descending upon them.

* * * *

Further up in Canterlot top tier, in the desolate halls of the royal palace, the pressure was well and truly on.

The princess was in a frenzy as she blitzed through the various documents she had accumulated and the royal guards outside were petrified. Fifteen minutes ago, having lost a fair game of rock-paper-scissors to decide to whom the task should fall to, one of the royal guards ventured inside her chambers and interrupted whatever it was she was doing to tell her that the time had come to prepare for the raising of the sun.

The captain had warned them not to disrupt her, but Celestia was running late. The guards just thought her schedule had slipped her mind, and they should remind her. But the way Celestia had responded still had the royal guards shaking in their golden greaves.

So now, with just over an hour remaining until the scheduled sunrise, and the princess still tearing her study apart, the guards knew they had to try again. It was possible that she had calmed down a little...

A jarring crashing sound, only partially snuffed from behind the door, thundered out and caused the royal guards to shiver. It didn’t take a genius to tell that Celestia’s frustration was doing nothing but growing.

Indeed, inside her chambers, the princess literally tore through page after page of the criminal listing, searching feverishly for something specific.

A single, almost alien drop of sweat ran down Celestia’s cheek. “Why can’t I remember the name?” she said in angst, “She’s the only one it could be! The captain really must have wiped her record... but why?”

“I still remember the time she came to see me.” she said frustrated, throwing the papers the floor, “So why does my memory fail me so?”

Celestia gave up. She had made it about halfway through the criminal listings, but she was out of time. Despite this, she absolutely refused to allow herself to panic. She let her horn pulse to magically thrust open the doors to her study, causing the guard who had finally resolved to knock upon them to hit nothing, and consequently, follow-through with an embarrassing face-plant.

“I’m coming.” she smiled pre-emptively to the other guard, predicting his question, “But I must ask that you escort me alone, for I have a very important task for this one to complete.”

Celestia stood purposefully over the guard who had just picked himself off the floor. “Uh, me?” he asked bewildered, “What can I do?”

Celestia had obviously predicted this question as well, so instead of paying attention to the confused guard, she instead concentrated on rifling through the mess that had become her study.

For a fleeting instant, the guard was afraid that the princess was about to order him to clean the mess, but Celestia was in front of him again, and she was levitating a very specific series of documents as if she wanted him to grab them.

“Now, this is very important.” she said seriously, staring right at the intimidated royal guard as she spoke clearly and deliberately, “This is a list of the names, statuses and origin of every pony that has been on the wanted list at any stage over the last fifteen years. I want you to look through every file we have and compile a separate list for me. Restrict the search to female pegasus ponies under twenty... no, make that thirty years of age. And try to focus on any profiles that may have been tampered with, or are otherwise suspicious.”

Celestia stopped giving orders as she watched the expectant stare of the royal guard as he hung on every word she was saying. “Do you understand all this?” she questioned disarmingly, “Don’t be afraid to ask-”

Suddenly, and without warning, a blaring alarm trumpeted out through the whole palace, cutting through the moment and causing everyone in Celestia’s chambers to jump slightly. “That’s the warning alarm!” the guard at the door said, especially surprised, “So it’s finally happening is it?”

The guard in front of her snapped Celestia out of her apparent trace. “Princess!” he said urgently, “You have to-”

“Yes, I know.” she replied definitively, “Will you have any problems with what I’ve asked?”

“No.” he answered evenly, surprising her with his lack of hesitation, “Be careful princess...”

The guard at the door was somewhat less certain. “Are you sure you should still raise the sun at a time like this?” he asked, “Less than an hour remains-”

“Yes, I’m sure.” was all she said, closing off the topic and turning back to the guard closest to her, “Good luck here. I’m counting on you.”

He snapped up into a soundless salute, sensing that the princess was about to leave him to his recently assigned duties.

Out the door she went, but before the two guards were out of each other’s sight, they nodded silently to one another, conveying much with the simple gesture.

‘Don’t falter.’ it said, ‘Good luck and Godspeed.’

The guard stood alone in Celestia’s private study, and before he committed himself to the documents before him, he shot a look out the window and into the sky, wondering to himself. “Just what is going on here?” was all he said before he buried his eyes into the daunting stack of notes before him.

* * * *

“You can’t possibly expect me to believe that something like that is even possible?” Twilight questioned, stunned by Fluttershy’s explanation, “Wait, wait... wait. Let me get this straight...

“Not only are you saying that he managed to fight off two manticore...” she recapped, “But there was a much bigger third one which he also took out?”

Twilight shook her head in disbelief. “But he didn’t just beat it you say?” she said directly, “Tell me how it’s possible to even ‘break-in’ a manticore! Tell me how a single, injured, earth pony, can... what? ‘Tame’ a wild manticore and fly off with it?!”

Twilight just stood there, leaning in towards Fluttershy with unblinking eyes, waiting for an answer to her perfectly legitimate questions.

“I don’t really understand it either, but it’s the truth.” the shy pegasus responded, already exhausted from the explanation, “Manticore always hunt with their cubs, and the father was somehow overpowered and Marco forced it to do what he wanted. He probably sedated it, or used some kind of potion or medicine to keep it subdued... to keep it pacified.”

Fluttershy was starting to sound angry... Angry that Marco had been so heartless. “You gotta stop him before he does something really bad.” she said timidly, “Before he hurts someone else, or-”

“What can I do?!” Twilight said flustered, interrupting her friend, “He’s gone Fluttershy! Flown away to Canterlot no doubt! It’s over! We can’t catch up to him-”

“We can’t...” Fluttershy said determined, “But you can.”

“I have to stay here.” she continued, “This cub’s injuries are bad, and I can’t leave him like this. But you, you need to fly off after Marco-”

“Uh... fly?” Twilight repeated in disbelief, “You do realize that you’re the pegasus here, not me?”

“And you know there’s more than one way to tame a manticore.” Fluttershy said suddenly, “You’ve seen me do it.”

Twilight almost considered the idea. “Yeah. You’ve done it.” Twilight said fearful, “But it’s a monster! It might like you, but it’d flip out if I tried to ride it!”

Fluttershy remained unconvinced. “I’ve seen you calm a raging Ursa Major...” she reminded her friend.

“Minor!” Twilight corrected, “And that was different!”

“Um, yeah. Minor.” Fluttershy said meekly, “Well how about Cerberus? He’s the strongest and most deadly beast in Equestria, and you led him all the way back to Tarterus!”

“You wouldn’t be talking about that same three headed dog you gave a belly scratch to?” Twilight raised an eyebrow, “Again, that was different!”

“My point is...” Fluttershy ran her hoof through the mane of the manticore next to her, “This girl’s smart, and if you give me a moment with her, you’ll have no problem riding her to Canterlot while I stay here to help her brother.”

“Okay, but-” Twilight stopped short. She didn’t have a ‘but’ to add.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this...”

Chapter 5: Avenger's Verdict

From the Ashes

Chapter 5: Avenger’s Verdict

Marco stood triumphantly over the defeated forms of Ceasler and Slayde.

The younger looking one groaned slightly as Marco pulled the helmet off its head and placed it upon his own. Now replaced, he tucked his treasured hat into Zecora’s saddlebags, now that there was some free space.

He hadn’t used any potions on the pair of night guards. He couldn’t afford to waste them. With the element of surprise on his side, it wasn’t hard for him to simply beat the two into submission while they were distracted with the manticore.

Over the sound of the beast thrashing around in the corner, Marco could hear the telltale sound of more guards approaching, alerted by all the noise. He grimaced slightly as he unsympathetically wrenched the older pegasus’ breastplate free. The next batch of guards would be upon him any second, and there wasn’t any possible way he could evade them.

Which meant everything was going according to plan. Marco quickly equipped the final piece of his stolen set of golden armour. He truly looked the part. The helmet he stole from the unicorn guard had a fake mane on top, most likely due to the fact the guard’s hair was actually orange underneath. So in combination with his new silver mane, Marco’s natural charcoal grey coat complimented the disguise perfectly.

The sound of the guards approaching became louder. He didn’t have much time. “And now...” Marco said as he gripped the bloodied bandaging coiled around his chest, “Time for the most important part...”

For this to work, the bandaging would have to come off, as well as the stitching. “Oh boy...” he grit his teeth, “This is gonna hurt.”

* * * *

Captain Caliber raced through the empty streets, heading as fast as his wings would take him towards the scene of the action.

He cursed himself and he cursed his luck. “Damn it!” he said aloud, “I was too far away! I wasn’t there!”

He didn’t get it. The commotion was coming from the southern wall, which everypony knew was the side of the city that extended out, hanging from the mountain on which Canterlot was built. The captain knew his enemy, so he focused almost entirely upon the northern side, as it was the area directly connected to the mountain and thus the only entry point accessible for non-pegasi. So for a simple earth pony to make his move, on the southern side was unexplainable.

He rounded the final corner through the twisting streets and saw a group of his guards encircling what appeared to be two downed night guards. As he got closer, he recognized the pair.

Ceasler and Slayde lay beaten, but alive. They weren’t seriously injured, but it appeared as if they had been on the receiving end of a fierce struggle. Their golden armour had been knocked loose, the shining plating laying all about, and both ponies were missing various pieces.

“What happened?” he asked a nearby royal guard, “Where’s the perpetrator?”

The guard was the spinning image of the captain, bleach white in coat with a regal blue mane and gold armour. But this guard’s royal appearance was betrayed by apparent exhaustion. “Take a look.” he responded by pointing to the Caliber’s right, “Hard to believe ain’t it?”

Caliber could see it keeled over by the damaged pathway. Clearly beaten and seemingly unconscious, the sight of a fully-grown manticore caused the captain’s eyes to bulge. “What the hell is a manticore doing here?” he asked involuntarily, “Wait. Stop. Slow Down. Just... just tell me what happened.”

“We only just pieced it together ourselves.” the royal guard started, “But here’s what we got so far...

“The manticore charges in, and puts these two down like that. Half the guys here heard the noise and ran in to help, but trust me... this thing was pissed.” the guard spoke plainly as he recounted the events, “I came in after the alarm went off, and even then it took all six of us to overpower the bastard and get the medic in-”

“Medic?” Caliber questioned, “Where? I don’t see any and I can tell these two have had nothing but first aid...”

“Yeah, that’s right...” the royal guard answered, “But these two got of easy compared to their friend. As soon as the medic arrived, she rushed him off for treatment-”

“Friend? You mean there was a third?” Caliber asked, immediately suspicious, “A civilian?”

“Err, No sir?” he replied confused, “He was a night guard too.”

Caliber now knew something was up. He had a history with Ceasler, and he had met him and Slayde earlier tonight. They were a pair, so a third member could not be accounted for. He considered that this third guard could have gotten involved in passing, but he hadn’t deployed any groups with less than two members; he never risked solo runs during the night watch. For this to be legitimate, there would’ve had to be one or more other guards involved.

“You’re certain?” he asked directly, pulling himself away from his thoughts.

“Of course.” the royal guard nodded, “He had the standard colours and full uniform, well whatever didn’t come off in the fight...”

Caliber looked down at Ceasler and Slayde. Something the guard had just said didn’t sit right. And then it hit him; Slayde had no helmet, but Ceasler did, and Ceasler had lost his breastplate, yet Slayde hadn’t. He continued to study the scene until he noticed that it was all too deliberate.

He compared the two guards. Neither of them still wore their neck-brace or saddle-plates, but in between them lay one of each, so it would appear it they been knocked off in the brawl. To some it might have been logical to assume the other missing pieces suffered the same fate, but the captain could see past that.

He quickly did the math, and realized that of all the parts he could see, there was only enough for one complete uniform. Which meant the missing pieces could also form a set that would be lacking only a few non-critical elements.

Caliber gritted his teeth. This wasn’t looking good. He had yet to consider it, but thinking back to when he saw Marco at Twilight’s library, his coat was more than compatible with the standard night guard appearance. If you gave him a uniform, the resemblance would be uncanny; nopony would think twice. Unless...

“What kind of pony was he?” The captain asked suddenly, “Pegasus or unicorn?”

The royal guard shot a brief look over to his comrades who were keeping an eye on the manticore. He didn’t know. “A unicorn.” he said flatly, “I mean, he had the helmet on, and we couldn’t actually see the horn, but he definitely wasn’t a pegasus-”

A grim feeling washed over the Caliber. “So he’s a unicorn because he’s not a pegasus?” he asked directly, “Even though you didn’t see a horn?”

“Well, yeah?” he replied honestly, “Everypony knows the garrison doesn’t allow earth ponies. Hell, earth pony civilians in Canterlot are rare enough, but they just ain’t allowed to serve the guard. They’re just too... uh, weak.

“Don’t get me wrong...” he continued defencively, “I got nothing against them as a rule, but they just aren’t compatible with unicorns or pegasi. Too much stuff holds them back from being effective fighters-”

“So what did the medic say?” Caliber interrupted, getting back on track, “Where did she take him?”

“Huh? Oh... she said the wound was in a vital spot, and she was worried that it came from the manticore’s tail, which is poisonous.” the royal guard said uncertain, having been put on the spot, “Last I heard, they rushed him off to the barracks hospital for emergency blood transfusion and to see if he got poisoned-”

“The barracks hospital?” the captain said, eyes widening, “Shit! How long ago was this- forget it!”

Caliber became airborne with a jolt, not even looking back to the guards as he addressed them. “Stay here with those two!” he yelled as he blasted off in the direction of the barracks, “And keep that thing in check!”

This was bad. There are plenty of health centres and hospitals in Canterlot, but if a guard gets injured, there’s only one place he gets sent. And that’s the garrison’s own dedicated infirmary. The problem was its location. The eastern side of Canterlot’s top tier. Which was dangerously close to the night palace...

The guard captain bit his lip so hard he drew blood. He had underestimated his enemy. And not just because of the situation he was now in, the scary thing was that everything was acting in the earth pony’s favour. He had found unconventional means to invade, going against expectations and turning preparations made for him against themselves. Then he masqueraded as a night guard and either feigned or self-inflicted an injury to avoid suspicion. And the worst part was that he was now getting a free ride to his final destination.

“He’s still on the back hoof, but I’m loosing control of the situation.” Caliber said to himself, “Think! You can’t let him keep the momentum. Intervene. Do something!”

Clarity struck. “No. this is to be expected.” he said, regaining his cool, “Guerrilla tactics are normal for a single aggressor, so it’s only natural the first strike was his. But there’s a fatal flaw in his plan.”

His eyes narrowed as he increased speed. “He could only maintain the upper-hoof so long as his actions were unpredictable and we didn’t know where he was.” Caliber mused, “But I can be certain of his location. He’s either on his way to that hospital or he’s already there.”

“Either way...” he continued seriously, “This is the decisive moment, and my best chance. He put up a good front, but I’m about to end this foolishness.”

Caliber’s eyes intensified ever so slightly. “Looks like I’ll be taking care of this myself!”

* * * *

It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but with his body in such a sorry state, Marco was having a hard time pretending to be unconscious without actually passing out.

As soon as the purple coated unicorn medic hovered him through the thick, double-doors to the garrison’s infirmary, she rushed him halfway down a winding hallway and slapped him roughly onto a flat, white bed where there was an old-looking brown coated doctor waiting.

“Get those saddlebags and amour plating off!” he commanded to the unicorn as she disassembled Marco’s uniform, “They’ll get in the way!”

Marco opened his eyes halfway, taking in his new environment seriously. It was the classic hospital scenario. White walls, while floors, and that sterile smell that is so artificially clean it makes one feel ill. He watched as the medic and the doctor formed a pair and looked over their new patient. Despite himself, Marco couldn’t help but notice; the male doctor, the female nurse, the sickly smell and pale white everything... it was all so generic it made him feel like a colt with food poisoning all over again.

He was quickly pulled away from his childhood memories of eating though tubes for a week when the doctor leaned in and forced Marco’s left eye open, shining a blinding compact-torch into his pupil. “Dilation response normal.” the old earth pony said robotically, “You can cancel the anti-venom, he hasn’t been poisoned.”

Marco resisted the urge to retaliate as the pony kept the light in his eye. Before it became too much, it turned off and Marco’s vision returned. He could see the purple unicorn fiddling with what looked like blood packs, and as much as he hated needles, he almost smiled as she hooked him up to the device.

While the nurse was doing the nurse stuff, the doctor was doing the doctor stuff, the old stallion staring intently at Marco’s wounded chest. “Whatever hit him nicked an artery, and the exterior is agitated.” he furrowed his wrinkled brow, “But it doesn’t look like infection.”

He looked up from the wound and at the patient it belonged to, who seemed strangely invested in what was going on. “We can’t stop the bleeding as it is.” he said quickly, turning to the purple unicorn, “We have to start surgery right away.”

“Who’s the surgeon on call tonight?” she asked, “I didn’t see anyone else on my way through...”

“There isn’t anyone else.” The doctor shot back, “I’m the only doctor on call tonight and all the medics are in the field.”

The significance of that last part wasn’t lost on Marco. ‘Perfect.’ he thought, ‘Things are finally starting to go my way...’

“I’ll have to do it.” the doctor said crisply, “Nurse, hit him with the gas so we can get started.”

The purple unicorn rushed over to Marco’s bedside, and begun purposefully tweaking with some dials and knobs connected to a device just outside his field of vision. He remained eerily motionless as she gently pulled the nozzle over to his face, mere moments from putting him under...

The old doctor was facing away at the time, sterilizing and equipping himself in preparation for the imminent surgery. “Okay.” he finally said, turning back to the scene, “The first thing we need to do is-”

The words froze in his throat as he saw the shocking scene before him. The tools he had prepared fell to the floor as he unconsciously lost his grip on them.

Marco was crouching on the edge of the hospital bed, gripping the nurse around the neck with one hoof, and forcing the gas nozzle to her muzzle with the other. She fumbled weakly against his strong hold, her groans snuffed by the nozzle and eyes hazing as the gas coming from it took quick effect.

The doctor looked on in abject horror as Marco finally released the nurse, her legs limp and eyes closed, out cold. The old pony fearfully inched his way backwards as the stallion before him rose up off the bed, still too terrified to regain speech. Marco however, did not delay in addressing him.

“Where’s the first aid kit?” he demanded, his voice deep, “Point it out for me won’t you?”

Still petrified, the old doctor raised a quivering hoof and pointed to a white and red box fixed to the wall behind him. By way of acknowledgement, Marco bent down and gently picked up the unicorn he had gassed.

“Whoopsi-daisy...” he groaned as he hefted her up and onto the hospital bed he had just made vacant, “There we go.”

Marco promptly opened up the first aid and begun rummaging inside of it, talking to the doctor as he did so. “Don’t misunderstand.” he begun, “I don’t relish harming innocents, especially those trying to help me, which I guess you guys were essentially doing...”

Marco found a roll of bandaging in the box and he promptly begun to wrap it around his chest. “But...” he continued, “I can’t let anypony interfere. And that’s just what you were about to do. Unicorns are unpredictable, so I couldn’t take a chance in her case, but you...”

The old earth pony remained speechless, shaking in the corner of the room.
“Just go.” Marco stated grimly, “I don’t care what you do, just get out of here.”

The doctor didn’t budge. “What?” Marco asked uninterested, “What is it? Are you worried about the girl? Are you worried about me? Or are you worried about yourself?”

Marco finished applying his fresh bandage. “Because I don’t care.” he said darkly, “Come at me or run away, but just get on with it. If you understand, hurry up and-”

He didn’t have a chance to finish his sentence before the doctor sprung up and bolted out the closer of the two exits, still not saying a word. Marco shrugged to himself as he checked on the unicorn he had been so brutal to. He wasn’t expecting the doctor to abandon her, but like he had told the old pony, he didn’t really care about that stuff. It was easier this way and he had much, much more important things on his mind.

He trotted over to the spare table where the nurse had placed his saddlebags and stolen uniform. He was within striking distance of the night palace, and with this disguise to call on, getting up close would be made significantly easier. And combined with his other ace-in-the-hole stashed in Zecora’s saddlebags, his path to Luna would become clear.

* * * *

Captain Caliber landed just outside the hospital, praying that he wasn’t too late. He briskly but cautiously made his way up to the thick double-doors. It was too quiet. He knew the place would only have one or two doctors on call at a time like this, but still, it was suspiciously inactive...

The double-doors suddenly blasted open, surprising the captain as a lone figure scrambled through the opening. Caliber didn’t waste a second as he intercepted the target, the training that had been drilled into him taking over. In the time it takes one to blink, the pegasus charged into the old stallion with lightning speed, pinning him down with his powerful forelegs.

The doctor squirmed helplessly underneath the firm hold and Caliber could clearly see the fear in the earth pony’s eyes. It didn’t take long for him to find the meaning behind his panic. “Where is he?” he demanded, not easing up on his hold, “Tell me what room you came from!”

The old pony struggled slightly against the captain’s grip. “S...south W...wing.” he managed, voice trembling, “Theatre... theatre A!”

With this new information, the Caliber sprung up and off of the doctor. Without a word, or even a look back, he charged inside.

Down the winding hall of the south wing he raced, theatre A only a few rooms ahead. ‘Please don’t be late...’ his mind begged, ‘Tell me he hasn’t escaped again!’

He finally reached the door to the room he was looking for, and he didn’t pause before kicking it open. But he did pause upon seeing what awaited him inside.

He quickly noticed the purple unicorn lying flat on the hospital bed and the various devices scattered around, but they weren’t the first thing to grab his attention. For standing before him, halfway through re-equipping his stolen armour was an equally shocked Marco.

The two ponies both reacted at the same time, each doing different things. Marco lunged for the saddlebags next to him, and he quickly tossed the closest vial towards this new threat. He couldn’t be sure what type of potion he grabbed, he could only pray it was the one he needed...

But Caliber wasn’t waiting around any more. As soon he saw Marco go for the saddlebags, he launched across the room, crashing into the wounded earth pony with a powerful air-borne tackle. The impact was so great that Marco was flung off his hooves and into the opposite wall.

The captain was so fast that the vial Marco threw had barely left his grasp as he was struck. A full two seconds later, the potion finally hit the floor at its intended destination, but the target was no longer there. Instead, the captain had moved to its origin and was currently recoiling from his own lightning-fast tackle.

Sliding down off the wall, Marco crouched and looked through pained eyes, not at the captain, but at his potion as it arched downwards. Caliber might have evaded its trajectory, but if Marco had grabbed the right vial, as long as he was in this room he would still be under the effect...

The glass shattered, and the familiar green fog exploded outwardly. Marco was relived; it was the one he wanted-

The green cloud crept up the Caliber’s nostrils, but instead of collapsing, he scrunched up his face and clutched his nose as if in disgust. “Urgah!” he moaned, “What the hell is that smell?”

Marco couldn’t deny his curiosity, so he cautiously sniffed at the air. But what he smelt was not his modified version of Zecora’s sleeping potion. This green cloud wasn’t a gas, but fog. Froggy Bottom Bog Fog to be exact.

These particular fumes were revered for their horrible smell among pranksters, but Marco imagined their function was a bit more limited considering his purposes. “What the hell are you playing at?” Caliber roared, recovering from Marco’s unconventional attack, “Stink bombs? Are you a child?!”

The captain forced his focus to sharpen. ‘Don’t lose your cool!’ his mind cried out, ‘He’s obviously trying to distract you... and it’s working!’

“You’re under arrest!” he called out, still absorbed by confusion, “Don’t move! It’s over for you!”

Marco silently eyed Zecora’s saddlebags, which were just out of reach. If he made a break for it, it would only take a second to grab something from them. Two seconds if he wanted something specific.

The captain regained his composure just in time to see Marco make his move. The desperate earth pony only wanted one second, but Caliber only needed half that...

He moved like a blur, even faster than before. He was on Marco instantly, punishing him for the attempt with a withering strike to his chest. Once again, the earth pony thudded against the back wall, but this time his pain was voiced with a heavy gasp. The blow had hit home, right at his injured chest.

“I said...” the captain called indifferently, “Don’t. Move.”

Marco didn’t move. He just sat there, gasping for air. This pegasus was so strong, and impossibly fast... if this turned into serious fight, he could tell he wouldn’t stand a chance.

And Caliber had just made it abundantly clear that Marco wouldn’t be able to take him by surprise. This one was too smart to fall for any of his tricks. “Okay... okay.” Marco sputtered, winded, “You got me. I won’t try anything.”

Caliber took two deliberate steps forward, putting his front hoof on top of the discarded saddlebags on the floor. “I don’t believe you.” he said plainly as he slid the packs out of Marco’s reach, “Although I would advise you not to. I won’t hesitate to make it so you can’t try anything should you attempt to.”

“Heh.” Marco grinned, “And here I thought all you guards were dumb brutes. You don’t need to tell me you’re their boss.”

The captain just stared right through Marco. It was painfully obvious that he, even now, was trying to manipulate and unnerve him. ‘This guy...’ he thought to himself, ‘It would be best if I just assume everything coming out his mouth is constructed to make me think a certain way or lower my guard. But I need to keep talking to him. He’s the key to what Celestia’s been doing; I have to find out what his connection to is to that book.’

“Indeed.” he finally replied, “A good warrior must be not only be strong of body, but of mind as well.”

The captain didn’t stop before continuing. “Is the girl okay?” he asked, wanting to look over to the bed, but he couldn’t afford to take his eyes off Marco, “What did you do to her?”

Marco could feel the captain’s eyes constantly upon him. This guy wasn’t taking any chances, which was a smart move. Too smart. This guy was just too smart. He wouldn’t be able to outwit him, not like this at least...

“I kicked her pretty hard.” he lied, “But I don’t think she’s dead.”

“Is that so?” Caliber asked, aware that Marco was lying in an attempt to aggravate him, “What about the other one? Did you give him a taste of your power too?”

“That weakling?” Marco hissed, “No, he ran off like a coward all by himself. He didn’t even think twice about leaving his friend here with a villain like me.”

“And my guards?” he replied flatly, refusing to let Marco’s purposefully malicious tongue have its intended effect on him, “Was that more of your ‘strength’, or the manticore’s handiwork?”

“Oh yeah. That was me.” Marco added provocatively, “The manticore was useless once we got onto the ground. Maybe I drugged it too much? It probably had no idea what was going on...”

Caliber just stared at the grey earth pony still kneeling before him. He could tell that he was being menacing by design, but further beyond that, the mechanism that was driving him to act this way was twisted in and of itself. Upon seeing this guy for what he was, the captain no longer harboured any doubt that the princess had done the right thing in her intervention. He could see it as clear as day; this guy was dangerous.

These ‘underlying principles’ of his were dangerous. “What?” Marco questioned, seeing meaning behind the captain’s silence, “You can’t hold that against me! This is a battlefield!”

So it would be these principles Caliber would aim to crush. “Battle?” he questioned, “You wouldn’t be talking about the battle you’ve already lost would you?”

“I put giving up behind me. You should know that.” Marco said directly, seemingly returning to his normal self, “Or is this your way of telling me you’re gonna end this? Do you think you’re strong enough to beat me?”

This struck a nerve within Caliber. “Stop talking about strength!” he said, “You really don’t get it do you? You think that enduring pain and hardship while staying dedicated to revenge is strength? You’re wrong! The battle you’ve already lost is the battle with yourself!”

Marco finally mustered the will to stand. “What the hell are you talking about?” he growled defiantly, “Are you saying that giving up on justice is somehow strength?”

“There is no justice here. Only your hatred.” Caliber said evenly, “You’ve given into it. Wallowing in your hate, thinking only about revenge... that’s what makes you weak! The strong are those who rise above their pain and refuse to let it consume them. And that is where you have failed.”

Marco gritted his teeth, his rage overflowing. “Don’t be naïve!” he roared, “You can make it sound as pretty as you want, but it doesn’t mean shit in the real world! Strength is strength! It’s not subjective! You can be as magnanimous as you want, but when reality gets nasty, if you don’t have the power, it counts for nothing!”

“You still don’t understand.” Caliber shook his head, almost pitying the stallion, “Every life you have and would have trampled over in order to satisfy your selfishness... they are all stronger than you. Because they believe in peace. Because they believe in real justice. Those guards, this nurse, and even that doctor... in my eyes, they’ll always be above someone like you.”

A silence developed. For a moment, neither of them said anything. It was clear that there was no common ground to be had.

“You know, out of all the thing’s you’ve said...” Marco said suddenly as he looked about the room, “I’ll admit there’s one thing that made sense.”

Caliber raised an eyebrow, but maintain his suspicion. He had allowed his concentration to waver earlier, but he wasn’t beyond thinking this troubled earth pony was still planning something.

“And what would that be?” he asked neutrally.

“Earlier, you said that a good warrior needs to be not just strong, but smart too.” Marco replied, his voice hollow, “And you’re right. The dumb ones don’t last long...”

Caliber frowned. Where could he be going with this?

“But I think the same can be said of warriors that are too smart.” Marco continued, his tone dark, “Warriors like you I mean.”

“What are you talking about-” Caliber made to ask, but he didn’t get around to finishing his question. He was interrupted as his eyes saw a blur as the air between him and Marco seemed to haze...

“What am I talking about?” Marco said, changing his stance, “I’m talking about you. Were you so self-assured of your own intelligence that you thought talking to me would make a difference? Did you think that your opinions on strength and justice matter?

“I hate to burst your bubble, but you are a soldier. If the way you think had value then your job wouldn’t be necessary.” he continued, his tone condescending, “Truth be told, keeping you busy like that was a real pain, but I had to find a way to buy the time I needed...”

The air hazed once again, and Caliber looked around for something that was causing it. And he found it.

Next to the hospital bed, lying inconspicuously on the floor was the business end of the gas nozzle. It was currently, and had been hissing away silently since Marco used it against the nurse earlier. But since the guard captain could see the gas in the air, it meant it was already far too late. The room was completely filled with the stuff.

“Did you know it’s rather easy to spot a gas leak by smell?” Marco asked, causing Caliber to whirl and face him again, “How unfortunate that somepony threw the wrong potion...”

The captain’s eyes widened as he saw two twin black objects balanced on Marco’s hoof. It seemed as though while he had tried to identify the source of the gas leak, he had given Marco the opportunity he was waiting for to remove something from the saddlebags.

“You wasted time you didn’t have on some pathetic attempt to reason with me.” Marco said condemningly, “You’ve lost your chance.”

The conclusion came to Caliber in a blinding flash. A room deliberately filled with gas plus a pony fixated on revenge. The mystery substance had to be flint. He was going to cause an explosion!

‘He wouldn’t would he?’ the captain thought, ‘Neither of us would be able to-’

Marco turned sideways as he braced to toss the objects he was gripping. But as he exposed his side, the captain saw something, and in that instant, upon realizing what he saw, he finally understood Marco’s connection to Celestia’s ramblings.

It all made sense to him now. The reason why the princess was so afraid of Marco, the reason why he felt like he had forgotten something crucial... it was now all so clear.

He had to stop him. He had to say something. Anything. “Wait! Marco!” he called, “Don’t do it-”

Marco didn’t wait. “Goodbye.” he murmured as he casually tossed the black things into the air.

The captain’s world froze as he saw the future. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t fight it.

And so he flew. Shooting off the mark, Caliber grabbed the nurse and zipped out the room in one fluid motion. He didn’t know how long he had, but he was away in an instant, getting as far as he could before the inevitable happened.

Back in Marco’s room, he watched as the twin black shapes hit the floor and connected, a quiet ‘clink’ chirped out.

The ambiguous things rolled harmlessly away at different angles. They weren’t flint. ‘What an idiot.’ Marco thought, “Did he really think I’d just blow myself up?’

Despite what the captain assumed, Marco hadn’t taken them from Zecora’s saddlebags. He had merely improvised with the rubber stoppers on a nearby medical tray. The black little balls didn’t even really look like flint orbs, but he imaged they might to somepony in a room filled with flammable gas.

Marco didn’t delay. He put the last piece of his night guard uniform on and loosely strapped on the saddlebags. The one on his right side was still full and heavy with something, but the one on his left was nearly empty. He looked inside briefly as he reached to grab one of the potions with his mouth. There was only four left, two red ones and two purple ones. And while he could work with what he had, it was still unfavourable. After all, he could barely remember how many of them it had taken for him to survive that manticore attack back at Everfree. Nevertheless, he had been saving the best for last. He pulled out one of the red tinted pots.

While Marco was reequipping himself, Caliber was busy hip-and-shouldering his way through the double doors leading out of the hospital. Concerned only with the safety of himself and the nurse, he hadn’t given a thought to anything other than survival.

But after three seconds of lying flat in an attempt to protect his head, he realized these three seconds shouldn’t have existed in the first place. After a quick check of the nurse’s vitals, his eyes snapped back to the hospital entrance.

‘It was a bluff!’ his mind screamed as he scrambled up off the ground, ‘He played on my panic! If I had stayed calm, I would have realized he wouldn’t sacrifice himself like that! He had no reason to be carrying flit around either, and he couldn’t have found it in the hospital-’

His mind flashed back to his revelation concerning Marco’s connection with Celestia’s behaviour. “This isn’t over!” he told himself as he flew back inside.

He was done talking. This guy was too dangerous, too unstable. He had to put a stop to this now, before it was out of his control. So down the winding hallway he charged once more, clearing the distance to the hospital room in seconds.

Marco hadn’t gotten far. While the captain had barely stepped foot into the theatre, Marco was at the opposite door, with one foot out into the adjacent hall.

Caliber’s attention was immediately drawn to the red-coloured vial between Marco’s teeth, and he quickly braced himself. He didn’t need to look twice to know what this red potion was. Because, in becoming familiar with the laws surrounding its use, he had naturally come to understand the substance itself...

Immolation oil. Characterized by its unique shiny bolt-red appearance, it is considered a unique kind of alchemic concoction because it’s only possible purpose is destructive. Its premise is a very special and unstable naturally occurring chemical that reacts explosively with oxygen. This chemical is then combined with a very potent flammable oil, so that when the container breaks or is breached and the mixture is exposed to air, it will burst into flames.

It didn’t take much imagination for Caliber to picture just how this effect would be amplified inside a room filled with gas. He dared not move, desperately wanting to avoid provoking Marco into using it. So in keeping still, Caliber took stock of his environment. But no matter how he looked at it, if Marco chose to drop the potion, there would be no way to intercept it in time.

Both ponies were also just next to their respective exits. If they fled as the gas in the room ignited, they might escape, but neither of them would be able to completely avoid the explosion even if they ran as fast as they could.

“You came back?” the potion between his teeth jiggled as he spoke, “I can’t tell if you’re smart or dumb...”

Caliber held his ground, prepared for anything. “One way to find out!” Marco called as he let go of the vial.

Caliber estimated he had three seconds.

Three. He stepped out and took flight, easily twice as fast without a nurse weighing him down. For his part, Marco ran for all he was worth through the door opposite him.

Two. The hallway was too winding and Caliber couldn’t gain enough speed in the maze. The hall Marco was in was direct, so he galloped down its length and rounded the corner at its end and out of harm’s way.

One. The captain misjudged his next corner and bounced roughly off of the wall as he cut it too fine. Falling to the floor, he could only pray he had gotten far enough away...

Zero.

* * * *

Twilight strained her eyes as the wind rushed at her face.

Flying low, the young manticore glided soundlessly over Ponyville. If anypony in the humble town were crazy enough to still be awake, they would have seen the purple unicorn soaring purposefully over their homes on the back of a most fearsome steed. But even if one was to see, the scene would almost instantly be dismissed as a dream by virtue of it surreal nature.

In the distance, the shape of Canterlot was becoming more and more visible. Twilight couldn’t help but wonder if Marco had seen this same view, even though he would never truly see it the same way she did.

What would she do? What was her plan? While Marco had been able to keep focused on his strategy, Twilight had no idea what she was going to do once she got to the city, or even how she’d be able to get in.

There was nothing to busy her mind with other than uncertainty. “What should I do?” she asked herself, “What can I do?”

Too many questions and not enough answers. How would she approach the problems she faced?

The beast below her snorted gruffly. Oddly enough, becoming aware of it once again gave Twilight the answer to her question. The courage to tame the manticore, the courage to trust in Fluttershy’s judgment... it all came from the same place.

‘A leap of faith.’ she thought, ‘It’s what’s brought me here, so I have to keep believing, no matter how bleak it may seem. I’ll know what to do once I get there’

Canterlot grew closer and closer. It wouldn’t be long now until she would be upon the city. The manticore gained altitude, preparing itself to go in over the southern wall that was coming into view. Twilight was surprised at just how sky-worthy manticore were in spite of their seemingly disproportionate wings. Even more so considering Fluttershy claimed that this one was only a cub.

Twilight tried hard to push aside her fear as the ground below got further and further away. Between taking off like this and reaching Canterlot, it would be only Twilight, the manticore, and the open sky.

She focused as hard as she could on her task. Up there somewhere was Marco, and she would face all obstacles, one by one until she found him and stopped him...

Suddenly, and without warning, a flash of light erupted from the top tier of Canterlot and pieced through the darkness. Twilight was stunned only for the briefest of moments, because in the next instant, the blinding white-hot glow was succeeded by a thunderous boom.

The sheer volume of the explosion was almost enough to knock Twilight off the back of the manticore. “What in the world is going on up there?” she asked herself, her expectations for what awaited taking a drastic turn.

* * * *

Marco stumbled outside, still a bit in shock from the fierce explosion.

Anypony who would underestimate the raw power of a blast like that had clearly never experienced one. His ears rung and he placed his steps awkwardly, but he had to get away from the scene as soon as possible, as this place would soon be swarming with guards. After all, nopony in their right mind would stick to their post after what he just did.

If he’d guessed right and Caliber was the leader, and it was also safe to assume that he was now out of the picture, then that would mean the time was about right for him to throw the rest of the guard into chaos.

In the safety of an inconspicuous alleyway, Marco took off Zecora’s saddlebags. The leftmost one now contained a measly three potions, but the one on the right, the one that had yet to be opened, was still full to bursting.

In fact, out of everything he carried with him, the objects that became visible as he opened the bag were suspiciously unsuspicious. They were apples. Just a whole lot of apples. Normal apples too; they were unmodified, completely edible, and safe. There were fifteen of them. Marco pulled them all out, and one by one arranged them into a strange pattern. One apple followed by two, two followed by four, four followed by eight; with each row, the number doubled itself.

Back in Zecora’s saddlebag, there was an additional object that had become visible, previously buried beneath all the fruit. It was just a normal old jar, but unlike Marco’s other containers, this one was dotted with holes, so its contents were obviously not a potion.

Inside it, buzzing around harmlessly was a tiny, innocent-looking, bulbous insect. Marco screwed off the top and pulled the vibrant parasprite out of the jar.

The cute thing tried to fly away, but Marco was obviously not going to let that happen. “Whoa there little guy!” he said, keeping a firm hold, “I don’t know how long the zebra lady had you cooped up in that thing, but I can’t set you free just yet...”

Marco grabbed the first apple in his strange pattern. “Here, I bet you’re hungry.” he said, holding the fruit up to the parasprite’s mouth, “Don’t worry. It’s safe...”

The tiny bug didn’t hesitate before chomping down hard on the apple, taking the whole thing in with one bite, despite its size. Marco didn’t hesitate either, letting go of the parasprite and bending down to grab the next row of apples, the one that contained two.

As he rose, bearing more fruit, the little insect was in the process of gagging, apparently about to spit something up. “Perfect.” Marco smiled with satisfaction, knowing what came next, “This should do the trick...”

The parasprite, as if on queue, coughed up a vibrant bulb of gooey fuzz. But before the substance lost altitude, a pair of eyes, legs and wings popped out. The parasprite had duplicated...

“What about you?” Marco asked the recently spawned creature, “Hungry, right?”

After only a few minutes, and fourteen more apples, the two parasprites had become four, and the four had become eight, and the eight had become sixteen. Marco had spawned the makings of a swarm.

He could hear the sounds of guards running around frantic, responding to the fire as his tiny parasprite army marched off on their quest for more food. This was going just as planned, or perhaps even better than planned. The swarm would continue to multiply exponentially, and between the chaos they were soon to ensue and the effects from the explosion, the guard would be in disarray. But more importantly, they would be focused only on these two incidents.

And without their captain to tell them any different, even the biggest idiot would treat these two sudden and unexpected events as related. So with the entire guard moments away from erupting into a complete frenzy of confusion, Marco’s stolen uniform took on a whole new level of effectiveness. He would be able to walk straight to the night palace unhindered. It was just too perfect...

But for now Marco had to wait. He couldn’t risk moving openly until the parasprites had done their job. So he just sat, visualizing his strategy for going up against Luna. Even if it went exactly as he expected, it would be the most difficult of all his encounters tonight.

He centred himself, bringing back the determination he found in the forest, during his most trying moment when things seemed hopeless. He would need it all. The resolve it took to rise against friends, the strength it took to exceed the manticore, and the prudence it took to overcome the captain... he would have to harness all this power and more to fulfil his promise, and to satisfy his justice.

It had come to this. After all the roads that lead here, obstacle after obstacle, Marco was a stone’s throw away from carrying out his responsibility. And all that stood in the way was this last trial. All it would take to see it accomplished was this one final effort.

* * * *

There would be no way Twilight could find Marco in all this chaos.

Still upon the back of the young manticore, she had managed to fly in unannounced without any resistance. After all, everypony was just too distracted. Various guards were in an uncoordinated mess doing damage control and putting out the fire, while the rest of them scrambled alongside the civilians, trying in vain to bring the horde of parasprites under control.

Without her command, the manticore circled high above the top tier of Canterlot, waiting for some kind of direction. But what could Twilight do? Any action she took would have to be deliberate and directly concerning Marco, but as it stood, there was nothing for her to be certain of. If she charged in without thinking it through, she’d be absorbed by the pandemonium and wouldn’t be able to help anypony.

She couldn’t think of a spell she could use to help in this situation either. While her best bet would’ve been to use magic to calm the bedlam, Twilight didn’t think she was up to the task. After all, the last time she tried to quell a parasprite infestation, she only made it worse. And putting out the fire at the hospital would require elemental conjuring magic, and while water was the easiest of all the elements to create, only a handful of Celestia’s students had been taught the art, and Twilight was not yet among such students.

And on top of all that, Twilight wasn’t comfortable expending any more of her magic. Of all unicorns schooled in magic, one of the first things that gets drilled incessantly into their minds are the consequences of over-exerting their abilities. And while she hadn’t the place to recall the different stages a unicorn goes through if they go beyond their limits, Twilight was conscious of the fact that she was approaching these limits.

In truth, the spell she had strained over back at Zecora’s hut would eventually take its toll on her body, but such consequences would come later. For now, Twilight wouldn’t risk using any more magic for fear she would need it if she were to confront Marco once more.

Applejack’s final words rung in Twilight’s ears. ‘No matter what you have to do, stop him before it’s too late.’ the memory of her pained friend’s voice begged, ‘Before its too late for anypony...’

And she would. Regardless of the cost to herself, she had seen enough back then to know how important it was to end this, and she had seen enough here to know the task would now fall to her... she truly was the only one left who had any chance of stopping Marco. The captain was out of the picture and Celestia herself was preoccupied with the imminent sunrise. Twilight was the only one remaining who knew what his intentions were.

And then it hit her. She might not be able to figure out where he was at the moment, but no matter what, the place he’d end up would be the night palace. It was her best chance, but she couldn’t think of a way to communicate it to the manticore...

The beast suddenly and unexpectedly growled before zooming downwards in a very deliberate direction. ‘What is she doing?’ Twilight thought as she struggled to hang on, ‘What’s gotten into her? This isn’t the right way!’

Twilight didn’t understand. ‘What could it be sensing?’ she wondered to herself, until it finally clicked, ‘Sensing! Of course! Smell! It must have picked up on the scent of blood!’

The young manticore growled again. It was clearly mad. “Can she tell it belongs to him?” Twilight asked herself, “Where are you taking me?”

The answer became obvious as the night palace came into view. Twilight feared she might have been too late, but the manticore suddenly lurched downwards and thumped down hard to the ground not far from the palace itself.

Twilight quickly noticed that there wasn’t a single guard in sight. That is, aside from the one that the manticore had just intercepted. The one who’s thick bandaging and lack of wings betrayed the guise of a regular night guard.

Marco instinctively braced himself at the sight of another manticore, but his attention was quickly diverted to the figure on its back. To say that he couldn’t believe his eyes would be an understatement in the extreme.

“No...” he whispered in shock, taking off his stolen helmet, “She couldn’t have...”

“Marco!” Twilight yelled as she dismounted from the manticore, “Stop!”

“Damn it Twilight!” Marco said condemningly, “Why did you come here? Get out of here now!”

“Not until you stop this foolishness!” she roared, determined not to give an inch.

“Why must you keep interfering?” Marco replied, “This has nothing to do with you!”

“But it does!” Twilight retorted, “You’re not alone anymore. We understand-”

“Stop telling me you understand!” Marco interrupted, “No one does! No one ever will! No one will ever know why I must to do this!”

Twilight quickly identified her next line of persuasion. “Macro you can’t do this. You can’t let anger blind you.” she reasoned, “If you do this, the only thing you’ll do is cause more of the same pain you’ve been suffering from!”

“You don’t get it do you Twilight?” he replied simply, “This isn’t about getting revenge.

“I have no delusions.” Marco continued, his words taking her by surprise, “Everypony I ever knew died that night. But they’re dead and gone; buried in the ashes. I’m not here to make Luna pay.

“I’m the only one who lived Twilight.” his eyes met with those of the speechless unicorn before him, “Its my responsibility to make sure that there are consequences!”

Twilight couldn’t accept this. “You’re wrong.” she said bravely, “You can’t see past your rage. If it’s true you’re the only one left, then it means you’re the only one left still bearing a grudge. If you stopped right now, it would end with you. Your ‘responsibility’ is to forgive. Give up on vengeance! You can’t let yourself perpetuate any more suffering!”

“Give up?!” Marco was fuming, “Wake up Twilight! You’re asking me to give up on justice! It might sound all well and good just talking about letting go, living and let living and all that, but that’s all it is... empty words! It doesn’t work in reality!

“If I just let it slide... let the death of a whole village be ignored, that would be the worst injustice! What would stop something disastrous happening again?” he continued, each word laced with retribution, “Even if Luna didn’t know how much an eternal night was going to affect the world, the truth is that the consequences extended far beyond just Ponyville.

“The same sun shines upon all of Equestria, Twilight.” Marco concluded, “When something like that is taken away, the effects go beyond what you can see with your eyes.”

“Please Marco...” Twilight pleaded softly, “I didn’t come here just to stop you. I came for you.

“Even if you won’t give up on your ‘justice’, don’t give up on yourself!” she said, taking a step closer, “You can stare me down and tell me that forgiveness is impossible. You can yell all you want about how virtues are unrealistic...”

“But Marco...” she continued, “Look me in the eye and tell me its impossible for you to forgive!”

Marco looked her in the eye. “Twilight...” he said evenly, “It’s not hard to criticize, but the fact is that the reason I am standing here before you is because I resolved to act. I committed myself to upholding what I thought was right.

“You can go on and on...” Marco continued, the anger rising in his voice, “Telling me every way that I am wrong, but unless you can actually tell me what I ought to do, everything you say is useless!”

Marco’s eyes glazed over as he finally opened his heart and made his true emotions bare. The barriers that had guarded him dropped suddenly as his fury evolved. “Tell me what I should do!” he roared, wrath plaguing every syllable, “Make me believe it!”

Twilight was beyond frightened, but she couldn’t allow it to gain purchase. Not this time. “Maybe you’re right.” she said gently, “Maybe no one understands...”

She gave Marco one hell of a look. “Because I think even you don’t know who you are anymore.” she said accusingly, “You’ve suffered through so much that you’ve become a stranger to yourself...”

Twilight paused for a moment, Rarity’s rambling taking on a whole new level of sense. “The darkness inside has changed you.” she finally continued, “Taken hold of your thoughts and corrupted the truths you live by.

“And you’re still trapped by it, even now.” she said gently, “The evils that robbed you of what you held dear trapped you in an illusion, an illusion you could not escape...”

Twilight was in the zone. After what she had been through to get here, and after seeing Marco once more, the stray fragments of her understanding were finally coming together. “Do you remember when Rarity pulled you back from your nightmare?” she asked, “She told you it was all fake and woke you up. It’s the same thing here. If you realize these thoughts aren’t your own, if you realize that this isn’t you, if you realize what you’re becoming, if you let me help you... I can pull you away from this nightmare!”

The stallion still hadn’t moved. “Please Marco...” Twilight pleaded, “Does any part of you still want to move forward? Don’t you want to see what tomorrow will bring? Is there anything other than vengeance and hate in your heart? Because love and forgiveness don’t just come. You have to want them.”

Marco was still speechless. “Say something!” Twilight called, “It doesn’t matter how hard it may seem. As long as you desire forgiveness, it will thrive!”

Marco’s eyes were distant, and even though he was staring right at her, Twilight could tell he wasn’t looking at her. “You have to take the first step.” she said suddenly, pulling the stallion back into the moment, “It’s the one and only thing you must do on your own. I need to hear you say it...

“Tell me you haven’t given up on yourself!” she yelled, “Tell me what you truly want!”

Marco made to answer Twilight, but before he could, something happened that neither of them expected, but both recognized.

Twilight watched in horror as the sinister black fog exploded outwards from where Marco was standing, and it didn’t take but a moment for her to realize what it was. This dark energy was the one she and her friends had purged from Luna when it had turned her into the wicked mare of darkness. This was Nightmare Moon.

She had no way of knowing how or why this evil still existed, but in being sure she was not hallucinating, she could be certain of why it was here and what it wanted...

“Am I interrupting?” it hissed, with no apparent source other than the mass of fog blocking her path to Marco, “I am so very sorry, but I think you’ve said quite enough...”

“How?” Twilight stuttered, “I thought we destroyed you!”

“Destroy? Me?” the voice cackled a malicious laugh, “Your little elements of harmony might have been able to break my hold on the young princess, but seriously? You thought such a thing could harm me?”

“Where is he?” Twilight demanded, ignoring the voice, “What have you done?”

“Oh... nothing. We just need some privacy is all.” it said dismissively, “I can’t have you screwing around with my new toy now can I?”

Twilight tried to stand her ground, but the ‘danger’ radiating from the insidious cloud was overwhelming. Regardless of what had become of Marco, she needed to get out of here.

The voice chuckled evilly, perhaps sensing Twilight’s fear. “What are you going to do?” it provoked, “Come on, try something! Let’s see what you’ve got!”

Twilight’s horn pulsed as a bright purple light enveloped her and disappeared, and as it faded, she had vanished along with it. With another flash, further away from where she once was, Twilight reappeared veiled in the purple light. It seemed as though, even in her weakened state, she had managed a teleportation spell. But the destination was neither towards Marco and the cloud nor away from them. It almost seemed as if she failed her spell and fallen short of her intended destination.

But Twilight was exactly where she wanted to be. Now next to the young manticore, she clambered upon its back and nudged it to take off. The voice chuckled again to see Twilight flee. In disregarding her, the black cloud drew inwards, further enveloping the area where Marco had been.

Twilight shot a look back to the scene as she escaped the night palace. She didn’t stand a chance against such dark magic. So she had to run; run and find the only one who could possibly know what to do.

She had to tell Celestia. The princess would know what to do. Twilight just hoped she found her in time... before it was too late.

Back down at the night palace, Marco’s world took upon a sudden change. Time froze, and all light was snuffed out. The wind just vanished, stuck in the air...

Marco felt fear as these things were suddenly stolen from his senses. Everything had been stopped dead and a grim silence begun to rule. It was like a dream. No... a nightmare.

“Little Marco...” a voice said suddenly; it was fluid, feminine, venomous and seductive all at once, “What are we going to do with you?”

“Who are you? What is this?!” the stallion called frantically, “Show yourself!”

A thin, deep black and blue cloud materialized and coiled softly around Marco. “I am without a name or form.” she said softly, “But even then, if you think hard enough, you should be able to figure out a name by which you know me...”

“This presence...” Marco replied darkly, “You’re what they called Nightmare Moon.”

“Oh? What’s the matter?” she said changing pitch, “You don’t sound very happy to see me. You could hurt my feelings...”

“What do you want with me?” Marco snapped back.

“Down to business already?” she said smoothly, “How cute. I always liked that about you...”

Marco took a shocked step backwards. He was loosing his ability to stay cool and collected with this sinister voice bearing down on him.

“Hrm? Don’t pretend to be surprised. Surely you’ve felt my eyes upon you?” she continued, “No? A pity. I just couldn’t help myself. You’re such an interesting case after all.”

“I asked you what you want!” Marco demanded, not amused in the slightest.

“I want to help you, my child.” she said smoothly, “I think you have potential...”

“What makes you think I want anything to do with you?” he spat, “Have you forgotten what you did?!”

“Oh, don’t be like that.” she said dismissively, “I’ve seen it. You don’t blame me for what happened. Otherwise you’d be out there looking for the dragon that-”

“Shut up and go away.” Marco cut in, “I don’t want to hear it from you.”

The voice didn’t detract from what she was saying. “You’re after the one who let them off the leash.” she probed, “You’re after the first cause. Luna...”

“What does she have to do with you?” Marco asked, changing his tone.

“Nothing anymore.” she said truthfully, “You however, significantly more...”

The sparkling blue and black cloud coiled in closer. “I’m here because you can’t handle her as you are-”

“Enough!” Marco interrupted, “I can take care of myself!”

Nightmare Moon’s aura backed up considerably. “You’re kidding right?” she said surprised, “Don’t you remember what happened the last time you went up against a princess? No matter what you might be thinking, you wouldn’t last a second. You? Against alicorn magic? Please. You’d be no different than an insect to her. Powerless. Out of your league...”

He didn’t respond, so the voice seized the opportunity. “But I can change that.” she whispered, “I can give you the power you desire. All you have to do is open your heart to me.

“You don’t need to hide around me Marco.” she continued disarmingly, “I can see you. I can see you for what you are. I can see the hatred inside your heart. And I think it’s simply beautiful.

“I’m giving you the chance to embrace your true nature.” she offered, “You can stop pretending if you let me in.

“Do it.” she beckoned, “Say yes.”

Marco didn’t falter. “No.” he refused, not a sliver of hesitation to his voice.

“No?” she repeated in surprise, “And here I thought you were smart. You need me...”

Marco closed his eyes seriously. “Maybe you’re right.” he said softly, “Maybe I am walking into a slaughter. But I don’t want the kind of power you’re trying to give me.”

“I’m not trying to give you anything. Nor am I trying to take anything away.” she continued without loosing momentum, “You already have the power inside, I only want to see it awakened. Don’t try to run from your hate. Don’t try to hide who you truly are-”

“Stop!” Marco yelled, “You’re wrong about me! This isn’t about hatred! This is about doing what’s right! It’s about justice!”

“Do you really think you can feed me those same lies?” she replied darkly, “The little unicorn might still be ignorant, but you underestimate me. My eyes see all. I’ve seen your reality. I know the truths behind who you are and what you’ve become.”

She moved her cloud in on him once more. “It’s time to stop being weak.” she taunted, “Take my power and make it your own. I’m offering you what you’ve always wanted! Strength! It’s yours for the taking!”

“It’s meaningless.” Marco whispered ever so softly, and the cloud drew in somewhat.

“What?” the voice asked, either not believing, or not properly hearing what the stallion had just said...

“I said it’s meaningless!” Marco roared defiantly, “Just having strength is meaningless! There’s no point in gaining power if it turns you against everything you stand for!

“I only want to do what’s right by them!” he said glaring, “There’s nothing else!”

The grim cloud seemed to shudder as it frothed with some kind of emotion. “You poor, poor foal.” she said arrogantly, “You really are messed up aren’t you? You’ve been telling yourself the same lies for so long you actually believe them. That’s so sad. So pathetic.

“Actually, its tragic.” she continued, changing tune once more, “The unicorn girl was right. Your whole reality is just some messed-up daydream you can’t wake up from. I came here because I know you for what you are inside, but I never expected you to be blind to it.

“Your whole existence is fake...” she pushed, “But I can open your eyes! I can show you the truth!”

The seamless cloud seemed to bubble with sensation. “I will never lie to you, and I will always understand you. All I need is your acceptance.” she spoke, each word carefully chosen, “Give it to me. What’s your answer?”

“No!” Marco roared, “Not now, and not ever! Go away!”

The black and purple fog melted backwards, draining away from him. “Fine. I’ll leave you to your misery.” she said withdrawn, “But I’ll always be here, waiting for you to face reality. You can’t escape your fate... you can’t keep the hate at bay forever-”

“I said...” Marco yelled for the final time, “Leave me alone!”

The world flashed back, and all those foreign senses returned as if they never left. It was if nothing had happened, as if none of it was real. But he knew just how real it truly was.

The flames at the hospital glowed not far in the distance, and tiny parasprite army buzzed overhead and all around. The door to the night palace was still was just out of reach. The only thing that was different was that Twilight and the manticore were no longer here. Time, it seemed, had continued to flow while Nightmare Moon had badgered him with her rotten temptation.

Marco grimaced as thoughts of what she, Twilight, her friends, and even the guard captain had said crept into his mind. “Stop it.” He commanded himself, “They’re all gone now. They’re out of the way. So don’t dwell on what they’ve said... not when you’re so close.”

And just like that, the realization dawned on him. “I am so close.” he said aloud, the truth of it almost unbelievable, “There’s nothing in the way anymore. She... she’s right there!”

He galloped as fast as he could up to the massive door to the night palace, and stopped dead when he reached it. This was it. This was the moment. The mere thought of it had kept him going and driving him forward. And now, through it all, he was finally here.

He steeled himself. He knew what needed to be done, but he knew it would be hard fought. ‘Stick to the plan.’ he thought to himself as he unclipped Zecora’s saddlebags for the final time, and positioned them so they would remain opened, ‘Don’t falter now...’

Marco closed his eyes and stood motionless for a few moments, centring himself and preparing his mind for the task ahead. ‘No time for pride, hatred or pity.’ his mind chanted, ‘Such things have no function, and they will serve only to slow you in both body and mind. Ignore your intentions and focus only on the outcome. Don’t jeopardize the cause with needless emotion.’

And with his resolve proclaimed, Marco violently kicked open the door and strode inside, his eyes scanning, prepared for anything-

“So you’ve come?” a soft voice echoed all through the chamber, causing Marco to search for the source. It didn’t take him very long to find it...

Princess Luna, the younger of the royal sisters was standing passively towards the back of the chamber. Her expression was masked by shadows, but her figure was unmistakable.

It was her. She was alone, out in the open, and prepared. “It seems as if the sins of my past have finally caught up to me.” the princess spoke once more, “I have been waiting for you... Marco.”

To hear his name used, his eyes locked onto the target standing idly at the far end of the otherwise abandoned palace.

To call someone your enemy and seek them is one thing, but to see their face for the first time, is another. Marco’s blood boiled with fury as he seethed with the most powerful emotions he’d ever felt. It came so naturally. Pure and unmitigated hatred...

And so, in the blink of an eye, everything he told himself he’d ignore rushed to the surface as he charged across the room, rushing recklessly towards his enemy.

“Luna!”

Chapter 6: Real Understandings

From the Ashes

Chapter 6: Real Understandings

The vial shattered and a shimmering purple mist exploded outward, its mass soon enveloping the doorway of the night palace.

Unlike the other gaseous potions in his arsenal that he had used thus far, this new purple fog was thin and almost transparent. And it had to be, for it was essential that the enemy could still see the subject.

This type of potion fell into the same category as his immolation oil, in the sense that neither of them produces a biological effect, but an environmental one. However, there was a key difference that separated this concoction from his immolation oil. While the exploding red pot was offensive in its application, this one’s only purpose was defensive. It was called ‘ghost tempo’, for it made everything within its field sway with the rhythm of a mirage. The doorway, the floors, and even Marco himself became nothing but blurs inside of the haze.

He charged through the cloud, making a beeline straight for the princess. But from the outside looking in, his figure was distorted, and it appeared as though he was zigzagging dramatically as he came forwards, darting from corner to corner and from side to side at unbelievable angles. The need for transparency quickly became apparent. This potion was designed to create illusions and distort whatever was inside its field. It worked by bending the light, reflecting it in such a way that it manipulated the viewer’s perception of where the user was.

As the light was distorted, the image of Marco constantly disappeared and reappeared in different visual spaces, and every now and then, there were duplicates of him visible or he simply vanished for a few seconds. His strategy was now obvious. He wouldn’t last a second if Luna attacked with magic, so he did the only thing he could do...

Magic, be it strong or weak, is equal when you can’t strike the enemy with it. As long as Marco was inside the field, Luna wouldn’t be able to target him if she couldn’t see him. But surprisingly, the princess wasn’t even looking. Her eyes were closed; she was calm and collected...

Luna’s chamber was massive. So massive in fact, that the already expansive purple cloud could only cover half the distance between the princess and Marco.

Even from inside the haze, Marco was able to see what lay beyond it, such was the nature of this one-sided potion’s abilities. ‘What’s she plotting?’ he thought as he neared the edge of the cloud, ‘Is she trying to unnerve me?’

If Luna were looking, she would have seen something pierce through the cloud and fly towards her, its path disambiguated now that it was outside the field. This ‘something’ was not Marco, but another purple potion, his second and last ‘Ghost Tempo’. It hurtled towards the princess but stopped short, landing almost exactly between her and the border of the first mirage cloud.

This also meant Marco had only the one potion left. But his path was clear. He was using the defensively geared ‘Ghost Tempo’ potion as a means of closing the gap between him and the princess without falling victim to any attempts to counter him, even though she had yet to take any action.

But he knew this wouldn’t be enough to defeat her. In fact, the aim of this method wasn’t to simply defeat Luna, but to render her strengths useless. In other words, all Marco was doing was dragging her down to a level he could compete with.

The purple vial shattered, and like its predecessor, it instantly spewed out the transparent fog. As soon as it’s field converged with the first, Marco powered into the second cloud. Safeguarded inside its mass, he pulled out his final potion, grabbing it between his teeth while simultaneously disengaging Zecora’s saddlebags. They were useless now; they held no more secrets. In being rid of the additional weight, Marco closed in faster. He would be upon Luna in seconds, yet she still hadn’t moved. Her eyes were still calmly closed...

Marco didn’t care for what her intentions were. He wanted her dead. Nothing she did or didn’t do would ever change that. His plan was to blast her with the immolation oil the first chance he got. He bit down on the vial as he neared her. This was it...

But the moment he was within range, the only thing he did was tackle her. Hard and fast; very hard and very fast, a full-bodied earth pony charge. He rammed into the princess with such vigour, and such zeal, as if it were the most important thing in the world...

Luna gasped at the impact. She was winded instantly, the air gone from her lungs. Marco followed through so that Luna fell to the floor with him on top of her. “How does it feel princess?” he hissed, the potion gone from his mouth, “For however many thousand years you’ve plagued this earth, has anyone ever hit you?”

Luna had been hit hard, but despite her injury she stared back at the stallion with strangely indifferent eyes. “I’m no stranger to pain if that’s what you’re asking-” she made to say.

“You don’t know what real pain is!” Marco roared in reply, “Not yet!”

The Chamber was quiet for a moment. The dull hiss of Marco’s purple mist faded away into nothing as the twin clouds depleted. The sound of glass on marble expired as his immolation oil ceased its rolling across the floor.

“But you know, don’t you?” Luna replied, killing the silence, “I’ve put you through a lot, haven’t I?”

“Not just me!” Marco snapped aggressively, “Countless souls were buried by your evil...”

Luna coughed hard. She was still winded. “This I know.” she said simply, “They are what brought you here are they not?”

“Damn straight!” he answered, eyes blazing, “And it’s to them I’m sending you! Atone all you want in the next world!”

Marco tensed up as if to strike her, but Luna’s silence caused him to pause. “What’s the matter princess?” he said with absolute venom, “Not gonna beg for forgiveness?!”

“Forgiveness?” she said to him, like he’d just asked the stupidest question in the whole world, “I won’t ask for forgiveness. The fault is mine.”

Marco was absolutely stricken by the brevity of the princess’ words. He wasn’t sure if it showed, but his leading hoof was still lifted, ready to pummel the alicorn on a moment’s notice.

“I won’t say sorry either.” Luna pushed, “Such a simple word that has long since lost the meaning it once held. It would bring nothing but shame to itself. Nor can I apologize, all that would do it rub salt into past wounds...”

Marco was still dumbstruck by where this was going...

“All I can do...” Luna continued resolutely, “All I should do, is accept your revenge-”

Marco refused the dangerous thoughts attacking his mentality. “No!” he roared,
“I don’t wanna hear it from you! You’re the whole damn reason for this! Don’t you dare talk like you know anything about it!”

Luna was still at his mercy, so she could not rise, but her eyes remained defiant. “But I do know.” she said softly, “For a thousand years, the thought of vengeance drove me to madness. And you... you became a victim of that madness. A victim of my hatred.

“I wish I could take it all back.” she continued solemnly, “I wish I could go back to the beginning and change it all... but I’ve lived long enough to know that wishes are for foals...”

Marco watched, shocked, angry, and confused all at once. Even to his maddened eyes, it seemed as if Luna was beginning to cry. “I can’t take it back!” she sobbed, “I can’t change anything or bring anyone back! I can’t move forward anymore! I can’t look to the future while the sins of the past remain unforgiven! But they can’t be forgiven!

“So don’t tell me I don’t know anything about revenge, or the hate you feel.” the princess continued, her sorrow vanished, “Because I was once like you, and I will never escape the consequences of my stupid... stupid jealousy.”

Marco didn’t know what to think or feel. “You’re right about one thing.” he said darkly, “You can’t be forgiven. Not by me.”

Luna closed her eyes solemnly. “Or by myself-”

“Drop the act!” Marco spat, “I’m not about to take pity on you!”

Luna opened her eyes again, and stared passively at Marco. “Act?” she questioned, “You still can’t see it can you?

“I’ve come to terms with why you’re here, and I’m almost relived.” she said surprisingly, “Everypony but you and I are the actors here. Even my sister. She smiles and tells me everything is okay... but it’s so fake it hurts!”

Luna’s eyes locked onto Marco’s with purpose. “Ever since I was brought back, I’ve been waiting for legitimate judgment.” her voice was steady, “You and I Marco; we are the only ones left who know anything. This torment that we share can finally end. I understand you. I just want you to understand me too.”

The stallion was still silent. His expression was masked by the shadows cast over his face. Before the moment passed, the princess cried out for what would be the final time...

“Please Marco!” she pleaded, “I accept your justice! I... I understand your pain all to well. I can’t forgive myself, and I don’t expect you to forgive me either. I accept your hatred, and I forgive you for it.”

Marco’s mind was a flurry of activity. What would he do? What would anypony do? If you were responsible for something so horrible, how could you live with yourself? How would you move forward? If someone hates themselves for what they have done, how can it be just to say they cannot be redeemed?

No matter how much determination Marco had put behind his actions, and even in his current mental state, he could not disregard the veracity of the princess’ words. No matter how much he hated her, he didn’t doubt her truthfulness for a second. He could recognize the raw emotion. Her word were heavy with regret and reproach and her face was that honest kind of sadness. Despite himself, he didn’t know what to do.

His consciousness raged with conflicted thoughts. The climax was upon him, and the voices of Twilight, Celestia, Caliber and Nightmare Moon cried out in utter discord. He squeezed his eyes shut, but the chatter would not relent. The only way to silence them was to choose.

His eyes finally opened. He had decided; he had decided to embraced the anger. He had come too far, he wouldn’t, he couldn’t turn back now. He would take what he came here for.

“Stop it!” he roared as he reared up and lifted his front legs up, ready to strike, “You forgive me? Like I give damn! Just die!”

Luna closed her eyes and embraced her end as that first powerful blow was unleashed.. Her crown was knocked loose by the mighty blow, and as it rolled away, Marco withdrew his hoof in preparation for a second strike.

Fuelled by rage, he was ready to rain down a volley of kicks, for some reason his next attack stalled. He willed his body to proceed with the siege, but the second blow would not come. This was a moment he had been craving since he crawled out from what would have been his grave, a moment he told himself he desired more than any pleasure. Then why? Why were the feelings he thought he’d be feeling replaced by something that sickened him to the core?

Marco looked to his trembling hoof, still poised in preparation for another kick. He had struck the princess but the once, yet he could see tiny droplets of royal blood staining his grey coat. This was blood he invested so much into spilling, yet to see it for himself was so... unsatisfying.

Luna quivered slightly. She had only just endured a savage attack, yet her disposition had not wavered. “What... what are you waiting for?” she groaned, “Please! Finish it! Release us both from this... this darkness!”

‘Darkness?’ Marco thought, that last word echoing inside his mind.Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Rarity, even Nightmare Moon... they had all seen Marco’s darkness, and now he was finally starting to see it too.

Upon having this realization, he knew where his internal conflict was coming from. Luna had awoken his discernment, and his mind’s eye had finally turned itself upon the darkness that had made itself a part of him.

Marco didn’t know what to do, think, or even feel.Everything that had held him together had finally been revealed for what it was. Fake. An illusion. A dream. Just a whole distorted mess of outside influences forged together and made real by pain and solitude. He had confined within himself, searching desperately for answers, and he accepted the first one presented to him. And he never doubted it. Until now...

Luna was too weak, barely able to hold her eyes open. She couldn’t even muster up the strength to call out to Marco as he stumbled away from her broken figure. He was dizzy and could barely breath. He needed air. He had to get out of here; had to get away... as far away as possible.

Marco pounded urgently on the big door until it let him through. He wobbled out and past the threshold, but the feelings he hoped would stay behind were still suffocating him. His mind flashed with imagery. At the same spot at which he now stood, only minutes ago, he could picture himself walking determinedly up to this same door.

But looking back, Marco couldn’t recognize that pony. “Who am I?” he yelled, falling to his knees, knowing there was no answer to his heavy question.

All this time, he had only believed in one thing, and now it was gone. He was destitute... left with nothing to cling to. The vast expanse of uncertainty was mercilessly bearing down upon him. Even still, he rose to his hooves. He stared out into the sky, looking for answers.

The rising sun assaulted his eyes. The last time he saw it, it was much more welcoming. But back then he was a different pony. Regardless, he knew that a risen sun could mean only one thing...

As if on queue, the blinding light of the sun wavered as Princess Celestia came into view. Marco didn’t know what to make of her appearance. It was just one more event among many that carried more weight than he could bear.

As Celestia stood before him, Marco had no control over his expression. His jaw hung loose, his lips were squeezed tightly together, and his eyes were wide and unblinking as they glistened with moisture. As she looked upon him, his expression told her much; a story of guilt, regret, sadness, and understanding...

But these things soon became irrelevant as she saw Marco’s hooves. They were dotted by blood that was not his. After everything Celestia had stressed over tonight, her boiling point was already at an all time low. So upon realizing the blood was that of her sister, she felt a fury she had not known for a long, long time. Even a benevolent princess like her, despite the many years she’d had to mature, was not immune to the sway of rage. The thoughts she could not silence made how she’d already treated Marco seem like mercy.

He saw her horn glow, and he closed his eyes tight, waiting for the end to come. In a way, it would be welcomed. To his awakened mind, it seemed like the only salvation from these thoughts that wracked him.

* * * *

Twilight ran for all she was worth through the absolute chaos, but the distance between the night and day palace felt infinite. The manticore had fled, the princess had teleported, and now Twilight was hoofing it back to the night palace in an attempt to make it back to the eye of the storm before this situation was beyond her control.

She broke through the edge of the frenzy of parasprites and guards trying to handle them. She saw Celestia before Marco, and she saw her teacher’s horn glow the wrong kind of yellow...

She tried to say the words, but they would not come. She tried to force them, but they were simply stuck in her throat...

“Stop!”

Twilight did a double-take. The voice was not her own. The plea had come from somewhere else. Luna had willed her body off the floor, and had somehow made her way to the entrance of her palace. She leaned heavily on the door frame, and her right eye was shut and swollen.

“Luna!” Celestia said aghast, “My sister... what has he done to you?!”

“it doesn’t hurt.” Luna said mysteriously, “Not anymore.”

Twilight could do nothing but observe. Marco’s eyes darted between the two princesses, and she could see all the conflicting emotions on his face. And for once she could tell that they were real.

“I did as you asked!” Celestia replied, still furious, “I gave him a choice. This is what he chose!”

Celestia’s horn pulsed once again, but Luna would have none of it. “He could have killed me!” she shouted, pulling her sister away from her rage, “He should have killed me! But he ‘chose’ not to.”

Luna moved her impaired gaze from her sister to Marco, who was still beyond being able to comprehend the situation. “Why?” she asked him, guilt lacing her imploring voice, “Why didn’t you? All I wanted-”

The princess paused and Twilight took a cautious step closer. The confused unicorn wasn’t sure how to handle herself. She couldn’t tell what had happened, but the injured Luna seemed to be defending Marco...

“What changed?” the young princess continued, “What happened to everything you said? What happened to your promises? What happened to your justice?”

All eyes were on Marco. As she looked on, Twilight felt as if the grey earth pony was only half-aware of his surroundings. Even a glance was enough to tell he was completely overwhelmed, teetering on the verge of metal collapse.

When Marco finally spoke, his tone was heavy, and a single tear escaped his eyes. “Please...” he wept, “Don’t say any more...”

And there it was. That one thing he had managed to stave off all this time. Surrender. He had just acknowledged it...

He gave up. It was too much. No more endurance, no more willpower... he didn’t care. For just one last time, Marco let his legs give into the weight. He fell, collapsing onto his side in a big heap. Nopony flinched, they had all seen it coming. Injury and fatigue, dwarfed by an enormous mental strain, nopony was shocked to see him finally go down.

Twilight knew that this was the time she needed to make her presence known. “Princess!” she cried out, breaking into a run up to the sisters, “Wait!”

Both of the regal sisters turned to face her. Twilight suddenly realized that it was very possible that her presence had so far gone unnoticed considering what had been happening. She made to speak, but she needed a minute to catch her breath. She had been constantly on the move up until now, and pausing to watch the exchange with Marco had given her body time to catch up. Her body was light with exhaustion, and she had a splitting headache, the first among many side effects of over-exerting one’s magic.

“I... I talked with him, not far from this spot. Just before he broke into the night palace.” Twilight she said, practically breathless, “I think I know why he didn’t... um...”

Luna, despite her obvious injury, stood tall, and she smoothly turned to face Twilight. This would be the first of any explicit interaction with the princess. “What happened?” she asked plainly, “What do you know?”

Twilight gulped. “Two things...” she said tentatively, “First, he was being very specific about why he thought what he was doing was right. I mean, he was almost trying to convince me... to prove it to me as if I was-”

She cut herself short. She was getting off track. “The point is, these justifications of his, they were what kept him going.” Twilight moved her gaze to Celestia, and the look on her face showed that she was aware of where her pupil was going with this, “Princess... your spell was an attempt to uproot these justifications right? When my friend succeeded in pulling him away from your ‘hypnosis’, she also discovered how twisted these justifications were. She saw just how the darkness had warped his point of view.

“In a world he thought was all a lie, he only had one truth to depend on.” she shook her head, “But that truth was fake. I can’t imagine how hard it must be to realize this.”

Celestia was still reserved, but Luna watched Twilight with her non-swollen eye and was hanging on the little unicorn’s every word.

“That’s what happened right?” Twilight asked, still knowing no facts about what happened between Marco and Luna, “He came so far, believing that what he was doing was right, and to make it here, only to find he wasn’t...”

Luna flinched slightly. “Doing what was right?” she repeated, looked briefly to her sister, “But-”

Celestia quickly cut her sister off. “Twilight.” she said seriously, focusing her attention on her student, “You said there were two things. What else happened?”

Twilight took a deep breath. She knew how bad this would sound, and that it would possibly be condemning for Marco, but she had to be objective here. What happened back then was a serious issue, not to mention a potential threat.

“Remember when I said I talked with him?” Twilight said nervously, unsure of how to put this, “Well, it was actually going pretty well. But...”

Twilight paused again, collecting her thoughts. “But...” she continued, “Just when I thought I might have been getting through to him, something bad happened.”

Luna was confused. “Something bad?” she asked, “What happened?”

Twilight turned to face her. When she spoke, her tone was grim. “Nightmare Moon happened.” her words hung in the air, “I don’t know what she did or said to Marco, but from what she said to me, I think she’s targeting him...”

Princess Celestia tried to take this all in. She knew Nightmare Moon had never truly been vanquished, but she couldn’t figure out why she’d return now, or why she would be interested in Marco. And here she thought her first decision was hard to make. Intervening back at her pupil’s library seemed like an easy decision compared with the choice she was now faced with.

But perhaps it wasn’t her choice to make. “Luna...” she whispered, “None are more familiar than you with the threat that Nightmare Moon poses. I also do not think there is anyone more familiar with the roads that this young pony has walked that lead here.

“Even if you do not blame him for what he has done to you, he is still a criminal.” Celestia eyed her injured sister intensely, “He has sewn chaos and injured many. This I cannot ignore.”

Luna didn’t hesitate in the slightest. “Yes you can.” her plainness and near-disobedience took her sister by surprise, “You absolved me of my sin even when I didn’t wish for it. How can you forgive me for what I did, yet refuse one of my victims?”

Beyond her surprise, Celestia almost smiled. After all these years, her little sister was finally growing up. These were such strong words, and she was a completely different sister that she was yesterday. All the guilt and reproach that had been anchoring her had been lifted. It left Celestia wondering if she could entrust her sister with a duty that she herself could not handle...

She knelt down before Marco and stared at, around, and through him, taking in every element and every aspect. When she was finished, she closed her eyes and stood back up. “It’s up to you sister.” she said definitively, “I haven’t discerned what this fate of his holds, but I’ll tell you now... decide wisely. It is a big responsibility.”

Not far away, Twilight’s attention was drawn to a small group of guards bounding towards the night palace. They would be here shortly to become part of the scene.

“It’s your choice.” Celestia said as she made to leave Luna, Twilight and Marco to the medics, “I’ll leave sorting this out completely to you.

“And sister?” she continued, her steps suddenly halting, “Welcome back.”

* * * *

“You did what!?” an appalled voice boomed out from inside the otherwise silent confines of the royal palace, shattering whatever peace the morning had.

The day was only half over, and Caliber was already back inside Celestia’s chamber, questioning her judgment of Marco. He had only just woken up at one of Canterlot’s twenty-four-hour health centres, and was told he would be discharged after eighteen hours of observation. He had forced his way out the front door within minutes.

“I can understand that you are still recovering from the blast, but this isn’t like you.” the princess replied, her tone concerned, “Peace is our objective. I will not prolong conflict when there are alternatives, and neither should you.”

“Forgive me for my bluntness your majesty...” the captain took a brave gulp, “But in that case, maybe you should stop lying to me...”

“What?” Celestia asked, taken off guard, “I haven’t lied to you-”

The captain gave the princess a level stare. “I figured out what his connection with you is.” he said evenly, remembering his encounter with Marco at the hospital, “You didn’t tell me the truth about that book. What’s in it?”

Celestia’s eyes narrowed. This one had a keen mind, but what was even more impressive was that he was bold enough to accuse her of something like this. “You will find out soon enough.” she spoke relaxed and gently, “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but the time is not yet right-”

“Don’t screw with me!” the captain exclaimed, “It’s my job to protect this city and its denizens from danger! And you’re hiding a secret that might end up threatening it all!”

Celestia was shocked that her captain was being so aggressive, and to her of all ponies. “Calm down!” she ordered, “You’ve only just recovered, and your mind is still in the battlefield. I realize what you’ve gone through, but the fighting is over. He is no longer your enemy. You are confined to your quarters until you understand that.”

“But princess...” he scrambled, his tone swapping immediately, “I-”

“But nothing.” she snapped back, fair but firm, “You need time to recover, and I’m giving it to you. You are off duty until the end of the month.”

“Wait...” the captain tried again, but the princess would have none of it...

“Please, just do this for me Caliber.” she said kindly, “You’re no good to anypony the way you are now. The damage has been done, but from what I hear, there is a lesson in this for you. Realize it and return to me when you are truly ready to resume your duties.”

Caliber removed his royal guard helmet and took a deep breath, calming himself. Now released, his royal blue mane flopped out over his face in an untamed mess. “If that is what you wish...” he said reserved, “Then it is what I shall do.”

He gave a relaxed salute and departed, leaving his helmet behind on a spare table.

Celestia could see that he was still uncomfortable. “Hey.” she called out after him, “Where are you going?”

Caliber stopped dead. He actually hadn’t thought about it. “Not sure.” he replied honestly, “I suppose I’ll wander for a bit, and see what state the city’s in-”

Celestia cut him off by shaking her head from side to side disapprovingly. “The correct answer...” she said playfully, “Is straight back to hospital.”

Caliber ran a hoof through his mane sheepishly. “Oh, umm...” he mumbled, “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m fine-”

Celestia gave him quite the stare. “This is not a negotiation...” she said lightly, “Make no mistake, I’ll teleport you there myself if you won’t-”

Celestia stopped short. She had raised a hoof to her muzzle and was looking upwards in thought. Caliber dreaded the idea she probably just had...

“On second thought...” she said, smiling a naughty smile, “Maybe I should teleport you there. We can’t have you walking around in your current state.”

The colour drained from the poor pegasus’ face as Celestia’s horn begun to glow. “No... stop!Anything but that!” he cried out too late, everything around him beginning to fade to white as he was engulfed by magic, “I promise I’ll go straight there-”

Caliber felt his stomach churn as the light faded to reveal he was in a new location. He hated being teleported with a passion. It made him feel like vomiting, and it always feels like some part of you stays behind. No matter how many times she did this to him, he would never get used to it.

He was now smack-bang in the middle of the hospital he was previously being treated at. A random nurse and patient were nearby when he materialized in front of their now shocked faces.

Caliber swayed on displaced hooves as the doctor that had attended him earlier came over to see what the commotion was. “Well, would you look at that!” he said wryly, “The captain came back.”

He trotted over and straightened up the dizzy pony. “You alright there pegasus?” he asked as he guided him over to a vacant room, “You’re not about to hurl are you? You look like you might...”

The doctor slid Caliber onto the hospital bed. “If you’re gonna, warn me first.” he said with humour, “Or just face that way.”

As the guard captain lay there, afraid to open his mouth for fear more than words would come out, he looked over the room and noticed the clock.

‘These next eighteen hours are just gonna fly on by aren’t they?’ he thought, “Damn it. Somepony get me out of this frigging hospital.’

* * * *

With her captain whisked away to the hospital, Celestia was alone as she wandered through the palace on her way to her study. With the topic of health spurred by her encounter with Caliber, she remembered that it would soon be time for her to go and check up on her sister. Last she heard, the doctor had expected her to have to rest solidly for an entire day, but the last time she visited, he reported that she hadn’t slept yet.

The doctor couldn’t explain it, but Celestia thought she could. If she were in her sister’s position right now, she doubted that she’d be able to find the calm required to sleep, even if she was injured and in need of rest.

Marco and Twilight were in hospital too. While she had no interest in Marco for the time being, she believed he was undergoing surgery for whatever reason and getting an emergency blood transfusion. He’d survive, but he wouldn’t be leaving the hospital anytime soon. Twilight on the other hoof, was receiving basic care in response to her overusing her magic. It wasn’t too severe, but she would have persisting physical and mental weakness for the next few days. Once she was feeling better, Celestia would have to go visit her too. She had an important task for her to undertake when she returned to Ponyville.

But while Celestia had chosen to leave her student to her recovery for the time being, it would seem that there were others who were decidedly against waiting. Earlier this morning, five young mares had barged in, unannounced and exhausted, in a frenzy to check up on their friend.

The doctor stressed that she was in no state to answer their bombardment of questions, but Twilight refused to let her friends leave without some kind of explanation. At first, the small party of ponies were reluctant to drop in on Marco despite the fact he was in the same hospital as Twilight, but after listening to what she had to say, and being kicked out by the angry doctor, they practically swarmed over to where he was being kept, but were denied by surgeons.

They gathered outside the hospital to get some fresh air after they couldn’t get through to see Marco. It was close to noon in Canterlot, so the streets were bustling. It seemed that despite all the chaos last night, everypony was going along with their regular business as if it were just another day in the fair city.

Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity wearily made their way out onto the cobblestone street. Their abnormal behaviour was attracting some attention from passers-by, but Pinkie didn’t notice the looks the ragged group was getting, far too tired for anything like that. Her frizzy hair drooped like a popped balloon as she laid herself flat on the street, getting the rest she desired so much.

Applejack noticed the stares, but she cared not. She hobbled over to where Pinkie Pie lay, and she slumped herself against the building, letting her cowboy hat tilt down over her tired eyes. Rainbow Dash came next as she landed next to the two earth ponies and let herself fall heavily onto her backside, her head hung as she let her body go limp. Fluttershy followed suit, adopting a similar posture to Pinkie Pie, but instead she laid facing upwards instead of burying her head in her hooves.

Rarity on the other hoof, despite being the more exhausted of the five, would not behave so disgracefully, especially in front of the prying eyes of the high class locals. “Girls!” she cried, appalled, “Get up! Everypony’s staring at us!”

“Oh, quit your whining.” Applejack replied impatiently, “I don’t give a hooey who’s looking, we all need to get off our hooves for a minute. Even you.”

Rarity couldn’t fight it anymore. She sat down, but did so gracefully, compromising with her body that yearned for rest. “I am not whining.” she remarked, “I am merely saying that this may not be the appropriate time or place to ‘get off our hooves’, as you put it.”

“Sure it is.” Pinkie chipped in, her tired voice was light and muffled by the placement of her front legs, “I haven’t been able to relax ‘til now...”

“Me neither...” Fluttershy said in agreement, “But I’m so glad it’s all over now.”

“Is it though?” Rainbow Dash asked, “I mean, how do we know what’s gonna happen from here?”

“We don’t.” Applejack said plainly, “But Twi seemed pretty dang sure of herself, and she does know a bunch more than we do at the moment. In any case, we can’t say for sure ‘til the fool wakes up again.”

“But that’s just it...” Rarity cut in, “He’s been through this before, and I think we all recall just what happened after he woke up. Why would it be any different this time?”

“Didn’t ya’ll listen to what Twi had to say?” Applejack retorted, “She ain’t lying when she said things have changed. Even I can tell that much.”

“What are you saying A.J?” Rainbow Dash questioned, “That maybe this time around, he’ll wake up and be a different pony?”

Applejack paused and nodded her hat back onto her head, letting her green eyes connect with Dash’s. “What I’m saying is, maybe this time...” she replied sagely, “Maybe this time he’ll wake up for real.”

* * * *

The hour was late and the sun’s light was fading from the sky.

Princess Celestia wearily returned to her private study, but when she entered she found somepony else in there. Before her, slumped over a spare desk with a whole mess of notes and papers strewn about was one of her royal guards.

“What are you doing?” she asked, “Why are you in here?”

There came no response. Not even an acknowledgement of her question or presence. Celestia quickly realized that the royal guard appeared to be sleeping. She calmly approached him and gave him a firm prod to the side...

“Excuse me...” was all she was able to say before the figure awoke and snapped up, brought back to the world with a shock.

“Princess!” he gasped, “It’s not what it looks like! Well, it kinda is, but I did what you asked! I went through all the files, but there were so many, and I only closed my eyes for a minute...”

Celestia looked on in confusion for a moment, but then she remembered who this pony was and what she asked him to do. This was the guard she tasked with searching through the criminal records and creating the list she hoped would help discern the name of the pegasus who had been bothering her.

“So how did it go?” she asked him, ignoring his excuses, “Did you find many matches?”

The royal guard blinked twice, hoping he was off the hook.“Er... yeah.” he said awkwardly, pulling a small stack of papers out from under the mess in front of him, “I put everything I found here.”

The princess didn’t hesitate before snatching the list off the pegasus. She looked at the first page, but she didn’t recognize the pony. She looked at the second page, but still didn’t recognize this profile. She looked at the third page. Still nothing.

Celestia’s frustration grew as each useless page brought her closer to the end of the list. She scanned each and every name and photo, waiting for one in particular to grab her attention or reawaken her memory. But it wasn’t doing anything for her. She couldn’t find a single profile that she recognized...

The princess stopped flicking through the pages when she was only a few from the end. Something about that previous one stood out.

The royal guard looked on in dismay as the princess stopped going through the list he had slaved over. “Is something the matter?” he asked, “Did I do something wrong?”

Celestia’s eyes locked onto the page she had turned to, and they widened when the profile before her rekindled some fuzzy memory. “No...” she said, barely more than a whisper, “You’ve done an amazing job!”

The royal guard beamed, but Celestia wasn’t about to let him savour the moment. “Now return to your quarters before you pass out.” she ordered, “You must have worked hard on this, and your effort has not gone to waste. Thank you.”

He made to obey, but a curious thought struck his mind. “So you found the one you were looking for?” he asked politely, “Which one was it?”

In the same motion, Celestia levitated the specific profile out of the stack and floated the remainder to the side. “Here.” she said as she floated the page to the guard’s eyes, “Take a look for yourself.”

He forced his sleepy eyes to focus on the profile the princess was showing him. “Tager?” he said, reading the information aloud, “Female. Pegasus. Twenty-four years old. Current status unknown...”

He looked up from the floating document and at Celestia. “I don’t understand.” he admitted, “Who is she?”

Celestia turned away from the inquisitive guard as she answered him, her voice distant as she invoked her memories. “A problem child.” she begun, “I remember her now. She was Caliber’s lieutenant for a short time, but she went rouge soon after Luna returned.”

“If she was Caliber’s lieutenant, that would make her a royal guard...” came the surprised reply, “But the profile doesn’t mention it. Don’t all guards get flagged if they turn criminal?”

“I believe that Captain Caliber took measures to wipe her history before she became wanted.” Celestia replied neutrally, “I don’t remember much, but I think they shared a bond of sorts. Either way, Caliber’s parting gift to her was one that was something of a betrayal against me, and though I have decided to forgive it, it seems to have resurfaced at a most inconvenient time.”

“Wow... the captain did something like that?” the royal guard asked in disbelief, “That must have been some bond...”

“Well, she struck the captain’s interest once upon a time.” Celestia mused, “If I recall, she was the prodigal child of the late General Zephyr and Ambassador Pepperswell. But instead of inheriting her father’s might and her mother’s mind, she had her father’s bullheadedness and her mother’s fragility. Even so, Caliber thought she had potential.

“And potential she had.” Celestia continued, “Caliber wasn’t a captain at the time, but he told me how she raced up the ranks alongside him in the night guard. If memory serves, they joined the royal guard at the same time. I may have chosen Caliber to become captain, but it was he who chose his lieutenant. In hindsight, I suppose it was all a little too fast.

“Caliber tried to find her again, but she was like a ghost.” the princess shook her head, “When her name finally resurfaced again, it was as a criminal. So Caliber must have made sure to bury her past as a royal guard.”

Celestia turned to face the guard once again. “But...” she continued, “I seem to have stumbled upon a new reason to seek her out once more. I could very well be wrong, but if fate unravels the way I imagine it will, she may yet play a part.”

The royal guard wasn’t really listening. It looked like he was struggling with a memory of his own. “Now that I think about it...” he said thoughtfully, “That name does ring a bell.”

His eyes widened as the realization struck him. “Of course!” he exclaimed, “Tager the bounty hunter! She’s one of Equestria’s most wanted!”

Celestia was stunned, confused, and interested all at once. “Equestria’s most wanted?” she asked, “What do you mean?”

“You know...” he answered, “The list of the top ten bounty heads that-”

“I know what it is.” the princess interrupted, “I’m asking you what you mean by a bounty hunter with a price on her head.”

“I don’t know much about it myself, but I’ve heard rumours.” the guard said, “Even then, they’re somewhat conflicting. I hear that she hunts down the other members of the most wanted in a quest to rid the world of evil, and other stories about how she’s an insane pegasus who simply tracks down strong opponents in some crazed attempt to prove herself.”

“I trust you’re going somewhere with this?” Celestia asked nicely, “How is she called the bounty hunter?”

“Ah yes, well...” he continued, “she is the uh... one, two, three, four, five, six... the ‘seventh’ most wanted. Ponies started calling her the bounty hunter because she’s been working her way up the list, hunting down all the other bounty heads.”

Considering what she had just been told, Celestia directed her gaze to the shambles that had become of her study. She could see herself frantically pulling it to pieces in the minutes leading up to sunrise, but now that the situation had calmed, it was strange she was so content with leaving the mysteries she hadn’t been able to solve dormant.

“Um, princess?” the guard asked as Celestia stared off into space, “Did you want me to follow up on her? Get some fresh information or a location-”

“No, that won’t be necessary.” she replied gently, “In fact, I do believe I have already dismissed you. Get some rest; you’ve earned it. You can leave this with me.”

She concluded her statement by magically opening the door to her study, prompting the guard to be on his way. “Thank you princess.” he said with a big yawn, “I’ll be off then.”

“Oh, before I forget... there’s one last thing.” Celestia called out, “A lot has been going on lately, so I admit that I may have let sip a little more than I meant to in talking with you...

“So all this business about bounty hunters and Caliber tampering with the records...” she continued, “You would do well to put it out of your mind. I would hate to hear any rumours springing up about my treasured captain.”

The royal guard gulped, unsure of whether or not the princess had just threatened him. “Uh sure! My lips are sealed!” he scrambled, a drop of sweat forming on his neck, “Consider all that stuff forgotten!”

Alone at last, with only the chaos of her study for company, Celestia brought Tager’s profile before her eyes once more. She allowed herself to take it in for a short moment before she discarded it with a thoughtful sigh. “This isn’t my duty anymore.” she said to no one, “Luna. You have vowed to take responsibility for what fate now holds. It is a task in which I failed.”

Celestia paused as she trawled her study for that single tome she had stressed over earlier. “But nevertheless...” she continued, “I have entrusted you with this heavy burden. Before too long, you will discover what that truly means. Soon you will discover exactly what path it is you have chosen.”

The princess found what she was looking for easily enough, and she physically bent down to grab it. “But I myself have chosen.” she opened it up and casually flipped through the pages, “Chosen to trust in your judgment and your resolve...

“But miracles do not come along often my sister.” Celestia closed the book determinedly and cast it aside, “And while I had not expected anything like this to happen, it doesn’t change what the future holds. Can you handle it?”

Celestia looked out her window and at her sun that was low in the sky. Even though Luna was back, and possibly feeling at peace with her past mistakes, she wouldn’t be taking back her role in the cycle of the moon and running of Equestria for some time. For a thousand years Celestia had taken charge of her younger sister’s responsibilities, and tonight, like every night for all those long years, she would once again keep the balance and do her sister’s job. But that would soon change. She felt that it wouldn’t be long now before Luna decided to take her older sister up on her offer to return her powers.

It was an odd feeling. On one hoof, Celestia was relived, and proud that her little sister might finally be able to return to her old self after going through so much grief. She had been through jealously and hatred as she transformed into Nightmare Moon, and she had been through guilt and reproach as she became obsessed with the mistakes of her past. But after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, she was Luna again. She was the little sister that Celestia had missed so much.

But then, on the other hoof, Celestia feared for what her sister’s return could entail. She squeezed her eyes tight as she shook her head from side to side, forcing the thoughts to go away. There was no use dwelling on what could be, or what might become...

“There’s nothing to be found in worrying.” she told herself, reaffirming her thoughts, “All that I can do, all that we can do... is wait.

“Time will tell.”

* * * *

Time. For a night that seemed to stretch on forever, the week following it sped by in a blur. Twilight and Marco were long since out of the hospital, the garrison’s infirmary was well underway with its repair, and the Canterlot locals who had been swarmed by parasprites had the damage compensated for and their questions silenced.

Even in Ponyville, it was business as usual once again. No manticore mounted unicorns flew over the town in the dead of night, no wounded strangers washed up outside the Everfree Forest, and Ponyville Urgent Care was visited only by the odd strained farm pony and sick filly. Fluttershy’s cottage was now only home to the pegasus herself and her legion of woodland critters, and Twilight’s library wasn’t getting any strange visitors. Well, technically speaking...

A dull thud could be heard from outside the library as somepony slammed a thick tome shut.

Marco lazily placed the book had been reading to one side. “What absolute horse-shit.” he said under his breath, “How does such a crappy tome end up in a nice library like this?”

“Language!” Spike chimed, surprising the stallion as he trawled through with a broom in tow, “Wait, what the hell are you even doing?”

The deep grey earth pony shook his head from side to side in disappointment at the baby dragon. “Maybe you’re the one who should be watching their mouth.” he retorted, wondering if Spike was the impressionable sort, “And while I don’t relish gratifying your vulgarity, I was quite obviously reading this supposed ‘book’.”

“Supposed?” Twilight’s voice entered the room before she did, “Do you have a problem with my library?”

Marco was unfazed by this loaded question. “Oh... no. Of course not.” he replied absently, “Just the author.”

Twilight altered her gaze as if to remind Marco that she was waiting for him to elaborate.

“Don’t get me wrong...” he quickly defended himself, “It’s not ‘bad’... I just don’t like it when writers try to mix history and theory. The way I see it, it’s up to the reader to make sense of the facts the text provides, not get walked through somepony else’s opinion. But if you look closely, the-”

“I don’t need to look...” Twilight objected, cutting the stallion off, “I’ve read it. It was a gift from my brother after all.”

“I don’t like it...” Marco responded immaturely, “It doesn’t fit among all these other, better books you have.”

“Why are you even reading this stuff?” Spike interjected, “You’re under house arrest, at somepony else’s house I might add, and you even promised to help out as an assistant. But you read more that Twilight does! Owlicious and I can barely keep up with you two!”

‘Hoo!’ Owlicious trumpeted in agreement, though he didn’t appear to be doing anything to help Spike at the moment.

“Well?” Marco hummed facetiously, “Perhaps that’s why Twilight asked me to help you two?”

“But you’re the problem!” the little dragon replied irritated.

“Spike...” Twilight cut in pointedly, “A word?”

The little dragon grunted and stormed out past Twilight and into the next room. “Don’t worry about it...” Twilight said to Marco, “He’ll come around. It was the same with Owlicious; just give him some time...”

‘Hoo...’ the feathered observer cooed again, his deceptively keen insight masked by the language barrier.

“I’ll, uh, go talk with him.” Twilight said suspiciously, “In the meantime, can you put this book back?”

In the next room, Twilight leaned in on a pouting Spike, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Spike!” she said anxiously, “What are you doing? The princess told us to keep a close eye on him and get him re-adjusted. He’s still unstable, so we have to help him get back on his hooves slowly... and we can so long as he’s comfortable here. Besides, he is a big help when you and Owlicious are busy-”

“Hey Twilight...” Marco called out from the other room, “Mail for you!”

The unicorn’s ears perked up at the sound of his voice. “Can’t it wait?” she yelled out in response.

“Probably.” Marco answered casually, “It is however, a letter from Celestia.”

“What?” Twilight called, charging back into the main room, “Why didn’t she send it through Spike?”

“Probably because its a mass send-out.” Marco responded matter-of-factly, “Looks like everypony gets this one.”

“And how do you know that?” Spike asked, his eyebrow raised.

“The mail-mare told me.” Marco replied easily, “She’s a weird one, that girl...”

Marco looked at Twilight, who was already getting stuck into the letter. “She also told me, among other things, what it’s regarding.” he continued, his tone more serious, “Celestia’s changed the date of the ceremony again.”

“What?” Twilight asked surprised as she started reading, “Why would she...”

Marco leaned in and read the letter over her shoulder while Spike attempted to do the same.. Owlicious was perched sagely above the three, and he looked down as if he was comprehending everything...

Marco took the liberty of reading out the important paragraph for the benefit of Spike who was too short to do it himself. “We regret to inform you that, due to unforeseen circumstances, the ceremony regarding the formal reinstatement of princess Luna has once again been delayed.” he recited the letter,“We would like to stress that the new date will not change...”

Marco stopped quoting the text and turned subtly to Twilight. “Unforeseen circumstances?” he repeated, “That’s the third time in a row. Something stinks.”

“Tell me about it.” she replied, facing him, “The last time she did this, I sent her a letter asking her if there was a problem, but she wouldn’t tell me what was going on...”

Twilight noticed that Marco was being unusually quiet. “Hey.” she nudged, “There’s no way it has anything to do with you.”

No response. “Look, if it worries you, you can always go ask Luna about it.” she offered a weak smile, “Remember, she said you could go see her anytime you wanted to...”

Marco copied her smile. “I get it Twilight...” he said meekly, “But I don’t think I’m ready for that yet...”

She definitely didn’t want to force him. “Okay.” she said simply, “We will just have to wait and see then.”

Marco smiled softly again. “Thanks.” he said genuinely, “I know it isn’t easy for you to-”

“Stop.” Twilight said, interrupting him, “I don’t care how long it takes, you just take all the time you need.”

Marco just looked at the purple unicorn appreciatively. He still didn’t seem very comfortable with everything that was going on. “But you are feeling better right?” Twilight asked gently, “Nothing’s wrong is it?”

“No, nothing is wrong.” he said honestly, “It’s just that, well... so much has happened. I’m more or less at peace, but I just don’t know what I should be doing with myself-”

Marco was interrupted by a loud knock on Twilight’s door, and shortly after, a familiar tomboyish voice rung out. “Twilight!” it called, “Are you home? I’ve got something for ya!”

Marco chuckled softly, and Twilight watched him curiously. “But I suppose it isn’t so bad with you guys around.” he said, “It’s a strange new world for me, and it’ll take some getting used to, but at least I have a few friends to help me out.”

He broke away from his thoughts and looked briefly down at his hooves. “I mean, you are here for me right?” he asked timidly, “Because I don’t think I could-”

“I told you to quit it with that.” Twilight said casually, interrupting him again, “You have friends here Marco.”

She trotted over to her front door, encouraging Marco to do the same. “So enough about that...” she said smiling, “I’m going to see what some of them want.”

All things considered, Marco was readjusting rather well. In regards to what had transpired that night in Canterlot, a few things had happened. He had technically been pardoned, but there were a few conditions. First of all, he wasn’t allowed in, or near Canterlot without escort. Secondly, he was under a rather obtuse house arrest arrangement. And while Luna had protested to this condition, Celestia managed to convince her that it was for his own good. And that was more or less true.

For starters, he had no house in which to be confined, but the princess decided that it was best, and had already organised, for him to be under the watchful eye of her student Twilight. She also knew Ponyville would be healthy for him to experience, so he was permitted to leave her house so long as he was with her, or one of five other select ponies.

The more controversial clause in his pardoning dictated that he was not allowed to work, but was also denied any kind of sponsorship. Luna was upset that her sister would not allow her to provide Marco with any coin for living expenses, but since his room in Twilight’s library didn’t cost him anything other than having to double as an assistant, and that he had access to the basic necessities without cost, Luna’s objections were kept at bay as the stallion did not have an explicit need for money.

But then again, nopony is immune to ‘wanting’, and in trying not rely on Twilight any more than he already had, he found a way around his money problems.

He may not have been able to earn a wage, but he could still sell things. Twilight was the first to suggest that he try selling some of his herbal or alchemical creations, but it took an awkward confession on Marco’s part to get her to understand that he was no alchemist, and that he learned what he had out of necessity. In other words, since he had focused only upon potions of ‘questionable legality’, there was nothing he was comfortable selling.

However, Marco still had something he could sell, and was worth a lot of bits to the right buyer. And he was more than comfortable selling it for next to nothing to somepony who both deserved it and could use it well. Applejack was more than happy to take such a treasure off his hooves, and she also insisted on a more honest price.

New Eureka’s pride was the cider from the farm Marco grew up on, and he knew that Applejack would do his father’s legacy proud. And in sharing with her the secrets behind its flavour, this exchange with Applejack marked the first on a long list of repentance.

Applejack. What would have been the hardest act of forgiveness was also his first. She happily accepted his recipe, but wasn’t about to forgive him on account of it. It was only after about a week after that the two earth ponies begun to reconcile. Almost every evening for seven straight days, Big Macintosh or Applebloom would come running to Twilight’s library to bring Marco back with them because their sister had encountered some new problem or quirk in the cider brewing process. Different apples make different cider, and it took the combined effort of all four earth ponies to facilitate a solution. It was hard work, but through patience, and a lot of trial and error, they were rewarded with an amazing tasting cider, and naturally came to bond along the way.

Rainbow Dash. Also not an easy task. During Marco’s episode, her loyalty never once wavered, but he shattered that loyalty with his selfishness. A betrayal like that will always take a heavy toll, and Dash was no exception. But how could he fix the situation? Unlike with Applejack, Marco couldn't help her with her job, and her only hobby seemed to be flying and stunts, which was yet another aspect of her life he was unable to touch on. He was burdened by a lack of avenue for approach. His best bet, and only hope, was to continue with the pegasus’ friends and see if they could rub off on her.

Fluttershy. Compared to the others, it might not have seemed like Marco had done much to the pegasus, but in reality, she might have been the one he impacted the most. From the get go, she pushed herself to the limit, grappling with Marco’s health, and his cause ended up putting her at odds with her friends. And before the end, he also confronted her values. While none of it was direct, his carelessness was the bane of her kindness. Thankfully however, she had been constantly visiting Twilight and Marco at the library, checking up on their health. Her kindness it seemed, truly was immutable. He knew better than to think that meant anything at first, but it kept them in contact, and slowly, the two eased up around each other.

Rarity. While her involvement with Marco was brief in caparison to the others, her engagement with him was by far the most intense. She had disregarded the cost to herself, and dove into his nightmare without knowing what it might entail. It was generosity at its finest, but it had been met by regret. Despite this, it actually didn’t take much to get her to forgive him. Since she actually saw for herself the twisted mechanism that drove him to the darkness, it took nothing more than a simple apology to have her back on his side.

Pinkie Pie. What was there to explain?A girl who had never, and was probably fundamentally incapable of maintaining a grudge, seemed to hold nothing against Marco for the incident. But Marco had seen for himself just how observant and even wise the pink earth pony could be. Even though her personality and behaviour never reflected it, Marco could tell she understood much. He also realized that this disposition of hers existed because she treasured laughter and joy, and could abandon resentment in preference of these things. And the truth was, he had stolen away her laughter with his hatred. Despite appearances, he would have to do his best to make amends.

And then there was Zecora. Marco had certainly wronged her in more ways than one. Like with the others, he had turned on her and taken her out with one of her own potions. Then he stole the most valuable and dangerous creations she possessed, and in using them, practically advertised where he had acquired such illegal measures. And while he had managed to have any involvement on her part ignored by the law, he knew he was far from earning her forgiveness. Regardless, this act served to calm the zebra pony down long enough for him to share with her the means by which he had enhanced her concoctions, and he even went on to provide her with a handful of recipes he planned on using, but never found the materials. He hadn’t held back on her, sharing a whole collection of very powerful, very illegal, and very hard-to-come-by recipes. While she wasn’t as wary anymore, she wasn’t quick to regain a liking for Marco. But she was neutral again, and that was more than enough.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the complete sum of ponies who suffered at the hands of his villainy. The guard captain was chief among such victims, but there was also the two night guards under his command. Not to mention the nurse he gassed and the doctor he scared half to death.

But above all, there was Twilight. Marco’s actions had pushed her to the brink, both mentally and physically. She had been turned against the teacher she adored as well as her friends. And on top of that, while he had been recovering at hospital, Twilight had suffered terribly from the effects of over-using her magic. But oddly enough, it all seemed to be water under the bridge to her. Such a thing was an odd combination of comforting and unsettling to Marco.

For now at least, it seemed like a true recovery would be only a matter of time. Everything was at peace, and all the pain, the mistakes, and fear that had once dominated were fading into a memory of the past that was getting further and further away.

Indeed, the feeling that all this would soon be behind him crept up slowly but surly into Marco’s mind...

“Hello?” Twilight waved a purple hoof in front of Marco’s lifeless eyes, “Is anypony in there?”

The stallion shook his head vigorously, as if he aimed to dispel his deep thoughts. Somewhat successful, he looked Twilight up and down to see the unicorn with her eyebrows raised and a plain looking paperback novel wrapped up in her magic.

“Sorry.” he said, “My mind was somewhere else. I guess I need-”

“What you need is a distraction.” Twilight practically thrust the book she levitated to Marco’s chest, forcing him to grab it, “Rainbow Dash just came by to return this, but it looks like you could get some use out of it yourself.”

Marco turned the unassuming thing around and read the cover. “Daring Do and the Legend of the Blue Moon?” he questioned, instantly dismissing the book, “Sorry Twilight. Fiction really isn’t my thing.”

“What do you mean? It’s perfect for slowing down that mile-a-minute brain of yours.” Twilight reasoned, “Just relax and give it a try. It worked for Rainbow Dash after all.”

With a final gesture from Twilight, he popped open the cover. Scanning past the subtitle, he looked back up to the unicorn to make sure she was serious. She was.

“Daring Do hastily limped her way through the dual saloon doors, and hid herself by the bar amid a chattering group of card players.” Marco said aloud, his voice deflated by the tediousness of it, “She saw the shadow that had been stalking her about to follower her inside the saloon, so she whipped up a hand of cards and quickly hid her eyes behind a royal flush.”

Marco paused, and looked up from the little adventure. “Do I hear cliché?” he sighed, “Come on, what-”

“Oh, just read it will you?” Twilight rolled her eyes, “I’ve got a ton of study to do, so for the rest of the day it’s just you and that book. Try and get along...”

And with those parting words, she left the stallion to what could very well be the first non-scholarly book he’d ever opened. Marco sighed pointedly as Spike and Owlicious followed Twilight out of the room, leaving him alone with his assigned text.

With no one left to pout around, he tentatively decided to give the little paperback the time of day.

“In the dusty and deserted streets outside the weatherboard saloon, Daring Do tumbled out the door in an explosion of cards and coins.” he said aloud, his voice slowly loosing its dreary pitch, “Her masked assailant followed close behind, a moustachioed griffin going by the name ‘Baron Beauxerillo’. The feathered villain ignored the fortune of bits raining down around him, for tucked firmly under his wing was a treasure far more valuable than any amount measurable by currency.

“A dozen law ponies soon arrived on the scene, but they stood their ground.” he continued reading, somewhat absorbed, “Between the well groomed and affluent-looking griffin and the battered and weathered figure of Daring Do, the assembled group could not tell which party was at fault. It was a stand-off...”

“Hrm...” Marco hummed, finally breaking free of his immersion, “Captivating, but unrealistic. You wouldn’t find a wild western town anywhere in this day and age. Even still, perhaps this story’s going somewhere...”

* * * *

The dozen law ponies continued to stand at bay around the town square, the desert dust blowing at their eyes causing them to view the scene before them with squinting eyes.

“Sheriff...” one of the broad-brimmed officers said with a hushed voice, “What should we do?”

The stallion to which he referred, a deep brown coated and silver-star donned earth pony, simply stared at the small band of unconscious earth ponies laid out on the street before him. Putting everything together in his veteran mind, he thoughtfully chewed the cud as he tilted his cowboy hat so as to shield his eyes from the dust.

“We don’t do nothin’...” he drawled, “Not yet at least. So long as its criminals doin’ the tustlin’, it’s not our job to intervene ‘til there’s only the one left.”

“Who the hell’re these ponies?” another lawpony asked, “And where the hell’d they come from?”

“Don’t you read the papers?” the sheriff responded, “See that bigger earth pony in the middle?”

The band of lawponies directed their gaze at the more prominent individual among the scattered group. And while there were about nine or so of the downed earth ponies, they knew instantly to which one the sheriff referred to.

“That’s Equestria’s sixth most wanted. Mageblaze.” he spat, “And that... well you know who she is.”

At the sheriff’s implication, a rag-tag pegasus strode out among the field of defeated earth ponies. Her maroon coat was scuffed from the brawl, and her khaki mohawked mane stood up viciously. She looked about as beaten as the fallen group around her, yet she was the only one standing.

“That’s Tager isn’t it?” one of the lawponies asked, “But what’s she doing here? And what did those earth ponies want with her?

“I don’t understand.” another broad-brimmed officer spoke up, “Been hearin’ whispers ‘bout that pegasus, but I heard she was supposed to be some kind of hero...”

“Hero?” the sheriff scoffed, “Are those eyes of yours good for anything? Look and judge for yourself. She’s just a criminal.”

Almost as if in response to his mention, Tager breathed in deep the smell of victory, an evil grin forming on her face. The lines of her teeth highlighted by the thin trail of blood dripping from her nose, her look was one of satisfaction and excitement.

“You...” the weak voice of Mageblaze droned out from below, “You won’t get away with this...”

Without a moment’s pause, nor any pretence of mercy, Tager silenced the stallion with a swift and uncaring kick to the chest. “Tsk... well ain’t you singing a different tune?” she replied unamused, “The way I remember it, you and your fuck-ugly friends were the ones trying to start shit.”

Mageblaze winced as he was struck, but he continued to stare up at the pegasus with angry eyes. “You’ve signed your death warrant...” he spat, bested but defiant, “My master will have your head for this!”

Tager chucked facetiously. “You’re on your last legs, but you still say the funniest things...” she replied, waving her hoof bashfully, “And it just so happens I’ve got a joke of my own too. Wanna hear it?”

Her mocking question didn’t receive a reply, but she continued on all the same. “Alright, but stop me if you’ve heard this one before.” she leaned in closer, smiling that bloodied smile again, “Nine earth ponies walk into a bar. There’s a pegasus at the counter, but she’s just eating her lunch, drinking her brew, and generally minding her own business. She overhears them spouting some crazy stuff about how they’re taking over the town, but she doesn’t really care. She’s just passing through after all.

“But...” she continued, wiping some grit from her hoof, “Being the tough guys they are, the little band of earth ponies walk on up and tell her they’ve been looking for her. They say that all the top bounty heads are being brought together by some idiot for who knows what reason. Naturally she refuses, kindly of course, but they tell her that it isn’t optional. And then, well... I guess you know the rest.”

There came no reply, so Tager rolled Mageblaze over with a solid shove. Her little ‘joke’ yielded nothing but a spluttering cough from the earth pony below.

“And here we are.” the pegasus sighed, “But you wanna know the fucked up part? After all this, you’ve actually got me interested.

“Now, you may not know this, considering that they sent a bounty head after a bounty hunter...” she continued lazily, “But I’ve actually been looking for some of the guys that you tell me are being brought together. You know, the ones you and your groupies told me I had no other choice but to join?

“Here, I’ll let you in on a little secret.” Tager whispered, “I’m not actually a bounty hunter. It’s just what ponies decided to call me after I started bumping your criminal buddies of the most wanted list. What I’ve really been looking for is a proper opponent. One worth of my time.

“And this guy you mentioned, the one who’s bring all the most dangerous ponies together to form his little A-team or whatever, he must realize that they are the ultimate fighting force.” Tager reasoned, “Naturally, the opponent I desire would be among such a force.

“Which leads me conveniently to what I want from you.” she grinned, staring right at the earth pony, “If I had accepted your stupid proposal, where would us bounty heads be meeting up?

“Actually, on second thought, I don’t give a shit about the others.” Tager continued, changing her mind, “The strongest one; the number one most wanted. Where do I find him?

“Oh, and I wouldn’t lie to me if I were you.” she added, “I’m not known for being well-tempered.”

At this, the beaten earth pony chuckled. It was a pained laugh, but dark all the same. “Lie?” he repeated, “You’re asking me to guide you to your death, and you think I’ll lie?

“Listen close pegasus...” his eyes flamed, “You’ll find your fight in Lost Valley. Good luck, and make sure you pack a tombstone! Because it’s where you going to be buried!”

Tager mirrored Mageblaze’s arrogant smile. “Thanks a bunch.” she said, bringing her hoof down hard on his head, knocking him unconscious, “Oh, and sorry ‘bout that...”

She cricked her neck and stood up straight. “Lost Valley huh?” she begun to walk off, “That’s quite the trek-”

“Stop right there!” the sheriff barked, “Tager! You are under arrest!”

The pegasus turned, and cocked her head with dissatisfaction at the cowboy hat donned earth pony. “Now that’s a disappointment.” she drawled, “And after all I just did for you guys... I was expecting a thank you.”

“Will you come peacefully?” the sheriff question undaunted, “Or are we going to have to do this the hard way?”

Tager looked up from the party of downed earth ponies to the group of officers. In comparison, they were of equal number. “Now that depends...” Tager taunted, “Would you rather fill up your prison, or your hospital?”

The sheriff grit his teeth. Even to a hardened stallion like him, this girl was intimidating in the extreme.

“Sheriff?” one of the officers spoke up, “What the hell do we do?”

“We don’t compromise!” he replied resolutely, “Place the criminal under arrest!”

As the group converged on her, Tager couldn’t help but to smile again. “Oh, how I love this town.” she declared, excited beyond her injury, “I can’t think of a better send off!”

Chapter 7: Polarity Shift

From the Ashes

Chapter 7: Polarity Shift

On a day like today, Canterlot had suddenly become a very, very different place. In comparison to what the girls had seen the night of the Gala, this frenzy barely compared.

Back then, the company had been more select, i.e. ‘invitation only’. But today, such a strict demographic did not exist. Anypony was free to flock into the regal city for just this one occasion, and the opportunity was evidently being exploited for all its worth by those who yearned to see the city’s sights, but had never arranged entrance into the fair city.

The girls had chosen to relax for a moment, and get away from the horde of ponies rampaging aimlessly through the narrow cobblestone streets.

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie sat at a table in a posh looking café, drinking from assorted glasses of water, juice, milk and cola. Rarity remained waiting by the counter, as her beverage of choice was a touch more intricate...

As was her outfit. Her friends had come wearing nothing more than usual, which was nothing, excluding Applejack of course, who was near inseparable from her tan cowboy hat. In any case, unlike her friends, Rarity was committed to looking the part in the city of her dreams.

Of course, she hadn’t over done it; she simply wore a fetching and elaborate hat of her own. And as she had hoped, she did indeed look the part, becoming virtually indistinguishable from the local populace who generally always remained clothed.

She cast a look out over to her friends, who were chatting amongst themselves in her absence. Through the window next to them, Rarity could see the busy streets, positively busting with ponies that obviously didn’t belong. “I can’t believe how busy it is.” she said to herself, “It’s almost as if the whole city has changed completely for one day-”

“Completely unbecoming, is it not?” the waitress unicorn said, overhearing Rarity as she came to bring her the drink she’d ordered, “Far be it from this once-fine city to retain its standards.”

Rarity blanched. This unicorn wore a frilly dress and a tiara. It seemed she had been confused for a denizen of Canterlot. She could do little more than exit the awkward situation by silently accepting her drink and quickly shuffled back over to her friends.

“Is it true what everypony says?” Fluttershy was in the middle of asking, “That we heading to some kind of ‘new era’?”

Twilight took a thoughtful sip of water. “Nothing so dramatic...” she answered, “But something like that. I mean, documented history only goes back so far, and it gets more than a little fuzzy when you look more than a thousand years back. There’s legends and there’s myths, but there is essentially no certain memory of what Equestria was like back when the princesses ruled together.”

“So what you’re saying is...” Applejack interjected, “We’re gonna start seeing some changes ‘round here?”

“Sounds scary...” Fluttershy said with a quiver to her lip.

“Don’t be such a chicken!” Rainbow Dash teased, “Change is a good thing remember?”

“Sometimes...” the shy pegasus squeaked in reply.

“Most times.” Dash retorted.

“Dash is right.” Twilight said simply, “Its been far too long since Equestria had dual leadership. That’s why they’re calling this a ‘new age’, because it’s the starting point for a brighter future.”

“I’m getting goosebumps all over!” Pinkie Pie said energetically, taking a brief break from her milkshake, “No wonder everypony’s turned up to see it!”

Rarity took a seat next to her pink friend. “I don’t know dear...” she said vaguely, “Somehow I get the feeling not everypony is so happy to see such a turnout.”

Pinkie didn’t appear to understand, but Twilight had apparently caught on to the overall mood of the locals. “It can’t be helped...” she said discreetly, “This city is essentially the centre of the civilized world. It’s in their nature to be old-fashioned and sometimes arrogant.”

Rainbow Dash stifled a growl. “I’m not about to let some socialites look down on me ‘cause I’m not from their snobby city!” she hissed as she made to get up, “I oughta give ‘em a piece of my mind!”

Applejack didn’t miss a beat. “Cool yer jets Dashie.” she called, halting the fervent pegasus, “Just leave ‘em be. So long as they keep it to themselves we should just let it slide.”

In protest, Dash pushed her cola defiantly away from her reach, as if to say she didn’t want to indulge in something they’d given her. “I still don’t like it.” she pouted, “Somepony needs to teach them some manners.”

Pinkie Pie giggled. “Don’t be silly Dashie!” she nudged, “They’d change their tune of they ever came to Ponyville!”

Rarity gave the café the quick once over. “Even still...” she said unconvinced, “Perhaps we should be on our way. We don’t want to be late after all.”

Now outside again, Applejack was awestruck. “So you’re telling me, this is what it’s like all the time?” she asked as she looked about, the swarm of ponies around her crowding her vision.

Twilight shook her head. “No, no, no...” she replied, “Like I said, today is a special day-”

“Not that.” Applejack cut her off, “You might not yet noticed, but I can’t see many earth ponies around here but me and Pinkie.”

“Oh.” Twilight said, taken off guard, “Well, the earth ponies just don’t take to Canterlot the same way unicorns or pegasi do. It’s in their nature not to-”

“But it’s more than that right Twi?” Pinkie suddenly asked, “They don’t like us being here either. Didn’t you see the way they looked at us back inside?”

Twilight was momentarily taken aback by Pinkie’s unassuming powers of observation. And deduction. “Well, it’s a complicated history.” Twilight begun, not sure how to word it for somepony like Pinkie Pie, “But as I said before, the further back you look in time, the fuzzier it gets. But ever since the time nopony remembers anything about, there have always been divisions between earth ponies and the other races of pony-kind. Our home back at Ponyville might be fine, because everypony lives and works together and we all get along, but it’s different in other places.

“Earth ponies are the most common race of pony.” she continued, “But Canterlot has the lowest ratio of them anywhere in Equestria. So naturally, any prejudice would be at its strongest here, where there is an abundance of unicorns and pegasi and unicorns and so few earth ponies.”

Unconsciously, Rarity and Twilight’s eyes met, as did Dash’s and Fluttershy’s. On some level, they felt somewhat guilty that their kind somehow felt themselves superior to their equals.

“There’s one thing I don’t get.” Applejack finally said, emerging from deep thought, “You say it’s always been like this, but what happened to make it this way?”

“I don’t know.” Twilight said honestly, “It’s dead history.”

Now it was Pinkie Pie’s turn to ask something. “But that’s what I was thinking...” she said with a odd level of seriousness, “You said that whatever might’ve happened came from the ‘fuzzy time’. But you said the same thing about the time Celestia and Luna ruled together didn’t you?”

Twilight felt a slight chill as she understood what her friend was trying to say. The two mysteries brought to light by the implications of today’s ceremony ran together. But strangely enough, Twilight wasn’t concerned about why the two facets were connected. What made her feel uneasy was why these things were lost to history in the first place.

What she didn’t know however, was that this history was not undocumented. Indeed, there was but one tome that held the secrets of this time that had been forgotten. It was the same book that Celestia had been slaving over, and that had her flustered and pressured in her seemingly whimsical research.

Twilight would also have no way of knowing this was a book that had come into her possession this very morning.

* * * *

Ponyville was practically deserted. Everypony had gone off to Canterlot to witness for themselves what was being called the ‘defining moment’ of a new era. For the first time in a millennium, dual leadership was being restored, and in knowing how rare it was for such a thing to happen in their lifetime, anypony with any sense simply had to be there to see it.

Marco, of course, had stayed behind. He was still confined to the library for the time being, and also remained forbidden from entering or going near the city. But even if he was allowed to go, he’d probably still stay away. He couldn’t be sure how he would handle himself in front of the princess...

Instead, he remained at the library with Spike and Owlicious, unified by a long list of chores to keep the trio busy. The owl dusted the shelves with the aid of his feathered wings and tail, while the baby dragon took to the floor with a bucket and sponge. Naturally, Marco reserved the more fun task himself.

In front of him was a sturdy-looking crate that’s delivery had both he and Twilight excited as to its contents. It was delivered only this morning, and it was a surprise book donation from Celestia herself. Twilight had tasked Marco with unpacking the treasure trove in preparation for her return after the ceremony.

Marco dismantled the wooden crate with enthusiasm. Inside the box was an impressive stack of tomes, but Marco’s eyes were instantly drawn to a single book taking pride in the centre. It was a rich-black coloured tome, inlaid with silver plating. Strangely, it had no writing on the cover, with no indication as to a title or an author. Just a black and foreboding cover.

This was the book. Celestia had sent that book to Twilight. Of course, Marco had no way of knowing that. It took his breath away for a different reason...

He picked the foreboding text up with trembling hooves. He couldn’t help but be shaken, for the tome he now held was identical in every way, shape, and form to the tome represented by his cutie-mark. He didn’t even need to look at his flank to confirm it.

His mind was alive with chilling questions. Was this object the manifestation of his cutie-mark given form? Or was his cutie mark nothing but a symbol? A testament to something that already existed?

His next thought jumped to Celestia. She hadn’t sent this to Twilight at all. This was for him. The princess had timed it perfectly... she knew Marco would be alone when he found it.

There was nothing to be done except read. Read, and find out what made this book so damn important.

In the adjacent room, Spike quickly realized how quiet it had suddenly gotten. Discarding his soap and sponge, the little dragon shuffled his way into the next room to find Marco absolutely enthralled by a book.

He didn’t waste a second before going on to berate him. “Surprise, surprise...” the little dragon said annoyed, “Twilight gives you a job, and what do you do? Read. It’s always reading with you isn’t it? Why can’t you just do the job you’re given?”

Marco didn’t answer. He didn’t even look up. It was almost as if he never heard the little dragon at all.

“Hey!” Spike called once again, trying to seize the pony’s attention, “You hear me? I said... what-”

Spike cut himself off when Marco looked up from the book in front of him. The expression on the stallion’s face was indescribable...

The very next second, Marco rose, and bolted out the door in full gallop. “Wait!” Spike called after him, “You’re not supposed to-”

It was too late. He was gone.

Marco sprinted through the empty town, already breathless. Despite this, he had no intention of slowing down.

“Have...” he panted in between haggard gasps, “Have to... stop... the ceremony!”

Marco continued to run. He hadn’t slowed or stopped, and it was only as he approached the limits of his endurance that the gates to Canterlot became visible. From the outside it looked lifeless, but he knew for a fact it was anything but on the inside. He wondered why there was nopony to be seen outside, and soon enough, his heart sank to find out why.

The gate ahead of him, one of the only ways an earth-bound visitor could gain entrance, was sealed tight. Marco slowed his gallop to a mild canter, then to a complete stop as he noticed that there were indeed three figures gathered in front of the great gate.

He dropped out of sight so he wouldn’t be seen, but remained close enough to observe what was happening. He wasn’t supposed to be out of the house, let alone on Canterlot’s doorstep. And while getting arrested would make doing what he needed to do that much harder, eavesdropping might provide an answer to his current predicament.

Two gold-clad pegasus guards stood imposingly before the frail shape of an old and weathered looking earth pony. “Sorry gramps.” the rightmost guard said unsympathetically, “We’re under orders to not let anypony through.”

The old earth pony’s ice blue eyes looked between the two tenacious guards. He had a gentle brown coat and a droopy grey mane. He also sported an equally droopy, oversized hat that looked about as old and weathered as the pony himself.

“Well...” he said, his way of speaking accentuating a whistle, “That’s certainly a dilemma, but if I’m not mistaken, ya’ll seemed to let that pegasus girl through without much fuss.”

“It’s a little different if you can fly, sir.” the leftmost guard replied, perking up his own wings, “If you wanted to get through, you should have come before the time outlined in the letter you received.”

“I do apologize if I’m a might late...” the old pony continued, “But the road to this here city ain’t a short one, and these old bones don’t move like they used to.”

“Not our problem gramps.” the guard on the left said, “Look, if it’s that important to you, there’s another gateway that adjoins the east quarter. We’re not about to let you in, but maybe they will.”

The old pony just looked between the two stern guards, not quite believing the rationale behind their refusal. Without another word to them, he forced his aged legs to carry him further, around to the gateway the guards mentioned.

When he was out of sight, the twin pegasus guard relaxed their postures. “Why’d you go and tell him that for?” the one on the right said, “We both know the boys there won’t let him through either.”

The left guard looked at his partner knowingly. “Well of course they won’t...” he replied, “But he’s not our problem anymore. They can deal with old guy.”

“Oh, right.” his partner said realizing, “Well then, so long we’ve got nothing else to do, shall we make our way over to the ceremony? I want to see it.”

“Heh, I thought you’d never ask.” came the reply, “Let’s go!”

As soon as he saw the two guards fly off, Marco came out from his hiding and grappled with the big gate. It was useless. Even without anypony guarding it, getting through would be impossible.

Options. What were his options? He couldn’t fly, he couldn’t use magic, and he hadn’t touched a potion since he’d last been to Zecora’s. And if he’d overheard correct, the guards said the other gate was sealed up too. There was no way for an earth pony to enter the city.

He thought back to the ‘other’ time he invaded this very same city. He hadn’t bothered with this side, instead going over the wall that extended out over the open sky. It all seemed like a dream. Taming wild beasts and flying over walls, blowing up hospitals and hospitalizing others, infiltrating the highest tier and assaulting the royal palace... all that stuff just kinda ‘happened’. And now he couldn’t even get past the damn wall. Compared to everything else he’d managed, this just seemed elementary, but it still felt impossible.

‘Come on, come on... Think!’ he commanded himself, trying to visualize the great city in his mind, ‘There has to be another way inside.’

He pictured the shape of the city hanging over the cliff. The wall was solid and unbroken all the way around and without the gates to grant him passage, there literally was no way to bypass the barrier. And although the entire circumference of the outer wall was inlaid with a pattern that could serve as a universal hoof-hold, it wasn’t enough to scale the wall or somehow climb up. Using it, he could do little more than hang from the wall.

Marco grit his teeth; the situation felt hopeless. Apart from the two gates, there was no place through which anyone or anything that couldn’t fly came and went.

He soon gulped to realized that wasn’t entirely true. “No.” he told himself, “That is not an option.”

But ten minutes later, it was clear that it was his only option. Marco thought he had nothing left to sweat after his exhausting run up here, but his hooves were slick with the slippery stuff as he dangled from the long, thin indent set into the wall.

Anypony would sweat if they were hanging from a wall that had nothing below it but hundreds of metres of open air.

Marco never did like heights, but that discomfort was brought to a whole new level considering his current situation. “Why are you doing this?” he said to himself, the fear present in his voice, “This is stupid. This is the most stupid thingin the entire history of stupid things...”

He found himself out on the ledge for but one reason, and it seemed more and more foolish with each carefully placed step. When Marco had thought of how to gain entrance, he realized his paths in were not all blocked. Unfortunately for him, the only one he could think of was situated on the side of Canterlot that was exposed to the open air.

But Marco wasn’t really thinking about that at the moment. He was thinking that he would’ve sold his soul to be born a pegasus.

About a third of the way to his destination, Marco felt his heart soar as he saw a thin lip develop at the base of the outer wall. It extended out no more than a metre, but Marco dived for it as if it was a hundred metres wide. Despite how much he wanted to kiss the ground for the relief it had given him, he couldn’t waste any time. Those guards from before had abandoned their post to see the ceremony, so it couldn’t be far from starting.

Even though he had under a metre of space to place his footing, he moved with considerable speed. He was grateful for every inch it took him around the outer wall without having to hang from it. Just as he started to wonder how close it was taking him to his goal, he begun to hear it. The constant roaring sound of a waterfall.

Soon enough he saw it. He would have seen it earlier if he permitted himself to look down, but that was something he didn’t think he could stomach. But as he watched the torrent of water gushing unrestrained from the yawning opening in Canterlot’s impregnable walls, his eyes naturally followed the water flowing out the gap, free-falling the entire distance down to the river below.

This perspective of the great waterfall would be enough to give anypony vertigo. The water just fell away from the city, much like how Marco would should he mess this next bit up...

His survival now depended upon his non-existent swimming skills. Growing up in one of the driest regions known to Ponykind meant there was barely enough water to grow crops, let alone construct a swimming hole. That’s why the apples were mainly used for cider. Having limited rainfall, the apples grew to be sweeter than most, but they didn’t score highly in the juicy compartment.

Marco shook his head vigorously. His mind was drifting, and he needed to focus in order to do this properly. If he angled his jump right he could land in the water just before it spilled out over the open air, but if he didn’t swim strongly enough from the get go, he’d be washed out into the water as it fell away from the stream. When the water leaves the confines of the canal, it looses its concentration and its density. Marco didn’t know much about it, but it was the same reason why you can’t swim up a waterfall.

But what he did know was that if he didn’t swim over to the maintenance lane on the far side of the canal as quickly as he could, he’d have a long fall to contemplate the physics behind his failure.

Marco’s legs tingled as he prepared to lunge. It didn’t matter how short the jump was, because the feeling of leaping over a hundred-metre drop would still be there. He felt the sway of vertigo, but he wasn’t about to let it slow him down.

He took off his treasured hat and gripped it firmly with his teeth. Strange that even with his life in the balance, he wanted to make sure his treasured hat wasn’t blown away with the jump or swept away by the raging waters.

Marco took a deep breath and held it. The next breath would come when he emerged from underneath the water inside the canal. He bit down a little harder and steeled himself. It was time for this earth pony to fly.

He jumped, and gave himself up to that feeling... that feeling of submitting oneself to gravity so far above the earth. It was something that the poor stallion wished to never experience again.

It was a good jump, but from the moment his hooves departed the safety of his metre-wide lifeline, it felt as if gravity was pulling him down with a force well outside those equations he had tried to reassure himself with. It was almost as if the earth below was telling him he didn’t belong up here, and was trying especially hard to reunite him with it.

But just as he was beginning to think he’d just made the last mistake of his life, his airborne path angled him perfectly into the yawning mouth of the canal exit. He arched into the flowing water exactly as he had hoped he would, sideways and just in front of the point where the flow of water fell away.

The shock of hitting the cold water caused his adrenaline to surge. Before he sunk even a foot below, he was already kicking with all fours like a rabid pony. It would have made quite a sight. Since he knew nothing of swimming, there was no technique, form, or consistency to his movements. Indeed, each of his legs seemed to move individually in desperate back-and-forth and side-to-side motions.

And yet, through these unorthodox movements, Marco kept himself from being drawn backwards while simultaneously inching over to the maintenance lane on the left. He wasn’t rightly sure how his ‘style’ was keeping him from going backwards; perhaps he just really didn’t want this embarrassing display to be his final mortal action.

In the end, it didn’t matter what was doing it, because he managed to reach out and get a solid grip on the laneway before he exhausted whatever skills he had evidently tapped in to.

Marco lay on his back as the water continued to rush past. He had earned a break.

With the rise and fall of his chest, he gulped in the air. ‘Was it always that hard to break in?’ he thought to himself as he lay there, “Last time went so smoothly... why is it suddenly mission impossible?”

Marco rolled over onto his belly, picking up his hat in his hooves. Along with the rest of him, the thing was soaked. His blond and white mane was slicked against his face, and he was dripping with the cold water.

It was all he could do to wring out his soggy hat and slap it back on over his mane so that it wouldn’t get in his face. “That’s enough resting for now.” he said to himself as his hat sagged down slightly from the moisture, “I hope to hell there’s an easy way out of this place...”

* * * *

Twilight and the girls felt totally overwhelmed in the plaza.

It was the common spot used for festivals, concerts or ceremonies, but for the first time since the massive grounds had been constructed, it seemed utterly insufficient with the horde of ponies who had swarmed upon it.

The ceremony grounds were an oval-shaped clearing built into the centre of Canterlot’s top tier. It was called a stadium by some, due to the elevated seating that encircled most of the grounds. There was a stage that normally took place in the middle, but for today it had been moved to the far end to allow for all the ponies who wouldn’t be able to find a place among the stands.

The girls made sure to stay close as the negotiated their way closer to the stage at the far end. Like most of the other visitors, they had to stand on the grounds themselves because the stadium was at capacity. They thought that they might as well get as close to the stage as they could if they had to stand around.

When they got close enough to see properly, Twilight noticed that neither princess was present yet, and in their place stood a dozen royal guards, six flanking each side of the stage. And while the ones on the left were the familiar sort, that being the white pegasi with golden armour, the rightmost group contrasted harshly. Those six were a purple ashen in coat, and sported a very royal purple set of armour that had thin, spiraling highlights that were the purist white in colour. And in further contrast to their counterparts, they were all unicorns.

Twilight quickly realized that these ponies were Luna’s personal guard. They must have just been instated, in preparation for serving the soon-to-be ruler of Equestria.

“Oh, I simply adore the colours...” Rarity said from somewhere behind Twilight, thinking the same thing as her, “They match perfectly with the princess... I wonder what those uniforms are made of...”

As the white unicorn continued to admire the design, the pegasi and unicorn guards moved as one, heading together towards the rear of the stage. Almost like they were making way for something...

The alicorn sisters appeared in a blinding flash, teleporting directly to the front of the stage in twin magical bursts. The passive mummer of the crowd evolved into a more direct cheer when the two princesses took their stance before the mass of ponies who had come to see them.

The two princesses standing before the crowd made quite the sight, but for the alicorns themselves, seeing such a gathering was also a spectacle worth beholding.

“Look at that my sister...” Celestia said softly to Luna, “All these ponies are here just for you.”

Luna looked down sadly, ashamed on some level. “Why so glum?” Celestia asked gently, “The affection they have for you is genuine, and they all have come for the same reason. To show their love, and support this ceremony.”

“I know...” Luna said tentatively, “But-”

“Those times are behind us sister.” Celestia cut in, predicting what she was about to say, “You have risen above those mistakes, forgiven others and just as importantly, forgiven yourself. The lesson’s you’ve learned have been passed onto one already, and you can reach many, many more from the throne that awaits you.”

“Thank you big sis...” Luna said brightening, “I sometimes forget how comforting you can be.

“I hope...” she continued, her voice shaking somewhat, “I hope I can become a princess like you.”

Celestia smiled warmly. “I’m not saying this as a princess.” she said directly, “I’m your big sister first, and a leader second. You are my little sister, and I know you’ll do a fine job.”

The cheer of ponies died down as they saw the two princesses turn to face them, ready to begin the event. The long awaited moment was upon them.

Celestia took the lead, her voice booming, but maintaining its usual undefinable grace. “Hello and good afternoon!” she announced, the crowd hushing, “I cannot thank you enough for coming here to show your support, and to welcome my sister as your princess.

“As you may know, I have served alone as your ruler and maintained the balance for over a thousand years.” she continued, “But now, princess Luna has been returned to us, and she is prepared to resume her control over her moon and assist me in running Equestria as my equal.”

Celestia paused and cast her gaze over the mass of ponies stretching out over the plaza and into the stands. “Neither I, nor my sister could be here today if you were not so united in reinforcing her courage.” she said inspired, “It is because of each and every one of you that the love for Luna has been regained. Please join me in congratulating her on making it so very far!”

A healthy cheer thundered out. It died down quickly as Luna swapped positions with her sister. “Thank you all.” she said, with hardly as much regal aptitude as her sister, “It has been a thousand years since I’ve reached out to a crowd like this. It is both nostalgic and new sensation.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry it took so long for me to return to you.” she continued solemnly, “I have the greatest gratitude for you all who would welcome me back like this. It means so very much to me.

“It is your love that inspires my care for this land we are all a part of.” she said determinedly, “I want to do right by you and pass this same love onto all ponies, great and small...”

She took a moment to collect her thoughts. “If there is anything I’ve learned, it is that there is nothing that cannot be fixed.” her eyes were distant, “Whatever trials that lie ahead, I refuse to give up on anypony, and I will always be there for whoever calls out for my help. You deserve nothing less, and I want to be the kind of princess you deserve. A princess like my sister.”

Luna let the plaza fall silent for a moment. “So if you’ll have me...” she said entreatingly, “I’m ready to face the responsibility of caring for you, and the world we share.”

The assembled crowd voiced their approval with gusto. Luna felt her heart soar as the ponies all around demonstrated their love for her.

Celestia smiled broadly from the sidelines. This was the Luna she knew and loved, and the one that Equestria needed. This was the Luna she was born to be. She approached and put a comforting hoof to her sister’s shoulder, her expression saying much. It told Luna how proud she was, and how happy it made her for her little sister to be back.

The white alicorn moved back to the front of the stage, hushing the crowd. “So without any further ado...” she announced, “I, princess Celestia, hereby reinstate my sister, princess Luna, to her position as bipartisan ruler of Equestria and deity of the moon.

“The monarchy of the last millennium is over!” she said conclusively, “Effective immediately, Equestria re-enters dual-leadership as Luna and I rule together as equals.”

An excited murmur began to develop. “Help me welcome the new world!” the princess called out over the din, “Let us take the first step forward together!”

The cheer hit it’s maximum at the utterance of Celestia’s final words, and the stage became enveloped in the bold yellow glow of her magic.

It faded quickly, but what it revealed caused the crowd to cheer even louder. Luna’s previously short cropped blue mane had evolved into a flowing and captivating spectrum of rich cosmic energies, something of a contrast to that of her sisters. Luna’s very figure and posture also seemed more defined, as if it carried with it an authority that had only just been returned.

It was clear even to the audience. Celestia had returned her sister’s power to her, and it was most definitely more than a token gesture.

Luna herself was absolutely entranced by the transition. It had such an impact on her that she barely registered her sister approach her and whispered something in her ear.

Luna’s eyes boggled to hear the words.

“I’m sorry...”

* * * *

Marco finally found his way to an exit from the canals. Or at least he thought he had.

A firm, but aged steel grate was set into a wooden frame that would allow him to simply walk out into the backstreets of Canterlot. Unfortunately, the thing was locked, and it wouldn’t be opening any time soon. At least, not the normal way...

Regardless of this setback, Marco gulped in the fresh air. Down here, the air was state and heavy from the water, so his reunion with normal oxygen was a pleasant one. Satisfied, Marco moved on to setting about finding a way through this old door that was keeping him but a few inches from progress.

He inspected the metal bars. They were sturdy... too sturdy. Next. He inspected the lock keeping the door from opening normally, which was also too durable. It was an old and somewhat basic mechanism, but lock-picking was a unicorn’s job; Marco didn’t have a hope with something so intricate. Next...

He ventured a look at the opposite side of the grate, where the thick hinges kept it affixed to the wooden frame. Unlike the door itself, the frame was wooden and it hadn’t aged well. It creaked to the touch. Bingo.

While even the best kick would have no effect on the lock or bars, if he forced the hinges free from the much more vulnerable wood, the lock would act as a make-shift hinge and allow the door to swing open the opposite way it was intended to.

Marco stepped back and got a decent run up. He wanted this to work on the first try. He ran at the door as hard as he could, jumping at the last moment and whipping his hind legs around, snapping them out with a precise, hard hitting hick. He hit it right in the critical spot, halfway down the grate on the side that held the hinges...

The outmatched wood gave way instantly and the grate flew open, granting Marco the passage he desired. “Finally.” he muttered in relief, “I like it when things work the way I want them to.”

Out onto the streets of Canterlot he ran, but he barely made it two steps before he stopped dead. It was a ghost town, with nary a pony in sight. It was just like last time he came here, except that was in the dead of night, and this was the middle of the day. The place ought to be bustling.

‘Everypony doesn’t just disappear.’ he thought, ‘Where does a whole city just disappear to?’

Marco’s face fell to remember the obvious. “Shit!” he said aloud, “They are all at the ceremony... it must have started already!”

Marco thrust his head every which way, listening desperately. If all the ponies in the city were in one place and the rest of the city was deserted, if he focused hard enough, he could follow the sound and get there in time. As he listened, he realized he had no clue where he was. The canals were winding and he ended up backtracking a few times trying to navigate them. To his knowledge, he could be anywhere from the top tier to one of the bottom quarters.

Suddenly he heard the faint ambiance of a large crowd somewhere to the north. Without bothering to consider their position in relation to him, he charged north, not wasting a single second.

He simply had to get to the plaza and stop the ceremony before it concluded. If he allowed Luna to take back her position, the consequences would be terrible and sudden. And aside from Celestia herself, Marco was the only one who had any idea what would happen if he failed to stop Luna from taking back the power.

Marco galloped up the large outdoor stairs that lead one to Canterlot’s top tier. He took the stairs two at a time, and as he reached the top and bounded onto the cobblestone path, he quickly noticed that there were still no ponies in sight. This was a bad sign. It was inevitable that some ponies would happen to be late, yet there was nopony around. The ceremony must have progressed further than he thought.

Marco could hear the clamouring of thousands of ponies so he knew he was close, but he no longer needed to follow the sound. He knew that the grounds were in the centre of the district, taking pride between the night and day palaces. He would be upon it in a matter of seconds...

Just as he was wondering what side of the grounds he would be entering from, he rounded the final corner and saw an entrance to the stadium yawning wide from the southern end. He ran to it, preparing himself to make a beeline through the mass of spectators directly to the stage.

But as he began to feel the tiniest hint of relief, the sound of the crowd abruptly stopped. It didn’t die down or fade away, it just cut off all of a sudden.

Marco wouldn’t have believed it if he couldn’t physically see the massive group of ponies ahead of him. He passed through the entrance to the grounds, dreading whatever force it was that had caused the city of Canterlot to hush. He forced his way through the crowd of ponies, who were both deathly quiet and completely still. It didn’t take him long to get close to the stage; not a single pony resisted or even noticed as the grey coated earth pony cut a path through them.

They were too transfixed to pay him any heed. ‘This isn’t good.’ he thought as he negotiated through the enraptured crowd, ‘I’m either just in time, or I’m way too late.’

He promptly breached the borderline and then he too became awe-stricken. He was too late...

Princess Luna’s eyes burned with fury as she stood hunched over aggressively, her horn thrust forward and her sister nowhere to be seen. Marco was briefly taken by the appearance change of the princess, but the moment was fleeting.

For it was then that Marco’s eyes immediately shot to the apparent target of Luna’s rage, his eyes widened to see something he did not recognize, but felt as if he ought to, such was the aura emitting from its figure...

It was an earth pony, male but slender, and about as tall as Celestia. His coat was the palest of green and his mane and tail were long and flowing, light grey in colour with a sliver sheen that sparkled like dusty stars in manner strikingly similar to the ethereal-like manes of the twin princesses. But what was most noticeable were the pony’s eyes. They seemed to shine a white-green colour, and they housed neither pupil nor iris. They looked more like smoky glass orbs than eyes. His overall appearance was a confusing mix of faded colours with a vibrant shine.

Whoever this pony was, he looked ancient. “So?” the imposing intruder repeated, evidently in the process of addressing the crowd as Marco showed up, “Is there no one?”

Not far from the stage, Twilight was as silent as the other thousand ponies surrounding her. Even so, her mind was alive with questions. Who was this intimidating guy? Where had he come from? Where was Celestia?What was he?”

All these questions and more racked not only her mind, but everypony else too. Yet not a single voice in the entire mass of ponies was raised. Whoever this guy was, his presence, the very energy emanating from his being, simply commanded silence. It was impossible to speak.

“How disheartening.” the figure bellowed as his hollow eyes seemed to scan the crowd, “Is there even one among you who still knows who I am?”

“I DO!” a brave voice suddenly called out.

Everypony in the crowd turned to face the source of the outcry, Twilight among them. But unlike the others, her eyes boggled when she saw. It was Marco...

‘What is he doing here?’ her mind screamed. She actually made to ask, but she was promptly denied as the giant pale green earth pony acknowledged Marco’s statement.

“Well, well...” he laughed low and mirthlessly, “How appropriate that the only one here to still know me is none other than a pure blood earth pony.”

The crowd of ponies parted around Marco as the strongly spoken earth pony made to approach him. Marco felt himself staring into his ghostly eyes...

“So?” the great stallion asked, coming to a stop not far from Marco, “Care to enlighten this arrogant bunch?”

Everypony’s eyes shifted slowly from the mystery pony to Marco. “You...” he replied tentatively, “You are called Terra...

“The King of Earth.”

* * * *

Back in Ponyville, Spike bounced around the library in a fit.

As his mind begun to settle and regain its calm, the little dragon realized that the best way to determine what happened with Marco was to read the book that made him start acting nuts.

Spike wasn’t normally one for reading, but serving as Twilight’s assistant had given him enough familiarity with books and tomes to know that the one he held in his hands was strange. The colour was unusual, a deep black, and it contrasted sharply with the glittering gold lining on the cover. And while these two elements made the tome seem important, the cover had no title.

Spike cracked open the tone immediately, and was confronted with a peculiar sight. The first page, in stark contrast to its elaborate cover, was horribly plain. In big black and boring bold lettering read the title: ‘Predictions and prophecies’.

Spike did a double take. If he remembered correctly, the book about Nightmare Moon went by a similar name. He turned the first crisp white page tentatively, unable to shake the thought that something about this book wasn’t right. He felt like it was staring him in the face, but he couldn’t put his scaly finger on it.

But he hadn’t the place for such thoughts, for as the second page settled, he became absorbed by the text.

‘Predictions and Prophecies: The King of Earth’

‘As it always has, and so shall it always be, the quintessential forces that govern the world are championed by avatars. Like the forces themselves, such beings are timeless, and must operate in concert for their domain to maintain its existence. Like the sun and moon, as represented by the royal alicorn sisters, the world they share is dependant upon the harmony of their aspects. But since such beings possess free will, and live for lengths beyond mortal comprehension, conflict invariably entails. Regardless of circumstance, if such conflict causes the powers they were born from to become unbalanced, the world will shake from its harmony and enter a cataclysmic state. For this reason was Celestia’s dominion over the moon necessary following the incident of Nightmare Moon. In doing so, the princess of the sun became the linchpin that kept the world from falling victim to unbalanced forces.

However, the sun and moon never existed in solidarity. The earth itself has always had a constant relationship with the sun and moon, and it too was represented by its deity. Terra, the King of Earth, is as ancient as the earth itself, and it was he who moulded his creation into his image. His conflict with the alicorn sisters was an ancient one, and it all begun to develop as he realized the world he had shaped was changing beyond that which he envisioned, and he held the sisters responsible. He came to despise the unicorn and pegasus races who looked down and exploited his children, the earth pony race. In favouring those who went on to call him King, Terra sought to right what he saw as a wrong. The earth ponies were more numerous, and with Terra at their head, he came very close to succeeding in establishing them as the superior species. However, the combined efforts of Luna and Celestia thwarted the rebellion, and Terra conceded defeat on the promise that the earth ponies would not be treated so harshly. Not long after this resolution, the equality Equestria enjoys was firmly established, due primarily to the combined efforts of Celestia, Luna and Terra. It was peaceful, and Terra especially devoted himself to ensuring that his earth remained in such a state. It was an endeavour in which he was more or less successful. Be it social unrest, invaders from without, or enemies from within, the king committed himself wholeheartedly to countering the evils that threatened to change his peaceful earth.

Then one fateful night, approximately one thousand years ago, the deity of the moon, princess Luna, submitted to the corruption of Nightmare Moon. With the status-quo so suddenly disturbed, Terra embarked upon his own zealous mission to right the wrong, and confronted Nightmare Moon. But they were evenly matched, and their battle served only to weaken them both to the point of collapse. Seeing what had become of her sister vulnerable following the conflict, Celestia took the chance to utilize the elements of harmony and seal Nightmare Moon. She took the responsibility of governing the moon alongside her sun, and balance was preserved. But it was a hard decision for Celestia to make in imprisoning her sister, and it left her destabilized. Sensing a weakness, Terra mustered up his strength and capitalized on the opportunity to overthrow the remaining princess, and make the role of ruling Equestria his, and his alone. The events leading up to his betrayal had shown him that the only way to make sure his earth would stop moving away from its peaceful state was to remove the princess who so immaturely let their emotions threaten everything. With the sun, moon, and earth under his control, Terra would be able to raise his earth pony following to the position it deserved, and govern Equestria as he saw fit. However, his attempt against Celestia yielded nothing but his own downfall. Celestia was weakened by the sorrow of loosing her sister, and her elements of harmony would have little effect on a foe who was not corrupted. She was at the mercy of the more resolute Terra, but before the final blow could be struck-

Spike stopped reading, or rather, was forced to stop reading. The words that followed had been omitted. There was a thick, impenetrable black smear that covered the entirety of the next paragraphs. He flipped thorough the blackened pages until at last, words formed once more...

But Terra’s disposition was not so easy to overcome. The seal that contained him could only be maintained for as long as the balance he so dearly sought was preserved, and his hate for change continued to go unprovoked. To this day, Terra waits in his prison for the day Equestria breaks from its monarchy and once again embraces change. And upon that day, the King will rise once more to make his ideals, fostered over a millennium of imprisonment, a reality.

Even though Spike’s didn’t possess an abundance of insight, that last paragraph guided a massive puzzle piece into place. “Monarchy?” he asked himself, breaking into a sweat as he tried to remember the definition of the word, “A system of government with one ruler?”

And then it hit him. If today was a ceremony for the reinstatement of Luna, then that would mean Equestria would no longer be classified as a-

Spike flipped to the next page. This was looking bad; it was no wonder Marco ran off in such a rut.

It is prophesied that on the day Terra returns, he will attempt to bring about his new world order. There is but one way to put an end to his ambitions. He is not corrupted by any external force, so there is no method by which to purge his desires from his mind. He also acts of his own accord,believing his cause to be both necessary and righteous. His destined enemies represent a coalition of the mortal races he yearns to segregate. A pony of the sky, the magic, and the earth will unite and fight as one to drive the power from Terra’s being.

The first is a pegasus, unmatched in her ferocity. Hers is a name know far and wide, and for deeds both heinous and heroic. In strength she knows no equal, and her lust for battle cannot be sated. She will rise against the King of her own volition, but harbours no cause to guide her might.

The second is a unicorn, unmatched in the realm of the mental. He commands the wrath of elements not through might, but aptitude. He is an outcast, yet his life’s work is the protection of his people, and the world at large. He will answer the call of duty, and seek to become that for which he is destined.

The third is an earth pony, unmatched in his resolve. His past is one of darkness and mistakes. He will triumph over his misjudgements, and utilize unique methods to see the enemy defeated. The King will seek to have him among his ranks, but the time will come when the third must choose a side, and place his life on the line todecide the future.

It is only through the combined effort of these three heroes that the future can be protected. Together, they can succeed, but alone they stand little chance. These three champions must be brought together should Equestria stand a chance to continue its prosperity.

Spike literally dropped the book as he reached the final page. It was too much to take in. Aside from actually believing what it detailed, the implications were as confronting as the raw facts...

First of all, there was the part about how allowing Luna to retake the throne would trigger such a catastrophe. And while that in and of itself was unsettling, the truly disturbing thing was that Celestia already knew that this would happen.

How conflicted she must have been when Marco came after her sister’s head. That night, outside this very library, Celestia could have done away with the problem right then and there. If Marco was going to end up being the unlikely force that pulled Luna away from her reproach, then eliminating him would have meant she wouldn’t have forgiven herself and would not return to power, which in turn would stop Terra from returning.

Even more grim was the possibility that, at even for the briefest of moments, Celestia must have thought that if Marco ended up killing Luna like he planned, Terra would stay permanently sealed. And yet, she stood by and allowed events that would result in her imprisonment unfold on their own.

Spike looked down at the black tome on the floor. The connotations of it were no less foreboding. “Why was this thing his cutie mark?” Spike said out loud, not knowing much about the topic, “I thought they are supposed to represent a pony’s special talent, or life calling. What does that make Marco’s calling?”

Spike scratched his head, ruffling his spines. He didn't feel like it was his job to think about things like this. ‘Is that why Celestia decided to send the book to Twilight’s library today?’ he wondered, ‘So he could figure that out?’

The princess would’ve known Marco would be the only pony around when he opened up that crate. And since it was identical to his cutie-mark, she could be certain he would immediately go for it. But why was he so important? Apart from that picture on his backside, this prophecy didn’t have anything to do with him. Unless...

Spike flipped back to the part about the third hero. He compared the description of it to Marco, and mentally ticked off the similarities. “Earth Pony? Duh. Resolute? Yeah, probably.” he scratched his head, “Dark past? Tick. Misjudgement? Big tick.”

Spike tapped his chin at the other qualities. Even to him, it was all too vague. If fit Marco, but too loosely. Out of all the earth ponies in Equestria, there would be no shortage of stallions who fit the description. Even the qualities detailed about the other two heroes were ambiguous and open to interpretation. Finding the one unicorn or pegasus among all the others who matched up would be incredibly difficult.

And even further beyond these vague prophecies, Spike had no reason to believe anything it was supposedly predicting. Everything about it was based on things that couldn’t be proved or were otherwise impossible to determine.

And while he wanted to believe it, there was but one element of it that vexed him. “Why is this thing his cutie mark?” he asked the empty room, “What does that mean?”

The little dragon looked despondently out the library window, and saw the outline of Canterlot hanging from the mountaintop. If this book was telling the truth, then right now, somewhere in those city walls, a powerful evil had been unleashed.

“The king of the earth...” he whispered to himself, “Can something like that even exist?”

“I sure hope Twilight’s okay...”

* * * *

The plaza remained deathly silent in the face of Marco’s words.

“You’re the King of Earth.” he repeated, “You’re the one who once reigned over the soil we stand on.”

Terra snorted disapprovingly. “You won’t find such soil here.” he said, referring to artificial city he had found himself in, “But yes. It is true. I was once such a king. But I cooperated with those sisters... at a time before they were twisted by the frigid winds of change.”

Terra’s muzzle scowled as he glanced sideways at Luna, still bent over aggressively. “What did you do to my Sister?!” Luna yelled, cutting his monologue short.

Her anger seemed to warrant nothing but a smirk from Terra. “Such sharp words from you youngest.” he said unintimidated, “The last time I saw you Luna, you were somewhat more timid and significantly less resentful.
“Although, I suppose that isn’t technically true.” he continued, correcting himself, “I seem to remember meeting with you when you were similarly enraged, but only then did you insist on a different name.”

Abruptly, Terra’s attention was seized by a royal guard who battered the ground roughly with his front hoof, intentionally interrupting the speech.

“Answer the question damn it!” Captain Caliber demanded bravely, “What have you done with Celestia?”

From the sidelines, Marco could see the more casual aspect of Terra’s demeanour wash away. “A foolish question, but not entirely unexpected.” he said condescendingly, “Regardless, I fail to see a reason why I should explain such a thing.”

Caliber’s armour clanked as his posture became one step away from being offensive. Luna continued to scowl furiously.

“Suffice to say, she has been sealed.” Terra sighed, seeing no way around revealing at least that much, “In truth, I intended to seal you both away, but it seems Celestia took measures to ensure she became the only prisoner. Admirable, but surely it would have been wiser to substitute you so that she could face me herself.

Caliber shot off the mark to realize Luna was still a target, instantly placing himself between the King and the princess. He was not about to let the shock of loosing one princess stop him from protecting another...

Upon seeing the royal guard stand against him, Terra cocked his head curiously. “You can relax soldier.” he said offhandedly, “For the time being, I lack the means to do away with your remaining princess. I had not anticipated Celestia to be such a drain on my powers, but despite the setback, the situation remains in my favour.”

Luna’s horn lit up, as if she was preparing to attack Terra. “And so comes the point where I must depart.” he said deadpan, “I would have liked a chance to say more, but I suppose that even that was expecting too much.”

“Stop!” Caliber roared, his wings readied as if to pursue Terra should he run.

“Where is she?!” Luna yelled, the glow of her horn poised to strike.

“What have you done?” Twilight’s tiny voice called from somewhere in the crowd.

Terra shifted his gaze slowly between the three, and Marco could see the intolerance flaring in his empty eyes. It was obvious to him that there was only one type of pony this ‘King’ would abide.

“Why?” the brave earth pony called out into the eerie silence.

Terra turned and readjusted his stance. He had acknowledged the question. “Why?” he repeated, staring Marco in the eye, “You ask me why?”

When he spoke, his voice echoed out to the crowd, his words laced with discontent. “Surely you have seen it.” he boomed, “The way this world is going; the changing times. I’m here to save the world from itself.

“In a time lost to your history, I gave the gift of the earth to everypony, and all privileged my blessing.” he continued, his empty eyes focused on the images in his mind, “But time went on, and my gift became neglected. In spite of everything I gave you, you all distanced yourself from my earth. Everything the pegasi or unicorns ever did tore them away from my embrace.”

“The more humble earth ponies are all that are left who have even a semblance of gratitude remaining.” with each word, the anger welled up in his voice, “The pegasi and their sky cities, the unicorns and their disregard for the laws of my creation... I have existed for as long as Equestria itself, and I have seen for myself how things change. I know what has made the world this way.”

He cast a condemning look to Luna. “And your sister gave me a thousand years of solitude to engineer a solution.” he hissed, somehow staring at the princess with his invisible eyes, “The significance of the earth is gone. Time, change, and the insolence of the conceited races of ponykind have doomed Equestria to be trapped in a chaotic state of constant flux!”

“You are wrong!” Twilight interrupted from the audience, her bravery finally winning out, “Celestia has guided us from chaos countless times, and Luna has been redeemed in the hearts of everypony! Together, they’ve done nothing but provide... your lies are obvious to us all!”

“How pitiable that you sentiment has been so wrongly inherited.” Terra replied cryptically, “I wonder, how much of you attachment to the sisters is derived from dependence?”

Twilight didn’t answer the question. It wasn’t that she couldn’t, but found herself at a loss for whatever it was that permitted her to confront him like she did.

“You need not concern yourself with fearing that you ignorance has offended me.” he said to her directly, “This initial defiance is understandable, and as such, forgivable. After all, I have only now returned to this grand stage, yet aim to take the leading role while my name has apparently only survived in whispers for however many years it has been since my fall.”

“But mine is a name you should remember.” he said evenly, “Loyalists still exist, and they have been hard at work conscripting the makings of my following. Together we shall deal the death blow to what has become of the royal order.”

He scanned his audience for the final time, his gaze finally stopping at Marco, who stood distinguished among the terrified pegasi and unicorn locals. “You ask me why?” Terra said, almost as if directed solely at the grey earth pony he now stared at, “I have resolved to purify Equestria of its corruption, to rid my earth of everything that threatens to change it. My eyes have witnessed the passage of time to an extent that none of you can imagine, and it has been made clear to me in my confinement that there is but one thing that can be done to redeem my earth which has been tainted so thoroughly in my absence.”

He spared the intimidated earth pony his concentration, and addressed the crowd at large. “Look upon this stage mortals, and see what has become of your leaders.” his voice boomed, “The one whose light has guided you, albeit astray, has been stolen away. And in her place is the hateful sister who turned this kingdom upside down but one millennium ago. As her power returns, so do I to set the balance. Make no mistake... unchecked, this alicorn will lead you all to ruin.

“But do not despair.” Terra continued, “While the princesses fall, a king rises. I offer you a chance, an option if you will, to do what you reason wisest. Ever since the crown was established as rule, it is a choice that you have so unjustly been denied. Pledge fealty to me, and join your fellow dissenters in the real formation of a real new world order.”

“Your eyes have become blind Terra.” Luna spoke up from behind him, her magic gone and her tone more collected, “You will not find allies in this city. We can all see your ideals for what they are... and they are wrong.”

“Wrong?’ Terra repeated, intrigued, “Very well, I can understand why you say that. We’ve had our conflicts in the past, and the resolutions have led you to believe such a thing. To those who might know as you do, they would not be at fault saying the same thing...

“However...” he continued pointedly, “I posit to you, what does that make you? Can you claim to be good when your past is so steeped in mystery? Whatever standing you have among these mortals is sourced from one thing, and one thing only. Celestia told them you could be trusted. And while they have reason to trust Celestia, she is no longer here. It is just you, me, and the rest of the world. You, my vengeful little princess, are the greater of two evils. And the longer the world has but you to call on, the clearer that truth will become.”

Suddenly, a strange power manifested with the Terra at its centre. A strange, ethereal, almost magical substance was conjured; it was as black as tar and as thin as smoke.

The mystery force quickly enveloped the area around Terra. “I have returned, and I have not abandoned my earth or any still loyal to it.” he said definitively, “I will set things right once more. I will restore Equestria to the way I intended it to be, andraisemy kind back to their rightful place.”

Marco’s eyes widened as Terra seemed to gesture to him. He couldn’t be sure whether he meant it for him, or did it because he was the only earth pony in sight.

As the concentration of black power increased so that it had him close to fully enveloped, the King’s voice rung out for what would be the final time. “Join me, my brothers and sisters.” he beckoned, “It is not they who shall lead this new era, but I! It will be a utopia for those who choose it!”

The dark substance started to dissipate, and in its departure, it became clear that Terra had been whisked away along with it. “But I have no patience for those who deny my gifts a second time.” his voice echoed out from nowhere and it faded as if it were being snuffed out, “For those who choose to resist, know that you stand against the earth itself! That which birthed you, that which you take for granted...

“For those that would rise against me...” he concluded, “You are to be pitied, but you cannot be forgiven! I will have you experience hell!”

Terra was gone, but his final words hung heavy in the air. As everypony started to regain themselves, a few hushed whispers broke the silence, and within moments, the tentative murmurs evolved into a panicked hue and cry...

Twilight subconsciously made her way towards the stage. As the panic all around developed, she ascended the adjoining stairs and found herself before the princess...

“Damn it!” Luna cried, her distress made clear by her lack of composure. She struck a hoof against the ground hard, “I can’t believe it! Sister!”

“Guards!” Caliber roared above the din, his authority absolute, “Evacuate the plaza now! Get everypony out of here!”

The assorted royal guards and day guards were in a state of confusion themselves, but they complied without delay, opening all entrances wide and clearing the path. A sub group encircled the stage and slowly marched out, calmly pushing the crowd back.

Marco was a moment from being absorbed in confusion, but he was instantly confronted by Caliber. “What are you doing here?” he demanded, his prejudice clear, “You better have a compelling reason for being here! I’m well within my rights to toss you in the dungeon and throw away the key-”

Before Marco had a chance to respond, a distinct rainbow flair found its way between him and Caliber. “Back off!” Rainbow Dash commanded, “He hasn’t done anything wrong!”

Her appearance was quickly followed by the rest of her friends, excluding Twilight who was up at the stage helping Luna back to her hooves.

Caliber returned Rainbow Dash’s level gaze. “Who are you, and what do you know?” he questioned, “Because if you didn’t notice, your buddy over there seems to be the only one who has any idea who that bastard was-”

“That’s enough captain.” Luna said suddenly from behind him, having regained herself, “There are much more important matters to attend.”

Twilight stood next to her, a million questions dancing around in her mind, “Princess? Are you okay?” she asked sincerely, “What in Equestria just happened?”

Luna looked down to her sister’s faithful pupil, but then whirled to look at Marco squarely in they eye. “I’ll leave the explanations to you.” she said to him, “There’s something I must do and it cannot wait.”

Caliber didn’t understand the vague statement. “Where are you going?” he asked, “What about-”

“What’s done is done.” she shot back, “That is a lesson I had to learn the hard way. It’s over for now... what’s happened to my sister cannot yet be changed. We have lost.

“I have to focus on what I can fix.” she continued, “Every moment I waste brings this city closer to disorder. We need order, we need leadership, and if my sister isn’t here, it means I’m the only one who can stand up and take charge. I won’t fail her again. I... I need to fix this.

“I have to reach out to them.” the princess said determined, “And for that I must prepare. They need to know as much as you do.”

Luna looked to Marco, her eyes told a story all on their own. “Once you’ve all come to an understanding, meet me in my chambers.” she directed, “Undoubtedly there will be much I need from all of you.”

The ceremony grounds were emptied fast, but a small group remained behind, huddled by the edge of the stage. Luna had left to begin the preparations she had spoken of, while the guards who had evacuated the area had decided to leave their captain behind to find out what was going on.

It didn’t take too long for Marco to finish explaining everything he had learned about Terra and his connection to the royal sisters. He had recounted it accurately, and Caliber’s understanding had indeed become clearer, but questions still lingered.

Twilight took it upon herself to be the first to break the thoughtful silence. “So you’re telling us that Celestia knew that this would happen if she gave Luna back her power?” Twilight asked, “If that was the case, why would she encourage the ceremony?”

The discomforting silence returned as nopony could think of a reason. Most of them were probably still too shocked to think clearly.

Caliber had distanced himself from the other ponies, but it seemed he had a question of his own to share. “There’s one thing I can’t figure out.” he announced, looking at Marco, “You said that this seal Celestia used depended on maintaining the royal hierarchy. But if that’s the case, how come he didn’t break free when Nightmare Moon escaped the moon? Celestia was temporarily sealed at the time.”

Marco didn’t think it was too complicated. “The book specified that so long as Equestria kept the balance he would stay sealed.” he replied, rewording it, “But when Nightmare Moon escaped and took control, Celestia was vanished. And when she was purified, Celestia immediately reappeared. It didn’t upset the balance because Equestria remained a monarchy. Who was in charge changed, but it was never challenged, so there was only one leading figure at either time-”

Twilight put a hoof to Marco’s shoulder, halting his explanation. “That’s not what the captain means.” she said on his behalf, “While what you say is true theoretically, the problem is that Celestia was sealed by Nightmare Moon.”

Marco didn’t understand the difference.“It’s a magical problem.” she added, for the benefit of those who might not understand the way it worked, “If Celestia was sealed, then all her magic would have been nulled. Which meant the seal on Terra would have been erased.”

Marco begun to realize. “So if he didn’t break free...” he said softly, “Then that means...”

Twilight nodded solemnly. “Yes...” she said, reading his thoughts, “Celestia wasn’t the one who sealed him. And if he was sealed after Luna turned Nightmare Moon and became imprisoned in the moon, then she couldn’t have done it either. Whatever was omitted from the tome must have detailed who or what sealed him.

“But who could have done it?” she continued, “The seal held for over a thousand years, and that means it was strong magic. And mortal magic dissipates after the caster’s death. Which means it is a creature with powerful magic that’s lived for over a millennium, or there’s another immortal on the same level as Celestia.”

Everypony held their tongue. It was hard to imagine something like that being possible, but it appeared to be the only explanation. And while everypony else may have been struggling with the concept, inside Marco’s head gears were turning as he tried to wrap his head around it.

Marco took off his hat and ran a hoof through his still-wet mane. “This is just a theory...” he said to the silent group, “But suppose there was another immortal pony like Celestia, Luna or Terra. Like the book said, it’d safe to assume they would be also be a deity of some kind right?”

Caliber’s eyes flickered with recognition, but otherwise, there was nothing but a silent acknowledgement. Marco continued on regardless...

“Now, as I said, this is only theory, but look at Luna and Celestia.” he reasoned, “They are sisters and control the opposing forces of nature, the sun and moon. But then we learned of the existence of Terra and some unknown force able to seal him away. He controls earth, but just like how the sun and moon are binaries, the earth also has an opposite. So if Terra is anything like Celestia or Luna, then wouldn’t he have to exist in harmony with another? Is it possible for their to be yet another deity out there somewhere?”

The girls were a little more than shocked. It sounded ridiculous. He was making some pretty big assumptions, and it was technically conjecture. Even still, it made a lot of sense. Applejack was the least convinced, but as she made to point out one of the many flaws in Marco’s argument, she noticed that Caliber was oddly unfazed and decidedly silent in the face of the grand claim. And so she changed targets...

“What are you so quiet for?” she asked pointedly, calling him out, “Why, I reckon you might know a little more than you’re letting on Capt’n...”

Twilight and the others looked over to the two, and it didn’t take long for them to realize that Caliber was indeed holding back. He was standing by disarmingly, neutral to the connotations of what Marco had proposed. He knew something...

“Us royal guards keep our secrets earth pony, and what you’re asking from me is on a need to know basis.” Caliber shot back, but wavered slightly, “Even still, that’s pretty much out the window with Celestia gone.”

“If it had anything to do with what’s happened to her, then she’d want us to know.” Twilight reasoned, “I’m her student. She wouldn’t keep a secret like this from me!”

“Are you so sure?” Caliber asked, turning to the unicorn, “Let me ask you then, do you know where your brother is right now?”

“What’s this got to do with Terra?” Twilight asked, “And no I don’t! Isn’t he in the city?”

“Far from.” the captain replied, “With both of the princess having been occupied by Luna’s return and subsequent reinstatement, your brother and I were the only ones who Canterlot could spare to deal with the fragile situation that has been developing in the deep sea. Your brother has served longer than I have, and his abilities were deemed more suitable to the task, so he went instead.”

“You seem to be dodging the more prevalent question.” Marco said attentively, “Like what the hell do you mean ‘deep sea’? And who’s Shining Armour?”

“Okay... okay.” Caliber conceded, “It’d be better if Luna told you this, but-”

He wasn’t able to finish his sentence. For at that moment, somewhere in the spiralling tower of the night palace, princess Luna begun channelling some powerful magic, and her voice cut through the discussion down by the stage.

“Hear me citizens of Canterlot...” Luna’s voice echoed inside their minds, almost as if it had been magically implanted, “This is the voice of princess Luna.”

Down in the abandoned ceremony grounds, Twilight realized what was happening. “This is psychic magic!” she gasped, “Nothing like what a unicorn could ever do... She’s speaking directly into our minds, into the minds of everypony in Canterlot!”

All over the city, ponies that were once in a panic, slowed their actions as they heard the voice penetrate their consciousness. One by one, frightened unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies stopped whatever they were doing and became entranced by the soft sound of Luna’s voice.

From the outside looking in, Canterlot became an otherworldly sight. Streets, filled to bursting with multi-coloured ponies stood perfectly still, as if they had all simultaneously fallen asleep while standing. Every single soul within the range of her spell became entranced without exception as Luna’s voice reached out to speak to them, both universally and privately. It felt as if the princess was speaking only for each individual pony, and that in and of itself was enough to calm even the most fearful.

“As you may already know, a terrible tragedy has stuck at the heart of the peace we all enjoy. A being know as Terra has reawakened and has stolen from us our princess. He also seeks to destroy everything she has created for us.

“This aggressor spoke of change, and how it has broken this world. He spoke of how things once were, and believed them to be privileged. He, I, my sister Celestia... weonce lived in the world he now envisions.

That is the curse of living for as long as we do. As time marches on, we must adjust to fit the world that continues to develop around us. It is not an easy thing to do. A thousand years ago, culture, belief, science, society... such things were different back then, and my sister and I believed in the values of that era. But these things change and mature over time, and while mortals do not live long enough to see such aspects pass, we must mature with the times.

“But this King has not matured. He is fixated on the past, and wishes to drag the world back to a time he wrongly believes to be the ideal.I know you have questions, and I know you have doubts. But if there is only one thing I can hope to extend to you, it is this...do not despair. Events to come are uncertain, and there are few who are prepared to engage in such troubling matters.

“But such things have been forced upon us. With Celestia gone, I am all that is left to lead you. This false king would have you distrust the ponies you call your brothers and sisters.

“I regret to be so demanding when I know that I have not earned the right to lead you, but we must have unity to prevail in this trial. To save Celestia and to save Equestria, I am depending upon all of you to do what is hardest.We all must rise to the occasion. You are not alone in your doubt, but together we can overcome this. Now affirm it! The ponies that surround you are no longer strangers.

“We will not be told we are divided. The only barriers that exist between you and your equals are the ones we allow. Discard your prejudice and accept your neighbours. This is the new age!An age without separation!

“Help me bring back our sun. Help me bring her back to light the way to our brighter future. Help me deny the idiocy of a fool fixated on the past, for I cannot accomplish it alone.Take the first step!Show Terra that we will never stop moving forward! Join with me!Join with your brothers! Your sisters! Let us face this coming threat together!”

“Regain your love for one another. Do not stoop to the errors of the past. Terra will hear you answer to his call, and he will know that we refuse!”

In the night palace, Luna abruptly ended her spell with a cold sweat forming on her neck. It had been such a long time since she had used her magic, let alone to such a demanding degree. She could only hope that she had managed to maintain it long enough for her speech to be heard.

But just as Luna started to fear that she had failed, she heard a sound, faint at first, but slowly growing louder. The walls of the night palace were thick, so the sounds from outside were muffled, but it could still be heard. Luna listened intently, and her eyes began to water as she no longer harboured any doubt that the city outside was engaged in a resounding cheer.

Outside, the noise was simply deafening. The cheer travelled as far as Ponyville... nay, even the Everfree Forest heard the city announce its disposition.

Somewhere in Twilight’s library, the panicking Spike and the attentive Owlicious paused to analyse the sound. To know that the distant voices were not made in loathing comforted the nervous dragon to a degree. And even further away, somewhere deep in the Everfree Forest, Zecora had been toying with a newly acquired recipe when she suddenly stopped as she thought she may have heard something.

But she quickly dismissed it and resumed humming away to the bubble and froth of her cauldron.

* * * *

The first day Luna was to take back even a little bit of power, she ended up getting it all. She wasn’t simply put in control of the moon; the sun and Equestria itself were at her command. She was running the whole show.

Nopony speculated that she was in over her head. Since the get-go she erupted into a frenzy of authority, the likes of which none had experienced under Celestia’s leadership. But everypony realized that these were trying times, and accepted that they called for desperate measures.

Luna stood in the centre of her sister’s chambers, and was blitzing through every document of relevance she could find. Caliber and a group of royal guards scrambled around to keep up with her.

“I don’t care about procedure.” she said straight to Caliber, “I need eyes and ears in and around every town, village, settlement and camp on the map.

“If you need to promote the janitor to the intelligence squad to get the numbers, then do it.” she continued, “And if you need to demote the royal guard so you can fill the streets, then do that too!”

Luna stretched her hooves over the big map taking pride in the centre of the study. “We have no idea where he’s run to, what he’s doing, or when he’ll make his move.” she sighed heavily, “We have no choice but to spread as thin as we can. Make sure the garrison understands how important it is for them to get this done. The stakes have never been higher and we have no alternative but to depend upon the diligence of every single pony you command.”

Beyond his surprise, Caliber was impressed. This was the kind of ruler Equestria needed right now. He wondered to think what would be happening if Celestia was the one standing before him now...

“Alright, but if that’s the case, we cannot afford to have any corruption among the ranks.” he replied evenly, “We can’t have anypony running solo no matter how much area we have to cover. Teams of three is the absolute minimum.”

“Three?” Luna questioned, “Don’t be absurd, we can’t spare any-”

“Princess...” he said gently, “if even one pony we rely on turns out to be in league with Terra, then everything falls down. I’ll group the guards up with ponies they don’t get along with, so any suspicious behaviour will be noticed. The third is needed to offset the chance that the other two could both end up as traitors.”

“You may be right, but I won’t so blatantly distrust the guard when I’m demanding such trust from everypony else.” Luna retorted, “Keep them in pairs, and I’ll accept the consequences should that backfire.

“But still...” she continued, uncertainty tinging her voice, “We might have the momentum, but we’re on the back hoof. The first move is the most important, so we can’t afford not to play this smart.”

Luna turned to face the guard captain. “Where are the ponies you were with?” she asked him, “I need to see them as soon as possible if we’re going to make any headway...”

Caliber looked to the big double doors he had come through. “Well, we all went to the night palace like you said, but by the time we got there you were gone.” he replied, “So we headed here, knowing this was the only other place you’d be, but uh... let’s just say I trusted them to make their own way here.”

* * * *

“Come on Twi...” Applejack pushed, “You said you knew this place like the back of your hoof!”

The purple unicorn blushed. “Well, I thought I did, but I normally come here with Spike, and he’s the one who really knows his way...” Twilight admitted, “We’ll get there, I just need to find out where we are.”

Rainbow Dash didn’t seem so convinced. “C’mon... it’s like, the royal palace!” she drawled, “Is it really that hard to find?”

Twilight pretended not to hear. “It’s not.” Marco commented, “I think Twilight was just trying to show off by taking a shortcut, and now we’re lost.”

“If you’ve got time to chatter...” Twilight snapped back, “Then help me figure out where to go...”

“How are we supposed to know?” Dash retorted, “We weren’t born here, unlike somepony-”

“Here’s an idea.” Marco suggested, “Why don’t you fly up and point us in the direction of the big, white and yellow palace?”

Everypony slowed to a halt at the obvious solution. Without even a second thought, Dash kicked off the mark and flew up high and quickly took in her bird’s eye view of the royal city. To Twilight’s utter chagrin, the pegasus extended a hoof westward, pointing back at where they had come from...

The journey to the royal palace was a silent one. Thankfully, it was also short with Rainbow Dash to conduct the group’s movement through the twisting alleys and winding streets.

Soon enough, the group found it’s way to the day palace and with the direction of some nearby day guards, they promptly proceeded into Celestia’s private study. Marco led the way as he pushed through the double doors without announcing himself.

“It’s a unlikely possibility, but present all the same.” Luna was in the middle of debating with the captain, “I have trouble seeing the rationality of dismissing his connection in such short order-”

Marco looked about himself in embarrassment as he realized announcing himself would have been a good idea. This wasn’t a discussion he was supposed to walk in on.

“Oh, it’s you.” Caliber said awkwardly, “Good to see you finally made it.”

“Sorry about that...” Marco replied, looking back to the girls behind him as he did so, “We had some, uh... internal complications.”

“No matter.” Luna interjected, “In fact, your timing is rather convenient-”

Marco swapped looks with the princess and the captain. “Yeah, I noticed.” he cut in, “You’re wondering whether or not I was mentioned in the book.”

The grey earth pony looked at the group of ponies still idle in the hall. “I get the feeling you’re not the only ones.” he added, “But I don’t think I’m one of these so-called champions.”

“I don’t either.” Caliber agreed plainly, “It’s a bit of a far-cry to put you on that pedestal.”

“I don’t think your brain’s doing the talking there mister...” Applejack said, moving out from the hall and past Marco, “Maybe somepony’s still saddle-sore ‘bout certain things that don’t matter no more.”

Twilight too emerged from the hall. “Settle down Applejack.” she started, hushing her brazen friend, “That said, I disagree with you as well Captain. Celestia sent the book to Marco, so she obviously intended for him to be included in, well... this. And him being here can’t be coincidence. As it stands, it’d be silly to think that book could be referring to anypony but Marco.”

Marco winced each time his name was used as a subject. He didn’t agree with Twilight, but he couldn’t shake the idea that it was only because he didn’t want to...

Luna shook her head disapprovingly at Twilight. “There isn’t a compelling case for either line of thought.” she said, adding her own view, “The appropriate action is to remain open to either possibility.”

“What do you mean?” Applejack asked, not understanding, “Who else could the dang thing be-”

“I hate to interrupt, but you’re not looking at this the right way.” Caliber said, cutting the orange earth pony off, “Take a step back and be objective. The fact of the matter is that this prophecy is a dead end. It would have been useful to have this information before the ceremony, but at present, it tells us nothing beyond what’s already happened. These three ‘heroes’ it mentioned could be anypony. It wouldn’t be hard finding matches in this city alone.”

“Then what are we gonna do?” Applejack asked, concerned, “Don’t we have any other way to find out who these special ponies are?”

“We do.” Luna said simply, passing over some papers, “I found these almost as soon as I came here looking for clues.”

Caliber’s heart stopped for a second to recognise the document Luna had produced as one he had attempted to hide. The truth of his old lieutenant was before him once more, and he felt a chill grip him to realize that Celestia must have discovered he had gone over her head in trying to protect his old lieutenant. Beyond that, he was further shocked that Luna regarded Tager as relevant to the three heroes. He didn’t like the feeling of hampering whatever investigation Celestia had undergone in decrypting the prophecy...

“Who’s this?” Twilight asked as the documents were levitated over, pulling Caliber away from his shock, “Is that a wanted poster?”

Luna nodded curtly. “Not only was Celestia looking into these heroes up until she was sealed, it also seems that she was able to figure out who the first hero is.” she said, “ After going through what my sister was looking at, I think there’s an extremely high chance that this pegasus... this ‘Tager’ is the first hero as detailed by the prophecy.

“The only problem is, we don’t know wh-”

“Did you say Tager?” Rainbow Dash cut in, demanding Caliber’s attention as she suddenly became interested in the poster, “Hey, show me the picture!”

Before anypony could say anything, she grabbed the paper from Twilight’s magical grasp. “Whoa boy...” she breathed, “That’s totally her. What in the hay is she doing on a wanted poster?”

Luna leaned in with raised eyebrows. “You know this pony?” she asked tentatively, “You’re positive?”

“I haven’t seen her since flight school, but this is definitely her.” she said looking up, “I could tell just from the look on her face.”

Marco silently peered at the profile Dash held. He could see the image on it, see the maroon coat and the light khaki mane, done up in a menacing, streamlined mohawk. He ceased his stare to find the whole room looking at Dash expectantly.

“Please, tell me what you know.” Luna said, not mincing words, “Don’t skip any details, no matter how trivial they may seem.”

Rainbow Dash found herself catching her breath. The new Luna really knew how to get down to business. “Well, we knew her pretty well...” she started, “I guess you could say she was our friend.”

“We?” Luna repeated, “Pray tell, Who is we?”

“Oh, ah, right...” Dash stuttered, “I’m talking about me and Gilda. The three of us kinda stuck together at flight school. I think we met Tager at Junior Speedsters Camp.”

“Gilda?” Marco asked as he took the documents from Dash, “Who’s that?”

“Just a griffin who I used to be friends with.” she answered simply, “She came to visit me in Ponyville once, but we had a little bit of a falling out. I haven’t heard from her since.”

“You really haven’t gotten in touch?” Pinkie asked carefully, “I wonder what she’s been up to...”

“I dunno...” Dash said with a shrug, “We might have gotten along back at school, but you guys would understand if I said she didn’t exactly get on with many ponies. No, I think Tager and I were her only friends.”

"Huh..." Marco mused, swapping looks with Caliber, "So if you cut ties with this Gilda, would it be fair to say that she would try and confide in her one remaining friend?"

“Uh, I guess...” Dash replied confused, “but what does that-”

“It means...” Luna interrupted, anticipating the question, “Even if Tager is untraceable, your griffin friend is not. If we can assume she knows her friend well enough to be able to track her down, then if we find this ‘Gilda’, we become a step closer to locating the first hero.”

The guard captain tuned to face the princess, who was tapping her muzzle thoughtfully as she digested all this information.

“What should we do?” Twilight asked her, “How certain are we that this Tager is the pegasus mentioned in the prophecy.”

The princess made to reply, but it was Caliber’s time to talk. “One-hundred percent certain.” he said, surprising even Luna, “Sorry for being silent so far, but I also knew Tager. We met when we were both adolescent, and for a short period of time, she served as my lieutenant in the royal guard.

“The royal guard?” Luna repeated doubtfully, “That’s impossible, she is on a wanted-”

“I erased all records of her history as a guard shortly after she deserted.” Caliber confessed, anticipating what Luna was about to say, “And no, I never told Celestia. But if she left this information on Tager for you, then she would have already figured it out.”

"I'll understand if my betrayal costs me my position..." he bowed, "But I owed it to her to not let her become one of the most wanted. But even then, I realize I failed upon seeing one of her posters for myself."

“This certainly is a shock.” Luna said coolly, “But I wouldn’t fear for your position. Celestia has told me of you before, and she regards you as irreplaceable.

“Indeed, it would have been a simple matter for you to remain silent and watch us chase our tails and keep this secret of yours.” the princess continued, “I now see why my sister holds you in such high esteem.”

“Betrayal aside...” Marco cut in, “You claimed to be certain that Tager’s the one we want. Care to elaborate?”

“Well, aside from Celestia’s conclusion, I knew her rather well.” he replied, “She didn’t have any friends, didn’t have any hang-ups about speaking in a blunt or vulgar manner. Even when my recommendation for her to join the guard got through, ponies still thought she was a ticking time bomb. She was super aggressive and always picking fights, taking competition very seriously. Regardless of how she was confronted, she never backed down, and even though she was stern and callous on the outside, she was good at heart. I may or may not be going with my gut, but I don’t doubt for a second Celestia was right in thinking she was a part of the prophecy.”

Luna stayed silent to a full minute before she announced her decision. “Something about this prophecy irks me.” she begun, “We are depending upon it completely, but it is not a tool exclusively for our use. If it leads us to finding these heroes, then it must also be the case that it would do the same for Terra should he know of it. But while we have to gather all three, he need only eliminate one to assure victory. We can’t waste any time finding the pegasus hero, or he might get to her first... But even then, that’s not the real problem...

“We have the tome in our possession, but whoever wrote it remains at large, and as such, is vulnerable to being used against us by Terra’s forces.” the princess continued, “I thought it important to find out for myself who the author was, but it appears my sister was also one step ahead in the matter. We have a name and a location... and it seems we have a dire need to get to the ‘author’ before Terra does.”

While Twilight agreed with the first element of what Luna was saying, the part about the author confused her. “The author of a thousand year old prophecy is still alive?” she asked, “When was the book written, and what could Terra do with the pony who wrote it?”

“It was written this year.” Marco answered suddenly, “The pages were still fresh, and the writer actually referred to the Nightmare Moon incident as occurring one thousand years ago.”

“I don’t particularly care for when it was written, but contacting the author is a serious matter.” Luna shot back, “It is as the captain said; the book itself is a dead end. We might have made progress with the first hero, but that’s only because of Celestia’s methods and the apparently fated entanglement of your friend and the captain. Either way, the book gives us nothing. We cannot determine the other two heroes using it.

“But whoever wrote about them will definitely have more detailed knowledge.” the princess concluded, “We need that knowledge, and we need it now if we are going to have any chance to stop Terra.”

Twilight stepped up to the princess, “You said you knew who the author is?” she asked, “Who? and where are they?”

Luna nodded. “Indeed I did. In fact, if those letters my sister showed me are anything to go by, you have been to the place before.” she said, coming over to the purple unicorn, “The author is an earth pony who goes by the name Mistledale Scryer, and he is currently based in the settler village of Appleoosa.”

“Appleoosa?” Applejack repeated in shock, “As in, Appleoosa, Appleoosa?”

“It surprises me too.” Luna added, “So far you girls have an odd connection to these events, and am not one to take stock in coincidence.”

Luna stood up suddenly, the uncertainty on her face washing away as she became determined. “The time for action is upon us, and the measures we must take have been decided.” she said wholesomely, demanding everypony’s attention, “Applejack. Am I not mistaken in believing you to be especially familiar with the town of Appleoosa?”

“Err, no your highness...” Applejack said, surprised at Luna’s direct question, “I have family up there and-”

“Good enough.” Luna cut in, “I need to you take your friends, with the exception of Rainbow Dash and Marco, with you on the next train headed to Appleoosa. I would organize a carriage prepared for immediate use, but we need to do this discreetly. If Terra doesn’t already know about this ‘Scryer’, then we shouldn’t go out of our way to advertise the fact that something is going on.”

“Wait!” Dash blurted, “Why are us two not going?”

While the light-blue pegasus might not have understood, Marco had already figured out why they had been excluded. “Because she needs us to stay here and track down the griffin once she’s been sighted.” Marco said on the princess’ behalf, “Without you, getting Gilda to cooperate would be impossible, and if we’re looking for Tager, she’ll be more inclined to stick around and listen if there’s an old friend to do the talking.”

“I know I shouldn't be asking this of you all, especially you...” Luna looked to Marco, “But I cannot utilize the guard for these tasks. I have no choice but to rely on ponies who won’t be noticed... and you are the only ones who I can entrust such a burden to.”

“What about me princess?” Caliber asked, “Surely there must be something I can do?”

“Oh but there is.” Luna replied, “I will be gone from the city for a short time, and if the guard is being spread all over Equestria, I need somepony to stay behind and take emergency powers should a threat arise.

“The preparations Celestia took for such a possibility outline Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Blueblood as the ones to inherit the duty, but I do not feel that is wise considering the circumstances.” Luna explained, “Captain, do you accept this responsibility? It is not to be taken lightly...”

Caliber paused. If Luna left while her sister was sealed away, the weakness would be glaring. And even Shining Armour wasn’t available, nor was his protection spell. The princess wasn’t kidding; taking command at a time like this would be a huge responsibility.

“Can you afford to do things on your own?” he said to her undaunted, “It won’t be good for a princess who called out for trust to suddenly disappear and leave the city alone. What is so important that you must attend to it yourself?”

Luna looked squarely at the guard captain. “Have you, perchance discussed with the others the details of Terra’s sealing?” she asked mysteriously, “Or shall I start from the beginning?”

“I was about to, but after your message I thought it’d be better if you told them.” Caliber answered, “After all, I never knew about Terra until today. Even if I’m right about who sealed him, it’s still guess work on my part...”

“Is that so?” Luna replied, “I suppose then I will make this as clear as possible.”

“First of all, I can tell you why my sister had the details concerning Terra’s sealing omitted.” Luna responded, “She probably thought you would get the wrong idea if you took it out of context...”

“Well?” Marco asked, “Who sealed him?”

Luna took a deep breath. “Neptune.” came the reply, “Ruler of the undersea kingdom of Navaras and Terra’s elder brother.”

You could hear a feather drop as the words sunk in. Twilight could believe it; Marco’s theory was spot-on. “So that’s how it is eh?” the grey earth pony whispered, “And if Terra wasn’t enough of a problem to deal with, now there’s-”

“This what I meant about getting the wrong idea.” Luna said, cutting Marco off, “Neptune very being is one of peace and life. He is an unfathomably wise pony, who harboured an ill intention in his incalculably long life. He is the sage of the sea, and much like how Celestia undertook my duty following my sealing, Neptune is the one who silently kept the earth in balance following his brother’s thousand years of imprisonment.”

Marco cocked his head at that. “If he’s such a great guy, then how has nopony heard of him before?” he asked, “I’ve read all the books and heard all the stories, but I’ve never seen or head ‘Neptune’ come up once. Why hide what doesn’t need to be hidden?”

“Neptune was Terra’s older brother.” Luna started off, “Unlike when my elder sister sealed me away, Terra was not possessed at the time. The king was being his honest self, yet his brother stepped in and locked him away for it. Now, make no mistake... it was the right thing to do, but that didn’t change the fact that it was a tough choice.

“The fact that his name has gone on silenced for so long was a promise made between him and Celestia.” she continued, “He saved my sister by stopping Terra, but he wasn’t proud of it. He knew that if his existence was know to the land above, then so too would tales of his brother continue to be told. He exiled himself from Equestria and kept to his own kind, resigning to the deeps so as to meditate upon whether or not what he did was right.

“Unfortunately, this meditation has persisted ever since, and he has become an especially absent leader over the last few years.” Luna motioned to Caliber, aware that this was the only aspect of the story he knew, “His kingdom has become divided as of late on whether he is fit to rule anymore, and Shining Armour and a significant degree of the guard were deployed to stop the situation from escalating.”

That last part freaked Twilight out. “I can understand that my brother wasn’t allowed to tell me he was being sent away... but to an underwater kingdom?” she shuddered to think about it, “I’ve never heard of this Navaras before... how do you even get to the sea floor anyway?”

Luna may have answered, but Twilight wasn’t finished with her questions. “Wait, when you said there was something you needed to do...” she continued, having realized, “You didn’t mean that you were-”

“Yes. I intend to go and see him.” the princess replied effortlessly, “If he exiled himself to let his brother be forgotten, then it’s directly tied to the ignorance that allowed me to take back my throne. He might not want to raise his hoof against his younger brother again, but I need to discover what his meditation has yielded. It could be central to stopping Terra.

“But enough about Neptune.” Luna continued, “I can appreciate the fact that you needed to know who he is, but we have more important things to discuss. Simply be satisfied that he is neither a threat nor an active ally in our attempts to stop Terra.”

“Oh, and Twilight, it is only natural if you are concerned about your brother, and I will talk to you more in depth after I have gone down there and visited Neptune.” she continued, “But for now, it is vital we stay focused upon this trial, and the tasks at hoof.”

Twilight nodded slowly and quietly. She was obviously still concerned about the circumstances of, and mysteries surrounding her brother’s apparent undersea deployment, but she agreed with Luna. Her concerns were better directed at the trials ahead.

“Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy and Rarity.” Luna said, counting off the names, “There’s only the one commercial train running to Appleoosa, and it’s scheduled to leave early tomorrow morning. You can go back to your homes in Ponyville to prepare yourselves, but be back here by sunrise-”

Luna cut herself off and let her commanding composure break somewhat. “Oh, and I’m sorry to be so bossy.” she said with a measure of doubt, “I haven’t the right to tell you what to do, so if any of you don’t want to do it, it’s fine. I should have said so earlier.”

Twilight swapped looks with the group of friends. The odd smile reflect her own acceptance. “I don’t think any of us are about to abandon Celestia.” she said affirmatively, “Or you for that matter.”

The princess brightened to hear that she had support. In fact, the positive atmosphere would have eased everypony, but whatever enthusiasm Marco might have had was hampered by the dirty sewer water dripping down from under his hat.

“I hate to interrupt, but so long as we all have time to kill before we can get started on saving the world...” Marco said sarcastically as he made his way around the room, “Is there, like... a shower around here I could use? I had a hard time getting into the city and had to go up the waterway and through the aqueduct to make it to the ceremony.”

Twilight did a double take; she had noticed his soaked mane and soggy hat, but she hadn’t thought much of it at the time. “Did you say ‘up’ the waterway?” she asked in disbelief, “As in, from the outside? Over the cliff?”

“It’s a long story.” Marco breathed, his eyes drifting to Caliber, “And it can wait until after I get this dirty water out of my mane. So is there a bathroom around here or not?”

Twilight just looked the wet earth pony up and down. It certainly looked like he’d been through a lot. She also noticed he was acting rather well around the princess which was good, even if he was being a bit rude.

“Go out the double doors and it’s the third door on the right.” Luna called uninterested, “It will have anything you might need.”

Without a word, or even acknowledgement, Marco left the room, stretching the big wooden doors open as he did so.

“Are you sure that’s okay princess?” Caliber whispered from her side, “That is the royal-”

“I have bigger concerns that who uses the royal bathroom, captain.” Luna snapped back, “For instance, how am I to get your guards out into the world and know when they’ve had any success.”

The last thing Marco heard as the big doors closed behind him was some hard to understand chatter relating to the deployment of makeshift intelligence squads.

“Third door on the right... right?” he said to himself as he tugged his black hat off and let his wet mane lap out, “A shower might help me think. This is all so complicated... it’s exhausting.”

In the royal bathroom, Marco paid no heed to the elaborate and regal decorations surrounding him.

He let the steaming water run down over his face. A shower is a good place for thinking, so as Marco let the gentle shower purge the canal water from his body, he naturally mulled over the day so far, with one shocking incident after another...

‘God damn cutie-mark!’ he thought to himself, genuinely frustrated as to its nature, ‘It was a lie. It never had anything to do with my interests or my talent.It was fake.Just like everything else in my past.’

Marco continued to contemplate what it actually did mean. ‘There’s no way I’m the child of some stupid prophecy...’ he assured himself, ‘They said it themselves... it’s too vague, it could be anypony.But then again... I am somepony. And this cutie-mark connection makes me the contender.’

Marco shut off the shower and got out. He stood there for a moment, trapped in thought as he started to drip dry. His mind was motoring along, putting all the pieces together and trying to decide what the best thing to do was.

He broke from his trance and grabbed a pure white towel as he realized what he wanted and how to get it. “I need to disprove the theory that I’m somehow this third hero.” he said aloud, “It could be any number of ponies, but that doesn’t change the fact that I might be the one among them that the book was talking about.

“I need to be certain that it’s not me.” he continued, “And the only way to do that is find out who it actually is, or contradict one or more elements that ties me to this crap.”

Oddly enough, achieving this certainty went together with what Luna was asking of him, so now he had a more solid justification for consenting to be a part of her plans. ‘So far, the logic is that my cutie mark makes my position of a part of the prophecy a possibility. It’s what makes me special...’ Marco thought to himself, continuing his reasoning mentally, ‘I need to be sure that this picture on my flank doesn’t make me a hero, and I can do that by finding somepony who definitely is a hero who has a normal cutie mark.’

“If I go along with it and track down this ‘Tager’ chick, I can figure it out.” he said, “If her cutie mark is the same as mine, then I might be in trouble... but if it’s something else, I’m safe.”

After running the white towel through his refreshed mane, he draped it over his shoulders and set about drying his hat. There was an odd contraption that might have been some kind of dryer in the far corner of the room, but Marco didn’t trust it to take care of his precious item.

Instead he took preference hanging it off a humble peg and leaving it to recover in its own time.

Back in Celestia’s private chamber, Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity were the only ponies remaining.

As Marco quietly made his way back through the double doors, he realized he must have taken longer in the shower than he thought. Luna and the guard captain were gone. He could think of a few reasons why one would have left, but both of them?

Regardless of the reason, they weren’t here, and the remaining ponies finally had a chance to gossip about the things they would prefer to keep among themselves.

Luna and how she was handling the situation came up more than once, but the discussion was more energetic when the topic of Caliber and Luna’s interaction with Marco came up, as well as his interaction with them. They were also divide on whether or not Marco could be the third champion the book described.

Even though he was the subject of most of it, he didn’t feel like eavesdropping any more today. It would be better if he just made his presence known. He casually took up stead behind the little group, next to Rarity.

She quickly noticed him, but she realized he was next to her not through sight, but because she could feel the heat from having showered radiate toward her. “Oh, I didn’t hear you come in!” she exclaimed in surprise as she found him next to her, “You mustn’t sneak up on a lady you know.”

Marco had a more relaxed air about him with his blond mane dried and a soft white towel draped over his shoulders. His treasured hat was absent, so it must have been drying somewhere...

“I’ll keep that in mind.” he replied, “What’s going on? Where did Luna and the captain go?”

“Mr. Caliber flew off to organize something about sending the guards out griffin hunting, while the princess has gone to get something to show us.

“What was the royal bathroom like by the way?” the pure white unicorn whispered, “Was it stunning or what? Oh, I must come up with an excuse to see for myself...”

“Ah, yeah.” Marco managed, trying to think of something to say, “It was, err... shiny. And stuff.”

All of a sudden, Marco was cut off as a blazing red flurry of movement rocketed into the room with Luna close behind.

“I think we can safely skip the introductions.” the princess said as the girl’s eyes widened when they recognized the red shape, “I believe you girls have already been acquainted.”

Marco looked between the strange creature and the girls who seemed happy to see it, “I don’t get it.” he admitted, “Who... I mean, what is that thing?”

Fluttershy did the honours. “She’s a phoenix.” she said softly as she embraced the scarlet bird, “Her name is Philomena.”

Luna took Fluttershy’s comment in stride. “You will all be happy to know that she volunteered her services after she learned of what happened to my sister.” she said as she rejoined the group of ponies, “And she’s fit and ready this cycle.”

In response, Philomena spread her wings wide, showing off her flawless form and pristine plumage. She then voiced her enthusiasm with a healthy coo.

Twilight smiled to see her teacher’s pet so lively, but was curious as to why she was needed or what she could do. “What’s her role in this?” Twilight asked honestly, “I mean, what is she volunteering to do?”

Luna nodded to the phoenix as she proceeded to take wing. “I’m glad you asked Twilight.” she responded, “Since I’m sending you so far away, you will need Philomena to maintain communication with the captain and I. Her job is to constantly fly in between your position and Canterlot, passing along any information either of us give her. It’s so we can know your progress, or assist you should you encounter a problem.”

Luna turned to face Rainbow Dash and the recently refreshed Marco. “The same thing goes for you two.” She continued, “Wherever your journey takes you, it will certainly be far from Appleoosa. And Philomena cannot be a messenger for both groups.”

The princess put a royal hoof to her lips and blew, causing a piercing whistle to ring out. “But my sister is not the only one with a special pet.” she said proudly as a feathered creature snaked through the air and into the chamber, “I was truly glad to be reunited with him after my long time in solitude.”

The shadowed shape dropped from the air and perched itself attentively on Luna’s outstretched hoof.

“Whoa...” Pinkie Pie gasped, “What’s that freaky thing?”

It was an awesome sight. The creature looked a lot like Philomena, but instead of bright red feathers and a smooth beak, this winged creature had silky back feathers and a fanged bottom beak. Another curious point of difference was that while Philomena’s tail was a perfectly straight burst of colour, this creature’s tail was thin and coiled.

Side by side, the resemblance was uncanny. “What in the hay is that thing?” Applejack couldn’t help but ask, “It looks like some kinda black phoenix...”

Luna nuzzled her pet. “His name is Paragonia.” she said strongly, “And he is no phoenix. Paragonia is what’s known as a Quetzalcoatl.”

The group of ponies slowly turned to face Twilight, expecting her vast knowledge to be able to shed some light on what a Quetza-thingie was. All she could do was blush and smile meekly, also having no idea.

“A Quetzalcoatl is it?” Marco asked sagely, ending Twilight’s embarrassment, “Yes, I’ve read something about those before...

“You’re not far off comparing it to a phoenix Applejack.” Marco commented, “Neither of them can die for starters. I mean, they both live forever. Another interesting comparison is that while the phoenix is a being that represents rebirth and is born from the sun’s flame, the Quetzalcoatl represents resurrection and is born from a constellation in the night sky.

“Rather appropriate qualities considering who their owners are.” he continued with a nod, happy to know so much about the mythical creatures, “I never thought the Quetzalcoatl existed though. Arabelle told me it was just a silly myth.”

Twilight stared in awe at the feathered creature. “It certainly is beautiful, but in a totally different way to the phoenix.” she said leaning in close to the passive thing, “It is such a distinct and graceful bird-”

She was cut off as Marco tapped her on the shoulder and whispered something quietly into her ear. The next moment she yelped in fright and lunged an impressive distance backwards.

Twilight’s teeth were chattering as Fluttershy looked between her and Marco, “Oh my...” she breathed, “Whatever did you say to her?”

“Nothing really...” Marco replied with a mischievous grin, “I was just telling her the more prominent difference between a phoenix and a Quetzalcoatl.

“You might not think so at first, but Paragonia isn’t a bird at all.” he continued, “Little do ponies know that the Quetzalcoatl is actually a feathered and flying serpent, or snake.”

Rainbow Dash thought it was funny. “Heh, well I’m glad Twilight gets to stick with the phoenix.” she said mockingly, “Can’t have her freaking out every time Paragonia shows up can we? Besides, flying serpents are like, totally rad.”

“Yeah...” Marco sighed, exhaling tiredly, “Rad.”

“Enough about that.” Luna said, “I think it’s time you lot went back to Ponyville for some rest...”

She looked toward Marco. “Or to make whatever preparations you might require for a dangerous journey.” Luna continued, dropping a big hint, “Consider yourselves free to take any measures you deem necessary.

“If you still want to go through with what I’m asking you, then be back here by sunrise.” she said to the whole group of ponies, “I’ll need to fill you in on whatever information the guard or I uncover relative to your tasks.”

Everypony turned to leave, but not before the princess addressed them one last time. “Oh and thank you.” Luna added, “On behalf of myself, my sister and Equestria itself, thank you for help.”

Chapter 8: Chasing Tales

From the Ashes

Chapter 8: Chasing Tales

“Please Sheriff!” the yellow earth pony pleaded, “You can’t do this! We have to do something!”

"Stop it Braeburn!" the brown-coated lawpony snapped back, "You're being reckless-"

“Reckless?!” Braeburn yelled, “You’re asking me to give up on, and betray my cousin and her friends and you call it reckless?! Who’s side are you on Silverstar?!”

“His side!” Sheriff Silverstar cried, “My responsibility is to keep this town, and all the ponies in it safe. And the only way to do that is to let him have his way!”

“But we can’t let that happen!” Braeburn retorted, “It’ll only get worse for everypony unless we do something! Even if I have to do it on my own, I won’t let-”

“Stop it!” Silverstar cut in, indicating his badge, “This ain’t some kid’s game! This badge makes me responsible for the protection of everypony in Appleoosa. It ain’t like I want to turn on those girls who helped us, but if it’s to save my town, I’d do it in a heartbeat!”

“You’re the one who doesn’t get it!” the brave earth pony responded, “He’s counting on you to do nothing! But if you got everypony to come together and stand up to him, we could change things!”

“No we couldn’t!” the sheriff retorted, “He’s too powerful. And when we failed, the whole town would suffer for it! I can’t let that happen...

“I know you want what is best for everypony, but I know what’s best.” he continued strictly, “There’s a fine line between bravery and stupidity, and endangering the townsfolk is nothing short of stupid.”

Braeburn was furious, but he couldn’t deny that Silverstar was trying to do the right thing. He held his tongue; this wasn’t easy for anypony...

Sheriff Silverstar exhaled deeply. “This arrangement is hard on all of us. You especially.” he said sympathetically, “But you have to understand what’s at risk if we don’t cooperate, and understand what’ll happen should things turn sour.”

“It ain’t right.” Braeburn protested, “No matter what you say, or what’s at stake, I’m gonna go warn my cuz.”

Silverstar discarded is broad-brim hat in resignation. “I can’t stop you.” he sighed, “Heck, I don’t even want to stop you. But be warned kid, if your little plan goes south, you’re on yer own. I won’t come to save you, nor will I let anypony else. I have a duty to ‘em and I won’t give it up on account of you or your cousin.”

Braeburn left the room with purpose, throwing Silverstar one last defiant glare before he disappeared outside in the early Appleoosan morning.

Silverstar just stayed behind and leaned back on his chair with a pained sigh. “Good luck kid.” he said after him, “You’re gonna need it...”

* * * *

It was also early morning in Canterlot, and the girls had gathered at the day palace like Luna had asked. She sat content, with Caliber to her left while the girls before her chatted idly as they awaited the remaining ponies of their group to show up.

Applejack was the last of the girls to arrive, and she quickly noticed they were down one stallion. “Where’s Marco?” she asked her friends, “He did decide to go through with his part, right?”

Twilight nodded. “Yeah, he’s going to come, I think he’s just running late.” she hushed her voice, “He never came back to the library last night. I think he stayed at Zecora’s hut.”

“Zecora’s?” Rarity asked, concerned, “I wasn’t aware those two were back on speaking terms...”

Pinkie Pie giggled. “Well, there isn’t anything like a sleep-over to get ponies back on each other’s good sides!” she exclaimed, “Good for them!”

“Ahh... I don’t think that’s why Marco visited.” Applejack interjected, “I reckon they probably got to workin’ on a whole bunch more of those nasty potions of his.”

“Oh.” Rarity said flatly, “Well, doesn’t that make a whole lot more sense?”

“Relax Rarity, this isn’t like the last time.” Twilight said reassuringly, able to pick up on her friend’s doubt, “The princess gave him permission after all.

“Oh, and no offense to you Dash, but you two are chasing down a pegasus on the most wanted list.” she continued, lowering her voice, “I’d feel more comfortable knowing somepony had a way to defend themselves should things go bad.”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow to that, but not for the reason Twilight thought. “I get what you’re saying Twi; the prophecy wasn’t the most flattering thing after all...” she said seriously, “But aren’t you the ones who are more likely to be in danger?

“I mean...” she added, flustered, “What if Luna was wrong and Terra is already at Appleoosa? What if... what if-”

Applejack snorted no so subtly. “Well, if I didn’t know any better...” she teased, “I’d say you were worried ‘bout us R.D!”

“I am not!” Rainbow Dash said defensively, “I just that... uh, I won’t be there if you need me!”

“Don’t flatter yourself there Rainbow!” Applejack joked, “I’ll be there to make sure everything goes smooth, you just gotta focus on your end.”

“I am focused on ‘my end’!” Rainbow Dash retorted, “But while me an’ Marco might be able to handle it if things go bad, what’re you guys gonna do if you get in trouble?”

“We can handle ourselves.” Applejack insisted, “Even if you ain’t with us, we’ve made our way through messes like this before. Like with Nightmare-”

“Quiet.” Luna said suddenly, rising from her position.

Applejack stopped immediately. “Oh no, I’m so sorry princess...” she said ashamed, “I didn’t mean to offend-”

“It’s not that.” Luna cut in smoothly, “But you shouldn’t mention that topic at the moment. He’s here.”

As if on queue, the doors to the day palace creaked open and Marco strode through with some familiar heavy saddlebags secured to his back. “Sorry I kept you.” he called out as he continued on towards them, “The boys outside insisted on verifying the contents of my bags...”

Marco altered his posture as if to indicate the bulging baggage he was carrying. “It took a while.” he smirked deviously, “There was a lot to get through.”

Fluttershy looked at the princess with a confused look on her face, unable to understand how the princess could tell he was about to come in. “How did you-” she made to ask...

“Shh...” Luna whispered, smiling ever so subtly, “It’s a secret.”

Marco completed the group of ponies by joining Pinkie Pie who was taking it was taking it easy next to Fluttershy and Twilight. “Whoa! Those look heavy!” the pink pony commented, “What cha got in there huh?”

“I think those are the necessary measures the princess was talking about.” Twilight answered, looking sideways to Luna as she did so, “But Pinkie’s right, those look heavy...”

“Yeah, well... I’m not about to take any chances.” Marco replied as he placed the saddlebags on the floor and sat down, “I looked up everything I could find on Tager, and I found sources claiming her to be a villain, but others that said she was a heroine. Some say she’s battled dragons, while others say she’s attacked children. The only thing I really learned was that I should be ready for anything.”

“You mean ‘we’ right?” Rainbow Dash called, swatting Marco in the shoulder playfully, “Because I don’t think you could even handle Gilda without me!”

“Of course.” he replied with a reassuring smile, “I’m counting on you.”

“Well, at least somepony’s taking this seriously.” Rainbow Dash said, while not so subtly looking to Applejack, “And you say I’m the one who needs to stay focused...”

“Now, hold on there Rainbow.” the farm pony interjected, “He ain’t the only one who came prepared...”

“You’re not what I’m worri- urm, ‘unsure’ of.” Dash managed, trying to cover up her concern as she indicated Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Twilight and Rarity standing idle and unequipped behind her, “No offense guys, but what’re you gonna do if things get ugly?”

“Actually Dash, some of us have been working rather hard in that department.” Twilight said unexpectedly, “I for one revised some powerful magic, and even Rarity came over to get a handle on a some spells.”

“Rarity?” Fluttershy asked as she looked over to the well-groomed unicorn, “But I thought you said you weren’t very good with magic?”

“Oh, well... I’m not.” Rarity admitted, “But Twilight here showed me something she thought I could manage, and it went rather well if I do say so myself.”

“Rather well?” Twilight questioned, “It went great! Even I could barely get one to work properly, but you could do a whole bunch in only a few seconds!”

“Wow!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, excited despite her lack of understanding, “But I thought you were the best at magic Twilight?”

“Oh, she still is.” Rarity said modestly, “I just found something I was good at.”

“Come on already...” Applejack said impatiently, “What’s this something?”

Rarity paused, unsure of how to word it. “Hrm, how should I explain?” she begun, “do you remember those little pony figurines I sometimes make from branches and the like?”

Applejack tapped her muzzle with her hoof as she thought back to that one night she had spent with Rarity at Twilight’s library during the stormy weather. At a few times during the evening, Rarity had used her unicorn magic to fashion wood and leaves into intricate little pony figures...

“Oh yeah, I do remember those little things.” Applejack said, having recalled the events, “What about ‘em?”

Twilight stepped forwards to do the honours. “Well, the skills involved in making those are central to a certain kind of spell I was looking in to.” she explained, “It’s called ‘totem magic’. It’s very tricky and very unique, but it will come in handy if we get in any kind of trouble.”

“What’s a totem?” Fluttershy asked, speaking up, “What does it do? How does it work?”

“Erm, what Rarity has to do is create a figurine like she normally does, but make it look like one of us instead.” Twilight replied, “The more detail she puts into them, the more effective the resulting totem will be.”

“Heh, well I don’t think detail is gonna be a problem...” Applejack teased, “But what does a totem do?”

Twilight exchanged a look with the princess. She could tell Luna knew. “The totem serves as a substitute if we get hurt.” she said simply, “No matter what happens, as long as Rarity makes a figure of you and puts magic in it, the totem will take the hit.”

Marco blinked back the ideas forming in his head. The image of Rarity conjuring such powerful magic didn’t seem natural, there had to be a catch involved. “It sounds like you’re talking about some kind of voodoo magic or something...” he said aloud, “Besides, it seems too good to be true.”

Luna nodded silently. “Indeed, that is a magic both ancient and powerful that you have discovered Twilight.” the princess said, shedding some light on the topic, “As you no doubt know, an ironclad rule of magic is that as power increases, so too does the risk. The art of totems is no exception. I would advise against attempting this without proper care. It can easily backfire.”

“How?” Rainbow Dash asked, “It sounded pretty foolproof to me.”

The princess looked down indifferently to Twilight and Rarity. “First of all, an incomplete totem will not work.” the princess warned, “If somepony takes stock in being safeguarded by something without knowing that it could fail them can get hurt unnecessarily. Secondly, and most importantly, if the connection between the totem and the subject is simple enough for your friend to make, then it has to be universal. In other words, while an attack on the user would be redirected to the totem, an attack on a totem will also be redirected to the user.”

“It’s too risky.” Caliber added, breaking his silence, “No matter how dumb the enemy might be, they would eventually figure out all they had to do was attack the totems.”

Twilight shook her head, she obviously did not agree. “Rarity and I have already discussed it, risks and all, and we have decided after testing it that we can offset the negatives.” she countered civilly, “If done properly, we can make sure it can’t be used against us.”

“That’s a bold statement.” Caliber commented, “Care to back it up?”

Twilight stood beside Rarity as if her dependability was under scrutiny. “First of all, for a totem to be used against a subject, it must obviously already exist.” she explained, “Normally, a totem would be brought with you and used when it was needed, but Rarity can make a high quality figurine almost instantly from most materials.”

Twilight nudged her friend. “Rarity is very good at making effective totems.” she concluded, “So far, she can make six of them in about a second, and they all work. If she doesn’t make them until the instant they are required, they can only work defensively.”

Marco pondered what Twilight had just said. “Not that I don’t have faith in you or anything Rarity, but something like that would require constant concentration.” he said carefully, “To figure out who’s in danger and make a statue of them before they can get hurt, all the while ensuring the quality is good enough... it can’t be an easy thing to do. Can you handle it?”

“I think we are all forgetting that this is being done just in case something bad happens.” Rarity replied, “And even if it does, I hardly expect that this kind of magic will become necessary. But to answer your question, yes I do believe I am capable of doing what Twilight explained. And should it become necessary, I will not hesitate to use my skills to their fullest.”

“Well, if it goes as you have described, I see no problem with it.” Caliber said, abandoning his objections, “It’s a unique way of using the magic, but it does indeed play to your advantages.”

The guard captain quickly noticed that Luna was silent, as if she were contemplating something. “What’s the matter princess?” he asked her, “Do you still have doubts?”

“Some.” Luna replied honestly, “But I find myself more interested in your conviction Miss Rarity. And while I would be lying if I said the concept of depending on totem magic did not irk me, I am more than comfortable putting my faith in you after seeing your temerity for myself.

“In any case, you make a valid point.” she continued, breaking her authoritative air, “These are only precautions. Even if Terra knows enough to go after Scryer or Tager, he has been removed from the world for more than a thousand years and he used the majority of his power to seal my sister. I am sceptical as to weather he has the capacity to be an active threat at this stage.”

“That’s a relief...” Fluttershy breathed, happy that all the dangerous things everypony was discussing were not necessary, “You girls had me worried.”

“Sure is!” Pinkie Pie agreed, “Totems and Tager and Terra sound totally terra-fying!”

I hear ya...” Applejack added, “I sure-as-sugar wasn’t looking forward to turning these hooves against nopony...”

“It certainly is comforting to think I needn't bother with this strange magic...” Rarity chipped in, “It’s terribly unladylike to get involved in this... ah, as Marco puts it, ‘voodoo’ business...”

The chatter continued as the girls begun to relax, feeling as though they had the wrong expectations of what was to come. But while they were feeling less on edge after what the princess had said, Luna herself hadn’t eased up.

“Hold on.” she said gravely, stopping everypony, “While I said the odds of winding up in a confrontation with Terra are slim, I should tell you what I know about his ‘ability’ so that you can respond properly if the worst case does arise and you do find yourself against him...”

“Ability?” Twilight questioned, “What do you mean?”

“How do you think he escaped the ceremony?” Luna asked her, “Haven’t you wondered what that dark power was that he used to teleport away and seal my sister?”

Marco’s ears perked at that last part. True, he had witnessed for himself the force Luna spoke of, but he wasn’t there to see it used against Celestia. “Yeah, that was weird...” he commented, “He was not a unicorn. How could he use magic?”

“That’s easy.” Luna replied, “He did not.”

“I don’t understand...” Twilight said confused, “What could it be if not magic?”

Luna took a deep breath and let her mind wander. “Well, first of all...” she begun, “You are all aware that my sister and I have control over the sun and moon respectively?”

Everypony unanimously nodded. “Well the same goes for Terra.” Luna clarified, “He has control over the earth. Yet while you may perceive me and my sister to have a significant impact on Equestria by controlling the rise and fall of the sun and moon, you must have trouble imagining what form the control over the earth takes...

“It is this control that he used to seal my sister and disappear himself.” she continued, “He commands the laws of his creation, and I have come to learn of the ways in which it is manifested.

“For you see, and as you no doubt have learned, Terra and I battled in the past when I was taken by the evil that was Nightmare Moon.” the princess said directly, “My actions may not have been my own, but the memory remains. Our match brought us both to the brink, and in our stalemate, the core facets of his power were revealed to me. I may very well be your best resource in informing you of his abilities.

Twilight made sure the ponies around her were giving Luna their attention. This could prove to be vital information, she for one would not waste a chance to gain some insight.

“The manipulation of gravity is one such ability.” Luna said informatively, “When we battled, whatever barriers I raised could not defend against his blows when he imbued them with what seemed like infinite weight. Using the same ability, he can control the force behind objects. I have seen boulders float as if they weighed nothing, and feathers split the earth.

“Time is another of his domains.” she continued, “Of all his abilities, this one can be the most devastating, but it’s weaknesses were made known to me in our conflict. He cannot stop time, nor manipulate time in a universal sense. He may use it to slow or speed up the relative time of himself or a single target, but he can only do it for a short while, and cannot do it in quick succession.

“His final power is the one he used to seal my sister and escape the ceremony.” Luna concluded, “He can contort space, slipping through the seamless and bending it to his will. It essentially allows him to teleport and evade, but it is a significantly slower process than doing the same with magic. There are facets of this that I have not worked out however. It seems that he can reposition like objects, and it also seems he can do so without limit, unlike the magical alternative.

Luna let her voice trail off as what she had said sunk in. It was a lot to take in, and none of it was good news.

“How in the hay are we supposed to compete with any of that?” Applejack blurted, “Seven ponies up against something like that-”

“The last thing I wish to do is put you and your friends in danger.” Luna cut in, “And were it the case that Terra could use these powers against you, I would not be asking you to do this.”

“What do you mean princess?” Twilight asked, “He can’t use his own power?”

Luna shook her head. “It is not that he cannot, but that he will not.” she corrected, “If Terra was ever to summon his full power, I would be able to sense it right away and find out where he was. He knows this, and he most likely knows he cannot afford for me to find him or where he’s hidden my sister.”

The princess levelled her gaze. “Now, if you get into a fight with him and he is forced to use his earth powers, I promise to come to your aid.” her voice became dead-serious, “I swear to you that no matter what the situation, I will immediately intervene should that possibility arise.”

Caliber strode in next to the girls, carrying a pair of strange objects. “That’s what these are for.” he said, passing Twilight one of them, “These will allow the princess to teleport to you no matter where you go.”

The guard captain gave the other one to Marco while Twilight inspected the odd accessory. Whatever it was, the thing was beautiful. It was a pendant of some kind, and it had a glittering amethyst gem set into a deep obsidian housing. The way the colours went together made Twilight feel like the necklace was an extension of Luna’s being. It was faint, but she could feel strong magic emanating from it.

In the background, Marco passed his pendant over to Rainbow Dash since he was not particularly in the mood to accessorise. They both seemed ignorant of the energy coming from the objects that Twilight could feel.

Caliber made his way over to Twilight, who was still staring intently at the necklace. “As you can probably tell, these are not your regular pendants...” he said to her, “Princess Luna spent a fair deal of the night forging these things with nothing but her magic. And they really are something special.”

“I’m sure you know that teleportation is a tricky business.” Luna added, explaining for herself, “The same rules apply for alicorns and unicorns when it comes to the act of magical transportation. One can only teleport to a place one has been previously or can physically see.

“But these things that the captain has given you are, as he said, something special.” she continued, “Each one of them is essentially a small piece of me and my magic. As long as you wear them, no matter where you go I will be able to teleport to you, because on some level, I am there with you.”

Rainbow Dash looped the pendant Marco had passed to her around her neck. She liked the colour, but there would be no way she would ever admit it to her friends. “Speaking of teleporting wherever we go, shouldn’t you guys be on your way to the station?” she asked Applejack and the others, “Doesn’t your train leave soonish?”

“Oh no! I totally forgot about the train!” Pinkie Pie gasped, “We’re not gonna be late are we?”

“Relax. There is still plenty of time for you to get there.” Luna said gently, “But now would probably be as good a time as any to depart. Though do not rush, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to express them-”

Luna was interrupted by a subtle cough from Caliber, as if was trying to remind her of something. It only took a few seconds before that something clicked inside her head.

“Oh, and girls... I have re-thought sending the four of you on your own to Appleoosa.” Luna mentioned, “The captain has convinced me to send two of his most trusted with you since I’ve ordered him to stay here.”

Luna nodded to Caliber, who responded with a little nod of his own. “Come in boys!” he called out.

At the announcement, the double doors to the study flew open to reveal two pegasus guards, clad in pale silver armour. One was young, obviously a rookie, while the other was older and seasoned. In their matching armour they looked similar, but in reality they couldn’t be more different...

“Boys?” the older one remarked, “I suppose I should choose to take that as a compliment.” he bowed humbly for the small group before him, “I am Sergeant Ceasler of the Equestrian night guard. At your service.”

“And uh, I’m his partner Slayde...” the younger one stuttered shyly, uncomfortable around the girls, “It’s nice to meet you.”

Caliber laid a hoof on each guard’s shoulder, “These two will accompany you to Appleoosa and help you complete your mission.” he said, continuing their introduction, “They’re a real pain in the flank, but I couldn’t think of anypony else I’d rather put my trust in.”

“Gee, thanks captain.” Slayde remarked, “That’s sweet. Well, half of it at least.”

“Try and take this seriously please.” Ceasler said disapprovingly, “As I understand it, our task is of utmost importance.”

Luna stood up to the pair. “Indeed it is.” she said, hijacking the discussion, “But it is good to stay relaxed, for now at least. The ride to Appleoosa is a long one, and I would prefer for you not to be on edge all the way there.”

“On that note, it is about time you lot were on your way.” Caliber said, pulling an envelop from a fold in his royal armour, “I’ve got your tickets here, and the whole rear carriage has been reserved for you.”

Caliber passed the girls a ticket each, then Slayde and Ceasler approached to collect theirs as well. “You two should leave your armour here.” he told the pair, “When you get to the train station, you are not night guards, nor do you have any affiliation with Canterlot or its princess. Understand?”

“Roger that.” Ceasler responded as he unclasped his breastplate and let it fall to the floor.

“Got it...” Slayde replied casually, taking off his golden helmet to reveal that the mane extending from its top was not his own. The silver mane on the helmet remained as he set it aside, and let his natural orange mane breathe.

When Ceasler removed his helmet however, the mane stayed behind. The silver hairs on his head obviously belonging to him. As his headgear came free, the girls could clearly see a wide hole on the top that allowed his real mane flow out and take on the same appearance as Slayde’s fake mane.

“Alright then...” Luna said, “Your train leaves in two hours. You’ve been to Appleoosa before, but I’ll remind you that it takes a full day to get there.

“You will arrive at around this time tomorrow, and your carriage has everything you’d need for the big trip.” she continued, “If there are no more questions, then I’d like to ask sergeant Ceasler and Slayde to lead the way.”

There was nothing but silence. Marco could tell that they were ready to depart.
“Stay safe.” Marco commented, knowing the girls would soon be off. He subtly looked over to the two night guards, “Don’t let anything happen to ‘em you two.”

Ceasler and Slayde returned Marco’s gaze. The old sergeant looked back vacantly while the young pegasus offered a weak smile. And while Marco might not have recognised them, the two night guards sure as hell remembered the pony who had assaulted them that night. They had been debriefed thoroughly on the incident, and swore to keep whatever interaction they had had with Marco tame, but they were far from comfortable in his presence.

Marco considered for a moment if he had met the two before, but his thoughts were promptly interrupted as a certain shy pegasus crept up on him. “Oh Marco...” Fluttershy squeaked, “Please be careful-”

“Hey, that’s my line.” he replied, cutting her off, “I’ve got the great Rainbow Dash looking out for me.”

“Ha, that’s right! The great, uh... me!” Dash called pointing a hoof to her chest proudly, “You guys don’t have anything to worry about!”

Applejack looked flatly at her pegasus friend as she revelled in her praise. “I can see you’re gonna have yer hooves full with this one.” she said softly to Marco, “I wish ya luck...”

Marco chuckled lightly. “Yeah, thanks for that.” he said back, “And I wish you luck too. Take care of the others alright?”

“Just try and stop me.” she said with resolve, “We’ll see ya’ll back here, and I’ll have brought this Scryer fella back with me!”

And with that, the rest of the girls bid farewell to Luna, Caliber, Rainbow Dash and Marco before they left on their way to the train station with their tickets in hoof and pegasus guards close behind. They were told to stay safe, trust their escorts and keep an eye out for Philomena whenever she would come to deliver and receive messages.

This left Marco and Rainbow Dash alone with Luna and the guard captain. But they were quickly joined by Paragonia, who swooped in low from some unseen entrance and perched himself upon the princess’ back.

“Ah, you have returned my pet.” Luna said as she nuzzled the creature and removed from his grasp what looked like a letter, “Which means it is time for us to be off.”

“Where are you going?” Rainbow Dash asked, “To see the Neptune guy?”

“No, not yet.” she answered while reading the note that her pet had delivered, “And when I say ‘us’, I mean all of us. Excluding the captain of course...”

“Does that mean-” Marco made to ask, but the princess saw it coming...

“Indeed it does.” she said, discarding the letter, “The griffin known as Gilda has been located, and Paragonia has come bearing the name of the town in which she resides.”

“Can you teleport them there?” Caliber asked, “Do you know the place?”

“I do, but I have never been there.” Luna replied in deep thought, “Though, I do know of a place nearby. I can get us in rather close.”

“Wait...” Rainbow Dash stammered, “You’re teleporting us? While A.J. and the others have to take a train?”

“Like I mentioned before, I can only teleport to places I have previously been.” Luna explained, “The exception being the places you ponies go with my pendants around your necks.

“I was sealed away for one thousand years remember?” she continued, “The last time I roamed Equestria, it was a different place. Appleoosa for example, did not exist, nor was the land on which it is built part of pony land. It was uncharted, and nopony had yet ventured there.”

“Which means the fastest way for them to get there is by train.” Caliber said for her, “The princess couldn’t help them.”

“But for us it’s different?” Marco asked, “You have been to, and can teleport us to where the griffin is?”

“Near enough.” Luna replied, “Now, if you would be so kind, could you two please move in closer? It is harder for me to teleport us as you are.”

"You're doing it now?" Rainbow Dash asked in her surprise, "What's the rush? Can't you at least tell us where we are going?"

“There will be time to talk after we arrive.” she said as she approached Marco and Rainbow Dash, “You can ask all the questions you want while you recover...”

Caliber smiled knowingly as Luna came in close to the two ponies in front of her. Without a doubt, ‘recover’ was the right word for it.

“Now, if you would be so kind...” she continued, “Please come together so I do this as easily as possible.”

Rainbow Dash silently obeyed, closing the distance between herself and Marco. Paragonia hugged his master tightly as she let her horn light up and her powerful alicorn magic flow.

As the white magic enveloped him, Marco could see Caliber looking through the sparkling veil. “Happy travels you two.” he said with a smile, “Try and hold onto your breakfast!”

The brilliant magic reached its climax and the whole chamber was bathed in white light. When it faded, Caliber was the only one left in the room. Alone in the empty chambers, he smiled lightly to himself. Partly because he knew what awaited those two ponies, but mostly because he was glad that for once it wasn’t him getting teleported.

* * * *

“Urrgh... I think I’m gonna hurl.” Rainbow Dash groaned, staggering as she tried to reattain her bearings, “Who knew teleporting could make you so queasy?”

“Tell me about it.’ Marco replied in agreement, “It feels like my guts got left behind...”

Luna stood with Paragonia perched on her wing, both of them looking down upon the two grovelling figures before them. “You get used to it.” she said, “But for your first time, you two are taking it quite well.”

Rainbow Dash stood up, having conquered her churning stomach. “Gee, thanks princess...” she remarked, “I’d hate to see what taking it bad is like.”

Marco got up as well, but he looked significantly more ill than Dash. “Where are we?” he asked, “How far from Canterlot have we come?”

“This is as close to Gilda’s location as I could bring you.” Luna answered, “As I said earlier, one can only teleport to places they have been before, but the last time I was here was thousands of years ago.”

The princess indicated the surroundings. “It would be dangerous for me to teleport to an area I haven’t seen in over a millennium, so I picked a spot I knew would not have changed or had any structures built so I could avoid materialising us inside of them.” she explained, “These mountains were inhospitable then, and they are inhospitable now. As for the town in which the griffin ‘Gilda’ was sighted, I know it to be near the outskirts of these valleys, though I cannot discern in which direction it lies...”

Marco took in the surroundings. Everywhere he looked he could see the same thing... claggy, freezing snow and brown, lifeless stone. Truly, inhospitable was the proper description. “You still haven’t told us where we are.” he said as he continued to assess the scenery, “What is this place?”

“I do not know.” Luna replied simply, “Hold on a moment...”

The princess flexed her wing as if to prompt the Quetzalcoatl perched on it to take to the air. “My pet...” she beckoned as Paragonia turned to face his master, “Please circle around this valley and report back to these two should you determine what the direction the nearest town is.”

The winged serpent made an odd sound by way of a reply, sounding like a mix between a low rumbling hiss and a gentle coo. Whatever it was, it was followed by the creature darting of swiftly on a very direct tangent.

Luna watched her pet fly off into the cold wind. “Sorry, where was I?” she said, getting back to Marco’s question, “Oh yes... if this valley has a name, I do not know it. But the town in which your target is based, and the town Paragonia is seeking out is known as Hordimare.”

“Hordimare huh?” Rainbow Dash said as she tapped her muzzle in thought, “Never heard of it...”

“That comes at no surprise.” Marco responded, “It’s a tiny town at the edge of nowhere, and it’s completely isolated and self-sufficient. It doesn’t import or export anything to or from the rest of Equestria.”

“Wow.” Rainbow Dash remarked, “How come you know so much about it then?”

“I read about it once.” Marco answered, “I took interest because of one the town’s fascinating social customs.

“You see, the area around Hordimare has numerous naturally occurring ravines and trenches that constantly emit a scalding mist from deep within the earth.” he continued, speaking in the same manner a teacher would, “Consequently, rope-bridges are an integral element of travel. But what’s interesting is the fact that while rope threading has slowly developed over the years from using grass to make them to using fibres, the town of Hordimare is the only place in Equestria that still practices rope construction from mane hair, which is the most ancient form of rope weaving. They say the act of using each-others manes represents teamwork and grants good luck to those who-”

“Okay, okay...” Rainbow Dash interrupted, seeing no end to Marco’s lecture, “We get it. It’s a little town with a lot of ravines and bridges.”

“And somewhere in this ‘little town’ is the griffin we seek.” Luna added, “And from her, we are one step closer to finding the first hero.”

Luna gazed out into the frozen wastes as if she were looking for something. “Now, I must see to certain matters such as preparing the captain for when I leave to visit Neptune.” she said, “But first, allow me to explain how I intend to keep you in contact with whoever is at Canterlot...

“When Paragonia returns to show you the direction of Hordimare, follow him until you can make your own way.” she continued, “At that point, he will begin moving constantly between your position and Canterlot, transmitting any messages given to him. You need not worry about him loosing track of you, for he can sense my magic in the pendant you have.”

Luna looked over the two silent ponies. “The next time we speak face to face, I hope you have a hero with you.” she said earnestly, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave you to your travels.”

Marco maintained his silence, and Rainbow Dash looked over to him before addressing the princess. “Urm, no. We’re good. I think...” she spluttered, “I hope it goes well with the Neptune guy!”

The princess nodded comfortably. “As do I.” she replied, her horn starting to glow, “Good luck you two.”

With a blinding flash, princess Luna was gone, teleporting away and leaving Marco and Rainbow Dash alone in the frozen valley.

The two just stared out into the white expanse. Rainbow Dash was a moment from asking Marco what they were going to do next, but Paragonia swooped in low and thrust a feathered wing out, clearly pointing towards the south.

“Looks like we’re headed that way.” Marco said finally, thinking that was the question his companion was about to ask, “Let’s get out of this valley before we freeze to death.”

“What’s with you and the princess?’ Rainbow Dash asked suddenly, shooting right past Marco’s defences, “It was harder to notice back in the city, but when I’m the only other pony between you two, the tension is super hard to bear.

“I like, thought you guys were past that stuff.” she prodded, preparing herself for the big question, “What would happen if you two were alone?”

“Don’t worry Dash.” he said gently, “Nothing is wrong. It’s just... it’s a bit too soon. For both of us. You know, seeing each other so much. It is uncomfortable for me, her too probably... but I can respect the fact that recent events have rushed things. I won’t let my emotions get in the way.”

“Well, maybe you should think of this as an opportunity to smooth things out?” Rainbow Dash suggested, “Maybe those emotions will start going away the more you need to deal with them?”

“Maybe.” Marco acknowledged as the two continued to follow Luna’s pet, “Maybe...”

As they trudged through the snow, Paragonia stayed forwards so as to lead the way, and he was apparently unaffected by the cold air even though he was reasonably high up.

Marco didn’t seem to register the cold much either, and Dash guessed that he wasn’t new to regions like this. He was able to soldier on while she struggled to keep up, her wings quivering and her teeth chattering whenever she wasn’t talking...

Thankfully, she didn’t have to endure it for too much longer. Before either of them knew it, they could see a field of sundered ground not far from their position in the valley, and with a series of rope bridges tying them together, a humble town became visible beyond the hot mist.

As Marco and Rainbow Dash moved together onto one of the rope-bridges, they could see it was indeed weaved together with pony hair...

Rainbow Dash wouldn’t admit that she thought it was gross, but she became slightly more vocal about her reservations concerning its durability as she reached the halfway point. “Are you sure these things are safe?” she asked as calmly as she could, “How strong can hair be anyway?”

“Dunno.” Marco replied with a twinkle in his eye, “But I can think of one way to find out.”

He casually jumped up and down, swaying the rope bridge ever so slightly. Rainbow Dash went rigid as she kept her balance. “If this thing breaks, I’m not gonna catch you.” she warned, “I’m the one with the wings here remember?”

“Noted.” Marco replied, “I don’t feel like testing my luck with ancient technology anyway.”

The two ponies made it across the rope bridge without incident and the rediscovery of solid ground served as a nice welcome to the town of Hordimare. Satisfied, Paragonia let out another one of those unique sounds and flew away, bidding farewell and leaving Marco and Rainbow Dash alone in front of the town.

But then the pair realized that they really were alone. They were technically in the town, yet there was nopony to be seen. The bland, wooden houses were shut up tight, and gentle smoke billowed out of almost every chimney. Compared to the vibrant colours of Ponyville architecture, Hordimare looked bland with its brown on brown theme and thick snow.

And while it was a bit of a culture shock for Rainbow Dash, Marco appreciated the rustic atmosphere. He was also aware of why there was nopony in the streets. “Look at that Dash...” he said, indicating the nearest wooden cottage, “In Ponyville, the day might start when the sun comes up, but out here everypony stays indoors until the chill drops. My guess is that their day won’t start till noon.”

“Brrr... what time is it then?” she asked, “It’s too cold. What are we gonna do anyway? We can’t just knock on pony’s doors and ask ‘em if they’ve seen Gilda!”

“Settle down.” Marco said, halting the questions, “I know a place where we can talk to some ponies and get out of the cold. I just gotta find it is all.”

“A place?’ Dash questioned, “You say that like you’ve been here before.”

“Oh, heavens no.” he replied, “It’s just a hunch. A town like this has gotta have a bar or something...”

“A bar?” Rainbow Dash asked, “Like, what’s that?”

“A bar...” he replied with a raised eyebrow, “A bar’s a bar; I don’t-”

Marco quickly realized that such a thing definitely did not exist in Ponyville, and possibly not in Cloudsdale either. Dash had no reason to know what a bar was.

“How should I explain?” he said aloud, “It’s basically like a cafe or a restaurant, except they mainly serve drinks. Alcohol mostly, which is the stuff that-”

“I know what booze is, thank you very much.” Rainbow Dash interrupted, “But a bar is the place you go to get it?”

“Ahh, kind of...” Marco replied, “But it’s more of a place for ponies to um, ‘hang out’ so to speak. You’ll understand when I find one-”

“Is that it?” Rainbow Dash cut in, thrusting her hoof out across Marco’s eyes, “B-a-r. That’s what the sign says...”

“Hrm? Where?” he asked as he followed her gesture, “I don’t... oh my. Yep that’s what we need. Nice find.”

“Yes! Look... smoke!” Dash exclaimed as she saw the chimney belching thick smoke out into the freezing air, “Smoke means fire and fire means warm!”

The pegasus shot off the mark, all to eager to defrost her poor wings, but Marco intervened just before she would have bashed the door down. “Whoa, wait up.” he ordered, stopping her from charging inside, “As you no doubt know, ‘booze’ tends to loosen the lips of otherwise restrained pony-folk, which is what I’m counting on to extract any information there is to be had on Gilda.

“So? What’s your point?” Rainbow Dash cut in, “I’m freezing my feathers off out here!”

“My point...” Marco interrupted, “Is that this is a winter land, so they would rarely get pegasi here since the air’s too cold for flying. They’re probably drunk, and your outspoken as it is. I don’t want things to get complicated.

“Look, you just go to the counter and get a drink or something and I’ll do all the talking.” he continued, “If they rarely get fliers, and there’s a griffin in town, we’ll have no trouble getting info so long as I do the talking.”

Marco handed Rainbow Dash a small pile of bits. “Use this to get something.” he said to her, “I’ll dig up any gossip there is and we’ll be out before you know it.”

While he spoke confidently, Marco was somewhat reserved about relying upon the word of ponies who’s morning routine consisted of getting drunk for breakfast.

He let Rainbow Dash go in ahead of him before he followed. ‘Well it’s like they say...’ he thought, ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained.’

Inside, Marco was talking to a few stallions while Rainbow Dash tried to translate the scrawl that made up the confusing menu, looking up indecisively while the bartender continued to gaze down at her impatiently. “Uh, what can I get for fourteen bits?” she asked him, trying to adhere to Marco’s strategy...

“The numbers on the right are the prices.” the stallion replied coldly, “If it’s less than fourteen, you ‘can get’ the corresponding item, which for your information are the words on the left side.”

Rainbow Dash bit her tongue. She knew the bartender was messing with her, but she promised Marco not to make a scene. Her best bet was to exit the frustrating situation by making a decision already. “Fine.” She snapped, slamming her hoof to a random spot on the list, “Gimmie this one.”

The stallion followed her gesture to the item on the menu. “Ah, a brave choice pegasus.” he replied curiously, changing his tune, “That will be eleven bits.”

Dash counted out the money and gave it to him. ‘Brave?’ she thought, ‘Where did that come from?’

At the other side of the bar, Marco had questioned two earth ponies who were way past their limits, and was on a third who seemed to be just as useless.

“A griffin.” he repeated for the hundredth time, talking to the aged pony as if he were just a colt, “Half lion, half eagle...”

“Yep...” the drunk replied obliviously, “Been havin’ trouble with an ice tempest up on the east side o’ town. Bastard went and froze up all of Ol’ Demalno’s brussels...”

“Gilda.” Marco said again impatiently, “Beak, wings, feathers, fur...”

“Ya ever seen an ice tempest kid?” the pony continued, bleary-eyed, “They used to exist all normal-like you see, but nowadays unicorns summon ‘em up just for terrorizin’ us modest pony-folk. They’re these pony-sized elementals that just wanna freeze everything up... and hell, this town’s gotta be only thing around that ain’t frozen...”

Marco shook his head, giving up. “So you don’t know anything about the griffin that’s supposed to be in town?” he asked, dismounting the stool...

“You young’uns are so impatient.” the old stallion replied, “I was just gettin’ to the dang griffin!”

Marco’s ears perked up. “Oh? You do know something?” he asked with energy, “About the griffin?”

The drunk pony smiled through ugly yellow teeth. “Well, maybe I do...” he hinted, “maybe I don’t...”

Marco could see what was going on. “Tell me everything you know...” he sat down opposite the earth pony once again, “And the next round is on me.”

“You gots yourself a deal there sonny!” the drunk replied with a glimmer of enthusiasm, “I’ll swap you a brew for a story.”

Marco nodded slowly and turned his head to the bar without looking. “Barkeep!” he called, “A cider for the gentlecolt, on me.”

The drunk stallion giggled. “Alright, alright... where was I now?” he pondered, “Ah yes, the tempest. Well, it just so happens that this griffin yer asking for heard about our little tempest problem, and offered to take care of it in exchange for a modest fee and some lodging on the edge of town.”

“Why?” Marco asked, “Why would she offer to eliminate this tempest?”

“I can’t rightly say, but she called herself a bounty hunter, even though she was obviously just a wet-behind-the-ears rookie.” the pony responded, “Yep, I’ve seen a proper bounty hunter before, and she ain’t it. But she had the guts, that’s for damn sure.”

“Bounty hunter huh?” Marco frowned, “You talk as if you see hunters frequently.”

“Oh, sure. Because we do.” the drunk replied simply, “The valley over yonder is a favourite spot for any would be adventurers to test their mettle. Naturally, some of those fools happen to be vigilantes, but no matter what, they gotta pass through here to get to the valley.”

“Okay, okay... back to the griffin.” Marco said, steering the conversation back to his topic, “What was she doing here?”

“Well, she wanted to tango with the tempest so she could test her strength or something like that.” the old pony answered as he thought back, “But she wanted the lodging because she said she was waiting for somepony. A pegasus actually...”

Marco’s eyes narrowed. “Waiting?” he said, emphasising the meaning of the word, “You sure you don’t mean looking?”

“Nah, waiting is the right word.” the pony answered, confusion in his voice, “Staying here with a reason...”

“How many pegasi are in town at the moment?” Marco asked seriously, “Other than my blue friend at the bar?”

“You know, the griffin girl asked the same thing, but it’s the same answer for the both of ya. Zero.” the old drunk replied, “Other than your companion I mean...”

“Hrm... how close are we getting?” Marco asked himself out loud, “I wonder if this griffin has figured something out...”

“How am ah supposed to know?” the drunk replied, believing the question was for him, “I told ya everything I-”

Suddenly, the bartender approached the two ponies with the cider Marco had ordered for the old stallion. “Still finding fools to feed you drinks eh?” the bartender asked coyly, “This is the last one for you, ya hear me?”

“Oh don’t be like that!” the old pony moaned, “Ah... actually, never mind. I’m broke now anyway. Thanks for the brew kid!”

“Oh, and by the way...” the bartender said, tapping Marco on the shoulder, “I’m afraid I’m also going to have to cut your friend off too.”

“Friend?” Marco asked, but quickly went pale as he realized, “Oh... shit.”

The old pony snickered as he got stuck into the free cider he had been rewarded with. “One more question please...” Marco asked him as he made to leave, “Do you know where I can find the griffin?”

“I did say she had a lodge on the edge of town, but she won’t be there.” the pony replied, wiping foam from his muzzle, “She was going tempest hunting this morning, so ya should look for her up where we told her it’d be.”

“And where’s that?” Marco asked pointedly...

The drunk stallion laughed knowingly. “Where else?” he questioned with a grin, “Lost Valley...”

Marco left the old pony to his drink. Satisfied with the information, he made his way over to where Rainbow Dash was sitting. “Dash, I know where Gilda is.” he said, pulling her down from the bar stool, “Let’s get outta here...”

“Ah! Hey Marco!” the light blue pegasus exclaimed, almost falling from the bar stool as she did so, “What’s uh, did you say Gilda?”

At the sight of her, Marco’s face fell. “Damn it.” he muttered, having realized, “What did you drink?”

“I don’t uh... remember what it was called.” Rainbow Dash replied, “But I liked it.”

“Geez...” Marco moaned, addressing the bartender, “What the hell did you give her?”

The bar-pony pulled over a spare menu and indicated the drink Dash had bought. “Oh, excellent...” Marco said sarcastically as he inspected the item, “Trust her to find the cheapest and most potent thing here. More than one of those would have most ponies flat on their ass.”

Rainbow Dash swayed and found herself leaning against Marco for support. “Who was looking after who again?” he joked as he helped her out the door, “When I said you should buy I drink, I meant a hot chocolate or something...”

Now outside, Marco urged Rainbow Dash to take wing. After all, she couldn’t trip over thin air. “Seriously, you’re a mess.” he commented as she flopped around in the air above him, “I would’ve never thought you were such a lightweight-”

“Shut up.” the tipsy pegasus snapped back, “I’m fine. I just need to focus.”

Rainbow Dash narrowly avoided ploughing into a nearby street lamp. “Focus is right.” Marco snuffed a laugh, “Look, you don’t tell anypony I left you to your own devices back there, and I won’t tell anypony you let one drink get the best of you.”

“Deal.” Dash replied, conceding, “Anyway... what was that you were saying before about knowing where Gilda was?”

Marco watched Dash land next to him, committed to regaining herself. “I talked to a pony who knew that your griffin friend went out into the valley we just came from.” he told her, watching her put one hoof in front of the other as normally as she could, “Except she’s out hunting down something called an ice tempest, which is supposed to be in the valley on the east side of town.”

“Ice tempest?” Dash asked, forcing her concentration, “What in the hay is that?”

“No clue...” Marco replied honestly, “But hopefully, it’s not our problem.

“Oh and one more thing Dash...” Marco continued, “We came here looking for Gilda so she might help us look for the pegasus hero, but its possible she’s already found out where Tager’s gonna be.”

“Wait... what?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, not understanding, “Where?”

“Well, that’s the kicker...” Marco replied, “It could be here.In Hordimare. From what I’ve heard, Gilda might have had some way of knowing that Tager was coming here, and she got here first and is now waiting for her to show up.”

“Whoa. What has G been up to all this time?” Rainbow Dash breathed in surprise, “And Tager too. What in the world have those two been doing?”

“Hopefully you’ll get a chance to ask them.” Marco responded with a nod, “So sober up. It looks like you are in for a reunion.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head as she came to terms with what might be awaiting her in this tiny town. “But still... Gilda and Tager? Together?” she asked in disbelief, “What’re we gonna do? Go looking for them?”

“I was just thinking about that...” Marco replied, “And I wanted to run an idea by you.”

Marco leaned in close to the wobbling pegasus as he wondered how to word it for her. “Okay listen up. The ‘Lost Valley’ is a big place, and it’s dangerous too. I don’t want to go in there looking for Gilda and not find her, while being assailed by whatever dangers adventurers go there for.” he explained, doing his best to simplify, “Now, the pegasus hero isn’t here yet, or at least hasn’t come to town. I know because the locals haven’t seen any pegasi about. In other words, Gilda is still waiting for her to show up.”

“So?” Rainbow Dash responded, “Gilda might not even know anything, yet you want to wait with her for a hero that might not come?”

“No. I don’t want to wait for Tager to show up, I want to wait for Gilda to show up.” Marco corrected, “You get it? I said there are no pegasi in town, and Gilda’s looking for the one she thinks is coming. But you are a pegasus. And you are here.”

Rainbow Dash finally understood. “So if Gilda comes back from the valley and hears there’s a pegasus in town...” she said realizing, “She’ll think I’m Tager?”

“Exactly.” Marco replied, “We won’t need to find the griffin; she’ll come to us. And we can get her to tell us where the real Tager is gonna be, or at least how she figures it out.”

Something was still bothering Rainbow Dash. “So what are we gonna do ‘till G comes back?” she asked, “We just need to wait right?”

“We could wait, but we need to make sure Gilda hears that there’s a pegasus in town.” Marco said, trying to hide his expression, “And for that to work, we need to make sure everypony knows you’re here.”

“How do we do that?” Rainbow Dash questioned, “How do we get ponies talking about me?”

“Well...” Marco replied with a cough, “It depends. Do you want to do this the easy way, or the hard way?”

“What’s the easy way?” Dash asked, “And what’s the hard way?”

“The hard way is you running around town painting pony’s houses and rescuing their pets from trees.” Marco said as he shook his head, “The easy way is for you whip up a tornado and bring it through town while screaming ‘I am a pegasus hear me roar!’ or something...”

“Marco!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, appalled, “There’s no way I’m doing that!”

“Haven’t you ever heard?” the grey earth pony responded, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity-”

“Stop it.” she interrupted, “I won’t do anything bad. But I also don’t wanna do any of that other stuff...”

“Well, there is one other thing we could do, and it’s neither naughty, nor nice...” Marco said, leaning in even closer, “It’s dumb, but it’ll do the job...”

Rainbow Dash snorted a laugh. “How am I not surprised-” she made to say, but cut herself off as her hazed eyes caught onto something, “Hold up a sec Marco... are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

Marco followed the pegasus’ gaze and found himself staring at a black shape flying in low towards him. “It’s Paragonia...” he said, recognising the winged serpent, “That was fast. It’s only been a few hours hasn’t it? Has he got a letter?”

The jet-black Quetzalcoatl darted in and came to a hover just before the two ponies staring up at him. It dropped a note from its clutches and made that same weird sound from before...

“It’s the report.” Marco said, picking it up and opening it, “Hrm, looks like the phoenix was even faster than Paragonia. Twilight’s report is in here too.”

Marco gave Rainbow Dash enough room to place her head next to his as they both read the note.

‘Marco, Rainbow Dash, this is Captain Caliber.

I’m writing this report in lieu of the princess because she has already left the castle on her own business. I will be taking charge of communications for now, and I will continue to update everypony on each other’s progress until she returns. There has been no incidents in the city, and the guard is maintaining the peace in Luna’s absence. Applejack’s group should be well on their way to Appleoosa at the same time you receive this missive, and their last report was received an hour ago, saying that everything was fine on their end so far. Please update me on your progress and have Paragonia courier your reply as arranged.Good luck.’

“Looks like everypony’s about to get busy.” Rainbow Dash commented, having finished reading, “The princess sure didn’t waste any time.”

“And neither should we.” Marco replied, “Let’s get a reply sent quickly. Here, I’ve got the parchment in the saddlebags, you talk and I’ll scribe.”

Rainbow Dash collected her thoughts. “Ah, um... sure, I guess?” she stuttered as Marco readied his quill, “Wait, why don’t you do it? You’re better with words and stuff...”

“Well, we haven’t got anything urgent to add, so we might as well comfort your friends with a letter from you.” he said gently, “Don’t worry, I’ll edit it appropriately.”

“Ah, okay then.” Rainbow Dash said, trying to focus, “Hi, this is Rainbow Dash.
“Me and Marco made it to Hordimare just fine, and we know Gilda is around here too. Marco’s got a plan on how to track her down, but we’re still working on it. Oh, and also, we think Tager might be on her way Hordimare. We can’t say for sure and it’s all a bit confusing at the moment, but by the time we report again, we should have found Gilda and figured some of this out.

“Oh, and be careful everypony.” Rainbow Dash concluded, signing off, “How’s that?”

Marco scribbled onto the parchment for a few moments before he stopped and folded it. “Perfect.” he replied, passing the folded note to Paragonia, “I’m sure your friends will appreciate it.”

“Wait!” Rainbow Dash called as she saw the winged serpent about to fly off with the note, “Aren’t you guys gonna let me check it first?”

Paragonia didn’t seem to care. He would’ve flown away as intended, but Dash’s ‘liquid courage’ made her a little more imposing that she normally was. “Stop!” she insisted as she tugged the immortal creature by it’s tail back down to her level, “Lemmie see!”

The winged serpent responded by peppering the pegasus’ muzzle with his feathered wings, as if to say ‘let go’. Marco would’ve intervened if it wasn’t for what happened next...

Marco and Rainbow Dash hadn’t made it far from the bar when Paragonia came with his message, so when the bartender finally kicked out that drunken old stallion, his wobbly path back home inevitably connected with where the two ponies now stood.

He would’ve addressed Marco, but he didn’t have time to recognise the pony in the cowboy hat. His hazed eyes immediately shot to the creepy black creature the pegasus was wrestling with.

Now, it was at about this time that Marco remembered something he had read about Hordimare when he researched it all those years ago. The lore tells of a three thousand year old incident that caused the deep fissures surrounding the town. It is fabled that in that time gone by, a rouge star fell from the heavens and struck the ground, permanently sundering the landscape. The legends also told of a vicious creature that emerged from the fallen star, and wrecked havoc upon the land. They had a name for the creature but Marco couldn’t quite place it...

“Waah!” the drunk screamed, “It’s the black death! Everypony save themselves!”

That was it. The creature was dubbed ‘the black death’ in the legends. But those were just stories, there was no way Paragonia had that kind of history...

Marco shielded his ears as the drunken pony wailed and fled the scene, zigzagging in a stupor. Even Rainbow Dash and Paragonia paused their struggle and watched as dozens of pony heads popped out from their houses and observed the freaked out stallion.

But just as Marco thought he was about to see the locals dismiss the crazy pony on account of his elevated blood alcohol level, they too identified with the source of his fear and also started to freak out.

“What are you doing!?” one of the locals cried out, addressing Marco and Rainbow Dash, “Run away! That’s the beast of legends! The... the ‘thing’ that slithered out of the star that sundered this valley thousands of years ago!”

“It’s gonna kill us all!” somepony else screamed in the distance, “Somepony save us!”

Paragonia and Rainbow Dash just sat there, entangled in their paused brawl, watching as the whole town begun to loose their mind.

Marco whirled around to face the pair, an evil grin on his face. “What are you waiting for hero?” he asked with a wink, “Go save the village from the ‘scary’ monster! That will get ‘em talking!”

Chapter 9: High Noon at Appleoosa

From the Ashes

Chapter 9: High Noon at Appleoosa

The train bound for Appleoosa sped through the arid surroundings, the squeal of the rails piercing out into the dead of night. Given the hour, most of the carriages were darkened, the occupants within having decided to sleep. Yet there was still one carriage that’s interior still shone bright, and it was none other than the rearmost...

Ex-sergeant Ceasler stood in the centre of the living quarters, his cheeks blushing pink against his deep grey coat. His embarrassment was sourced by the collection of ponies staring at him, with one in particular especially committed to studying him. “Hurry up please.” he complained, “This is humiliating...”

Rarity stopped her examination short and turned her head up to the pegasus, seemingly uninterested in his discomfort. “Be that as it may...” she began, “This is a necessity.”

Twilight looked on while she took comfort in the bunk she was currently sharing with Pinkie Pie, who was happily snoring away. “Rarity’s right Mr. Ceasler.” she said, “If Rarity’s going to be making totems of us, she needs to make sure they’re as accurate as possible.”

“Indeed.” Rarity agreed, “It’s not a problem for the girls, but since I’ve just met you two, I have to make sure there’s no mistakes should I have to recreate your likeness... so to speak.”

“Recreate our likeness?” Applejack repeated with a smirk, “Something tells me you’re still strung up since you heard Twi’s had you playing around with voodoo magic...”

Rarity refused to let her composure waver. “Ahem. Well, Applejack...” she replied, “It may be a bit too, dare I say; ‘primitive’ for my tastes, but nevertheless, it is a small price for even a lady such as myself to pay in order to safeguard one’s friends.”

Ceasler continued to wriggle restlessly as Applejack let up on her teasing,
“Well, how admirable...” he commented, “I suppose.”

Rarity snapped her gaze to the pegasus before her, “How many time must I tell you to stop fidgeting?” she replied unamused, “I will only be another minute, I just want to make sure I get your mane correct.”

In the background, Slayde watched his partner’s every physical attribute get analysed. Fluttershy, spurred by something Rarity had just said, crept shyly up to the orange maned pegasus as he held back a laugh at Ceasler’s expense.

“Hello, um... excuse me...” she stammered, “I couldn’t help but notice before, but how come while all the night guards have the same silver coloured manes, you have an orange one?”

Slayde returned the pegasus’ timid gaze, her combination of curiosity and shyness making for a rather cute combination. “My mane huh?” he replied, looking up at the orange tuft of hair in front of his eyes, “You must have also noticed the helmet I used to wear?”

Fluttershy thought back and remembered the little difference between Slayde and Ceasler’s helmets. When the young unicorn took his off, it was obvious the mane atop it was fake. Ceasler’s on the other hand had not been fake; his mane seemed to be naturally yellow and his helmet had a hole for it come out from.

“Oh, yes... I remember that.” she said, “So why do you have a special helmet?”

“Special? I suppose you haven’t seen a guard take his helmet of before have you?” Slayde questioned, “Because I think you might find it’s hardly an oddity. Indeed, more often than not, guards have the same kind of helmet as me.

Fluttershy eased up and took another step forwards. “The how come Mr. Ceasler doesn’t?” she asked, “I saw that his had a hole on the top...”

Slayde nodded quietly, it was an understandable question. “He’s a bit older than most guards, and he’s been a part of the garrison a lot longer than the average sergeant.” he explained, “And since he’s an older member, he’s pretty devout to tradition.”

“Tradition?” Fluttershy asked, “What do you mean?”

“Ah, well... ‘back in the day’ as Ceasler calls it, the garrison had a pretty exclusive membership.” Slayde explained, “The emphasis was more on ceremony than law enforcement. As such, they were a bit more strict about what being a guard ‘meant’ as opposed to what a guard ‘does’, if that makes sense...

“What I mean is, historically speaking, the guard used to be made up entirely of a specific set of families who passed the duty of serving Celestia down through the generations.” he continued, “They weren’t permitted to interact with anypony outside a compatible gene pool, so it’s easy to see the reason for the ‘traditional’ concept of the grey coat, silver maned night guard.”

Fluttershy gulped. It sounded like being in the guard was serious business. “Oh my...” she replied, “The night guard sounds like a pretty tough crowd.”

“Perhaps, but the garrison’s overcome that phase.” Slayde said, “Hence me and half the other guards being recruited. Besides, it wasn’t just the night guard that was like that. The royal guard used to be especially strict on maintaining their own bloodline.”

Little did either of them know, that Twilight was silently listening to every word...
‘I suppose that’s another aspect of the social divisions Luna mentioned...’ she thought to herself, ‘It’s scary to think just how different Equestria must have been back then...’

“And then there’s Terra...” she continued her thoughts out loud, speaking the words very quietly, “What would happen if he dragged the world back to how it was one thousand years ago? Or even further?”

Twilight was snapped back to reality by Ceasler, who while she had been thinking, had finished up with Rarity and now made his way over to her. “It would be the end of everything.” he said, apparently overhearing her, “The world he envision does not, and can not exist.”

“His world?” Twilight questioned, “His perfect world?”

“That’s the problem with perfection Mrs. Sparkle; it doesn’t work in reality.” Ceasler replied, “He could try, but the one who would fell most strongly that his ideals had not been realized would be Terra himself.”

“What would happen then?” Twilight asked, “What would he do if he found out he couldn’t get what he wanted?”

Ceasler shook his head. “I think that’s enough for now Mrs. Sparkle.” he replied dismissively, “It’s late, and I don’t think this kind of talk is appropriate considering the fact we all need our rest.”

Twilight couldn’t help but yawn. “I suppose you’re right...” she agreed, “But can you stop calling me Mrs Sparkle? It makes me sound old.”

“But you’ve all been calling me Mr. Caliber this whole time, have you not?” he replied, “Don’t you think it makes me feel old too?”

From the bunk on top of Twilight, Pinkie Pie giggled uncontrollably,
“But you are old!” she exclaimed, “Mr. Caliber!”

Caliber just looked flatly up to the top bunk. He wasn’t aware the pink pony had woken up at some stage. “I’m going to bed.” he said deflated, “You better get some sleep too Slayde; tomorrow’s going to be busy.”

“That sounds like something my father would say.” he said cheekily, “Wait, no no... my grandfather!”

Ceasler stopped in his tracks and shot the young pegasus a furious stare. Words were not necessary; the hairs on the back of Slayde’s neck simply stood on end. “Yes sir. Right away sir.” he whimpered, “Sorry, sir...”

Ceasler continued silently on his path down the carriage, leaving poor Slayde trembling next to Fluttershy. “Psst...” the unicorn whispered, “Where’s my cabin?”

Fluttershy raised a timid hood and indicated the direction Ceasler went. “Oh, umm... that way.” she replied, “I think...”

“Okay... thank you.” he managed, “Good night girls.”

The girls watched Slayde leave his shame behind as he trotted slowly after his partner.

“Well...” Applejack begun, breaking the awkward silence, “That was pretty brutal.”

“Indeed.” Rarity agreed, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Fluttershy’s ‘stare’ has garnered some competition.”

“Stare?” Twilight asked confused, “What’s the stare-”

Twilight found herself cut off by Pinkie Pie giggling yet again. “Hehehe!” she laughed in a fit, “What are they doing?”

All five of the girl’s followed their friend’s gaze to the far end of the cabin to see both Ceasler and Slayde staring into their cabin with rather shocked and angry looks on their faces...

know he did this on purpose...” Ceasler hissed.

“The captain has such a cruel sense of humour.” Slayde sighed in agreement.

Fluttershy watched in bewilderment as the two ‘former’ night-guards bowed their heads as they stood before their assigned quarters. In the centre of the room were two small beds arranged on top of one another; a bunk-bed.

“What’s wrong with sharing a bunk?” she asked innocently, “Everypony shares a bunk in this carriage...”

Fluttershy let her voice trail off as the two pegasi became even further chagrined. “Did you want to switch with me maybe?” she offered, as among the five girls she was the one with a bunk to herself, “Um, I mean... if you want?”

Slayde shook his head. “Don’t pity the looser.” he said, “It’s shameful enough as it is...”

“Indeed.” Ceasler agreed, “Leave us with whatever pride we have left.”

“So...” Slayde hinted, changing tune, “Who gets the top bunk?”

“That’s obvious.” Ceasler replied, “Me. I outrank you.”

“Rank? What are you talking about?” Slayde grinned wide, “As of this morning, we’re equals. We ain’t guards on this mission-”

“Don’t pull that crap.” Ceasler warned, “You know damn well-”

“I’ll tell the captain on you!” Slayde responded with a warning of his own, “He wouldn’t be happy to know you broke your cover on something like this... he might even demote you!”

“Fine.” Ceasler replied, giving in, “So how do you suggest we settle this?”

“The honest way!” Slayde said, thrusting out his hoof, “We flip for it!”

“Alright.” Ceasler agreed, returning the young unicorn’s gesture, “You’re on.”

Twilight trotted quietly up to Fluttershy and Applejack who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. “It really didn’t take them very long to drop their serious attitude.” she asked as she watched the pair debate over the result of their game, “I hope they’re as dependable as the captain said.”

I would rather hope that we won’t need to find out.” Rarity said from the sidelines, relaxing on the top of the bunk she was sharing with Applejack, “Besides, this may simply be their way of passing the time-”

Rarity was cut off mid sentence as a loud thump echoed out from above. The suddenness of it was enough to bounce Applejack out of bed.

“What in the hay was that?!” she exclaimed, “Tell me ya’ll heard that?”

The sounds echoed out again, repeating in quick succession as dull thunks against the top of the carriage. “There’s something on the roof!” Slayde exclaimed, running back over to the girls, “It’s moving up the train...”

Fluttershy made to cower, and Ceasler quickly covered her defensively with his wings spread wide. “How did it sneak up on the train?” he asked, “That’s not something an amateur can do...”

“Oh my...” Rarity breathed as she looked out the window next to her bunk, “It’s not ‘it’, it’s them!”

“Huh?” Ceasler replied in confusion as he clambered up onto Rarity’s bunk to see what she was referring to, “What are you- by Celestia... are those buffalo?”

Twilight felt a drop of cold sweat slither down her neck. “It’s just like the last time!” she cried, “What’s going on?! I don’t understand! Why-”

“Calm down.” Slayde interjected, “What happened last time?”

Twilight shook of her surprise. “The Buffalo tribe wanted to steal the tree in the last carriage so they raided the train and disengaged the rearmost-”

“Hey look!” Pinkie Pie interrupted, “It’s Little Strongheart! Hi!”

Everypony in the carriage swiveled to face the intruder. It was a small, muscular buffalo girl who seemed to have a history with Pinkie Pie and the others. Her expression was masked by shadows...

“What’s going on?” Slayde asked, “Who’s the girl?”

Little Strongheart looked up and revealed her face.
“I’m sorry to meet you all again like this...” she finally said, her eyes were imploring, “But this is something I have to do.”

Slayde saw the future and realized what was about to happen. He tried to intervene, but the buffalo girl was too quick and too agile. Before he could get close enough to stop her, she unlatched the master link holding their carriage; the rearmost one, and disengaged it from the rest of the train.

Ceasler couldn’t tell what was going on or why it was happening, but there was at least one thing that was clear to him. They were no longer a part of the train headed to Appleoosa...

It was his job to make sure that wasn’t a permanent problem. And there was still one window of opportunity, but it was closing rapidly. “Slayde!” he yelled, “I’m going to fly out after the train and tell them they’ve lost a carriage and need to stop! You handle things here!”

Ceasler knew that if this heist was a feint, it was being done in order to distract him here and leave the girls vulnerable. And since Slayde was a unicorn and thus unable to chase down the train, Ceasler had no choice but to leave the ponies still in the carriage to him.

So with that, Ceasler shot off the mark, peeling left in an attempt to dodge Little Strongheart on his way out the connecting doorway. He didn’t make it very far. At the last moment, the buffalo girl lashed out, tackling him in mid air and sending the both of them tumbling out of reach of the train carriage, and into the clutches of the stampeding buffalo crowd.

Slayde bit his lip to see his partner go down. The carriage was still going quickly along the tracks, so it promptly whooshed past Ceasler and the horde of buffalo, but it was slowing, and the train was almost out of sight. He wasn’t sure if he should try his luck with an in-motion teleportation spell so he could make to the train like his pegasus counterpart had intended, or stay here and protect this carriage as instructed. In the next few seconds however, the decision was made for him.

But the choice was neither to chase the train nor defend the carriage. He jumped recklessly out into the desert the moment he saw the huge buffalo mob break away from the train and converge on his partner.

“Ceasler!” he yelled as his teleportation magic flared, ready to deliver him to the brawl, “Hold on!”

Ceasler couldn't squirm free from the little buffalo’s grip as they bumped and rolled across the ground. They continued to tumble until they finally slowed down and separated from one another. The pegasus recovered quickly, but the buffalo girl was already back on her hooves...

“Please wait!” Little Strongheart exclaimed, “Let me explain-”

But Ceasler wasn’t about to wait. He was surrounded by a horde of massive buffalo, and was not about to waste any time with words. The first chance got, he lashed out at Little Strongheart with a vicious headbutt.

Her buffalo companions saw her go down and moved in on the pegasus with flaming eyes. The outmatched pegasus was a moment away from being enveloped before his reinforcements arrived to balance the teams.

An orange burst of magic flared out from next to Ceasler, and Slayde emerged from the light with his magic primed. With a flourish, he arched his neck and flicked it, the horn on his head extending out an intangible orange whip. Following the movement of his head, the crackling magic lashed out and pushed back the encirclement of buffalo.

With their opponents staggered, the two guards strafed, circling defensively as they promptly became surrounded again by the intimidating mass of buffalo. For their part, the woolly creatures moved as a unit, not loosing any momentum as they helped the dazed Little Strongheart get back up on her hooves...

“What do you think sir?” Slayde asked, his eyes deadly, “Fifty-fifty?”

“Half?” Ceasler remarked, “Damn it. I’m too old for this crap...”

The buffalo edged in closer, but Little Strongheart interjected. “Please stop!” she pleaded, “Give us a chance to explain!”

“You gave up that chance when you attacked us!” Slayde snapped, “We’ve lost the train and now you’re gonna pay!”

“Wait!” Little Strongheart made to object, but before she could finish uttering the word, an unexpected force cut her off...

A tiny white flash illuminated the night-time landscape as Twilight Sparkle teleported herself and her four friends into the centre of the buffalo huddle. “Everybody wait!” she yelled, stopping everyone in their tracks.

“Urp...” Applejack groaned as she put a hoof to her muzzle, her stomach churning, “Warn us next time yer gonna do that...”

“I didn’t know it was going to happen!” Twilight replied, looking down to Luna’s amulet as it seemed to shine, “What in the-”

“Whoa-wee!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, seemingly unaffected by the teleportation sickness that was gripping everypony else, “That was funky!”

“I feel funny...” Fluttershy moaned, “What’s going on?”

“Well, I for one am okay.” Rarity pointed out, maintaining her composure, “Must be a unicorn thing.”

Applejack shook her head vigorously, putting aside her queasiness in preference of finding out what was currently going on. “That’s you there ain’t it Lil’ Strongheart?” she asked, “What in tarnation are you playing at?”

“You know this girl?” Ceasler asked as he maintained his defensive posture, “Yet this happened?”

“Why in the wide world of Equestria would you do this?” Twilight questioned, “We need to get to Appleoosa!”

“I know.” Little Strongheart replied, “And I was sent here to stop you. I’m sorry, but this was the only way it could be done.”

“What are you talking about?” Pinkie Pie asked concerned, “You’re scaring us Strongheart...”

* * * *

The sun was shining over Appleoosa by the time the train hissed to a stop, safe in the docking of the settlement town’s railway station. By all appearances it was just another day in the desert town, but there was an unusual amount of attendants waiting as the train prepared to unload. Even so, they were all eerily silent, the shadows of their headgear hiding their invisible expressions.

The doors of the train slip open, and the passengers didn’t waste a second before clambering out, stretching their legs from the overnight trip. No sooner than the train emptied however, the attendants quickly blocked off the exits, and a sub group moved into the stationary train as if to search the carriages.

Before the intimidated passengers could question what was going on, a slim earth pony moved out from the attendants. Unlike the local earth ponies around her, her coat was a shiny red, and it hadn’t yet been weathered by the arid landscape. Indeed, coupled with her condescending pink eyes and flowing purple mane, she appeared as if she had never worked a day in her life. So even at a first glance, it was obvious to the passengers that she was not an Appleoosan. In fact, it was possible that one or two of the frightened group has seen her face before. After all, hers was a face that had ended up plastered about quite a few towns, advertising a significant reward for her capture.

“Your attention please.” she said softly, with an apparent grace that bellied what one would expect of a bounty head, “It has come to our attention that there exists a certain party of troublemakers who have smuggled aboard this train, harbouring the ill-intention to kidnap from this town a pony of great interest. Please give us your cooperation as we apprehend the suspects.”

It was then that the group of passengers noticed that the group of train attendants who were unable to make eye contact were not station workers at all. They all bore the badge of the town’s local sheriff department. It seemed as though the lawponies were at the command of this strange and somehow intimidating earth pony.

It was then that a series of crashing and clanking could be heard from inside the train. Eventually, the train driver was booted from the engine and made to slump by the edge of the platform.

Following behind the pained driver, another out-of-place earth pony strode out from the train, her muzzle scowled with disappointment. For the briefest of moments, the group of passengers were further stunned to see that this mare was identical in appearance to the other that stood before them. But as twins often are, their personalities could not be more different. While they both had the same pink eyes, red coat and purple manes, the one emerging from the train was as rugged as rugged comes. Her muzzle were perpetually set into a malicious and toothy smile, her coat and mane were tangled and unkempt, and her eyes simply screamed rebellion.

“It’s no good sis!” she drawled, poking at the driver with a firm hoof, “They ain’t on here! The back carriage has even been knocked off! Why, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say somepony tipped ‘em off!”

The rough spoken earth pony casually trotted her way up to her more placid counterpart, eyeing the little group of rag-tag passengers as she did so.

“Is that so?” the calm sister confirmed, “How unfortunate.”

“What’cha wanna do?” came the reply, “Hit the desert and go looking that missing carriage?”

“Stay here and keep an eye on our guests.” the graceful twin ordered, “And please prevent our conscripted allies from doing something regrettable.”

“Where are you goin’ then sis?” the scruffy sister asked, her menacing grin temporary flipping to one of confusion, “They won’t be in the town for sure...”

“I’m going to report the situation.” the well-spoken twin turned to leave, “If someone was fool enough to intervene, then he will most certainly need to ‘confer’ with that sheriff.”

At the mention of Silverstar, one of the painfully silent lawponies made to break away from his tamed status and pursue, knowing what the outlaw truly meant by the term ‘confer’...

But no sooner had he put a hoof forward, the aggressive twin was upon him and she swiftly punished him for the attempt, knocking him to the ground in a single blow.

“Let that be a reminder to some of you, and a first lesson to the rest!” she spat, indicating the now-grovelling stallion for the frightened group of passengers, “If this town lets us have what we came ‘ere for, you’ll have us to thank when Terra’s back on top and earth ponies like us are gifted what we’re owed.

“But until then, just shut up and do as yer told.” she concluded, “If you don’t like it, hold your tongue or so help me I’ll pull it out. This town is already ours!”

* * * *

“And that’s how it is.” Little Strongheart reasoned, “Appleoosa’s been taken over by an absolutely unbeatable foe, and he knew you would be coming to find the Scryer! We had no choice but to disconnect your carriage, or who knows what would’ve happened if you made it to the town!”

The little buffalo lead the pack back to camp, essentially escorting their pony companions. She had been explaining everything she knew about what was going on, and it was a shock to say the least...

“If what you’re saying’s true... and I’m not saying it is...” Ceasler spoke up, still bitter about their earlier brawl, “Then how did you buffalo get involved? What’s it got to do with you?”

As he finished his question, the group finally arrived back at the buffalo camp. Strangely enough, there was somepony waiting for them.

“Cuz!” Braeburn beamed, overjoyed at Applejack’s safety, “Thank heavens ya’ll okay!”

“Braeburn?!” Applejack said in shock, but embraced her cousin all the same, “I was worried you’d still be at Appleoosa! What in the hay are you doing here?”

“He’s the one that risked his life trying to save you guys.” Little Strongheart replied, “The whole town was bullied into silence, but he ran off and practically begged us to help stop you from making it to Appleoosa. So we did the only thing we could...”

Ceasler sighed, in part due to guilt, but also due to the bad news concerning the takeover of Appleoosa. “It seems as though an apology is in order.” he admitted wholeheartedly, “I jumped to judgements while you were risking yourselves to keep us from harm. It is not only my apology that is owned, but my thanks as well.

“But sentiments aside, our understanding is still, well... incomplete.” he continued, turning to Braeburn, “Start from the beginning. What happened at Appleoosa?”

“It started about two days ago.” the yellow earth pony recounted, “First thing I noticed was a handful of ponies I didn’t quite recognise, which was odd, considerin’ Appleoosa ain’t the biggest town out there. Anyway, eventually they blast out from the woodwork, and before you know it, they’ve got the town wrapped around their back hoof. Silverstar tried to stop ‘em a’course, but it was hopeless. He was too strong.”

“He?” Applejack stopped her cousin, “Who’s he?”

“Never got a name I’m afraid.” Braeburn shook his head, “But I won’t be forgetting that power of his any time soon. I can barely describe it... it was like, evil, black, magicy stuff. Us earth ponies really got put in our place.”

“That sounds like Luna’s description of Terra...” Slayde commented, “Either that, or it’s black magic. Either way, it can’t be good.”

Ceasler turned around, scanning over the group of ponies that had followed quietly behind. There were five of them, but since the train incident they had remained uncomfortably silent. It was obvious the recent turn of events had left them fearful.

“What happened after they had the town submitting?” the pegasus asked, “And what conditions did they have them obeying?”

“Well, Silverstar gave ‘em what they wanted pretty quick. And ta be honest, I’m glad he did. We were at a serious risk of ponies getting hurt if we kept resisting.” Braeburn replied, “Anyway, they rounded us up and this soft spoken earth pony girl gave a speech. She was saying that the earth ponies were rising once more, and that we should join with some King feller and help ‘em overthrow the princess. It sounded all so strange to us, but I’ve started to hear whispers that our town ain’t the first to be struck like this. Earth pony settlements, scattered far and wide and out of range of help are being bullied into joining up.”

“But that wasn’t all they wanted from you was it?” Ceasler asked, the conclusion obvious to him, “There was one more condition wasn’t there?”

Braeburn tipped his broad hat over his eyes. “You reckon right.” he said grimly, “Turns out we’ve had a prophet in our midst, that this King needed for something. There’s no way we could know what for, but his name was Scryer or something. I never knew ‘em myself, but-”

“Would you know where he is?” Slayde cut in, “It was our mission to find him and escort him safely back to Canterlot.”

“I’m sorry to say, but he’s gone.” Braeburn replied solemnly, “Soon as they had the town, they whisked him off to who knows where. I’ll tell you what though, it ain’t anywhere near Appleoosa.”

“In that case, what do we do?” Twilight finally spoke up, “Beating us to Scryer means that Terra’s now the only one who can figure out who the heroes are! Without a prophet, we can’t find the heroes, we can’t stop Terra, and we can’t save Celestia!”

The rest of the girls were silent. There was no denying it; the situation was utterly bleak. They had seemingly lost the battle for Appleoosa without even getting there...

“There’s still one thing I’ve been waiting to mention...” Braeburn spoke up, “There’s a reason besides waiting for you to show up that those folk haven’t left Appleoosa yet.”

“And why is that?” Ceasler asked, Twilight’s words still sapping his motivation.

“Well, maybe it’s best described like this...” the earth pony replied, swapping his focus to the silent group of ponies behind Twilight, “Ya’ll remember when you helped us out when us and the buffalo here were still over a barrel?”

“Well, duh.” Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes, the first to respond out of the group, “It wasn’t that long ago...”

“Well, what if I told ya’ll a certain somepony foretold that we’d be buttin’ heads before it happened?” Braeburn asked, “What if I said that, on a whim, he prophesied that the buffalo and the Appleoosans would be fighting over the land?”

“So Scryer’s the real deal huh?” Slayde replied, shaking his head, “This only confirms what we’ve lost-”

“You ain’t listening.” the earth pony cut the young unicorn off, “The pony who told us ‘bout the buffalo was just a colt, that’s why nopony listened. Ya’ll coming here and talking about prophecy and what not, I know now that the kid’s gift ain’t no coinki-dink.”

“So when you said there was still a reason why the invaders haven’t left Appleoosa yet...” Ceasler joined the dots, “You couldn’t mean-”

“Now yer gettin’ it!” Braeburn exclaimed, “The little clot’s name is Torrin, and wouldn’t you know it, he’s Scryer’s boy. And guess what? They haven’t found him yet...”

At that moment, a piercing coo could be heard from high above, and before anypony knew it, a red bolt of flame dived down into the centre of the buffalo camp.

“It’s Philomena!” Fluttershy finally spoke, relived somewhat at seeing the phoenix once more, “I guess she has a letter...”

“Sir?” Slayde spoke up from beside Ceasler, “What should we do? Could we use the colt the earth pony mentioned instead of Scryer? Or did we really come all this way for nothing?”

“Let’s see what the phoenix brought before we decide.” the pegasus replied, “Can I please have the letter?”

Twilight’s compulsion was to read it first, but she handed it over to the night guard to hear his serious tone. She thankfully removed the scroll from Philomena and passed it directly onto Ceasler.

“Thank you.” he said as he accepted it and broke the seal without waiting about, “Let’s see what it says...”

Girls, this Captain Caliber, once again forwarding on communications with Rainbow Dash’s group. They have reached the town of Hordimare without incident, and expect to make contact with Gilda soon. This what they wrote:

Dear Twilight and friends, this is Rainbow Dash and Marco.

We have confirmed that Gilda is currently based in Hordimare, and it seems as if she truly does have a way to tell where Tager is. It is highly possible that the first hero is here in Hordimare, and by the time Paragonia returns, we will surely have a better idea. Until then, things are progressing steadily on our end. Be safe everypony. Good luck.

P.S. When Paragonia was about to send this message off, an interesting development occurred. It would seem as if Luna’s pet Quetzalcoatl has a history with Hordimare. Dash and I managed to take advantage of the of the situation by pretending to save the town from what they regarded to be certain doom, and Dash has become exalted as the town’s saviour. If we play this right, we will have little trouble making our presence known to Gilda. Once again, stay safe.

While they have yet to turn up anything solid on Tager, their group is making decent headway. Here in Canterlot, things have unfortunately taken a turn for the worst. Reports are coming in from the guard concerning the hostile takeover of several primarily earth pony populated settlements and villages, and while we have heard nothing from Appleoosa, it would be wise to regard the town as being vulnerable. With so many of our forces deployed in Navaras, and an even further amount scattered all over Equestria to act as our information network, the guard that I have sent to respond to these recent takeovers have left our forces at Canterlot dangerously depleted. With this in mind, I remind you that the collection of the prophet Scryer is your top priority. We cannot discern the heroes without his aid.

Have Philomena burn this letter once you have read it. I cannot afford for the enemy to know Canterlot has become vulnerable. Also give her an update on your progress so far.

Ceasler’s eyes narrowed determinedly as he finished reading the letter. Twilight and Slayde had read it over the pegasus’ shoulder, and were considerably more doubtful.

“What now?” Slayde spoke up, “Scryer may have been priority one, but we can’t get him.”

“We’re just lucky that the buffalo stopped us from walking into a trap.” Twilight added, “Even still, what can we do now?”

A moment’s silence. “They’re counting on us to come through.” Ceasler finally spoke, “And I’m not about to let them down...

“Twilight.” the pegasus turned, “Take a letter please.”

The unicorn gulped to see the hardened eyes of Ceasler gazing right at her. She immediately complied, whipping out quill and parchment in her magic, ready to document the old guard’s words.

“Captain, this is Ceasler.” he begun, “Our group has encountered a significant and unfortunate development. It seems as though our mission was known by the enemy, and it is only thanks to the intervention of a local Appleoosan and his buffalo allies that we were able to avoid being delivered right to the enemy. It is also the case that they occupied the town with the same intention as us. The prophet Scryer is in their possession, and he had been placed beyond our reach.”

Ceasler took a second to collect his thoughts, his eyes closing and teeth clenching. The scribble of Twilight’s quill ceased as she waited for the pegasus to continue...

His jaw set, Ceasler finally opened his eyes. “We’ve been beaten to the prize on this one Captain, but it would seem that fate is still providing for us.” his tone shifted, “There exists a child that apparently shares the same ability as the Scryer, and I am somewhat hopeful to the truth of it in learning that this ‘Torrin’ is the child of our original aim. It seems he has eluded capture so far, and we intend to be the ones who find him first.

“Make no mistake, we are fully aware that we must be successful here in order for the efforts of the others to mean something.” he continued, “With that in mind, we are headed to Appleoosa with all haste, and we will find the child and return him to Canterlot without fail.

“We haven’t come all this way for nothing, and we will not waste the hope the others have placed in us to do this right.” Ceasler concluded, “The enemy rests tonight, and we infiltrate Appleoosa. By noon tomorrow, we shall have the child in our possession and be ready to return to Canterlot. Count on it.”

The scratch of Twilight’s quill upon the parchment stopped a few moments after he had finished. Having been sure to reproduce every word accurately, the unicorn silently furled the letter and slipped it into Philomena's waiting talons.

Slayde nodded to the phoenix as he held up the message she had delivered. With a precise flick of the wing, the parchment caught fire and crumbled away, being destroyed as Caliber had instructed.

As Philomena flew off into the distance, the silence was unbearable. Just as it became too much, Twilight finally mustered the nerve to speak up.

“What do we do now-” she made to ask, but was cut off as Ceasler stomped the ground and took a decisive step forwards.

“Let’s go!” he ordered, “Every second we dwell here is another second freely given to the enemy to steal from us our last hope. We’re going to Appleoosa. We’re going now. We’re going to complete our mission and claim what we need to save Equestria from the tyranny of a mad king.”

“Hold on now.” Braeburn cut in, “That was a great speech and all, but I wasn’t done talking about the kid when that bird of yers showed up.”

Ceasler raised an impatient eyebrow. “Is that so?” he remarked, “And you were waiting until now to continue?”

“Well ah woulda made my point, but I could stand to interrupt yer little determined display.” the earth pony replied, “It certainly made me feel a little more confident in this otherwise bleak situation.”

“So about the child...” Ceasler stayed on topic, “Is this revelation of your more bad news? Or do we finally get to hear a little of the good?”

“Heh, well... let’s just say I’m not the only one still fightin’ back against the villains who took over the town.” Braeburn smiled, “And while Silverstar seems to be following the every beck and call of the invaders from the outside, on the inside, he’s secretly doing the most important job in keeping them from getting their way.”

“I don’t get it.” Twilight admitted, “Hang on... You couldn’t mean-”

“I absolutely could.” Braeburn winked, “Silverstar’s been keeping Torrin sheltered from the start! He’s been holding out for somepony to come take him ever since his father was stolen and the colt went runnin’. The whole town thinks the sheriff’s given up, but in fact, he’s doing the hardest thing of all!”

Caliber tuned on the spot once more, facing back out toward the desert night. “He has our thanks.” he begun, “The least we can do is make certain his pains have not been for nothing. So enough chit-chat... it’s time for us to go get our prophet.”

Slayde took a step out after his partner, but turned to the group behind him before advancing. “I’ve heard that you girls have made your way through some pretty sticky situations in the past, but this is a whole different story.” he warned, “This could get very dangerous; if you don’t want to risk it, then stay here with the buffalo. We won’t be able to sneak with too large a group anyway.”

Slayde look to Ceasler and smiled to see the fire returning to the old pegasus’ eyes. He could scarcely imagine how formidable he must have been in his prime. Joining him on his march out toward Appleoosa, the young unicorn called out one last time...

“So...” he addressed the silent group, “If you were serious when you said you wanted to save this world, then follow us!”

* * * *

It was morning by the time the unlikely group had made it inside Appleoosa. Braeburn had gone in first and salvaged a few disguises. Much to Rarity’s chagrin, the unicorns were provided a trio of ugly and oversized broad-brim hats to conceal their horns and make them appear as simple local earth ponies. Fluttershy received a puffy dress that served to cover her wings, while Ceasler’s feathers were covered by a chunky pie-slinger waistband. For extra measure, the necklace around Twilight’s neck was cleverly hidden under a scarf. And while such a thing stood out in a hot desert town, it was still far less noticeable than the alien-looking amulet that was beneath it.

“Are we close yet?” Twilight panted, sweltering hot underneath the scarf, “I feel like I’m gonna faint...”

A few nearby locals looked on in awkward concern at the seemingly ill ‘earth pony’, but otherwise, the disguised group managed to play it cool. Walking right through the town proper, the cautious ponies swaggered past the deceptively attentive eyes of the converted lawponies.

“Please bear with it...” Slayde said from underneath his goofy hat, “But it’s gotta be around here somewhere.” he continued, his eyes drifting over to Braeburn, “Didn’t you say it was by the town square?”

“Silverstar’s house is just around the bend.” the earth pony replied, keeping his voice somewhat hushed, “That’s where the kid is. But to be honest, I’m more worried about getting him out. There’s no way we’re gonna be able to sneak him out with these guys still lookin’ for him.”

“We do this one step at a time.” Ceasler cut in, his advice seasoned, “Planning too far ahead is the same as being distracted. We’re not there yet-”

Almost as if in response to what he said, the whole group came to a jarring halt. Ceasler held his hoof out, silently signalling for them to stop. Before Twilight could ask why, she saw them...

The twins strutted their way down the main street casually enough, the one on the left strutting along wither her toothy smile snarling away for all the world to see.

“Come out already you little shit!” she roared, the passing locals shuddering at her vulgar demand, “I never liked hide an’ go seek! Just come out already!”

“To be honest, I tire of this also.” the twin’s polar opposite replied, “Perhaps we shouldn’t focus on finding the child itself, but instead see if we can’t coerce the local populace into sharing their insight?”

“Now that’s a good idea sister!” the brash earth pony exclaimed, immediately seizing the opportunity to harass the closest Appleoosans, the unfortunate pair being mother and daughter, “Excuse me mum, but your kid’s been looking at me funny. Haven’t you taught her that it’s rude to stare?”

The mare instinctively ushered her filly out of harms way, but the outlaw would have none of it. Roughly pushing the mother to the ground, her true target became revealed...

“Not real shy are ya kiddo?” she grinned, “A cute lil’ brat like you oughta have lots of lil’ friends right? You wouldn’t happen to know this tiny little egghead called ‘Torrin’ would ya?”

Not too far down the road, observing the scene unfold, Ceasler leaned in on his partner, making sure to keep his voice hushed. “Slayde...” he whispered, “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

“There’s no mistake sir.” the unicorn replied deadpan, also watching the interrogation take place, “Those two are the twins... the crimson sisters... Foxtrot and Tango; the forth and fifth most wanted ponies in all of Equestria. What could they be doing here?”

“Yeah, I heard bout them bounty heads...” Braeburn nodded discreetly, “I dun know how nor why, but apparently that king feller’s got the number one through to number six of the top most wanted working under him.

“Booty whats?” Pinkie Pie asked, her keen instincts warning her of the danger the twins seemed to emanate, “Who’re they?”

“The ‘most wanted’ is a list of the most wicked souls in all of Equestria.” Slayde answered, not taking his eyes of the sisters, “Listen up, for if your friend isn’t mistaken when he says the top six have been brought together, you need to know who they are.

“Number six is an earth pony going by the name Mageblaze.” he explained, “He’s the infamous ringleader of a roughneck gang of violent earth ponies. As far as five and four go, well... you’re looking at ‘em.”

“The one that is secretly looking at us and staying quiet is Foxtrot, and she’s the more dangerous of the sisters.” Ceasler took over for his partner, having noticed that his group was already being observed, “Tango might be loud and threatening, but it’s not her that you need to watch out for. If you drop your guard for even a second, her sister will pounce like a snake.

“The third highest bounty head is also an earth pony, and the most dangerous of his kind on the list.” Ceasler kept whispering, “His name is Atlas Black, and he-”

“And what are you babbling about over there gramps?” Tango spat, the vicious earth pony suddenly upon the group, baring down on Ceasler with venomous intent, “I hate it when ponies talk shit behind my back...”

"I was just expressing my concern for the child." Ceasler replied as coolly as possible, "Nothing more."

“Perhaps your concerns are better directed elsewhere?” a soft voice called from out of Ceasler’s field of vision, “It is not very wise to offend my sister.”

Ceasler absolutely froze in place. Foxtrot had snuck up on him in a way she had done to many unfortunate souls, and the old pegasus shuddered to think what kind of unpleasant end such ponies normally met. If this criminal had willed it, Ceasler would have just been killed in cold blood.

“That’s a funny dress you’ve got on there girly.” Tango broke the tension, circling around the old guard and putting her scowled muzzle disturbingly close to poor Fluttershy, “Don’t you think it’s a bit dusty for something like that?”

Fluttershy was beyond petrified, and totally exposed before the intimidating gaze of the brash twin. Twilight made to intervene, but she soon became a target too...

“Her choice in clothing isn’t half as strange as yours.” Foxtrot commented, her expression blissfully neutral, “Feeling a bit cold on this desert morning were we?”

“Really Fox? I thought you were smart!” Tango laughed, abandoning her focus on Fluttershy so as to mock her other half, “Whenever somepony’s wearing a scarf on a hot day like this, it means they’re hiding something!”

Twilight’s eyes pinged open in surprise to think her disguise had been discovered. By way of confirmation, Tango pointed out Twilight’s shock to her twin.

“See?” she questioned, chuckling somewhat, “What’d I tell ya? Somepony hickie’d the bitch! Bahaha!”

“That’s disgusting.” Foxtrot’s face broke from its blank state so as to frown, “I’d prefer to be ignorant to what that is, but it seems your vulgar tongue has rubbed off on me. I feel... dirty.”

“You’re welcome!” her twin boomed, her evil grin transforming into a more honest smile, “Who says I still can’t teach you things?”

“Whatever...” Foxtrot rolled her pink eyes, “Let’s get out of here; I’m tired of looking for the child. We’ve got to report back to him. We’ve got until noon before everypony’s being pulled to the town square.”

“About time we gave up.” Tango replied, joining her sister as the pair exited the scene, “I can’t wait to finally be out of this fuckin’ heat!”

The group’s brush with disaster passing with the twin’s departure, they all seemed to release that breath they had been holding as one.

“Thank Celestia...” Slayde breathed, “That could have been the death of us.”

“You ain’t kidding...” Applejack agreed, “C’mon, let’s get to Silverstar’s place before we run into any more of these darn bounty heads!”

“My cuz is right, we gotta get a move on!” Braeburn shook off his shock, “Follow me, it’s just up here!”

At the earth pony’s direction, the wary group made their way to Silverstar’s humble abode without further incident. And while their top priority was being discreet, they certainly didn’t waste much time before they hurried inside and got away from prying eyes.

Silverstar’s house was pretty much what they expected. A hat-rack stood by the door with a small collection of practically identical broad-brim hats, and the only decoration the spartan house had was the odd framed portrait of some grizzled and hardened looking earth pony. There was a staircase leading up to a second floor, and in splitting up and confirming there wasn’t a soul on the ground floor, the moved as one up the stairs and pushed open the door at the top.

The second floor of Silverstar’s house was like another world. First of all, it was dark. Shutters were shut, curtains were drawn, and the only light to be had was coming from a tiny lantern in the corner and a pair of candles that had been burning for so long they had become little more than blobs of wax.

Twilight was the first to notice that there were a few dusty tomes laid about that seemed a bit too wordy for somepony like Silverstar to possess. It was Slayde however that saw that one such tome was still open...

“Looks like somepony’s home after all.” Applejack whispered, having also noticed the book, “You weren’t kidding around were you cousin?”

“Quiet.” Ceasler interrupted sharply, feeling the invisible gaze of a child upon him, “The kid’s up here...”

A sudden shadow of movement in the already darkened room caught Twilight’s eye, and Pinkie Pie’s ears perked up to hear the scamper of tiny hoofsteps shuffle toward her. She turned to find a little bifocaled colt make to sneak past her, but in seeing the pink earth pony look his way, he lurched to a shocked halt and diverted left.

“W...wait!” Pinkie tried to call out, holding her hoof forwards as Torrin escaped her, “Don’t be afraid! We’re not gonna hurt you!”

The sound of the panicked colt trying to flee grew louder as his fear that he’d been discovered was confirmed. In his rut he unconsciously ran back out into the open, bumping roughly into Rarity’s unsuspecting leg. Lip trembling and eyes wide, he backed up fearfully from the surprised unicorn. As all eyes fell upon his vulnerable figure, his innocent mind informed him that it was game over...

“Settle down child!” Ceasler roared, seeing the colt’s panic, “We’re not with them!”

“I don’t believe you!” Torrin cried, doing his best to get back to his hooves and make a final charge for the door, “Sheriff! Help-”

Out of nowhere, Fluttershy dived in, stopping Torrin in his tracks and cancelling his shout with a strict but gentle hoof to his muzzle. “It’s okay.” her angelically calm voice soothed the child, “We aren’t like them. We’re here to help; you can trust us.”

“She’s not playing around kiddo.” Slayde approached, disarming in his own right, “We’re the real deal. We came to get you outta this town.”

Torrin wordlessly broke from Fluttershy’s hold and shook his head vigorously. “I’m not leaving!” he exclaimed, “They’ve got my dad! Silverstar said that until he comes back-”

“Listen Torrin.” Applejack cut in, ready to drop the hard truth on the colt, “Fact is, the bad guys have already taken your dad out of Appleoosa. The sheriff did a good job keeping you safe, but things have changed. We’ve gotta get you out of here, and fast.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you!” Torrin shot back, “I don’t trust you anyway! You’re probably more of them fanatics!”

“Take a closer look.” Twilight spoke up, magically casting off the concealing costumes of herself and friends, revealing the group to be made up of earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi, “We’re on your side Torrin. And we will do whatever we can to help find your father, but Applejack is right. The first thing we have to do is get you to safety.”

“I don’t get it...” the little colt said reservedly, “If you’re not with them, then who are you with? Who are you guys?”

“We’re with Princess Luna, and we’re the ones whose job it is to stop Terra from getting his way.” Twilight replied confidently, “But in order to do that, we need your help.”

“Your job?” Torrin raised a little eyebrow at the implication, “But... but you aren’t the heroes...”

“Huh?” Twilight was taken aback slightly, “What do you-”

Ceasler stopped her by quickly lifting his hoof up into the space between the two ponies. “Wait.” he commanded, eyes only for Torrin, “How can you tell?”

“I just can.” The colt replied, turning up his muzzle, obviously not caring for the old night guard’s sternness, “It was the same with the prophecy. It just comes to you.”

“And what do you know about the prophecy?” Ceasler asked hopefully, “Anything that Scryer could have told you that wasn’t written down might prove vital in stopping Terra and freeing your father from his clutches.”

Torrin seemed to look to the others in the assembled group before answering, almost as if he was trying to gauge the old pegasus’ seriousness, “What are you talking about?” he finally asked in his confusion, “My dad may have been able to predict things, but I was the one who wrote the book. It was me who foresaw Terra’s return.”

Twilight and the others did a double-take. Was it possible that Celestia was wrong? Luna hadn’t explained how her sister had determined who the author was, but was it possible the princess could have misjudged and assumed Scryer was the one because the only feasible alternative was a child? Had Terra come to same conclusion? Could Celestia have known that both father and son had the gift of foresight?

Similar questions circulated in the minds of the stunned group, and it was Ceasler again who regained speech first. “You’d best not be fooling around with us kid.” He warned, “I’ll only ask you this once. Did you write the prophecy?”

“Technically...” Torrin’s certain claim wavered slightly at the seriousness of the pegasus, “I mean, do you even have any idea how this prophet stuff works?”

In the silence, Rarity and Pinkie Pie shot an inquiring eye to Twilight, thinking that she might have some idea. The pressured unicorn just scrunched up her muzzle to feel their gaze upon her. Of course she didn’t know anything; the only other prophecy she’d ever read was about Nightmare Moon and that one was ancient...

“Can you please tell us?” Twilight asked, trying her best to end the awkwardness, “How does it happen?”

“Well, it’s kinda hard to explain.” Torrin admitted, “But one day, I had this weird feeling that I just can’t describe properly. I could see, no... sense things, but that’s about all it was. It kept happening more and more, but the things I felt came and went so fast; there was no way for me to figure out what any of it meant. My dad tried to explain it to me, but in the end it all came down to instinct.

“The next time in happened, I couldn’t help but put quill to parchment.” he continued, scratching at the back of his head at his awkward explanation, “I couldn’t control myself... the words just kept coming. Things I never knew, terms I didn’t understand, and words I didn’t know the meaning of... they all just kept pouring out of me until I was finished.

“It was scary.” Torrin looked down slightly, “I looked at what I wrote, and I could barely believe my eyes. There were things about the past, the present, and the future, and even though none of it made sense to me, I was the one that wrote them; I had written them down like they were facts. The only thing I knew, was when I was done, that crazy feeling that compelled, no... forced me to write was gone.”

Trying to comprehend it all, the room went silent once more. Ceasler was mulling it over like the rest of them, but he alone found a question sticking in his mind. “There’s one thing I don’t quite understand.” he said, looking directly at the bifocaled colt, “You claimed earlier that you were able to tell that weren’t the heroes. How exactly did you know?”

“Kinda like how it was with the book, it’s just instinct.” Torrin replied, “I know it sounds dodgy, but that’s just the way it is. Like a sixth sense or something. I guess you could say that something deep inside me knows what kind of feeling I’d get if I were looking at one of the heroes. So since I don’t feel anything, I guess that none of you guys are one of them.”

Slayde caught onto the significance of something the colt had just implied. “Just a sec kid.” He spoke up, “Are you saying that if, hypothetically, one of the heroes knocked on the door and strode on up, you’d know that they were a hero just by looking at them?”

“Yeah, probably.” Torrin replied, “But I don’t think...”

He never got around to finishing his sentence. Belying coincidence, everypony froze as two purposeful knocks boomed out from downstairs. The sound of a pin dropping could be heard upstairs. The atmosphere was unbearably tense as the collective group all prayed that here would not be another knock.

Another, louder knock thundered out, quicker and more desperate than before. Whoever it was knew somepony was home, and they wanted in. Could it be Silverstar? Had the twins followed them back? Could it be the locals?

As it became clear that their visitor would enter with or without being allowed in, Ceasler knew somepony had to answer the purposeful knocking. He would have done it himself, but he was no longer in his disguise. Anything but an earth pony would raise flags if they were here looking for Torrin.

The pegasus turned and looked over the group behind him. It was probably wisest to have the Appleoosan answer the door, as he might actually have an excuse for being here.

But as he looked the group once more, he realized he was down one earth pony. Braeburn and his cousin were present and accounted for, but in giving the dark upstairs room the once over, it was clear that the pink and excitable one was missing.

He made to ask where Pinkie Pie had gotten to, but before the words properly left his lips, he got his answer. The distinct sound of the front door squeaking open could be heard in full force, and there was none other than that innocent earth pony who could go about it so carelessly.

“Hi!” Pinkie Pie’s enthusiastic voice chirped out from below, but was immediately silenced, presumably as she revealed who her guest was. Fearing the worst, Ceasler and the other rushed downstairs to her aid.

“Pinkie!” Rarity called out, seeing her friend standing unharmed next to the entrance, “What are- I mean, who is it?”

“Well, uh...” Pinkie struggled to find the words, “Maybe you should see for yourself!”

Slayde kept Torrin upstairs, but the rest of the group came to Pinkie’s side one by one, trying to come to terms with their apparent visitor. Much like how the same revelation had quieted the bubbly earth pony, the group was silenced to see what seemed like nothing waiting for them outside...

But then they looked down and saw it. Laying expectantly just beyond the threshold was none other than a weathered looking and exceptionally large broad-brimmed hat. It wasn’t much unlike the ones Rarity, Twilight and Slayde had used to masquerade as earth ponies.

The already strange scene became even more odd as the hat seemed to shudder, before it picked itself up and slid its way inside. An appendage moving to fast to be seen properly licked out, pushing the door closed in a swift motion.

Confused and alarmed in equal measure, Ceasler made to kick the hat over and reveal what lay beneath. But before he could, the hat launched upward as the creature inside discarded it, her red wings slaying wide in utter joy of being free.

“Philomena!” Fluttershy’s face went from shock to happiness in one fluid motion, “Wow, you did a good job finding us...”

“She can sense the magic in this amulet remember?” Twilight reminded her friend, “But I’m more impressed that she found a way to sneak in without drawing any attention. The hat was a good idea!”

“Indeed.” Ceasler agreed, “I didn’t expect Celestia’s pet to be so resourceful. I was concerned that you would be reporting in soon, and was honestly afraid you might give away our position.”

Philomena rolled her beady little eyes at what could have been a compliment if only Ceasler had tried a little harder. But in being true to her purpose, she tucked her beak under her wing and produced a tightly sealed scroll. Like last time, she had come bearing a message.

Twilight grabbed it in her magic and let it float beside her. “Let’s get upstairs before anypony sees.” she said, taking the scroll upstairs, “Philomena, follow us.”

Back on the top floor, Philomena pretended not to care as an innocent Torrin quickly became captivated by her beauty. It was only natural that he had never seen a phoenix before, but his stare was unrelenting. It was obvious to all but the colt himself that Philomena was fast becoming uncomfortable.

“Well, there’s no point waiting about is there?” Rarity spoke up, indicating Twilight, “Let’s see what the others have to say.”

“Oh, sorry.” Twilight apologised, breaking the seal and unfurling the scroll, “There we go. Can you all see?”

Applejack gabbed the lantern in the corner with her teeth, and brought it around so that letter could be better read. By the light of the fireflies within, everypony became consumed by the text as one.

Hello all, this is Captain Caliber.

I hope Philomena reached you safely, considering the situation you are most likely in. It is unfortunate that Terra has beaten us to Scryer. In that respect, your mission has changed. We were hoping to get a leg up on the enemy by gaining further insight into the prophecy, but we must now depend upon this child you mentioned just to stay out of the dark, and depend upon you to get him back to Appleoosa. Without someone to guide us to the heroes, we have little hope of rallying them against Terra. We cannot afford failure. With that said, I urge you all to be especially careful. Recent developments indicate that we have severely underestimated the resources at Terra’s disposal. They are more knowledgeable, organized, and powerful than we originally thought. Please tread carefully. That’s all I have to say at the moment, though I will add that Canterlot is still secure. Keeping the population calm is challenging with so few of the guard to ease their fears, but we still have order. I have received Marco’s latest report, thought it seems like they are making slow but steady progress. Anyway, here it is.

Hey all, Marco here.

We’ve been reduced to waiting here in Hordimare, but the situation remains hopeful. Since our most recent letter, Dash’s popularity has skyrocketed, and the town’s ‘humble’ saviour is already the talk of the town. She’s getting the star-treatment, and the two of us have treated to the best accommodation the town has. With the grateful locals at Dash’s every beck and call, I managed to convince them to set up a mock information network, and word has already come back that Gilda has re-entered Hordimare, and that she is asking about the mysterious pegasus that saved the town. Our confrontation with her should come within the hour, and from there it seems we may finally get a solid lead on Tager. In any case, by the time we send out next report, we will be significantly more informed. Until then, stay safe everypony.

I share Marco’s sentiment, but if you cannot get the child back to Canterlot, there will be no recourse. No matter what you have to do, or how you need to do it, we cannot waste this chance. Good luck, and stay vigilant. Please have Philomena destroy this letter in the same manner as the previous report.

“Oh my...” Fluttershy squeaked, the list of the group to finish reading, “That’s so much... pressure.”

“It just means we can’t let ‘em down.” Applejack shot back, more steeled by the news than intimidated, “And we won’t! We’ve already got the kid after all!”

“Don’t forget what the captain said.” Slayde cut in, “We can’t afford to underestimate the enemy. We’ve got to get Torrin out of here first, and we’ll have to go about it carefully.”

“When should we go back?” Twilight asked, “It’s only going to get worse the longer we wait...”

“Not necessarily.” Ceasler spoke up, as if he had just emerged from deep thought, “Remember what those criminals sad? There’s going to be a speech or something like that at noon. Regardless, the town will most likely be preoccupied by it, and so it will most likely be our best chance to sneak out of here unnoticed.”

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Braeburn asked, “I heard her too, and she said that it was being done in the town square. That’s practically on this house’s doorstep. If we wait for noon and for that guy with the black magic stuff to come back, then things are definitely gonna end up going south...”

“That may be, but if that happens, Luna will come in to help us.” Slayde informed Braeburn, “If Terra uses his abilities, Twilight’s necklace will allow Luna to warp here.”

“It’s still super early though!” Pinkie Pie pointed out, “And we gotta wait until noon? What’re we gonna do ‘til then?

“If you’re tired, get some sleep; I get the feeling things are going to get pretty intense when we try to get the kid out of here.” Ceasler instructed, “In the meantime, I’m going to get a report sent back to Caliber.

“Oh, and there’s something I need you to do yet, so don’t go falling asleep on me.” he continued, turning to face Braeburn, “I’ll tell you what it is after we’re done with the letter though.

“On that note...” he turned once more, this time towards Twilight, “Can you scribe for me again? I want to send it off as soon as possible.”

“Sorry, I left the quill and parchment back at the buffalo camp.” she replied awkwardly, “I didn’t imagine that Philomena would be able to ‘drop in’ while we were tracking down Torrin.”

“Hey kiddo...” Slayde said as he approached the colt, still captivated by the phoenix before him, “It looks like you’ve got plenty of that kinda stuff lying around. Can you lend us a quill and some paper?”

“Sure.” Torrin replied, producing the materials from below the desk he sat at, “So this bird ferries the messages across? Cool...”

“That reminds me...” Slayde said, picking up the letter and holding it out for Philomena, “looks like we’re done with this. Can you, uh... ‘get rid’ of it please?”

The graceful bird hopped over and snatched the paper, cooing happily before summoning up its fire to dispose of the letter. As the paper was consumed, without even ashes or smoke left behind, Slayde approached Twilight and passed over the materials Torrin had given to him.

As soon as Twilight took up the quill and became ready, Ceasler begun with his report, not wanting to waste any time...

“This is Ceasler, reporting in from Appleoosa.” he begun, “As you have most likely gathered, we’ve started off on the back hoof down here. Despite this, things have suddenly started to look up. We have come into contact with Torrin, and are currently hiding out with him in preparation for our escape. If our information is correct, noon will be our best chance to do so without incident.

“On the topic of the resources at Terra’s command, we can confirm that the Equestria’s Most Wanted are among his ranks.” he said, watching as Twilight scribbled furiously in attempt to keep up, “The fourth and fifth are here in Appleoosa, and they have essentially succeed in conscripting the aid of the settlement. It would be wise to assume the other members of the Most Wanted have been sent off to carry out similar takeovers in various other earth pony dominant villages and towns, or even here. If this is the case, the takeovers you mentioned in your last report will most likely be spearheaded by these criminals. The forces you deployed will need to be informed of this.

“In light of these setbacks, the value of Scryer’s son appears to be much higher than we initially thought.” Ceasler continued, “We haven’t yet discussed it in length, but I am cautiously optimistic that Torrin will prove to be a greater resource than his father. It also appears as though the child was the one who wrote the prophecy, not Scryer, and he seems able to distinguish between and identify the heroes we seek by virtue of some inherent trait.

“In any case, we will use any means necessary in order to succeed her, and our next report will come after we’ve made our move.” the old pegasus concluded, signing off, “Give our regard to the others. Ceasler out.”

A few seconds later, Twilight had finished the letter. “Now what?” she asked as she passed the scroll to the awaiting Philomena, “What do we do until noon?”

“First of all, Braeburn. It’s time for you to leave.” Ceasler put the unicorn on hold for a moment, more invested in staying true to his earlier word, “Get back to the buffalo camp and get ready for when we bring Torrin there. See if you can’t find a way for us to move right onto Canterlot once we get back, we may very well be in a hurry.”

“Oh, and here’s a thought...” Slayde spoke up, “Try and smuggle Philomena out with you. Her ‘hat-trick’ might work better when it’s on somepony’s head...”

“What about the rest of us?” Rarity asked as she watched Philomena land on Braeburn’s back and begin to study the earth pony’s hat, wondering if she could indeed fit herself under it, “There must be something we can do other than waiting for the clock to strike twelve...”

“Well, you can follow your friend’s example...” Ceasler indicated an already snoring Pinkie Pie in the corner of the dark room, “But I for one have some more questions...”

“That’s my line.” Torrin snapped back, watching as Philomena wriggled her way under an uncomfortable Braeburn’s hat, “You just read out some massive letter about me and my dad and Terra and the most wanted! What’s going on?”

At that, Ceasler couldn’t help but chuckle. “Heh, well...” he begun, “I guess it’s better if I just fill you in on the latest.”

* * * *

Walking though the main streets, the twins were deceptively silent as they made their way from Silverstar’s house. They weren’t bothering any of the passing locals, nor making any effort to find the child which they had previously been so invested in locating.

“Finally...” Tango groaned, “And it was about damn time too!”

“Oh? So you did notice?” Foxtrot questioned, honestly surprised by her sister’s perceptiveness, “Colour me impressed.”

“Oh please, it was obvious.” came the reply, “They musta been mad to think they could pass off for locals. Two pegasi, four earth ponies, and two unicorns. They’re definitely the ones who jumped the train, and that house they snuck off too is definitely the place where that kid’s been hiding. Makes sense I guess... ain’t that the sheriff’s place? ”

“Ah, you were so close.” Foxtrot shook her head, “It is the sheriff’s house, they are the ones who evaded us at the station, but there was actually two pegasi, three earth ponies, and three unicorns. The orange haired stallion was more convincing, but he was actually a unicorn.”

“Pft, whatever.” Tango huffed, not caring for the specifics, “So what’re we gonna do? Tell him?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Foxtrot replied, “Remember, we won’t get what we want if we hand the kid over on a silver platter.”

“Then what?” her sister frowned, “Should we just shut up about it and let him take us back to Hordimare?”

“We could do that... but it’s still not very wise.” Foxtrot shook her head again, “He’s a bit too smart to buy that we could turn up anything. It would be unfortunate if he started to suspect we had our own interests.”

“Blah, blah, blah...” Tango drawled, “Just hurry up and tell me what we are going to do!”

“Then pay attention for once.” Foxtrot replied strictly, “We report back that we have confirmed the presence of their group here in Appleoosa, how it’s made up, and that the sheriff has been helping them. But we tell him only that. We don’t mention the child, and we get teleported back to Hordimare.”

“Urgh... I hate getting teleported.” Tango complained, “I puked last time.”

“Yes. I remember.” her sister rolled her eyes, “But it will all be worth it if this all works out like we hope it will. Isn’t this what we always wanted?”

“What?” Tango’s vicious smile flared, “To be the first ponies in over a thousand years to receive the gift? Or to finally get our revenge upon that damn princess?”

“They are both one in the same really.” Foxtrot smiled her own subtle smile, “A means to our end. Terra can have his world, and I’ll be glad to be a part of it, but what we really want is waiting for us in Canterlot.”

“Hehehe... I’m getting goosebumps just thinkin’ about it!” Tango laughed, “Let’s be quick about it then! I don’t wanna waste a second!”

* * * *

A few hours later, in the back alleys of the same street through which the twin had walked, Twilight, Ceasler, and the other members of the rag-tag group were sneaking their way out of the city.

True to Foxtrot’s word, as the great clock in town square struck noon, a commotion quickly developed until voices could be heard outside. Whatever was going on was too far away to be heard properly, but the route the group was taking led them closer and closer to the scene and soon enough, the sound of an address could be made out.

Focused exclusively on escaping without alerting anypony that had been gathered, the group didn’t pay much attention to the voice they could hear. All they noticed was that it was an authoritative and proud male voice, and all they cared about was that it didn’t know that they were there.

Than soon changed however, as a different voice cried out. It didn’t speak in words, but called out in pain. The girls all registered it, but only one among them recognised it...

“Oh no.” Applejack gasped, turning and running off in the worst possible direction, “I know that voice!

“A.J!” Twilight hissed, pulling her friend back into the shadows at the last possible moment, “What’s gotten into you?!”

“L...look!” Pinkie Pie pointed with a quivering hoof, having followed Twilight in her attempt to intercept Applejack, “It’s that guy...”

Sheriff Silverstar grovelled pitifully in the centre, surrounded by his own townsfolk, all of them bullied into the same painful silence. Twilight looked on in shock, not understanding. The pieces fell together one by one inside her mind until finally, the grim reality finally dawned on her. This wasn’t a speech... it was a demonstration!

Suddenly, a black energy cracked and sizzled around the sheriff, coiling around him and forcing him to his feet. This was the power that Braeburn had mentioned earlier...

The conjurer of the dark energy stepped forward and took stance by Silverstar. But to the group’s surprise, he wasn’t Terra. This stallion was a unicorn, and his long horn stood prominent upon a head with no mane. His coat was a sickly white, contrasted boldly by the remnant of a short tapered and unkempt black tail. Complimented by hollow black eyes, similar in form to the ones the girls had seen on Terra when he first returned, this stallion that simply radiated an aura of evil intent.

The whole group now by Twilight and Applejack’s side on the edge of their hiding spot, Ceasler gulped grimly to recognise the figure.

“Oh... shit.” the old pegasus’ composure broke to comprehend the situation, “This... this is bad. We have to leave. Right now.”

Before any of the girls could ask what had gotten in to him, the figure to whom Ceasler’s fear was directed stomped down hard on Silverstar’s back, kicking the earth pony while he was down. The sheriff responded by roaring out yet again in pain.

Seeing such cruelty, Fluttershy’s fear was dispelled as she made to rush over and intervene with one of her rare and uncharacteristic bursts of speed.

But Slayde was even faster. “Wait!” he hissed as he grounded the distressed pegasus before she could properly take off, “You can’t let yourself get involved!”

The pegasus struggled to get loose of the young unicorn’s hold, but it was no good. Every fibre of her kind being cried out for her to intervene, yet for the sake of the others, and even the town at large, Slayde couldn’t let her go...

“No!” Slayde insisted, holding Fluttershy back, “Think of your friends! Of Torrin! You can’t risk it!”

“What do we do?” Applejack asked urgently, her hushed question directed at Ceasler, “We can’t let this happen!”

“If we go out there, we loose everything.” the old guard replied, “We’d be throwing away our lives, the towns, and even this child for who we risked everything to liberate!”

“But there’s only one of them!” Applejack pointed out, “Those twin aren’t about, and the town might even help out if we give ‘em a reason to fight back-”

“No chance.” Ceasler snapped back, “I bet even you can tell that’s no normal unicorn. I never got a chance to finish telling you about the Equestria’s Most Wanted, but the stallion you’re looking at, he’s second on the list! He is, without a doubt, the deadliest and most powerful villain ever pursued by the guard...”

Twilight risked another peek at the criminal. He certainly looked dangerous, but could he be as powerful as Ceasler claimed? “Who...” she gulped fearfully, “Who is he?”

“His name is unknown... the world just calls him Truant.” the old night guard whispered, “He wields some of the darkest magic ever created, and he uses it toward even darker purposes. If Torrin wasn’t in Appleoosa, or he wasn’t interested in finding him, he would blow this entire town to oblivion just to do away with us. He has both the capability and the cruelty to do such a thing at a moment’s notice. We absolutely cannot afford to let him find the child...”

“I don’t understand.” Rarity spoke up, Torrin clinging to her leg as he became exceptionally frightened, “Why is a unicorn in league with Terra? It doesn’t make any sense...”

“Truant’s hatred for Princess Celestia extends so far that I have little doubt it is what compels him to throw his lot in with the king.” Ceasler said, “I imagine that watching Equestria crumble would be the vengeance he desires...”

“But there’s gotta be something we can do!” Pinkie Pie said alarmed, her desperate gaze eventually falling upon Twilight, “Like A.J said, we can’t just stand here!”

Torrin’s grip on Rarity’s leg tightened. She couldn’t imagine what the poor child was going through. She also looked to Twilight for some kind of guidance, but there was nothing to see but indecisive concern on her face...

“Don’t even think about it.” Ceasler said sternly at Twilight, reading through to her troubled thoughts, “If something is to be done, then it is the responsibility of Slayde and I.”

He shared a brief look with his young partner before they both nodded subtly. “Take the child and go.” Ceasler continued, his words the definition of resolute, “I hate to rely on them again after everything, but you should be safe if you can get back to the buffalo camp. From there you can set about escorting Torrin to Canterlot.”

“Are you two insane?!” Applejack hissed, barely believing the old guard, “Just look at that guy! You just said he shouldn’t be messed with-”

“Applejack. There is a difference between ‘doing something’ and picking a fight.” the pegasus said seriously, “Even still, it is us in charge of your safety, not the other way around. I say run, you run. We are the guard. Regardless of the risks, this is our job.”

“Go on.” Slayde said gently, pushing a speechless Fluttershy over to her friend’s side, “Take care of Torrin for us okay? We’ll handle this.”

“Come on girls...” Rarity spoke up, taking that first difficult step away from the two guards, “We should trust in them and do as they say.”

“Please... please be careful.” Twilight said reservedly, physically pushing the nearby Pinkie Pie out of her transfixed state, “Let’s go girls.”

And with those parting words, it was just Ceasler and Slayde looking on from the shadows.

“What’re we going to do Ceasler?” Slayde asked, “They were right, we can’t just allow this to continue.”

“We can’t help anypony if we just run in brazenly.” came the reply, the old pegasus eyeing the scene before him intently, “For now, we watch and wait.”

Just as Ceasler said the words, the figure of Truant walked slowly up to the broken figure of Sheriff Silverstar and put a callous hoof upon his back to keep the defeated earth pony from rising.

“Was I not clear sheriff?” he asked coldly, “If you have some excuse, I suggest you try it.”

“There ain’t no excuse...” Silverstar groaned, “But it was I, and I alone who tried to betray you. I ordered the train to be stopped, I sheltered the boy, and not a single soul knew of my actions-”

“Hrm? Perhaps I truly was unclear after all...” Truant mused, somehow intrigued by the response, “Is it possible that when I told you and your kind that any instance of rebellion would be considered a declaration by the village at large, my meaning was misunderstood?

“You claim that such a declaration was made solely by you?” the unicorn continued, shaking his head, “True or not, the claim is pointless. Uniformity was never an element of our agreement.”

The pressure the unicorn placed on Silverstar’s back increased until he was once again pushed painfully back into the dirt. “Still, this is troublesome.” Truant sighed, “I was told to dispose of the townsfolk as necessary, but Terra would surely disprove if I sentenced this town to the judgement it so rightly deserves...”

“I... I wont...” the grovelling Silverstar panted, “I won’t let you-”

Truant suddenly removed his hoof from the sheriff’s back. But before anypony could guess why, he shockingly brought it around in a sweeping kick, his leg wreathed in shadowy magic. Silverstar’s defiance was instantly silenced as the earth pony was sent rolling across the dusty road.

“While I would prefer to hold true to my word, I shall provide this town but one chance to regain my favour.” Truant announced, addressing the assembled townsfolk, “As you may or may not know, somewhere in this little town of yours there exists a small band of intruders who are in possession of something most valuable.”

Truant’s invisible eyes wandered over to the unconscious figure of Silverstar, and the unicorn gestured to him with his frightened crowd watching. “Unless you wish to follow in the hoofsteps of your foolish sheriff, I would have of you one simple act of redemption.” he continued grimly, “Be gone from this place and find the intruders I speak of. This is your only chance. Much like how foolishness of a single sheriff condemned you all, it shall take but one of you to grant your cherished town the salvation-

“No need to look!” a grizzled voice called out, cutting Truant’s speech short, “We’re right here!”

Ceasler and Slayde stood in full view, having leaped from the shadows at the unicorn’s implication of the girls.

“Bah! Wretched pawns...” Truant dismissed the bravado of the pair, “But perhaps you know of where I might find those I truly seek?”

“Slayde... we’ve got no choice.” Ceasler said under his breath, “We can’t let him send this many intimidated ponies out looking for Torrin and the girls; they’d be no way for them to evade capture. I can only give you a few seconds, so do whatever you can to disperse this crowd.”

“Careful sir.” the young unicorn warned, “I can feel his magic from here. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before...”

“Just worry about yourself rookie.” came the strict retort, “Once you’ve got rid of these earth ponies, we’re going to fall back.”

“Understood.” Slayde acknowledged seriously, “When you’re ready-”

“Your whisperings will do you no good.” Truant’s voice boomed, cutting through the town square, “If you value your lives, you will tell me where the boy is.”

“Now!” Ceasler roared, his wings becoming blurs as he shot off the mark, his eyes set firmly upon the enemy, “Do it!”

“How pointless...” Truant said as calmly as ever, readying his horn as the aged pegasus charged toward him, “What say I teach you your place?”

Just as the magical bolt forming at the tip of Truant’s horn was ready to fire, Ceasler diverted down, and in spinning his body in a rapid barrel-roll manoeuvre, the dusty road beneath him erupted into a wall of blinding dust.

“Clever little worm.” Truant smiled, cancelling the energies that were contained in his horn, “Perhaps you can provide some entertainment after all...”

In the background, half concealed by the dust, Slayde’s horn burned a deep orange, but he was all but ignored by Truant. The erratic light coating his horn suddenly sharpened, and as the spell became ready, the once bright glow dimmed and became significantly darker.

A few of the assembled crowd looked over to the young unicorn as his magic changed colour, and in noticing, he raised his head and spoke before releasing his spell.

“Sorry.” he said, his dark tone reflecting the ominous nature of the spell contained in his horn, “I don’t have anything against you guys, but... you’re in the way.”

Forewarned only by the brief glimmer of Slayde’s horn, a thin magical nova fanned out, slipping through the soul of everypony in range without exception. What happened next would have chilled the casual observer to the core...

The result of the spell was instantaneous. Possessed by the young unicorn’s magic, the crowd all reacted as one, becoming eerily ridged as a foreboding stillness briefly took hold of them. And If the smile creasing Truant’s face and the shamefully downcast eyes of Slayde were anything to go by, the spell that had just been cast was something most foul.

The stillness was short lived. Mere moments after the nova faded away, the assembled crowd broke the tension by erupting into chaos. Previously intimidated earth ponies cried out in utter panic as a chilling fear gripped them and caused them to run about in their distress, fanning out in a direction that could only be called ‘away’.

“Now this is very interesting.” Truant remarked steadily, somehow immune to the effects, “The hysteria spell is one of the forbidden few is it not? How, I wonder, did a little unicorn like you learn such a thing?”

Slayde wasn’t listening. There was a drawback to the dark magic he had utilized and he had to remedy it. Moving purposefully towards the figure of Ceasler writhing amid the dust cloud, the young unicorn could see the old pegasus’ eyes wide with the indiscriminate terror that had been imposed upon him. Slayde promptly put his horn to his partner’s forehead and let his horn pulse with an orange glow much brighter than the one that had preceded it.

Instantly, the old night guard was freed from the fear gripping him. He fell to the ground, his chest heaving with haggard gasps. It seemed as though the spell Slayde had used was not an easy thing to deal with.

“What the hell did you just do?!” Ceasler panted, regaining himself in time to see the horrified crowd scramble around in their attempt to flee their fears, “This is madness!”

“If that bastard managed to bully them into doing his bidding, the girls wouldn’t have had a hope of getting out of here.” Slayde reasoned, a grim determination plaguing his voice, “Instead of letting them choose between yielding to evil and sealing their doom, I removed the choice element. No matter what happens, the girls will get away and the town can’t be held responsible...

“I’m sorry.” he sighed, not proud in any sense, “But there was no other way for me to get them out of here.”

“How noble.” Truant finally spoke up, taking two indifferent steps towards the two guards, “And how disappointing. The dark arts are wasted on fools who convince themselves of a greater good.”

Ceasler covered his partner’s body with his wing, prepared to intervene should they be attacked.

“How about I educate you as to what real magic is boy?” Truant’s hollow eyes flickered as he spoke, “And what little a role anything other than power plays on the battlefield...”

“It doesn’t matter anymore!” Slayde yelled bravely, indicating the vacated town square, “You’ve lost your would-be followers. You can’t stop them anymore!”

“True. So long as your spell grips them, I cannot bring them to servitude.” the imposing unicorn replied, “But the only thing in which you have succeeded is taking their place. Now it is you who shall guide me to the child.”

“Never.” Ceasler hissed, “We will not let you have your way any longer!”

“So brave. But so foolish.” Truant’s stance changed, his horn letting forth dark energies, “What makes you think that you have a choice?”

* * * *

“Come on girls!” Applejack ordered, “Let’s pick up the pace!”

With the window the guards had given them, the girls had made it the edge of town unnoticed, and were now taking their first steps into the surrounding desert.

“Pinkie!” Applejack called, noticing that her usually energetic friend was that trailing behind the most, “Please, you’ve gotta put it outta your mind and focus on doing what they asked!”

“Oh, I know!” Pinkie Pie increased her speed and came in alongside the earth pony, “I’m just really worried is all, I hope those two are okay...”

“They’ll be fine!” Applejack reassured, “But for now, I need you out in front of me! You’re the only one here who’s gone from Appleoosa to the Buffalo camp before; we’ll get by much faster if you lead the way!”

“O...okay!” the pink pony replied, a sweat forming as her gallop hastened ever so slightly, “I’ll do my best!”

Doing what she could to fill the leadership role now that Ceasler was gone, Applejack left Pinkie to it and dropped back, checking on the others. “You okay there kid?” she asked Torrin, his little legs moving in a blur in his attempt to keep up with the much bigger ponies around him, “Darn it, Fluttershy, can you take him?”

Silently complying the weak pegasus took wing and lifted the colt up off the ground, but she could barely maintain flight under his weight. “Urgh, I’m sorry!” she squealed, “He’s too heavy! I... I can’t...”

Torrin’s dangling body was suddenly wrapped up in a purple glow, and the colt was promptly removed from the poor pegasus’ grasp and levitated over to Twilight’s back. “I’ve got you.” she smiled despite herself, keeping pace even with the new weight on her back, “Don’t worry; we’ve all got things we can and can’t do...”

With Torrin taking exhausted breaths from the safety of Twilight’s back, and Fluttershy wiping away a stressed tear, the unicorns words were only partially reassuring.

“Sorry...” the two saddened ponies apologised as one, feeling awfully useless in having to rely upon the others.

“I told you not to worry.” Twilight said again, “Because sooner or later, it’s going to be you two we’ll be depending on.”

Twilight begun to pant as she tried valiantly to maintain her gallop. “Speaking of which...’ she said between gasps, “Rarity... can we switch sometime soon?”

* * * *

“Urgh!” Slayde roared, his pained voice cutting through the town square, “Get... get out of my head!”

“This is most strange.” Truant observed, his horn holding the young unicorn in its magical glow, and his eyes calmly closed as if there was another world behind his eyelids, “I thought that your bonds with the others would serve as instruments to guide me to them, but I cannot find such bonds in your hearts.

“Odd that you would sacrifice yourselves for those whom your heart has no ties with.” he continued, truly fascinated by what Slayde and Ceasler’s souls had revealed to him, “I can already see that you had no expectation or even intention of defeating me... yet you charged in regardless? For strangers?”

Slayde panted as if suffocating, the process of having his mind invaded agonizing in the extreme. His thoughts were bent totally to Truant's will, and he could feel himself fading away into unconsciousness as the unicorn probed deeper and deeper. This same torment must have been what rendered Ceasler broken...

“Ah, I see.” Truant finally spoke, his wordless inquisition finding purchase, “You decided to follow along in this little chivalrous farce through some illusion of duty. An interesting notion considering your standing. Delusions of grandeur perhaps? Or perhaps you were intoxicated by the romantic notion of self-sacrifice?

“No matter. This search is fruitless.” Truant resigned, a moment from cancelling his spell, “The ties you have with my targets are insufficient to guide me their way.

“This is exhausting, tedious, and simply boring.” he continued, hanging his head lazily, “The measures I have adhered to thus far are far too intricate and subtle for a solution to come easily. The more I tire of being diplomatic, the more appealing the totality of my last resort becomes.

“Wait a moment...” Truant's eyes shifted behind his still closed eyelids, something being yielded as Slayde’s mind became tamed even further, “It appears as though there is a bond after all...”

“Damn it...” Slayde groaned, his thoughts having been recorded when the ‘last resort’ was mentioned, “W... wait!”

“It is only weak, and bound to a single soul, but this shall do.” Truant calculated, “And she has not gotten far. It is quite fortunate that they have not escaped my reach.”

The black glow restraining Slayde vanished drawn back to his horn as he begun to channel a new spell. The young guard didn’t need to guess what his one was...

“No!” he cried out, reaching feebly toward his foe, “Don’t you dare-”

It was too late. Truant was instantly whisked away as he teleported, the location of his target having been revealed to him by his evil magic.

His efforts for naught, Slayde slammed his hoof against the ground before his sprawled out figure in utter helplessness. “Fuck!” he roared, the feeling of failure intense, “I couldn’t... I couldn’t protect a single-”

Whatever he was about to say went unspoken. His broken mind caved into the damage that had been dealt, and he joined his pegasus partner in unconsciousness. Their role in this conflict was now well and truly over.

* * * *

“We’re getting closer right Pinkie?” Twilight asked again, “We’ve really got to hurry!”

“Sorry! I’ve only been there once!” came the reply, the pink pony leading the group back to the buffalo camp, “But it really isn’t that far off now! I swear!”

“Rarity?” Twilight called, whirling around mid-gallop to address the unicorn and the little colt draped over her back, “How’s Torrin holding up?”

“Exhausted I’m afraid...” Rarity replied, exhausted to some degree herself, “But we’re right behind you dear.”

“Let me take him.” Applejack offered, her more athletic build far less worn out that that of her friend’s, We need to pick up the pace, and your just about at your limit there sugarcube.”

Seeing Applejack take possession of the colt mid gallop, Twilight saw fit to confirm that her other friend was keeping up...

“Fluttershy?” Twilight questioned, her face pointed forwards, “You still with us?”

Silence. Twilight quickly turned, as did the others. But the sight that awaited them was a far cry from what they were expecting...

“Good afternoon ladies.” the bald unicorn standing before the silenced Fluttershy smiled humourlessly, “I have a favor to ask of you.”

Truant reached forward as if to grab Fluttershy, but Twilight recovered from her surprise quickly. A luminous purple aura cloaked her friend and vanished her, relocating the timid pegasus to her side.

“So this is the sorry bunch those two gave themselves for?” Truant laughed mirthlessly, “How... interesting.”

“If you hurt them...” Applejack growled, “I’ll never forgive you!”

“Your forgiveness is not what I desire.” the unicorn spat, “What I do desire is for you to relinquish the child, lest you suffer the same unfortunate fate as your comrades.”

Infuriated, Twilight lashed out with another spell; at least she meant to. But it seemed that Truant would not allow it. “Stop.” he ordered, black shells enveloping all of the ponies before him, “You have no chance. Either give the child up peacefully, or I shall dispose of you and simply take him.”

“Eurgh!” Fluttershy squealed, “I can’t... I can’t breathe...”

Strangulated by the black magic, Twilight’s attempts to counter the spell were overpowered on all fronts. But in refusing to give up, the light of her horn persisted, until...

Even though she was engulfed in Truant’s darkness, a more rich black glow pulsed out. It didn’t come from Twilight’s horn, rather, it’s origin seemed to be from the amulet around her neck. The very same one gifted to her by Luna...

Feed by the strange power, Twilight tapped into the energies of the crystal and popped the black shields entrapping her friends like balloons. Now liberated, the girls landed in simultaneous thumps, each one of them gasping for the air they had been denied. Even Torrin hadn’t been spared the choking magic, the colt breathing deep next to Applejack.

“I’ve been treated to quite a few surprises today.” Truant said pointedly, eyes only for the gem around Twilight’s neck, “I could recognise that aura anywhere. Luna... she has entrusted you with a fraction of her magic it seems.”

The hardened Applejack rose first, and she sluggishly made her way over to Twilight’s side. “You okay Twi?” she asked, “What in tarnation was that?”

She didn’t receive a reply right away. Her friend’s gaze was intently focused on the gem around her neck, her mind locked in deep thought.

“Applejack...” Twilight finally spoke, her tone distant and unrecognisable, “I need you to do something for me.”

“Name it sugarcube.” the earth pony replied, “What do you need?”

“Take the girls and get out of here.” she whispered, “Make sure that Torrin gets back safely to the buffalo camp.”

“Twi...” Applejack replied in disbelief, “You know I can’t-”

I’ll be fine.” Twilight reassured, “You just have to trust me. The princess’ magic is strong; I... I can fend him off like this.”

“Did I hear that right?” Truant boomed, his brow twitching slightly, “Your powers may have spiked somewhat, but without consequence. You remain but an insect before me!”

“Get up girls!” Applejack roared, leaving Twilight’s side, “We’ve getting the hay out of here!”

Fluttershy scooped up Torrin and spurred Rarity to follow her. With Pinkie Pie following last of all, she shot a concerned look back to Twilight who still hadn’t moved from before Truant.

“We’re not leaving Twilight are we!?” Pinkie Pie cried out, “We can’t just-”

“I know darn it!” Applejack’s teeth were grinding as she led Pinkie and the others away from the standoff, “Listen Pinkie, there’s something I need you to do for me...”

“What?!” the pink pony questioned, her steps slow as she was torn between fleeing and wanting to help Twilight, “What can I do?”

Applejack shook her head. “Swear that you’ll do it!” she commanded, “You gotta promise me before I tell you!”

“Okay! I promise!” Pinkie Pie replied urgently, “Now what is it!?”

The fleeing ponies kicked up a cloud of dust, and as it became smaller and smaller in the distance, Truant stopped watching it and once again turned his attention to Twilight.

“Their escape means nothing. However far they run from this spot, the distance between us remains cosmetic.” he finally spoke, “I can see the bonds you have with those girls without having to tear your mind asunder. Once I have brought you to your fall, the ties of your heart will show me to them as it has already guided me here.”

“As long as they get away it’s fine.” Twilight spoke confidently, the gem around her neck kicking back to life, “This magic is too strong for me to handle properly... this way I can’t accidentally hurt them.”

Truant laughed, genuinely amused. “A maggot may surpass itself and claim wings, but a fly remains but an insect.” he criticized, his eyes deadly, “You were helpless but a moment ago, and in discovering but a sliver of power, you are able to speak to me with such conceit? I pity you if you fancy yourself my match.”

“It’s you who doesn’t understand.” Twilight begun, her horn glowing in unison with the amulet around her neck, “I have a power greater than anything you can imagine... the power of friendship! There’s simply no way someone like you can-”

Suddenly, a pair of evil, jet black tendrils materialized from absolutely nowhere and coiled around Twilight’s unsuspecting neck.

“Really? You cannot be serious.” Truant mocked, effortlessly breaking through his foe’s defences, “I did not know Celestia’s students could turn out so stupid. Or perhaps this power you have tapped into has addled your delusional mind? Either way, it is clear that you do not properly grasp the power of who you are so quick to look down upon.”

At his command, the choking hold on Twilight’s neck tightened. Even with her newfound power, she was unable to force the evil magic to relent. But before her world faded to black, the suffocating hold disappeared. Gasping, she looked over to Truant and saw something unexpected.

Next to him, with her legs thrust out in the aftermath of a vicious two-legged kick, was a cowboy-clad earth pony.

“Applejack!” Twilight exclaimed, a jumbled mix of relief and concern present in her voice, “What are you doing?!”

“Saving your skin!” she retorted, lunging back and out of Truant’s physical reach, “No point in you babblin’ on about the power of friendship if you’re trying to take this guy on all by your lonesome!”

“I have tolerated enough distraction for one day.” Truant said unamused, his horn lighting up and firing a focused bolt of black magic at his attacker, “I will be rid of you!”

Twilight’s eyes widened in horror as the dark power struck Applejack without mercy. But for an attack that radiated an energy sufficient to blow the earth pony to pieces, the attack had no effect other than fading after it hit its intended target.

The sound of a muffled explosion could be heard from somewhere behind Twilight. She instinctively turned, and found the remains of a miniature Applejack-shaped rock come to rest by her feet. It was what was left of a totem...

“She’s not the only one!” Rarity called out from her position some distance behind Twilight, “Together, the three of us shall dispatch of this villain!”

As she spoke, her horn lit up and a loose bolder next to Truant became wrapped in light blue magic, and instantly struck the unsuspecting unicorn in the side.

“I’m normally not one for violence, but you’ve forced my hoof!” Rarity boomed, “I will not let a scoundrel like you harm my dear friends!”

When Truant righted himself, shrugging off the fragments of rock that clung to him after being struck, he was quite obviously unharmed. But despite his unfettered exterior, the unicorn was furious. It wasn’t even the act of being attacked that did it. He had been expecting things to go his way from the outset, and this latest interruption had pushed him that last little bit beyond his infamously low boiling point.

“Out of the woodwork they come, bugs capable enough to be a nuisance.” Truant growled, a dark energy amassing as he spoke, forming into a grim orb hovering in place at the tip of his horn, “I have had enough. I cannot stand another moment of your impudence. Even if you are mere insects, I will summon up the maelstrom if it means your end.

“Your time is up.” he said deadpan, “If you can comprehend my might, then die knowing how powerless you truly are...”

What happened next simply happened too fast to be properly fathomed. With stark suddenness, the black orb Truant had conjured expanded and then flashed, it’s dark aura blasting outward at a horrifying pace.

It was a shockwave of pure magical energy. There was no time to think, let alone react. And while Applejack was immediately beside Truant, and Twilight and Rarity were significantly further back, the bomb-like strike blasted the three away in such quick succession that it might as well have been simultaneous.

The darkness faded, and in its wake, a crater-like impression had been forced into the barren area that had been covered by the range of the blast. And standing in the epicentre, indifferent to the destruction all around him, was Truant.

Despite his eyes being void of pupils, he seemed to scan the area as if he was searching for something. He payed no heed to the fragmented remains of the three totems the white unicorn had managed to craft before being hit. Their presence was but a token gesture. The area of his black bomb encompassed both the targets and the totems, so they had not been spared the damage.

Disregarding the lifeless figure of the earth pony immediately beside him, his hollow eyes finally found what they were looking for. “Ah, good.” he said to himself, seeing the unconscious figure of Twilight close to where she’d been prior to the attack, collapsed by the equally unconscious totem crafter amongst the rubble, “She lives. This one was the student I was told of. She will make for a significant hostage against the princess.”

He was quickly in front of her, and he used his front hoof to roll the girl over, the curious little amulet around her neck becoming visible as the unicorn’s limp body was made to face upward.

“This is also interesting.” Truant observed, “I can sense immense alicorn magic sealed inside this trinket. If I were to study this, I could unlock even greater power-”

He cut himself off as he heard a sold hoof stomp against the ground behind him, deliberately announcing the owner’s presence.

“You were within fatal range of my spell.” he said without turning around, “For you to be alive, much less standing... is nothing short of remarkable.”

Applejack breathed heavy, her body absolutely devastated by the unrestrained attack that had been loosed upon her. Despite the fact she had willed her body to rise and place herself before the enemy, it was clear that she did not intend to fight. Disarmingly, she tried her best to take steady steps towards her downed friends so that she ended up between Twilight and Truant.

“Ah, I see now.” the unicorn said, having been focused upon the mystery of the amulet in preference of Applejack’s futile display, “That thing was designed to be a countermeasure against Terra.”

Truant finally acknowledged Applejack as his empty eyes came to bear upon her. “But as you no doubt realize, I am not he.” he pointed out, directly taunting the earth pony, “Whatever scheme your princess concocted to safeguard you has no effect on me.

“To be honest, I expected significantly more from a student of Celestia.” he continued, his tone taking a grim shift, “But no matter, she has on her person something of far greater interest than her own pitiful self.”

Applejack remained speechless as the unicorn took a definitive step towards Twilight, or more accurately, the necklace given to her by Luna.

“Wait.” she finally said, mustering up what remained of her strength as she bent down and wretched the amulet from her friend’s neck, “I’ll give it to you... there’s no reason to hurt her.”

“You truly are hardier than I expected, though I suppose the better of you earth ponies always seem to be filled with surprises.” Truant remarked, almost sounding like he was praising the pony before him, “Alas, I fear I cannot spare the girl. She will prove to be an effective tool in staying Luna’s charge if I bring her to Terra.”

Applejack didn’t budge, making sure to cover her friend. Seeing the earth pony’s tenacity, Truant simply sighed. “I loath to beat you while you are down, but surely you must realize that this resistance is over.” the unicorn’s eyes were deadly, “Step aside. It is the only option left for you.”

Applejack tossed the necklace to his feet, her chest still heaving with every quaking breath. “Have it your way...” she resigned, collapsing into a kneel, the hat falling from her head, “But don’t take Twi... I’m beggin’ you!” Applejack pleaded, a few tears dampening the dust below, “Please... please leave her! If you really gotta take somepony... then let it be me! Please!”

“Are you attempting to bluff, or are you simply mad?” Truant questioned, “Does she mean so much to you that you would prefer to take her place?”

“Yes.” Applejack replied evenly, not even a hint of hesitation to her words, “I can’t let you take her...”

“Be that as it may, the situation remains unchanged.” Truant shook his head, “You may not take her place. Her life has value, and yours does not.

“Now, step aside.” he continued, giving her the option a final time, “Or I shall prove to you how easily your life can be snuffed out?”

Even with those heavy words, Applejack’s stance did not waver. As the merciless unicorn stepped toward her, her decision was clear. In seeing that she really did mean to resist, Truant sighed again, and allowed his horn to glow with deadly intent.

“So be it.” he said indifferently, “Die for your worthless attachment.”

But Applejack wasn’t listening. Defiant to the last, she just closed her eyes and let the end come. Even with closed eyes, she was still able to see the red flash of whatever spell Truant chose to cast upon her, and she grimaced knowingly as the ear-piecing squeal of death zoomed in upon her ears. The light burning through her eyelids flashed and she felt heat strafe by on both sides of her body.

But in feeling nothing, and hearing the voice of Truant grunt out in pain, Applejack immediately opened her eyes. On either side of her were two thin trails of flame, strafing forward to the hunched figure of...

Her eyes widened to see the big black scorch mark sizzling across Truant’s chest. Though he must have been in pain, his face was contorted not with agony, but with fury; his empty eyes disregarding Applejack in preference of the one who had attacked him.

The shocked earth pony turned, thinking that Twilight had struck him with a spell, but as her eyes met with Twilight, she was exactly as she was a moment ago, lying unconscious and amulet-less behind her guardian. With Rarity also knocked out, and Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie sworn to continue on to the buffalo camp, Applejack couldn’t fathom how her life had just been saved...

“This... is unexpected.” Truant shattered the earth pony’s confusion as he spoke through grinding teeth, “I tire of these persistent diversions!”

Applejack’s eyes soon fell upon the focus of Truant’s fury. She saw her blazing, beady little eyes, and her crimson feathered body crackling with an aura of white hot fire. Philomena had arrived in all her infuriated glory to remind Applejack that she still had one more friend left.

“You are no ordinary phoenix are you?” Truant questioned, more directed at himself than the bird itself, “No... this aura. You must be the fabled clutchmother; the arch phoenix... Philomena.

“Killing you...” Truant hissed, “Will be difficult.”

Philomena’s coat of fire begun to burn with even greater intensity, speaking to the unicorn before her in terms that could not be misunderstood.

“I have heard legends of your fury Philomena, but I must admit... to see it for myself is simply terrifying.” Truant pointed out, “But it is to be expected I suppose. Your friends lay beaten, their allies crushed, and your master made a prisoner...”

By way of response, Philomena took stance upon the ground, dismissing her flames and summoning up a coo unlike any other Applejack could imagine to come from such a beautiful creature. It was clear that, down to her flaming core, Philomena hated this unicorn.

“Hehe... haha! This is interesting indeed!” Truant boomed, his tone shifting from calculated to vicious, “You really hate me don’t you?! Superb! Come on then, I’ve been waiting for a worthy opponent!”

Philomena shot off the mark, her smooth feathered body bursting into a coat of fire. Like it had done before, her path towards the enemy was traced by twin trails of flame. But unlike the last time, Truant was ready. His enraged opponent rushed in recklessly, leaving herself wide open.

Hastened by dark magic, Truant dodged to the left. “The same thing again?” he questioned as he made to counterattack, “Simple beast!”

But Philomena was too quick. Stopping mid charge, her flaming coat flicked away as she splayed her wings wide, seemingly becoming defenceless...

In the next instant however, she summoned up a furiously blinding light, as if the sun’s very rays flashed out from the heart of the bird’s chest.

“These eyes cannot be blinded creature.” Truant said, the black pits of his eyes unfazed by the incomprehensibly bright light, “Your efforts are futile-”

A secondary brightness pulsed out, but this one had more substance than simple light. Philomena had succeeded in luring her foe close, and so she unleashed her most devastating attack of all.

A flaming explosion radiated out from Philomena’s core, making it look as though the sun had dropped from its home in the sky so as to blacken the already arid desert battlefield. The blast was so hot and so explosive, Truant was sent bailing backwards, his white coat darkened and smoking from the intense heat.

While Truant was recovering, Philomena zipped in to Applejack’s side in preference of continuing her siege. The fiery explosion had struck the area the earth pony was in as well, but strangely enough, she was unharmed. In fact, as the flames became extinguished, Applejack almost felt a little better.

She couldn’t imagine how being struck by phoenix fire could benefit her while it quite clearly damaged Truant, but her wondering was brought to and end as Philomena edged in as if to confirm Applejack’s health. Satisfied, she tapped the earth pony on the shoulder with a hot wing, then picked up the unconscious Twilight with ease and placed her carefully on Applejack’s back.

Given her weakened state, the load was heavy upon her back, but Philomena’s intention was clear. She was giving Applejack the chance to take the girls and run. Disregarding the forfeited amulet lying but a few metres before her, Applejack hefted the heavy unicorn on her back over to where Rarity was, committed to getting both of them out of here.

The combined weight of the two was borderline unbearable, but she absolutely refused to waste the chance she was given. It was a miracle Philomena showed up when she did, and there would be no way Applejack would accept leaving either Rarity or Twilight to Truant’s mercy. Even if she couldn’t get them back to the buffalo camp, even if her very legs broke before she could get away, they would either all make it, or none of them would...

The sounds of a unicorn and a phoenix duelling resumed as Applejack inched her way out of the range of their frenzied attacks. She didn’t know how far away the buffalo camp was, but she knew it was in the direction she walked. All she had to do, no... all she would do, is put one hoof in front of the other until the three of them were safe.

She didn’t make it much further before her legs gave out. The two unicorns on her back falling to the ground, the trio thumped to the earth in a puff of dust. Her face against the earth, Applejack’s single tear of failure was drunk up by the thirsty ground. Oddly enough however, almost as if in payment for the nourishment, the ground begun to vibrate softly. Over the next few seconds, the shuddering intensified and her fading senses picked up on the faint sound of a stampede. Hope granting her the strength to raise her head, Applejack saw the cloud of dust in the distance closing in, and the shiny white horns of half a dozen buffalo.

“There they are!” Little Strongheart directed, flanked on one side by Fluttershy, the other by Pinkie Pie, “Quickly now, get them up and on our backs! Let’s get them out of here!”

With a speed unrivalled, Fluttershy flew in faster than a bullet to support Applejack’s head. Pinkie Pie was also upon the group with exceptional speed, beating the buffalo to the scene by a significant measure.

“You guys...” Applejack croaked, “You came back? Didn’t you promise?”

“I guess we’re even now...” Pinkie Pie smiled despite herself, “But if there’s one thing worse than breaking a promise, it’s abandoning a friend.”

Whatever might have followed her sentiment was quickly denied as a huge burst of fire erupted not too far in the distance.

“That’s Philomena isn’t it?” Fluttershy asked, still cradling Applejack’s head, “Is she okay?”

“She’s strong... she’s giving us the chance to escape, and we can’t waste it.” Applejack lifted a weakened hoof and clutched Fluttershy, making sure she understood, “He wiped us out like we were nothin’; even with the buffalo here, there’s no way to stop that guy...

“We got no choice but to have faith in Philomena.” she continued, her hoof going limp and dropping back down, foreshadowing her imminent collapse, “We have to get out of here while we can... and get Torrin back to Canterlot so we can-”

She passed out before she could finish her sentence. As if in response, a trio of buffalo arrived and offered their backs, ready to carry the ponies back to safety. Honouring Applejack’s word, Fluttershy summoned up enough strength to lift up the heavy earth pony and put her as gently as she could upon the one of the stronger buffalo’s back. Pinkie Pie and Little Strongheart teamed up to get Twilight and Rarity on position upon the remaining two buffalo.

As the small group was ready to depart, they rejoined the rest of their herd and turned on the spot, facing back where they had come.

“Okay, we’ve got them!” Little Strongheart announced, “Let’s get them back to the carriage!”

* * * *

Close to the edge of the buffalo lands, the main body of the tribe, under the direction of Braeburn, were close to completing their makeshift train. With the somewhat rough and tumble engineering design of the earth pony, the carriage that had been split from the Appleoosa train now had undergone something of a transformation.

The thick steel girder that held the roof up had been crudely removed, and was now sticking out the front of the carriage. At ‘best-fit’ intervals, there were eight buffalo sized stocks, that would allow four on either side so they could pull the lightweight railcar as if it were buffalo-drawn carriage.

As the monstrosity the thing had become was painstakingly returned into position on the railroad, Braeburn couldn’t help but be proud of the achievement. He would’ve marvelled further at his ingenuity, but as half a dozen buffalo returned carrying three unconscious ponies, and in seeing his cousin among them, any and all thoughts of self-praise were gone from his mind...

“Cuz!?” he exclaimed, galloping toward the worn out group, “Can ya hear me? Cuz!”

Torrin made to see what the commotion was, but Chief Thunderhooves was wise enough to keep the young colt at bay. “Get aboard the transport little one.” he ordered, his speech interrupted by a deep snort, “It would seem it shall soon be time to leave.”

“Get them inside!” Little Strongheart ordered, pointing her hoof authoritatively to two groups of buffalo, “You four and you four, strap into the stocks! We have to get these ponies out of here!”

“What happened?” Braeburn questioned, watching his cousin and her two lifeless friends get placed tenderly on the beds inside the carriage, “Are they okay?”

Fluttershy didn’t have time for questions. She had to do whatever she could to maintain her friends’ health. For her part, Pinkie Pie moved with purpose over to Thunderhooves and Torrin, obviously taking it upon herself to get the colt on board.

In the end, it was Little Strongheart who addressed Braeburn’s concern. “They’re badly hurt, but they will live.” she bowed her head, “I’m sorry, but could you please get aboard? We really need to leave.”

Braeburn bit his lip for a moment, looking up to the carriage and at his cousin being carefully attended to by the shy pegasus who seemed committed to staying by her side.

“I... I’m not getting aboard.” he replied tentatively, “I’m goin’ back to Appleoosa. The town’s in chaos, and I can do more there than I can here.”

Little Strongheart seemed to accept the earth pony’s decision. She made to leave him to his resolution, but before she could step away, Braeburn grabbed her.

“Just promise me ya’ll get her back.” he said without looking at the buffalo girl, “I don’t wanna leave her as she is, but I got no choice... I have to trust you with this.”

“I promise.” Little Strongheart bowed, “I shall even accompany the train back to Canterlot. I wish you luck at Appleoosa... as soon as things have calmed here, the chief will most certainly send aid.”

And with that, the earth pony was off, galloping along the length of the railway line that lead back to Appleoosa. As he departed, Thunderhooves stepped in next to his daughter.

“The carriage is nearly prepared.” he grunted, “I must stay here and ensure the conflict does not spill over into our land. I leave it for you to honour our debt to these ponies, for settling our past qualms.

“May the spirit of our ancestors help you guide them safely to their homes.” he concluded, ushering Little Strongheart aboard the carriage, “I shall keep watch over the land until you return.”

“Thank you chief.” Little Strongheart said from the doorway, the train beginning to move as the buffalo pulling it kicked into action, “I shall do you proud.”

Chapter 10: Snow Goings

From the Ashes

Chapter 10: Snow Goings

In contrast to the chaos that had befallen Appleoosa, the town of Hordimare had calmed down significantly since the morning’s incident. For her heroism, Rainbow Dash was getting the star treatment, which even for an old fashioned small town like Hordimare, was not without its perks.

“If there’s anything else you require...” the gracious servant bowed, “Please, do not hesitate to ask.”

“Well...” Rainbow Dash began, “In that case, how about you-”

“We’re fine, thank you.” Marco interrupted, “Just let us know if someone comes asking for ‘the pegasus’.”

As Rainbow Dash’s newly acquired servant left the room bowing, she and Marco relaxed in the lodging they had been provided with, free of charge since Dash had ‘saved’ the town from the vicious ‘black beast’.

She leaped up onto an oddly fluffy object that was neither bedding nor seating, and exhaled deeply in satisfaction. “Ahh...” she sighed, “That was a good idea back there Marco. These guys really know how to treat a lady.”

“Did you just call yourself a lady?” Marco asked in jest, “Now that’s something to write home about.”

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Dash replied flustered, “I just meant that uh... well, forget it.”

Marco snuffed a laugh. “Will do.” he accepted, “But in the meantime, I wanna hear more about Gilda. If my suspicions are accurate, she’ll be here any time now, and it’d be best if I didn’t jump in blind, so to speak.”

“Hrm, well...” Dash pondered, “Apart from the obvious, my advice would be to play it cool.”

“You must be joking.” Marco chuckled, “That’s your advice?”

“Listen dude.” she replied disapprovingly, “G respects cool. If you get her to respect you, she’ll be more cooperative right?”

Marco tapped his muzzle at that. “So what you’re saying is...” he said, “I ‘play it cool’ and she’s more prone to share her knowledge on Tager?”

“Bingo. But don’t worry...” Dash replied smugly, “You’ve got the master of cool here to help you out!”

Marco copied Dash’s grin. “The self-proclaimed ‘master’ of cool you mean?” he shot back, “I think I’ll manage without your tutelage.”

“You better.” Dash teased, “Because I think we might have company.”

An audible ruckus broke out downstairs. Marco’s ears perked to hear a few muffled voices as someone or something downstairs had their heart evidently set on coming upstairs.

“Sounds like.” he said, “About time too-”

“Yeah.” Rainbow Dash replied reservedly, “About time.”

“Nervous?” Marco asked, “Listen, I know you two didn’t part on the best of terms, but this is important.

Don’t worry, I’ll take the lead.” he continued reassuringly, “But I will need you to jump in if I can’t get her to hear us out.”

Rainbow Dash gave a silent nod, and the two of them slowly turned to face the door, expecting a griffin to come through it any moment now. She’d probably go right ahead and knock it from it hinges if the sounds from downstairs were any indication...

Gilda displayed no hesitation in intruding on Marco and Rainbow Dash. The griffin’s expression snapped from expectancy to surprise at the sight of the dark grey earth pony, and then to full-blown shock at the sight of her old friend; thing was, it wasn’t the one she was expecting.

Marco had prepared himself to talk confidently, but that was proving difficult given that until this very moment, he had never seen, met, or even talked to a griffin before. It was one thing to see a picture and read a book, but in the flesh a griffin in her prime was something a pony should be a little more ready to face.

At first Marco watched Dash and Gilda stare at each other in shock, but he soon shelved his nervousness and quickly regained control. “I’m gonna take a stab in the dark here and say we weren’t what you were expecting.” he said, grabbing the griffin’s attention, “Am I right? Gilda?”

“Who-” Gilda made to ask, but quickly swapped back to Rainbow Dash, “That’s you isn’t it Dash? What are you doing here? Why-”

“You’ve got a few questions it seems.” Marco cut in, “What a coincidence. So do we.”

Gilda didn’t appear to care for interruptions at a moment like this. “And just who the heck are you?” she asked angrily, talking an intimidating step forwards, “Why are you here?”

“What do you mean?” Marco asked, keeping his cool, “This is our room. You’re the one who barged in.”

Gilda stepped back and turned her attention back to Rainbow Dash. “So then, you’re the pegasus everypony’s talking about?” she asked her, looking anywhere but at her eyes, “The one that saved the town?”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t look the griffin in the eye either. “Kind of... I mean, not really.” she struggled, “But I am the one you heard about...”

An awkward silence begun to develop, but Marco was there to make sure it didn’t prosper. “That’s right.” he said, stepping up next to Gilda, “Tager’s not here. Not yet at least...”

Gilda’s eyes sprung up and met Marco’s. It was clear that his plan to slip that pegasus’ name in had hit home. “How do you know that name?” she asked, looking with confusion back to Rainbow Dash, “Did Dash tell you?”

Marco nodded to Dash, prompting her to intervene. “Hey G. Why don’t you sit down?” she asked, finally looking to her old friend, “We need to talk...”

* * * *

On what could very well be the opposite side of the world, the smoke was finally settling over the chilling Appleoosa evening. The town itself had emerged somewhat from their nightmare, and they mostly had Braeburn to thank. With their oppressors gone, the brave earth pony swept through the town, and with the aid of his buffalo allies, brought back order to the settlement. Emboldened by the prospect of redemption, the once-turned lawponies took charge and spurred the whole town into picking itself back up and repairing the damage.

Silverstar, Ceasler and Slayde were all already under care at the small hospital, and as soon as Braeburn caught onto their condition, he went to see them for himself. The sheriff would be out of action for a while, but would apparently make a full recovery. The two night guards however, were a different story. The young unicorn was in a critical condition, but the doctor was cautiously optimistic that he would turn out okay. His partner on the other hoof was in a much more sorry state. Comatose, and with steadily dropping vitals, it didn’t look good for the aged pegasus. If Ceasler stood a chance of pulling through, it was something he would have to manage on his own. The doctor could do nothing more to improve the odds.

It was well and truly night by the time Braeburn left the hospital. And while he wasn’t easy to leave his uncertainties behind, his town still needed to do much to get over their own hardships, and he knew they wouldn’t be able to manage without his help.

“Well, at least they ain’t in there for nothing.” he said to himself as he reflected upon what the three had given themselves for, “Yer sacrifices weren’t wasted. So just take your time and come out okay. You’ve done your bit, now you just gotta leave the rest to us.”

On that sombre note, he continued out into the night and onto the next task awaiting him. And while he couldn’t know it, there was still one other who had given their all into ensuring the girls made it back safely. And with the coming of night, her own struggle had finally come to and end...

Philomena lay in a heap, her once flaming plumage now flickering weakly with dying embers. Truant stood before her, savouring his victory as he bent down slightly to pick up the object at his hooves.

“Ah, I see...” he spoke, staring at the magical amulet before his eyes, “This object was made to be a beacon. It was what guided you here, and I imagine, would permit the one who crafted it the ability to teleport to the location of its wielder. Very clever.

“It would seem then that I now have in my possession a fragment of the princess’ soul, or more importantly, a font of alicorn energies.” he continued, smiling mirthlessly to the defeated creature sprawled out before him, “Experimenting with such a thing could unlock for me further power. Soon, I won’t even need Terra in order to stand against Canterlot.”

While Truant was preoccupied by his own thoughts, Philomena took the chance to do away with the letter she had come to deliver. Subtly negotiating back onto her talons, she let the tightly sealed scroll drop before flicking a barely burning wing out so as to ignite the missive.

But Truant was not as distracted as Philomena thought. Seeing her move, his black magic whipped out and struck the weakened phoenix, slapping her out of range of her last ditch ploy. “Defiant to the last, hrm?” the unicorn mocked, walking over casually and picking up the letter, “I suppose I should expect no less. Your master would be impressed.”

The beaten figure of Philomena let out an unhealthy and frustrated coo before slumping for the final time. That last blow had put her down for the count. Her beady eyes closed in exhaustion just as Truant’s begun to pore over the letter she had brought.

“Well now, loosing the child and his escort was a small price to pay for this information.” he smiled, “A letter between companions located here, and in the snow village of Hordimare. So the search for hero number one has led them there? Wait. No, that doesn’t seem to be the case...

Truant continued to read the letter in its entirety before commenting further. “Oh, now I understand.” he spoke again, having realized, “They seek a griffin female who they are apparently certain can direct them to the hero. They refer to the griffin as Gilda, but they have not called the hero by name. A pity. Perhaps they do not know it? Or it could be that they have taken precautions for this possibility?

“Unlikely. For if that was the case, there would be no excuse for their more sensitive communiqué to go uncensored.” the unicorn smirked wickedly, eyeing the defeated phoenix, “Perhaps it’s better I don’t question it. After all, I could not be more lucky than to have come across such a fragile secret...”

Truant’s smile developed as the implications of the letter left him feeling unusually enthused. “Canterlot lies defenceless? Its true ruler sealed, its stand-in spirited away, its guard shattered and its citizenship fearful?” he animated his words, energised by the thought of it all, “In all the time that disgusting city has stood, there has never been a better chance to tear it down! Maybe after the city falls they will finally understand what they’re up against!”

He took a meaningful step towards Philomena. “I admit, I was not looking forward to informing Terra that the child slipped by me.” he spoke, regaining his composure as he became utterly deadpan once more, “But with this information... ha! It is of far higher value than denying your desperate friends a practically infant prophet. We will track the griffin as they have, force from her the hero’s location, end Luna’s resistance before it gains any momentum, and raze her city for good measure.”

Truant was before the phoenix, mocking her. “With this, those girls you saved have become worthless, and your efforts for naught.” he spat, “Your sacrifice has meant nothing.”

By way of response, Philomena raised her head once more. Even if she could speak, it would not be necessary. Even if her flames were dying, the fire inside was burning as bright as ever.

“And yet you hope?” Truant questioned, comprehending her tenacity, “You still have faith in the others? Do you think that they can still enlist the first hero? Do you think Canterlot will remain standing? Do you think that they can stop any of this? They haven’t so far, so I wonder how you can be so confident, even now. To my eyes, it makes you nothing but a blindly loyal beast.

“I shall tell you this not through hubris, or because I wish to see your hope die before you yourself do, but because you have earned some level of honesty through challenging me so brazenly.” he said darkly, his voice eerily level, “These friends of yours, the ones searching out the griffin in Hordimare; they do not know it, but they are upon our doorstep. The Lost Valley, thought to be uninhabitable and practically unknown to the world, has served to us as the perfect hideout. As I return there, with the information from this letter and the magic of Luna’s amulet, it will be a simple task to lay their efforts to waste.

“Fate has been, and continues to operate in our favour. Hilariously so.” Truant’s horn glowed a sickly black, “And your part in their workings, my dear Philomena, is over.”

Virtually invisible against the darkened landscape, the unicorn’s black magic flared out, enveloping the entire scene in its malice. A second flash pulsed out, the aftermath of Truant teleporting away back to Lost Valley, the intercepted letter and stolen amulet both in his possession.

* * * *

Though it was hard to see through the swirling clouds above, the sun shining over Lost Valley was at its highest point in the sky, informing the trio surveying the snowy landscape around them that it was somewhere close to noon. The town that had become but a shadow beyond the cold mist would, if Marco’s reasoning had anything to it, only now be starting their day since the chill was beginning to lift.

Such a thing was hard to believe out in Lost Valley however. Marco and Rainbow Dash stood shivering despite the thick woollen coats covering their bodies. They had been provided free of charge, which was only natural since the town now considered Rainbow Dash to be the hero of Hordimare.

The pegasus kept her ears warm under a thick beanie, but the earth pony beside her has simply stuck with his black cowboy hat. Gilda was beside him, but she wore nothing but her own feathers. To be fair, she had been offered a few garments that might fit a griffin, but she declined, claiming that enduring the cold was an element of her own training regime.

A regime that, as it happens, was not entirely unrelated to how the trio were now back in the thick the inhospitable valley. Rainbow Dash however, with her teeth chattering despite the woollen layers covering virtually every inch of her body, still felt the need to ask...

“What the hay are we doing out here again?” she asked, shrugging her coat on tighter, “Marco said that Tager would come to us!”

“Weren’t you listening to Gilda?” Marco shot back, more resistant to the cold than the pegasus, but still shivering, “Tager is out here, and she’s not coming back to Hordimare.”

“Yeah, okay... I remember that much.” Dash replied, turning her attention on Gilda, “But we still haven’t heard why! Or how you know all this stuff!”

“What she means is...” Marco intervened, wary of Dash’s tone, “The whole world’s looking for her right now, but you seem to be the only one who knows where to find her. How were you able to track her down?”

“That’s easy.” Gilda replied simply, “I didn’t.”

“What?!” Dash exclaimed, “But you said-”

Marco cut her off, raising his hoof between the two. “Go on...” he said directly at the griffin.

“Thing is, no one can track Tager. She’s too good.” Gilda shrugged again, “But while we’re hunting her, she’s also hunting somepony. I found her by tracking that somepony. And it turns out he’s here, in Lost Valley. That’s my so-called secret.”

“You? Tracking?” Marco asked, taking the claim with a grain of salt, “Not buying it. Have you ever done something like this before?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Gilda asked defensively, “Fine. No I haven’t. But no matter what you think, it wasn’t hard to find the number one most wanted pony in Equestria. Ponies tend to notice, and he in particular stands out, especially when the only ponies in a hundred miles are all earth ponies.”

“Most Wanted?” Dash repeated, “Didn’t that latest letter from the others mention those guys? Do we know who the number one was?”

“No we don’t.” Marco replied, “We do know that two of them were in Appleoosa.”

“The guy’s name is Haywire.” Gilda spoke up, deciding to shed some light, “He’s a pegasus, and a freaky one at that. The posters call him the ‘Mad Doctor’ or something. I’ve heard that he’s nowhere near as strong as the second most wanted, but whatever. He’s got the bigger bounty for a reason I guess.”

“I’m still wondering how you are so certain that Tager is hunting this, uh... doctor.” Marco was still doubtful, “You can’t be basing this on much if you haven’t seen her since you were-”

“Look, you probably know that Tager’s been bumping off baddies everywhere she goes, but it’s not for the reasons ponies say it is.” Gilda cut him off, “The Tager we knew would never change, and she’s always, always been out to prove that she’s number one. And everypony knows that to be the strongest, you’ve got to be beat the strongest.”

Marco had to think on that. He had looked up what information there was on Tager, and he had to admit that Gilda’s description made much more sense than the conflicting reports he had found. If she was only motivated by a desire to prove herself, then it would explain why some thought she was a villain and others a hero. He turned to Dash to see if her own knowledge of Tager said the same. The pegasus just nodded, apparently on the same wavelength as Gilda. It seemed as if this aspect of Tager’s personality truly was certain.

“Suppose you’re right...” Marco conceded, “But that only makes it less likely that she is here. You just said Haywire wasn’t actually the most powerful. If you know this, she would too, so there’s no reason for her to be out here looking for second-best.”

“T’s always been more of a ‘proof-is-in-the-pudding’ type of pony.” Rainbow Dash was the one to cut him off this time, “Half the reason Gilda and her became friends was because she never paid attention to face-value, or rumours and all that stuff.”

“Exactly.” Gilda replied, “And that means the only thing she cares about is that bounty, because that says for certain who’s more dangerous than who.”

The group moved further and further into the valley as they talked. As they continued on into a higher part of the valley, the chilling wind suddenly picked up, almost blowing away Marco’s hat. Even Gilda, who had been braving the weather well so far, shivered slightly as the warm air under her feathers was blown away.

“Here’s an idea!” Dash called, her voice raised so as to speak over the wind, “Tager’s out hunting some Haywire guy; I get it! But she’s gonna come back to Hordimare once she’s done right?! Can’t we just, I don’t know... go back to that warm and cosy lodge and wait for her?!”

“No dice Dash.” Gilda called back, moving ever forwards, “She wouldn’t come. Don’t you guys remember what I was saying about cold-weather flying training? You know, why I wanted to come up here without clothes?”

“Oh yeah!” the pegasus replied, “I thought you were joking!”

“I thought you had lost your mind.” Marco chipped in, “But you did say the ‘cold-weather’ was another reason why Tager’s out here.”

“That’s because it is.” Gilda replied, forcing her voice to cease its shivering, “Out here the air is thin and the wind is cold. It’s the perfect spot for hardcore pegasi to come and train themselves to be able to fly stronger. Heck, it’s hard enough to even breath on the mountains. If you can fly there, you can pretty much fly anywhere.”

“Dash still has a point.” Marco said, increasing his pace somewhat, “Coming out here and looking doesn’t mean we will find her. If we stayed back at town, we stood a good chance of her finding us.”

“Not to mention we could be doing it in the comfort of that awesome lodge!” Dash added, “Beats being out here freezing my flank off!”

“You were the ones who said you couldn’t waste any time!” Gilda snapped back, “Whether Tager is out here hunting Haywire or training herself against the elements, she’s gonna be out here for days!”

“You’re right when you say we can’t waste time, but my point still stands!” Marco replied, “This valley is huge; how in Equestria are we going to find her? The visibility out here has been getting worse and worse the more we move in!”

“When I was in Hordimare asking about Tager, I found this guy who talked to her about training out here.” Gilda replied, “She wanted to know the highest point in the valley, and I’m betting that the answer she got was the same as mine...”

Gilda pointed a talon forwards, indicating a mountaintop clearly visibly even amid the forming mist. “If she’s training, she’ll be on that peak.” the griffin continued, “And no matter how bad visibility is down here, the mist can’t reach very high.”

“But it still gets colder and colder right?” Dash asked, hugging her coat ever closer, “I wish I could just fly up there and check; it wouldn’t even take a second... but I’d be a snowflake if I got too high.”

“And here I thought I’d be slowing you two down.” Marco joked, the only one among them without wings, “But I guess earth ponies like me were made to handle the cold a bit better huh?”

He received no response. He wasn’t expecting a laugh, but even still... the two girls were oddly silent. Dash especially. He turned to ask her what was wrong, but the look on her face said it all. She stared upwards at the mountain top, or rather, the horrendous looking cyclone forming in the clouds above its peak.

“Shit...” Marco gasped, “How is there a cyclone out here?! That doesn’t even make sense! The conditions are all wrong!”

“That’s because it isn’t a cyclone...” Gilda said forebodingly, watching as the swirling mass of clouds focused to a point and dipped down, on a collision course for the ground beneath her talons, “We should probably bail.”

“It’s too late!” Dash hunkered down, bracing herself to be blown away. Gilda and Marco did the same.

“Try and stick together!” Marco yelled as it neared, his voice blocked out as the roar of the wind intensified, “If we’re separated, try to-”

He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence. The storm was upon them, and in a blur of wind and ice, the great spiral sent the trio bailing off in random directions. The air shaking as the clash of earth and sky concluded, rocks, stumps, mist and snow were sent flying as one, the land below redesigned through sheer force.

A minute later, one would be forgiven for regarding the event as never happening. Now that the storm had passed, the air was still and a flat blanket of snow had settled over the landscape. Which, funnily enough, left this part of the valley looking less arduous than it did before. And while the settled snow had the odd dislodged rock and dirt mound sticking out, the more noticeable disruption was the jet-black cowboy hat laying owner-less right in the middle of a newly-created clearing.

Suddenly, the snow beneath the hat erupted and Marco’s head popped out, reclaiming his treasured possession and gulping in air in one motion. He quickly proceeded to unearth himself and look about, noticing almost instantly that he seemed to be alone.

Worried that the others may have been buried too, Marco took unsteady steps through the snow and onto higher ground, looking for a sign of someone else. It didn’t take him long to find one...

Just beside a mound of clumpy earth and snow, the surface quaked somewhat, whoever was under it obviously struggling to get out...

“Hold on!” Marco called, moving over and digging at the snow, “I’ve got ya!”

Just as he begun to wonder how deep down they had been buried, the ground underneath him quaked more intensely for a moment, before it unexpectedly exploded outward as the pegasus below finally won over the pressure bearing down on her, sending Marco and the ground below him flying backwards in the process.

“You alright?” Marco called, picking himself up and moving over to the newly created pit so that he could confirm who was in it, “Is that you Dash?”

He was about half right. The figure that emerged was a pegasus, but she wasn’t of the rainbow-maned variety. Nor was she wearing a woollen coat or beanie either...

“Oh shit.” Marco gasped, recognising the maroon coat and khaki mane, “Y...you’re-”

“EURGAH!” Tager roared, blasting her way out from the snow in a rage, “Fuck that’s cold!”

Marco tumbled backwards from the combined burst of force and surprise. He recovered quickly, but by the time he was back on his hooves, Tager was up and out of her hole and had placed her shivering self directly in front of his vulnerable position.

“Well, that was a damn failure.” the fearsome vigilante said to herself through chattering teeth, “I guess that move doesn’t hold together in the cold...”

Marco was frozen in his own right, stunned into silence by the appearance of the pegasus before him. Like the posters, her mane was stuck up in a mean mohawk, but what was new to him were the girl’s apparent accessories. There was a thick ceramic bracer at the tip of her tail, and on her flank was what looked like thick and hard leather hides. They seemed to be exceptionally heavy, and much to Marco’s chagrin, they covered her cutie-mark.

“And just what the hell are you looking at?!” Tager questioned, her threat undermined somewhat by her shivering voice, “What’s a chump like you doing out here in the valley?”

As she finished her blunt question and finally turned to acknowledge his presence, her vicious eyes seemed to look him over one more time. The realization she came to was not lost on Marco...

“Oh god.” he backed up in vain, “No, no... no no no! Wait!”

* * * *

“You alright Dash?” Gilda asked, having pulled the frosty pegasus out of the snow by the tail, “Yo, Dash? Hello?”

“Erguh... thanks G.” Dash managed, still being held up by her tail, “What the heck happened?”

“Dunno.” the griffin replied complacently as she looked about, releasing her hold on the pegasus as she did so, “I heard that the weather around here got pretty nuts, but that was unreal.”

Unassisted, Dash fell face first back into the snow. Pulling herself up and shaking the snow loose from her mane, she moved in beside Gilda and joined her in looking around. “Yeah, no kidding.” Dash agreed to the previous observation, “Hey, can you see Marco anywhere?”

“Hrm...” Gilda hummed as she finished surveying the immediate area, “Nope. He must have been-”

“ARGH!” a desperate cry echoed out, cutting the griffin’s sentence short and directing her head westward...

“That’s Marco’s voice!” Dash exclaimed, also pointing herself in the direction of the shriek, “Something must’ve happened!”

“Come on then!” Gilda moved first, taking wing and keeping low, “Let’s go find out what.”

The pair was upon the scene in moments, able to fly the short distance despite the cold. As they circled around the snow mound blocking the way, Dash saw fit to call out and see if her companion was near...

“Marco!” she yelled, not sure of where exactly his cry had come from, “What’s wrong-”

Her next words froze in her throat. If Gilda was about to say something, she never got a chance to...

Marco lay head over hooves, eyes spinning and his only clothing being the black hat on his head. He was firmly entrenched in his own mound of snow not far behind the victorious figure of Tager, the pegasus having claimed Marco’s woollen clothing as her own.

“Ahh...” Tager smiled a relived and warm smile despite the violence she had just committed, “That’s so much better! Thanks a bunch pal-”

Her heartfelt appreciation was cut short as she noticed two familiar faces staring back at her with varying levels of surprise. The griffin had eyes only for her, but the pegasus beside her seemed indecisive in her gaze, occasionally shifting between concern for Marco and surprise at Tager.

“Holy... crap.” Tager drawled, having put names to faces, “Maybe I’m a popsicle after all, ‘cause there’s no way I ain’t dreaming...”

She rubbed at her glassy eyes, trying to dispel any possibility of delusion. “Urgh, I still don’t believe it.” she droned, all but forgetting the coldness of her body now that she was thawing out, thanks primarily due to Marco’s ‘donation’ of clothes, “Dash? Gilda? If this is the afterlife, someone must be fucking with me.”

“Yes! I knew it!” Gilda smiled wide, her long hunt finally over, “I’d recognise that attitude anywhere! I’ve been looking everywhere for you Tags!”

“Oh my gosh...” Dash also gasped, “It really is you! Are... are you okay T? You look half-frozen!”

Marco groaned pointedly in the background, but it went unheard. Considering the icicles formed on the pegasus’ coat and muzzle, her seizure of his clothing bordered on justified.

“I don’t know many girls who would dare call me by those names...” Tager replied, accepting the truth of the reunion, “I guess I really am alive! You guys! It’s been forever! How you doing?”

“Forget us!” Dash stepped in, “Look at you, you sure you’re alright?”

“Tsk, could be worse.” Tager shrugged of the concern of her old friend, “The wind currents up there could turn a buffalo into an ice cube.”

“Whoa, wait...” Dash’s eyes went wide, “That huge typhoon, that was you?!”

“Well, yeah.” Tager raised an icy eyebrow, “If the frigging air wasn’t so dense you would’ve seen something much cooler than that.”

“It’s so awesome seeing you again Tags!” Gilda practically swooned, “I really have been lookin’ forward to this!”

“Well it’s good to see you too G.” Tager replied honestly, able to tell the griffin’s behaviour was different than usual despite having not seen her since she was a kid, “You too Dash. It’d be great to catch up, but you gotta let me ask something before I forget.”

“Yeah?” Gilda replied enthusiastically, “What’s that Tags?”

“Oh, it’s nothing really...” Tager moved in closer, “But I was just wondering, what the hell possessed you two to play around in the middle of Lost Valley?”

“Well, uh...” Dash mumbled, not quite sure how to put it, “We came here looking for you. We need your help T.”

“Not me though.” Gilda cut in, “I would’ve come here anyway!”

“Wait, what?” Tager cocked her head, “If G ain’t in on it, who’s ‘we’?”

“We? You know... we-” Dash stopped short and her face fell, “Oh no. I totally forgot... Marco!”

“He’s been laying there the whole time.” Gilda pointed her claw complacently at Marco’s naked figure, “I know you’re fast Dash, but... well, you can be kinda ‘slow’ sometimes.”

As if in response to the delayed recognition, Marco rose up from his pitiful state all on his own, the snow clinging to his exposed body.

“Are you alright?” Dash asked sheepishly, embarrassed that he’d gone neglected all this time, “What happened to you?”

“Oh, was he a friend of yours?” Tager smirked, “Oops.”

Realizing, Gilda couldn’t help but chuckle. “Looks like Tager happened.” she remarked facetiously, “Classic Tags.”

“Oh, just shut up and help him.” Dash ordered, her authority strong, “Unlike someone, he didn’t volunteer to come out here without clothes.”

“Haha, wow.” Tager said in surprise, “Since when were you so bossy Dash?”

“Urgh, give me a break.” Gilda moaned as she sheltered the freezing Marco from the wind under her wing, “Nopony’s the boss of me.”

Offended somewhat by the gesture, Marco slapped Gilda’s wing away. He may have been tempted to tell her off, but there was some one here that deserved his full attention.

I’m just gonna take a wild guess here...” he begun, stepping up to the vigilante before him, “But you wouldn’t by any chance be Tager would you?”

“The one and only.” she replied, taking a step forwards herself, “You come for my bounty?”

“Do I really seem capable to you?” Marco questioned.

Dash and Gilda exchanged a quick look as the discussion changed pace. They silently decided that they should stay out of it for the time being and simply listen.

“I make a point of not judging anypony ‘til I’ve seen what they’re made of for myself.” Tager replied nonchalantly, “Anyway, tell me why you an’ Dash were out lookin’ for me. It’s not my job to guess what you want.”

“Hrm? What’s the matter?” Marco asked, “You’re not in a hurry are you?”

“Not really. It’s just that guys who talk in questions often aim to waste my time.” Tager replied evenly, “Now tell me what you’ve got to do with me, unless you’re trying to test my patience. Because that won’t go well.”

Marco gulped nervously. If he had thought that Celestia was wrong in believing Tager to be the one mentioned in the prophecy, then such doubts had just been put to rest. It wasn’t just because she matched up to the description either. Feeling her cold gaze and no-games attitude combined with an overwhelming aura of strength, there wasn’t any way for Marco to think that she was anything but the first hero. To be able to talk with her like this went to show just how unassumingly she wielded her might.

“My business will have to wait.” he finally said, levelling with her, “Believe it or not, Rainbow Dash and myself are here on a mission given to us by Princess Luna. To put it plainly, we’re trying to save Equestria, and that goal has led us to you.”

“Save what now?” Tager cocked her head, “Granted, I’ve been out of the world for spell, but the last time I checked, it didn’t need saving.”

“This time around it really came out of the blue T.” Dash jumped in, “There’s this guy called Terra trying to rule the world, and we figured out that you’re the one who’s meat to take him down! It’s like your destiny or something!”

Tager was incredulous, and so she turned to Gilda. “Are these two fucking with me or something?” she asked the silent griffin, “What’s going on here G?”

“They’re telling the truth Tags.” Gilda replied, “Turns out the world outside’s in real deep this time. You’re supposed to be one of the few who can fix it.”

“That’s still a shitty explanation.” Tager puffed, “You lot better start from the beginning. What have I got to do with this crap?”

“I guess there was no avoiding it.” Marco shrugged, “Open up your ears. This may take a minute...”

“Whatever, just don’t sugar-coat it.” Tager snapped back, “I haven’t got all day...”

* * * *

Elsewhere, in one of the many hidden nooks of the Lost Valley, a deep cave spiralled deep into the earth and far out of the reach of any degree of weather.

Truant sat alone in the illuminated tunnel, toying with the amulet he had taken from the aftermath of his battle with Philomena. His black magic cast away the decorative components, its socket, it’s housing, until only the raw fragment of Luna’s soul remained. Fixated by the concept of such a thing, he failed to notice a shadowy pony emerge from behind, each and every feature of his being hidden beneath a tattered and sickly-green coloured cloak. If there was one thing that was certain, it was that he was an earth pony. Not only because he lacked the horn of a unicorn and the wings of a pegasus, but because he was known to Truant practically as Terra’s ambassador. This pony was the one who brought together the most wanted and organized them in anticipation of his return. Which in turn made him the only one other than the princess and the prophet that had access to such knowledge prior to his release.

As Truant became aware of the pony’s presence, he couldn’t help but wonder why anonymity was so important at this juncture. The only conclusion he could draw was that he still had a role to play outside of relaying directions from Terra to the coalition of criminals he preferred not to associate with.

“How’s it coming along?” the anonymous figure asked as he approached, dispelling Truant’s thoughts, “Is it what you were expecting?”

“And more.” Truant replied, barely looking up from his work as he shelved his own queries, “It is not so much raw power, but potential. The potential of an alicorn. If I can unlock its secrets, I will definitely be of more use to Terra.”

“You needn’t try to justify it.” came the reply, “In gathering up the most wanted, I was fully aware that you would all have your own agendas. If you’re just trying obtain further strength, you are free to do so.”

At this, Truant chuckled ever so softly.

“Hm?” the cloaked pony turned to the unicorn, “What is it?”

“It’s just interesting is all.” Truant replied, “You speak as if the words are your own, but the one for whom you speak has yet to show himself at this cave. You organized and planned for this well before he returned, so I find it hard to believe Terra truly is the one dictating how we have been operating so far.”

“I wish to see Terra succeed just as much as he himself.” the shadowy pony replied, “But his attention is better directed where it is more suited. Besides, his tolerance for a some of you is limited, rightly so.”

“I never thought you would say it so plainly.” Truant admitted, still tinkering with the gemstone before him, “So he truly does regard us as nothing but a means to an end?”

“And you truly regard him as a means to your end, no?” the mystery pony responded, “Among those I painstakingly gathered to form this small fighting force, few have pledged allegiance for the reasons Terra desires. You may be better off never meeting him, for you are essentially riding on his coattails to satisfy your own vendetta.”

“That is somewhat true, but it only makes me more curious as to why you decided to amass us bounty heads.” Truant placed the gemstone down and faced the anonymous pony, “Wanted ponies are not traditionally the most trustworthy nor dependable of individuals. You acknowledge that we all have our own agenda, yet aim to have us work in concert for the sake of a different agenda? You do not strike me as a fool, so I cannot help but wonder what it is you hope to achieve with such inoperable tools.”

“True, I am dealing with outlaws motivated by a great variety of things. Be they possessed by hatred, a lust for power, the fulfilment of some duty, madness, jealousy, or lust, bringing such ponies together under one banner would be nothing short of chaotic.” the shadowy pony counted off the themes, “But our fortune is that you all seek the same thing. You all desire to see Canterlot fall.”

“That is true, but it does not settle my concern.” Truant stood tall, glaring down with intent, “Canterlot falls as we speak. What would you have of your ‘fighting force’ once it has fulfilled its purpose? A betrayal would come as no surprise...”

As he said those bold words, the air in the cave seemed to lurch, and at the centre of the distortion, a familiar black smoke heralded the appearance of a unexpected visitor.

“Betrayal?” Terra repeated, “Is that the appropriate expectation? How troubling...”

“Welcome back King.” the cloaked pony bowed, “I trust it went well?”

Truant found himself staring. he had heard that Terra’s eyes were similar to his own, that they were smoky green orbs devoid of pupil and iris. But the pony before him had no such quality. In white eyes sat hardened and intense emerald irises, wasting no movements as he quickly surveyed the cave and the two stallions within. He could only guess that this was how they normally were, and that they glowed only when his odd powers were being used.

“Yes, the seal on Celestia has been bolstered, and is now fit to contain her sister as well.” Terra spoke, satisfied with his surroundings, “What is the situation here? Have they been sent to Canterlot yet?”

“Yes.” the bowing pony replied, “Truant here teleported the twins as instructed, but it seems as though Atlas decided to make his own way. He left a day ago, and I suspect he does not even know that the city’s defences are down. Nevertheless, the three of them should soon have Canterlot under their control.”

“Very good.” Terra nodded, “So then, this must be the Truant. A pleasure to meet you at last.”

“Likewise.” Truant replied, not sure of what to expect. His posture stiffened ever so slightly, fearing that conflict might yet ensue.

Terra noticed. “You may relax unicorn.” he said easily, “You have been instrumental thus far, and despite what you may think, I do not simply discard of those to whom I find myself owing. And while it may be fair for you to expect such a thing from our mutual enemy, I am not she. I, like you, wish to see that crown fall.”

“I do not aim to be disrespectful, but why then was I told to remain here while the others have been tasked with bringing down the city?” Truant asked boldly, “With my power, surely I could be of better service with the others?”

Terra paced for a moment, foreign thoughts moving about his mind. “It is my aim to raise my own kind up to their rightful place.” he begun, “For that to happen, the world needs to see what the earth pony are capable of. Atlas and the sisters should not have a unicorn beside them when they make that proclamation, when they spit that throne in two. And while your own strength is daunting, the gift I have bestowed upon the twins will be enough to ensure their success. Your abilities are better suited here.”

“I was meaning to ask what that gift of yours truly was.” Truant changed topic, “I was quite thoroughly surprised to see what had become of them after I returned from Appleoosa. I asked them myself, but they were in no fit state to explain.”

“As I said, this is to show the world the potential of my kind.” Terra replied mysteriously, “My ‘gift’, will leave no doubt of what we are capable of.”

A silence developed as Truant recognised how particular the king was with his words. At least for now, the nature of his ‘gift’ would remain a mystery.

“What now my king?” the anonymous pony spoke up, ending the moment of quiet, “How should we proceed from here?”

“The way I see it, our foe’s objective is obvious. So too then is our method of thwarting them.” Terra replied, “Truant, travel to the town of Hordimare. Seek out the griffin Gilda, and force from her the location of the first hero. As it was with that other town, utilize the townsfolk as necessary, but try to avoid fatalities. It is an earth pony town, and I would like to see if they can be turned after we have found the first hero.

“If you do find a pegasus you believe to be the hero, slay her and any company she keeps.” he continued, “Now I must go once more. I have further preparations to make.”

Certain that his meaning was understood, Terra whisked himself away to whatever unknown place awaited, his telltale black smoke wafting for a moment before it too vanished.

“Finish whatever measures you intend to take on that amulet before you depart.” the mysterious pony rose up off the ground the moment his king disappeared, regaining his dignity, “Haywire is currently in Hordimare. Meet with him there and do as Terra instructed.

“Use restraint when searching out the griffin, but use whatever measures available to see that our enemy’s hope dies here and now.” he continued, leaving Truant to his gemstone, “End their efforts before they can gain any ground on us.”

* * * *

“Is that it then?” Tager asked flatly, “Me, destiny, a stupid book, some king I’ve never heard of and some chump prophet?”

“Pretty much.” Marco nodded subtly, satisfied with successfully getting the bounty hunter up to speed, “So what do you say? You want to help save Equestria?”

“No.” Tager shot the offer down emotionlessly, “Sorry, but I don’t really care.”

Dash gasped, Gilda grinned, and Marco just stared dead ahead. He had seen that coming just as easily as the griffin had.

“Hold on T...” Dash interjected, “Just lemmie explain it to you a bit better-”

“Save your breath.” Tager cut her off, “You’re right; I don’t really get it, but it’s fine that way. Sorry, but I’m not the type who understands things they’re not interested in. Anyway, I don’t know what the deal is with you two all of a sudden, but I’m busy at the moment.

“Ah, and sorry to you as well Mr. Twenty Questions.” she said to Marco as she turned on the spot and trotted away, still wearing his woolly coat, “Equestria and it’s bitch princesses can handle their little revolution without me.”

“I understand. Gilda already told me you had your own agenda before we came out here looking for you.” Marco said as she left, “The number one bounty head correct? The Mad Doctor Haywire?”

“That’s the one.” Tager shot back, keeping her pace, “I’m gonna take his head.”

“So you can do what exactly? Prove that you’re the strongest?” Marco pushed, making his move, “I’ve heard all about who you are and why you do this. But taking out Haywire won’t make a difference.”

“And what the hell do you know?” Tager asked, stopping her march forward to come face to face with the prying Marco, “And I should tell you to watch your tongue. You being Dash’s friend only means so much to me...”

“All I’m trying to say is that Haywire’s small fry.” Marco grinned despite himself, his nervous sweat freezing instantly in the chilling wind, “If you really are trying to prove yourself by bumping off the strongest, then he’s just a bad place to start...”

“Really? Then who should I be after, huh?” Tager lent in venomously, “You perhaps? Are you trying to tell me you’re the real strongest? Careful, you might convince me...”

“I’m talking about Terra.” Marco matched her hostile gaze, knowing that riding out his bravery would serve him better than backing down at a time like this, “Thousands of years old, wielding power untold to shape the world in his image. He’s bent some of the strongest mortals in the world to his will, and he was even able to take out Celestia and leave Luna running.

“And you Tager, are a hero fated to bring him to his fall.” he continued, driving whatever advantage he had home, “Don’t you get it? You being the best and you taking out Terra are one in the same. Being the strongest isn’t a dream anymore; it’s your destiny!”

“Is this all true Dash?” Tager asked, staring at her friend with her curiosity perfectly masked, “This Terra... is he really that strong?”

“It’s all true T.” Dash replied, “You’ve gotta help us out!”

Gilda found Tager’s gaze turn on her. “Every word Tags.” the griffin nodded, “The guy’s the real deal.”

“So here’s the deal Tager.” Marco said with an edge, sensing his opportunity, “If you step on over to our side, we’ll not only lead you to a direct confrontation with Terra, but we will also get that troublesome bounty on your head revoked. I can tell that the civilized world isn’t really your thing, but there’s no doubt it’ll make life easier.”

With cautious optimism, Rainbow Dash watched as Tager seemed to think about it, mulling it over in her impatient head. She looked down intensely, tapping her muzzle in contemplation. Soon enough however, her hoof was back upon the ground and her blazing eyes were snapped up at Marco.

“You’d better be good for it.” she warned, “Tracking Haywire was no small feat.”
“Then how about we make it solid?” Marco asked, stretching his hoof out, “I promise, that for as long as you follow me around, you will have you chance to defeat Terra.”

Tager grinned first, then spat at her hoof and returned Marco’s gesture. “It’s a deal.” she said, “However, I’m only agreeing to following your lead so you can keep your promise. I will do as I wish no matter what, and if try and boss me around, I’ll make you regret it.”

Marco found himself smile. Withdrawing his hoof and spitting at it, he shook Tager’s firmly. “Nice to meet you then.” he said coyly, “Now if you don’t mind, let’s get on with it.”

Twenty minutes of walking later, ten of it back-tracking to find out where they were now that the landscape had been changed, Marco, Gilda, and Rainbow Dash were back on the path toward Hordimare, their new recruit complaining all the way.

“So, when you said ‘let’s get on with it’...” Tager repeated, “What you meant was ‘let’s trot on back to Hordimare and sit on our asses until your princess is done fuckin’ scuba diving so she can teleport us to Canterlot’?”

“Pretty much.” Marco replied, his pride well and truly swallowed to be protected under Gilda’s wing again as the winds picked up somewhat, “Except first we need to wait for Paragonia, get him to tell the captain we’re waiting for Luna to finish with Neptune, then wait for her to pick us up.”

“Fantastic.” Tager rolled her eyes, “If there’s anything I love, it’s waiting.”

I’m gonna go out on a limb here...” Marco turned to Rainbow Dash, “She ain’t much of a laugher is she?”

“Nope.” she, Gilda, and Tager all replied in unison.

“Well, you can relax.” he continued, “Dash has a toasty and warm lodge for us to loiter in until Luna’s done with her business.”

Tager exhaled tiredly. “Honestly you guys...” she sighed, “This is some crazy shit you’ve roped me into here. I can’t say any of it makes much sense, but as long as Marco keeps his promise, I won’t have to worry.”

They continued to walk, and soon enough Tager found herself by Gilda’s side. “By the way G...” she asked, “What are you gonna do from now? They said you were only in this so you could find me again...”

“The idea was that I could tag along with you for a while and learn a little bit about the bounty business.” Gilda revealed, “If you’re sticking with these two, then I suppose I’ll tag along for a bit.”

Tagger nodded silently at the griffin’s words before they both looked down at the earth pony tucked away by her wing. Rainbow Dash also felt the need to throw in her two-cents...

“What do you think Marco?” she asked in a way that sounded as if she wanted him to decline, “Should we bring her too?”

“We couldn’t have found Tager without her.” Marco reminded the pegasus, “And I’m not in the habit of turning away anyone who’s helped me...

“However, there is on thing I need to be sure of first.” he continued, dropping back out from under Gilda’s wing so that he could face her and Dash simultaneously, “I need to know if you two are able to work together.”

He continued to eye the two of them. “I heard about what happened the last time you two were together.” he said seriously, “If you haven’t seen each other since your falling out, I have to be sure there won’t be problems.”

The two girls looked down. “But Marco-” Dash made to object, but Gilda quickly cut in.

“It’s okay Dash.” she said solemnly, “It’s actually been eating at me for a while. And, well... I’m totally sorry about what happened.”

Dash went totally bug-eyed. She probably never expected to hear an apology from Gilda. Regardless, neither of them noticed as Tager walked up and stood beside Marco and the two of them begun to watch the scene unfold.

“I don’t get it.” Tager admitted, scrunching her muzzle at the implication of emotional baggage, “What happened between those two?”

“Shut up and find out.” Marco replied casually, focused on the conversation in front of him.

“Look, I feel totally bad about making such an ass of myself and being so lame to you and your friends.” she apologised, her pink cheeks made invisible beneath her white down, “I couldn’t see how selfish and uncool I was acting. Is there any way you could, uh... you know, forgive me? Or something...”

Lost Valley was quiet for a moment as everyone waited on Rainbow Dash’s word. “What are you talking about G?” she finally replied, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment, “Holding a grudge is so last year! I forgave you, like, ages ago!”

“Urp... I think I’m gonna puke.” Tager groaned unsympathetically, “Let’s keep moving already... I’ll even stop whining if you guys stop with the sappy crap.”

Gilda and Dash chuckled comfortably at their friend’s discomfort. Together, the two of them obliged by following her back upon the path to Hordimare.

After another ten or so minutes of walking, the group was nearing the edge of the valley. The cold had eased up significantly, so much so that Marco was now relatively comfortable walking unaided. He moved alongside Tager with Gilda and Rainbow Dash behind, the two of them chatting idly now that they had resolved to start anew.

So with his only company being the pegasus next to him, Marco saw fit to break the ice. The idea of making an ice-breaking pun in relation to their frosted surroundings came to mind, but he was better off shelving that for now. It seemed that Tager preferred simple.

“Hey, Tager.” he finally spoke, “Do you mind if I ask you something?”

“Yes.” she replied flatly, “But you’re gonna ask anyway right?”

“That ornament thing attached to your tail...” he begun, “How heavy is it?”

“Dunno.” she shrugged, “Heavy I guess.”

“Is it a weapon then?” Marco continued with the questions, “Or a training aid?”

“A bit of both.” Tager replied, “Why so interested?”

“What about that leather hide you’re wearing?” he asked, ignoring her question, “I guess that’s a training aid too then?”

“You guess correct.” Tager kept it simple, “But what’s it to you?”

“Well, I admit that its placement has been bugging me a bit.” Marco answered, “Is it a coincidence that it covers up your flank?”

“No.” Tager replied plainly, “It’s quite deliberate.”

“So I assume you won’t tell me what you mark is then?” he asked, “Or even if you have one?”

“Good guess.” she smiled slightly, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay, I wasn’t trying to figure out what it was.” he replied, “That said, I am interested in what it isn’t...”

Marco indicated his own cutie-mark. “Just tell me it’s not the same as mine.” he said seriously, “Please. It’s important to me.”

“Okay then.” Tager nodded, “It’s not that.”

With that said, she trotted on ahead and left Marco, stopping him from continuing to pry. Unbeknownst to him, Gilda and Dash had ceased their chatter at some point and had been listening in as he questioned Tager.

“That’s good isn’t it?” Dash asked him, taking to air now that the air wasn’t as chilling, “Since she doesn’t have your mark, and she’s definitely a hero, that puts you in the clear right?”

Marco bit his lip. “Wrong.” he said evenly, “It’s still possible hat she does have my mark.”

“What do you mean?” Gilda asked in confusion, “She told the truth didn’t she?”

“She told me she wouldn’t tell me what her mark was.” Marco reasoned, “But suppose I asked her if it wasn’t this and it actually was. If she said yes then it’s the same as telling me what her mark was... which she refused to do.”

“I still don’t get it.” Gilda confessed, “Slow down dude...”

“It means there was no point in asking.” Marco simplified, “Because the answer would always be no.”

“Now what are you gonna do?” Dash asked, “How else can you figure out if you are in the prophecy or not?”

“Who knows?” Marco shrugged, “I could hang around her until she’s comfortable sharing I guess. It’s either that or I wait for the next hero to pop up and pray he’s not the type to hide his cutie-mark.”

At this, Dash hushed her voice to a whisper. “Couldn’t you just, you know...” she lowered her voice even further, “Sneak a peak?”

“Yeah, right...” Marco shook his head, “That’s not the best idea.

“Remember, she’s not in it for the same reasons as us. If I break the trust, she’s out of here and we’re screwed.” he continued, “Besides, you probably shouldn’t say such things so openly Dash. She’s listening.”

Dash and Gilda snapped bolt upright to see Tager stop in her tracks ahead of them. She turned to eye the trio, somehow intrigued by the fact she had just been busted.

“Not bad.’ she remarked, focusing her gaze on Marco, “How’d you know?”

“You’ve been at this for a while haven’t you? Being on the run?” he replied, “If you want to survive when you’ve got a price on your head, you need to learn how to pick up on whispers.”

“True that.” she acknowledged, “I’ve been wanted long enough to adapt to the lifestyle.”

“Well, it’s in the past now.” Marco said confidently, “I swore that your bounty would be history if you joined up. We just gotta get to Canterlot first.”

“Then how about we get going already?” she announced, flexing her wings and neck, “I’m friggin’ done with all this snow-”

Before she could properly finish, Tager suddenly stopped dead. Her eyes darted left and right and her very posture tensed. Marco quickly realized that she had picked up on something. Before he could hazard a guess as to what it could have been, it emerged...

“Wait!” Marco cried as he put himself between the offensive stance of Tager and the approaching Paragonia, “This is the messenger bird I was talking about.”

“Didn’t you say Paragonia was a snake?” Dash asked.

“Quiet.” Marco commanded, “Don’t complicate things.”

Tager finally eased up. “That thing looks like what the village said you chased off Dash.” she commented, “What gives?”

“That’s because it is.” Dash replied sheepishly, “I, uh... I’ll tell you about it later T.”

Tager watched curiously as Marco walked up and removed a rolled up scroll from the creature’s clutches. “It’s smaller than I was told.” Tager finally relaxed, “Who knew the terror of Hordimare was this little bastard?”

By way of response, Paragonia gave a quick hiss. It was hard to tell if he was acknowledging the statement or taking offense. Either way, it didn’t seem like the two were about to butt heads after all.
“I heard about the ‘Black Death’ too.” Gilda added, “Blew Hordimare to hell thousands and thousands and thousands of years ago when his little star fell from the sky or something. It’s gotta be some legend if they still pass it down today.”

“Is that so?” Tager tapped at her muzzle, “Okay then G, here’s your first test as a bounty hunter. Collect on this one right here.”

“Oh, har-de-har.” Gilda rolled her eyes, “I knew you weren’t gonna take me seriously.”

“What do you mean G?” Tager chuckled, “Isn’t it better to start easy and work your way up?”

Paragonia hissed again, but was comforted as Dash gave the cosmic terror a reassuring pat on the head. “Chill out little Quetzalcoatl.” she said, mispronouncing the word horrifically, “They’re only joking.”

The group laughed comfortably for a moment, but Dash was the first to notice that they were missing something. “Marco?” she asked, seeing he earth pony staring intently at the letter Paragonia had brought, “You’re pretty quiet back there.”

She received no response. Tager and Gilda caught on too, and ceased their teasing to see that he was eerily still. “Hey?” Dash moving in slightly, “What’s going on over there? You’re scaring me...”

Marco finally tore himself from the parchment and faced her. The look on his face caused a slight chill to grip at her chest. “The girls made it back to Canterlot.” Marco said, his voice staggered, “And they brought back the prophet’s son. But...”

“Marco...” Dash’s concern went up a level, “Don’t tell me-”

“It’s bad Dash.” his voice was level, “Are you sure you want to hear it? You won’t be able to change-”

“Damn it Marco! What did the hell it say?!” Rainbow Dash roared, “Tell me!”

“Twilight, Applejack and Rarity are in the hospital with severe injuries, but they’re alive.” Marco replied utterly deadpan, “Philomena, Sergeant Ceasler and Private Slayde are all missing in action. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy are unharmed, and they’ve brought with them a buffalo girl called Strongheart to help Caliber piece together what happened.”

“Did you say Caliber?” Tager questioned, her eyes widening to recognise the name, “Wait, is he the captain you were-”

“Which way’s Canterlot!?” Dash demanded, cutting off Tager and zipping up into the air in a frantic fit, “They need me over there!”

“Calm down Dash!” Marco tried to console her, “And if you try to think, you’ll realize that they need you here! You should already know that Fluttershy and Pinkie will take care of them for us!”

“I knew they shouldn’t have gone without me!” Dash sobbed, “They needed me and I-”

“DASH!” Marco roared, “Snap out of it! We both would rather be there, but that isn’t what they need right now! When Luna comes back, we’ll be right there at their side, but for now you’ve got to trust the others!”

Rainbow Dash landed once again, but every inch of her body twitched with nervous concern. It looked as if she was liable to shoot off the mark at any moment.

“Don’t underestimate them.” Marco said softly, placing a reassuring hoof upon her shoulder, “Because they’re depending on us here. Depending on you.”

“Let’s just go back to Hordimare okay?” Marco forced Dash’s eyes level with his, “The fastest way back to the city is for Luna to take us. Think about it!”

The pegasus took a few deep breaths before matching Marco’s stare. Eventually she nodded, tentatively at first, but she slowly became more sure of his words and nodded firmly. “Okay.” she finally said, “I understand.”

“Are you still with us Dash?” Tager asked with uncertainty, “Looked like you were about to bust a fuse...”

“I’m fine.” she nodded again, speaking to her old friend with a surprisingly level tone, “Come on, let’s get back to town.”

Dash took it upon herself to lead the way, but even at a glance, her steps were rushed, and her pace only served to widen the gap between herself and the others. Marco quickly realized that might have been her intention. Regardless, he could tell that she was far from fine...

“Gilda.” he said hushed, beckoning the griffin over, “Can you catch up to her and see if she’ll talk? Try and calm her down a little. Slow her if you can.”

Without so much as an acknowledgement, Gilda sped up and met with Dash’s march onwards. She was probably more suited to the task than Marco, but even if she wasn’t, he knew there was something else he had to tend to.

“Yo, Marco?” Tager called to him as if to confirm his suspicion, “Earlier when you said ‘Caliber’, did you-”

“Yeah, I meant him.” he cut her off, “Captain Caliber; your old royal guard buddy. Us being here looking for you was based largely on his word. He was adamant that you were a hero to say the least.”

“Yeah well, once he’s got his mind set on something it’s impossible to shake him off it.” Tager commented, “He’s always been the kinda guy who’s smart, but does everything on instinct. What pisses me off is how he’s pretty much always right.”

“So even after going your separate ways he’s still on your mind?” Marco probed, “What’s your history?”

“None of you business.” Tager snapped back, “But I could ask the same question. You talk as if you know him, but I can’t imagine how-”

“That particular story is probably best left for another time.” Marco interrupted, biting his lip nervously, “Suffice to say, we’ve been working together with Dash to figure out how to find you.”

“I take it those were more of her friends that you guys were talking about?” Tager asked, changing topic, “Sounded pretty nasty. Were they trying to ‘thwart’ Terra too?”

“Yes they were.” Marco replied plainly, “And they weren’t just her friends. Mine too.”

“I see.” Tager nodded to herself, “That explains it.”

Marco turned his head so as to face her more directly. “What do you mean?” he asked, his eyebrow raised and tone sharp.

“I just couldn’t help but notice about before, when you were trying to calm Dash down.” Tager commented, not daunted in the slightest by Marco’s stare, “It was as if you were trying to convince yourself, not her.”

“So what?” Marco spat, “I’m not going to pretend it didn’t shock me. I care for those ponies, and there’s nothing I can do to fix what’s been done. If I said it didn’t make me feel powerless, if anypony in my position said it wouldn’t get to them, they’d be lying.”

“You really have a way for making things more wordy than they need to be.” Tager rolled here eyes, not sympathetic in the least, “I hate that.”

“Tsk, I didn’t expect you to understand.” Marco turned away, leaving her side so as to gain ground on the others, “What the hell would you know?”

At his accusation, Tager’s memory flashed with images of a ruined town, blanketed by ashes. Memories of a salvation that came too late, and of a princess not worth protecting. She saw herself turn away from the tragedy in disgust, and leave her uniform buried with all those others. The day she realized they did not deserve her trust, and started upon the road that led her to this very valley.

“Yeah...” she said distantly, “What would I know?”

Marco continued on with the intention to rejoin Dash and Gilda, but he found himself cut off as Paragonia swooped in to remind him of something that had understandably slipped his mind.

“Oh right, our letter.” he said as the Quetzalcoatl looked down on him indifferently, “I guess I’ll handle it this time. They could do with some good news.”

Marco dug into his saddlebags, the jingle of glass pots ringing out before he emerged with quill and parchment. Without waiting around, and with Paragonia waiting patiently to be sent back to the city, he begun writing.

“This is Marco.” he mumbled, speaking the words as he wrote them, “Paragonia has delivered the latest message, and the news of what happened at Appleoosa has hit us hard. We pray for the safety of those unaccounted for, and are confident the girls are safe under your watch.

“We have found the first hero, and she has agreed to help us.” Marco continued to write, moving onto their development, “We have promised her autonomy, and also the recall of her wanted status. We are now returning to Hordimare to await the return of the princess. Give our regards to the others, we’ll be there soon.”

Dropping the quill, he quickly rolled up the letter and sealed it. “Be careful out there Paragonia.” Marco warned as he passed the parchment onto the winged serpent, “They didn’t say what happened to Philomena, but I’d bet that it had something to do with the letters you guys have been carrying.”

Paragonia stretched his wings wide and let his cosmic energies crackle. It seemed as if an opponent would be in for quite the fight if they tried to shoot him out of the sky.

“Alright then, off you go.” Marco waved the Quetzalcoatl off, “Good luck.”

As the earth pony watched Paragonia become smaller and smaller against the stormy sky, he heard the crunch of snow behind him. Tager had caught up while he had been writing the letter, and she continued on past Marco, a satisfied look betraying her casual demeanour.

“Eavesdropping again?” Marco rolled his eyes, “Trust doesn’t come easy to you does it?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time somepony thought it was okay to lie to an outlaw.” Tager was the one to roll her eyes this time, “But a bookish pony like you wouldn’t read out what he was writing unless he wanted me to hear it.”

“Okay, you got me.” Marco took a mental note of Tager’s deceptively keen mind, “I just want you to know I told you the truth. We really will hold up our end.”

“Telling someone what to believe is something liars tend to do.” Tager lent in with purpose, “The only truth worth believing is the type you figure out for yourself. That’s something I figured out the hard way.”

“Good advice. I guess.” Marco gulped, “So what then? A you just gonna analyse my every move until you decide this isn’t some elaborate ruse?”

“Forget I said anything.” Tager replied, not interested in the path discussion was taking, “Let’s just hurry up and get to Hordimare already.”

“Well, I would tell you we’re almost there...” Marco hinted, “But perhaps I should let you figure that out for yourself.”

Tager followed Marco’s gaze and saw the shape of the town forming beyond the light mist. Her look soured to see that the earth pony was rather pleased with himself.

“Smartass.” she remarked deadpan, “Maybe now you might be able to get some clothes again?”

“I won’t need them where we’re going.” Marco said quickly, countering Tager’s attempt to tease him, “Didn’t Dash tell you about her lodge?”

“Pft, whatever.” Tager resigned, “Shut up and lead the way.”

A cold breeze rushed in as if to welcome Marco back to Hordimare. “Urgh...” he moaned, stiffening his posture as the cold overwhelmed him once more, “It would be my pleasure...”

Chapter 11: Canterlot Countdown

From the Ashes

Chapter 11: Canterlot Countdown

“Look, I’m sorry Strongheart, but Appleoosa will have to settle for the assistance of your chief and his tribe.” Caliber told the buffalo girl, the pair moving briskly through the throne room of the royal palace, “The guard is spread thin enough as it is. There are settlements and villages all over Equestria in the same situation, but they have no aid whatsoever. They are our priority.”

“I understand.” Little Strongheart bowed, her humble eyes taking in the foreign appearance of the royal palace, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Caliber opened his mouth as if to answer, but his focus diverted to recognise the unicorn guard step in behind the buffalo girl.

“Spellbound...” he said as she approached, “Tell me you’ve got good news.”

“I'm sorry Caliber, we still can't say.” the grey coated and white maned unicorn shook her head, “Whatever Luna’s doing or where, my team can’t pick up on her magic.”

“Damn.” the captain growled, “Alright then, forget it. I can’t spare the resources any longer; go back to your team and get them ready to be shipped off. I’ve got a special job for you too.”

“What do you need?” Spellbound asked pointedly.

“Go to the police and tell them we need more numbers.” Caliber ordered, “Ask nicely first, but do what you can to get as much horsepower as possible.”

“Captain, we’ve already got the police keeping order in the streets.” Spellbound protested, “Plus, it’s dangerous to send non-guards out into the world. We cannot trust them with something like this-”

“We can’t allow ourselves to doubt our own when we are in such dire need.” Caliber retorted, “Round up the police that are keeping order and get them to the garrison. Have the police put their desk-ponies and pencil-pushers on the street.”

“Um...” Little Strongheart spoke up, “Was there anything we could do to-”

“The best thing for you buffalo to do is go back to Appleoosa.” Caliber replied, “Help them sort out their strife in our stead.”

“Very well, then we shall do just that.” Little Strongheart bowed, “Farewell.”

“Who was that?” Spellbound asked as the buffalo girl trotted out of the palace with intent.

“Strongheart of the Thunderhooves buffalo tribe.” Caliber answered as he too watched her leave, “She’s the one that escorted those girls back to the city.”

“Them, huh?” Spellbound responded, “How are they holding up?”

“They were a sorry sight when they first came in, but the report is that they’re picking up rather steadily.” Caliber replied, his eyes distant, “The first of them woke a few hours ago.”

“How are you taking it?” Spellbound ventured, picking up on that look in the captain’s eyes, “I mean, between being Celestia’s captain and working with them personally, nopony would expect-”

“Enough.” Caliber snapped, “You have your orders, and I have more important things to worry about. You are dismissed.”

“Sorry; you know I don’t mean to pry.” Spellbound’s face softened as she powered up a teleportation spell, “I’ll be in touch.”

The light of her magic fading with her disappearance, Caliber exhaled tiredly and allowed his eyes to close. But no sooner had he done so did the next disruption present itself.

“Captain!” a royal guard cried, charging in through the palace doors, “It’s the messenger bird!”

“Then what’s the problem?” Caliber responded, “Let it through!”

“But sir...” the guard replied, looking over his shoulder, “It’s just that...”

He didn’t need to finish his sentence. For through the door behind him came Paragonia, his path through the air wonky and encumbered. He came to rest at Caliber’s hooves, and while the Quetzalcoatl landed of his own accord, it seemed to the captain a conscious effort to not simply crash right then and there.

“What in Equestria happened to you?” Caliber demanded, seeing signs of a conflict all over the creature’s body, “Are you alright?”

Paragonia hissed weakly, looking back beyond the door he had flown through. Caliber reached out to him as the Quetzalcoatl slumped, stopping him from collapsing.

“Medic!” Caliber called, prompting one of his armoured pegasi to hustle forwards, “Do what you can, but get him to that vet down in the east quarter. The girl there’s good with snakes...”

The befuddled medic tried to get a nursing hold on the odd creature, while Caliber reached over to Paragonia a final time so as to retrieve the missive he brought. Before he could think to read it, the medic was already off, taking the loyal messenger to somepony who knew best how to help.

“Thanks.” the captain said to no one as he broke the seal on the letter and begun to read, “You’ve brought some good news at last...”

“Captain!” a voice cried out from the palace door, one of the reassigned police officers entering in a hurry, “Good news! There’s somepony here to see you and he says he’s got vital information regarding Terra!”

The guard closest to Caliber looked over to see his reaction meld from surprise to suspicion. They all must’ve been thinking the same thing. Too good to be true...

So as the silhouette of a single earth pony stepped in from behind the oblivious police officer, one could hear a feather drop as every guard in the place recognised the aged stallion. And how could they not? His was a face they were all expected to know, especially in light of recent events...

“Son of a... bitch.” Caliber said, at an utter loss for words, “I never thought I’d see that face of yours again, but for you to show up here of all places...”

“Aye, it’s been a while.” the mysterious stallion stepped in past his ignorant escort and into the hall full of on-edge guards, “How is my favourite pupil going?”

“I’m no longer a student, much less one of yours.” Caliber retorted, “I still can’t believe you threw your lot in with Terra, but I guess I can now finally understand why they gave you such a high bounty, Atlas.”

“I’ll take that to mean you never asked?” Atlas replied, his serious look shifting behind his reflective bifocals, “Your favourite teacher becomes a wanted criminal overnight, and they never told you the reason? Why am I not surprised?”

Caliber’s stare intensified. “Have you gone senile you old geezer?” he snapped, “You turned traitor. End of story.”

“Well, there’s no dog like a loyal dog.” Atlas retorted, “But I thought I taught you to question everything. If that’s a crime then call me a criminal, but it’s all I’m guilty of.”

Standing before the door calmly, the surrounding guard had him essentially surrounded. A few of them inched in, as if to make their encirclement more obvious. They seemed ready to pounce on Caliber’s word, but he and the old stallion were focused entirely upon each other.

“Now what are you talking about?” Caliber demanded, “I already thought you were insane, but this is pushing it...”

“A certain somepony sought me out one fateful night, spouting nonsense about a great power sealed away, a being that fathered the earth pony race.” Atlas replied as coolly as ever, “I sought the truth behind this piece of lost history, and became wanted because of it. I discovered the princess’ secret before its time, and was labelled a traitor for it.”

“Cute story.” Caliber said, not phased in the slightest, “Well rehearsed I’m sure, but you’re a bit beyond convincing me of anything. Not about Terra, and definitely not about the princess.”

“I know that already.” Atlas shook his head, “And that’s not what I’m here to talk to you about.”

“Talk?!” Caliber scoffed, “You can’t possibly expect me to believe that you finally show your face back here just so we can-”

“Don’t talk then. Just listen.” Atlas cut him off quickly, his tone deadpan, “I didn’t come here to fight.”

“What else could there be?” Caliber asked incredulous, “Terra has got to be the oldest and most dangerous enemy the princesses have ever known, and you are his lapdog, a criminal with nothing but lies and betrayal to his name!”

“You really are quick to roll over for those sisters.” Atlas commented, a sense of disappointment to his voice, “It doesn’t suit you. If you are so close-minded, I fear I risked coming here for nothing after all...”

“Look who’s talking.” Caliber snapped, a hint of malice to his voice, “You’re the one who let lies and deception turn you from your duty. They trusted you, I trusted you, and for what? You abandoned it all so easily...”

“Lies? Duty?” Atlas repeated, “Seeking the truth was my duty, and it revealed to me the facts and fictions in the stories you are so ready to gobble up. Now that my duty is to Terra, there have been no questions that haven’t been answered, and no truths that have been hidden. Can you say the same of your princess?

“Of course not.” Atlas continued, the answer clear to his eyes, “It’s written all over your face. There are unanswered questions swirling in that indoctrinated mind. You’ve served long enough to know when you’re being lied to, and you’ve seen for yourself the shadowy ways they work! You don’t trust anyone, you’ve simply been tamed.”

A telling silence hung as Caliber flinched at the accusation. It felt like long ago, but it was only recently that he was caught in a mystery crafted by Celestia herself, designed to bury the reality of Terra’s existence and have her sister’s role in a great tragedy go ignored. He clashed against a stallion burdened by the truth of it all, while he himself was made ignorant, fighting for a cause he misunderstood. He never once wavered in his duty, so why was he never told the actual truth?

“That is why I stand here!” Atlas roared defiantly, “It is not so much I, but you! You all, you guards; you who devote everything to their protection! They lead you along, playing you like fools, sparing you secrets and telling you lies, and to what end exactly? Trust is worthless unless it’s mutual. It won’t lead you down the path this world needs. I have devoted myself to the path that will.”

“Enough.” Caliber finally spoke, “It’s true that I have sometimes wondered about Celestia’s methods, but that has never meant that I do not trust her. In fact, it’s more than that. I believe in Celestia. Every time I have had my doubts, my faith has been rewarded. Every time she has strayed from being upfront, it has not been without reason. And I have seen for myself how those reasons are righteous.”

“Don’t lecture me on good intentions, child.” Atlas growled, “They are no excuse for deception. They will lead this world to ruin as they have already done before.”

“I may not always know truth from fiction, but I know right from wrong.” Caliber held his ground, “As do the rest of us guard. And the distinction has never been clearer.”

“Is that so?” Atlas ventured, continuing to instigate, “Look at what it has come to. This isn’t some grand crusade, or some epic war. Terra only seeks to take back what is his, a right to rule, a right that was stolen from him by your princess and his brother. He has done nothing but contest the throne. It is you and yours who have sewn the chaos.”

“Your king is mad, and you along with him!” Caliber retorted, his old teacher’s words ludicrous to his ears, “You employ savage criminals to terrorize defenceless townsfolk, your own people, into compliance!”

“Terra is driving his cause with his own lifeblood.” Atlas snapped, “His quarrel is but with your princess, yet she raises these ‘innocents’ between him and her fate, cowering behind you so that you can fight her battles!

“Am I wrong?” the old pony continued, “Where is Princess Luna? I stand freely in a palace you claim she is fit to govern, and she is not even here. Where has she run to captain? You must be wondering if she will ever return...”

“The princess will come when she is needed.” Caliber replied evenly, “But you forget that you are here alone, and while I admit our defences are weaker than they’ve ever been, you surely aren’t insane enough to think you’ll get anywhere on your own?”

“I already said I was not here to fight, though if I must make a stand to make my message heard, I’m not about to hesitate.” Atlas replied, “What I mean is, I had no idea your defences would be so crippled when I set out for this city. I do wonder just what would happen if I made an attempt...”

All around Caliber, his scattered guard changed their stance, instantly readying themselves for action. Some looked to the old stallion, prepared for him make a move, while a few look anxiously to Caliber, awaiting his word.

“Stand down.” Caliber spoke, commanding his guard to ease up, “That’s an order.”

Tentatively, the various guards relaxed their posture and looked to one another in uncertainty. Atlas may have been intimidating by nature, but for the captain to avert conflict so directly, the old pony really had to be the real deal.

“Fine then, let’s be diplomatic.” Caliber proposed, “But I’m warning you Atlas, I’m in absolutely no position to play games with you. If I were you, I would speak plainly.”

“Sorry kid, but what I have to tell you is for you alone.” the old stallion replied, “Dismiss your guard. Then we will talk.”

“Tsk, I give an inch...” Caliber visibly scowled, his tone changing instantly, “So much for diplomacy I suppose.

“Guards!” he roared, the palace filling with his authoritative voice, “Negotiations have broken down! Place Atlas Black under arrest!”

The guards all around the palace moved to act on their order, but a moment before they sprung, the grand doors thundered open and through it darted a lone pony, the same police officer that had announced the arrival of Atlas himself.

“Captain!” he called frantically, being sure to steer clear of the old pony as he zipped over to Caliber, “There are more invaders, just outside the palace!”

“What?!” Caliber reeled, his mind racing, “Who? How many?!”

“There’s two!” the officer replied, looking briefly to the motionless Atlas, “And it looks like more of the most-wanted! I’m sure it’s the twins, but there’s definitely something strange about them!”

“Damn it!” Caliber’s teeth were grinding, “Damn you Atlas! What do you have to do with this?”

“Those kids is it?” the earth pony said to himself, his own mind ticking to make sense of it, “For them to make it here, it must be...”

“Guards, stop the twins from reaching the palace!” Caliber ordered, “Engage the enemy, but don’t be reckless! They’re earth ponies, so stick to the air and keep your distance! I’ll handle things here!”

One by one, his guards flocked from the palace, cautiously veering clear of Atlas on their way out the great doors. When the last of them was gone, it was only Atlas and Caliber left in the room.

“Looks like you’ve got your privacy after all geezer.” Caliber broke the heavy silence, “If you really came here to talk, then get talking. You can start with why the twins are here.”

“Are you familiar with the others on the wanted list besides me?” Atlas asked, “Namely, Haywire?”

“The number one bounty head right?” Caliber replied, “He’s the infamous doctor who was banished for his crazy methods. His bounty just kept going up and up in the hopes it’d force him out of hiding, but he’s been laying low for years...”

“Well, that was one of the things I wanted to talk to you about.” Atlas said, “He wasn’t assembled like the rest of the bounty heads. He was there from the beginning, before even I knew about Terra. He played a large role in bringing the others together.”

“How is this important?” Caliber questioned, "I asked you about the twins..."

“Well, for starters, he worked out some kind of deal with those sisters.” Atlas replied, “They were only pretending to be on board with Terra. They just wanted the means to fulfil their own agenda, and if they have made it here, then I fear that they’ve been successful.”

“Means?” Caliber repeated, the old stallion’s concern at the concept troubling him somewhat, “What do you mean? And what is their agenda?”

Atlas shot a look over his shoulder and in the direction of the commotion outside before speaking. “You will see for yourself in a moment, and there is little time for explanations.” he said urgently, “There is something else, something more important that you cannot afford not to know.”

Caliber didn’t reply this time, instead tilting his head subtly and listening intently. He couldn’t tell where this was coming from, and why Atlas would be so desperate to supply information to an enemy. Naturally he was suspicious, but even still...

“Do not misunderstand captain.” the grizzled stallion spoke, almost as if he could read his old student’s mind, “I act only in Terra’s interest, but you are not the only force working against him. If you stay ignorant, we would both suffer.”

“I’m listening.” Caliber replied evenly, “What kind of force are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the force that somehow had this worked out at a time when Terra’s name was still dead to the world.” Atlas said seriously, his eyes distant, “The one that showed me the truth behind Celestia’s deception. The one who partnered with Haywire to amass a fighting force that could be manipulated, directed, and shaped into a tool that could be used to kick-start Terra’s return.”

“I’m not about to believe any of that until you tell me just how it’s your problem too.” Caliber said directly, the possibility of this information being fake too present to be ignored, “Weren’t you talking about a force that was working against Terra?”

“Indeed I am.” Atlas replied, “I know not the name of the one who has been dictating it all so far, so well has he kept his identity concealed, but I know that he was the one that knew first of Terra’s seal, the one that partnered with Haywire and brought the most wanted together, and the one who knew to obtain the prophet Scryer to track down and stop the heroes fated to stop Terra.

“His designs are his own however, with Terra serving as but an instrument.” he continued, his tone shifting, “Make no mistake. Everything that has happened so far has been in his favour, and as long as he is free to work behind the scenes, puppeteering this farce, you can be certain that he will succeed.”

“Succeed in what?” Caliber drove the issue home, “What’s his aim?”

“I am here because my prying was found out, but I only learned enough to make them cautious.” Atlas answered, “I couldn’t get to the root of their schemes, but I did discover what the mysterious pony wants with Haywire. He seems to have figured out a way to draw out, or manipulate natural energies. I suspect that whoever this enigmatic pony is, his intention is to take away Terra’s power and make it his own.”

“And that’s why you told me all this?” Caliber asked, “You’re the only one who’s actually on Terra’s side, and he’s in danger of being replaced? I guess I can understand why you’re here now, but still, how is any of this my problem? It’s not like-”

“But that’s just it captain.” Atlas cut him off, “I believe that it won’t stop at Terra, or very possibly, it won’t even start with Terra. If they really are able to cut him off from his aspect and take it in themselves, then Celestia and Luna are just as threatened. More so if they can steal Terra’s power first. Considering the fact that they have Celestia as their prisoner, you should be just as worried as I.”

“I’m not buying it.” Caliber said evenly, “Manipulating powers like those is too far-fetched to speak of so casually. Do you have any proof?”

Almost as if on cue, two figures stepped cockily in from outside, their twin noses turned up as they took in the sight of an empty palace. Their appearance shocked Caliber in more ways than one. Even Atlas’ eyes flashed slightly from underneath his glasses.

“Just as I thought...” the old stallion grumbled, his tone ambiguous, “What has that maniac done to you?”

“Do I hear jealousy?” Tango’s solid face cracked a scornful smile while her sister continued to stare passively, “I don’t blame you geezer. This is everything you ever wanted ain’t it?”

“What... what the hell am I looking at?” Caliber asked with wide eyes, stuck between disbelief and incomprehension, “You two... could you be-”

Like the police officer had claimed earlier, the invaders were clearly the fourth and fifth most wanted, but it was obvious to him that they were also something more. He had never seen anything like it. The whites of their eyes were tinted white-green, and what were once exposed and vulnerable organs had become something more like marbles. But even then, those alien eyes were not half as strange as their bodies. Their once crimson coats now crackled with thin veins of green energy, and what was once flesh had become what could only be called stone. Coupled with hair that had transformed into ghostly manes, the twins' eerie appearance was like that of a statue possessed.

Indeed, the more Caliber thought about it, the more he felt like he had seen something like this before. The eyes, the mane, the terrifying aura that made his hair stand on end... they looked so much like Terra that it almost felt like he himself was standing there bearing down on him him.

“You’re looking at the future of the earth pony!” Tango declared, a false reverence to her voice as she respond to the captain’s original question, “We are the lesser race no more! We are now... The Earthen!”

“You had no right...” Atlas seethed, bringing Caliber back to reality, “That fool’s methods are an abomination! This is no way to inherit the king’s will!”

“Oh, can it you old fart!” Tango snapped, her rocky exterior shifting as she snarled, “No one likes a sore loser!”

“Even from the beginning, your true motives were as clear to me as the day...” Atlas’s tone was truly furious, “You two never cared for the king’s cause! You never cared about what our kind has been through!”

“Maybe if you weren’t so caught up in the past then you wouldn’t have been left behind!” Tango smiled ferociously again, “Like I give a shit about any of that! We’re the future! You’re just a damn relic!”

“You are nothing but pretenders.” Atlas growled, “Masquerading as our allies while you worked with those bastards, plotting against everything we’ve worked so hard to accomplish! You are scum who care about nothing but yourselves, throwing everything away for some illusion of strength!”

“So you did actually have it figured out?” Tango mused, “I guess he was right to send us here after all. But out of all the places you could’ve run, we really have to thank you for deciding to come here. It makes our job just that much easier...”

“If he thought you two would be enough to tie up loose ends, then I suppose I should also be thankful.” Atlas retorted, “I was hoping to have a chance to give you two traitors a proper farewell.”

“Quite the arrogant fuck aren’t you?” Tango spat, “But don’t be so quick to flatter yourself; we didn’t come for you. Truant let us on a little secret, you see? Said that Canterlot had been stripped of its defences for whatever reason, and the time was ripe to wipe it off the map. You being here is just convenient. A nice little bonus, I guess you could say...”

At the implication, a chill ran down Caliber’s spine. He had been so rattled by the sudden appearance of twins, it hadn’t yet occurred to him just how severely he was outnumbered. And if these two had managed to waltz into the palace so casually, there could only be one reason...

“What happened outside?” Caliber demanded coolly, discarding his anxiety, “What happened to my guards?”

Tango smiled wider than ever, giving the sick look of somepony who had been eagerly awaiting the question. “A little slow on the uptake aren’t you pegasus?” she replied, her focus shifting from Atlas to Caliber, “Let’s just say that they won’t be joining us. For now, us four are just gonna have to make do.”

“You bitches.” Caliber snarled, “You better not have killed anypony.”

“Heheh, I dunno...” Tango feigned innocence, “They’re mostly in one piece. Anyway, that was just foreplay. Anyone who dies from something like that ain’t worth worrying about. If they’re alive and know what’s good for ‘em, they’ll stay down.”

Caliber’s teeth were grinding. He couldn’t deny it, the situation was hopeless. If he was worried about facing off against Atlas before, then now he was petrified. He had no way of knowing the extent of the twin’s newfound power, and if they were infamous before undergoing such a horrid transformation, they would most definitely be a force to be reckoned with. So he had three enemies to contend with, each of whom he could not afford to underestimate, and all of them wanted him out of the picture. And with his guards incapacitated or worse, he was now the last solider left standing.
.

Against insurmountable odds, he would have to hold his ground alone. Utterly outgunned with everything in the world to loose, a nervous drop of sweat rolled on past his eye. There would be no talking his way out of this one, and he could feel that these three opposing parties were only moments from clashing.

Tango quickly picked up on Caliber’s tension. “Heh, what’s the matter there pegasus?” she taunted, “You gonna piss yourself or something? I can’t blame you, you’re all on your own!”

“There’s a big difference between one and zero.” Caliber retorted, cool and intimidating, “If you think the royal guard captain is gonna go down without a fight, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“Still a headstrong little brat I see.” Atlas remarked, looking sidewards at the pegasus, “Some things never change I guess.”

Caliber’s undaunted gaze turned on his old teacher. “You erased any nostalgia I had for you when you threw your lot in with Terra.” he snapped, “I won’t let you have your way either!”

“That’s my line pipsqueak!” Atlas spat, but then changed tone suddenly, “But surely even you can tell. Whether or not this hall will belong to Luna or Terra at the end of the day, both our causes are for naught if those whelps get their way. So long as they want both of us dead, I propose-”

“If you’re asking me to team up with you, you can forget it.” Caliber cut him off, “I’d sooner die than be on the same side as somepony like-”

“As would I!” Atlas was the one to interrupt this time, “I’m only suggesting we stay out of each-others way until we lay these traitorous mules to waste.”

“You’re saying some pretty funny things there Atlas.” Tango spoke up, tired with watching the old student and teacher quarrel, “Who will lay who to waste I wonder? It doesn’t matter if you feel like making friends with the fly-boy over there, 'cause it doesn’t change a damn thing!

“Foxtrot and I are twins remember!?” she continued, adopting an aggressive stance with her silent sister mirroring her posture but a few paces behind her, “We’re the perfect tag-team! You two don’t have a prayer!”

“Look like their patience finally ran out.” Atlas remarked, turned to face Caliber, “What do you reckon kid? I don’t know too much about them two, but she’s not lying when she says they’re a perfect team.”

“Then keep them, and us, separated.” Caliber ordered, “Pick your favourite and get out of my sight. I’ll handle what’s left.”

“Tsk, so be it.” Atlas replied, watching as Foxtrot’s deadly posture begun to twitch with anticipation, “Get ready. They’re coming.”

* * * *

“Hey. Marco.” Rainbow Dash nudged the stallion dozing silently in the warm safety of her lodge, “Are you awake? Hello?”

“I am now.” the dozing stallion replied, righting himself and rubbing at his eyes, “What do you want?”

“I’m worried about Paragonia.” Dash replied, watching as Marco looked about the room, regaining his bearings, “He should’ve come back an hour ago.”

“It’s not too strange if you think about it.” Marco said, hefting himself off of his cushiony couch and taking stance beside the anxious pegasus, “Our message to the captain said we convinced Tager to help us and that we were waiting for Luna, so as far as I can tell there’s nothing he needs to tell us, nothing urgent at least. No news is good news right?

“Besides, it also can’t be easy for Paragonia to constantly fly between Hordimare and Canterlot.” he continued, “He deserves to have a break if Caliber hasn’t got anything important to tell us.”

“That’s what I told her.” Tager chimed in, the pegasus entering the room as Marco finished talking, “I knew that guy well, and if he’s in a pinch like you say he is, he’s not the type to waste resources.”

“I’d like to think my friends are important enough...” Dash turned to her old friend, “Just sitting here, waiting to find out if they’re gonna be okay is driving me nuts!”

“It won’t do anypony any good if you worry yourself to death.” Marco replied, “The fact of the matter is we can’t do anything for them while we’re stuck here."

“I know, I know...” Rainbow Dash resigned, “But it’s killing me not knowing how they’re doing!”

“Me too, but I’m trying not to think about it.” Marco said, “You should too.

“By the way...” he continued, changing topic as he looked about the room once more, “Where’s Gilda?”

“She went to get her things together at her own lodge.” Tager replied, leaning up against the window frame and looking out, “That was a while ago though...”

“You sound worried.” Marco joined her by the window, “And that worries me.”

“No, I’m not worried.” the pegasus responded, “Gilda’s a big girl. She can handle herself. But while I was outside, I noticed a whole crowd of ponies who clearly weren’t local, and I could’ve sworn I heard G’s name come up a few times.”

Dash looked between the two, Tager resuming her serious stare out the window while Marco held a hoof to his muzzle, clearly in deep thought. “Is it okay like this?” she asked, the silence concerning her, “With everything that’s been going on, it can’t be coincidence.”

“You have a point.” Marco finally spoke, “But even still, I can’t figure out a reason for anyone to know about us being here. I guess it’s possible Terra used that Scryer guy, but that wouldn’t lead them to Gilda would it?

“Hrm, I’ll have to talk with that kid Torren when we get back...” he continued, obviously at a loss, “Where did you Gilda’s her lodge was?”

“Closer to the edge of town, not all that far from where we came back from the valley.” Tager replied, “Why? Wanna go?”

“Yeah.” Marco nodded, “Like Dash said, now’s a bad time to start believing in coincidence.”

“Scryer? Torrin?” Tager questioned, the names unknown to her, “You guys are still talking gibberish. Whatever, it doesn’t matter, ‘cause it sounds like things are getting interesting here after all.”

"Your definition of interesting concerns me..." Rainbow Dash sighed, "Was it really worth explaining anything to you?"

"Here." Marco said from the corner of the room, throwing a pair of thick woollen coat the pegasus' way, "Put these on. We're going outside."

"Hey look Tager!" Dash joked, "There's one for you this time! Isn't that thoughtful?"

"I reckon it's more cautious that thoughtful." she replied, "Either way, thanks but no thanks. It's too hard to fly in this thing..."

"Good." Marco said as he put on his own coat, tucking his hat away as he pulled the wooden hood over his ears, "Because you're both earth ponies now."

"Oh, I get it!" Dash exclaimed, copying Marco by pulling the hood on her coat over her ears also, "Pretty sneaky..."

"Hmph, so that's how it is." Tager shrugged, the last of them to finally equip her coat, "Whatever. I guess this way's kinda fun too."

* * * *

“Damn it!” Caliber managed between coarse, aching breaths, “They just won’t stay down!”

His royal blue mane was looking a little different due to a significant gash on his forehead. It was superficial, but facial cuts are infamous for bleeding a lot.

He watched as Atlas struggled with the fight of his life. The old stallion swung and stumbled as Foxtrot wrestled with him ferociously, refusing to let up as she kicked, bit, lunged, and charged in a frenzied attempt to hit a vital spot. Her opponent remained in control however, dodging and blocking her onslaught efficiently as he waited for an opening to appear.

But in her maddened state, Foxtrot became more and more frustrated with each failed attack. And in her frustration, she suddenly changed tact. As Atlas pulled his head up and out of range of one of her frenzied kicks, she lashed her own head forward, and sunk her savage teeth into the old pony’s exposed neck.

“Argh!” Atlas roared in pain, tightening his neck muscles on reflex, his unparalleled focus allowing him to stop the mortal blow mere millimetres from penetrating his artery. His instincts compelled him to counterattack and escape the hold, but it was no good. If his concentration broke, even for a second, Foxtrot would take a chunk out of his neck and kill him. Considering his options, he quickly looked over to his mutual ally. Caliber was close enough, but he was in no position to worry about anypony but himself.

Tango stood victoriously before her kneeling opponent, a hateful grin splitting her earthen muzzle. Like her sister, she had yet to take a hit. And while it seemed as though Atlas was the one backed into a corner, it was the captain who was rapidly running out of options.

“What’s the matter pegasus?” Tango teased, “You’re not dead yet are you?”

Caliber rose to his hooves slowly, his blue eyes deadly and staring right at the earthen mare. “Ooh, scary.” Tango mocked him further, “But we both know you’re not going to get very far without your wings.”

Caliber grit his teeth and threw an affirming look to his left wing. His right was currently tucked in for the sake of balance, but his left drooped and refused to move at his command. It had been dislocated. He didn’t need his enemy to say anything, without the advantage of flight, he would be overpowered in moments.

As Atlas had done, Caliber shot a look to his mutual ally, wondering if the old pony could reset the joint. But with Tango still squeezing relentlessly upon his neck, the answer was obvious. The two stallions would have to solve their own problems.

Tango cocked her head unconsciously as Caliber seemingly begun to fidget, rocking his body subtly in some attempt to reposition his limp wing. It continually came to rest in the same unresponsive manner, indicating to Tango that whatever desperate method he was using to relocate his wing wasn’t taking affect.

Though confident, the stone-skinned mare was not patient enough to let Caliber do his own thing any longer. She placed a rocky hoof forward as if to pounce, but she stopped in her tracks as the reason for her foe’s curious actions became apparent.

Seeing her move, Caliber summoned up his courage and did the unthinkable. His breath held and jaw locked, the pegasus tucked his hooves in and rolled left. With a gruesome pop, his dislocated wing became set, the reckless manoeuvre forcing it back into its socket. His roll ending with him back on his hooves and his wings splayed wide, he rocketed forwards with blurring speed as his foe remained in shock a moment longer.

Tango staggered as the captain’s first blow was struck. As if they were blades, Caliber’s wings formed the leading edge of his strike, whipping around in a clean and precise sweep. In his wake, the earthen twin took a curious step backwards, not quite comprehending as she looked down to see a splintering crack stretching from her front to her right side.

“What was that?” she demanded, “There’s no way your wing-play is stronger than rock.”

“Your earthen bodies might pack a punch, but speed is also force.” Caliber remarked, flapping his left and right wings in silent unison, “With enough of it, anything is possible.”

At the other side of the room, still locking down Atlas, Foxtrot saw the aftermath of the captain’s counterattack. Her eyes wandering to the crack extending across her sister’s body, she let her attention slip for an instant, and gave the hardened pony between her teeth the chance he was waiting for.

Inspired somewhat by Caliber’s reckless tactics, Atlas got his front hooves in position behind his foe’s and did what no other grizzly old stallion would do in his situation. Flexing his neck muscles harder than ever before, Atlas pushed his head forwards and pulled his hooves back, tripping Foxtrot and forcing her onto the business end of her own hold. By the time the maddened twin realized what was happening, it was already too late. With a final flex and a full bodied roar, Atlas swung his whole body down, slamming the twin violently into the marble floor.

The throw was absurdly powerful, and would have broken the neck of any normal enemy with ease. In this case however, the sickly crack of bone did not fill the palace, the damage dealt instead told by the sound of shattered rock. But regardless of his power, Atlas’ attack was a double edged sword. Foxtrot had managed to keep her teeth buried in his neck, and slamming her head to the ground was like hammering a nail into his vital spot. The impact had pushed her teeth significantly closer to his artery.

Atlas rose from on top of his fallen enemy, the motionless twin giving no further resistance as the aged stallion got clear and put a nursing hoof to his wounded neck. He could ignore the pain easily enough, but the damage was still real. When he brought his hoof back before his eyes, it had practically run red. Not a good sign.

“One down at least.” he said to himself, taking note of the reaching cracks all over Foxtrot’s earthen body, the damage all but separating her malformed head from her earthen body, “Now, which of these two should-”

Before he could properly decide his next opponent, one such candidate came tumbling over in heap to where he stood. “How are you doing kid?” Atlas asked the panting captain as he got back up and resumed a readied stance, the signs of injury present all over his body.

“Better than you at least.” Caliber responded, noticing the red beginning to run down the old pony’s front, “I only lost a wing...”

“And yet your enemy stands.” the old pony remarked, motioning to the lifeless shell of Foxtrot, “If this little cut here is payment enough for victory, I would pay it threefold and claim this forsaken hall already.”

“You really don’t get it do you grandpa?” Tango interrupted, “You’re a damn relic Atlas. Just look at us! This is the future of our kind! We’re the chosen ones, and no matter how faithful you think you are to your king, you’ve been left behind!

“If you really think so much of the king, then you should know better than to look down on his power.” she continued, displaying her side and the crack stretched across it, “Victory? Don’t make me laugh. You’re both out of your league.”

Caliber and Atlas watched in horror as the crack begun to lessen, her rocky body seemingly healing itself as any proof of the captain’s strike was completely erased. Tango grinned knowingly as Atlas turned on the spot, the conclusion having already dawned on him...

“Damn it all.” the old pony said under his breath, watching helplessly as the once broken Foxtrot emerged from shattered marble beneath her, the remnants of any damage dealt fading away as she silently levelled her gaze upon him, “If this keeps up, we really might...”

* * * *

“There’s so many of them...” Rainbow Dash whispered, her wings cunningly hidden under her beloved woollen coat, “Where in Equestria did they come from?”

Similarly garbed following their stay in Dash’s lodge, Marco and Tager remained silent as they moved inconspicuously down the main street of Hordimare. As it stood, the town’s recent influx of foreign earth ponies gave little than the passing glance at the disguised trio, but considering how quickly things would fall apart if they were discovered, it was better to be safe than sorry.

The small group maintained their silence as they passed yet another attentive lookout. His eyes squinted against the snow, he quickly dismissed the rugged-up ponies as local and continued his search.

As they finally got clear, Marco took the chance to address Dash’s concern. “My guess is this is what was planned for the Appleoosans.” he said grimly, “Terra got to an earth pony settlement that was far away from help, and forced them to do his bidding.”

“But how?” Dash asked, “You’re talking about a whole village getting manipulated here! Didn’t Luna send her guard all over the place so that kind of thing couldn’t happen?”

“You can only spread so thin Dash.” Tager commented from the rear, suddenly interested in what was going on, “If you try to save everypony, you often can’t protect anything. Good intentions are nice and all, but they generally get bad results.”

“I still don’t understand how.” Rainbow Dash whispered, addressing Marco more directly, “It's a whole village dude! It doesn’t make any sense!”

“Look around.” Marco said, “What do you notice?”

Dash impatiently obliged, scanning left and right. “Okay...” she droned, nothing in particular jumping out at her, “What am I noticing?”

“All these unwelcome faces all have one thing in common.” Marco replied, “Obviously they’re all earth ponies, but that’s not all. They’re fit, muscular, and they are also all stallions.”

“What’s your point?” Dash questioned, “How does that answer my question?”

“What he’s getting at is they’re farm ponies.” Tager spoke up once more, “But it takes more than a bunch of muscle-heads to make a village. Whatever town they’ve come from, the kids, the elderly, the bakers, the dentists, and the school teachers were all left behind. And for a reason.”

“That’s right.” Marco nodded, redirecting Dash’s attention, “Back in their hometown, those ponies are most likely being held as hostages to have these more ‘useful’ ones do Terra’s bidding. And on this end, these ponies are also being held hostage, stopping their hometown from seeking outside help.”

“How the heck do you know that?” Rainbow Dash questioned, “That sounds a little too specific.”

“Because it's textbook.” Marco replied grimly, “Similar things have happened in the past, and the results have never been pretty.”

“That’s horrible.” Rainbow Dash whimpered, “And this would’ve happened to Appleoosa if our friends hadn’t done what they did?”

“It certainly would have.” Marco nodded subtly, “Except it would be much worse than this. The longer we take putting a stop to all this, the higher the risk of other towns suffering this fate.”

“How much longer do we need to skulk around like this?” Tager asked impatiently, “Wouldn’t it be quicker if we just took out all these guys? If you’re so worried about ‘em and their hometown, we could probably squeeze them for a name and find out exactly where they’re from...”

“That’s no good.” Marco disagreed, “These aren’t the kind of enemies you can just fight. Each and every one of them are innocent.”

“Does that really matter?” Tager probed further, “You’re doing exactly what the bad guys want if you let them have their way like this. If we sent a few innocent heads rolling, they’d start think that hostages don’t work-”

“Stop it Tags.” Dash ordered, cutting her right off, “That’s not even funny.”

“What?” Tager shrugged complacently, “You guys won’t win if you keep playing their games. And nothing says ‘fuck off’ quite like a pile of beat up-”

“You’re crazy.” Rainbow Dash interrupted her old friend again, shaking her head in disappointment as she did so, “Come on Marco, say something to her...”

Oddly enough, Marco did not respond. As he continued to lead the three of them on, the stallion seemed to be stuck in deep thought. “Um... Marco?” Dash called to him again, “Don’t tell me you're actually thinking about-”

“No, of course not.” he finally spoke up, “I’m just trying to think is all.”

The small group continued to move unobstructed through the town, but eventually Marco stopped in his tracks to recognise a certain building by the side of the road. It was a place he had been earlier...

“Isn’t that?” Dash asked under her breath, also recognising the building, “Yeah, that’s totally it. That’s that bar place we were at before.”

And while Rainbow Dash stopped and looked out of curiosity, Marco had found himself stop for a completely different reason. “Damn it.” he muttered as the door flung open, a pair of locals stumbling out in the wake of two invading earth ponies, “I should have known...”

“Damn it lad, didn’t anypony teach you to respect your elders?!” the ditzy drunk cried, picking himself up and dusting himself off, “What’d you lot get so violent all of a sudden for anyways?”

“I’ll only ask one more time gramps.” one of the shadowy earth ponies threatened, his counterpart pinning down the other downed stallion, the begrudged bartender, “Where do we find the griffin?”

“Why does everypony keep asking me about that dang griffin girl?” the old stallion moaned, “You outsiders sure are obsessed...”

“Stop wasting our time!” the earth pony above him growled, he and his companion lashing out with a swift kick to their respective targets, “Where’s the Griffin?!”

The bartender pony and the drunk fell together, the former raising a nursing hoof to his muzzle as he rose back up to his hooves first. “Just tell them already you blithering idiot...” he snapped, “Or so help me, I’ll never serve your wrinkled old ass again!”

“Heh, wouldn’t that put you out of business?” the old pony chuckled despite himself, apparently taking pleasure from inconveniencing his attacker, “I’m your best customer!”

“Don’t remind me...” the bartender replied, rolling his eyes, “Will you just tell these guys already? I’m not in the mood to take any more hits over your stupid stories!”

Watching the exchange silently, Dash’s eyes blazed under the hood concealing her increasingly enraged scowl. “This is nuts...” she growled quietly, visibly tense even under the coat she wore, “There’s no way I’m gonna let this continue-”

Before she could properly finish her sentence, Marco reached out and grabbed her. He didn’t say a word, and as their eyes met, he silently indicated over her shoulder and at the oddly quiet pegasus behind her.

Tager stood forward, a few paces ahead of Dash and Marco, her expression hidden behind the woolly hood over her head. A telling silence hung over her as she stared at the scene before her, a tension in their air as she continued to observe.

Rainbow Dash turned back to face Marco, and quickly realized that his intention wasn’t to stop her from intervening, he was waiting to see if Tager would be the one to do something...

Curiously however, all she seemed to do was walk. Forwards. Almost casually, she swaggered on up to the scene, and before anypony realized it, the cloaked pegasus was practically upon the bar’s doorstep.

“What the heck are you looking at?” the earth pony standing over the bartender demanded, taking an intimidating step forward, “You’d get out of here if you know what’s good for you, lady!”

“Hey, are you guys open today or what?” Tager asked the bruised bartender, shrugging her hood off and letting her vicious mohawk spring out, “I could use a drink. It’s been a long day.”

“I told you to get lost!” the earth pony shouted, raising his hoof as if to strike, “This hasn’t got anything to do with you!”
“That’s my point you fucker!” Tager roared, punishing the stallion with a lightning fast headbutt, “Of course it hasn’t got anything to do with me! That’s why I’m so pissed off!”

“Damn you!” the remaining earth pony cried as he lashed out with his own strike, “You’ll pay for that!”

The stallion was quick, but to Tager this was child’s play. Even without her wings, the disguised pegasus’ speed ran circles around her opponent as his swing went wide, leaving himself exposed for a well placed two-legged buck.

Before the earth pony knew what had happened, he was sent flying over the surprised faces of the bartender and the old drunk, landing solidly in the snow four full metres from the bottom step.

“You guys got off easy.” she spat as she put a hoof to the side of the stallion she headbutted and shoved him, rolling him down the steps, “It’s no fun beating on idiots who don’t even want to fight.”

“Whoa, nice moves baby!” the drunken old stallion sprung up energetically, “I’d recognise that funky hairdo anywhere! You saved our skins bounty-girl!”

“Oh, if it isn’t the feather-head.” the bartender also stepped back up, “Fancy you asking for a drink. I thought I made it pretty clear you were banned for life.”

“You’re too stingy brat.” the old pony drawled, “The girl saved your ass too, the least you could do is thank her!”
“I’m still trying to pay off the damages from last time I let her in here!” came the reply, the stallion turning his muzzle up immaturely, “Fine, have it your way. ‘Thank you Tager, you’re my hero!’ Good enough?”

“You guys make a cute couple.” Tager didn’t notice herself grin at the pair’s antics, “Seriously. I might vomit.”

“Join the club...” the old pony chuckled, putting a hoof to his mouth as his drunken stomach churned, “Getting thrown around by goons doesn’t mix well with a few too many ciders.”

“A few?” the bartender repeated, a coy eyebrow raising, “You’re not fooling anypony grandpa...”

“Take it inside you two.” Tager ordered, “It’s a bad day to be enjoying the sights. Lock the place up, lay low, keep quiet and all that shit. Just try an’ keep each other company and wait for all this to blow over.”

“Hold on, hold on...” the old pony insisted, “Just what the heck is going on?”

“Does it look like I know?” Tager replied, flicking her hood back on and leaving the two there by the door, stepping over the motionless stallion at the bottom of the steps as she departed, “It’s not like I care or anything, but it’s dangerous out here. There’s a whole lot more where these two came from and I won’t save you again, no matter how nice you ask.”

“Thanks again!” the bartender waved mockingly as his saviour turned her back on him, “...you crazy bitch.”

“We should probably do what she said.” the old pony spoke up from his side, “You know, hole up, stick together, throw back and-”

“Just get inside.” the bartender exhaled tiredly, turning on the spot, “I swear... after all this I could use a drink myself...”

“That’s the spirit!” the drunken stallion slapped him firmly on the back, “Drinks all around!”

“Oh, shut up.” came the begrudged reply, “You owe me enough as it is.”

Marco and Rainbow Dash watched as the bar door slammed shut behind the approaching Tager, the two of them swapping a brief look as they seemed to share the same thought.

“Looks like she got into a fight after all.” Marco whispered, making sure the pegasus in question couldn’t hear, “Though I guess it was better than doing nothing...”

“It still didn’t seem like the right thing to do.” Dash also kept her voice hushed, “I mean, even if they were being unreasonable...

“I get the impression that she didn’t care.” Marco mused, “What would you have done?”

“Dunno.” Rainbow Dash replied honestly, “Not that.”

“What the hell are you two whispering about?” Tager snapped as she returned within range of earshot, “Got a problem?”

“Nope.” Marco said, he and Dash putting on their best smiles as a nervous drop sweat ran down their respective necks, “Shall we?”

The three of them continued on their way for close to a full minute, none of them speaking a word until Tager got fed up and stopped on the spot and turned on the others.

“Okay...” she said, the tension in the air unbearable, “What is it?”

“It’s nothing.” Marco said a little too quickly, “Let’s just keep moving.”

“It’s just that...” Rainbow Dash begun, obviously unable to hold her tongue as Marco had done, “It’s nice to know you care a little about what’s going on here after all.”

“What are you talking about?” Tager cocked her head rebelliously, “I never once said I felt anything for this hell-hole. Truth be told, I hate this place and everypony in it. Everything about it sucks. It’s too cold, and the ponies are all snobs. Not even a decent meal for miles. Not a half-decent fucking thing about it...”

She seemed to pause for a moment and contemplate what she was to say next. And for somepony who wasn’t in the habit of choosing her words with a great deal of care, that must have meant something...

“Listen here you two.” she continued, “Until you guys came looking, I had nothing to do with the princess, and I couldn’t care less about their problems. I may have hated this town and everypony in it, but they never had anything to do with this either. And now look at ‘em. Their lives are being turned upside down and they don’t even know why.”

“You don’t have to talk about it like that.” Dash spoke up once again, “It’s okay not to want to put up with it. It’s not like we’ll think you’re weak or something if you admit you care a little about what’s happening!”

“I never cared what anyone thought about me before, and I’m not about to start now.” Tager shook her friend off as she walked away, “You may have got me a little interested in what’s going on, but I’m still only here for one reason!

“Take me to Terra.” she said evenly from the front, “I’m gonna kill him.”

* * * *

Far away from Hordimare, the thunder of conflict echoing out from the royal chambers of Canterlot had quieted. The city below was mostly ignorant to the battle taking place in the heart of their beloved home, but for the few who found themselves guessing at what force could cause such an uproar, they could somehow tell that this uncomfortable silence was only the calm before further storm.

“Damn it...” Caliber panted, his body shivering with every painful breath, “Now what?”

The statuesque form of Foxtrot closed in on him, limping slightly as the reaching cracks splitting her side and neck rejoined and begun to fade away as they had done before. The muted twin seemed to smile subtly to see the wounded pegasus before her swear in resignation, the stallion watching helplessly as the proof of his resistance was erased by the all too familiar repair of her stone-like form.

Indeed, with their earthen bodies ready to recover from what seemed like any amount of damage, they were the only ones who could actually see the results of their efforts. In the wake of their newfound powers, the small force of royal guards lay beaten, and their palace itself was more or less broken. And perhaps most noticeably of all, the number of their enemies had been cut in half.

Atlas groaned weakly, Tango’s rocky hoof pressed laxly against his fallen figure. The aged stallion had put up one hell of a fight, pushing on as the wound on his neck continued to drain him of his strength, but his invincible enemy had pushed him past the limit until he finally succumbed to his injuries.

For Caliber’s part, he had been squaring off with Foxtrot, but had fared no better than when her sister was his opponent. It was all the captain could do to trade blows, which was bad enough even without his silent adversary regenerating from any lucky shots.

So things truly were going from bad to worse now that Atlas was down. Smiling maliciously, Tango left the defeated old stallion face down in a crater of broken tiles and rejoined her twin sister, the two of them just about ready to put an end to the fight.

“Wipe that smile off your face...” Caliber demanded, talking stance as his troubles duplicated, “This... this isn’t over yet.”

“Denial’s the first stage of grief ain’t it fly-boy?” Tango teased, her satisfaction doing nothing but growing, “And sure we’ve gotta be sure the old guy dies here, we might let you live. If you beg.”

“I told you it’s not over...” Caliber held his ground, “Against the likes of you... I’m nowhere near done.”

“You talk pretty tall pegasus, but just look at you...” Tango lent in ever so slightly, “You’re scared right? You don’t wanna die do ya?”

“Nobody does.” Caliber yielded somewhat, “Aren’t you afraid?”

“Of course not!” Tango roared, “That’s why you lose!”

“I’d never lose to somepony like you.” the captain’s tone was even, “Somepony so consumed by madness that they’d sacrifice their bodies, their very lives... all for the sake of power.”

“Well, we just can’t wait to prove you wrong!” Tango spat, not daunted in the slightest by the pegasus' tone, so assured she was of their superiority, “We don’t need those things anymore! And no matter how much your stupid ego wants to deny it, you’ll understand the difference between us when your fucking dead!”

“Oh, I know what the difference is alright...” Caliber instigated, his eyes intense, “You cast aside your hearts, your souls, your beliefs, your family, your friendships, and your very bodies, all for the sake of strength? You’re wrong. It is those things that give us strength. Without them, you are nothing. You’re hollow. You’re already dead.”

“Don’t fuck with me!” Tango roared, her anger overflowing, “You’re really gonna keep spouting that shit in the position you’re in? Look at you! We have all the power you pathetic little pegasus!”

“I didn’t say power, I said strength.” Caliber countered, “But I can already tell that you don’t know the difference.”

Even as he said the words, a light smile formed and a single chuckle escaped the captain’s lips, some humorous realization apparently hitting him.

“Hrm?” Tango scowled, the concept of such a thing striking her, “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Caliber’s smile faded as his seriousness returned, “I just feel like I’ve had this conversation before. Except at that time, it was a little different. At least he stood for something.”

“They really don’t come any dumber than you do they?” Tango seethed, moving forward with intent, “We’re a little past the condescending remarks don’t ya think? Look around! Your guards are down for the count, and your change-of-heart buddy Atlas is done for! You’re alone soldier-boy! Ain’t nobody left who can protect you!”

“If I needed protecting I wouldn’t be the guard captain.” Caliber retorted sharply, “I’m still alive, so stop trying to convince me that you’ve won!”

“You can’t stop us.” Tango carried on despite the captain’s resolve, “We’re the future of all earth ponies! You can’t fight the future!”

“Can those deformed eyes of yours even see?” Caliber questioned, “Just look at yourselves. You don’t have a future.”

“Then I’ll settle for the present!” Tango replied, “Nothing else matters if we can just bring this whole damn palace down!”

“That form of yours won’t last forever.” Caliber said seriously, the impermanence of their unnatural forms clear to his eyes, “Whether it’s today, a year from now, or even ten, soon enough your stone bodies will crumble away, and there won’t be anything left. How could there be? Your lives have only ever been measured by how much you’ve taken away...

“I don’t care how delusional you are.” he continued, his blue eyes blazing beneath a bloodied mane, “If you took Terra’s so called gift so that you could come here, then you already submitted to death before the fight. And if you go to war never looking to come back, then the battle is already decided.”

“Oh it’s fucking decided alright!” Tango bellowed, springing forward, “Get ready solider-boy! It’s time for you to die!”

His every bone aching and muscle throbbing, the wounded pegasus stood firm as his two enemies charged in enraged, burning with a hateful desire to close the curtain on their frenzied battle.

The clash resuming could be heard from outside the palace, the sound of it even stirring some of the defeated guards outside. Among those few, a number of them rose once more, knowing that their fight wasn’t yet over.

After all, the protection of Canterlot was never the duty of a single pegasus.

* * * *

“Defiant to the last are we?” Truant sighed, releasing his magical hold, “How noble.”

Gilda dropped to the ground once more, the griffin gasping as the air returned to her lungs. She was quick to right herself, but despite her stubbornness, she still knew when she was outmatched.

The black-eyed unicorn nodded to one of the several earth ponies surrounding Gilda. The burly stallion got one hoof forward before the griffin swirled, swinging out with a back-clawed slash that connected directly with the side of the pony’s head.

Truant sighed again as another of his minions was sent tumbling backwards, coming to a crunching halt as he slammed into the wooden side of Gilda’s lodge.

“Useless, every one of you.” he spoke tiredly, not even caring to look as the ponies around him faltered to see one of their rank sent flying, “It is so hard to find good help these days.

“Well, they do say that the job is done best when by oneself, but alas, the techniques I usually employ only apply to the pony mind.” he continued, his head almost hung, “And these measures that I am left with are both crude and unreliable. Won’t you simply yield and tell me where this hero character is?”

“Go to hell!” Gilda growled, refusing the unicorn for what felt like the hundredth time, “I already said, never!”

She heard another earth pony step up, and she reeled to match him. Her bloodshot eyes piercing, the intimidated stallion immediately backed up. Satisfied, the griffin rounded back on her original target, only to find Truant leaning in with intent, his long horn primed with black energies.

Before she could guess at what was to happen next, Gilda felt an immense pressure strike her in the chest, Truant’s spell hitting her like a freight train and sending her bailing backwards, the strike all but knocking her unconscious.

Unable to tell why the unicorn would suddenly change tactics and strike her so viciously, Gilda collapsed into the snow heaving, the blow to her chest leaving her severely winded.

“My apologies, but it would seem I no longer need your directions.” Truant was smiling as he stepped out and over the panting figure of Gilda, “Yes... this feeling is familiar. Another fragment of Luna’s soul resides in this town too, and it is drawing closer.

“Most excellent.” he continued, his face the picture of satisfaction, “The one who carries this piece is certain to be related to that missive I intercepted. Which means the hero is with them.”

At this, Gilda’s hazing vision focused, the griffin only then realizing that he was talking about Tager. She unsteadily begun to pick herself back up, knowing that the others wouldn’t stand a chance against Truant’s magic. She had to stop him from leaving, mo matter what...

“Enough.” Truant spoke, motioning for the earth pony nearest to Gilda to prevent her from rising, “I have wasted more than my share on the likes of you.

“Finnish off this pest.” he commanded the surrounding earth ponies, “She is of no further use.”

The half dozen stallions seemed to stall, looking between each other and the wounded griffin as they came to terms with their grim orders.

“If you can’t stomach this simple task, then perhaps you too have no further use.” Truant commented darkly, the crowd around him shivering to comprehend his meaning, “I imagine you are aware of what that would mean to my comrades sheltered in your hometown? I shudder to think how Meetlemarsh would suffer if you were to fail this simple task...”

Whatever hesitation hung in the air was gone instantly as a shadow seemed to cast over the earth ponies’ doubt-filled eyes. Gilda’s teeth clenched as she realized what such a thing meant...

“Very good.” Truant smiled mirthlessly, bidding his farewell to both the griffin and her stallion aggressors, “Then I shall be off.”

The black magic of his horn summoned up by his teleportation spell, he snuck one final smile to Gilda before he warped off in pursuit of her friends.

“Goodbye.” his condescending farewell carried even as he disappeared, all too content with leaving the troublesome griffin to her fate.

* * * *

“Keep a lid on it Rainbow Dash!” Marco hissed from beneath his hood, the reckless pegasus continuously moving too far ahead of him and Tager, “Remember, if we get found out now, we’re in deep trouble.”

He cast a sideways glare at Tager. “We’re already pushing out luck as it is...” he continued with a sigh.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Tager snapped, already fed up with bumbling around in disguise, “I didn’t see you about to do anything back there!”

“It’s a miracle nopony saw what you did to those earth ponies at the bar.” Marco complained, “For somepony who’s mean to be so aware of her surroundings, you sure know how to make a scene...”

“Heh, well I wish I could say the same.” Tager nodded forwards with a grin, “But it looks like Dash got away from you again...”

“Great...” Marco groaned, wondering where the impatient pegasus had charged off to, “What else can go wrong?”

“Excuse me.” a deep pitched earth pony spoke from behind Marco, the buff stallion placing a firm hold on his shoulder, “I’m going to have to ask you a few questions.”

“You were saying?” Tager added coyly from his side, “Maybe next time you’ll just keep your mouth shut.”

“What seems to be the problem?” Marco addressed his interrogator coolly, flicking off his wooden hood and donning his treasured hat, his aim being to settle the stallion by proving that he too was an earth pony, “Anything I can help you with?”

“Cut the crap.” The earth pony spat, “I already know that you two-”

He was cut off suddenly as a sharp cry split the cold air, the source of it only about a block away. The earth pony, Marco, and Tager found themselves point their heads toward the sound, all but forgetting themselves as they tried to make sense of it.

“That was Dash!” Marco turned to the spot he thought Tager stood, “She’s gotten into troub-”

He stopped short when he discovered nopony by his side. Confused, he faced forwards once more to meet with the curious eyes of the inquiring earth pony, only to see him get struck from behind and fall face-first into the snow at Marco’s hooves.

“Looking for somepony?” Tager asked mockingly, “C’mon, let’s go see what happened to Dash.”

And just like that, the pegasus was away before Marco could even speak. He did however find his voice when he spun around, scanning the immediate area to find no less than a dozen earth ponies staring back at him, and the unconscious stallion out cold by his hooves.

“Yeah...” Marco sighed in frustration, “I’m right behind you...”

Tager zipped around the corner at lightning speed, chasing the sound of her friend’s cry down the closest street. In mere seconds she rounded the last corner and arrived on the scene to find Dash pinned down by a foe she immediately recognised.

“Urgh, get off me, creep!” Rainbow Dash groaned, struggling to lift the pale hoof pressing her roughly against the ground, “Let… ah, let me go!”

“Seems like I didn’t need to bother with the griffin girl after all.” Truant smiled thinly as his pit-like eyes took in the familiar sight of the amulet around Dash’s neck, “The magic in that pendant calls to me, leads me-”

Whatever the self-absorbed unicorn was to say next went unspoken, his focus diverting to see a reddish blur launch toward him from the side. And while Tager’s speed was great, Truant’s magic was instant, and the assaulting pegasus was sent tumbling back the way she came as the unicorn struck her with a defensive spell.

“Well now, if it isn’t the bounty hunter...” Truant kept pressure on Dash as he turned his attention on his adversary’s landing place, “Ah, I see. No wonder you didn’t respond to our call to arms. It would seem you have… conflicting interests.”

“Buddy, you have no idea...” Tager flashed a smile, her enthusiasm flaring to recognise an enemy worth her time, “You’re the Truant right? I was hoping I’d bump into you!”

To the unicorn’s surprise, the pegasus before him rocketed directly for him once again, seemingly going for a repeat of the last charge. Truant thrust his horn forward so as to quickly counter her assault as he had done just moments ago, but in doing so he failed to notice the salt-like crystal lob in from his left.

Whatever the mystery substance was, the moment it touched a solid surface, in this case Truant’s unsuspecting side, it burst brightly like a miniature flash-bomb. It was akin to a magician’s quirk, the harmless thing popping sharply into a puff of smoke and sparkles.

His concentration wavering on account of the unexpected strike, his magic wavered just in time to let Tager charge on through unobstructed and deliver to the conceited unicorn a tackle worthy of her reputation.

Truant staggered backwards from the impact, and Dash took the chance to spring up off the ground and bounce over to Tager’s side, instantly mirroring her friend’s prepared stance.

“Damn it Marco!” Tager growled, directing her head up and around, knowing him to be behind the intervention, “Don’t get in the way!”

“Don’t thank me just yet...” the earth pony in question replied, dropping down off of a nearby roof behind the two pegasi, “Those dozen earth ponies you left me with back there are still following me.”

“I thought you’d be able to handle them yourself.” Tager rolled her eyes, “They’re just normal earth ponies...”

“Yeah, come on Marco!” Dash joined in, “Why don’t you use some of those potions you’ve been lugging about!”

Her suggestion was met only by an uncomfortable silence. For Truant’s part, he seemed content with just studying the interaction of the three before him, watching with indifference as they attempted to coordinate.

“Marco?” she tilted her head in confusion, “What’s the matter?”

“I was going to mention this earlier, but...” he finally replied, though he refused to make eye contact, “My potions froze while we were in the valley. None of them are going to work...”

“That’s perfect then!” Tager cricked her neck in preparation, “All the more reason for you to hang back and leave this to me!”

“Don’t be stupid!” Marco cried, “Just look at that guy! There’s no way you can handle this on your own!”

“Jeez, you’re annoying...” Tager exhaled, stepping forwards despite Marco’s objection, “I’ve made it this far haven’t I?”

As the question left her lips, the scene was joined by the earth ponies Marco had forewarned the others about, the dozen stallions filing in with intent. Curiously, as they moved to encircle Marco and the two pegasi, Truant help up a commanding hoof, silently commanding them to halt.

“That’s far enough.” he spoke softly, the ponies in question jarring to a stop at his order, “Just wait where you are.”

Marco and Tager ceased their squabble as Truant stepped up to them once more, that same half-interested look still on his face.

“You sure are quick to fall to infighting.” he commented, “It causes me to wonder if you truly are the comrades of those others.”

“What are you talking about?” Marco’s eyes narrowed, “Dash, who is this guy?”

“Tager said his name was Truant, or something...” Rainbow Dash replied, but her tone was tainted by her own concern, “Hey, what does he mean by comrades?”

“I was just noting how strongly you contrast your friends.” Truant smiled mirthlessly, “Indeed, the only thing you seem to have in common with them is that you too possess a fragment of the princess’ soul.”

The unicorn looked over his opponents with satisfaction as the conclusion dawned on them one by one. But while Tager was keeping her cool, Marco and Dash found themselves scowling with rage for they now knew that they were looking at the face of the one responsible for hurting their friends.

“It is, in truth, particularly amusing.” Truant remarked, taking pleasure in their discomfort, “On one side I am faced with firmly united ponies in the scorching desert, and on the other I am in the ice, my foes seemingly divided.

“Here we have the prideful griffin, the so-named element of loyalty, the infamous bounty hunter, and... you.” Truant’s hollow eyes stuck on Marco as he counted him off. “I wonder if this varied cohort will fare better than its counterpart.”

“You bastard!” Dash yelled, the rage taking over as the unicorn continued to speak so nonchalantly about her friends, “You’ll pay for what you did to them!”

Before Marco or Tager could tell her to wait, Rainbow Dash shot off the mark, rushing recklessly at the unicorn with a speed that seemed to surpass even Tager’s. It almost looked like she might land a strike, but her blurred figure was snatched from the air by one of Truant’s magical tendrils, it’s victim being stopped centimetres from her foe.

“Unlike your ‘friends’, there will be no phoenix to save you.” the unicorn stared seriously at the pegasus in his magical grasp, “Nor will you find that winged serpent of yours able to come to your aid.”

Marco could only watch in horror as Truant bowed his head slightly, letting his long horn tap upon Dash’s forehead. For her part, Tager thrust her wings out from under her coat, but regardless of her intentions, she wouldn’t be able to make it in time.

“I would take you prisoner, but Terra has made it clear only his own kind can be spared.” the unicorn said darkly, his horn burning with evil intent, “My apologies, but I suppose I’ll have you die here.”

What happened next caused Marco’s, Tager’s, and even Truant’s eyes to widen. Staring down the end of the unicorn’s glowing horn, held suspended in the tight grip of his magic, Rainbow Dash simply vanished.

“Wha-” Truant begun, unable to believe his warped eyes. But whatever he intended to say, he didn’t have enough time to think, let alone speak before he was struck. And while nopony understood what had happened, Tager was already in motion, flying in as quick as all hell and twirling mid-flight, cutting the air with her wings as she strafed past her target.

The befuddled unicorn slumped into a kneel, the sudden strike powerful, but doing no significant damage. As Tager landed on the other side of her target, she too noticed the lack of any visible injury.

“Tsk, I can’t get enough speed wearing this fucking coat...” she told herself as she threw the thing off, leaving her hardened leather patch and ceramic weight as her only accessories.

Taking her attention off of the still-kneeling Truant, Tager found herself staring at Marco, or rather, the pegasus breathing heavily by his side. “Nice save!” she called, still not understanding what had happened, “How the hell did you do that?!”

Tager’s expression changed the moment she realized he hadn’t done a thing. Indeed, as she looked closer, the stallion wasn’t even looking at her. His gaze was locked onto something behind her...

“So this is the first hero...” a voice came from behind, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

To Tager’s mind, everything slowed down. Nopony could sneak up on her like this. After all the training, after honing her senses to that of the world’s best, it was meant to be impossible for her to be caught with her guard down. But this voice, it couldn’t possibly be...

“Did you really think you could tamper with my soul without me knowing?” Princess Luna asked the fallen Truant, her eyes deadly, “If you aim to call upon my powers to strike down my friends, then you have another thing coming.”

Now Dash’s escape made sense. With her pendant around the pegasus’ neck, Luna had been able to teleport here, and had also seemingly teleported Truant’s captured foe out of harm’s way.

Marco couldn’t tell if it was luck that she had come when she did, or because she could somehow tell that the two fragments of her power had come together. Either way, once he was sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, the long-awaited reappearance of the princess was a welcome sight.

“Are you okay Rainbow Dash?” she asked directly, not taking her serious eyes off of Truant, “Are you unharmed?”

“Urgh... I’m fine.” the pegasus groaned as Marco helped her right herself, “Thanks. You saved me...”

Truant scowled as he himself rose once more, keeping his stance firm before the princess. But despite his still exterior, the ponies that were once at his mercy could see the gears turning in his rattled head. Tager was the first to recognise the look forming on his face. The once-confident unicorn was desperately trying to conjure up a way to escape.

“Forgive me if I misunderstood...” Luna spoke to the unicorn once more, “But did you claim to have defeated Philomena?”

“Defeated?” Truant scoffed at the princess’ choice of words, “She came to save her miserable allies, and I killed her.”

“Killed her?” Luna didn’t appear shaken, “Someone like you couldn’t accomplish such a thing.”

“No?” came the arrogant reply, “It wasn’t long after I confiscated your little heirloom that I blasted that whelp to ashes and sent them scattered across the desert!”

“Well, that is the first step.” the princess replied as cold as ice, “Did you perhaps neglect the others?”

Watching the two in nervous silence, Marco gulped to see Truant look his way, his void-like eyes locking onto the pegasus next to him.

“Dash...” Marco whispered, “He might make a break for that pendant. Quick, take it off so you don’t get hurt.”

Tentatively, the pegasus obliged by unclasping the amulet and passing it over to him. But in the moment before she gave it to Marco, during the split second it was between their two hooves, Truant made his move.

With a black flash, the unicorn appeared on top of the two, his slender hoof reaching desperately for the object he desired. The surprise caused Dash to jolt, whereas Marco hadn’t faltered. He had seen this coming from a mile away, he just hoped to hell a certain somepony else had too...

An inch from claiming his prize, Tager slammed into the vulnerable Truant, easily twice as fast without her coat restricting her movements. Pushing all of the momentum of her dive into her front hooves, she combined her tackle with a mighty two-hoofed shove, sending the unicorn rolling backwards considerably far.

On the rebound, Tager landed on all fours between Marco and Dash, her face contorted with the grin of having landed her first fully successful strike.

“I guess you’re not completely useless without your toys after all.” she said sidewards to Marco, “Not bad...”

The distance having been cleared, Luna flew in over Marco and the others and put herself between them and the recovering Truant, guarding them passively as their attacker rose angrily to his hooves. For her part, Luna simply stood with her magic primed, almost as if she was waiting for the unicorn to attempt something else.

Marco quickly realized what she was doing. The princess was trying to force a retreat. After all, she had barely applied her magic, and had yet to use it against Truant directly. To be so sparing, she must have been weak. Which made sense, as she must have only come to save Dash at the moment she sensed her to be in danger.

“Curse you...” Truant growled, Luna’s unfettered stance pushing him into a corner, “This isn’t over. Mark my words!”

Tager stepped forwards as it became obvious her enemy was about to teleport, but curiously, Marco stopped her. The pegasus had half a mind to push him aside, but then she recalled how enraged he had become when Truant boasted of defeating his friends. If anypony wanted him dead, it would be him...

The unicorn’s dark magic flared as the expected spell was loosed. With everypony watching, his cohort of earth ponies included, Truant’s black spell enveloped him and faded away as he teleported away.

Certain that the unicorn was truly gone, Luna’s brave face fell. Her posture slumped dramatically as her exhaustion immediately became apparent, the princess vocalizing the release with a tired sigh.

“Is it really okay to let him escape like that?” Marco asked, understanding, yet still doubtful, “That guy was crazy strong. We’ll be in trouble if he pops up again...”

“Marco...” the princess breathed, apparently too caught up in her own concerns to address his, “Did he... is it true that he obtained my amulet by attacking the others?”

“Yes.” he replied flatly, “No one died, but that’s all we really know. For some reason, we haven’t gotten any new information from Caliber.”

“We’ve been waiting for you to come back so you can take us back to Canterlot.” Rainbow Dash jumped in, “I... we need to see them!”

“Very well then.” Luna nodded sympathetically, straightening up her tired posture, “Let us make haste. We only add to Hordimare’s troubles by staying.”

Even as she said the words, the crowd of earth ponies that had gone ignored begun to mummer, their disorganization apparent now that their leader was gone.

“About that...” Dash spoke up again, her eyes downcast, “I’m not coming with you. I have to stay here.”

“What?” Marco asked in disbelief, “You’ve been the most concerned of all of us, and now you don’t want to go anymore? What happened to what you said? They need you!”

“I know that.” Dash’s replied, her tone unusually level, “It’s just that, well... we still haven’t found Gilda yet. She could be hurt or something, I can’t just leave her!”

The crowd of tense looking earth ponies circled slightly, unintentionally reminding the group before them the danger of loitering.

“Gilda’s a big girl Dash.” Tager reminded her old friend as she saw the desperation cross the faces of the surrounding earth ponies, “She doesn’t need our help, and it’s gonna do more harm than good to tangle her up with these guys.”

“She has a point Rainbow.” Marco agreed despite himself, “Your friends need you right now. We can come back for Gilda.”

“But Gilda is my friend.” Dash muttered, deeply conflicted, “And there’s nothing worse that abandoning a friend! I won’t do it!”

“If you really are a friend of G’s, then you should know better than to count her out.” Tager grinned reassuringly, “And who knows? This might be the chance she’s been waiting on to make up for last time...”

Dash bit her lip silently. Tager hadn’t completely convinced her, but it was now clearer to the troubled pegasus where her priorities truly lied.

“Then it’s decided.” Luna closed her eyes in recognition, finding meaning to the quiet, “Let us return now to Canterlot.”

The encircling aggressors edged in ever so subtly, and Dash, Marco and Tager inched backwards into their own defensive circle, with Luna standing passively in the centre.

But now that the others were close, Luna closed her eyes again and let her magic flow. The luminescent glow enthralled her three targets and Rainbow Dash instantly recognised the feel of teleportation tug at her quickly sickening stomach.

“Oh no...” she managed, holding a hoof to her muzzle, “I think I’m gonna hurl.”

And with those foreboding words, the light enveloping them shifted, and the four ponies were lurched across the world and warped safely back into the comfort of the royal palace.

Or rather, the carnage it had become.

“Oh Celestia...” Dash gasped, the chaos around her reflected in her dizzy eyes, “I really think I’m gonna be sick.”

The regal marble floors were cracked and split all along the once sacred hall, some of them even slick with blood. Some pillars stood with mighty chunks taken out of their intricate stone, while others lay entirely levelled. The very throne had not gone unscarred in the conflict that had raged here, Celestia’s seat having lost a significant portion of its uppermost right edge. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the palace was littered with a small number of royal guards, each alive, but down for the count. Even so, there were no enemies, nor a victor of any kind gloating about the defeated guardians. It appeared that whatever had happened here, it was well and truly over.

Marco, Dash, and even Tager took the unexpected scene in with silent shock. Luna however, was utterly aghast. She had been away, and in her absence her home had been dealt a great blow. In all the years, across all the decades, the palace had never seen such havoc. And at a time when it was under her charge, it had been reduced so swiftly to this...

Not far from her side, Marco was kneeling by the side of a nearby guard. “These injuries are horrible.” he commented, tending to the mare as best he could, “Whatever happened here hit hard. There’s nopony left standing-”

He was cut off abruptly as he felt a desperate clutch at his hoof. The downed guard's eyes were still painfully shut, but she tugged Marco closer with fading strength.

“C... captain...” she struggled, managing but the single word before slipping back into unconsciousness, her armoured head clanking against the broken floor as she did so.

Luna felt a cold shiver run down her neck to hear the desperate plea. “Captain?” she echoed, her voice filling the ravaged palace with ease, “Captain Caliber! Where are you?!”

“Caliber?” Tager repeated, her tone switching to one of concern, “No... He couldn’t-”

She stopped dead and ran across the shattered palace floor, her eyes recognising the figure laying lifeless against the marble only a few paces from the foot of the throne. The slate around him was stained a grizzly red, the mortal wound on his neck trickling blood at an alarming rate.

“This is...” Tager muttered to herself as Marco and Dash raced to the scene, “Atlas Black? What the fuck is he doing here?”

“That’s a lot of blood.” Marco commented, “Is he still alive?”

“Yeah, but at this rate he’s a goner.” Tager looked over the old bounty head, “Who could have done this? I heard that this old dude was quite the hoof-full.”

She continued to check over Atlas for a few moments before she realized Marco and Dash had suddenly fallen silent, and Tager’s nerves twitched to comprehend what such a thing meant. It was a silence that simply screams that something is wrong, and the kind of quiet of somepony unwittingly stumbling upon a gruesome truth...

Her eyes recognised the signs just as well as her ears. Both Marco and Rainbow Dash had their vision locked onto something just across the room, by the great doors that led to the palace. Tager followed their frozen gaze and soon enough she saw it. A silhouette slumped lifelessly on the top tier of the steps outside.

Tager knew not how she recognised the pony. The pure white and regal blue of his coat and mane were disguised under a sheen of red, and his feathered wings hung low and lifeless at his sides. Indeed, it was more the sinking feeling in her gut and the discarded and damaged helmet at his hooves that told her she was looking at the royal guard captain, or as she once knew him, Caliber.

Luna saw him next, and that chilling feeling grew a hundred-fold. She couldn’t tell if he was alive or dead, but what was immediately clear was that the safety of her city had been paid for in blood. It was also clear to her, by looking at his position upon the steps and the unconscious guards all around, that he was the one thin membrane that had kept the palace from falling to the enemy. Even still, despite having been spared a crippling loss at very heart of her home, a death in her name was something she wasn’t ready to face. Not now. Not after everything she had done to put the past behind her; not after all those important promises and oaths she made...

Marco was the first one to notice the stone. He was too captivated by the grizzly scene before him to realize it sooner, but the twin stone formations near the lifeless figure of Caliber were like fallen statues. They were just about as broken and dead as the rest of the palace, but he couldn’t remember such ornaments being here before.

If Tager could tear her eyes away from the sight of her old captain, she would recognise the statue-like forms as the remnants of a further two bounty heads, the Crimson Sisters as they were once known, Tango and Foxtrot. She wouldn’t know how their bodies had been so warped, or what force would be capable of bringing them down, but with the third, fourth, and fifth highest bounty heads all laying defeated, in the royal chambers no less, whoever managed it must have put up quite the fight.

This realization, it seemed, hit the group all at once.

“Caliber?” Marco called, addressing the lifeless pegasus slumped on the steps, “That’s you right? What the hell happened here?!”

“Are you even alive?” Rainbow Dash asked urgently, “Can you hear me?!”

“Captain!” Luna boomed, fearing the worst, “Answer us!”

Still silence. The chorus of desperate pleas didn’t seem to penetrate the pegasus’ bloodied shell...

“Say something damn it!” Tager boomed, “Hey! CALIBER!”

The four ponies audibly held their breath as the ravaged stallion’s head tilted ever so subtly and a single blood-shot eye glared out from under a bloodied and soiled blue mane.

“You’re too loud lieutenant.” Caliber’s rasp voice carried, full to bursting with a strength that defied his utterly wrecked form, “I can hear you just fine...”

* * * *

Back in the chilling winds of Hordimare, concerned heads peeked out from behind drawn curtains and barred doors, watching in cautious silence as the invading earth ponies seemed to file out in an unorganized mess, their apparent leadership having abandoned them here.

One such stream of retreating ponies left the town by way of its eastern exit, close to which lay a victim of their occupation. Beaten and pretty much left for dead, Gilda laid sprawled out with her face to the snow, not reacting as the earth ponies who had assaulted her parted around her motionless figure on their way out of Hordimare.

“Damn it...” she growled as the chorus of retreating hoofsteps faded away, “I couldn’t even stop the one unicorn...”

She bore many painful injuries, but what hurt most was her pride. It was a demon she swore to be rid of following her reunion with Dash, but even so, to be unable to keep Truant from teleporting to her friend and to then be overpowered by his earth pony followers... it was humiliating to say the least.

But it wasn’t her pride that kept her going, it was Truant’s hubris. Thinking her to be done away with, he had carelessly revealed the name of the town he and those working with him had been using to hide. And while she hadn’t the place to piece it together herself, it was also the town from which these earth pony invaders had been drawn.

She didn’t even know if this information was important, but she had no choice but to cling to it. If they could use it, if it could be of help to her friends, then perhaps she hadn’t endured this for nothing.

So Gilda did the only thing she could do. Crawl. Face to the ground, inch by bloody inch, she pushed forwards. She just needed somepony, anypony to come to her. If she could just get them to carry on her message, she just might be able to avoid failing her friends...

She stopped her struggling to hear the crunch of snow beneath hoof as a lone earth pony stopped in front of her beaten figure. She raised her head to see, but that brief moment of hope was met only with dread.

“This is your fault.” the enraged earth pony hissed, apparently the only one remaining of his group, “Because of you...”

Gilda let her eyes close as the stallion ran at her, the sound of his hoofsteps against the snow getting louder and louder until...

She opened her eyes again to hear the earth pony slide across the snow, having been knocked out cold only a few paces from his destination. Gilda couldn’t properly raise her head, but whoever her saviour was came into her field of vision from above, his wings flapping idly for a moment until landed right by the griffin’s head.

Gilda didn’t waste a second, reaching to the pegasus’ dark purple hoof the moment it touched ground and gripping it as tight as she could.

“Hey... mister...” she breathed, “Please... listen to what I have to say...”

“Don’t waste your energy.” the pegasus spoke, his voice gravelly, “I saw the whole thing.”

To hear his indifferent tone, Gilda raised her head and took in the full appearance of the one who had saved her.

“You...” her pained voice stung of surprise, “You’re...”

On closer inspection, the pegasus staring down at her was a face she’d memorised some time ago. Not that his razor-sharp teeth and yellow snake-like eyes were easy to forget, but she had to look twice to be sure, so unbelievable it was for her to be gripping at his hoof in a place like this...

“Doctor Haywire, at your service.” he smiled coyly, flashing his shark-like teeth, “Although you probably know me by a more... flattering title.”

“I don’t...” Gilda struggled to make sense of his appearance, and by extension his actions, “Why did you...”

“Like I’d sit by and let some thug beat on a girl.” Haywire seemed to attempt a disarming smile, though it fell apart on account of his menacing teeth, “Sorry I didn’t jump in earlier, it’s just that I’m not very good at fighting, and I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of that mean-ol' unicorn.”

Gilda held her tongue for a second as the gears in her head slowly started to tick. This was the pegasus Tager had been hunting down until Marco and Dash intervened. There was absolutely no way she could trust him...

“What’s with that look?” Haywire cocked his head, able to read right through the griffin’s thoughts, “I’m not gonna bite or anything. Actually, I thought I might lend a hoof.

“After all...” he continued, pulling something out of a small satchel on his right side as he spoke, “I wouldn’t be a very good doctor if I didn’t treat someone in such dire need as yourself.”

Curiously, Haywire held up the object he removed from the satchel in front of Gilda’s eyes, waiting for her to take it. For her part, the griffin just eyed the tiny thing with suspicion. It was just a plain-looking little red pill.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret.” Haywire spoke again, knowing why Gilda hesitated to take the pill from his grasp, “This is the medicine that got me in so much trouble and made me a wanted pegasus. And while it hasn’t exactly got the Canterlot Medical Association’s tick of approval, take it from me, it works.”

Tentatively, Gilda grabbed the little pill with weak claws. She kept it away from her beak, but she was finding herself less certain of the pegasus’ motivation. She was fully aware that desperation was clouding her judgement, but if there was even a possibility that Haywire could be trusted, at least this far, then maybe...

“So as long as we’re sharing, why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you?” Haywire lent in even closer, smiling slightly as saw through Gilda's doubts and picked out the perfect words, “Come on... what have you got to lose?”

Gilda winched. She had no choice. “Please...” she managed, “My friends have to know where that guy came from. It was a place called... Meetlemarsh. You’ve got to...”

Oh my, he let slip with something like that did he?” Haywire pondered, tapping at his muzzle with that same grin still on his face, “It’s no sweat of my back to carry on your little message, but as you’ve probably guessed, my charity only extends so far. What’s in it for me?”

“I’m begging you!” Gilda grovelled, shame and desperation combining to form a single frustrated tear, “Please just do this! Help my friends!”

“Hrm, that’s curious...” Haywire commented unsympathetically, truly intrigued, “You got so roughed up because of your pride, and yet here you are, giving up said pride.

“Heh, sacrificing what you treasure most for the sake of one’s friends is it?” he continued, “How poetic. Your buddies must mean much to you. Then again, they’re not my problem. Unless...

“Hey, this might sound a bit weird, but...” Haywire lent in so close that Gilda could feel his hot breath, “What are their names?”

The chilling wind that blew constantly from the wastes outside the town seemed to turn still as the broken griffin took her leap of faith. Haywire’s uncaring eyes just stared down as the names he asked for were spoken, none but him and the abandoned street there to hear them...

“Hrm, I see.” Haywire tapped at his deformed muzzle, “Interesting...”

He continued to contemplate for a few more moments, ignorant of how Gilda was hanging on his next word.

“Okay then.” he finally nodded, “I’ll deliver your little message.”

“Thank you...” Gilda exhaled the breath she had been holding, “Really, I-”

“Don’t sweat it.” Haywire dismissed with a shy chuckle, stepping forward as if to leave, “Just take that pill I gave you, otherwise you might die-”

“Hey, wait...” Gilda stopped the pegasus from walking past her, “I didn’t tell you where they are yet...”

“Ah, don’t you worry your little head about that...” Haywire stepped past the griffin on his way out of the city, a sick smile parting his lips, “You don’t need to tell me where to find ‘em.

“...I know where they’re headed.”

Chapter 12: Destination Unknown

From the Ashes

Chapter 12: Destination Unknown

“You must be joking.” Marco said in disbelief, “I haven’t got time for this! Just let me through!”

The flustered earth pony stood in one the uppermost spires of the royal palace, just outside the castle’s own dedicated library. And as one might expect of the recently declared ‘off-limits’ parts of the palace, it was not without security.

“Sorry sir.” the immovable night guard replied, he and his partner keeping the door behind them blocked off with their interlocked wings, “Our orders were to not allow entrance to unauthorised ponies.”

“I’m authorised!” Marco insisted, “Please... won’t you please move?”

“So you do have authorisation?” the guard raised an eyebrow, “If you were permitted access, then you should have been supplied a password to gain entrance.”

“Password?” Marco repeated, “Oh for the love of... you guards actually still use that playground bull-”

“Just let him in please.” a muffled, but familiar voice called out from the other side of the door, “He’s allowed.”

Marco exhaled as the guards’ wings withdrew, letting him pass without a word. He was tempted to waltz on cockily past the once stubborn ponies whop had denied him entrance, but for now he was more concerned with what he had come for having recognised the voice on the other side of the door.

“Twilight!” he called as he opened the door wide, “Boy, am I glad to see you!”

“Oh, Marco...” the unicorn replied, embracing the stallion the moment he entered, “Thank goodness you’re okay. I heard what happened.”

“Hey, that’s my line.” Marco’s voice dropped from relief to mild worry, “Why aren’t you in the hospital with the others? You’re supposed to still be in recovery ward...”

“Well, according to their records, I am.” Twilight smiled lightly, “And just because I’m a little stiff, it doesn’t make my brain any worse for wear. So I’m sure you’ll understand why I couldn’t wait around once you come in and see this...”

At her prompt, Marco followed Twilight’s lead as she guided him into the main body of the library. As a fellow bookworm, the stallion was quickly captivated by the spectacle. Shelves were stacked to heights impossible for an earth pony, and the cylindrical chamber in which they were held, as one would expect of a wing of the royal palace, was awe-inspiring. The deep brown of the cured oak stocks contrasted well with the shining white marble floor, and the higher parts of the shelves were illuminated by resonating magical crystals.

“Marco, there’s somepony here I want you to meet.” Twilight stopped him as they neared a reception desk of sorts, motioning to the mare pouring over some sort of text, “This is Pastel Pride, the caretaker of this library. She’s been a great help to us here.”

“Hmn...” Pastel mumbled, not looking up from her book for a moment, “Oh, so sorry! Um, Hi. Yes, that’s me, Pastel Pride! Nice to meet you, er... Marco? Right? Twilight’s told me a bit about you.”

The stallion delayed a moment as he tried to translate the earth pony’s mixed-up speech. “Has she?” Marco asked, eyebrow raised, “That’s, well... unsettling.”

“Oh, don’t be like that.” Twilight deflated, “If anything, the one thing she’s been hung up on is the fact she’s not the only earth pony bookworm in the world...”

“And from the country no less.” Pastel chuckled to herself, “And I thought I had it rough growing up like this in the city. Ah, well I suppose the princess did get me fired from my last job, but she got me this gig so it’s not all bad.”

Twilight took stance beside Pastel. “Anyway, as I already said, she’s been a big help.” she said, patting the mare affirmingly on the back, “She has every book in here categorised from cover to cover after all!”

“Well, doesn’t that make us peas in the proverbial pod?” Marco smiled as he looked up once more the shelves stretching up to the ceiling, “There’s enough books in here to keep three ponies busy for the rest of their lives...”

“Actually, there’s still one missing.” Twilight hinted, “You see, there was somepony else I wanted to introduce you to.

“Hey, Pastel.” she continued, turning to the earth pony beside her, “Where did Torrin get to?”

“Where did he get to?” she repeated, apparently questioning the meaning of asking such a thing, “Where didn’t he get to? I swear, that child is a colt possessed! One minute he’s tossing rejects from the damn rafters and the next he’s hunkered down here, pouring over a damn picture book like its the key to his little mystery!”

“I told you that this prophecy stuff was weird.” Twilight replied flatly, “Torrin might be a bit erratic when he thinks he’s on to something, but at least it gets results.”

“Erratic?” Pastel questioned Twilight's word choice once more, “Come on Twi, his needle’s flippin’ jumped! Seriously, what would you rather rely on? The whim of some kid, or hard research?”

“Why not both?” Marco proposed, re-establishing his presence by butting in on the girl’s discussion, “I’ve actually been meaning to talk to the child. Can you guys show me to him?”

“Pft, fine.” Pastel conceded, brushing past Twilight on her way out from behind her desk, “I think he was over here somewhere. Don’t dawdle.”

As she escorted Marco and Twilight behind the closest circle of bookshelves, the latter lent in on the former as he continued his amazement of the grand library.

“I actually think you’re going to like Torrin.” Twilight whispered, “He’s an earth pony too you know. And forgive me if I’m out of line here, but he’s probably a lot like you were when you were a colt.”

“Has he been able to tell us anything about what we should do next?” Marco asked, “I mean, do we have any more leads on the second hero?”

“It’s kind of touch and go at the moment.” she replied, “You’ll understand once you see him.”

“The kid reckons he keeps seeing the next town in his head, is what she means.” Pastel Pride added from the front, rewording Twilight’s vague response, “I caught him trying to draw it on one of our two copies of the ‘pre-classical archive of magic-powered combination locking schematics’. Apart from the fact he can’t draw to save his life, all you need to know is he keeps seeing a desolate village, raging stormy skies, and lots of snow. All in his mind, naturally.”

“Seriously?” Marco replied, “That sounds a whole lot like where Dash and I just came from. Actually, that sounds exactly like where we came from.”

“Wow.” Pastel said, “A bit late on that one then I suppose.”

“Hrm, even if he’s seeing Hordimare, it still proves that he has visions about these things.” Twilight retorted optimistically, “As far as I know, you two have been in here almost since the moment he arrived. There would be no other way for him to know about where you guys were or what was happening.”

“What about our letters?” Marco proposed, “We wrote to you a few times telling your group what was happening on our end, is it possible he read our messages?”

“No, I don’t remember him ever...” Twilight seemed to pause, “Honestly, I don’t know. But he wouldn’t be pretending-”

“The kid’s father was kidnapped wasn’t he?” Marco cut her off, never to be the one to shy away from the hard questions, “Children are smarter than you might think Twilight. If he was desperate enough to get him back, it would be understandable if he took desperate steps.”

“Stop it Marco.” Twilight shook her head, “You should meet Torrin first before you start making these kinds of-”

“Hey, there you guys are!” a small voice exclaimed from behind the trio, heralding the arrival of the colt in question, “I’ve been looking-”

Torrin stopped dead to see a stranger standing by Twilight and Pastel. Cautiously, he rounded his way in behind Pastel, peeking childishly at the stallion from behind the safety of her creamy white legs.

“Good timing kid, we were just talking about you.” Pastel Pride remarked as she stared down at the colt using her body as a shield, “This is that ‘Marco’ guy we talked about.”

“Ah-huh.” Torrin acknowledged, not emerging from the apparent safety of his cover, staring at the stallion with suspicious eyes, “I remember.”

The group went silent as another moment of thoughtful glaring passed, until finally Torrin emerged wilfully out from behind his protector. “This is that pony you thought might be the third hero.” the child tapped at his muzzle sagely, “Lawmark from New Eureka right?”

“Yes, that’s right...” Twilight replied carefully, “Can you tell if he-”

“He’s not one of the heroes.” Torrin cut her off, “I don’t sense anything.”

“You really don’t mess about do you kid?” Pastel remarked, stunned somewhat by how direct the colt’s claim was, “Any normal pony would let someone off gently.”

“Sorry...” the little earth pony scuffed his mane as re rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, “Should I try it again?”

“No.” Pastel rolled her eyes, “That would make it worse.”

“Wow, I was so sure that it might have been you...” Twilight found herself disbelieving, “But Marco, this is actually good news for you right?”

“It sure is.” he replied, “But that’s only if this kid’s prophet status is legit.”

“Oh! That reminds me!” Torrin practically jumped at the implication, “Twilight, I figured out where the hero is!”

As the colt bounded over to Twilight in enthusiasm, Marco and Pastel swapped a quick look. They seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“Come on!” he insisted, “This is why I came looking for you anyways! Follow me!”

With their tongues held and minds relatively open, Pastel and Marco obliged Torrin as he led them and Twilight back the way they had come. The circled back past the reception desk, the three bigger ponies walking awkwardly to keep up with the canter of a tiny colt.

But as it appeared Torrin was leading them into the creative non-fiction section of her library, Pastel Pride could stay silent no longer.

“What the heck have you been reading kid?” she asked as she became convinced nothing solid could be found among the books here, “It’d be a bit too convenient if this second hero pony had an autobiography here...”

“Wait and see...” Torrin replied confidently as he scanned the floor surrounding him as he searched for where he had been previously, “Ah, there it is!”

Twilight saw the book first, lying inconspicuously open at the foot of one of the giant shelves. Without a word to the others, she slid her hoof under the open cover and shut it, revealing the face of the tome for all to see.

“Oh hey... would you look at that.” Pastel remarked, her tone humourlessly deadpan, “The second hero just so happens to be the most famous unicorn in all of history. It’s a real shame that Starswirl the Bearded died well over a millennium ago. A millennium is a thousand years just so you know-”

“I know what a millennium is!” Torrin cut her off, “And no, Starswirl isn’t the second hero! The reason why I wanted to show you this is because this book has got the place I keep seeing; the place where the second hero is!”

“Did Starswirl ever go to Hordimare?” Marco asked, his own knowledge of the famous conjurer's history insufficient to answer it himself.

“Actually, he did.” Pastel jumped in, somewhat pleased with herself to be able to shed light, “Not long after he became a world-renowned expert on magic phenomena, he was a part of an expedition to locate a mythical creature that apparently fell from the stars and inadvertently and positively wrecked they tiny town and split the ground under ‘em approximately four kilometres straight down-”

“I’m not talking about Hordimare!’ Torrin protested, flicking the pages in the biography close the very beginning, “I’m talking about his birthplace! Which, if you didn’t know, is the place where he was-”

“Don’t get cheeky with me you brat...” Pastel practically popped a vein to hear her own condescension mirrored by a child, “Just tell us what the town was called.”

“Mistmantle.” Marco said, Torrin and Pastel turning to see that the stallion now held the book open before his own eyes, “Oh wow... a fitting birthplace for someone like him.”

“What do you mean?” Pastel questioned, “Do you already know that village or something?”

“How could you not?” Twilight spoke for him, “And it’s more of a fortress than a village. Like the story of Starswirl implies, it has been there for over a millennium, yet the same awesome structures still stand.”

“Apparently every building is some kind of super dense granite, made to withstand even the mot chaotic weather.” Marco joined in, “And the place was built on the side one of the tallest mountains in Equestria so its safe to say it’s seen it all. Apart from being famed as the birthplace of Starswirl the Bearded, Mistmantle has provided the world with the most innovative and progressive weather experts ever known.”

“Even so, it’s a totally recluse town.” Twilight nodded, taking back the reigns, “For such a historical and amazing place, nopony really ever visits. Don’t get me wrong, they apparently love tourists, but it’s just an impossible place to get to. The entire mountain is surrounded by raging storms every minute of every day.”

“The most fascinating thing of all is that the entire population are unicorn.” Marco jumped in again, “Pegasi and earth ponies just can’t survive the merciless weather, but the unicorns go so far as to master it. Funnily enough, unicorns born in Mistmantle commonly live their whole lives there. Unless they can hone their magic enough so that they can brave the storm alone, it’s impossible for them to leave.”

“Anyway...” Torrin interjected, seeing no end to the lecture, “This Mistmantle place is, without a doubt, where the unicorn hero is.”

“Hey Twilight...” Marco cocked his head, “Do you remember what the prophecy said about the second hero?”

“Hrm, let me think.” Twilight replied, pausing momentarily, “I think it was... ‘The second is a unicorn, unmatched in the realm of the mental. He commands the wrath of elements not through might, but aptitude. He is an outcast, yet his life’s work is the protection of his people, and the world at large. He will answer the call of duty, and seek to become that for which he is destined.’ How’s that?”

“Uh... perfect?” Marco stuttered, stunned somewhat, “Are you sure you didn’t miss anything?”

Twilight responded just by narrowing her eyes slightly.

“Okay, okay...” he said defensively, “I get it. But listening to that, I can’t help but wonder; If Mistmantle really is where we’ll find the hero, I can’t imagine him being anything other than one of the weather ponies the place is famed for.”

“Hrm, yeah I understand what you mean.” Twilight nodded in agreement, “The wraith of the elements not through might, but aptitude... it basically translates as weather manipulation through science.”

“It would also explain how he protects his people.” Marco added, “Keeping the storm at bay comes to mind. Though I’m not sure how that makes him a ‘protector for the world at large’...”

“Hey, um... Pastel?” Twilight changed her tone, “Would you mind taking Torrin for a sec? There’s something I need to talk to Marco about...”

“Sure, I guess.” the earth pony shrugged, “Come on kid, the big ponies wanna chat.”

Torrin followed Pastel Pride tentatively, throwing the odd curious look every few steps before he disappeared around the next corner.

“So you’re thinking it too huh?” Marco asked once he thought they were safe to speak freely, “I guess we’re on the same page today...”

“Considering what’s going on at the moment, we’re not allowed to waste too much time.” Twilight said seriously, “As it stands, we’re being dangerously dependant on the word of Torrin. I don’t like to admit it, but if his visions or whatever you want to call it are bogus, we’re going to be back at square one.”

“Yes, we’ve been faithful this far because we’ve also been relying on other means, but this time his word is all we’ve got.” Marco agreed, “We need to prove he’s got the power before we can act on his visions.”

“I have to say that I do believe in him, but with so much at stake, a leap of faith won’t cut it.” Twilight replied, her tone conflicted, “The problem is, we don’t have any way to conclusively determine whether or not his visions have anything to them.”

“Actually, I do have an idea.” Marco lent in ever so subtly, “An experiment, if you will.”

“Really?” Twilight asked, “What are you planning?”

“Twilight, as you no doubt know, the essential element of any experiment is the control group.” Marco replied, “I need you to fill that role.”

“I don’t understand...” Twilight frowned, “What do you want me to do?”

“Stay with Torrin a little while longer, and work with Pastel to piece together whatever you can in regards to the prophecy.” Marco instructed, being careful with his words, “I’ll be going now, but I will come back and take you guys with me to the night palace for the briefing thing Luna has planned for us. I’ll handle everything else.”

“I can’t say I understand, but okay.” Twilight said tentatively, “Does that mean you’re heading back now?”

“Technically, I was only allowed to leave the hospital so I check to see if you were, well... alive.” Marco replied sheepishly, “But now I’ve got to organize this little test.”

“Just one more thing then, before you go...” Twilight stopped him, “Did you talk to Applejack when you were seeing the others? When I left she had already woken up.”

“Um, yes, I talked her.” Marco answered, the topic taking him by surprise, “They didn’t let me stay long, but why do you ask?”

“Did my name come up at all?” Twilight ventured, her intention ambiguous, “You know, in any significant way?”

“Nothing stuck out if that’s what you mean.” Marco was quick to answer again, but found his concern stall him somewhat, “What’s with you all of a sudden?”

“I guess she left it up to me then...” she said to herself, “One last question please Marco. Have you decided if you are going to help search for the second hero?”

“Yes, I’m going to do my bit.” he replied, “I’ve already gotten mixed up in it all, and while I’m less sure I’m directly involved, I may as well see it through to its finish.”

“I see...” Twilight vocalized her thoughts once more, “But be honest with me Marco. Why?”

“Heh, one more question eh?” Marco let out a single laugh, “Then I’ve got one for you. Did anyone tell you about what happened at the palace yesterday?”

“Yes, I wouldn’t leave it alone until they explained it to me fully.” Twilight acknowledged his deviation from her question, “Why do you ask?”

“It was harder than usual for me to sleep when I got to thinking about what happened there.” he begun, “Specifically, those two girls, the ones who obtained that strange ability. It scared me just how much damage they did, how close they came to killing so many...

“Just how easily it could have been me in their place... I couldn’t ignore it.” Marco continued solemnly, “If they somehow knew who I was and what I wanted before I encountered you and your friends, I... I would’ve paid the price. I would have let them, no... I would have begged them to make me into a monster like that. Just so I could...”

He trailed off. The rest didn’t need to be said anyway. It had been discussed to death already, and nothing signalled the issue’s demise quite like his current actions and disposition. Cooperating and willingly working beside Luna was proof enough for Twilight that the past was long buried, but no matter how much she wanted to deny it, the whole thing stunk of an attempt at redemption.

“Marco, you don’t need to put yourself in any more danger.” Twilight voiced her concern, “Not if all you’re doing is trying to make up for the past. I don’t want... nobody wants you at risk if it’s only because of redemption.”

“Don’t misunderstand Twilight.” Marco said evenly, “I do desire forgiveness, and that compels me to do this. But I’m not looking for Luna’s, or yours, or your friend's... I have to do this for me. For my sake.

“And it’s not like that’s the only reason anyway.” he continued, his serious aura dropping, “I have friends taking the same stand as me, and I’m not about to falter when they’re the ones taking all the hits. If anything, this needs to be done, and I’m more than happy giving my share and more if it means things can go back to the way there were.”

“I can’t believe it...” Twilight sighed as she let the heavy atmosphere deteriorate, “Applejack had you completely figured out.”

“A.J huh?” Marco smiled somewhat, “So that’s why you asked if she mentioned you...”

“Actually, no.” Twilight became serious once more, “If she hadn’t told you, then it was up to me.”

“Told me?” Marco repeated, not understanding, “I’m not following you...”

“No, it us following you.” Twilight twisted his words, “Applejack was already convinced, but now that I have heard it from your mouth, we will be going with you in pursuit of the second hero.”

“Twilight, you know I can’t let you do that.” Marco shook his head ever so subtly, “I... I...”

He trailed off once more, but not because Twilight cut him off. Any reason he could conjure up to reject her would contradict his own justifications. Seeing him at a loss, the unicorn smiled to know she had him cornered.

“We’re all in this together Marco.” Twilight pushed, “You obviously want to keep our friends out of harms way, but they’re my friends too. And after what happened at Appleoosa, I’ve realized that the only way to do that is to help one another.

“You need our help.” she continued, driving it home, “And neither Applejack nor I are about to let you stop us from giving it.”

“When you guys are certain on something its impossible for you to budge huh?” Marco sighed, giving up, “But you’re right. Sorry.”

“Sometimes it’s better to be firm right?” Twilight erased all the tension with a carefree smile, “Go on, you’re running out of time to organize your little experiment.”

“Then if you’ll excuse me.” Marco turned, “Please don’t push yourself too hard.”

* * * *

“Heya sugarcube.” Applejack grunted as she re-entered the all too familiar hospital suite, “How’s she holdin’ up?”

Fluttershy didn’t reply. Seated by Rarity’s bedside, the pegasus rested with her eyes peacefully closed and an open magazine across her lap. Noticing that she was asleep, Applejack kept quiet as she continued inside.

“Look's like I just missed Pinkie...” she said to herself as she sat down and noticed that the seat was still warm, “Been wondering where she went off to.”

The earth pony continued to ponder for a moment before she got up with a pained grunt and took two slow steps closer to her friend's bedside. She stared in silence for a moment, then sighed softly and closed her own eyes.

“Oh, Rarity...” she whispered as she stood over her unconscious friend, “I hope you’ll be up again soon. I’m so sorry.”

“For what?” Fluttershy startled Applejack as she roused, “It’s not your fault.”

“But it is.” the earth pony replied solemnly, “Twilight already figured out why she’s in such bad shape while us two got off easy. She reckons Rarity was quick enough to save us with her totem magic but couldn’t manage one for herself. If she had been standing where I’d been standing, I don’t think...”

“I still don’t think you should be saying sorry.” Fluttershy looked down, “Instead, you should probably be thankful. If anyone should be sorry-”

“You don’t even have to say it sugarcube.” Applejack cut in, her tone even, “I’ll never forgive that monster. He won’t get away with doing this to our friend.”

Her resolve voiced, Applejack snapped back to reality to notice Fluttershy was quiet. And while she was almost always quiet, she was quick to tell that it wasn’t the normal kind.

“Okay Fluttershy...” Applejack voiced her concern, “What’s the matter?”

“I’m just so ashamed that I couldn’t do anything.” she confessed, “I mean, everypony else was in such a tough spot... and all Pinkie and I could do was run around crying, letting the others get hurt while we-”

Fluttershy was cut right off when Applejack jabbed her lightly in the forehead, flicking her as if she was disciplining some small critter. “Stop talking like that.” she told her off, her tone flat, “Remember what Twi said back when we were still neck deep in that mess? There’s always gonna be things you can and can’t do. I can’t fly, I’m not the brightest bulb, and sometimes I’m too stubborn for my own good.

“More than a few times you’ve kept me from doing something we know I shouldn’t, and you’re more level-headed than you let on, that’s for sure.” she continued, her honesty flaring, “So what if you can’t fight? We’re a team, and friends to boot. I’ll do what you can’t, and in return, you’ll do what I can’t.

“And by the way, that goes for all of our friends too.” Applejack raised her friend’s downcast muzzle herself, “Twilight, Rarity here, Pinkie, Dash, Marco, and even Luna have weaknesses. And if you think any of ‘em would get very far without your help, you’re kidding yourself.”

“I guess you’re right...” Fluttershy’s tone brightened slightly, “Thanks Applejack.”

“That’s more like it.” Applejack smiled wide, “Who in the hay got you talking that nonsense anyway?”

“I, uh... um...” the pegasus’ tone dampened once more, “Have you... met Tager yet?”

“You talking ‘bout that hero girl that Dash and Marco brought back?” Applejack questioned, “I’ve been cooped up here since we got back, so I can’t say I’ve seen her. Why?”

“She was here with Dash before, on her way to visit the captain I think...” Fluttershy’s tone was ambiguous, “So yeah. I met her...”

“What does that have to do with-” Applejack cut herself off, “Oh. I heard she wasn’t the softest pony around, but... what did she say to you sugarcube?”

“I...” Fluttershy’s head dropped once more, “You don’t want to know.”

“Oh, I most definitely do want to know.” Applejack grimaced, “Is she still in the hospital? I oughta give her a piece of my mind!”

“Here’s your chance.” a foreboding voice called out from behind, “I’m guessing you’re Applejack?”

The earth pony snapped around to find the maroon-coated pegasus only a few paces behind her. In turning to look at her head on, they ended up practically face to face.

“Tager right?” Applejack held firm, “The supposed first hero...”

“That’s me, I guess.” Tager replied, Applejack's tone not lost on her, “What’s the beef cowgirl?”

“What’re you doing back here?” Applejack shot a look to the silent Fluttershy as she skipped the question, “If you don’t mind my asking...”

“Dash ditched me, and I thought she would be here or something.” Tager didn’t seem to mind dropping the subject either, “You wouldn’t know where she wound up would you?”

“Beats me.” Applejack replied, “I haven’t seen her since morning.”

“Really?” Tager looked up as if in thought, “I guess that means she decided to go back to Hordimare already, even thought I told her G could manage by herself...”

“I think I know Dash pretty well, and she’s not one to just up and leave without a word to her friends.” Applejack responded, a hidden meaning to her words, “Why would you think she’s gone and flown off?”

“No, no... you’re probably right.” Tager countered, “It’s just that she gave me this and zipped off without a word.”

As she spoke, Tager produced a familiar looking necklace. With a deep purple gemstone inlaid in the centre, Applejack recognised it as one of the two Luna had given, which made it the remaining one that Dash had been carrying the entire time.

“She told me to give it to Marco before she went.” she continued, “Which is convenient, ‘cause I had something to ask him myself. You wouldn’t know where he is would you?”

“Last I heard he was headed to the royal palace.” Applejack answered, a hint of confusion contaminating her once stern tone as she wondered on why Dash had tasked Tager with passing on Luna’s amulet, “He’s uh, probably still up in the library wing.”

“Urgh, a library?” Tager groaned, “Well, I guess it beats staying here.”

“Then you might as well get going.” Applejack snapped, eying the still silent Fluttershy by Rarity, “You ain’t doing anypony any good hanging around here.”

“Tsk, whatever.” Tager turned back towards the door, Applejack’s attitude tiring her more than anything, “Later.”

Emerging from the double doors of the large hospital, Tager squinted against the sudden light, her eyes panning the Canterlot skyline as she wondered if she should have asked just where to look for the library Marco was at.

“What a pain in the ass.” she sighed as the extent of her predicament set in, “The hell is that guy doing anyway?”

Tager made to take wing and search out her destination from the skies, but she paused to hear a shout come her way from the murmur of the passing city crowds. She scanned for a moment before stretching her wings out once more.

“Must be my imagination.” she muttered, disregarding the sound, “Guess I’m still not used to city noise-”

“Hey!” she heard the shout again, recognising the voice this time, “Tager! Wait up!”

Waving his hoof in the air as he burst from the crowd, Marco galloped on up the front of the hospital, panting as he made it just in time to stop the pegasus from flying off. He sat down as if to recover, his loaded saddlebags coming to rest at his side.

“What the hell?” Tager asked the breathless figure, “I was about to go looking for you. Why’d you come running?”

“That’s funny, I actually needed to find you too.” Marco replied, regaining his breath, “This was the only place in the city I could think of that you might be at.”

“Lucky you then I guess.” Tager replied, stopping for a moment to negotiate something out from underneath her hard leather hide, “But before I forget, I’ve got a present for you.”

Marco watched curiously as she pulled out Luna’s magical amulet and threw it to his hooves. He didn’t wait around before picking the thing up and holding it before his eyes, studying it intently.

“This isn’t a new one or anything is it?” he questioned, “No, its definitely the one Dash was wearing. Why did she give it to you?”

“Who knows?” Tager shrugged, “I don’t know where she’s flown off to either, she just asked me to pass it to on you.”

“Weird.” Marco commented, not putting on the amulet, instead pocketing it in a special seam on the saddlebags, “Anyway, now that you’ve brought it up, I’ve kinda got a, uh... ‘present’ for you too.”

“Oh?” Tager grinned despite herself, “So that’s what the stuffed pack is for?”

“Y-yeah.” he stuttered forebodingly, “Just promise you won’t freak out or anything okay?”

“What’s your deal?” Tager questioned with a raised eyebrow, putting her front hoof on top of the bag and sliding it over so that she could look inside, “Getting all nervous all of a sudden, a girl might think-”

Tager stopped short as she revealed his supposed gift. “Ah, Marco... you shouldn’t have.” she smiled as if to lower his guard before adopting the most enraged scowl he’d seen on her yet, “You really fucking shouldn’t have...”

“Now, hold on Tager...” Marco backed up cautiously, “Let me explain-”

“Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?!” the pegasus roared, cutting his explanation right off, “You’re just gonna walk on up and drop this shit on me?! I’ve been happy enough tagging along while you an’ Dash play hero, but that can change pretty damn fast!”

“Listen to me!” Marco spoke up, “You think I’d risk driving you off on something like this if it wasn’t absolutely necessary?!”

“Necessary?” Tager repeated, “Don’t fuck with me! If you’re gonna say that you better be damn sure to back it up!”

“I told you to let me explain!” Marco raised his voice once more to match her, “And you promised not to freak out!”

“No I didn’t, you just said I had to.” Tager settled somewhat, “Anyway, I’m waiting to hear your stupid reasons. But I’m warning you, don’t try to mess with me...”

“Okay, okay...” Marco held his hooves up disarmingly, “Do you remember when we talked about that prophecy stuff and the guy who wrote it?”

“Oh, that?” she looked up as if thinking, “Nope. I don’t remember.”

“I guessed as much...” Marco sighed to himself, “Honestly, one can only wonder what kind of stuff actually makes it through that thick skull of yours...”

“Grr... aren’t you getting off topic?” Tager growled, “I told you, don't mess with-”

“Anyway...” Marco cut her off for his own good, “We’ve all got an appointment at the night palace in a few hours, and so far, what we’re going to do next hinges on the words of the colt who wrote the prophecy.”

“I don’t see what this has to do with, ergh... ‘that’.” Tager grimaced as she nudged the contents of the saddlebag, “You can stop right there if this has anything to with me going before the friggin’ princess.”

“Just listen will you?” Marco replied agitated, “As far as the stuff with the kid and his visions go, I’m sceptical. He claims to have written the prophecy, and claims to be able to sniff out the heroes, but as long as it is possible he isn’t genuine, we can’t plan our next steps based on what he says. Not without proving he can recognise a hero.

“That’s what that stuff is for.” Marco gestured at the saddlebags by Tager’s hooves, “I’m supposed to go to the library and bring Twilight and the child to the night palace, and along the way I aim to prove that he can or can’t tell a hero apart from the usual Canterlot crowd.

“Of course, that’s where you come in.” he continued, “However, you can’t be seen as you are now, because let’s face it, you’re nothing like the usual Canterlot crowd. If he bumps into a pegasus sporting a hairdo and equipment like yours, there would be no point.”

“So you got me a dress, friggin' makeup, and a stupid-ass hat, just so some brat wont be able to tell me apart from the rest of the snobs?” Tager asked incredulous, kicking the saddlebag so that the items she mentioned spilled out, “Have you lost your damn mind?!”

“Tager, this is the only way we can find out for certain Torrin’s the real deal.” Marco said seriously, “Can you please do it?”

“Hell no.” the pegasus spat, “I’ve said it once, I’ve said it twice; I don’t give a crap about whatever it is you’re aiming at with this whole Terra thing, least of all whether or not some kid’s been leading you lot on. You think I’m gonna humiliate myself over something like that? You’re pretty stupid Marco.”

“Fine then.” he breathed, “What do I have to give you to make you do it?”

“Oh-ho?” Tager took a pleased step forwards, the concept surprising her, “Now you’re talking my language, but it more depends on what you have to give. Which I already know ain’t much...”

Marco watched in silence as devious gears begun to tick inside Tager’s head. His offer was worth posing, but she was right. He really didn’t have anything she would want. Especially not if it was in exchange for what he was asking.

“Hrm... what to take, what to take...” Tager mused, “You’ve already given me your word, so that won’t do. Money? A favour? That black little hat you love so much? Hrm... okay, I think I’ve got it.

“Alright.” she exclaimed, having decided, “I’ll do the dress-up thing for you.”

“Just like that?” Marco questioned, his tone careful, “What do you want in return?”

“Your potions.” Tager said, taking him by surprise, “And an ‘I owe you’ in the bank.”

“What could you want with my potions?” Marco asked, tentative on agreeing, “They are of no use to you.”

“Well, if we get into another tough spot and they just so happen to be not frozen, I’m better off knowing exactly what you’re throwing around.” Tager replied, her carefree tone shifting slightly as she continued, “Also, it’s not out of the question that I’ll be the one on the receiving end of one of those some day. For that, I want to make myself immune to any poison or whatever else you got.”

“Okay, I’ll let you do whatever you want with them.” Marco replied just as serious, “But before I agree to anything else, what kind of ‘I owe you’ were you talking about?”

“Oh, right...” Tager put her hoof to her muzzle, apparently having forgotten, “I haven’t decided what I want, so I’m gonna hold you to a favour. It could be anything, and if I call on you for it, you have to do it no matter what. Kapeesh?”

“No sane pony would agree to that.” Marco shook his head, “Especially if it was to you.”

“C’mon, whatever it ends up being, it can’t be much worse than what you’re asking me to do, right?” Tager smiled wide, “Besides, aren’t you screwed if you don’t make a deal with me?”

“Urgh, you’re the devil.” Marco groaned, knowing he would be thinking back in regret to this very moment in what was sure to be the very immediate future, “Fine then. We’ve got a deal...”

“Do you promise?” Tager grinned and raised her hoof, knowing him to be cornered, “Come on, you gotta shake my hoof or something right?”

His eye twitching in frustration, Marco took her hoof and shook it slowly. “It’s... it’s a promise.” he said with a sigh, “There’s no way I’m not going to regret this.”

“Daw, what’s the matter?” Tager faked concern, still smiling that same smile, “Don’t you trust me? Hehehe...”

“Yeah, laugh it up.” Marco frowned, “But aren’t you forgetting something?”

As if to crush Tager’s self-satisfaction, Marco scooped up the contents of the saddlebag and dumped them in her grasp. Her chuckling stifled to remember that she hadn’t taken from him without first giving.

This time Marco was the one to smile. “There’s no time like the present, so I might as well sit back and enjoy this.” he pat the bounty hunter on the back, “Even if it means I might suffer for it later.”

Tager’s eyes were deadly as she was made to hold what would soon be her latest disguise. “I’ll make sure that you do.” she growled, “That I can pretty much garun-fucking-tee.”

* * * *

“Okay everypony...” Spellbound spoke above the murmur of the assembled guards crowding the garrison, “I know there’s not many of you, but gather round and quiet down.”

The unicorn looked over the sorry bunch as they gave her their attention. Most of them were wet behind the ears rookies who barely knew how to fasten their helmets, and the remaining minority were some of the tougher-stuff guards who had been a part of yesterday’s attack, which also made them the few who had pulled themselves from the sickbed and reported for duty despite their injuries. Either way, there was essentially nopony here who was fit for duty.

“As you all no doubt know by now, Canterlot was almost taken yesterday by the enemy.” Spellbound shook off her doubts, “Those of us who were fortunate enough to be away from the palace make up the majority of the city’s current defences.

“You’ve all probably been wondering what kind of condition our people are in.” she continued, “And I’m pleased to report that there hasn’t yet been any fatalities.”

“Yet?” a concerned guard spoke up, obviously one of the many greenhorns, “What do you mean ‘yet’?”

“Some got off easier than others.” Spellbound replied coldly, “For those of you directly involved in the incident, you’ll know what I mean.”

“How is the captain?” one firm-voiced guard asked, the pegasus sporting thick bandaging on his wing, side and eye, “Is he going to make it?”

“I won’t lie to you... I’ve seen corpses in better shape.” Spellbound didn’t mince words, “Even so, we’re pouring everything into bringing him around. I don’t think he will be leaving us just yet.

“With that said, we are now without a captain.” she changed tone, “With both Shining Armor and Caliber currently out of the picture, there’s a gaping hole not just in our main forces, but our leadership as well.

“Under normal circumstances, Caliber’s lieutenant would be the one to fill the position, but ever since his last one deserted, he never nominated anypony for the position.” Spellbound kept the pace, “For this reason, Luna has tasked me with the role of acting captain. Technically, this position does not exist, but with all things considered, I’m going to have to ask that you all acknowledge its authority for the time being. It is crucial that we keep our heads at this trying time.”

“This is crazy...” another of the rookie guards exclaimed, “What if we get attacked again? There’s just no way we-”

“Do not panic!” Spellbound shouted suddenly, “There is no question that the situation is desperate. However, this is why Luna has recalled not only the main body of the guard sent out to monitor vulnerable towns and settlements, but also the entire division currently deployed in the deep sea.

“When they return, Shining Armor will take charge of our reorganised forces.” she continued, “But until then, it is up to us to keep order. And to do that, I need you all to remain calm, focused, and to cooperate.”

The room fell silent once more as Spellbound voiced her new authority. On some level, they must have realized it was especially hard for somepony like her to be given the responsibility she now wielded at such an uncertain time.

“Now, to the first order of business.” she instructed, “Starting today, we’re locking down Canterlot. Nopony in, nopony out. No surprises. We will also no longer be operating in the royal palace. Until it is repaired, the night palace will be taking over its role as our main hub.

“That aside, there are two things I need you all to keep in mind.” Spellbound resumed, “Canterlot’s defence is now made up of a skeleton crew, the vast majority of which is here in this room as I speak.”

She couldn’t help but to pause. Looking over her attentive crowd, she couldn’t tell how many of them there were, but that was most likely for the best. All she knew was that if she wanted to count them, it wouldn’t take her very long.

“It is not my aim to demoralize you, but the first thing I want you to be mindful of is how limited our resources are.” Spellbound said gravely, “As it stands, we do not have enough numbers to maintain order from within, let alone defend this city from without. That is why a show of force is required. I imagine some of you might find this approach ruthless, but we have to be if we expect to last long enough for help to come. We must tighten our grip here and now, lest we risk collapse.

“Which brings me to the second thing you must stay conscious of.” she continued, not allowing her audience to dwell, “If anything has become obvious over the last few days, it is that we have severely limited intelligence concerning our enemy’s strength and number. You need to be aware that the chance of Canterlot being attacked again in its current state is not unlikely. Yes, our reinforcements will come, but we should assume that the enemy knows we are weakened. You all must prepare yourselves for the worst case scenario.”

A heavy silence hung as the reality of the situation sunk in. Out on the streets, in the homes, in the gardens, and in the workplace, Canterlot was more or less ignorant to the severity of their strife. And all the while the population enjoyed relative comfort and carried on with their usual business, the fearfully quiet guards looking up at Spellbound were now the thin line that held it all together.

“Now then, it’s time for your assignments.” their pseudo-captain’s voice cut through the grim atmosphere, “All unicorn guards who were injured or present during the attack yesterday, please light your horns.”

Spellbound watched as a collection of horns begun to shine a variety of colours, their owners’ eyes strong underneath their damaged helmets. There were six in total, two of them being of the white coated variety, the other four coated an ashen grey.

“Very good.” she nodded, pleased with the result, “We will be setting up a barrier around the city, and you six will be taking the lead in maintaining it. You’ll be spaced out evenly, and be assigned an additional couple of unicorns to help you keep it up. We don’t have enough numbers to construct a full-fledged shield, but make it so we can tell if anything, and I mean anything, passes through it.

“As for you pegasi...” Spellbound continued, “Placed in between where the barrier teams end up, I want six teams of three to be our lookouts. It’ll be your job to keep an eye out and warn us of any danger beforehand, and also to drop our alert if the barrier is breached for any confirmed natural reason.

“As for those left over, I’ll be splitting you up into two evenly mixed groups of pegasus and unicorn.” she carried on with the orders, “Half of you will be helping the police keep order, and be enforcing curfew, while the rest will be ready as a response team should the worst happen.”

As she finished barking her orders, the silence Spellbound was faced with was different from the one that had reigned only a few moments ago. Their doubts quelled that there was nopony fit to take charge, this new quiet was more of the hopeful kind than the previously fearful.

“If that is all, then we shall proceed with organising this immediately!” she concluded, raising her voice as she capitalized on the guards’ regained determination, “So then, are there any objections?!”

As one, the assembled crowd snapped into the same firm salute. “No sir!” the room boomed together, their unified declaration forcing a smile to form on the previously stern face of their ‘acting’ captain.

“That’s what I like to hear!” Spellbound roared over the din, “Let’s get to work!”

* * * *

“I’m coming in!” Marco announced himself before stepping into the library, “You guys are still in here right?”

“Over here!” Pastel Pride’s voice called out from deeper inside, “We’re down this way!”

Marco could hear Pastel chattering away as he neared, and he recognised the voice of Twilight and Torrin as well. He couldn’t help but notice the signs of the work they had been doing since his previous visit. A curious variety of different books lay open and scattered all about, telling him that whatever research they had been doing was taking them places.

“Ah, Marco-” Twilight made to say, but stopped short when she took her first look at him, “Wha- by Celestia, what in blazes happened to you?”

Pastel and Torrin gawked to see him too. For whatever reason, Marco’s left eye was swollen a little, with a light shade of bruising underneath. He rolled his good eye to receive the reaction he had been expecting. So it was clear at least that nothing was in pain aside from his pride.

“Wow, what a shiner!” Pastel smirked, “How’d you get it?”

“From a, uh... miscalculation.” he replied vaguely, “Anyway... it’s not important. We’ve got to get going if we’re going to make it to the night palace on time.”

“Oh, yeah... we completely forgot.” Pastel blinked a few times, “Okay, pack it up Torrin, you’ve gotta get moving.”

“Alright.” the colt acknowledged, closing the book he and Twilight were sharing, “I’m ready to go anyway.”

“Good.” Marco nodded before turning on the unicorn among them, “Twilight? How about you?”

She didn’t reply right away, too focused she was on her thoughts. A moment later, those thoughts translated into the magical glow of her horn as she recalled the spell and let it loose without a word.

Before Marco could ask what it was that she was doing, an unexpected and sharp pain struck his sore eye, causing him to yelp.

“Sorry...” Twilight smiled apologetically, “Magic can’t really help with bruising, but I got rid of the swelling. See?”

Wrapped up in her magic, Twilight levitated a little mirror up to his muzzle, showing him his new non-swollen eye.

“Urgh, If you’d just asked I would’ve told you I already took something for the swelling earlier.” Marco touched carefully at his eye before waving off the curious mirror, “Where’d you even pull that mirror from?”

“Who cares?” Torrin sighed, shuffling past the pair on his way out, “Didn’t you say we were in hurry?”

“Tsk, fine.” Marco stopped the colt, stepping in front of him as he slid the child back, “Follow me.”

“Good luck you guys.” Pastel smiled as she waved off the trio, “I’ll keep digging on this hero stuff while you’re gone.”

“Thank you so much!” Twilight waved back as she followed Marco towards the exit, “We’ll definitely be back sooner or later!”

As the big door shut behind the three as they left, Pastel Pride let her smile drop as she slumped tiredly. Without Twilight and Torrin and their combined craziness, it was just her, an impossible task, and a near infinite supply of random information.

“Urgh... I’m in way over my head.” she muttered in exhaustion, “I’m gonna go lie down.”

Taking the spiralling staircase two steps at a time all the back down to the ground level of the palace, Marco led Torrin and Twilight towards the southern exit, which as Twilight knew, was a way that would have them pass through the throne room.

“Um, Marco...” she spoke up from the rear, “We’re not allowed to go this way. Wouldn’t it also be quicker if we took a short-cut here on the left?”

“We got lost the time you tried to short cut us.” Marco reminded her, “Let’s just go this way, it’s the only one I know.”

“Wait, then how did you...” Twilight trailed off as she figured the answer out herself, “Just follow me would you? I’m not going to get us lost inside the palace.”

Marco didn’t deviate from his path. “Can’t we just-” he made to ask, but never got a chance to finish.

“Marco!” Twilight abruptly hissed, jarring to a halt, “You should already know what it's like in there! Torrin doesn’t need to see that!”

The colt in question came to a sudden halt too, with Marco doing the same. He and Twilight both knew what was behind the doors ahead, and while it hadn’t yet occurred to Marco, the throne room wasn’t in a state that the child should see, even more so if the possibility still loomed that he would play a role in taking the fight to the forces responsible for what had happened here.

“I guess you’re right.” he turned around, at the rear of the group now that Twilight would lead on, “Fine, have it your way. I just hope you know where we’re going.”

“Oh, give it a rest would you.” Twilight sighed as she charged off on her own tangent, “Come on, or I’ll leave you behind!”

Twilight’s path through the main body of the royal palace was winding, but true to her word, the three of them were out into the streets of Canterlot in no more than a couple of minutes.

“Well?” Twilight asked as Marco retook the lead, the time they’d made up allowing them to casually walk the rest of the way.

“I’m sorry I ever doubted you...” he apologised flatly, taking her question to be of that kind, “Can you ever forgive me?”

“Not that.” Twilight’s eyes narrowed, apparently taking offense to what he thought she meant, “I meant, ‘well’, aren’t you going to ask what we found out while you were gone?”

“Oh, right.” Marco changed tune, “I forgot about that. What did you get up to?”

“I was trying to think of another way to narrow down our search.” Twilight replied, “You know, if the next hero turns out to be from Mistmantle.”

“If, huh?” Marco repeated, “Okay. Did you figure anything out?”

The discussion paused for a moment as the trio pushed their way through the Canterlot crowd, receiving a few disapproving grunts from the snobby locals as they did so.

“Do you remember that section in the prophecy?” Twilight asked, ignoring all the dressed-up ponies as they rolled their eyes, “The part where it mentioned that he ‘protects his people’, I mean.”

“And the world at large right?” Marco continued for her, able to recall it too, “What about it?”

“Well, we were stumped at first.” she explained, “Torrin swore that the pony we were looking for is in Mistmantle, and while I could understand that the hero played some vital role in protecting the town, most likely against the weather, Pastel Pride nor I could think of a way for him to also play a role in the outside world.

“Unicorns that are able to leave Mistmantle rarely ever go back. It’s just that hard.” Twilight continued, “So if he’s there at the moment, I can only imagine that he’s never left. But that’s the thing... ponies that have never left Mistmantle have no experience of the outside world. Beyond those ever-raging storms, they’ve never seen grass, sand, the stars, or, or... well, you know.”

“So if our hero is so alienated from the rest of the world, how could he possibly play any, let alone a significant role in protecting it?” Marco asked, Twilight’s dilemma clear to him, “That is a problem. No offense Torrin, but we’re in trouble if what you say and what the prophecy say-”

“Actually, I thought the same thing until we dug a little deeper.” Twilight cut him off before turning to face the colt beside her, “Why don’t you tell him what we found?”

Torrin paused for a moment to realize she was talking to him. “Um, okay?” he said, taken off guard since he hadn’t expected be a part of the serious discussion, “Well, we were talking about it for a little bit back when I found that book on Starswirl. You said that because of where they live, Mistmantle is practically the weather expect capital of the world.”

“Yeah, I remember.” Marco replied sternly, “But what did you find?”

“It was Pastel who thought of it.” Torrin explained, “A whole bunch of technology comes out of Mistmantle, stuff designed to stop weather and natural phenomena from doing too much damage. Over the years, actually, over the last ten years, there’s been some huge advances, and all of Equestria has been applying them.”

“We’re talking about inventions like the magical lightning rod, the tremor tablet, and the wave wiper.” Twilight continued on for him, “That’s only a few examples, and they’ve saved more lives than you can imagine. And they’ve all come from one place.”

“Let me guess...” Marco replied, “Mistmantle right?”

“Naturally, but I managed to narrow it down even further.” Twilight lent in, her tone almost excited, “They’ve all come from the same company in Mistmantle. A weather factory going by the name of Sunny Day’s and Night’s.”

“Catchy...” Marco joked, “But I see what you mean. Inventions like that might not get much recognition, but they still protect ponies all over the world from all kinds of disasters.”

“You can say that again.” Twilight smiled, “So I’m not crazy? We’re onto something right?”

“After all the hustle I’ve been through already with Tag- uh... the first one, it’s hard to believe we won’t be jumping in completely blind.” Marco replied unsteadily, almost letting Tager’s name slip out in front of Torrin, “What’s more is that while we were relying on what Celestia had been researching before us, we’ve been working on this one by ourselves.”

“I am her student after all!” Twilight said, pleased with herself to some degree, “Even then I’ve had the help of Pastel and Torrin-”

She stopped short as she said the colt’s name. Turning to her right as if to praise him directly, her face fell to realize that the child in question was no longer beside her. Also realizing, Marco figured that he hadn’t needed to worry about accidentally dropping Tager’s name in. The colt was most likely gone at that point.

“Wah!” Twilight exclaimed, causing Marco to jolt, the unicorn’s fear of loosing such a severely important pony in the middle of Canterlot not concealed in any sense, “Torrin!? Oh no... oh, no no no no... where are you?!”

She spun in circles rapidly, scanning the indifferent crowd around her for the small child. For his part Marco turned around slowly, more focused on the path they had walked so far. His eyes narrowing, her saw a set of tiny hooves trotting away through the legs of the Canterlot locals behind him for just an instant.

“This way.” he said calmly, Twilight latching on at the implication, “Follow me.”

“You saw him?!” her voice was bursting with relief, “Where?! I don’t...”

“Calm down.” Marco made sure that Twilight copied his slow walking, “Remember how you pulled me aside at the library and we talked about how I wanted to test if Torrin was the real deal?”

“Well, yeah?” Twilight was beyond confused, “How did you- wait, what’s this got to do with him running off?”

“Think about it.” Marco offered, “He says he can tell if somepony’s a hero just by looking at them. So all we need to do is show him a hero. Which I think we just did...”

“Huh, where?” Twilight spun again, yet still turning up a blank, “Oh! You mean-”

“Neither you or Torrin have seen Tager before.” Marco explained, “You wouldn’t know she was a hero even if you bumped into one another in the middle of the street. Unless of course you could somehow tell...

“But trust me, she would stick out no matter where she was.” Marco exhaled, touching at the light bruising below his eye, “I managed to, uh... ‘convince’ her to dress up as if she was from Canterlot. Truth be told, I didn’t see her pass us either, but if Torrin saw fit to chase what he could only regard as just another stuck-up posh city pony-”

“Then that must mean...” Twilight gasped, increasing her speed and pushing past him, “He really does have some kind of sense!”

“Hey, wait!” Marco warned, pursuing the excited unicorn, “Don’t rush! We still can’t say for...”

Twilight suddenly rounded a corner, entering an alleyway. Cutting himself of mid sentence, Marco followed, only to bump into Twilight’s rear as she unexpectedly stopped barely a foot inside the alleyway.

“What the heck?” Marco asked, his eyes locking onto the same sight that caused Twilight to stop. In the centre of they alley sat a pile of crumpled clothes, which, even from a distance rung of the common Canterlot style.

Twilight might not have been able to piece it together, but it dawned on Marco a moment before it snuck up on him.

“Urgh, I said I’m sorry!” Torrin’s voice moaned out from above, “Please put me down!”

Twilight turned at the colt’s sudden cry, but before she could locate him for herself, he seemingly fell from the sky and into her reflexive grasp.

“Oof!” Twilight exclaimed as the sudden impact pushed her into a kneel, “Torrin? What the- are you okay?”

“Y-yeah.” he stuttered as Twilight helped him back onto his hooves, “Sorry I ran off, it’s just that...”

“It’s alright.” Marco was the one to answer, though his eyes were anywhere but on Torrin, “To be honest I, well... we, were hoping you would.”

“Marco?” Twilight called, her eyes locked onto the same thing as him, “Is that who I think it is?”

“Yes.” Marco replied, his eyes following as the pegasus landed just in front of him, “But Tager, what’s the big idea?”

“What?” Tager pointed at her chest, feigning offense, “You said I shouldn’t let myself get noticed. Kinda hard to do when some kid starts chirping, telling me to wait. ‘Hold on!’ he says, ‘I can sense something from you!’ he says. Honestly... worst pickup line ever.”

“Uh... hello.” Twilight cut in awkwardly, Torrin taking cover from the crude pegasus by hiding behind the unicorn’s hooves, “My name is Twilight Sparkle. I’ve, um... heard a bit about you.”

“I’m sure.” Tager sniffed at the air complacently, breaking away from eye contact, “Can we go now? I wasn’t looking forward to going to the night palace, but having to trot about with all the stuck ups in this city has been driving me buggy.”

“So did it work?” Twilight asked Marco, “Could Torrin really tell?”

“I don’t think you should be asking me.” Marco jerked his head at the colt cowering behind her, “This is your moment Torrin. Tell us what happened.”

Tentatively, the colt emerged from the safety of his cover. “It’s like she said...” he mumbled, “While we were walking, I got this really funny feeling about somepony walking by. It was the same kind of feeling I sometimes get... but-”

“Amazing... you really can sense these things.” Marco found himself disbelieving, so strange it was for such a thing to be true, “And there can be no doubt?”

“At first I wasn’t sure.” Torrin gulped bravely, “But now I’m positive.

“That pegasus...” he continued, his innocent eyes fixed on Tager, “Is not one of the three heroes.”

“WHAT?!” Marco practically shook Torrin in frustration, “After everything we went through!? And you just said you sensed something! What the hell!?”

“Urgh, then maybe she just isn’t one yet!” the colt broke free of the stallion’s grip, “I can only tell you what I know! If you’re so sure it’s supposed to be her then maybe she’s not at that stage yet-”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” Marco cut Torrin off, his reasoning absolutely ludicrous to his ears, “You’re the one who’s supposed to foresee that stuff! If you can’t even say for certain, what the heck did you sense?!”

“Calm down Marco!” Twilight insisted, physically pushing him back by the shoulders, “This isn’t getting us anywhere!”

“I still get to fight Terra right?” Tager spoke up, utterly indifferent to her current status, “Our promise didn’t have anything to do with this little squirt.”

“Urgh, I don’t... I can barely think straight anymore.” Marco confessed, “If we have to go back to square one, after everything that’s happened... I just don’t know where we’d begin.”

“Let’s start by taking this little problem to Luna.” Twilight suggested reassuringly, “Remember, she didn’t disappear undersea just to visit Neptune. And since she’s been so keen to bring us all back together, she must have figured something out!”

“I don’t know what you guys are on about, but anything beats just sitting here.” Tager chipped in despite her ignorance, “And not that I’m looking forward to dealing with Luna again, but it’d be nice for somepony to explain this crap to me in words I actually understand for once.”

“Anyway... let’s go see her before we start stressing out.” Twilight added carefully, trying to calm the situation down, “We’ve done just about all we possibly can on our own so far, and even if we haven’t come up with much, we’ll definitely work everything out once we’re all together again.”

Twilight watched Marco as he continued to stare seriously at the colt that was once again taking cover behind her back legs. And while his concerns weren’t settled in any sense, Marco couldn’t deny that Twilight had raised a valid point. It was time for them to give up on trying to discover a solution on their own.

“Sorry, I guess I got a little carried away there.” he rubbed at the back of his mane awkwardly, “We should do as you said and make for the night palace.

“With any luck...” Marco resumed as took the first step back towards the bustling Canterlot streets, “Luna will know what to make of this mess.”

Chapter 13: Laying Down the Lore

From the Ashes

Chapter 13: Laying Down the Lore

“Ah, good.” Luna turned her attention to the door as it creaked open, “You have arrived. I trust you two are fit?”

Applejack slowly entered the massive foyer of the night palace, her body done up with some supportive bandaging. Fluttershy was with her of course, the pegasus having mustered up the will to leave Rarity to the care of the hospital. The princess awaited as the pair continued inside, the alicorn flanked on one side by an armoured unicorn mare, and on the other by two more ponies who’s appearance caused Applejack’s weary body to jolt.

“Rainbow! Pinkie!” she exclaimed, hastening her step as she approached her friends, “So this is where you girls got to? You had me worried that you’d gone and skipped town!”

“Hehe, nope!” Pinkie Pie giggled in reply, “We’ve been here the whole time!”

“Sorry we didn’t say anything...” Dash continued on for her friend, “The princess said it was really important for us to come as soon as possible.”

“Oh my, what’s the rush?” Fluttershy questioned, “I mean, we’re not even all here yet...”

“Yes, well, that’s kind of the idea.” the armoured unicorn beside Luna hinted, “Regardless, we apologise for hurrying you.”

“Ah, of course...” the princess rounded on the royal guard, “Girls, this is Spellbound. Since Captain Caliber has been indefinitely put out of action, she will temporarily be taking up his duties.”

“It’s good to meet you.” Applejack bowed her head in the traditional greeting manner, but then turned to Luna with a confused look on her face, “But princess, what did she mean ‘the idea’?”

“Let’s just say that it was fortunate you two arrived when you did.” she replied sagely, “After convening with your friends here, it seems that there are matters better discussed in certain ponies’ absence.”

Applejack barely needed a second to understand just who she was talking about. Even looking around the room, it was obvious that some of the key individuals that had been invited here were nowhere to be found.

“Ideally, I would prefer for Twilight Sparkle to be here as well, but I suppose it cannot be helped.” Luna continued, seemingly reading Applejack’s thoughts, “What is important is that those two are with her.”

“You’re talking about Marco and Ta- Tager, aren’t you princess?” Fluttershy stuttered meekly, “What’s this all about?”

Rainbow Dash moved forward as if to explain it to her friend herself, but Luna stepped in first.

“Fear not, for I will explain in full.” she said evenly, “That was, after all, my intention in calling you all here.”

A brief silence dominated as the princess gathered up her thoughts. Rendered nervous by her gaze, Fluttershy just let her own stare shift between her quiet friends as she waited for the discussion to resume.

“In between this moment and returning from the undersea, I saw fit to follow up on what my sister had been investigating concerning the prophecy; namely, the first hero.” Luna explained, releasing the pegasus’ tension, “As far as directing us Tager’s way, I believe Celestia was correct. However, there are other things coming to light now that I have retraced the steps she took in determining it.

“For instance...” the princess continued, “Among those here, how many know of Tager’s history with the royal guard?”

Rainbow Dash was the first to raise her hoof, followed quickly by Spellbound. For her part, Fluttershy delayed a moment as her shaky hoof snuck up too.

“She, um... mentioned that she was Caliber’s lieutenant at one point.” she elaborated, her memories of their talk back in the hospital sparking back to life, “But that’s about all. I think...”

“In any case, there is a glaring fact about that pegasus I should tell you all while it is just us here.” Luna’s tone became more serious, “It concerns the manner in which she deserted the guard.”

“She hadn’t even talked to me about that.” Dash cut in, “I didn’t think it meant that much, but even when I asked her she just shrugged me off.”

“It does not surprise me that it was something she never told you.” the princess’ tone shifted once more, “It is, however, a story you’ve heard once before. All of you.”

The girls looked among one another in confusion. It was clear that they were not following.

“It is a story that came terrifyingly close to a most tragic end.” Luna’s eyes closed briefly, “An end that almost came about in the very palace in which we currently stand.”

“Wha-” Applejack was the first one to realize what she was trying to say, “You couldn’t mean...”

“I could.” came the detached reply, “The night following my rebellion, the once which you helped to thwart, Tager was a part of the guard sent with my sister to come to the rescue of Marco’s hometown.”

The room was speechless. Luna closed her eyes again, having received the response she was expecting. “As fate would have it, those two are tied to the same tragedy.” her voice was almost imploring as she continued on, “In this regard, I have something to ask of you here now.”

Applejack and Pinkie Pie swapped a quick look. Neither of them could imagine how they would be able to weigh in on something like this.

“My issue is whether or not I should reveal to those two their connection.” the princess said, “They are most definitely ignorant to it themselves, but this may not necessarily remain true.

“I need not remind you of Marco’s history with me, but as for Tager, she still holds much against me for that incident.” Luna elaborated, “Next to Caliber, she was apparently one of the most promising up and comers the guard had ever seen. Comparing the life she once led with the one she has now turned to, it is clear to me that her decision to leave forced her to forsake a great many things. I cannot guess how she feels now, but at least at some point she must have regarded me as the root cause of her hardship.

“This is where I am divided.” she continued, opening the issue up to the girls, “I cannot decide if I should let these sleeping truths lie. For what sake should I reopen old wounds?”

Spellbound closed her eyes knowingly in the following silence. She was aware that these girls already had a significant history with the princess, but it hardly changed the fact they were unqualified to respond to such a deep question...

“If they found out we were questioning this and that we decided together not to tell them, I don’t reckon it’d end well.” Applejack finally spoke up, pulling the attention of everypony in the room, “We shouldn’t be holding out on them because of ‘ifs’. Honesty’s the best policy after all...”

“You should totally tell them!” Pinkie Pie agreed energetically, “What happened at Marco’s hometown was really sad, but won’t it make Tager happy to know somepony made it out okay in the end?”

It was Dash’s turn to chip in next. “Even if she isn’t angry at you anymore, Tager won’t like being given a talk on something like that.” the pegasus said, “Just don’t beat around the bush and tell her straight. That’s the best way.”

“Um, sorry... but shouldn’t we be more worried about Marco?” Fluttershy finally raised her own concerns, “Isn’t he the one who might react badly?”

“It might come as a bit of a shock, but I wouldn’t worry about him too much sugarcube.” Applejack replied, “I don’t think he would have come this far if he still had hang-ups.”

“Me thinks that if Twi were here, she’d say the same thing.” Pinkie chimed in, “And so would Rarity. And so would I. And so I do! He’s definitely gonna be cool with it!”

“What she means is, Marco and Tager aren’t the kind of ponies who are going to flip when all you’re doing is telling them the truth.” Dash translated for the princess, “There really isn’t much to worry about.”

“It seems as though you all agree.” Luna nodded thankfully, accepting the unanimous responses, “Very well. I will do as you advise.”

“Well, now that’s out of the way...” Dash broke the humble atmosphere, “I guess all that’s left is to wait for the others to come so we can hurry up and get this show on the road.”

“Now that you mention it Rainbow, how come you were here so much earlier than us?” Applejack asked, remembering how her friend’s behaviour had stumped her earlier, “Why’d you give Luna’s pendant to Tager and disappear on us all of a sudden?”

“Oh, and Pinkie did the same thing.” Fluttershy joined Applejack in her questioning, “Well, I don’t know about the pendant stuff, but she still left Rarity and I at the hospital without a word...”

“My apologies, but you will find that I am to blame for their sudden disappearance.” Luna answered on behalf of the two, “I personally sought them out and requested they come here and help me piece together the events that transpired in my absence.”

“Sorry Fluttershy, but Applejack was still in bed, and you were taking care of Rarity...” Pinkie Pie explained, “And since Twi was busy over in the palace, the princess wanted me to tell her all about what happened at Appleoosa.”

“It was the same deal with me.” Rainbow Dash stood beside the pink earth pony, “Luna needed to know what went down in Hordimare. She wanted Marco to have the pendant anyway, so I asked Tager to pass it on for me.”

“The pendant?” Fluttershy repeated, her tone shifting, “That reminds me, what happened to Philomena and Paragonia? I heard some things...”

“Worry not, there are few forces capable of felling either my, or my sister’s companion.” Luna replied cryptically, yet comfortingly, “That said, with Philomena missing and Paragonia still recovering, they will not be able to assist us for the time being.”

“As long as they’re okay...” Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief, “But doesn’t that mean we won’t be able to keep in touch over long distances anymore?”

“We can talk about that later, once we’ve all gathered.” Luna replied, “There will much to discuss.”

“O-okay.” the pegasus backed up, “Then, uh... should we just wait?”

Almost as if in response to her question, the sound of the great doors creaking open once again filled the royal foyer. As everyone turned at the sudden arrival, a collection of comfortable smiles formed to see the remainder of today’s company arrive all at once.

“Looks like we were late after all.” Marco commented, “Sorry everypony. Twilight tried to take another short cut again.”

“I told you to quit it with that.” the unicorn hissed, “Sorry we’re late girls, but we would have been even later if we didn’t take the detour.”

“On the contrary, you’re timing is quite ideal.” Luna intervened, “Join us, there is much yet to discuss.”

“Oh goody...” Tager drawled, following behind Marco as he led Torrin and Twilight inside, “And you guys were worried you were gonna miss out on all the good parts.”

“Actually, now that we are all here, the first thing I have to say concerns you directly.” the princess surprised Tager by singling her out, “I can think of no way to introduce the issue naturally, so forgive me if I speak plainly...”

In the background, Applejack gulped. Even though Rainbow Dash had recommended this approach, the earth pony hadn’t expected Luna to jump into it so quickly. Even Pinkie and Fluttershy looked to one another in surprise.

“The events that have led up to you being here run far deeper than I think you realize.” the princess’ seriousness suddenly intensified, her approach stunningly left-field, “I have recently discovered that the path you have walked shares its beginning with another. This may come as a shock, but this pony is none other than the one who has led you here, and the one standing beside you...”

As Tager’s eyes rounded on Marco, the stallion took a steady step back before meeting her stare. Oddly enough however, as the brief moment of expectant silence faded, the two ponies simply looked back to Luna, displaying for her their unfettered expressions.

“Oh, that.” Tager spoke first, looking casually over to the left as she did so, “I already knew.”

As the look of shock the girls had been expecting became mirrored on their own dumbfounded faces, one could hear a feather drop as the implications of what had just been said sunk in.

“E-excuse me?” Luna was the first of them to reply, so taken aback she was that her composure wavered for a moment, “How?”

“It wasn’t on purpose or anything if that’s what you’re asking.” Tager jerked her head at the silent Twilight, “It’s all the egghead’s fault...”

“Hey!” the unicorn protested, “I was only checking with Torrin, you’re the one who butted in!”

As the two begun to argue, Marco just sighed tiredly. It appeared he’d been putting up with something similar to this on the way here...

“Could one of you please explain?” Luna asked, at a loss herself, “What happened?”

“Well, it all started-” Marco begun, but was abruptly cut of as it became apparent Twilight didn’t trust any but herself to tell it the ‘right’ way...

“It all started when we headed here after Torrin and Tager met.” the unicorn talked over Marco, “Torrin had said that he couldn’t tell if Tager was the first hero or not, so we all agreed to hurry here so we could get a better idea about what to do.”

“Is that so?” the princess’ gaze temporarily shifted to the colt, “Truth be told, I had expected such an outcome, but we shall come to that later. Please continue.”

“Well, all I did was ask the natural question.” Twilight seemed to pout, her look souring as it rounded on Tager, “If it was possible Torrin’s initial assessment of her was questionable, then I simply asked if the same could be true of Marco. The first time Torrin met him, he also said he wasn’t one of the heroes.”

“Tsk, and that’s the last time I go out of my way to figure out what’s going on...” Tager remarked vaguely, dodging Twilight’s stare by looking away once more, “It’s not like I was asking too much anyway...”

“Even though I told her we went searching for her to begin with because we thought she was mentioned in the prophecy, Tager had just been going along without questioning us.” Marco finally joined in, “It was only a matter of time before she actually started to wonder what it had to say about her...”

As he trailed off, Twilight remained silent. Looking between the two, Torrin decided to continue for them. “So after Twilight asked me if I could be wrong about Marco, Tager asked me what I had written down about the third hero.” the colt said, his eyes drifting cautiously over to the purple unicorn, “Since she was the only one who thought the description matched up with him, it was only natural for us to want to know how...”

“Oh my.” Fluttershy breathed, joining the dots as Marco and Twilight sighed in unison, “Then I guess that means...”

“She told them everything.” Marco’s expression flattened as he swapped glances with the unicorn, “It was a very... efficient summary.”

For her part, Twilight’s cheeks blushed a burning red. “What did you expect me to say?!” her frustration erupted, “That third hero passage had some pretty specific terms, and it’s not like you were going to tell them anything! And I’m sorry if I said a bit much, but it’s not the kind of thing you can exactly keep quiet about when somepony asks you to your face!”

“No kidding.” Tager remarked facetiously, utterly indifferent to Marco’s discomfort, “Who’d of thought this harmless idiot had such a messed up history. Shame on you for putting an innocent girl like me in danger.”

“So, does that mean you already know how that story begun?” Luna skipped over Tager’s cruel tongue and her own disbelief to get to the core question, “You’ve already realized how deep your bond runs?”

“Well, yeah... but when you say it like that, it sounds weird.” Tager replied, “But it took me by surprise, that’s for damn sure. I mean, I saw what became of that place with my own eyes; it’s hard to believe somepony survived after all.”

“In that respect, we are alike.” the princess found her eyes unconsciously drift over to Marco, “What befell that town, it is nigh unthinkable that anything remained.”

“Us? Alike?” Tager questioned, her curious air dropping, “Ha, that’ll be the day...”

Twilight found herself catch her breath as the mood abruptly shifted. Deep down, her instinct was to challenge the pegasus for spiting Luna so directly, but as Spellbound very deliberately placed herself between Tager and the princess, she realized that role fell to somepony else.

But before the hardened unicorn could confront her, Luna put a firm hoof to Spellbound’s shoulder, silently insisting that she stand down. For her part, Tager’s casual gaze became somewhat more cold as the guard obliged the princess and let her stand before her target.

“I recognise that mask you’re wearing.” Luna replied cryptically, able to sense the bitterness behind the pegasus’ seemingly neutral demeanour, “For a time, I too hid behind the same guise. In order to distance my heart from those around me, I closed it off and forced old pains to linger.

“I understand.” she sighed deeply, closing her eyes as Tager continued to shrug off her words, “I’ve come to learn that among the royal guard, nothing is as important as trust. You cannot be blamed for leaving. I put you through much, and set in motion more hardship than I know. Even if I were to apologise, I wouldn’t expect you to accept...”

The whole time Luna spoke, Tager just watched with narrowed eyes. She had anticipated having to deal with something like this at one point or another, so it wasn’t anything she couldn’t keep her cool on. However, as the princess took a knee and bowed her crowned head to the floor, the pegasus’ eyes widened in surprise.

Significantly more shocked than Tager, Spellbound felt a sharp chill grip her as she watched royalty bow to an ex-criminal. “H-hey... are you sure this is okay?” she asked in disbelief, “You are the princess! For you to lower your head to the likes of her, it’s... it’s...”

“There’s no point trying to hold onto pride in the company of those here.” Luna’s voice carried despite her undignified posture, “Indeed, only here, away from prying eyes can I allow myself to be as honest and forthcoming as I wish.

“Tager, it’s not my business to guess at your feelings or convince you of anything.” she continued, her eyes closing as she kept her head bowed, “And while it’s up to you to accept it, allow me to express my sincerest apologies. As it was with another, I can do little but swear that I am truly, truly sorry.”

With nothing coming by way of reply, Luna returned to a standing position, raised her head, and opened her eyes again. As she had come to expect, the pegasus to which she had directed her heartfelt apology was looking away again, avoiding eye contact and expressing a deliberate disinterest in a subject that required even the least amount of sensitivity.

“Damn it Tager, were you even bloody listening?!” Spellbound erupted, furious in the extreme, “You’ve got some nerve to treat the-”

“That’s enough; thank you Spellbound.” Luna interrupted, motioning for the practically steaming unicorn to step aside, “We’ve strayed from our purpose here today enough for the moment. What needed saying has been said, let us now focus upon what still needs discussion.”

“Oh, of course!” Twilight shook off her immersion in the princess’ confrontation with Tager, “What happened while you were in the deep sea? Did you find Neptune? Is he going to help us?”

“Yes, I found him, and we spoke on these matters.” the princess replied, “However, as I expected, he will not be helping us. Even after one thousand years of meditation, he is still undecided on whether or not he did the right thing. At the very least, now that his brother is free once more, he seems to be waiting for something to guide his next action. Unfortunately, our reunion was not that something.”

“Wait, so it was just a waste?” Applejack asked directly, her memories flashing with what had happened during Luna’s absence, “After all that, we’re just back where we started?”

“Simply because he refuses to help directly, it does not mean searching him out has not benefited us.” the princess countered, “Neptune was, and still is of a mind far greater than me or even my sister. And while he had little to offer factually, in some cases wisdom is worth more than knowledge.”

“Wait, did you say he’s smarter than Celestia?” Twilight questioned, possibly the only one to comprehend the full meaning of such a thing, “But she’s, uh... practically perfect! There’s no way this Neptune guy could be that great!”

The room took a moment to consider the point. And while Twilight wasn’t exactly the one to give an objective perspective, her friends were still on a similar wavelength.

“Well for one, Neptune isn’t, as you might say, a direct kind of pony.” Luna replied, picking up on their doubts, “The wise often aren’t. But regardless of whether or not he truly is smarter than my sister, he helped me come to understand many important things that will no doubt be of use to us.”

“Wowzers!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed jokingly, “If you think he’s indirect, then I guess that’s saying something!”

“In our discussions, there are two particular subjects that come to mind for our current dilemma.” the princess took the comment in stride, “First of which, pertains to the subject of the three heroes.”

“Hold on, how does he know about that?” Marco asked, the first of the group to recognise the apparent contradiction, “You told us that he exiled himself a thousand years ago.”

“It appears that his meditation yielded more than either of us expected Marco.” Luna replied, “After speaking on the matter with him myself, it is my understanding that he was able to determine for himself the truest enemy of his brother, that of course being a fated alliance between the three races of pony he swore to segregate.

“Of course, he doesn’t know of the prophecy that details these three individuals.” she elaborated, “However, he does know of the existence of the prophet responsible for writing of them.”

Even Tager found her eyebrow spring up. She hadn’t really been paying attention so far, but even to her that last comment didn’t make sense. She ventured a look to the others, and saw her own doubtful expression mirrored.

“Allow me to explain.” Luna picked up on their confusion, “While he and Terra were of equal power, the seal that Neptune attempted to use was incapable of containing all of his brother’s power, so immense it was.

“So before he could be imprisoned, some of that power had to split from his being.” she continued, “One such power was his vision. Now released, his gift of foresight happened upon a member of the earth ponies, and through that, begun a family line gifted with the ability of divination.”

“Impossible...” Marco’s eyes wandered unconsciously over to Torrin, “So that means-”

“Generation after generation, spanning a full thousand years, Terra’s ability of foresight lives on to this day.” the princess nodded, also looking over to the colt, “In the form of an innocent child do we oppose him with a strength that was once his.”

“So, does that mean we can really trust Torrin’s visions?” Twilight asked, “Even though we haven’t been able to prove it ourselves?”

“That, Twilight Sparkle, it a question best answered by the second point of discussion Neptune and I had on the subject of the three heroes.” Luna replied, “Specifically, I believe I now know why the child has been having difficulty saying for certain what we should be expecting of Tager here.”

The pegasus in question just sniffed complacently. It seemed that she was still getting used to hearing her name thrown about by the ponies here.

“I asked Neptune if he knew who I should search for in finding the heroes that could finally stop his brother, but as you would expect, he didn’t have any information.” the princess said, “He did however share with me some vital wisdom. He claimed that the ponies I seek are not born heroes, rather, heroes made. He was of the belief that I should be trying to find the potential, not the individual.”

“Well then, that might explain why Torrin’s torn between.” Applejack spoke up, “He’s uh... well, no offense to you Tager, but he hasn’t got much to work with.”

“You’re unlikely to figure this out for yourself cowgirl, but I’m not big on determinism.” the pegasus replied offhandedly, stunning Twilight by using proper terminology for once, “You can say whatever you damn well please about destiny, I don’t care. The weak only believe in that crap so they can make excuses. For better or worse, I am and always will be the master of my own fate.”

“Beliefs aside, Applejack’s point still stands.” Marco skipped over a rare instance of the pegasus voicing her own bold opinion, “After the kid chased you down and told us you weren’t who we were after, he did go on to say that it was possible you just weren’t a hero yet.”

“It still seems we’re getting no closer to certainty merely by talking about it.” Luna cut in, taking command once more, “There is however one thing Neptune revealed to me that does significantly impact our movements.”

“Since he doesn’t know anything but what you’ve told him, I can’t see how that’s possible.” Marco commented, “Unless of course it had to do with his brother...”

“Indeed it does.” the princess nodded at the stallion’s powers of deduction, “It was but a passing correction on Neptune’s part, yet when coupled with my own knowledge, it became quite the striking realization.

“Allow me to explain.” Luna shook her head, deciding to skip the introductory this time, “As you already know, despite his fearsome abilities, Terra is still an earth pony. He cannot use magic. Neptune translated this to me as meaning his brother is incapable of creating a seal of any kind, let alone one able to contain my sister.”

“But, uh... he did didn’t he?” Marco questioned, “He said so himself, and, well... Celestia had clearly been imprisoned.”

“Remember back to that time in the plaza.” the princess directed, “The very instant the conditions were right for him to break free, he did so. And at the same moment, my sister was undoubtedly sealed.”

“I don’t get it.” Twilight confessed, “What happened then?”

“Terra had only one option.” Luna replied, “Using his powers of spatial manipulation, he locked Celestia in what had been his own prison.”

“But wasn’t that seal constructed by Neptune?” Marco asked, “If you’re so certain that’s where the princess ended up, couldn’t you convince him to release the seal?”

“In truth, I went so far as to demand he do so, but he explained to me that it was impossible.” Luna responded, “The notion of having to rise against his own brother all those years ago destabilised him so greatly that he made a conscious effort to render himself unable to release his own seal.

“It seems that he feared the knowledge of being able to undo his actions would torment him and make his judgement clouded.” she continued, “Even though it prevents me from saving my sister, I admire his disposition. I know especially well how corrupted a mind can become enduring a thousand years of the same unanswerable questions.”

“That unicorn that chased us in both Appleoosa and Hordimare stole a fragment of your magic didn’t he?” Marco pondered, “What is the probability that he could make a new prison that could house Celestia? Or you for that matter?”

“It is likely that he now has that ability, but I doubt it shall be used any time soon, if at all.” Luna replied, “As I’ve said before, the more of his ability Terra uses, the stronger I can sense it. If he intended to move Celestia to a new seal, it would take a great deal of his power. I would be able to determine not only the location he moved her to, but also where he had moved her from.”

“Now that you mention it, shouldn’t we already know where she is?” Twilight cocked her head, “If we think that the princess has been in Terra’s old prison this whole time, wouldn’t Neptune be able to tell us where it is?”

Luna shook her head slowly. “I already mentioned that Neptune took steps to be ignorant to such knowledge.” she reminded the unicorn, “All he told me was that he tasked a loyal guild of magically strong unicorns to find a location for his seal and keep it secret. And they did a fine job of it apparently. There are no records of such ponies, nor did Celestia, I, or anyone know of this to this day.”

“Well don’t we have all the luck?” Marco remarked sarcastically, “If we knew where they hid his prison, it’d be a game changer.”

“It is unfortunate, I know, but for now this unknown is of no consequence.” the princess changed tune suddenly, “It does not change what happens next.”

At her prompt, Spellbound stepped in beside Luna. The mood shifted as the gathered few realized that the time had come to get the ball rolling and plan out the next steps.

“Urgh, finally.” Tager drawled, also realizing, “I thought you guys’d never get down to business.”

“Yes, well, I have decided, and I hope you all agree, to commence efforts to find the second hero as soon as possible.” the princess continued, “To this end, I believe like many of you that Mistmantle is our destination.”

“And before you ask, we've been keeping up to date with what you guys have been doing at the library.” Spellbound spoke up, recognising that Marco was surprised to hear Luna reference the town Torrin had been obsessing over, “Pastel is an old friend of mine. I've checked in a few times with her and stayed updated.”

“Oh, it honestly slipped my mind.” Twilight said suddenly, also turning to Marco, “It’s just a coincidence that you missed her, but she really did come around a few times to make sure the princess knew what was going on.”

As the unicorn spoke, Luna turned her attention on Tager and let her authoritative air drop ever so slightly. For the pegasus’ part, she looked sidewards to the princess, able to feel her piercing eyes upon her.

“Tager, before I proceed...” she begun, her tone shifting, “Do you have any intention of assisting the others as they travel to the Frozen North?”

“Uh, I dunno.” the pegasus surveyed the ponies around her, “I really haven’t thought about it yet. Who else is going?”

Marco raised his hoof, followed by Applejack and Twilight. Tager found herself look over to Rainbow Dash, not expecting her to want to sit it out.

“Sorry T.” Dash saw through her gaze, “I’ve gotta go back to Hordimare and make sure Gilda’s okay. I was thinking that town’s probably still in a bit of trouble anyway considering what happened.”

“Strongheart was looking for some more help at Appleoosa, so I was gonna head back and make sure Slayde and the old guy are okay.” Pinkie jumped in, “I don’t really mind going since Fluttershy’ll be here to take care of Rarity.”

“So that makes four of us does it?” Marco simplified on Tager’s behalf, “That should be-”

“W-wait.” Torrin spoke up all of a sudden, “I... I want to go with you guys too.”

“Absolutely not.” Luna turned her back on the colt as she strode over to Applejack and Twilight, “The dangers aside, Mistmantle is too arduous for a child. Your ability is an asset, this I know, but in such a place you would only impede the search.”

The bold dismissal was a bit much for the timid child. Watching him take a frightened step backwards, Tager simply rolled her eyes at the weak display...

“Shut up!” Torrin cried bravely, surprising everypony, Tager included, “Why do I have to do what you say?! You’ve been using me this whole time, I can go if I want to!”

“Whoa there little guy.” Applejack stepped in, “The princess is only-”

“It’s my choice isn’t it?” Torrin cut her off, “I wanna get my dad back already! And no matter what she says, you need my help to find the second hero!”

“I know little of the hazards involved in this venture, and you, even less.” Luna’s refusing glare intensified further, “I have infringed enough bringing you here. I will not allow you to endanger yourself nor the others for such a careless and childish reason.”

The final word uttered, Torrin’s bravery retreated. Marco watched thoughtfully as the colt’s eyes begun to dampen in the tense quiet.

“Enough...” he sighed, giving into his own whim, “Let him come. I will take responsibility this time.”

“I will not tolerate a repeat of Appleoosa.” Luna shifted her focus to Marco, “With so much unknown, yours is a risk not worth taking.”

“But he’s not wrong.” he countered, “We need him with us if we plan to turn up anything solid. And in the end, it’s his choice to make.”

“You’ve got guts kids, that for sure.” Applejack came in from behind Torrin and rested a hoof on his shoulder, “But this is serious business. The truth is, we do need ya, but things could get sticky again. Are you sure you’re ready for that?”

The colt did his best not to stall his answer. “Y-yes!” he nodded courageously, “I’ll do whatever it takes, and I promise not to slow anypony down!

“Please...” he continued, putting his front hooves up on Applejack’s legs as he pleaded, “I’ll make sure I’ll be of help, so let me come!”

As Torrin voiced his resolved, all eyes fell upon Luna, who, despite what had been said to the contrary, still had the last say. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to accept the child’s will, but she had vowed to take responsibility for anything that might become of those following her through this trial. With the fate of an innocent colt in the balance, the princess sighed to realize she was choosing between two potential extremes.

“So be it, I will allow you this.” she conceded, “Twilight, Applejack, Marco... I don’t need to tell you how important it is for you to keep Torrin in your care.

“As for you...” she rounded her attention on the colt himself, “Stay true to your word. Do not underestimate how difficult it may be to keep from holding back the others.”

Torrin gulped nervously, but otherwise maintained his resolve. He couldn’t help but be overwhelmed. The princess was especially intense and overbearing in the eyes of a child.

“Now that those arrangements are sorted...” Luna spared the colt from her intimidating gaze as she turned her back, “I leave it to you, Spellbound, to explain the rest of the details.”

“Of course princess.” the unicorn in question broke her silence and stepped forward, “The number of ponies may have gone up more than we anticipated, but our method of getting you there is still the same.

“By train.” she continued, sensing the question on the attentive ponies’ minds, “As you may already know, Canterlot is on lockdown until the guard is back up to full strength. The only thing allowed in and out of this city are the carriages bringing them home. It is through them that we shall sneak you out.”

“Wait a minute, I didn’t know the guard were being brought back...” Twilight said in confusion, “Why? Did they find any of the endangered settlements you sent them out to find?”

“Unfortunately no.” Spellbound replied, “As strange as it sounds, we haven’t been able to turn up any leads on where the enemy and its leader are holed up. And when I say that the guard is being recalled, I mean the entirety of it, including your brother and all those with him in the deep sea.”

“Really?!” Twilight’s voice rung of excitement, “Shining Armor is coming back home?”

“Shining Armor?” Tager repeated, mulling it over, “I know that name. He was the other captain next to Caliber right? What the hell are you pooling all the guard together for?”

“I decided it was no longer worth the risk.” Luna saw fit to answer the pegasus’ question herself, “It is not safe for them to be spread so thin, and while they are away my people are vulnerable.”

Tager’s eyes narrowed intensely at what the princess had just implied. However, her silent reaction was more or less ignored as Spellbound continued with her explanation.

“The first train already scheduled to go north departs tomorrow at noon.” she said bookishly, “Which is convenient, because we expect to have the first of the guard incoming at around the same time. Even if Terra’s forces are monitoring who and what comes and goes from this city, the train you will be leaving on should go relatively unnoticed.

“We’re keeping anypony from leaving Canterlot, so you shall be the only ones getting on the train from here.” Spellbound continued, “But keep in mind that it is still a commercial train. It shall be picking up passengers at other stations as it proceeds north.

“That said, I don’t think I need to tell you your train cannot take you to Mistmantle itself.” she concluded, “It can get you near enough, but in the end you’ll be left up to your own devices in gaining entrance to the town. I assure you this will be a most challenging step in your journey, more so for some of you than others.”

“What I’m sure Spellbound means to emphasis is that undertaking this journey should only be done after significant consideration.” Luna intervened once more, “Noon tomorrow will be your final opportunity to change your mind.”

“I have a question.” Rainbow Dash spoke for the first time in a while, “Why do they even have to bother with the train in the first place? Couldn’t you just teleport them as close as you could like what you did for us in Hordimare?”

“Yes, about that...” Luna unexpectedly looked down, “I need to avoid using my magic as much as possible. Of course, I will still teleport to you in an emergency, but other than that I am not comfortable lending my assistance directly.”

“Why the sudden change?” Applejack asked, “It is it because that Truant guy stole your amulet?”

“Well, yes and no.” the princess replied vaguely, “I cannot say for sure just how much of an impact there will be now that the unicorn controls a fragment of my power, but my worry stems more from Terra himself.

“And in that sense I must apologise.” she continued, “After discussing things with Neptune, it seems I was a fool to use my magic in aiding you in your travels. Much like how I can sense if Terra were to use his powers, it seems he is also able to trace my magic. It is entirely possible that by teleporting Rainbow Dash and Marco to Hordimare, I advertised their location to the enemy. And while it appears as though they were already there, I do not wish to chance the same thing in Mistmantle.

“So in answer to your question...” Luna concluded, facing Rainbow Dash once more, “You must depend on other means in regards to travel from here on out. Of course, that means I cannot risk helping either you or Pinkie Pie reach your respective destinations even though it is technically possible for me to teleport there since you travelled to both places with my pendants equipped.”

“Well, that’s a bit of a pain...” Pinkie Pie swapped a look with Rainbow Dash, “I guess that means were gonna be gone a little while.”

“Again, I apologise.” the princess lowered her head in regret, “I understand your feelings, but the risks are far too high.”

“Even so, I have already made arrangements to help you on your way.” Spellbound stepped in, “Rainbow Dash, you will be riding the same train as Applejack and the others, but you will need to get off at a place called Snowsickle Junction and then ride a different train to the end of the line past the frozen fields. From there you will need to trek the rest of the way to Hordimare.

“Don’t worry, I’ll prepare a more in depth explanation for you later.” Spellbound tried to calm the daunted pegasus as the complexity of it all sunk in, “I’ll even put together a travel kit for you, so leave it up to me.”

“T-thanks... I guess.” Dash shivered, not looking forward to braving the cold on her own, “That’d be a big help.”

“As for you Pinkie Pie, you’re headed the opposite direction.” Spellbound shifted her focus to the bubbly earth pony, “Now, it’s going to be a little harder to get you on a train out of the city, since we didn’t send many search parties south.

“But since Appleoosa’s had a bit of strife, we’ve decided to send a relief team their way.” she continued, “They are leaving here by train tonight, and I’ve saved a seat for you if you’ll take it. As you know, it’s a long trip so I recommend you get whatever you need ready as soon as you can.”

“Oh, uh... tonight huh?” Pinkie blinked in surprise, “Okay, I’ll just make sure I check back on Rarity before I go.”

“As for the rest of you, since your train isn’t leaving until tomorrow, it seems you’ve got a little time to relax before you’re back out there.” Spellbound spoke to the whole group, “Enough room has been set aside to accommodate you all right here in the palace, but if you’d prefer to return to your homes in Ponyville you have enough time to do so.”

“Yeah, thanks for the offer and all... but I’m gonna head home for now and make sure everypony’s alright.” Applejack replied, “I’ll also see if I can’t sort something out for Sweetie Belle.”

“Um, if it’s okay there’s a few things I need to do back home too.” Fluttershy said, “While Pinkie’s still around to look after Rarity for me, I’ve got to make sure my animals are taken care of. But I’ll be back before she has to go, I promise.”

“I’m also going to head home, but I’ll take you up on the room here.” Twilight joined in, “I can’t leave Spike and Owlicious on their own too much longer, so I’ll bring them back with me.”

“Leave a free one for me too, but I’m going back to Ponyville as well.” Marco said next, “I need to pay another visit to Zecora.”

“I’ll take a room.” Rainbow Dash went last of all, “But, Fluttershy, could you save me a trip home and take Tank back to your place? It’s not like he needs much looking after, but it’d be better if we wasn’t by himself much longer.”

“Oh, that’s fine.” the yellow pegasus replied with a light nod, “I can do that.”

“I guess that just leaves-” Marco made to say as he turned to face the eerily silent pegasus behind him, but stopped short to find her several paces back, apparently on her way out of the palace.

“Tager?” he questioned, “Where are you going?”

“Anywhere but here, I guess.” she replied, but didn’t turn, “You guys are all done talking, so I’m leaving.”

“Whoa, just wait a second would you?” Marco ventured, causing her to finally look over to him, “You’ve been oddly quiet ever since we started talking about how we’re going to get to Mistmantle. What’s the problem?”

“It’s nothing.” Tager turned tail again, shaking her head as she took another few steps away, “I’m outta here. See you guys on the train.”

“Wait, this isn’t right... even for you.” Marco caught up to her with a couple of hurried steps, “If it’s not here, where do you think you’re going?”

Tager stopped walking again with a sigh as the insistent stallion slowed to a halt behind her. She looked back one more time, but this time her eyes were glaring fiercely. Marco had no way to know what was going on, but it was obvious something had her on edge.

“I’m sure you guys think it’s nice of you to set me up here in the palace, but you keep forgetting that I’m not your damn friend.” the pegasus snapped suddenly, taking the room by surprise, “What I do in my time is my business, and I’ll settle it the way I always have. I said I’d be ready to go North tomorrow, and that’s all you should really care about.”

“Come now, there’s no need to be so stubborn.” Applejack spoke up, stepping in just as Tager brushed Marco off again, “One the reasons all of us came here was so we could talk about any problems we got with what’s happening next!”

“And I’ll go jump if something’s not bothering you.” Marco took Applejack’s intervention in stride, “Tager. What’s the matter?”

“Back off Marco.” she spat, pointing her hoof at his chest, “Don’t go thinking we’re buddies or anything just ‘cause I was there when your hometown got sizzled. I already told you to mind your own fucking business.”

“It is beyond clear that you take issue with something we’ve decided.” Luna’s voice called from the back, able to perceive the root of her troubles, “I insist you speak of it, especially if it troubles you so.”

In the following silence, Tager’s teeth clenched with anger. “You wanna know what my problem is?” she turned slowly, “I was fine with listening to it come out of his mouth, and her’s, and her’s...” she gestured at Marco, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy respectively before focusing her scowl on Luna, “But I never expected you to talk like we’re playing some kind of kid’s game here!”

“Please be specific.” the princess didn’t falter, “What makes you say such things?”

“Because of what happened yesterday at the palace, and what happened to Caliber, you’re bringing every guard you sent out back.” Tager shook her head, “You got lucky nopony died yesterday, but now you’re running scared trying to make sure the others don’t get hurt, and this city stays safe.”

“There is little point in keeping them away any longer.” Luna took a step forwards, “It is not my intention to have anypony suffer on my behalf, let alone needlessly.”

“Kindness alone can’t protect anyone.” the pegasus retorted evenly, “I’ve seen with my own eyes what kind of scale this shit’s on princess. It makes me sick listing to you talk like there won’t be costs.”

“My duty, first and foremost, is the protection of my people.” Luna levelled her gaze as well, “What is wrong with me trying to-”

“People die.” Tager’s dauntless statement silenced the princess, and the rest of the room for that matter, “If anypony ought to know that, it’s you.”

Despite herself, Luna was speechless. The pegasus’ direct and simple words came out with any hesitation, yet her meaning ran deep. As one who typically twisted her words and made her point in an elaborate way, the princess found it especially heavy.

“You said you were sorry about what happened on that day... and I admit, I feel better having heard that.” Tager’s tone settled as she turned away once more, “But it just pisses me off that in the end, you haven’t learned anything from it.”

Nopony saying a word to stop her, the pegasus continued out, stopping briefly by Marco as she did so. “Don’t think I forgot about these.” she said as she casually picked up the earth pony’s saddlebags as if they were her own, “I’ll give ‘em back the next time I see ya.

“Later.” she waved the group off as she shouldered his potions and took wing, none of the ponies watching her leave confident enough to try and keep her tamed.

Marco sighed, expressing everypony’s tension. “Should I-”

“Leave her.” Luna cut him off with intent, “We should be satisfied that she still intends to help us. I also think the best way for her to find peace, at least for now, is to give her some distance.”

“That girl’s trouble.” Applejack shook her head, “I can try and understand what she means, and sympathise with what she’s been through, but there’s no excuse for being so bull-headed.”

“Her tongue may be sharp, but she speaks from the heart.” the princess calmed the farm pony with her own acceptance, “It truly saddens me how that same heart has been closed off because of her past.”

“What next?” Rainbow Dash asked, complicated thoughts lingering in regards to her old friend.

“I recommend you rest.” Spellbound answered, “You can either visit the hospital or return home, but keep in mind a whole new trial begins tomorrow. And since some of you have only just risen from the sickbed yourselves, you shouldn’t underestimate the kind of good it will do you.”

“What are you two going to do while we’re gone?” Twilight asked the guard and the princess, “You’re not going anywhere again are you?”

“No Twilight, I will be here, as will Spellbound.” Luna replied, “That said, like you we will have our own tasks to attend to while you are away.”

“Like what?” Marco questioned, his concerns still half-focused on Tager, “Ah, sorry I didn’t mean-”

“It’s fine.” Spellbound cut him off, “But believe it or not, managing the entire reorganization of the guard is no simple feat. And on top of that, I’m personally co-ordinating all available personnel that we actually have in the city at the moment, as well as keeping close tabs on Caliber’s condition. Aside from wanting him better, it’s possible he has important information on the enemy given his intimate experience facing them.”

“As for me, I also seek similar information.” Luna also addressed Marco’s question, “However, my source is different. As soon as that Atlas character regains consciousness, I will be questioning him myself. He is likely to have similar knowledge to Caliber in regards to combating the new threats we’re faced with, as well as additional unknown information regarding Terra.”

“On that note, we’ve just about covered everything we can for now.” Spellbound summarised, “exhaling tiredly at the concept, “Are they free to go princess? It sounds like we’re not the only ones who have a bit to do...”

“Yes, you’re right.” Luna nodded in agreement, “We have, as you say, ‘covered’ almost everything. Everypony, you are dismissed. All except you, Marco.”

“Me?” the stallion questioned, surprised to some degree, “What’s this about?”

“All in good time.” the princess replied, “For now you should farewell your friends.”

Twilight took the hint. “Yeah, we are going to head off now.” she smiled as she turned to the door, “Try and stop by the library if you get time, otherwise I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Got it.” he nodded in response, “Are you taking Torrin with you?”

“From here, yes, but I was thinking I should leave him with Pastel Pride for the time being.” she replied, “The two of them get along well, and you’re more comfortable in the library aren’t you Torrin?”

“Er, yeah.” the colt delayed slightly before scampering up beside the purple unicorn, “Pastel’s kinda nice too.”

“Say hi for me then.” Marco waved off both he and Twilight, “See you later.”

“Same here.” Rainbow Dash spoke up from behind, taking wing and zipping over Marco’s head on her way to the exit, “I’ll catch you guys tomorrow.”

“Oh, wait... I thought you were staying?” Fluttershy also took wing, “Where are you going?”

“I’m gonna see if I can find Tager.” she replied, “I might be able to talk to her a little. Nothing serious of course, but maybe I can calm her down a bit.”

“I reckon that’s a good idea.” Applejack agreed, “You two were friends after all. She wouldn’t run off if it’s only you searching her out.”

“I guess I’ll see you three tomorrow then.” Marco waved again, “Fluttershy... I’ll swing by the hospital and see you and Rarity then, okay?”

“Okay.” the timid pegasus replied quietly before joining the rest of her friends as they left, “Goodbye Marco.”

“That just leaves you I guess.” the stallion turned to his one remaining friend, “I get to see the others off tomorrow, but this probably will be the last time I see you for a little while.”

Pinkie Pie stood quietly between Marco and Luna. Since the excitable earth pony would be leaving for Appleoosa tonight, the next time he’d be able to see her would be after she got back.

“Good Luck Pinkie.” he said as they embraced, “Take care of yourself and try and bring back some good news for us okay?”

“You betcha.” she replied happily, “But you better promise to take care of the others for me. Oh, and yourself too!”

“Heh, okay... I promise.” he replied as they each took a step back, “See ya.”

Waving non-stop until she disappeared outside, Pinkie Pie too left the palace, headed straight for the hospital and Rarity’s bedside. Which meant only Spellbound, Luna, and Marco remained behind.

“Well, until next time.” Spellbound gave a casual salute as she promptly turned away as well, though she was heading deeper inside the night palace instead of following the others out the door, “See you at noon. Don’t be late.”

The guard received no reply as she left. Only until the clicking of her armoured hooves against the palace floor faded away did the princess and the stallion meet eyes.

“Okay, that just leaves the two of us.” Marco broke the silence, “What’d you want to talk just to me about?”

“Did Tager not deliver my pendant to you as her friend requested?” Luna took him by surprise with the sudden question, “I can see you are not wearing it, so where is it?”

“I, uh...” Marco’s expression went blank as he realized, “Damn it. Yeah, she gave it to me, but I put it in my saddlebags. And she, well... kinda took those with her.”

At this, the princess sighed deeply. Curiously, it wasn’t a weary or disappointed sigh, but one of frustration. “Marco, I intended for you to the one to carry it from the beginning.” she said directly, “Why is it that you refuse to wear it?”

“Isn’t it fine so long as one of us has it on them?” he questioned, trying to work out how this was important enough for her to want to discuss it alone, “Besides, there’s no particular reason... I’m just not all that comfortable wearing-”

“Marco...” Luna cut him off, “You misunderstand. There is a reason why I insist you wear the amulet. And it is different than merely allowing me to teleport to your side...”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you’re talking about.” he confessed, “What else does that thing do?”

“It is my essence Marco, a part of my soul if you will.” Luna elaborated, “Its power is great, and for this reason you would do well to keep it close to your heart. It will help defend you against things that only magic can repel...”

“I still don’t understand.” the stallion matched her meaningful stare, “Defend against what exactly?”

“Do not pretend you know not of what I speak.” Luna accused directly, her seriousness intensifying “I am far too acquainted with that evil for you to try and hide it from me.”

The princess didn’t receive anything but silence. But like a guilty child, Marco’s head bowed, acknowledging the accuracy of Luna’s suspicions. “I really need not say it, do I?” she questioned, closing her eyes solemnly, “Nightmare Moon. She harasses you still, toying with you in your sleep. You did well in fighting her back yourself, but I can see that her whisperings still linger about you.

“My pendant can keep her at bay.” the princess continued, her tone becoming imploring, “Her tainted voice will not be able to reach you beyond its magic.”

“It’s... it’s really not that bad.” Marco finally spoke, “I get the odd nightmare every now and then, and sometimes I think I can hear her trying to say things to me. If it were any worse I would’ve told you- well, somepony about it, but with everything that’s been going on... I just didn’t think it mattered too much.”

“I believe I already told you that no matter the hour, my ear will always be open to these kinds of troubles.” Luna replied softly, “And I know you don’t like me reminding you over and over, but I know what it’s like. Whether you’re feeling afraid, angry, sorrowful or doubtful, you’d be a fool to think I wouldn’t understand.”

“And if I wore your pendant, what then?” he questioned, “Would there be none of that?”

“I cannot be certain of that enigma’s methods, but you would be safe for the most part.” the princess answered, “Again, it will keep her at bay, but if her touch does fall on you, my amulet sill allows me to come directly to your aid.”

“Alright, I get it.” Marco exhaled tiredly, “I’ll make sure I’m the one holding onto it from now on. That said, now that Tager’s disappeared on us, getting it back before tomorrow won’t be easy.”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t waste your energy on it now.” Luna replied, “I suspect tonight will be more peaceful than what we’ve known since this all began.”

“Well, even if I was worried about having nightmares, I don’t expect have much time for sleeping today.” Marco brightened slightly, “I’ve got enough on my plate, and it’s not a short trip to the frozen north, even by train. My time’s probably better spent sleeping then anyway right?”

“Rest isn’t typically such a calculated process, but it does seem you are busy.” the princess replied, also brightening as the mood changed, “Forgive me then for pulling you aside so suddenly. If you’re headed back to Ponyville right away, I suggest you catch up with Twilight Sparkle.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that.” he nodded curtly, “If I hurry I might be able to catch her as she leaves the palace library...”

“I shall see you tomorrow by noon.” Luna returned the gesture, “Good luck.”

“Thanks.” Marco turned on the spot, making for the exit, “I guess I’ll be off then.”

Her look ambiguous, the princess simply watched as the stallion followed the same path his friends had taken out of her palace. And while she felt it might just be her wandering mind playing tricks, she liked the symbolism in that. A lost soul who had finally found the comfort of true friends, and was now following in their footsteps and creating a new path for himself.

“Stay safe.” Luna smiled to herself, speaking only now that she was alone in her empty palace, “If you need me... you know where I’ll be.”

Chapter 14: Terra Incognita

From the Ashes

Chapter 14: Terra Incognita

“All aboard!” Spellbound called out mockingly, watching as Applejack galloped on up to the platform, “Limited express service to Snowsickle Junction, now leaving the station!”

“Sorry I’m late...” the earth pony puffed, coming to an exhausted halt next to the unicorn, “It took a bit longer to get things sorted back home than I thought.”

“Actually, you’re right on time.” the guard replied easily, “So relax. Everypony else just got here early.”

“Whew, that’s a relief.” Applejack caught her breath, “I guess that means the others are already on board, right?”

“Right.” Spellbound nodded, “You’re the lucky last one.”

“Well, as long as I didn’t hold anyone up...” Applejack replied, “But still, I suppose I shouldn’t dawdle.”

“You’ve got a couple of minutes before this thing actually goes anywhere.” the unicorn guard indicated the steaming engine behind her, “Time enough for a question or two if there's anything I can help you with. It's kind of why I'm here.”

“Fine, I’ll shoot.” Applejack acknowledged, “Where’s the princess? I thought she said she’d see us off here?”

“Ah, yes... of course.” Spellbound stalled, surprised at herself for not expecting that question, “She made sure to speak with Tager, Twilight, and Torrin before they left, but she was far too exhausted to hang around long enough for the others.”

“Exhausted, huh?” the earth pony repeated, “What’s she been up to since yesterday?”

“Nothing unusual if that’s what you’re thinking... it’s just that she isn’t used to controlling the sun and moon, and that added onto everything else she’s been stressing over, it’s just proving to be a bit much.” Spellbound explained, “Remember, she was tenacious simply taking back the moon; she needs her rest if she hopes to keep up with all her new responsibilities. The princess did want me to pass on her apologies however.”

“It’s no worries, I was just wondering is all.” Applejack replied easily, “It must be hard on her.”

“It is.” Spellbound closed her eyes briefly, “I have no doubt it would be too much for her to handle without the help of you and your-”

Suddenly, a piercing whistle cut through the moment, a jet of hot steam shooting from the front of train reminding the two ponies beside it that it was time to for it to depart.

“Whoops...” Spellbound muttered, rounding upon Applejack and shuffling the startled earth pony into the doorway of the nearest carriage, “Looks like I’ve kept you long enough.”

The unicorn continued by physically closing the double doors, stopping only when there was just enough of a gap to speak through. “I’ve already explained everything to the others, so ask them if you had any other questions.” she called out over the sound of the awakening engine, “Ask Rainbow Dash for your travel kit; she’s holding it for you. Good luck! And keep Torrin safe! And find the second hero while you’re at it please!”

The carriage kicking to life under her hooves, Applejack just waved Spellbound off as the train begun its crawl from the station. For her part, the unicorn raised her own hoof for a casual salute, keeping it held until the entire body of the train was away.

“I wonder if it’s just my imagination...” Applejack muttered to herself as she made her way down the slow moving carriage, looking in each booth she passed for her friends, “But wasn’t she acting a little-”

She stopped short as she found somepony sitting alone in one of the booths. Staring complacently out the window, Tager’s gaze shifted as she seemingly felt Applejack’s eyes upon her. The two of them looked at one another for a long moment before Applejack broke away, continuing through the carriage.

“Well, no doubt she’s still touchy.” the earth pony said to herself, “One can only wonder what she got up to last night...”

Applejack couldn’t help but think back to the kind of terms she and the group had parted on yesterday. “Well, after all that, she’s still here.” she continued optimistically, “I guess that’s saying something...”

While the pegasus in question sat alone, it soon became apparent that she wasn’t here alone. As Applejack reached the far end of the carriage, she found herself next to the booth she was after. Inside were her friends, with Rainbow Dash and Twilight sitting to one side, the unicorn by the window seat, and the two boys opposite them. Torrin peered excitedly through the window while Marco yawned tiredly beside him. Virtually drifting in and out of the waking world, and sporting Luna’s deep purple pendant around his neck, he was the only one who didn’t immediately notice Applejack arrive.

“Howdy.” she said as she slid the door open and walked inside, “Hope I didn’t keep you.”

“No, of course not.” Twilight replied, “But you really cut it fine. You must have been quite busy back home.”

“You ain’t kidding.” Applejack shook her head tiredly, “The farm was having enough problems with me away, and now that I’ve got my brother looking after Sweetie Belle... let’s just say it was a tight fit making sure I won’t be out of business by the time this all blows over.”

“I’ll admit it, you had us worried when the train started moving.” Rainbow Dash shrugged, “We thought you weren’t on it!”

“Sorry.” the earth pony apologised, remaining standing as she looked for a free spot in the booth, “I got caught up talking with Spellbound out the front.”

“Oh yeah, she wanted me to pass this on.” Rainbow Dash reached under her seat and slid a stuffed saddlebag over, “You can look for yourself, but it's got a map, some rations, and a wool coat. Spellbound gave one to each of us.”

Taking the pack, Applejack scooched Marco over and sat between him and Torrin. “About her...” she said, “I couldn’t tell if it was just me, but did she seem a little different to any of y'all? You know, more cheery, or whatever?”

“No, you weren't imagining things...” Twilight replied with a light giggle, “When I went to say goodbye to Fluttershy this morning, she was telling me Caliber finally woke up. It's pretty hush-hush apparently, but the news that their captain's going to be okay has got the whole guard at ease. Spellbound obviously included.”

“And Luna too I bet.” Marco added, rubbing sleepily at his eyes, “Do you think Tager knows?”

“She wouldn’t.” Rainbow Dash replied, “Even though I went looking for her, I wasn’t able to find her anywhere. Even if she wanted to find out what’s been going on, I can’t think of a way she could’ve.”

“If you were thinking about telling her, I’d be careful if I were you.” Applejack warned, her earlier encounter fresh in her mind, “She’s definitely still sour about yesterday. If you want my advice, I say keep your distance.”

“You know her best Dash.” Twilight cut in, “What do you think?”

“Me?” the pegasus seemed to pause, “Um... well, it's not like she'll up and leave if all you're doing is bothering her, but I still don’t know too much about what she did while she was in the guard. It’s probably not worth hassling her if she's not interested.”

“Come on Dash, it’s pretty obvious she cares.” Marco spoke up again, “Whatever history she has with Caliber became pretty obvious when Luna brought us back to find him half dead. Don’t you remember how she reacted?”

“No.” Rainbow Dash replied deadpan, “It was kinda hard to pay attention to that kinda thing considering everything else that was going on.”

“Whatever.” Marco stood up, “I needed to talk to her anyway, so I’ll go ahead and tell her about Caliber.”

“Heh, well good luck.” Applejack teased, still convinced that Tager was volatile, “We’ll be waiting here to hear how that goes.”

“Actually, I’m probably going to keep her company in the booth she’s been hogging all to herself.” Marco replied, “No offense of course, but it’s become a bit crowded now that you’re here.”

“If you call her company, then go right ahead.” Applejack retorted, almost bitterly, “But I’d be surprised if you don’t get much more than the silent treatment from her.”

“So would I, and that’s why I’m going.” he smiled jokingly before sliding the door open, “Sorry, I really don’t want to be ‘that guy’, but I was planning on catching up on some sleep on this long train ride. If she doesn’t wanna talk then I couldn’t be happier.”

Applejack just shook her head slowly from side to side as he left. “He isn’t quite right is he?” she questioned, “I don’t even wanna know what he was up to last night if he couldn’t find the time to sleep like a normal pony.”

“Heh... yeah.” Twilight coughed nervously, “This might be a bad time to mention I was planning something similar. It's just that there were a few things Luna got me thinking about and I wanted a chance to look them up myself, and... well, one thing led to another and I ended up staying up all night.”

Applejack sighed, knowing she should’ve expected such a thing from her friend. “Truth be told, I’m a bit weary myself.” she resigned, “I guess last night took a little bit out of me as well. More than I realized anyhow."

“I couldn’t sleep either.” Torrin commented, though he didn’t stop looking out the window, “I mean, I tried and all, but Pastel snores. Bad. So I just kept myself busy in the library instead.”

“You guys are hopeless.” Rainbow Dash commented, “I can’t even understand how somepony can go without sleeping. It’s not healthy.”

“Rainbow, you’re the other extreme.” Applejack remarked flatly, “For all I know, you probably spend more time napping than you do awake!”

“Yep, I am extreme alright.” the pegasus closed her eyes smugly, “And that takes energy. Which is why I always need my rest. Don’t blame me if you’re just not awesome enough to get it.”

“I think I'm understanding why Marco left.” Twilight chuckled, “I could probably go for some silent treatment right about now.”

“Well, it's not like I want to bug you or nothing, but I was just wondering...” Applejack kept her voice hushed for the benefit of whoever else was looking for some quiet, “What did you say was keeping you up last night again?”

“I was... well, I needed to try and understand a little more.” Twilight’s voice was lowered too, but for an entirely different reason, “I mean, no offense or anything, but have you guys thought much about why this is all happening?”

“What do you mean?” Dash spoke up, “Terra’s beef with the princesses is gonna flip the whole world on its head! Who cares about ‘why’? It’s the ‘what’ we need to pay attention to...”

“I get what you’re getting at Twi, but Rainbow’s on the money.” Applejack added, “Ponies are getting hurt and it’s gotta stop. It’s as simple as that.”

Twilight didn’t meet her friends’ eyes, pretending to look out the window. Torrin gazed over too for a moment, suddenly interested in whatever it was that was bothering the unicorn.

“Applejack, this is probably going to sound like a weird question...” she finally spoke, “But why did... no, why do you think you sat down where you did?”

The earth pony’s confused look became more serious to hear her friend's tone, and she quickly scanned the booth in a futile attempt to figure it out. “I can’t say I know what you’re getting at, but...” she hesitated, “But truth be told, I don’t always think on every little thing. I just sat, what’s the big deal?”

“Well, after what I found out trying to figure out the ‘whys’, I couldn’t help but notice...” Twilight levelled with her friend, “Dash and I left a space for you here on our side, but you made your own between Marco and Torrin.

“Believe me, I’m not trying to say anything about you, or anypony for that matter, but I’ve begun to notice just how much earth ponies tend to stick together.” she continued, tapping her front hooves together awkwardly, “I mean, look at Appleoosa and all the other settlements Luna’s been trying to monitor. There’s the unbalance in Canterlot to think about as well, even... even Ponyville’s got a history too.

“I don’t know Applejack, but the same idea kept popping up everywhere I looked.” the unicorn shook her head, “Earth ponies seem to have this history of going their own way. Earth Ponies founded Ponyville, and it only ever became something more than just another earth pony settlement because it was so close to Canterlot and Cloudsdale. I don’t know how many purely earth pony villages there are out there, enough at least to thin out the entire royal guard I suppose, but just look at Appleoosa and Hordimare, or even... or even Marco’s old home town. It’s not like they’re closing themselves off or anything, but the more I think about it, and I really wish I could find better words for it, but the more it seems to me that earth ponies in general prefer to be among their own kind.”

“That sounds like code for earth ponies not wanting anything to do with unicorns, or pegasi.” Rainbow Dash commented incredulously, surprising the group by seeing through the logic, “I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve seen more than enough that says that ain’t the case.”

“No, you’re right.” Twilight nodded shallowly, her head still slightly down, “Thanks Dash. Sorry.”

An awkward silence fell as Twilight made to gaze out the window once more, but her eyes just drifted as her private concerns continued to dance around inside her weary mind.

Finally, Applejack broke the silence with a weighty sigh. “Twi... you shouldn’t be worried about ticking me off just by speaking your mind.” the earth pony smiled, “We’re better friends than that. I for one wanna know just what it is you’re trying to say. Like... do you think that for some reason, or because of some feeling deep down in our bones, us earth ponies would rather go it alone?”

“It’s just that earth ponies are the only ones; pegasi and unicorns don’t have a history of splitting off and doing their own thing.” Twilight looked over to her friend once more, “I mean, yeah, there’s Cloudsdale and Mistmantle, but you can’t live in Cloudsdale without being able to fly, and you can’t survive Mistmantle without magic. It’s got more to do with inability than solidarity.”

It became quiet once more, and Twilight just hung her head again. Blurs of passing shapes whipped past the window as the rails underneath the carriage sung, begging for somepony in the carriage to talk.

“Why then?” Torrin spoke up for the first time, no longer hiding his interest, “Why would earth ponies want to separate themselves from a unified society? I mean, it sucks just to talk about it, but do you think, even unconsciously, earth ponies have a bitterness inside them? Like, some kind of remnant of when Terra tried to make them the superior race?

“That’s not what I’m saying at all, in fact... it’s more like the opposite.” Twilight’s tone became even, “It’s obvious that Terra’s not doing this for nothing. Luna said he was responsible for a lot of good in his time, and that even now, he is acting of his own accord. With what little we've been told about his history, there’s nothing else for me to say but, that at least in his eyes, Terra is trying to do what he thinks is right.

“If that’s the case... I can’t help but wonder.” she raised her head again, looking Applejack dead in the eye, “What did earth ponies go through in the past? If it’s true that some kind of feeling still exists, as if it’s been somehow passed down and kept alive all these years... then what’s the source? Where did the feeling come from, and what does it have to do with Terra?”

Dash and Applejack exchanged a quick look, both of them at a loss before the deep question.

“In the end, it just has to be my imagination.” Twilight exhaled, “If something really did happen to plant that seed, it would have to be huge. A world tragedy? Some social issue? Even a war? Any number of things could have done it...

“But why?” her eyes narrowed, “Why does no one know? Why wouldn’t something like that be written down? Why... why wouldn’t the princess tell us?”

The carriage went dead quiet again, but this silence was much more meaningful. Torrin’s stare became vacant as if withdrawn, almost as if he had words of his own held back. As for Dash and Applejack, even if they couldn’t completely understand the depth of what was troubling their friend, it was obvious to them that Twilight was putting too much pressure on herself.

“Even if what you’re saying is true, I’m not about to believe Luna’s holding out on us, not after everything we’ve been through.” Applejack lent in slightly, forcing Twilight’s attention back to her, “She might not know. But like you said, if somepony would, it’d be Terra.

“So be patient.” she nodded solidly, “Once he's been stopped, your questions will just be one more thing for him to answer to.”

“But it’s not wrong to want answers is it?” Twilight almost sounded frustrated, “There has to be somepony... anypony who knows the reasons behind all this craziness!”

“I’m sure there is, but Twi, you gotta let this one go for now.” Applejack’s tone was both assertive and comforting, “Remember, we’ve got plenty on our plate as is, tracking down the hero and all. And you... you already said you need your rest.

“So we’ll be quiet, and you try and put that stuff out of your head.” she continued, smiling warmly for her troubled friend, “Let somepony else work on getting answers for a change.”

* * * *

“Are you sure about this princess?” the yellow-eyed guard asked tentatively, following Luna’s vacant gaze into the shadowy depths of the stone passage he attended, “You’ve exhausted yourself enough as it is... you should let us handle it.”

Her meaningful stare didn’t waver as the grey-coated guard exchanged a nervous look with his partner. Both of them were clad in the same dark purple pointy armour and they each sported a black, three-pronged trident. Their type wasn’t a common sight amongst the guard, which was ironic considering that, as jailers, they were the division most concerned with ‘guarding’.

“It’s not your place to tell the princess what she should do.” the second snake-eyed guard said firmly, criticizing his somewhat nervous counterpart, “She wouldn’t have come all the way here if anything you could say could dissuade her.”

Luna broke briefly from her stare to pay the two guards their due. She had more experience with their kind than her sister despite the fact she had only recently returned to power, and she commonly had several attending the more private areas of her night palace. Among the uneducated, pegasi of their appearance were commonly associated as more monster than pony, which despite having roots in a complicated and long-reaching history of social problems, was actually considered more as a mark of esteem than discrimination. Even so, their role as guards rarely extended into the world outside, as they inherently preferred and generally stuck to operations that went on behind closed doors.

Before the princess was one such door, and despite the concern of one of the guards responsible for its defence, it was open to her. Naturally, she was allowed free entrance to any area under her rule simply by virtue, and while the guards before her had their normally interlocked weapons directed aside, their doubts were easily understood, as it was all but unheard of for somepony such as her to insist on descending down into their domain.

“Even so...” the stronger spoken of the two guards made to amened his previous statement, “Your time here is most likely wasted. The criminal hasn’t said a word since he awoke.”

As he finished talking to the still silent Luna, slow and evidently armoured hoofsteps begun to click out from the stone passage until Spellbound emerged and took stance beside the princess, leaving the way clear for her proceed down.

“Everything’s ready in there.” the unicorn said, looking back from where she came, “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have me do this?”

“Yes.” Luna finally spoke, “Please return to Caliber for the time being. I need you to resume the debriefing process.”

“Princess, he was only able to tell us so much before he went back under...” Spellbound insisted, being sure to tread carefully as she made to debate the point, “The only reason I’m here is because he’s resting again.”

Luna inhaled slowly, rehearsing her next words in her mind before attempting them. “I do not wish to sound callous, as it is a miracle that the captain even survived...” she closed her eyes for a moment as she spoke, “However, there may be things that only he has come to know, and I refuse to ignore the possibility that those things may prove pivotal. We absolutely cannot afford to be taken by surprise again...

“I’m truly sorry, but I leave it to you to ensure that information is obtained.” the princess continued, directing her gaze at the unicorn to which she voiced her resolution, “In his recovery, the captain would not wish to be burdened by knowledge, nor us by ignorance.”

“I...” Spellbound stalled as her expression softened, “I’ll see what I can do.”

“That is all I can ask.” Luna breathed, “I know you are the best one for the job.”

“What about you princess?” the unicorn asked, glancing briefly between the two jailers, “I mean, being here... do you really expect that this guy is going to talk with you?”

“I do not have enough information to form an expectation of any kind, but one can always hope.” Luna replied vaguely, “Hope that Caliber is not the only one who might yet help me understand...”

“I really, really don’t think that Atlas is going to help you... not at all.” Spellbound made no effort to conceal her doubts, “He hasn’t said a damn word... not even to the doctors. He probably even figured you’d come to see him at some point, and if he-”

“Enough.” Luna cut in abruptly, “We shall simply see. And we cannot do so without first making this venture.”

“As you wish.” the unicorn bowed respectfully, “Good luck then. I’ll see to Caliber.”

“Thank you.” Luna said as Spellbound departed, then turned to face the two guards silently standing by, “Now then... you two. Take me to him.”

“O-okay.” the more nervous jailer nodded, clutching his trident as he and his partner moved from their post, “Follow us.”

Spellbound watched over her shoulder as the princess was led through the stone corridor. As her figure disappeared down its length, she was caught wondering on just how Luna had chosen to handle these matters.

“What would Celestia be doing right now if she were here?” she asked herself as she turned away, shaking her head as she failed to imagine the possibility, “For better or worse... how different would things be turning out?”

“We’re here.” the less direct of the two jailers said as he and his partner took stance at either side the heavy set door they had led the princess to, “No disrespect princess, but if you were thinking of backing out, now’s your last chance...”

Luna didn’t look to the pegasus, instead focusing her gaze on the door and its complex locking system. Each corner was bolted with thick iron cylinders, each of which linked to a central mechanism that didn’t appear to have any kind of button, switch, or keyhole.

“Open it.” she directed, her eyes narrowing intensely as she imagined what awaited her.

“Very well.” the other guard stepped forward, “I’m unlocking it.”

Touching his trident above the mechanism, a dull clunk could be heard as the lock became released. Without interacting with it any further, the bolts slid from their sockets and the door begun to move, surprisingly enough, straight down into the floor.

The door now fully descended, Luna’s prisoner entered full view. Seated and bound on the furthest side of a table-like construct, Atlas’ ice blue eyes already stared dead ahead, seemingly ready and waiting for Luna to make her appearance.

For her part, the princess did well not to waver in coming face to face with the stallion for the first time. He no longer had his bifocals to conceal his gaze, and on the lower part of his neck, coiling all the way around to his shoulder was a thickly wrapped layer of bandage that didn’t do much justice to the fact it covered what would have been a fatal wound. He was also bound to his chair by heavy, large-linked chains that permitted only the most minor range of movement.

“I trust you know who this is?” the more stern of the two jailers questioned Atlas, watching as he continued to glare dead ahead, “Perhaps now you will find your voice...”

“That’s enough.” Luna closed her eyes briefly, “I’d like you two to leave us.”

“Are you sure?” the other guard questioned, a drop of sweat forming, “Princess... he-”

“Thank you for your concern.” she cut him off gently, “But I’ll be fine alone.”

“As you wish.” the bolder jailer bowed, “We will be right outside if you change your mind.”

Without a word, the two guards shuffled out, giving only a final condemning look to their prisoner before raising the sturdy stone door again, leaving it unlocked behind them for what would most likely be the first time ever.

Now alone together, the quiet developed a much greater depth. Staring silently at one another without so much as blinking, the seconds ticked by at a snail’s pace as the atmosphere practically begged for one of them to speak first.

The division between the two was stark to say the least. Across the table sat a princess to a prisoner, an alicorn to an earth pony, and a ruler to a traitor. Indeed, the only point of comparison seemed to be that neither party was even the least bit intimidated by the other.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, Atlas finally gave in to the princess’ utterly vacant expression. Leaning forward as much as his chains would allow, he made to speak for the first time since waking up in this dungeon.

“Must you make that face?” Atlas’ crisp voice echoed off the stone walls, “As much as I can try to understand your feelings, my crimes were never so grave.”

“I’m not so certain.” Luna replied directly, “Indeed, there are few crimes more severe than mounting an attack upon the royal palace.”

“So I hear.” the earth pony breathed deep, “But as I’ve said already, I never came here to do such a thing.”

“So I hear.” Luna mimicked, “But as you might imagine, the word of one such as you is only worth so much to me.”

“Your captain told me something similar.” Atlas didn’t falter, “Tell me, is he alive?”

The princess seemed to delay a moment as she contemplated both his question and her answer. “Yes, he lives.” she finally replied, “Apparently you had some role in seeing to that yourself. Is that true?”

“We fought those stray brats together, if that’s what you mean.” his eyes flickered briefly, thought he did not have his bifocals to conceal them this time, “And if I am alive, it must be because he managed to defeat them.

“If you don’t mind, I have another question.” he continued, changing tune suddenly, “Are they alive?”

Luna paused again, still trying to work the aged stallion out. “They are no more.” she said darkly, “However, Caliber claims that they most likely resigned their lives prior to their arrival.”

A silence developed as the princess answered Atlas’ question. It was as if he could tell from how it had been answered that she had something of her own to ask.

“The mystery of those twins and their strange power is one I do not intend to let rest.” Luna continued, having picked up on the stallion’s keen perception, “Atlas Black. You should know that, considering your position, I do not trust a word from your mouth. But what is clear is that you, despite intentions, and even if only briefly, assisted the captain and played a role in keeping the palace from being taken by a mutual enemy...

“Your crime of treason came before my return, and as such, my ear may in fact be the one least deft by bias.” she levelled her gaze and voice, “I present to you one chance to explain to me the circumstances of your betrayal and your allegiance with Terra, including your relationship with those twins, the captain, and anyone else you care to mention...”

“A useless gesture.” Atlas dismissed, “It is as you say; I know you do not trust me. That, and I do not desire to speak on those things. I don’t imagine you have leverage enough to force me, so why in my right mind would I tell you anything? Least of all that which might actually be of use to you?”

“Do not misunderstand.” Luna’s tone was even, “What I want is information, and regardless of what truths and lies you have to spill, I have ways of getting it. However, as a service to both my own understanding, and to you, as somepony who may or may not have helped to keep my people safe, I am giving you an opportunity to tell me how you see it.”

“Now I understand.” Atlas let out a single, unamused chuckle, “So what you actually want is closure? Pathetic. You think hearing the side of your enemy from your enemy is going to help put that mind of yours to ease?”

The princess just stared complacently, her eyes half closed. Yet another moment of tense quiet passed as the stallion shook his head and lent back, the chains holding him in place jingling slightly.

“Have it your way.” he finally said, leaning forward once again, “My story starts while you were still sealed away, your name spoken only in whispers. Five years ago, in this very city, above this very dungeon, I heard a different name whispered.

“It was one that had gone un-uttered since your banishment.” Atlas’s steeled mind flashed back, “Let me tell you about the day I first learned of Terra.”

* * * *

Spanning across countless centuries, much less a minor five years, the great city of Canterlot has changed little in regards to appearance. In full view of the royal palace, the garrison took pride amongst the top tier of the city’s structural hierarchy, and beside it, bordering on the very edge of the city’s top tier, was its academy sporting a three-hundred odd year history of excellence. Its latest in the way of prodigal teachers was none other than an earth pony, a rarity that was among the first to break through a predominately unicorn dominated field. And although Atlas Black was indeed five years younger, he had long since passed the point of maturation. As short-tempered, quick-witted, and stubborn as ever, he was practically born to be a teacher.

And while five years to the already aged may not have meant much in terms of change, to the young, it can be difference enough to separate a colt from a stallion...

“Oh, come on Mr. Black!” the young pegasus groaned, “It all worked out fine in the end, why you gotta make such a big deal about the little things?”

“Silence!” Atlas barked, all but identical in appearance and mannerism to that of his future self, “These ‘little things’ may be the difference between life and death some day! Maybe not to you, but to your comrades. And that goes double for somepony who brazenly insists that they’re going to be the one leading his peers someday!”

“As if you’re the one scolding me on that!” the pegasus rebelled, “The lieutenant already chewed me out on this, okay? You’re just one of my teachers! It’s not like you need to-”

“I said be silent!” Atlas roared once more, “I may not be part of your prissy pegasus brigade, but if that Ceasler character is just gonna let you trot all over him, then it’s up to me to shape you up.”

“But still...” the young pegasus droned once more, “If that’s the case, why is my punishment just helping you sort your dumb books? Just tell me what to do next time and I’ll do it!”

“If that would work, then there wouldn’t be a problem in the first place...” Atlas sighed, calming himself down, “Honestly Caliber... how is anypony supposed to teach you anything if you don’t have any discipline?”

“Whatever.” the future guard captain rolled his eyes, “I’m done over here anyway. Are we finished now or what?”

“Yes, and thank Celestia for it.” the old stallion replied, his troublesome pupil only reinforcing his disappointment, “Go on. Away with you.”

“Ah, before I forget...” Caliber said suddenly, stopping just short of the exit before moving back towards his teacher, “About that thing I asked you-”

“If this is about that friend of yours, then you can forget it.” Atlas cut him off, “The only way to become a guard is to graduate from this school. It’s commendable that you are trying to help a friend become something more, but there is no other way than for her to pass the entrance exam.”

“Tsk... I knew I was hoping for too much.” the young pegasus hung his head a little, “Thanks anyway I guess.”

“There are no shortcuts in this life Caliber.” Atlas turned to face his student, “If your friend truly wishes to become a guard, the only support I intend to offer is the kind open to everypony else. She must pass the exam.”

“I know, I know...” the young pegasus wobbled from side to side, caught between coming and going, “But like I already explained, she can’t afford to go through schooling like I can... if she could just get her hoof in the door, I know she’ll do well! If you could just-”

“The answer is no.” Atlas shook his head, stern as ever, “I can appreciate your intentions, but I refuse to exempt her from testing, regardless of her hardships.”

“Come on Mr. Black, please!” Caliber pleaded, “She’s totally made out for this job! She’s lightning fast, and super tough, and-”

“Being a guard isn’t a ‘job’, kid.” the grizzled earth pony cut him right off, “It’s a duty. And despite what you seem to think, to fulfil it you need more than speed, strength, or toughness.”

“What are you talking about geezer?” Caliber questioned, almost bitterly, “That’s all the teach us in training! How to go faster, how to be tougher, how to be stronger... what else is-”

“Heart!” Atlas barked, cutting his student off and indicating his own chest, “Caliber, when it comes to strength, speed, and stamina, you are practically in a league of your own. But your potential lies in none of these things.

“You may excel in the eyes of the garrison, but this is my school.” he continued, confronting the pegasus more directly as he did so, “To the military mind you may be perfect, but to my mine you lack conviction. You are too content with paying so little attention to my lessons, and are far too satisfied exerting such little effort in my attempts to sharpen your mind and foster your wisdom...

The study was quiet momentarily as Atlas gathered his words. Even the rebellious pegasus held his tongue as his teacher made to continue. “Caliber, if you will let me teach you even one thing, let it be this...” the old earth pony spoke, levelling his voice with purpose, “I don’t doubt that you will make something of yourself some day, some day soon in fact. However, you will learn that there exist battles that strength alone will not see you through. To know when you shouldn’t fight, even when you cannot fail, and to know when you must fight, even when there can be no victory... making that choice may become yours, and at that time you cannot depend upon anything but heart.

“And no matter how far you make it in the garrison, heart is something you can learn only here.” he concluded, “You have that potential young one, I know it. You need only apply yourself.”

Awaiting some kind of reciprocation, Atlas simply let the lecture end there. Looking down on his pupil patiently, the old stallion visibly deflated when the pegasus finally responded by turning away once more.

“Whatever you say gramps.” Caliber shrugged pointedly, headed for the door again, “See ya tomorrow.”

“If only...” Atlas sighed in disappointment, “You have no classes tomorrow, brat.”

“I know that.” Caliber replied undaunted, taking his teacher by surprise, “But it’s not like I have anything else to do or anything.”

“Tsk, cheeky fool.” the bifocaled stallion let a smile flicker for an instant, “Very well then. You know my hours.”

With that said, the pegasus finally continued on his way out of the study. But as Atlas watched him go, it seemed as if the old earth pony still had something to say.

“Caliber, you probably know I’m not prone to reconsideration.” his voice carried beyond the empty doorway, “However, in regards to this friend of yours... well, if you really insist, I suppose I can allow this change of heart...

“If you still intend to come again tomorrow, then bring her if you wish.” he continued, “I offer to tutor you two jointly. However, while it remains to be seen whether or not my help will see her through examination, if she is half as dull as I have come to expect from a friend of yours, then she is likely to only hamper your progress.

“My advice is to leave her be and keep your lessons personal, but the choice is yours regardless.” he said, leaving the option open, “I recommend that you consider things properly before-”

“We’ll be there!” Caliber’s voice echoed out, “Thanks Mr Black, it really means a lot!”

“Aren’t you even going to hesitate?” Atlas replied incredulous, “We’re talking about something quite serious here. Just because she’s your friend doesn’t mean-”

“You said it yourself gramps...” Caliber managed to cut his teacher off for what had to be the first time, “You gotta go with the heart right? If it’s decided on something, then it’s not like any amount of time or thinking’s gonna change it!

“Oh, and her name’s not ‘my friend’...” he continued over the sound of his wings kicking to life and rocketing down the hall, “It’s Tager!”

“I say it once, I say it a thousand times...” Atlas grumbled through grinding teeth, “No flying in the damn halls!”

With none but himself to direct his frustration towards, the old earth pony just exhaled gruffly in the solitude that was now his study. Despite a vigour that had been kept alive over all these years, it took more energy that he cared to admit dealing with pupils such as Caliber. And since he was, for whatever reason, all too happy to take on what was sure to be yet another troublesome pegasus, it was clear to his mind he had quite the exhausting trial ahead of him.

“I suppose I’ll be regretting this soon enough.” Atlas Black shook his head slowly as he made his own way out of the school, “Honestly, I’m getting too old for this...”

Keeping an even pace as he locked up his study and walked the length of the adjacent hall, he found his eyes wander to the intricate windows along its side and the beginnings of dusk forming beyond the patterns etched into the glass.

“It’s late.” he said to himself, the fact being something of a realization, “Looks like I kept Caliber longer than I should have.

“In any case, it looks like I’m the only one still here.” he shook his head as he continued on his way, “That pegasus is welcome to fly out of here, but if I hadn’t a key I would most likely be trapped.”

His key close at hoof, Atlas approached the main doors to the school, his mind focused almost exclusively on the thought of home. But before his fantasies of the rest of the evening could carry him on ignorantly through the exit, he found something stop him just short of unlocking the double doors.

While Atlas didn’t necessarily make a habit of leaving the school late, he had been the last to leave more than the once throughout his time here, and even though he’d often check, he had never encountered a door that didn’t need unlocking. So naturally, the old stallion’s eyes narrowed as he realized what about the scene stuck out. Directly to his right, taking pride opposite the main doors was the school’s public library, and for the first time to his knowledge, the door leading inside was not only clearly unlocked, but also ajar. Pocketing his key, Atlas trod lightly towards it, his suspicion growing as he neared.

Putting his hoof to the wood, he pushed the door open slightly and peered in. It was a foreboding kind of dark inside, as all artificial light was shut off, and shadows cloaked everything the windows could not illuminate, which ended up being most of the room considering how close the sun had come to setting outside.

Even so, Atlas boldly pushed the door the rest of the way open, going so far as to let the sound of wood hitting wood echo about the silent room. Curiously, and with a healthy dose of carefulness, he ventured a few paces inside before stopping and scanning his surroundings intently.

And at that moment, he knew something was definitely wrong here. Though it wasn’t revealed to him by any particular sense, something deep inside warned him of a presence among the shadows. Whoever or whatever it was, it was in here somewhere, hidden and waiting, and staring right at him from their perceived safety.

He continued to scan the dark room, slower and more deliberately than before, until he found his gaze stop over a particular nook. It was but one among a hundred places for someone or something to hide, but Atlas fixated on it regardless. He couldn’t make anything out with his eyes, but that was only natural. The feeling welling up in his gut didn’t need light to see his stalker skulking about beyond those shadows.

“Who’s hiding there?” he asked calmly enough, “Come out. Slowly.”

A few slow seconds of silence passed as whoever Atlas was calling on tried to determine whether they had been discovered or if the old stallion was simply bluffing. As the earth pony in question continued to stare straight ahead, it became obvious that he could truly tell.

“You have remarkable sense.” an ominous voice carried, resounding about the quiet library, “That counts one rumour of you to be true.”

“Waiting for me were you?” Atlas growled, not deviating in his gaze despite the omnipresence of the voice, “Then show yourself. Theatrics don’t impress me.”

“Was it your eyes or ears that found me?” the voice paid no heed to the stallion’s words, “No, I dare say it was more like instinct. A rare gift indeed...”

A series of hoofsteps clicked out from the direction Atlas was looking, until a totally cloaked figure emerged from hiding. Nothing was visible underneath a dark-green tattered shroud, and not only that, their face was covered by a pale white and eerily featureless ceramic mask. From their voice and build Atlas could determine that this odd individual was a stallion, but figuring them to be earth pony, pegasus or unicorn would simply be guesswork.

“Who are you?” the aged earth pony demanded, his eyes narrowing to take in the unexpected sight, “Prankster? Thief? Or perhaps...”

“I’ve been wanting to meet you Atlas Black.” came the dark reply, “You could say that this is a fated meeting.”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.” the old earth pony grumbled, “I asked you who you were.”

“You’ll know in time.” the masked pony dismissed Atlas easily, “But as far as names go, I don’t imagine you will find mine as half as interesting as the one I came to deliver.”

“What variety of lunatic are you?” Atlas scowled, the concept he was faced with practically laughable, “If you think feeding me riddles will make me drop the question, you are sadly mistaken. Answer me right now.”

“And if I refuse?” the clocked figure asked, surprising the usually intimidating Atlas, “Perhaps you are too accustomed to ordering students... your authority at this school does not credit your threats. Not to me.”

In response to this, Atlas’ stance became ridged. It suddenly occurred to him that this encounter might prove more serious than he initially thought.

“However, I do respect that authority.” the anonymous pony spoke again, perhaps realizing that he had broken through to Atlas, if only slightly, “I very much admire one who dedicates themselves to truth and knowledge. For you see, I too am a seeker of such things.”

“Then stop speaking in disguise.” the old stallion didn’t give up on his inquisition, indicating the white shell visible under the pony’s hood, “I am already certain I do not know you. Why hide your identity?”

“That’s not why I wear the mask.” he replied mystically, “I just couldn’t stand to see this world any longer through my own eyes. I fear that if I don’t close them off, they too might become blind.”

“Enough poetic gibberish.” Atlas spat, seeing right through the evasive reason, “You talk in riddles without giving your name, your purpose, nor an explanation of any kind... I’ve half a mind to force out answers.”

“Answers?” the masked pony repeated, “Yes, that’s good. I was hoping you would say that. That’s why I am here. If it is answers of any kind, I am here to provide.”

“Stop trying my patience cretin!” Atlas boomed, “I’ve already asked you the only questions I want you to answer!”

“And what of the questions you haven’t asked?” the cloaked figure posed calmly, “The ones you are not bold enough to speak of? Those of your heart? From behind this mask, these are the things I can see clearest.”

“You snake.” the old earth pony hissed, “Is slipping around my questions all you’re good for?”

“I already know you are not one to tolerate evasive discussion.” came the reply, “But the fact that you haven’t already become hostile proves you are at least somewhat interested in what I’m trying to say.”

“To my mind, it doesn’t seem like you’re trying to say anything.” Atlas countered, “And interested? The only thing interesting is how well you can speak words without saying a damn thing.”

The old stallion received no reply this time. A few moments passed, and the room briefly delved back into its eerie silence. Atlas made to press his point, but that same gut feeling from before caused him to hold his tongue. It was as if he could feel something developing behind the featureless mask seemingly staring back at him.

“Then let us dispose of the preamble.” the mysterious pony finally spoke, “Why am I here? In a way, I have already answered. I am a here as a seeker of truth.”

“Define ‘here’.” Atlas demanded, looking about himself, “Did you come looking for something in this library, the school, or from me?”

“You misunderstand.” the masked figure replied, “I am not here to find truth, I am here because I have found truth. An important distinction, as I’m sure you are aware.”

“And yet you’re skulking about this library?” Atlas commented, “Tell me what you are doing here.”

“Acting on truth is the worthier part of knowledge, is it not?” the shadowy figure posed, “But it is with a heavy heart I must admit, it is also the hardest.

“If it wasn’t obvious enough already, allow me to confirm your suspicions.” he continued, “I didn’t come here to search out any hidden text or scroll. I was looking for you. I sought you out because I can no longer carry the burden of knowledge alone.”

“You assume that I am even remotely interested in your dilemma.” Atlas shook his head in disbelief, “Don’t you think it’s ludicrous for me to stand here and listen to some fool elaborate on his delusions without even stating the so-called truth he’s discovered?”

“I apologise if it seems that I’ve been leading you on.” came the reply, “I imagine that you’ll understand why shortly. The information is... sensitive.”

“It sickens me to grant you the satisfaction, but I assure you I will only indulge your impudence this once.” the aged earth pony swallowed, “Do you have any intention of spitting out whatever it is you think you know, or are you just going to chase your tail like some idiot mutt?”

“So you do want to know?” the masked stallion stepped forwards ever so slightly, “You really do exceed my expectations Atlas. A true scholar will always give every potential its chance. In spite of pride, or even reason, they will always heed wherever truth may hide. I was not wrong in trusting you with this.”

Utterly unamused by what seemed like praise, Atlas stared forwards, still trying to work this unusual character out. Reflecting back on it, the fact he had continued to entertain this nonsense was a borderline miracle.

“Very well.” the anonymous pony spoke again, suddenly changing tune, “What if were to tell you that the greatest crime in history, a sin beyond compare, was one that went unannounced and unpunished? What if I were to claim that the powers that be would have such a thing ignored, and be complicit in the deception of the entire world?”

“I wouldn’t expect such an accusation to get much of reception, especially when you continue to refrain from specifics.” Atlas didn’t appear phased, “In this world, talk is cheap, and conspiracies abound. It isn’t reasonable to pay every fool his due when there’s never any proof to be had.”

“I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t a way to back up my claims.” the cloaked stallion retorted, “But I’m talking about a crime that dates back beyond any tome you’ve ever read, and of ponies born before pen were ever put to paper. I-”

“That’s enough.” Atlas cut him right off, “Don’t go thinking that I never learned about what happened between the princess and her sister, or about that ancient horror story of Nightmare Moon. You aren’t qualified to teach me about the rights and wrongs there.

“I suppose I really should have guessed.” he continued with a slight chuckle, shaking his head slowly, “You’re just another one of those damned fanatics aren’t you? Just another idiot who somehow got into his head that Luna was sealed for no reason, and that we’re all living under some villainous dictator... am I right?”

“Now this I did not expect.” the cloaked stallion wasn’t phased by the tear down, “Though I do suppose that not all surprises are pleasant...”

“You acknowledge me as a scholar and are surprised when I am learned?” Atlas questioned, “I don’t know what you’ve been playing at, but it seems like the only one you’re fooling is yourself.”

“Don’t be absurd.” the anonymous pony surprised Atlas with the firm rejection, “Of course I was aware you would know of that story and be decided on the matter. What I didn’t expect was for you to be so blindly faithful to the princess. For someone I thought to be wise, that is rather unbecoming.”

“And how do you figure that?” Atlas was incredulous, “Not that I take issue with the concept, but I’d rather you call it a justified trust.”

“I see it differently.” the masked stallion disagreed, “Just now your defence of Celestia hinged not on her being right, but on her sister being wrong. It then stands to reason that whatever justifications you can conjure up only apply in that context.”

“If you’re trying to say there’s a problem with that, I’m afraid I don’t see it.” Atlas raised an eyebrow, “It doesn’t change the fact of the matter.”

“Oh yes, unequivocally.” the cloaked pony agreed, “However, it goes to show how fickle the trust is. If Celestia were ever called to account on some other crime, I very much doubt those justifications would carry over.”

“So what if it they wouldn’t?” the old earth pony questioned, “Don’t toy with me with hypothetical hogwash!”

“Atlas, I respect you as a scholar and a teacher, but you assume too much.” the shadowy stallion spoke calmly and deliberately, “If you’ll let me, there are two things I would like to correct you on.”

The old earth pony didn’t reply. Somewhat confused, and majorly sceptical, he glared forwards with narrowed eyes, unconsciously seeking some feature on that blank mask to focus his stare on. Even now, he couldn’t tell if this strange pony could see out from under it.

“Your first mistake was assuming I was speaking hypothetically.” the stallion said, seizing Atlas’ attention once more, “Your beloved Princess Celestia is guilty of a crime far worse than you, or anyone other than I knows of. I can even show you if you so wish it...”

“That... that doesn’t make sense.” the old earth pony stammered despite himself, “I thought you were-”

“And thus, your second assumption...” the anonymous stallion continued, cutting Atlas off with purpose, “What made you think I was talking about Luna? You were the one to bring her up, not me.”

The bifocaled earth pony was practically speechless. True, it was surprising, but that was not the reason he could not find his voice. With his mind working overtime to make sense of the implications, he couldn't figure out how the strange pony’s earlier arguments could have been directed at anything other than the topic of Nightmare Moon and Celestia.

“Listen carefully.” the cloaked stallion spoke suddenly, perhaps sensing Atlas’ confusion, “I have absolutely no interest in the bad blood between the royal sisters. As far as I am concerned, their juvenile grudge and the right and wrongs therein are of no consequence.

“And that is because they both have a much graver sin to answer for.” he continued, “That is what I came to enlighten you to; the greatest lie ever told.”

“Enlighten me?” Atlas asked, “What in blazes are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the subjugation of one who envisioned a peaceful world, and was struck down on the verge of success.” the mysterious pony elaborated, “A ruler who, in his time, sought to lift your kind, the earth ponies, from the depths of unspeakable despair.”

“In his time?” Atlas couldn’t help but to question, “I’ve never heard of such things. If you plan on lying to me on matters of history, I suggest trying something much more minor.”

“Yes, I am sure many things say otherwise.” the anonymous stallion conceded, “But for now at least, I am not trying to coax you out of disbelief, nor convey my words as facts. If you would, simply entertain the story.”

This concept was once again met with silence. The aged earth pony gave nothing away in expression, essentially wearing a mask of his own. It seemed that, by standing there and continuing to ponder the mysteries he was confronted with, Atlas was in a way allowing this shadowy figure to continue speaking on what could only be hearsay.

“Earth ponies have a hidden history you see.” the cloaked pony begun, “Dating back further than you or I could ever know. Before Equestria, before all ponies were drawn under one banner, our world was unforgiving. Be it other races, monsters, or nature itself, there was danger abound for ponies of all kinds.

“And through this trying age, unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies were not one people, but disparate clans.” he continued, “And while unicorns could call upon their magic, and the pegasi had untold skies to take to, the earth ponies were not as capable, and suffered as one would at the bottom of the food chain.”

Atlas sighed in utter contempt. “Find me even a child who doesn’t know the story behind Hearths Warming Eve.” he shook his head as he spoke, “Wherever there is a story about unification, it’s only natural its history is of separation.”

“Though how much of the truth do they know, I wonder?” came the reply, “Before the unification you speak of, the earth ponies were little more than prey. And I’m not talking about beasts or dragons. Despite their sound minds a plethora of alternatives, unicorns and pegasi simply took from the earth ponies their sole advantage in their hostile world.”

“You’re speaking of our agricultural prowess yes?” Atlas asked, “But 'took'? As I understand it, it was a mutually beneficial agreement, not a simple seizure.”

“No, that came after.” the cloaked stallion dismissed, “In the beginning, there were no negotiations, and no pretence of diplomacy. And why would there be? Unicorns and pegasi were free to exploit the earth pony to their heart’s content. Your kind were wise enough to let this treatment go unopposed, as they knew full well there could be no victory against those of the arcane, or those of the sky.

“Of course, this kind of situation could not last forever.” he continued, “Even so, it was not the earth ponies who brought about change. By the time Equestria was founded, and unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies dubbed one people, your kind had already suffered much to their new brothers and sisters. Persisting even to this day, for those with a keen eye, the divide between earth ponies and the other two races is as clear as day.

“You understand why don’t you?” he asked darkly, “Unicorns and pegasi were not at odds even in ancient times because they both regarded each other as a potential threat, and thus treated one another as equals in some respect. But when they were made to stand beside earth ponies, a people they had previously and unashamedly subjugated, they most definitely did not fancy them as equals. And as such, a completely new period of suffering begun.”

“You’re wasting your time.” Atlas dismissed, “No society is faultless, much less at its inception. Any odd pony would understand why a past so long ago had its imperfections without you even telling them. If anything, it only serves to show how far we’ve come.”

“Yes, I agree entirely.” the masked pony’s reply surprised Atlas, “The severity of your people’s plight was most unfortunate, but it is, as you say, history. It is not my direct concern.”

“I’ve come to realize you are anything but direct.” he responded, the old stallion’s tone frustrated, “But how I hope this story of yours will begin to go somewhere soon.”

“Forgive me then for what must sound like a history lesson.” the cloaked pony bowed slightly in apology, “I shall cut to the chase. As you most likely know quite well, when the unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies moved away from their slowly developed mutual tribe allegiances towards one whole society, it was done under none other than the alicorn sisters, Luna and Celestia.

“Of course, this was well over one thousand years ago; Luna, but Celestia especially, were much different rulers back then.” he said, resuming the lecture, “It’s not hard to understand how, you may have even reasoned it yourself at some point. To be fit rulers across such starkly different periods, it’s only natural they themselves grew and changed with their people. But unlike those they ruled, they lived on while the world around them matured. With their beginnings becoming so far away as time marched, they carried with them memories of a time that would otherwise go to the grave.

“For you see, at this beginning I keep speaking of, where the earth ponies remained the downtrodden, the collective eyes of the majority, the pegasi and the unicorns, still saw their wing-less and horn-less counterparts as lesser.” the shadowy stallion continued, “But as alicorns, the royal sisters were endeared by both unicorns and pegasi, and in reciprocation, both races had their ruler’s favour.

“But even though they were the princesses, it was not so much they shaping the rules and values of their people, but their people and their existing views shaping the systems by which they would be governed.” his tone took a sudden shift, “In this respect, the earth pony’s position as a second-class citizen was all but cemented. Again, I do not intend to highlight the darkness of our history, as this was essentially unavoidable. Right and wrong is decided by context and majority... if Celestia or Luna swam against the tide in such an early stage of their nation’s foundation, Equestria would have ended right then and there, and the whole would have suffered for it, the earth ponies especially.”

“Stop right there.” Atlas cut in, “Even if it was so incomprehensibly long ago, I won’t believe that Celestia would be so skewed, especially when it’s someone like you claiming so. That aside, if for whatever reason what you say is true, the consequences of it would not have dissipated even over thousands of years.”

“Very true; the future would have been significantly more grim if that was all there was to it.” the cloaked stallion chose to gear his story's continuation to Atlas’ response, “The truth that I have been burdened with however, and the one I came to share with you, was that as if in answer to their hardship, the earth ponies discovered that they too had their benefactor.

“He was also a ruler, and a core foundations beside the sisters in Equestria’s foundation.” he continued, “And while Celestia and Luna had taken the side of unicorns and pegasi, he would not budge in his desire to right what he saw to be a clear wrong. However, as it was that unicorns and pegasi were against the earth ponies, it became a matter of him against Luna and Celestia. On both fronts, it was two against one, and thus begun revolution.”

“Utterly ridiculous.” Atlas spat, “Do you expect me to believe that there truly would be no record of such a history? That if it happened it could even be concealed, much less by one as benevolent as Celestia? And do you honestly think I would accept, with no evidence, that there was once a ruler beside Luna and Celestia?”

“Interesting.” the masked pony commented, “Shall I take that to mean that you would accept it if I could produce proof? Would you allegiances truly sway if I demonstrated the truth of these claims?”

“Simply preposterous.” Atlas growled, “You tell me you speak of a time so dated there is no record, and then imply you have some evidence? That contradiction alone is enough for me to be certain your story is exactly that. A story.”

Suddenly, the anonymous pony moved forwards, taking slow and deliberate steps forward. Atlas stood firm as the distance between them shortened, the two of them practically within reach of one another. The old stallion’s expression was a impassive as ever, but he hadn’t lowered his guard for an instant. Any number of weapons could be concealed under that cloak, and if Atlas had cornered him with that last rebuttal, he might yet need to defend himself.

“It is only natural to be uncomfortable with what I am suggesting, but even so, your conclusion was too hasty.” the shadowy pony proposed, still unidentifiable even at this distance, “There are no records? True. There is proof? Also true. This is a contradiction? Not necessarily. If I give you a moment to think carefully, you may be able to determine an instance in which this is the case.”

If this strange pony had anything right, it was that it really was uncomfortable to think about the things he was preaching, and thus thinking carefully was a difficult task. Even so, it didn’t take Atlas very long to figure out what the cloaked pony was hinting at.

“That’s right...” he continued on, almost as if he could tell what the old stallion was thinking, “It’s my own fault for not explicitly saying so, but I suppose it is only reasonable to make the leap yourself. And you’re right. If this ruler I keep telling you of really did stand beside Celestia and her sister in the founding of Equestria, then it follows that he was no mere mortal...”

“Hold on...” Atlas shook his head, trying to dispel his creeping thoughts, “That’s not-”

“So, if he too was immune to the sands of time, then what became of him?” the anonymous pony pressed on, “It has been over a thousand years... yet the world is silent to his name. It is enough to make one deny his existence, as you have.”

“Wait.” Atlas tried in vain again...

“However, a power that great cannot be vanished.” the mysterious stallion cut him off once more, “As was the fate of the rebellious Luna, the champion of your race could only be hidden away; sealed, bound, and forgotten.

“But not dead; and as long as I live, not forgotten.” he continued, “This story may reek of fallacies to you, but it is not my story. You desire proof? Then I offer to show you the proof. A chance to see for yourself the truth as I have, and know the true extent of the crimes of those who have so wrongly betrayed your trust.”

Leaving Atlas to his disbelief, the odd pony did something most curious. Hunching slightly and tugging the hood of his cloak fully over his already concealed face, he reached up under his new shroud and removed the mask.

Atlas’ eyes narrowed as a variety of realizations struck him. First, it was obvious that the line about his reason for wearing a mask was bogus. With his cloak now shadowing out his features, it seemed he ultimately didn’t want to give away his identity. Even so, Atlas’ second realization was that this pony was no unicorn. His hood fitted his concealed head in such a way that it was impossible for a horn to be underneath. And third, now that the mask had been taken off, he could see that it was featureless on the opposite side as well. Strangely, there didn’t seem to be a way to see out from under it.

His inspection was briefly halted as the now mask-less pony offered the object to him. “It is time you saw for yourself.” he said, his voice sounding slightly different without a mask in the way, “But if I am to take you there, you must first put the mask on.”

“After everything you said, in the end you’re asking me to trust you?” Atlas took the mask and studied it, turning it so that the blank white face was only inches from his own, “No matter how many questions they raise, the only thing that makes someone trustworthy is the answers they give. You have only the promise of proof to your outrageous claims. I’m not about to blind myself in the company of somepony like that.”

“Truthfully, I didn’t expect this to go any other way.” the shrouded stallion seemed to sigh, “After all, you can’t reasonably expect someone's trust without placing yours in them first. I had hoped to keep this little trick to myself, but I suppose it was unavoidable...

“Very well.” his tone changed suddenly, “If you are going witness it anyway, you can at least pay proper attention...”

Atlas made to question the strange change, but his focus quickly switched to his surroundings as reality itself begun to bend. The darkness of the library seemed to encroach, almost saturating as the high reaching shelves faded out of view, followed quickly by even those in the immediate area.

The aged stallion was quick to realize. “So you were a unicorn after all?” he asked, hiding his concern well as the blackness continued to develop, “What kind of magic is this?!”

“This is not a spell, nor magic of any sort.” the mysterious pony replied calmly, “It is okay to be surprised. This is a power that has not been seen for a long... long time.”

As he spoke, the darkness became total. His own hooves made invisible to his blinded eyes, a panic begun to rise briefly before the first sliver of light returned. The blackness fading fast, Atlas struggled to keep up with the change. His eyes adjusting, he squinted against the light. He didn’t need to see to understand he was no longer in the library.

After all, it had been almost too dark to see properly in there to begin with, but now his eyes battled with unexpected light. He couldn’t begin to guess where he was, but one thing was certain; he had just been teleported. Even so, something was still off. He had been teleported before, and he the transition had always made his stomach churn. But this time he felt no such discomfort.

Finally adjusting to the light, Atlas quickly saw he hadn’t come alone. Gazing off distantly was the one who had brought him here. On closer inspection, he noticed ‘gazing’ might not be the proper description. He had obviously taken his mask back from Atlas at some point and now wore it once again. The old earth pony made to question him, but he unconsciously found himself follow his pretend gaze, and in doing so, paused his interrogation.

Before him was a grand cavernous chamber illuminated by blue-burning magic vats. Even at a glance, it seemed like the entire space had been produced not through craft, but merely the absence of earth. They were underground, deep underground, and the ceiling, walls, and even the floor was comprised of exposed earth and stone, rough and uneven all around. Despite this, at regular intervals along the crude walls, half-pillars stuck out, seemingly carved into shape from the walls themselves. The resulting image was of an unnatural gorge in the earth that had hastily been converted into some manner of chamber.

Despite the grand sight, Atlas’s eyes were drawn to the centre of the huge and otherwise empty chamber. And as it took pride in such an unnecessarily large cavern, it truly was a sight to behold. Like a grossly over-sized opal, a smooth-pearl like sphere rested motionless on a plateau of sorts, the smooth section of earth obviously containing some kind of slot or groove to keep the odd stone from rolling off. If that wasn’t enough, as if to match the odd blue flames lighting up the chamber, strange glowing and clearly magical runes encircled the scene in perfect symmetry.

“What in the name of-” Atlas made to ask, but stopped short, “What is this?”

“Injustice.” came the reply, “One which, with your help, I intend to correct.”

The daunting and otherworldly chamber returned to a silence it had clearly known for an unfathomable length of time. In awe, Atlas just scanned, taking it all in. His question didn’t need to be asked again.

“That there is a seal, crafted and hidden by those who wish to conceal the reality that was the past, and bury Equestria’s only chance for true peace.” the cloaked pony spoke, “I do not share that wish, and I sought you out because I believe that you do not either.”

“So then, does that mean-” Atlas cut himself off, shaking his head solidly as he peeled his eyes from the spectacle before him and focused once more on that white unyielding mask, “No, rather... what is this place?”

“It is hard to conceal your own doubts when you are face to face with truth, isn’t it Atlas?” the anonymous pony questioned, his tone bold, “But surely you can tell that what you are looking at is a prison, even if you have never seen, nor imagined such a thing would have this kind of form.”

Atlas couldn’t help but stare again at the odd arrangement. Isolated, underground, and certainly painstakingly made to stand against the test of time, Atlas could not find a reason to object to this claim. Whatever the reason, and whatever the method, this was definitely a seal of some sort.

“All that is left is to confirm if it houses who I claim it does.” the masked stallion spoke again, feeling Atlas’ eyes drift back over to him, “Even so, do you understand yet? Do you still not believe that I’ve been telling you the truth?”

As if in answer to this, the old earth pony’s gazed back to the grand sphere, his eyes narrowing purposefully as he did so.

“I can feel it.” he said distantly, “Like a booming sound that’s pitch is just beyond what I can hear. I’m looking at a stone, but it feels like there’s a mountain before me. There’s something inside, and it’s making this entire cavern... heavy.

“Who?” he couldn’t resist asking, not any longer, “This ruler of yours... who was he? Why was he sealed? When? And why doesn’t anybody know?”

The cloaked stallion didn’t speak for a few significant moments. If, behind that mask, there was any satisfaction in having the stern old earth pony finally yield, it was given its chance to pass before he continued on.

“You are a pure-blood, pure-hearted earth pony Atlas... a rarity that I have sought for some time.” he finally spoke, “I will not insult you by answering those questions in my own words.

“Clear your mind and open your heart, then touch the seal.” he instructed, “It cannot hold him for much longer, and the rage of this injustice has been seeping out since long ago. If you are able, you may yet hear his voice yourself and find the answers you seek.

“Only then, by your own accord, will I invite you into righting this wrong.” he turned away as he continued, implying that he would be leaving the aged earth pony alone, “But know this. You may step forth or return to a world of lies without consequence, but if you are to choose, there can be no half measures. Either devote yourself entirely to truth, or to fake bonds and lies. The path I have to offer will set the entire world upon you, and for as long as they remain deceived, they will be your enemy. I do not need to tell you this is not a decision to be made lightly.”

Having been given his space, Atlas had promptly made his way to the centre of the cavern. Now within reach of the daunting prison, that indescribable energy was as strong as ever, and despite the pressure, Atlas simply stood, contemplating silently behind his bifocals. He still couldn’t bring himself to trust the word of that shadowy character, but even so, in standing before the seal, he couldn’t stop his hoof rising into position to touch it.

“I am a scholar.” he said strongly, speaking his thoughts aloud, “It is not my place to trust anything or anyone without reason, nor is it to fear any kind of knowledge until after the fact.”

Slowly and purposefully, Atlas breathed deep. His eyes and thoughts focused entirely on what was ahead of him, he wasn’t aware of how intently he was being watched at this pivotal moment.

“So be it.” he continued, mounting his resolve and pressing his hoof to the stone, “If there is any truth to what you say, then let it be voiced here and now!”

* * * *

In the silence of Atlas’ dark cell, a rouge drop of water fell from the roof, tapping quietly and harmlessly against the stone floor. The tension far from dispelled, the restrained earth pony matched Luna’s stare as it became clear he was done with the explanations.

“Well?” Atlas asked with a raised eyebrow and sharp tongue, “Are you satisfied?”

“This was never about satisfaction.” the princess replied, “However, I find your story lacking in certain areas.”

“Do I need to say it again?” Atlas growled, “I’m not interested in your understanding, and I do not wish to help you.”

“That much is clear.” Luna breathed, “You are far too loyal to Terra to want to see me succeed in any fashion. But with that said, Terra is not the reason you are where you are, is he?”

Atlas flinched. “What are you talking about?” he questioned, “It was in his interests, and only his interests, that I came here.”

“Naturally.” the princess kept her momentum, “But when I say ‘here’, I am talking of this dungeon, not the city above it.”

“If you have some point to make, I suggest you not dance around your meaning.” the aged stallion narrowed his gaze, “What are you getting at?”

“It is my understanding that half the reason those twin earth ponies attacked my sister’s palace was to get to you.” Luna explained, “And apparently you and they both claim, or rather, claimed to be in league with Terra. But if we’ve established anything so far, it is that you and they clearly had different allegiances.

“Therefore, I can only imagine two possibilities.” she continued, “The first being, you betrayed Terra and attempted to reach Canterlot, and the twins came to stop you divulging information. In light of your background and your current disposition, I find this possibility quite unlikely.”

Atlas didn’t speak. Too used to having his reflective bifocals masking his expression, his ice blue eyes simply stared at the princess as she continued.

“And thus, I find myself wondering on the second.” Luna lent in slightly, “That is, you are telling me the truth in saying you were acting in Terra’s interest. For the twins to want you dead for such a thing, it must make them out to be working not only outside of, but against Terra’s interests correct?”

“Correct.” Atlas replied coldly, “Even though they didn’t end up being at my mercy, I am still pleased that those mules got what was coming to them.”

“That’s another thing.” the princess picked up on his tone, “You and I both seem to have reason to doubt they were much more than an instrument of whomever it was that wished you dead. But for things to unfold as they have, I am left to assume that party is also a member of Terra’s steadily shrinking flock.

“You may be unaware, but I had something of an encounter with one such candidate, and prior to your story, I was thinking that he may have been the puppeteer behind the clash between you and the sisters.” she continued with her explanation, “But that arrogant unicorn playing partner with Terra? I can confidently say that Truant hardly fits the role. It seems to me that he is simply along for the ride, or is being manipulated in a similar matter to the twins.”

This time Atlas held his tongue. He couldn’t figure out where the princess was going with this. But before he could dwell upon his own confusion, Luna lent in ever so slightly as she made to continue...

“It would have been a simple matter for you to fabricate a tale that didn’t make mention of some anonymous pony.” she said suddenly, surprising the old earth pony, “I am already convinced that you left select elements out, so you can excuse me for trying to figure why you told me of the individual.

“For, as you said earlier, you do not wish to help me, nor aid my understanding.” her tone changed dramatically as she knew she had Atlas cornered, “Shall I conclude that my knowledge of his mysterious stallion is somehow meant to help Terra?”

She was met with nothing more than silence. But as she made to press her point, he finally wavered, ending the staring contest as his eyes drifted down, his head hanging slightly to match.

“When you said the twins were only being used, you were correct.” Atlas spoke, his reply intriguing Luna, “You were also right about Truant... he too is ultimately just an instrument.”

“However, I cannot pity them.” he continued, not raising his wayward gaze, “For I too was but a pawn in his schemes.”

Luna didn’t miss her chance. “Who?” she asked, “If it isn’t Terra, then who else is able, much less willing to scatter his faction?”

“Who else?” Atlas met her eyes once more, “But even as I say that, after five long years I haven’t learned his name, his face, or any other facet of his identity.”

“Then I’ll ask this; why?” the princess quickly adopted a more disarming tone, “Forget Truant and the twins... if you truly were being used, then to what end were you required?”

“They only needed me for one reason.” he replied, “I was an earth pony of pure blood. Since it was their mission from the outset to betray Terra, they needed a fool without his own schemes and my honest old heart. It was through me that they were able to stir the king from his slumber.

“And while that was what we all wished, I would later discover that it was for entirely different reasons.” he continued darkly, “Then, once I realized I was the only one truly on Terra’s side, I was no longer useful. Now, I am here... having barely survived their attempt to snuff me out.”

“They?” Luna questioned, “I cannot account for anyone other than this masked individual. Is he not alone in his treachery?”

“I have my own question first.” Atlas said suddenly, “What, if anything, have you found out from Caliber? I spoke to him about exactly that in the moments we had to spare.”

“If the captain has some knowledge about these things, I do not know.” the princess answered, “Now, tell me who else conspires against Terra.”

In reality, the first thing Caliber had been sure to report was the claim that Haywire, the most wanted bounty head, was a potential threat to both Terra and Luna. But the princess needed accurate information, especially in regards to this. If she feigned ignorance, she would be able to compare Atlas’ explanation to the captain's.

“His name is Haywire.” the old earth pony explained, “He is a pegasus on the most wanted list, and he has developed some kind of method that has allowed him to tap into Terra’s power and make it his plaything. What became of those sisters can attest to this.”

“Yes, I know that name; it’s been a prime topic of discussion ever since we received word that all of the most wanted had been organised.” Luna replied, “But there’s one thing that troubles me in regards to what you just said. It was reported to me that the twins referred to their ‘state’ as ‘Terra’s gift’. Have you considered Terra did that to them?”

“He certainly could have, but it was far too imperfect for it to be his doing.” Atlas shook his head ever so slightly, “If he had done it, those sisters would have been impossibly resilient, and their form would have allowed them to live for hundreds of years. But the way there were, their personalities had changed as a result, and they would have crumbled in a matter of hours.”

“If that is the case, why do you think they used such an unsure means to silence you?” the princess asked, “Considering the information you might divulge, why would they take a that kind of chance?”

“Haywire is twisted...” the earth pony spat, “Take a chance? No. Whether I, the twins, or Caliber ended up dead, he would not have cared which. He probably saw this whole thing as an experiment, and, if anything, all he would want is a result. Data for next time...”

“Next time?” Luna repeated, “The twins are no more, you are imprisoned, and Terra’s movements in Appleoosa and Hordimare have been thwarted. How many guinea pigs do you suppose Haywire has left?”

“How many?” Atlas let out a single mirthless chuckle, “My heart would be at ease if I didn’t know exactly how many more lives that monster has at his disposal.”

This time Luna was the one taken aback. “What do you mean?” she asked as evenly as she could, “Who else is there to- no... who else could there be?”

“You said it yourself.” Atlas looked her in the eye, “All those earth ponies poking about Hordimare... where do you suppose they came from?”

The princess’ eyes widened at the implication. She had already concluded that at least one settlement had slipped through the cracks, but if Atlas was telling the truth about Haywire, it meant that the town that they had taken hostage was now serving as...

“You know don’t you?” Luna questioned, her eyes narrowing, “So that’s where they’ve been hiding all this time. If Terra has been holed up there, it’s no wonder we weren’t able to find it...

“That’s just it.” Atlas took the princess by surprise, “Terra might have little choice but to conscript the help of the town in question, but if he knew that Haywire was in a position to use his own power to make abominations of those innocents... it would spell the end for that maniac doctor.

“You realize what I’m saying right?” he continued, “Terra doesn’t know the town exists. I expect that they told him they obtained the numbers from Appleoosa and Hordimare, all the while they’ve hijacked a settlement for themselves.”

“One thing doesn’t make sense.” Luna confessed, “I can understand that certain things have been hidden from Terra, I can even understand that an entire village has been somehow overtaken by a mad pegasus doctor and an unidentified masked pony. But you keep saying you are all that’s left that is loyal to Terra. Why then do you know about these things while he does not?”

“They tried to kill me off, if you recall.” Atlas remarked offhandedly, “And it wasn’t just because I could supply some vague description of five year old events to a desperate princess. When I finally became suspicious, I found out this particular secret for myself. And here I am because of it.”

“Ah, finally... I see things clearly now.” Luna’s tone shifted as what Atlas said brought her to an understanding, “It seems as though after all this, you are not without your own schemes.”

“Naturally, Terra would not be at a loss if I were to divulge the location of the unfortunate town in question.” Atlas smiled in response to the princess' realization, “Even so, helping you is not much better than keeping quiet about what those usurpers are planning...

“There is no doubt in my mind that this information would be of great use to you.” he continued, cutting quickly to what Luna had foreseen, “But as I am ultimately your enemy, if you want the truth, the exchange must be mutually beneficial.”

“In all honesty, I was waiting for you to reveal what leverage you had been hiding ever since I saw how comfortable you wore your chains.” Luna indicated his restraints, “But I feel as though I must make one thing clear. Under no circumstance will you be released.”

“I thought as much.” Atlas sighed despite himself, “But as juvenile as it sounds, there is something I desire above freedom.”

“Vengeance is it?” Luna questioned, the word sour in her mouth, and with good reason, “Well, if you provide me with the information I require, I will be able to confront them on your behalf. Not as satisfying as seeing to them yourself I imagine, but as you cannot-”

“Don’t misunderstand me princess.” Atlas cut in boldly, “They were brave enough to have me walking in their shadow for five years, yet arrogant enough to think they could end me with but a wave of the hoof. Just thinking about it ignites a rage I haven't known in what feels like a lifetime.

“Few things would make me happier than to drag them down with me.” he continued with venom, “But I am no longer the young stallion I used to be. And with this wound, I doubt I could take them to task myself.”

“So you would have us do it in your stead?” Luna questioned, “But to do so, we would need to know where they were, meaning you would have give up your leverage and take it on faith that I would still honour my end. And as you have so clearly maintained that we remain foes, this would be quite the problematic arrangement.”

“And that’s why I said not to misunderstand me.” the bifocaled earth pony repeated, “Listen close princess. These two have been working behind the scenes for what I can only say to be longer than five years. And in all this time, not a single soul has caught onto what they are truly up to. And despite my best efforts, and despite how close I was to the heart of it, I was routed out before I could even realize what little I did know.”

“So, as long as you and yours continue to see Terra as the only threat, every perceived victory and failure plays out in their favour.” he continued darkly, “That is to say, even though I know not what they intend, I fear their schemes because they have never once been at a loss. This is what I want to change. That is what I desire most.”

“I am afraid I still don’t understand.” Luna confessed, “What is it specifically that you want from me?”

“Here’s my deal princess.” Atlas said all of a sudden, “I will tell you everything I know about the town they’ve been hiding in, specifically, its location, its name, and what to expect, if, and only if, you first do a little something for me.”

“That all depends on what that something is.” Luna replied as coolly as ever, “What is it you want?”

“Until someone takes the first step, there will be no hope of stopping those two.” Atlas explained, “To fool them just the once, or conjure up the necessary trump card... that would be enough. And as long as I am alive, this is exactly what I intend to do.”

Luna’s gaze intensified as the old earth pony increased pace. As this was obviously a moment he had been planning for since minute one, she had to be wary of his tactics. It was hard to hide how desperate she was for the information he hid, and even as he was restrained and utterly at her mercy, for this moment in time he held all the power. And he knew it.

“When I woke up here, healed and chained... that was when I realized that I was the only one who could do it.” he continued with intent, “And that is because, down here in the depths of this dungeon, none will know if I spoke or was silent, or if I am dead or alive until you leave and return to the world outside.

“You understand what I mean don’t you?” Atlas asked the important question, “The truth of ‘Atlas Black’ isn’t decided until you speak on it. And if it’s a truth that will reach the ears of those that might take it for granted, then it’s a truth I want you to manipulate for the benefit of our mutual interest.”

“So, if I say that Atlas Black died of his wounds, unable to speak a word against those who betrayed him, then you will tell me what I need to know?” Luna asked her own question, “Is that the agreement?”

“All I’m saying is that if certain ponies happened to take comfort in certain secrets going to the grave with the passing of a certain old fool that they’d already gone out of their way to overlook, then you might learn something that, according to them, you couldn’t.” Atlas elaborated with an uncharacteristic degree of slyness, “That, if the dead do decide to start talking, they’d have none but your ear.”

Giving nothing away with her expression, Luna contemplated silently. What was there to gain? What was there to lose? Risks weighed up against benefits swirled around as she tried to determine if there was any hidden motives in what he was asking, along with a hundred other concerns rising as she found herself at a critical impasse. And they all came back to the same question. Could she trust Atlas?

“So then princess...” Atlas spoke up all of a sudden, cutting right through her indecision, “What’s it going to be?”

Chapter 15: The Frozen North

From the Ashes

Chapter 15: The Frozen North

With the beginnings of darkness drawing in upon the skies over Canterlot, the bustle of the streets was starting to die out. And while this was about the time that the night palace normally begun to kick to life, now that it was operating on a full time basis, the strain had rendered the palace just about as still and quiet as the rest of the sleepy city. Even so, while it appeared as such on the outside, inside those royal halls, a rather unexpected commotion was currently underway.

“Hey, did you hear?” the armoured pegasus asked, an unnecessary hush to his voice, “About what happened with that Atlas guy?”

Having broken the silence, the pegasus looked left to his disinterested companion. They both stood guard outside the princess’ chamber, and having been at if for at least an hour, it was becoming rather clear that without a little chit-chat, this double shift of theirs would fast become unbearable.

“That traitor who attacked the palace?” came the reply, much more gruff and stern than his counterpart, “Of course I heard.”

“Well, I guess the whole garrison is talking about it at the moment.” the other one responded with a forced chuckle, “It’s not often they get to cross off a name so close to the top of that bounty list after all.”

“It was still quite the shock, he was supposed to be a tough one.” the gruff pegasus indulged his partner’s attempt at conversation, “Oh well, good riddance.”

“Still, isn’t a shame he kicked the bucket before we could get anything out of him?” came the reply, “Weren’t you one of the pegasi that was there during the attack?”

“You already know I was.” he snapped, “Why do you ask?”

“What was he like?” the talkative pegasus asked, “Strong? Scary?”

“Plenty of both, especially for an old earth pony.” the gruff guard acknowledged his companion’s curiosity, “It’s tough trying to explain, but he had a kind of aura about him. I, and pretty much everypony who was there could tell he was trouble even before anything happened.”

“Speaking of which, I’ve got a bit of a funny feeling right now.” the other guard seemed to deviate, “Like something strong and scary is coming this way...”

“I wouldn’t say I know what’s gotten into you, but I do hear something.” the stern pegasus responded, putting himself on alert, “Shut up for a minute. I think it’s getting closer...”

Meanwhile, in the further reaches of the night palace, twisting halls and passages echoed with hasty hoofsteps and the contrasting muttering of a flustered unicorn and a petrified pegasus.

“Unthinkable.” Rarity pouted as she walked, an energy to her steps and a firm bitterness to her voice, “Positively unthinkable!”

“Oh, please settle down!” Fluttershy insisted meekly, keeping pace as best she could, “You’re supposed to be taking it easy! Just come back to the hospital with me please... please!”

The unicorn refused to listen to her friend as she continued her march through the halls. Looking left and right with impatient eyes, Rarity’s understandably weary mind struggled to make sense of direction. On top of being flustered, she didn’t actually know how to get to the princess’ quarters. Owing to this, her random path onwards was ensuing more chaos than the night palace was used to, and if wasn’t for the efforts of the unfortunate Fluttershy, the alarm surely would have been issued some time ago...

“How many times must I tell you that I’m perfectly fine?” Rarity snapped in reply to her friend, “Honestly, you’re the one we’ll have to admit if you don’t settle down!”

As the poor pegasus finally begun to realize how powerless she was to stop the unicorn’s advance, a little ray of hope glimmered, taking form in the two pegasus guards keeping the door behind them blocked off. And while she wouldn’t know it yet, Fluttershy wasn’t the only one who welcomed their appearance. For Rarity knew full well that if this was a door to be guarded, it was the one she had been looking for.

“See?” Fluttershy didn’t miss a beat, stopping on the spot, “Looks like she’s busy anyway! Let’s just come back later, okay?”

Rarity stopped as well, even if only briefly. The serious look in her eyes developing into a kind of scowl, she stared daggers at those who might halt her advance.

Seeing the firm look in her friend’s eye, Fluttershy decided to go with something a little more desperate. “Please...” she begged, ensuring the unicorn caught the soft, pitiful look in her eyes, “Let’s just go back, even if it’s just for a little while!”

“Sorry dear, but not this time.” Rarity endured, “You know I hate saying no to you, but this is just one of those things that one simply has to do.”

Utterly no match for her friend’s resolve, Fluttershy watched silently as the unicorn continued on up to the door she sought, and the guards that were duty-bound to keep her from it.

“Halt.” the leftmost one bellowed, “This entire area is off-limits. Leave immediately.”

“The princess is in there, correct?” Rarity evaded his instruction, “Let me through please, I need to talk with her.”

“You are not allowed here, let alone the princess’ chambers.” he replied, just as strongly as before, “How did you even get into this hall?”

“The same way I am going to get through this door.” Rarity didn’t waver, flashing a cocky smile as she pressed further, “I imagine that ‘the princess’ wouldn’t take kindly to you holding me up like this when she most definitely wishes to speak with me. Once again, I ask that you let me through.”

At this, the guard on the right saw fit to step in. “Look, miss... the princess is very busy at the moment.” he reasoned, trying to diffuse the situation, “As such, we are under orders not to let anybody in.

“If you would like, you can explain your relationship with the princess and why you are here with us, and once she is finished with her business, we can notify her for you.” he offered, making sure to keep his tone as disarming as possible, “Then, if she confirms that she wishes to speak with you, an audience can then be properly organised.”

As if in response, Rarity threw a glance backwards, eyeing Fluttershy as she nodded furiously in agreement, which was made all the more comical considering that the intimidated pegasus was practically curled up in a ball behind her.
“Hrm...” Rarity cocked her head slightly as she faced the guards again, “I think I have a better idea.”

Luna’s head spun to hear to door to her chambers crash open behind her. Her confusion turned to alarm to see that it wasn’t her guards who had done it, and then turned back to confusion to see Rarity stroll on through with her timid companion not far behind, skulking across the ground low like some kind of spooked fox.

“I’m so sorry princess!” Fluttershy scrambled as she bowed profusely, which, funnily enough, made for quite the subtle gesture given her already low posture, “I tried to stop her... but she just wouldn’t-”

The guards from outside finally resolving once more to keep the intruders at bay, they circled in swiftly so as to block off the path onwards despite the fact that they had only just discovered how futile their attempts were.

“It’s fine.” the princess raised her hoof as she spoke, leaving the room wondering if she intended it for the apologising Fluttershy or the flustered guards, “Really... that’s enough.”

With her outstretched hoof, the princess continued by gesturing toward the door, silently shooing off her guards. “You may leave them be.” she assured them as they backed down, “Thank you.”

Stepping aside without a word, the guards obeyed Luna by falling back to their original position. With everything going to plan, Rarity kept from taking in the awkward scene until they closed that final door behind them.

It was quickly apparent just what the princess was up to prior to the interruption. She stood in the middle of the study, and before her was Spellbound, the two of them apparently in the middle of some kind of serious discussion.

“You’ll have to forgive my surprise Rarity.” Luna brought a swift end to the unicorn’s survey of the room as she made her way over to greet her new arrivals, “Last I heard, you were still unconscious.”

“And last I knew, you were at the bottom of the ocean.” she replied, putting aside her curiosity for what had been going on, “Truthfully, I’ve been having trouble properly remembering some of what happened prior to, well... you know.”

“After the ordeal you’ve been through, I wouldn’t expect much different.” the princess said softly, her own regrets surfacing in regards to her responsibilities in the matter, “Are you certain that you are well? I fail to believe that you should be up and about in your condition...”

“That’s what I said.” Fluttershy was sure to make her own reservations known, “The hospital told her to stay put too, but she just won’t listen to anybody!”

“She wouldn’t be the only one.” Spellbound said from the side, startling the pegasus, “And definitely not the first to barge in here when they rightly shouldn’t.”

Unnerved by that last part, Fluttershy broke eye contact as quick as she could, directing her gaze away. But in letting her eyes wander, they happened upon a most unexpected sight, and in that instant, she understood what Spellbound actually meant.

“Hey there.” Captain Caliber smiled lightly from his seated position at the far corner of the room as the pegasus begun to stare, “It doesn’t really feel like it, but I guess it’s been a while, huh?”

Despite his casual tone, the captain was hardly the picture of health. With his left wing done up in bandages that coiled over his entire midsection, his rightmost was the only one that stuck out, and even then, the joints were held in place by plaster. Small circular bandages told of the tubes that had been keeping his fluids up, and additional rolls of bandage kept those numerous cuts and bruises covered.

“Goodness me...” Rarity stammered, having also realized, “After what I heard, I hardly expected to see you up and about Mr. Caliber. And I dare say that what I can see tells me the same.”

“The same goes for you doesn’t it?” he asked, able to see a fatigued unicorn hiding underneath her rather convincing brave face, “You look like you might keel over at any moment...”

At this, Fluttershy’s focus switched to friend. “Is that true?” she asked tenderly, concerned now that her own suspicions were shared, “I knew you weren’t okay...”

“Believe me, I’ve been better... but that is hardly the issue.” Rarity replied with a trembling huff, no longer feeling the need to hide her exhaustion, “Even if I were still at the hospital, my heart would never let me rest, not when it’s so heavy with questions...”

“I suppose we’re alike in that way.” Caliber worded his response to make it sound like praise while staying serious, “Sometimes there’s only so much we can allow ourselves to sit out on, right?”

“I don’t intend to disagree, but there’s a difference between being a concerned friend and the captain of the royal guard.” Luna cut in, “Regardless of whether it is for her own sake, or that of her friends, Rarity’s responsibility is to make a proper recovery.”

“All I want is to know what’s going on.” Rarity said calmly, her thoughts collected and her doubts reconciled, “True, I want to help... I need to help, but I know I am in no condition to. But in knowing so little, how am I supposed to sleep?”

“It’s normal for you to be out of the loop having been unconscious as long as you have.” Spellbound stepped disarmingly towards the clearly unsettled unicorn, “If you want to talk about what happened, I would be happy to explain for you in full-”

“I don’t care about what happened, I care about what’s happening.” Rarity made the distinction clear, shifting her focus to the princess as she made to continue, “Fluttershy said that you are sending my friends off again... is that true? After everything that happened, did you really decide to separate us again?”

“I too shared your reservations, but the choice was theirs to make.” Luna didn’t mince words, “Indeed, it was my will to keep them from further harm, to keep your friends here and safe in the city. But you should have known what their intentions were even before you heard anything.

“Because you’re the same are you not?” she asked, oddly direct, “Even you, Fluttershy. In spite of everything, the two of you are least concerned about yourselves, and you continue to put your friends first. Perhaps that is where generosity and kindness are alike...”

“Where are they?” Rarity asked, more invested in getting to the point than being on the receiving end of Luna’s mysticism, “Where did my friends go?”

“Pinkie Pie returned to Appleoosa to assist the town and see to certain loose ends.” the princess explained, “Philomena is still missing, and we still don’t know what became of the two guards we sent with you the first time. As for the town at large, considering her positive standing with both the Appleoosans and the buffalo, she was the ideal pony to help facilitate their recovery. It should come as no surprise that she volunteered.

“I actually expect to hear back from her soon.” she continued, “I sent Paragonia after her now that he has recovered somewhat. The journey to Appleoosa shouldn't be too taxing for him, and he will be able to help your friend find Philomena. I just hope his appearance won’t startle her...”

“And the others?” Rarity kept the princess on track, “Where did you send them?”

* * * *

“See this dotted line here?” Twilight struggled to keep Dash’s attention, “Follow it exactly. I know it’s not the fastest way, but this is the low route through the mountains, and it’s by far the safest. It’s also the easiest to follow, even without a map, so if you-”

“I know, I know...” Dash cut her off, snatching the map back up, “I keep telling you, Spellbound already went through all this with me. So relax. I know what I’m doing.”

Twilight huffed immaturely at the dismissal. Now that their train was almost at Snowsickle junction, the group had gathered in the carriage isle, Marco and all, to see Dash off before she went her own way.

“I still say this is a waste of time.” Tager interjected, “Gilda doesn’t need, and definitely doesn’t want you babyin’ her.”

“Well like it or not, I’ve got to make sure she’s okay.” Dash replied strongly as she strapped her woollen coat on tight, preparing for the bitter winds awaiting her, “Not to mention Hordimare got left hanging even worse than Appleoosa. Someone out there needs help one way or another...”

“Fine, fine... have it your way.” Tager still didn’t seem to approve, “Have fun playing hero.”

“Ain’t that your shtick?” Applejack commented, hushing her voice as she leaned in on the silent Torrin, “Honestly kid, I wanna know what dictionary you’ve been using if you still think we should be wasting our time with this one...”

“Say something there cowgirl?” Tager jerked her muzzle pointedly, “Because I coulda sworn-”

“Okay, that’s enough.” Marco stepped in, eager to avoid the conflict brewing between the two, “Dash is going to be off soon, so let’s try to stay focused.”

Even though the two shrugged it off easily enough, Marco hadn’t missed that distinctive look in their eyes. He could only hope it wouldn’t become a problem...

“You gonna be alright without me Tags?” Rainbow Dash nudged jokingly at her friend’s tense chest, “Not worried about having to hang around with all these new faces?”

“Isn’t fussing over G enough for you?” Tager swatted her away playfully, “Maybe I’m starting to think its better you’re doing your own thing...”

As their banter continued, a piercing whistle cut through the moment, the engine car announcing that it was closing in on the next stop.

“Sounds like we’re here.” Dash exhaled slowly, not so much nervous, but collected, “Alright. Let’s do this!”

“That’s the spirit!” Applejack mirrored her friend’s enthusiasm, helping her to fasten the saddlebags over the top of her woollen coat, “Don’t get lost now, you hear?”

“It looks a lot worse out there that we thought...” Twilight said from the window, the freezing winds actually visible from inside the carriage, “You would be better off staying out of the wind as much as possible.”

“Keep your hood on then doofus.” Tager said from behind, slapping the coat’s fur lined hood on over the back of Dash’s head, exhibiting what could only be the most minute concern for her friend’s well-being, “Don’t be dumb either. Not that you can use your wings properly with this thing on, but if you fly too high, you can say goodbye to those beautiful blues you love so much.”

In response, the pegasus quickly flipped her wings out from under her coat, gulping quietly as she made sure to tuck them in properly. “I guess we can’t all make time for cold weather training, huh?” she joked, referring to her old friend’s attempts to make her own body resistant to high altitudes, “Thanks Tags. I’ll be careful.”

“This should help.” Marco approached the pair, rummaging around in his own saddlebags for a moment, “I picked it up for myself when I heard we were headed north, but it looks like you could use it more than any of us...”

So as not to leave her in suspense, he produced the equipment and offered it to her. “It’s called an eye shield or something.” he said awkwardly, the thing in his hand essentially a pair of goggles, the difference being that it was totally reflective, and that it only had a single fat lens-shaped for two eyes that bulged out like the eye of some kind of insect, “It’ll make it way, way easier to navigate.”

“Whoa, thanks.” Dash was quick to strap the thing to her face, “How do I look?”

“Prepared.” Twilight answered pointedly, “And kinda cool too, I guess.”

“That’s what I like to hear!” Dash celebrated, rearing up enthusiastically, “I’m so ready!”

At this, the train begun to slow, and as the engine trumpeted out again, the rails howled as it arrived at a total stop at Snowsickle Junction, the station all but abandoned.

“Looks like this is your stop Dash.” Tager, slapped her friend on the back as she made to exit the carriage, “Go kick some ass, alright?”

“Or don’t.” Marco cut in, his tone utterly deadpan, “All the best Dash. Good luck.”

“Yeah, good luck.” Applejack and Twilight gave their well wishes in perfect unison, “And be safe!”

The chorus of her friends giving their goodbyes quickly becoming faint with each step away from the station, Dash’s protected eyes scanned, already struggling to make sense of direction. Either way, she continued forwards, comfortable consulting her map only once she knew her friends were gone.

“Hold on Hordimare.” she said to herself, prepared to tackle the road ahead, “I’m on my way.”

Sending Dash off as she disappeared into the fierce weather, Marco and the girls stood in the open doorway, waving together as the train rumbled beneath them, the engine apparently struggling to start up again.

“She looks totally goofy in that thing, doesn’t she?” Applejack said to no one in particular, referring to the odd goggles that were protecting the pegasus’ eyes.

“Yep, totally goofy.” Twilight agreed despite what she’d said earlier, “You did well to hold it in this long, Ms. Honesty.”

“Sounds like I was right to give them away...” Marco joked to hear their reactions, “But if you ask me, function should always come before fashion.”

“Be grateful Rarity isn’t here then.” Applejack commented, the topic rising some mixed emotions, “I wonder how she’s doing anyway...”

* * * *

“The road to Hordimare is confusing at best, but my estimate is that she’s most likely getting close.” Spellbound concluded, having taken the floor at some stage, “Of course, you know Rainbow Dash much better than I do, but if she followed my instructions she shouldn’t run into any real issues.”

Having been listening attentively to the summary of current affairs, Rarity and Fluttershy exchanged a quick look, the two of them silently contemplating that last part. After all, knowing Dash meant knowing how issues tend to magically arise around her.

“Of course, given Rainbow Dash’s expected progress, the rest of your friends should be quite close to their destination as well.” Luna added, “I know isn’t much to settle your worries, but you must understand that keeping informed this time around is near impossible.”

“I still cannot believe that you sent Torrin along with them.” Rarity responded, “It’s not as if I don’t trust the others, it’s just that... well, I hope everything turns out okay.”

“Again, it was my wish to have him stay.” Luna clarified her own feelings, “But given the connection this all has to his father, he insisted on helping, and the others eventually agreed. So long as you think your friends capable, we should not be concerned.”

“Even still, I can’t say I like the idea...” Rarity replied, what she remembered of her interaction with the colt in Appleoosa leaving her far from convinced, “Nor the fact it’s just them out there...”

At what the unicorn had implied with that last comment, Spellbound sighed quietly to herself. “I’ll repeat it as many times as necessary; it’s just too risky sending you up there as well, or anypony else for that matter.” she made to include Fluttershy by throwing a glance her way, “We’ve got to be sneaky this time around okay? Even more so than with Appleoosa. And we all know how that turned out...”

“What I’m sure she means is, your friends are safe, and more likely to get what they came for, so long as they keep a low profile.” Caliber chipped in, correcting Spellbound’s tone, “The best thing we can do is focus on what can be done from here.”

“Like what, exactly?” Rarity questioned, her tone aggressively sceptical, “Because I’m all ears! But if all you expect me to do is wait around to welcome them back, then at least, at the very least, let us help Pinkie and the Appleoosans!”

“Oh, please calm down!” Fluttershy intervened, the stress that was influencing her friend all but apparent, “This isn’t helping, and there’s no way it’s doing you any good. Try taking a deep breath, okay?”

Gathering herself once more, Rarity obliged the pegasus concern with a healthy sigh. “Forgive me, I didn’t mean to turn so crass.” she eyed the captain apologetically, “I just can’t help but feel so utterly useless.”

“Don’t sweat it, I can relate.” Caliber dismissed her tone casually enough, though his relaxed air dropped as he looked to his own disabled form, “But when it come to what we should be doing on our end, I was thinking a little bigger than setting up the ‘welcome back’ parade.”

Now Fluttershy was the one who was intrigued. “What do you mean?” she asked without thinking, “And why didn’t you say so?”

“Well, what did you think we were talking about before you two barged in on us, huh?” Caliber replied with a question of his own, “Because as it so happens, we’ve got quite the task ahead of us here, and it’s the kind that calls for immediate attention.”

“Hang on captain...” Spellbound’s tone shifted abruptly, “This is all supposed to be on a need to know basis, so don’t talk so carelessly!”

“Oh, and yet you’re the one who hypes it up for them?” Caliber countered flawlessly, “Besides, I’m not big on coincidence. If they just so happen to bust in when we’re scratching our heads about who to trust, then I’m not above calling it kismet.”

“Urgh, I’m so taking you back to the hospital when we’re done.” Spellbound conceded sourly, “There’s obviously been some brain damage.”

As refreshing as it was to see the injured captain and his overworked substitute descend into their usual banter, Rarity couldn’t help notice Luna’s persisting silence. Her eyes stuck staring at something invisible, it was glaringly obvious that she was totally distracted by whatever she was thinking about.

“Princess?” Rarity approached, leaving Fluttershy to the other two, “What are they talking about?”

Instantly brought back to reality by the question, Luna noticed as Spellbound and Caliber broke from their own conflict and looked to her as well, the same neutral look on both of their faces.

“Hrm, where to begin?” the princess wondered as she accepted the question, “Let us see... what do you two know about what happened at the royal palace?”

“Bits and pieces, I suppose.” Rarity answered honestly, but stalled knowing the question was meant to include Fluttershy too, “Why?”

“In that case, before I say any more, there is something I need from you first.” Luna’s tone became serious, “You two must swear utter secrecy. If still you want to help, you must promise not to share what I am about to tell you with anyone. Not your friends, not Tager, not anybody.”

The girls found themselves pause. Certainly, it would be simple enough to promise to keep a secret safe, but for Luna to be so explicit and go so far as to keep it from the others, it was only natural for them to be cautious in accepting.

“I can’t say I understand why, but okay.” Rarity spoke first, “I promise.”

“Me too, um, I guess.” Fluttershy couldn’t help but be intimidated, “I swear as well.”

“Thank you.” the princess broke the tension with a light smile, “As for the explanation, you may or may not be familiar with the name Atlas Black. He comprised one faction involved in the three-sided conflict in which Captain Caliber, and by extension we, were thankfully victorious.

“We were able to capture him alive, and since then, we have obtained some useful information.” she continued, “Most prominent of which being the location of the earth pony settlement from which Terra obtained the numbers we saw in Hordimare.”

“So, what you were talking about earlier was... was what to do about those ponies?” Fluttershy asked despite herself, “But, um, well... why aren’t we allowed to tell our friends about something like that? They’d definitely want to know...”

“We know that of course, but there’s an extra dimension to this you’re probably not getting.” Caliber answered, “Well, even as I say that, you probably already realize that what we need to do is top-secret. Just like Appleoosa. And Hordimare. And Mistmantle...”

“What the captain is trying to say, we’ve had a pretty keen eye on us so far.” Spellbound took over, “Atlas was especially adamant that some pretty nasty individuals have been making fools of us in terms of us trying to do things in secret.”

“I was sceptical at first too, but the proof’s in the pudding.” Caliber spoke again seeing the doubt cross the girls’ eyes, “We put every effort forward to make sure you lot in Appleoosa went unnoticed, but they were ready are waiting, and we barely avoided total catastrophe. Hordimare was barely any different, and they even knew to strike at Canterlot when it was weak.

“We can only hope we’ve taken the necessary measures in sending your friends back out into the world, but with what we’re planning on our end, we cannot afford for the bad guys to get wise.” he continued, “This may be our only chance to go at them directly, and we can’t mess it up.”

“You understand what that means correct?” Luna stepped forward once again, “If we have any chance of saving that settlement, and getting hold of those responsible for threatening them, we cannot misplace our trust.”

“I admit, I’m slightly lost princess.” Rarity collected herself as she tried to make sense of it all, “Wasn’t this Atlas fellow on Terra’s side? How do you know he told the truth?”

“We are a far cry from believing what he told us, for I already know he fed me as many lies as truths, and while I struggle tell which in some cases, I have determined that at the very least, he does wish to further our mutual interest.” Luna reasoned, “In any case, regardless of his true motives, he is now our trump card in the misinformation of our common enemy.”

The princess threw an affirming look to Spellbound and Caliber, both of whom looking back knowingly.

“And that is because, out of everypony in Equestria, with a certain pair of pegasi notwithstanding...” Luna lowered her voice climatically, “The only ponies who know that Atlas’ death was a lie are right here in this room.

“So, as long as we don’t know how information continues to make its way to our unseen enemies, if we want to fool them, we have to fool everybody.” “My people, my guards, my friends, and my foes... for this to work, none but a trusted few can know that Atlas Black is still alive.”

* * * *

“Now this is more like it!” Tager grinned despite herself, ducking and weaving amongst the howling wind, “I bet this wasn’t on the brochure!”

Their train having arrived at the end of the line some time ago, it had been up to the group to hoof it the rest of the way to Mistmantle. At first, it hadn’t been so bad, with the snowy weather perhaps even less severe than as it was in Lost Valley. It wasn’t until they got close to their destination that things really took a turn.

And while every other sane pony took shelter from the merciless wind up against the base of a nearby cliff face, Tager was only content up amongst it, watching with a disturbing level of satisfaction as the fresh little cut on her cheek froze red in the killer wind.

“She’s insane right?!” Twilight yelled out, trying to make her voice heard over the roaring storm, “What the heck is this anyway?!”

“She’s mad alright, but it’s this storm that’s insane!” Applejack cried out too, despite being right next to the unicorn, “It’s making Snowsickle look like paradise!”

In between the two spooked girls, Marco stood still staring forward with squinting eyes, silently regretting giving away that eye-shield to Dash. He was about to voice such reservations, but his attention was promptly redirected as he was forced to duck suddenly, reflexively tugging the nearby Twilight and Applejack down with him.

With a shrill yelp, the two of them hit the deck along with him just as the rocky cliff face behind them was raked with piercing ice. Looking back up in distress, Twilight saw those deceptively deadly things up close for once, and even then it didn’t help her to believe her eyes.

“This is nothing short of craziness!” Marco growled, following the unicorn’s frightened gaze, “I’d never be able to rest in peace if snowflakes were what killed me!”

Like evil little ninja stars, thin snowflakes as sharp as knives sat lodged in the hard stone of the cliff face, the lethal things having been sent flying by the viciously strong winds of the raging storm.

And if their deadliness wasn’t hard enough to believe, they were pretty damn persistent too. Not new to being pelted by these snowflakes at this stage, everypony’s woollen overcoats were cut in at least one or two spots by experiencing quite the number of near misses. Or in the case of the crazed Tager, more than her fair share of near hits.

“Are you okay there Torrin?!” Applejack called out to the trembling colt sheltered, literally, under her belly, “Still in one piece?”

“Yeah...” he gulped slightly, nursing a small cut on his upper front hoof, “I’m fine!”

As he nodded bravely, a rouge snowflake whistled in on Applejack, catching the hat off her head and pinning it to the wall behind them.

“Yikes!” she ducked in surprise, checking to see if her head had been cut before retrieving her hat and returning it to the familiar place, “That was a close one! Taking cover here by the cliff was smart, but it still ain’t safe enough!”

“You’re not kidding!” Twilight responded, already well aware of the danger they were in, “We’re going to need a new plan if we want to get out of here in one piece!”

“Eep!” Torrin exclaimed as he got out of the way of yet another rapidly spinning blade-like snowflake, “We really need to do something guys!”

“Let’s dig down, into the snow!” Marco proposed as he warily awaited something vicious to come his was too, “We need to get behind something, anything!

“Tager!” he roared out towards the pegasus still minding her own business out in the middle of the maelstrom, “Get the hell over here!”

“Hey, ‘sup?” Tager asked calmly as she sauntered on up, her clothing all but torn to ribbons, “Did you need something?”

Her cocky look was put on hold as her instincts flared suddenly, the pegasus quickly whipping the heavy ornament on her tail up so as to deflect an incoming snowflake that, if it had its way, would now be stuck right between Marco’s eyes.

“You know, we needa figure out a name for these friggin’ things.” she commented as if she hadn’t just saved a life, “If I have to start saying ‘look out for that snowflake’, it’s gonna get lame real quick.”

“Duly noted.” Marco matched her tone with his reply, knowing better than to call her out on her antics at a time like this, “Help us dig a hole! We’re going to hunker down!”

“It’s no good Marco!” Twilight said suddenly from behind, the unicorn holding her throbbing hoof above a small pile of upturned snow, “It’s all rock down here! We can’t go deep at all!”

“And that’s all?” Tager didn’t seem to understand the problem, “Go on then, get outta the way!”

“Huh?” Marco questioned, watching as Tager brought her wings out and lurched upwards, “What are you doing?! Are you trying to get cut up or something?!”

In hindsight, he should have recognised her intention sooner. With lightning speed, Tager fired forwards, spinning as she did so, the blur of her body more resembling a drill than a pegasi. Luckily, Twilight was also quick off the mark, teleporting her friends out of the path of destruction.

The crunch of churning stone boomed out above the sound of the raging storm as Tager gorged out a hovel in the ground beneath the thin layer of snow. The reckless pegasus shook herself like a wet dog in the centre of what she had wrought, shaking loose whatever ice, snow, and rock that had clung to her.

“I didn’t exactly take her for a problem solver!” Applejack exclaimed, her tone halfway between being surprised and being impressed, “But I guess a sledgehammer’s still good for something, even if all it can do is-”

As if to take back the spotlight, another killer snowflake whistled in on past Applejack’s unexpecting eye, reminding her, and the rest of her friends that they were far from out of danger where they currently stood.

“Never mind...” she gulped, that hole looking pretty good right now, “Let’s join her before we’re split six ways!”

“Go already!” Marco yelled, essentially punting the motionless Torrin into the hole as he himself dived, “You guys too!”

Deadly snowflakes strafing the ground around them, Applejack and Twilight didn’t need to be told twice as the two of them followed his lead, jumping into the pit for dear life right behind him.

Counting their lucky stars, the three of them stayed silent as the sound of blistering winds became muffled beyond their own little hole in the ground.

“Mm-hrm, okay... I think I got it.” Tager nodded to herself in the quiet, as if she had been mulling something over, “They’re called snowrikens!”

“Uh, what?” Marco panted, halfway acknowledging her craziness, “You mean like a shuriken? You know you just can’t mash two words together like that right? Besides, they were made of ice, not snow.”

“How... how about ‘snow stars’?” Torrin huffed, the rattled colt somewhat comforted by the pegasus’ casual approach, “You know, like ninja stars?”

“Yuck.” Tager stuck her tongue out adamantly, “That doesn’t sound dangerous at all! Not cool enough either...”

“Then just call them snow shurikens!” Marco forced a compromise, wanting to get back on track, “It doesn’t really matter anyway...”

“I think we’ve got bigger problems than naming the dang weather!” Applejack commented, being of a similar mind to Marco, “Besides, it’s not like we discovered them or anything! Ask what they’re called once we get to Mistmantle!”

“Tsk, whatever.” Tager pouted somewhat, “I’ll bet they call ‘em snowrikens too!”

“Stop it...” Marco replied, his tone deadpan, “If there’s anything we should be trying to figure out, it’s what to do about the storm, as well as getting to Mistmantle!”

“I have an idea!” Tager announced loudly and proudly, “How about we just hoof it? The snowrikens ain’t that bad.”

“Like hell!” Marco snapped back, “And don’t call them that!”

“Fine then, in that case...” Tager seemed to contemplate the situation a little more, “I have different idea.”

“That’s enough out of you!” Marco didn’t even want to hear it, “I’ll ask for you if we need something else demolished, okay?”

“Now both of you be quiet!” Twilight ordered firmly, apparently not amused, “This is a serious problem here! Who knows how long we’ll be stuck here!?”

“Umm...” Torrin’s small voice rose up in the following silence, “Twi?”

“Like, what will we do for warmth?!” she continued on, too focused on her own concerns to listen to the timid foal, “And what about food?! No, water’s much more important! Oh... how long is this storm going to last?!”

“Twilight?” Torrin tried again, “Do you-”

“Isn’t snow water?” Tager questioned the panicky Twilight mockingly, cutting the colt off, “Because I think we’re pretty much covered there...”

“Didn’t I tell you to be quiet?” Twilight hissed, “In fact, everypony be quiet! I need to think...”

The unicorn’s pressured scowl didn’t fade until she got the total silence she craved. “That’s better.” she brightened significantly, “Now I can-”

“Twilight!” Torrin spoke up for the final time, his tone irritated, “That is what I’ve been trying to tell you! Listen!”

Everypony obliged, giving their ear. But try as they might, not one of them could make anything out. Without them all squabbling, everything was dead silent.

“See?” Torrin pointed out the obvious, “It’s totally quiet out there! The storm is gone!”

He was right, and the others all felt stupid for not realizing it earlier. In fact, thinking back to when they jumped into the pit, no one of them could recall the presence of the storm outside. It was quite likely that it had passed the moment they all dove for cover.

Nopony said a word as they helped one another clamber on out of the hole. Regaining his bearings, Marco spied the storm that had struck them passing over to the next location. But while he looked back, the others were transfixed on what still lay ahead, and as he turned himself, he soon realized why they all had yet to speak.

Now that there was no storm obscuring their vision, the road that led on to the mountaintop before them was now easily visible, as was the dark shape of Mistmantle at its end. There was little cause for celebration however, for the skies above were a foreboding black, the telltale sign of further storm.

In silent unison, the group continued on with hasty steps. Whatever a storm of that magnitude was sure to bring was fast approaching, and there was no way they could handle being stuck in the middle again once it reached them. If there was even one place they would be safe, it would be inside that town’s walls. And if they wanted to beat the storm there, they didn’t exactly have time to take the scenic route...

“Looks like we’ve barely seen anything yet.” Tager was the first to speak of the group as they moved, the pegasus transfixed on the deep black clouds creeping in over the town of Mistmantle, “That’s one hell of a storm rolling in. You’ll be looking for your hero through rubble once nature’s had its way...”

“It certainly is quite a storm.” Twilight replied, “But that there is Mistmantle. It’s infamous for being hit by frequent and disastrous natural phenomena. They most definitely have the means to endure something like that.”

As the two talked, Torrin was trailing not too far behind. His little legs couldn’t carry him as far with each step, but he put forth a greater effort so as to not slow down the others.

“Then why live here?” he asked, practically out of breath, “I mean, there’s got to be an alternative right?”

In between Torrin and the rest of the group, Applejack looked back to the struggling colt. She wanted to ask the group to rest for his sake, but he had made it quite clear he didn’t want to be a burden. Instead, she slowed herself until Torrin caught up and hefted the tired colt up onto her back.

“Thanks Applejack.” he breathed, letting his limbs hang as his body drooped, “Just... give me a minute or two.”

“Don’t sweat it kiddo.” she replied tenderly, catching up with the rest of the group, “We all got things we can and can’t do.”

Tager turned her head away from the approaching storm and looked at the pair, silently disapproving of Applejack’s nurturing attitude. In a way, she was interested in seeing just how far the colt could go on his own, more so having heard him stand up to Luna earlier on.

“Like the kid said, wouldn’t most normal ponies pack up and run away if their hometown was constantly under siege?” Tager found herself wondering on what Torrin had asked, “It’s a pretty raw deal if you ask me.”

“You won’t find any normal ponies up on that peak.” Marco called out from the front, “Didn’t you listen to what Twilight said about this place?”

“Was I supposed to?” Tager shot back, glancing at the unicorn in question, “She said a lot of stuff... not much of it stuck.”

“Well, I for one think it’s very interesting.” Twilight spoke, prompted by the pegasus’ tone, “Mistmantle was the birthplace of the great Starswirl the Bearded, and today it is an entirely unicorn populated town.”

“Oh, great, unicorns.” Tager sighed, “How can those types stick to a town that’s constantly being hit by storms like that?”

“Because they have a great respect for the hometown of what would be the greatest unicorn to ever live.” Twilight continued in awe, “If the unicorns packed up and left, it’d be like leaving a legacy behind.”

“Of course it goes a bit deeper than that.” Marco saw fit to weigh in, “Generation after generation of unicorn have been brought up to succeed the duty of protecting the town from the inclement weather. If they gave up, they would be betraying the efforts of their forefathers.”

“Oh really?” Tager replied in mild amusement, “Maybe I misjudged this place after all. It’d take quite some strength to keep that fight going for so long...

“So then, how do they do it?” she continued with interest, “How do a bunch of unicorns fight off storm after storm?”

Twilight shook her head. “It’s not easy, that’s for sure.” she said, her understanding basic at best, “But to be honest, I don’t really know. If there’s time, I’d very much like to find out just how they do what they do.”

“I don’t think it’s all about magic.” Marco chipped in again, “This town is responsible for a lot of technological developments centred around whether control. I imagine that is because they develop those kind of things here to deal with their own problems.”

“Hrm, so they need tools to get it done?” Tager replied critically, “Hey, do you reckon a unicorn like that is the one you’re looking for?”

Marco stayed quiet for a few moments, but kept moving step by step through the clean snow. “Maybe, maybe not.” he finally spoke, “But I’d rather save my judgments for when we meet him-”

He cut himself off as a frigid wind literally blasted out of nowhere, rushing at them sideways with a freezing chill. Marco was forced to one knee, Twilight was knocked completely off her haunches, while Tager and Applejack managed to remain standing despite the onslaught.

“What the hay is going on?!” Applejack exclaimed, struggling to maintain a hold on Torrin, “Did the storm hit already?!”

“No, not even close.” Tager replied through clenched teeth, her more sensitive wings tightening underneath her woollen coat, “We’ve just gotten to the mountaintop. Still, this friggin’ came out of nowhere!”

“Unbelievable...” Marco breathed, “This is how it is all the time? Yet unicorns live here? Wait... do you guys see that?!”

It was hard to see through his half-closed eyes, but he could just make out the shadow of a pony take shape beyond the blurring hash of wind. But what was more surprising than there being somepony else here was the fact that the figure was advancing toward the group, seemingly unfazed by the raging squall that undoubtedly assaulted it.

As the group behind him groaned and moaned in their struggle, Marco only had eyes for the mysterious figure coming toward them. Slowly, the figures face emerged, and even more curiously, the assaulting winds abruptly ceased.

“Well would you look at that!” the figure breathed, genuinely surprised, “It’s been a while since we’ve had tourists.”

Intrigued, befuddled, and relieved all at once, Twilight just stared stupidly at the oddly timed guest. Identified as a unicorn by his currently glowing horn, and as a scientist by his fat wrap-around goggles and white lab-coat, he didn’t look like the sort to be wandering about the hazardous doorstep of Mistmantle.

“Sorry about the welcome, but you might find it rather fitting.” he said with a smile, as if not a thing were out of place, “The name’s Sunny Day, but you can just call me Sunny. And I’m the acting director of Sunny Day’s and Night’s weather observatory and factory.”

The smoothly spoken unicorn lifted his goggles off his eyes and perched them on top of his horn. “I came out here to collect some data on the incoming storm, but it seems I’ve come across something significantly more rare.” he said curiously, his eyes shifting over to Tager, “You might be the first pegasus in a hundred years to make it up here. I’m certain you’ve noticed the climate clearly warrants that troublesome ‘no-fly zone’.”

“Did you do something to the wind?” Twilight asked, her teeth chattering, “We were being pelted until you showed up...”
“Ah yes... well, It hasn’t gone anywhere.” the unicorn replied as he pointed to the group’s right, “Observe. The winds continue to rage everywhere but here.”

Marco stared up at the unicorn’s horn, suddenly understanding why it has been glowing all this time. “How do you do it?” he asked confused, “A spell? A barrier? I’ve never heard or seen anything like this...”
“Haha, this?” he replied confidently, “Well, how do I explain? Bah! Listen to me, this is hardly the place to get into that kind of thing!

“Shall we step out of the cold?” he continued, looking about himself, “Perhaps you would like come with me to the observatory? I could explain these complicated things better with a few cups of coca between us.”

“Quite the hospitable type isn’t he?” Tager commented incredulously, looking about the group for some kind of reaction, though they all seemed preoccupied with staring at the storm currently being held back.

“Well, a tourist is a rare treat after all!” the unicorn replied with gusto, “I am, well, the whole town would be happy to see that there are still some willing to brave the storm and pay a visit to our treasured peak.”

Looking back from the roaring winds that encircled them, Marco swapped a look with Torrin who was still clinging to Applejack’s hoof for dear life.

“What do you think kid?” Marco asked the colt, “To match up to what we already know, the one we’re after is bound to be a part of this town’s weather factor or whatever. If we went there, could you point him out?”

“Maybe... I mean, probably.” Torrin replied with uncertainty, “If they’re anything like Tager, I’ll be able to tell right away.”

“I don’t really get it...” Applejack admitted, shaking the colt off of her leg, “But I’m glad you’re here to make sense of this prophecy nonsense. I wonder where we’d be if you done decided to stay with the princess...”

“Looks like you lot are an interesting bunch after all.” Sunny called out, having been listening to the to-and-fro, “Though I do hate to interrupt, could you all follow me back to the town? I’m fine with doing away with the pesky wind, but it doesn’t exactly help much with the chill.”

“Alright.” Twilight said with a confident nod, “We’re headed to observatory anyway right? It can’t hurt to have a guide who can keep the winds away!”

“Very well.” Tager said in agreement, taking the first step forward, “Things are finally starting to get exciting... let’s see what this town’s got in store!”

With Sunny guiding them, it barely took any time at all for the group to reach their destination. In fact, it would have been something of a miracle for them to get there without assistance, as due to the strength of the storm, they could have been on the town’s doorstep and know no different.

But now that they were there, and within a much larger protective kind of field similar to the one Sunny had been using, the town of Mistmantle was an awe-inspiring sight. Perched atop the twisted mountain peak, it looked more like a fortress than a unicorn village. And while it was more or less true to how Twilight had once described it, actually seeing it was an entirely different matter.

Each building, without exception, was constructed from an imposing black and purple stone that looked as if it could withstand any hardship. A thick, high-reaching wall encircled the entire town, defending the ponies who lived there from the restless elements outside. As it was coated in permafrost and draped in a thin veil of pure white snow, the rich black and purple structures contrasted in such a way that the town took on a beauty that betrayed its fortified impression.

And taking pride in the centre of the town, reaching higher than any of the other ornate buildings stood the town’s prized weather observatory.

“Ah, the chief’s back!” a voice exclaimed as Sunny Day strode inside the great observatory, “And it seems he’s brought some new faces with him.”

“Could you wait here for a moment?” Sunny asked the group as he moved into the centre of the building, “Feel free to take a look around. I just need to talk with somepony for two seconds.”

As he moved, he looked about the observatory. The place was packed with about a dozen other unicorns, all of which attended some complex-looking device that beeped, clicked or spat out a continuing sheet of data.

He wound up towards the end of the room, before a similarly garbed unicorn scientist who was fiddling with some kind of console.

“How’d it go out there boss?” the unicorn asked Sunny, “Collect any data on the storm?”

“Yeah, it’ll be here sooner than we thought.” he said seriously, “The first pre-wind snuck up on me while I was out.”

“Ouch...” came the reply, “Wouldn’t that put the storm at about an hour away?”

“Never mind that.” Sunny said, quickly dismissing the question, “Tell Quicksilver that his forecast was off. He’ll need to recalculate-”

“Erm, about that...” the unicorn replied uncomfortably, “I know you said to keep him here, but he managed to slip out without us realizing.”

“What?!” Sunny asked with a tinge of anger to his voice, “What’s that idiot doing at a time like this? Forget it. I’ll go find him.”

Storming out in frustration, Sunny stopped momentarily to speak to his confused guests. “Sorry guys, the tour’s going to have to wait.” he apologised, intentionally letting his agitated air drop, “The guy who’s managing all the data on this latest storm has gone and disappeared. The catch is, his forecast was off and we can’t fix it without him, or rather, that data.”

“Sounds, uh...” Marco stalled as he tried to make sense of it, “Wait, is that bad?”

“Very.” Sunny nodded, “You see, the way we neutralise storms like this, we ‘observe’ their makeup, as in, we analyse things like air pressure, currents, humidity, blah, blah, and the hundred other factors that constitute the difference between a pleasant breeze and a hurricane. So if we have a complete analysis of a storm’s makeup, then, with some expert magic, or the right gadget, we can manipulate all those little factors and essentially ‘turn off’ things like tornados.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa... hang on a tick.” Applejack was quick to put the pieces together, “So without that data you mentioned, you can’t turn this incoming storm, err... ‘off’?”

“Precisely.” Sunny nodded again, “And that’s why I seriously have to scoot.”

“We can help.” Twilight announced, the predictable notion prompting Tager to rub at her temples in exacerbation, “I get the feeling you need it.”

“Sure, another few sets of eyes would help.” Sunny accepted, “If you didn’t overhear, this pony’s name is Quicksilver. He’s got a blue coat, and a kind of white-blue spiky mane going on. Probably wearing his goggles too, the guy never takes them off.

“But there’s no way I’m letting you lot out with your clothes the way they are.” he continued, frowning to study the torn up woollen coats barely covering the group, “Fixing ‘em up would be a drag though. Here, I’ve got an idea.”

Without warning, Sunny’s horn burned bright magic, and before anypony could wonder why, the dregs of their woollen clothing begun to glow too until they took on an entirely new appearance.

“I know this spell!” Twilight exclaimed, realizing what Sunny Day had done, “I tried my hoof at transmogrification once, and it was all I could do to turn a pebble into a hat! You must be quite strong with magic!”

“Oh, really now... you give me too much credit!” Sunny waved her off modestly, “Turning clothes into clothes isn’t anywhere near as hard as what you’re talking about. That said, they’ll turn back to normal if you try and take them off, so look out for that.”

Significantly more surprised at the sudden change than Twilight, Applejack found herself looking up. It looked like Sunny had gotten creative with his spell, having turned her tan cowboy hat into a tight beanie.

Marco had gotten a similar treatment. His trademark black hat had been turned into the same kind of beanie, though this one had ear-flaps. He was, of course, glad to have it, but was only settled by the fact his treasured heirloom would turn back to normal eventually.

“Now you lot look ready to help me hunt down that good-for-nothing Quicksilver.” Sunny nodded in satisfaction to see a better equipped party of volunteers, “And a good thing too, because time’s a wastin’, and that storm isn’t getting any further away...”

“Actually, when I offered to help, I was thinking I could do something here in the observatory.” Twilight spoke up, her actual intentions making her transformed coat somewhat less meaningful, “The others would be enough help, right?”

“Oh yeah, you can probably not tell, but Twilight here is practically the most powerful unicorn you’ve ever seen!” Applejack announced loudly and proudly, “Smart too of course! Storm or monster or whatever, I don’t reckon there’s anything-”

“Ahem, Applejack... please.” Twilight cut her friend off bashfully, “What she means is, I can do so much more here, at least that’s what I think.”

“Is that so...” Sunny cast his eyes upward as he contemplated the idea, “Okay, tell you what. Everyone who works here has to pass the same initiation test before they can even dream about playing with weather. If you can do it, I’ll let you help.”

Before the unicorn could express her confusion, it increased tenfold as Sunny Day fired up his horn and floated a most curious object over to her, dropping it into her reflexive grasp.

“What in tarnation?” Applejack couldn’t hold her tongue, “I think you done lost it there Sunny.”

The earth pony’s assessment was easily understood. And that was because Sunny Day’s supposed test was a single, small, yellow, rubber duckie.

“The test is pretty straightforward.” Sunny took quite some pleasure in their bewilderment, “If you can make the toy squeak without touching it with anything and using only your magic, you can stay here and help my scientists.

“It’s possible of course.” he continued, wrapping the toy in his own magic, levitating it upwards and squeezing it with invisible forces as if to prove it, “Go on, give it a try.”

“That’s it?” Marco asked, “That doesn’t sound too hard.”

Twilight wasn’t so sure. The yellow toy glowing purple as she lifted it in her magic, her friend’s expressions slowly shifted to confusion as her face became strained while the rubber duck stared back unabated. It quickly became apparent that whatever she was trying to do wasn’t working even a little.

“Not so easy is it?” Sunny questioned knowingly, “Come on, we need to start looking. Bring the duckie with you if you want, but it doesn’t look like you’ll be able to make him quack just yet.”

“What’s the matter Twi?” Applejack asked, “Is the toy rigged or something? How come with your level of magic you can’t squeeze one little toy?”

“That’s just it...” Twilight panted, “Squeezing something with magic... it’s just not possible. You can move things, throw things, transform things, even flat-out blow things up, but magic doesn’t use force. Even if it’s made of rubber, there’s just no way squeeze it...”

“I didn’t know magic had that kind of limitation.” Marco admitted, also having thought the test to be simple for any unicorn, much less Twilight, “How do you think he did it then?”

“You lot coming or what?” Sunny cut in, moving purposefully towards the door, “We haven’t got all day!”

“I don’t know.” Twilight answered Marco as they both made to join him, “But I intend to find out.”

“Oh no.” Marco stopped, an obvious realization dawning on him as their group gathered behind Sunny, “I knew it was too quiet.”

Perplexed, Twilight followed his gaze. Putting his words into context, it only took a moment for her to discover the source of his dismay.

“Oh no.” she echoed Marco’s reaction, “Where’s Tager?”

* * * *

“Figures.” Tager said to herself as she wandered whimsically down the frosty sidewalk, “First step in this funky new place lands those three eggheads plus applebucker into science central.

“I swear, why is it that everywhere these ponies take me there’s always some tosser carrying on and on about boring stuff that they all care about for some reason?” she continued to complain to no one as she walked, “Wish this storm would hurry up. Might brighten the place up a little.”

As she often did when she lacked direction, the pegasus ended up following her nose. And while it seemed to be drawn towards smoke and the promise of warmth, it seemed that her other desires played their role in bringing her towards her eventual destination.

“Perfect.” her tone brightened, as she let herself in without delay, “Tourist destination, numero uno.”

“Welcome.” the stallion behind the bar called as she entered, “Oh? That’s a face I haven’t seen before. Might you be a tourist?”

“Uh, something like that.” Tager replied, looking about herself as she wondered if that was actually true or not, “Anyway, I was hoping to find a place like this.”

“Lucky you then.” he said with a smile, “Mine’s the only one like it in Mistmantle, you know, since it’s so small. That’s how I knew you weren’t from here. Living here as long as I have, you get to know, well... everypony.”

“Yeah, I noticed a curious look or two on my way here.” Tager chatted, “Suppose they ain’t used to seeing a girl without a horn on her head. I remember someone sayin’ a pegasus like me hasn’t made it up here in a long time.”

“It’s refreshing to see a new face here anyway, pegasus or not.” the owner replied genuinely, casting an unseen glance over Tager’s shoulder, “What would you like?”

“I don’t suppose anything grows up here, huh?” Tager asked, though she already knew the answer, “Whatever, I don’t really care. Just bring me something, okay?”

“I know just the thing.” came the reply, “Give me a minute, I’ll go fix it.”

Skulking off through a door behind the counter, Tager was suddenly by herself in the dim room. Now alone at the bar, Tager simply sighed lazily, totally indifferent to whatever it was the others had ended up doing, or whether or not she had inconvenienced them by wandering off.

It was then she heard a quiet creak from somewhere behind her, like an old chair shifting or a worn floor groaning. Whatever it was, as the pegasus turned to determine the source, she started to wonder whether or not she really was by herself.

Sure enough, she wasn’t. In the very corner of the room, comfortable in the darker corner of the already dim room, the reflection of light bouncing off a pair of circular goggles met her stare. Though it took a whole lot more to render somepony like Tager unsettled, it was quite creepy to say the least.

“I’ve seen your face before, pegasus.” the shadowy figure said suddenly, his guarded stare unwavering, “You’re trouble. You should not be here.”

“I think you have me confused for someone else.” Tager looked away pointedly, “I’ve never been here in my life.”

“Your poster has.” his reply came quickly, regaining Tager’s absolute attention, “I’d be a fool not to recognise the face of a criminal so thoroughly advertised as yours. As I said, you’re trouble.”

“And yet I’m the one minding her own business...” she said under her breath, “I’m telling you, you’re mistaken.”

“I rarely am.” the pony in the goggles continued to press, “Though I don’t think anyone else would think twice the way you’re dressed.”

Refusing to comment further, Tager turned her attention forwards once more. This was a pain to say the least. And not just because of the persistent unicorn on her case, but in looking at him properly, she had made out the white lab coat covering the majority of his body, the spiky ice blue mane, and of course, the reflective goggles. Even with what little attention she had paid to Sunny’s description, it was enough for her to know for sure just who it was across from her. In abandoning the search from the get-go, Tager shouldn’t have expected much else than for her to be the one who found Quicksilver.

“Your secret is secured, provided you promise me one thing.” Quicksilver stood up slowly and walked a little closer, more calm than cautious, “Leave. In peace. Get out of here and don’t cause any trouble.”

As much as Tager wanted to continue ignoring him, something about what he said had her curious. “What’s your angle?” she asked, an eyebrow raised as she turned to look at him again, “I mean, unless you’re way dumber than you look, would you really just take the word of an dastardly girl like me?”

“I’m not concerned in the least about what you have and haven’t done to earn your reputation.” Quicksilver avoided her provocation well, “All I know is that my home would be safer without you in it.”

“Well, I may be wanted, but I’m a pegasus of my word.” Tager tapped at the counter idly, wondering what was taking the owner so long, “In my whole life, never once have I broken a promise.”

“That line is just as strong for the liar as it is to the honest.” Quicksilver remarked sagely, seemingly focusing his gaze, “Which would you be?”

“Neither, I suppose.” Tager said with a shrug, “Though it wasn’t a lie. I’ve never broken a promise because I’ve never made a promise.”

“I’ll take that to mean you refuse?” Quicksilver identified her true meaning, “Are you sure that’s wise? I will have you out of my town one way or another...”

“So I’m supposed to be wise now?” Tager frowned thoughtfully, “Aren’t you the one threatening an outlaw?”

“If it’s my home at risk, I’ll do what I must.” he replied evenly, “I won’t let you have your way.”

“That’s too bad.” Tager swivelled on the spot, facing the unicorn directly, “Because ‘my way’ is what I’m all about geek! You’d do well to stay out of it!”

“I suppose there really is no reasoning with the likes of you.” Quicksilver bowed his head, putting his horn forward, “Fine, have it ‘your way’.”

Just as it seemed he was about turn hostile, a rattling shriek chattered out from where he had been sitting earlier. His attention redirected, and Tager’s eyes following, Quicksilver silently and casually made his way over to his original table and rummaged around for a moment before he produced the device making the odd noise.

Tager would have no clue either way, but the object could have been anything from an alarm clock to a radar of some kind. In any case, Quicksilver pocketed the thing in his lab coat, and promptly covered the short distance between his table and the exit.

“Seems as though I didn’t have time to waste with you anyway.” he said cockily from the door, his comment only coming as he was half in and half out, “Be thankful you are not the greater of my concerns as the moment.”

With those as his parting words, Tager practically popped a vein over by the counter. Having been looked down upon so whimsically, she followed with a fury to her steps, intent on seeing their meeting through to the end that the conceited unicorn had made quite clear he desired.

“Wait up you prick!” Tager roared as rushed out the same door, essentially wrenching it from its hinges, “You ain’t getting off that easy!”

He threat falling only on the empty street, Tager looked all about herself for any sign of Quicksilver. She had been right behind him, and yet it seemed as though he was well and truly gone.

“Damn it.” she spat as her brief search turned up dry, “He’ll go pale once those guys find him and we all hook up again! You’ll freakin’ pay for looking down on-”

As Tager directed her threat skywards in a declaration-like fashion, she immediately lost her train of thought upon seeing the transformation the skies had undergone since she last looked.

And it wasn’t only the degree to which the already dark clouds had blackened, or the severity of the winds raging beyond the town’s protective shielding that forced her to pause. For, almost in the same way one spies a shooting star on the chance glance into space, Tager could have sworn she saw something in amongst the savage weather, like some sort of glowing creature swirling about inside the freezing maelstrom.

“What the...” Tager blinked a few times, already doubting what she may have seen, “What in the hell was that?”

Chapter 16: The Howling Front

From the Ashes

Chapter 16: The Howling Front

“Urgh, I can’t take it anymore!” Pinkie exclaimed, collapsing onto her back in the middle of the scorching Appleoosan desert, “It’s just too hot! I’m... I’m not gonna make it...”

Her head lolling back, the pink pony was motionless for a few moments. Having ventured carelessly out into the desert in her search for a trace of Philomena, Pinkie was essentially in the middle of nowhere, and totally exhausted on top of that. The sun continued to shine down hard on her upturned belly until a shadow was suddenly cast over her, the relief of it causing her to raise her weary head again and open her eyes.

“Let’s take a break.” the stallion standing over Pinkie said, his figure but a silhouette from her position, “Next time we see some shade, we’ll kick our hooves up and catch our breath.”

Hoisting herself up with a surge of hopeful energy, the pink pony scanned left and right, panning over the arid landscape in an urgent search for even the tiniest nook that might shelter her from what was fast becoming an overbearing heat.

“It’s no good...” she sighed, seeing nothing but rocks and cacti for miles, “There’s just no shade, Slayde!”

The unamused unicorn’s expression flattened as Pinkie Pie giggled lightly to herself, thoroughly impressed with her own wordplay. To him, what was impressive was how able she was to laugh off the fact they wasn’t any place for them to escape the heat.

“Anything will do.” Slayde replied tiredly, squinting against the sun as he too tried to find a place, “Keep looking. There’s bound to be something...”

Despite his cool tone, the unicorn was actually pretty desperate about finding some shade as well. Since his coat was a rich ashen, the amount of heat it absorbed was far above that of the pink variety.

Noticing Slayde’s visible fatigue, Pinkie Pie begun to look a little harder. She quickly noticed that the area around them had a number of pillar-like formations of tall rocks. And while their height would provide decent shade at any other time of the day, the sun was at its peak at the moment, which made them useless...

But in catching Pinkie abandon that option, Slayde’s weary brain ticked over to a solution. If they could tilt one of the stone formations so that it lent sideways, even if just a little bit, its new position would draw a shadow big enough for the two of them.

“I’ve got an idea.” he said, nodding to himself as he figured it out, “Help me out Pinkie, we’re gonna knock one of those things over a little.”

It took a moment for her to catch onto his meaning, and as she did, she found herself looking up the length of the daunting formation. And while she understood what he meant, she was a bit sketchy on how he actually intended to do it.

“Umm...” she drawled as she wondered, “You’re not gonna use magic are you? ‘Cause when I came to see you they said you shouldn’t-”

“I know, I know...” Slayde cut her off, biting his lip as he contemplated how to go about it, “But I’m out of ideas, and I’m going to melt out here unless we try something.”

“Just a little then, okay?” Pinkie Pie eyed him decisively, “The pony at the hospital said if you overdo it, you’ll be in big trouble... again.”

“Fine, only a little then.” he replied, levelling his horn, “Here goes...”

Focused on the pillar of rock, his horn glowed orange until it too became wrapped in the faintest orange glow. Beads of sweat developed on his forehead as the stone formation begun to rumble in response to his attempt to move it, but it quickly stopped, Slayde crouching woefully as it became apparent he couldn’t handle even something like this in his condition.

“Are you alright?” Pinkie asked, quickly making her way over to his side. She followed up by holding her hoof out as if to help him, but Slayde did it himself, grunting as he stood up again.

“Yeah, I’m fine...” he panted, wiping at the sweat dotting his forehead, “But it’s too much for me; my mind is still too weak. I don’t think... I don’t think I should use my magic anymore. Not for a while anyway...”

While Slayde sat there recovering, he felt a thin shadow pass over him, and in looking up, saw what appeared to be a vulture circling. He frowned to think that perhaps the creature believed it might find a meal if it hung around a little longer. And while their situation wasn’t nearly that bleak, it was beginning to feel more and more like they were in trouble with each passing minute under the intense heat.

“Then what should we do?” Pinkie asked, going back up to, and pushing strongly on the base of the stone pillar, “Maybe we can... urgh... just... oof... move it... argh... ourselves!”

“Don’t be silly.” Slayde remarked, still short of breath, “It’d take twenty ponies to get that thing to budge. So unless you’re a lot stronger than you look, we need to think of something else-”

With an ornate groan, chips of stone clattered down from the upper part of the rock formation as the whole thing seemed to shift slightly. Just as surprised as Slayde was, Pinkie brought her front hooves up before her eyes, as if to verify that she had indeed overpowered the towering object. Neither of them had noticed, considering that it only moved a fraction, but it hadn’t moved the direction Pinkie had pushed. Indeed, it had shifted in the exact opposite direction, that being toward her.

And then, as if to further their surprise, it tilted again, even more this time, and it did so while Pinkie still had her hooves up in front of her bemused face. With no apparent cause, the stone pillar continued to tilt, faster and faster, until it stopped, virtually teetering at a fifty-five degree angle.

Given the fact she hadn’t yet moved, Pinkie was totally covered by the sizeable shadow the rock formation now cast. Still bewildered, she hardly noticed the tiny fragments of rock raining down around her as the stone pillar settled into its new position.

Slayde didn’t waste much time before coming in next to Pinkie in the cool shade. “I don’t care how you did it...” he said with a sigh as he lay down there and then, “But thanks. For a minute there, it felt like I was a goner.”

Her front hooves still up, Pinkie simply let her back legs give in, collapsing into a sitting position. “It didn’t feel like I did anything...” she admitted, motioning her hooves as if recreating her pushing motion, and then wondering how the rock formation had happened to shift toward her, “Maybe your magic did something? You know... loosened it up or something.”

Next to her, Slayde sighed again. But not like earlier, this time it was strange, like the slow hiss of a balloon as it deflates. It was so weird that she looked over to the sprawled out unicorn, but as she made to question him, the realization hit her. Slayde was on her left. The sound she had heard, however, came from the right...

Pinkie’s heart all but skipped a beat to see Paragonia laying comically by her side, the black serpent sprawled on his back with his wings flat against the sand. His tiny chest heaved up and down, with a weak hiss-like coo rising every so often.

“Wowzers! You nearly spooked me right out of my skin!” Pinkie put her hoof to her chest as if to slow the heart beating inside, “You’re Paragonia aren’t you? Luna’s pet... uh, Quetza-thingy, right?”

No response. But even if he could speak a language the pony could understand, hers wasn’t a question that demanded him to answer. Pinkie Pie had been there when Luna had introduced him to the group, and while she hadn’t seen the Quetzalcoatl since, she would be at fault to have forgotten such a unique creature.

“Ohmygosh!” Pinkie blurted, several realizations striking her at once, “Weren’t you still getting looked after from, well, what happened? Are you okay?!”

In response, Paragonia planted his claws and hoisted his splayed upper-body up of the hot sand in manner not unlike a fried egg being turned over. But as an apparent master of body language, he raised a bony wing and waved it dismissively as if to indicate he was fine.

Pinkie and Slayde traded glances as the serpent’s little chest heaved as if he was catching his breath still. Neither of them decided to pay it much mind however; true to his ‘word’, he seemed okay.

“So what brings you all the way out here?” Slayde asked, rolling over onto his legs, but staying laid down, “We don’t really have anything to report back yet...”

At this, Paragonia brought his wings together, and as he drew them apart, a cunningly concealed note emerged from between his slick feathers. Holding the folded letter out at the tip of his wing like his black feathers were fingers, he offered the message to Pinkie.

“Oh yeah, I remember now...” Pinkie exclaimed as she took the note, “You were a messenger just like Philomena, except for the others!

“So this is for me then, huh?” Pinkie struggled for a second trying to unfold the message, “Thanks so much! Let’s see what it says!”

Hello Pinkie Pie. This is a message from Princess Luna.

I hope this letter has reached you in good health. Paragonia, who I believe you may remember, has been quite insistent on aiding you in your search for Philomena. I have little doubt you will find his assistance in your search to be invaluable, though I do ask you to be patient with him if need be. He has yet to fully recover from his injuries, and I expect that his flight to Appleoosa was rather taxing. In this respect, I ask that if you have anything to report back, please delay any response outside of an emergency until he is in a fitter state.

“Good thing we haven’t found anything yet then, huh?” Pinkie smiled, turning to Slayde who was reading over her shoulder, “Well, I mean... it’s not good, but, well, you know...”

The unicorn didn’t reply outside of a simple nod. There was significantly more to the letter than that, and as he had been put out of the loop for a considerable amount of time, he was determined to read on...

You may also be pleased to know that Captain Caliber is okay, and stubbornly refusing to excuse himself from current affairs despite my advice. He has asked me to remind you that if you are able to determine the fate of the two guards he sent with you and your friends, please include their status in your report. He seems quite unsettled by the lack of information regarding this matter, and also quite determined to find out if they are alright.

“That sounds like the Captain alright.” Slayde smiled in relief, Pinkie having told him all about what happened at Canterlot, “Still, you’d think he’d have more to worry about than me and Ceasler at a time like this...”

“He’s a weird guy I guess.” Pinkie replied, her eyes glued to the page, “Hold on, there’s still more...”

In regards to your friends and their progression, as I suspect you are most interested in being updated about, I am confident in writing that at the point of you reading this letter, Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s group have most likely arrived at their respective destinations. As I have not had reports of any incidents so far, it seems our efforts to stay secretive have been successful. Even so, and as much as I would like to, there is information I cannot risk reporting to you by way of this letter. By way of compensation, I leave the final part of this letter to be written by a friend who I expect you will be pleased to hear from. I wish you luck in your own endeavours.

Raw confusion melded into pleasant surprise as Pinkie’s eyes jumped to the next line. Slayde couldn’t help but brighten himself to see a wide smile slowly develop on her face.

Hello Pinkie, this is Rarity.

So sorry I missed you before you headed out again, though I must say, I am happy to hear that somepony has been sent out to tie up loose ends down at Appleoosa. And while I, of course, have absolutely no doubt that you are very capable of helping restore peace to the unfortunate townsfolk, do try to take matters, well, seriously. We all remember what the song and dance routine accomplished during our first visit.

“It wasn’t that bad!” Pinkie argued at the paper in front of her, startling the ignorant Slayde, “It worked in the end anyway! Well, sort of...”

Moving on then, I know you’re out there looking for the princess’ phoenix, but please take care of Paragonia too. He’s really quite the darling once you get to know him, and I do worry that he isn’t fit to be out and about just yet. And while I hate to echo the dear captain, I am also quite anxious to hear about what became of Mr. Ceasler and Mr. Slayde. Nopony seems to know if they are okay or not...

Oh, and if I can, allow me to assure you that I myself am fine. I dare say I am quite embarrassed to have remained in bed while the rest of you all quickly volunteered to be sent out every which way. This does conveniently lead on to the final thing I have to say, however, I apologise if I must keep it cryptic. The princess fears that conveying secrets through writing has become too risky as of late.

Even so, what I have to say to you is this. I may not be at Canterlot when you return. Nor may Fluttershy. Together, we have resolved to participate in, and undergo our own effort, much like the kind you and our friends have decided to undertake. That is all I can say really, but please do not let the secrecy worry you. I know it sounds terribly cliche, but you will understand everything before too long.

Ah, and Fluttershy says hello too. Good luck out there darling. Please stay safe.

“And that’s all there is...” Pinkie scrunched up her muzzle in thought, “Oh well! Rarity said it’s all a-okay, so there’s nothing to worry about!”

“And you’re sure about that?” Slayde took the missive from her, his eyes scanning it in its entirety, “It doesn’t concern you that those two, of all ponies, appear to be a part of some secret mission?”

“Hey now, Fluttershy and Rarity are just as capable as any of my friends!” Pinkie Pie poked Slayde in the chest accusingly, “And if they’ve decided to go and do something, then I’m all for it!”

“Even so... I can’t help but feel like whatever that something happens to be, it’s something big.” Slayde tried again and failed to pull any meaning out of the end of the letter he still held, “What’s the princess planning? What’s Caliber doing?

“And how the heck would those two ponies fit into it?”

* * * *

Far, far away from any desert, and even further from any icy mountain, the great blue sea stretched on from horizon to horizon. Parting its way through the tame sea with the whistle of wind and the flap of its sails, the patchwork ship was quiet on deck, and with good reason.

“Captain...” an ungroomed and clearly unwashed earth pony drawled from the aft, breaking the odd silence, “They’ve fallen behind again! Should we slow down?”

Getting slowly smaller in the rear view of the weathered boat was its total contrast. The massive thing was a steam-powered paddle-ship, with one great big sail and noisy wheels on either side to move it quickly through calm seas. With a bold white and blue paint job, it was the picture of official, which was undermined significantly by the fact that despite having its sails spread and its engines belching hot steam, the huge craft was failing to keep up with a ship that by comparison, was positively puny.

Hoofsteps along the battered wooden deck interrupted by a metallic thud every other step heralded the appearance of the aforementioned captain. He was a heavily muscled earth pony, and atop his scruffy brown mane sat what looked like a pilfered seadog hat. This, in addition to his left front-most iron hoof that had replaced the one he had born with, he looked like he was one eye-patch away from being the scourge of the seven seas.

Taking an authoritative stance beside his unwashed and uncaring crewmate, he squinted to see the vessel behind him struggling. “Honestly...” the towering stallion sighed, “He actually said to proceed to Canterlot at maximum speed! The fool probably never thought that hunka junk couldn’t keep up with my beauty... Ha!

“Fine, fine... let’s slow it down people.” the captain turned on the spot, waving his metal appendage commandingly, “We can’t have the Commodore getting lost now, can we?”

“Is there some kind of problem?” a bold voice questioned from behind, its owner quickly emerging from below deck, “It sounded like somepony was calling for me...”

“I didn’t hear no one asking for you, pretty boy.” the peg-legged pony grumbled, his gravelly tone more teasing than aggressive, “If anypony calls for a captain while they’re on my boat, it’s me they’re looking for.”

Taking this in stride, a pure white coated, and bold blue maned unicorn took a few slow steps forward and joined the muscular earth pony in squinting out after the massive ship shrinking in the distance.

“Sorry; a force of habit, I suppose.” the unicorn replied nonchalantly, his apology blatantly token, “And I don’t mind that you and your crew find using my title confusing, but I’ll thank you not to get imaginative with all these nicknames. Shining Armor is fine.”

“Suit yourself, squirt.” came the reply, the scruffy stallion possibly not even noticing his disregard for the royal guard captain’s wishes, “I got stuff to do up here, and you’ve got your own people to boss around below deck. So let’s let us captains do our own jobs, m’kay?”

“Just make sure the paddle-ship doesn’t lose us.” Shining Armor took a final affirming look towards the struggling ship before turning on the spot, “Don’t forget that we’re the ones leading the way back, nor that they are the ones carrying the bulk of my fellow guards.”

“Jeeze, and what’d I just say?” the grizzled stallion sighed, “Look around Shiny, I already gave the order to slow ourselves down! I can handle my own damn ship!”

With no further word from the royal guard captain as he disappeared back below deck, the unwashed and unkempt pony from earlier shambled over to his captain with an annoyed grunt, following his stare to the door that led back below deck.

“I can’t take too much more of them bossin’ us around cap’n...” he said, somewhat hushed, “How long do ya reckon it’ll be before they’re off our boat?”

“It can’t be helped, so quit your bellyaching.” the captain didn’t even look away as he spoke, “Bastards caught us with our hoof right in the cookie jar. We’d be done for in any other case.

“Let’s just be thankful they got bigger problems than us, and get ‘em to Canterlot quick fast.” he continued as he broke away from his stare, joining his crew in their preparations to slow the vessel, “If this goes the way I hope it does, they’ll be off our boat, we’ll be off their radar, and everything will be just peachy.”

* * * *

Looking into the skies above Mistmantle was like looking into another world. Ominous dark clouds swirled violently, spiralling around an ice blue core of crackling magical energy. And despite the storm brewing above, the town below was eerily quiet, out of reach of its growing ferocity. For now at least.

Looking fearful up at the spectacle, Twilight could think of no explanation and no way to make sense of the sudden change. That was, until she saw for the briefest of moments a ghostly figure seemingly galloping in amongst the chaotic storm.

“It couldn’t be...” she muttered to herself, oblivious to those around her, “Was that what I think it was?”

“Twi?” Applejack questioned, her friend possibly unaware that her voice was barely a whisper, “Did you say something just now?”

“I could’ve sworn I saw something just now, way up there in the clouds...” she elaborated, caught between her doubt and her concern, “But I really hope I’m wrong.”

“Did you wanna include us on your thought process there Twilight?” Marco asked with a sense of urgency, he and the others now copying the unicorn’s stare into the raging skies, “Because we-”

He was completely cut off before he could continue, as nothing short of a monstrous shriek echoed out, its sheer volume causing the assembled ponies to cover their ears in pain.

Sunny Day grimaced as it trailed off. He made to say something, but as if it had been summoned by that evil roar, a sudden rush of wind assailed the streets, all but knocking he and the others to the ground.

“What in tarnation is happening all of a sudden?!” Applejack cried, barely audible against the howling wind, “I know ya’ll said the weather up here’s crazy, but this ain’t right!”

By the earth pony’s hooves, Torrin literally slid slowly, his lighter body in the process of being blow away. She would have made to help the colt, but if she lifted even one of her legs off of the ground, she would be sent tumbling.

“Sunny!” Applejack fought against the wind to make her voice heard, “Do that thing you do, and stop the wind like when you helped us out before!”

Even as she spoke, the unicorn’s horn glowed softly, its occasional flickering speaking for his failure. “It’s not working!” he cried, his tone a mixture of alarm and confusion, “It’s never not worked before! I don’t understand...”

As even Sunny begun to lose his cool, Marco trudged forward against the incoming wind and put a front hoof forward to stop Torrin from slipping away any further. “We can’t stay here!” he said as loud as he could, “We need to get to shelter, now!”

As he gave the order, curiously, the wind stopped dead. As quickly as it had come, and without any apparent rhyme or reason, the raging wind was simply gone.

“What the...” Applejack was the first of them to vocalize their collective bewilderment, “What just happened?”

With no real answer to be had, she looked upward once again as if to make sense of it all. And much like as it was with Twilight, the earth pony squinted as her eyes caught something strange amidst the clouds. However, unlike Twilight, what she saw wasn’t some ghostly apparition galloping amid the storm, but something crystalline, and steadily getting larger- no, closer...

Her emerald eyes boggled as she realized. “Look out!” she cried, covering her head as if to protect it, “Something’s falling!”

Half a second later, the others didn’t need to ask what had gotten into her. Like a spear from heaven, an utterly massive and dangerously jagged shaft of ice pierced the earth only a few metres from where they stood.

“No bloody way...” Marco stuttered in shock, only one word coming to mind as he recognised the shape of the long and thin formation of ice, “Tell me that’s not what I think it is...”

No one needed to. With arcs of electricity skittering across its frozen exterior, it didn’t matter if the concept defied belief. They all knew how close they had just come to being skewered by a frozen bolt of lightning.

“Sunny...” Applejack whimpered, looking to the weather expert to make sense of this phenomenon, “What the heck is going on?!”

“I... I don’t know where to begin...” he mumbled, unable to take his eyes off of the unexplainable thing before him, “First that massive roar, and now this? It’s got to be the Howling Front... but it still doesn’t make any sense!”

“What the hell are you talking about?!” Marco demanded, the electricity trapped within the ice setting him somewhat on edge, “What’s a ‘Howling Front’, and what’s it got to do with-”

He trailed off as over Sunny’s shoulder, he saw another frozen bolt of lightning come falling down from the violent skies. But as he followed its path downwards, just when he expected it to pierce the ground just as its predecessor had done, it struck the sturdy outside of one of Mistmantle's nigh-indestructible buildings.

The result was instantaneous. With the solid structure below refusing to give an inch, it was the giant bolt of ice that shattered, causing the once contained mass of electricity to explode out from its shell in a destructive flash of light. Unfortunately, while the hardened exterior of Mistmantle architecture was amazingly unfazed by the falling ice, an explosion of pure energy from such close range was somewhat in a league of its own. As the light faded away, Marco saw with his own eyes a giant smouldering chunk taken out of the overpowered building.

He wasn’t the only one to see what happened, and he definitely wasn’t the only one to look over their shoulder at the jagged pillar of ice jutting from the earth behind them, its surface still skittering with contained energies.

The whole group broke into a full gallop, Twilight hurrying Torrin along as they escaped to what they believed a safe difference from a potential time-bomb.

With Twilight and Torrin panting heavily on either side of him, Sunny bit his lip as he gazed upward into the swirling mass of clouds, half-expecting another frozen shaft of lighting to come hurtling down onto his town.

“You were saying?” Marco said from behind him, “Do you know what’s going on or not?”

“A little from column A, a little from column B...” the unicorn said without looking away, his mannerisms quite out of place considering the situation, “I don’t know how or why it’s here now, but this has happened before. But it’s too soon! It’s not supposed to- hrm...”

Marco couldn’t help but cock his head as the scientist’s explanation melded into him trying to make sense of it all himself. It was clear that Sunny couldn’t figure much out either, but just as it seemed he might suffer to his own confusion, a wave of determination seemed to wash over him.

“Look, I don’t have time to explain it properly, but I’ve got to get back the observatory.” he begun to trot off, “If this is gonna be anything like the last one, there’s gonna be a lot more of those frozen lightning bolts raining down soon! If I get a team together we might be able to discharge them before they hit the ground... and if the wind-shield won’t work then-”

“Sunny!” Twilight called out after him, “What about Quicksilver and his data?!”

“Forget it!” Sunny yelled back, not stopping on his way back to his observatory, “Focus on finding that friend of yours! You guys need to find somewhere safe!”

“Didn’t you say you needed that data stuff to fight off the storm?!” Applejack followed her friend’s persistence, coming in next to her as she called out after him, “How else are you gonna stop it?!”

“It isn’t that kind of storm anymore!” Sunny shot a single glance back before continuing, “This is the Howling Front! It isn’t something I can stop!”

* * * *

“Damn, I lost him.” Tager growled, looking left and right down the abandoned streets, “If that loud-ass ghost monster thing hadn’t thrown a hissy-fit all of a sudden I woulda-”

Her attention quickly diverted to see yet another shaft of ice come whistling down from above and imbed itself in the very middle of the path she was walking.

“Hrm...” she pondered, staring at it with calm interest despite how close it had come to flattening her, “How come only some of them are the ones that explode? It’s friggin’ weird...”

As she was obviously unable to determine they exploded when shattered, Tager also failed to recognise her luck that this particular bolt just barely avoided the corner of a nearby building.

“It’s like lightning, but it’s also, like... frozen.” Tager approached it uncaringly, leaning in for a closer look, “I wonder what they call these things?”

Putting her muzzle just that little bit too close, a rouge surge of electricity connected, giving her a significant jolt.

“Son of a bitch!” Tager swore, clenching her teeth in pained anger as she rubbed the contact point, “Stupid, uh, electric ice... electrice? No... Freeze, hrm. Bolt? This is a tough one...”

Her wondering causing her to neglect backing up, it wasn’t long before she received a second shock, somewhat more potent than the last. In frustration, Tager did what she regularly did when anything, animate or not, struck that hidden nerve within. Retaliate.

Not one to apply rational thought or restraint in her brief moment of rage, Tager whipped her wings out and took to her new enemy with a headfirst airborne charge. Shattering the ice with ease, her moment of satisfaction was met with an unexpected white-hot flash of liberated lightning.

The area in which it had once stood now smouldering black, and with chunks of ice falling all about, there seemed to be nothing left of the pillar of ice, nor the pegasus who had effectively detonated it.

“Whew, that surprised me...” Tager exhaled from a nearby rooftop, the singed hairs at the tip of her tail signifying her close shave, “I think I’m gonna call you... ‘ice’ning. Yeah, that’s a good one.

“And now I’m bored again...” she mumbled to herself, looking about herself from her new vantage point, “Maybe I should catch up with the others? Or I could try and find that Quicksilver bastard again...”

As she took a moment to consider what to do next, another bolt of ‘icening’ came careening down from the darkened skies. And then another. And another. Through widened eyes, Tager watched as frozen shafts of lightning begun to fall like rain, each one carrying the same destructive power with which she had only just been acquainted.

It was then that she saw it. Again, parading about in the middle of the swirling clouds, looking over the volley of ice it had seemingly conjured, Tager saw in full view the monstrous shape of a chilling blue, horse-like spectre. Squinting in recognition, she watched as the creature raised its head high, and despite having no visible mouth, let loose with a hateful roar.

“A windigo, huh?” she said to herself, her ventured mind part-way familiar with the legends, “I guess this crazy storm isn’t normal after all, even for this wild part of the world...”

She would have gone on to wonder what would bring such a creature here, but real danger was closing in, and fast. If even one of those electric blasts could do such damage to the buildings around here, and if they kept coming like this, the supposedly indestructible town would be little more than a smoking crater before long.

Tager prepared her wings as the gauntlet approached. She didn’t have much choice; even if the cold wind would damage her wings, she’d be in big trouble if she stayed grounded. Her thoughts drifted to the others and their safety for a fleeting moment before her survival instincts commanded her to action.

That was until she saw the flash. Fearing that another of the lightning bolts fell without her seeing it coming, her head snapped to the direction she had come just in time to see a bold arch of electricity burst upward, snaking through the sky and tagging the falling ice on its way into the heart of the maelstrom above.

Tager didn’t have time to think about what just happened or why. Being distracted like that gave her only the minimum time to get to safety. Lurching upwards with amazing speed and agility, she weaved around the incoming ice as it fell, gaining just enough distance before the first of them shattered upon the immovable hardness of the Mistmantle rooftops.

And that was all there was to it. They just broke into harmless chunks of ice once the tough stone structures inevitably refused to budge, or otherwise simply embedded themselves into the more soft ground like some of their predecessors. More importantly however, there was no explosion, no electricity, and no more broken rooftops. Tager also quickly noticed that once the initial volley was over, there didn’t appear to be any more of them coming down from the clouds. She couldn’t figure out why there had been no more explosions nor why it had stopped all of a sudden, but she did have the common sense to realize that the light from the observatory had something to do with it.

Now that she thought about it, her current confusion was familiar. Earlier, when the windigo roared and brought that massive wind along, it had stopped all of a sudden for no apparent reason. Then, as if in response, it roared again, and sent its thunderbolts down. Now that too had stopped so abruptly, and so long as those clouds still swirled, Tager wasn’t about to fool herself into thinking that this was over.

While she wouldn’t know it, her suspicions were not far from the truth. Much like how whatever Sunny had done at the observatory saved the town from being levelled, there was a force responsible for dispelling the wind earlier as well. This force, it seemed, in taking interest in the sudden halt of lightning raining down, had emerged from his apparent hiding and now stood in full view in the centre of the street.

“I guess that even through all that other stuff, Sunny’s still good for something.” Quicksilver mumbled to himself, the eyes behind his goggles scanning the raging skies, “Other than getting on my nerves that is...”

Turning from the scene as he made to continue on his way, the stallion took no more than two steps before finding his path cut off. For, standing in front of him, wings splayed and teeth grinning, was a pegasus who he recognised for all the wrong reasons.

“Remember me?” her smile widened to know her quarry was cornered, “By my reckoning, we were still in the middle of having a little chat.”

“I remember.” Quicksilver replied quickly, ever serious, “Though I thought you would have better things to do in the midst of this chaos than follow up on something like that...”

“If you’d ever ditched a babe like me at a bar before, you’d know the last thing I’d be is reasonable.” Tager pointed out slyly, further taunting goggled stallion, “I got a bone to pick with you mister, and no windigo is about to stop me from pounding in your smug face.”

“Wait, is this because I tried to get you to leave town?” Quicksilver questioned, perhaps not even able to comprehend the concept of an irrational motive, “And what’s a windigo?”

“Like I can be arsed explaining any of this!” Tager was practically fuming at the unicorn’s attitude, “You picked a fight with me, and now you’re gonna pay!”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves now.” Quicksilver was quick to chime back in, trying to calm the pegasus by raising his front hooves, “If you’ll think back for a moment, you’ll remember that I only confronted you because I didn’t want you to cause any trouble. But as you can quite clearly see, there is trouble enough already brewing.”

“I don’t remember nothing apart from you sticking your muzzle where it didn’t belong.” Tager snarled, “And that’s cause enough for me to wanna send your scrawny ass flying!”

“Look... I’m sorry, okay?” Quicksilver tried another tactic, “I didn’t mean to disrespect you or anything like that. So let’s not get so heated up.”

“Eh?!” Tager grabbed the unicorn by the lab-coat and thrust his insolent mug forwards so that he was barely an inch from her scowling muzzle, “Well ain’t you singing a different tune now?! Did ya wanna run that by me one more time beanpole? ‘Cause I didn’t hear an ounce of sincerity in that!”

“I said that I apologise.” Quicksilver didn’t put up any resistance, not physically at least, “It was wrong of me to try and intimidate you, and I shouldn’t have tried to force you or start a fight. It’s all my fault.

“It’s just that...” he continued, apparently the type to always include a justification with their apology, “I’ve never had to try to out an outlaw before. I tried to be cool, and it didn’t work, and it made things worse... so I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t have to do anything!” Tager released her hold, “That’s gotta be one of the dumbest explanations I’ve ever heard! And if you knew the kinda shit I’ve had to listen to lately...”

“But you get it, right?” Quicksilver questioned pointedly, re-adjusting the collar of his coat, “There’s no sense in escalating this any further is there?”

“I suppose not.” the pegasus exhaled, looking the scientist up and down, then grinning mischievously, “Perhaps we can put this behind us after all...”

Four seconds later, and Quicksilver was kneeling in the snow, nursing his upper shoulder. Of any reaction he had expected of Tager, a sharp two-legged buck wasn’t high on the list. Even so, the unicorn instantly noticed that her strike hadn’t much feeling behind it, and now that it was over with, she seemed much less confrontational to feel as though their score had been settled.

“You’re something else, you know that?” Tager returned to civility now that she was finally satisfied, “I was looking forward to kicking your arrogant ass, but since you’re secretly nothing but a big idiot, beating on you would just be sad.”

“I’m not sure if we have an understanding or not...” Quicksilver remarked as he stopped rubbing his shoulder and rose, failing to see through to what the pegasus actually meant, “But at least now we can go our separate ways in peace.”

“Just one thing first...” Tager put a hoof to his chest to stop him from walking past her so easily, “You were one of those weather guys weren’t you? From the observatory place? You seem to have some idea of what’s been going on with the storm and everything, and I wanna know just what the hell this is all about.”

“What you’ve been seeing is a storm we’ve come to call the Howling Front.” Quicksilver explained, shrugging Tager’s hoof off of his chest, “For as long as this town has been here, this storm comes every ten years, like clockwork, hitting us in the middle of winter.”

“Dude, it’s autumn.” Tager shook her head, “Not that you’d think so with all the snow I’ve seen lately. Anyway, how could you not know that?”

“You didn’t let me finish.” Quicksilver shook his head too, “This place has been here for well over a thousand years. And all that time, this outrageous storm defies our knowledge, conjuring up new phenomena in some attempt to get around all the advancements we’ve made trying to stop it. Without fail, it appears over and over again, every ten years, always trying new ways to reduce this place to rubble.

“The last time it came, for instance, it threw volleys of those frozen lightning bolts at us.” Quicksilver cast his gaze downwards briefly, “As we’d never imagined anything like it before, we very nearly lost to the storm.”

“Ah, yes... the icening.” Tager nodded in mock expertise, “I thought it was over for you guys when I saw it coming. What the heck happened there anyway?”

“Most likely, Sunny and the team generated a electrical pulse with the appropriate polarity and wattage to discharge the falling, err... ‘icening’, as well as destabilize the source cloud responsible for forming them.” Quicksilver pondered, “And although that makes it sound simple enough, the real challenge would have been appropriately tuning that electrical pulse so quickly.

“And I just realized who I’m talking to.” he continued with a sigh, changing tune instantly, “You didn’t follow any of that, did you?”

“So, they stopped the icening with lightning, big whoop.” Tager rolled her eyes, “But weren’t you saying it throttled you the last time? Why so easy now?”

“It isn’t so easy.” Quicksilver shook his head, “Normally, we get ten years to analyse the phenomenon we get hit with and develop a countermeasure for next time. But when the Howling Front came last year, the lightning was only stopped through... well, extreme measures. We at the observatory knew we needed to develop a proper solution for the next time, but we never imagined the Front would return so soon. Sunny and the rest did well to have something prepared in time.”

“Your story’s full of holes, bro.” Tager pointed out, “First you say this storm comes like clockwork, every ten years, and now you’re telling me you guys went through it last year, and again this year?”

“Last winter, as a matter of fact.” Quicksilver replied unfazed, “Now it is autumn, as you quite rightly pointed out, and the storm has come again.”

“And that makes sense to you does it?” Tager raised an eyebrow, “Just what are you trying to say?”

“Whether it makes sense or not, it doesn’t change the facts.” came the reply, “Every time this storm has come, it brings with it a new method to wreak havoc upon my home. And now that Sunny and the rest have thwarted what it brought the last time, the Howling Front has its new trick to reveal before it is gone again.”

“So that’s why you’re out here while the others were wondering why you up and left the observatory?” Tager questioned, “You gonna fight back the storm’s tricks all by yourself?”

“The others didn’t believe me when I told them this was the Howling Front.” Quicksilver explained, his tone dropping, “Sunny and the rest were too sure it wouldn’t come so soon after the last one. And while they seem to have realized, it’s too late now. I was the only one preparing for this, and I’m the only one willing to do what it takes to best this storm once and for all.”

“And what would that be?” Tager found her interest piqued by the unicorn’s sudden resolve, “You gonna be the hero? Save the town all by your lonesome?”

Before she could get an answer from the stallion, the air was filled by the droning roar of the angry spectre still galloping about the raging storm above. And if Tager had learned anything so far, it was what that dreadful roar was normally followed by.

“You want my advice, get to one of those tough-looking structures and knuckle-down.” Quicksilver was already trotting away, further towards the edge of town, “I can’t give you any guarantees, but it beats standing out here, knowing you’re not going to get off easy.”

Watching him go, with his white coat flapping in the wind, Tager simply stood, trying to work the strange stallion out. At first she hadn’t found him terribly interesting, but now she saw an intriguing and awkward bundle of genius, foolishness, and apparently, bravado.

“So, one last trick up your sleeve, eh windigo?” she said to herself as she saw the climax coming, the storm above brewing for its final siege, “Sorry poindexter, but I get a feeling I’ll want a front row seat for this one.”

* * * *

“There!” Twilight thrust her hoof skyward, “There it is again! Do you see it?!”

Following her urgent gesture, the group around her stared intently at the central blue mass of the swirling storm. Then, as they started to wonder what she was on about, they all saw it. Bright blue, positively gigantic, and with intense angry eyes, the ghostly creature stirred amidst the storm in full view for a moment, before its shape was lost again within the clouds.

“Oh boy, you weren’t kidding...” Applejack breathed, “What in tarnation is that thing?!”

“I see it, but... I don’t believe it.” Marco stammered, unable to make sense of it, “A windigo? Here? It doesn’t make any sense...”

“A windigo?” Torrin repeated, “I thought they were just a myth! And aren’t they supposed to only go after places where ponies constantly fight with one another?”

“More accurately, they are attracted by hatred.” Marco corrected the colt, “The more powerful the source, the more vicious the storm they bring...”

“Then it’s like you said before, ain’t it?” Applejack questioned, referring to Marco’s initial comment, “I didn’t see nopony hating anypony when we got here, and the folks seem to get on as good as any other town, maybe even better than! But this darn storm’s lookin’ to be as vicious as vicious comes!”

“That’s not the worst part...” Twilight bit her lip slightly, “I thought that when Sunny said they couldn’t stop the storm, he meant it was because it was too strong. But if it’s a windigo behind the storm, then it’s no wonder why all their gadgets and techniques are no good!”

“I don’t get it.” Torrin confessed shyly, perhaps feeling as though he should have understood, “Why not?”

“I’m actually with the kid on this one.” Marco spoke up, apparently as confused as the colt, “What do you mean?”

“Remember when we first met Sunny, when we were stuck inside the blizzard?” Twilight explained, “Granted, she isn’t a weather pegasus like Dash, but we had Tager with us, and me with my magic. But it was only Sunny who was able to get rid of the wind...”

“Yeah, he saved our hides like it was as easy to him as breathing.” Applejack nodded in agreement, “So what?”

“And then, not long after we all went looking for Tager and Quicksilver, we heard the windigo roar and a massive wind came rushing in.” Twilight continued, “Sunny tried to stop it like he did before, but it didn’t work even a little, did it?”

“But it stopped almost as soon as it started, right?” Marco pointed out, “Who says it didn’t work?”

“Don’t you remember how he explained the way they deal with the weather they get?” Twilight questioned, the bookish unicorn obviously paying due attention when they were in the observatory, “They observe weather makeup, and then use their magic or gadgets to add or change individual elements to make it normal again. If what Sunny did worked, we would’ve seen a change right away.

“Besides, the town has a permanent weather-correction shield thingie all of its own.” she added, “It’s obvious that wasn’t working, otherwise we wouldn’t have been hit by the wind in the first place...”

“We’re getting off track a little here, ain’t we?” Applejack questioned, her interest focused more on where the conversation was initially going, “Why would Sunny be able to stop the wind we had on the way here, and not even make a dent in the one we were hit with just before?”

“Well, that’s what’s got me worried.” Twilight sighed, “Their techniques work most of the time because they’re opposing natural forces. But that windigo... it’s a magical being. The source of all this crazy weather isn’t natural, so their normal methods aren’t going to work.”

“Are you sure about that?” Marco asked pointedly, “Before Sunny ran off, he called the storm by a name, and even mentioned that it had happened before.”

“I think he said ‘Howling Front’, or something like that.” Torrin chipped in again, “Oh, and when you asked him if he still wanted us to get the data from Quicksilver, he told us it wouldn’t help. Maybe he already knows this isn’t the normal kind of storm?”

“That’s likely, but I wouldn’t imagine he, or anyone here even knows what a windigo is.” Twilight tapped her muzzle in thought, “I mean, being isolated up here, it would be strange for them to know much about Equestrian myths.”

“And Sunny even said it himself...” Applejack thought back, “They can’t stop it. Maybe it’s ‘cause they never really figured out what they were actually up against?”

“In any case, now’s not the best time to focus on semantics.” Marco rethought their priorities, “Especially if we are the only ones who know what a windigo is and believe it’s the cause of this storm, what we need to figure out now is how to help.”

“Yes, you’re right...” Twilight said with a sigh, understanding, but not wanting to abandon her questions, “It might be taking its sweet time, but this ‘Howling Front’ isn’t done yet. We need to focus on what is in front of us first.”

“So then... what?” Torrin shrugged, feeling awfully useless before the swirling mass of grey clouds, “What do we actually do?”

Prompted by his obvious question, Marco did a quick stock-take, and then frowned silently. They weren’t exactly very well equipped to tackle anything like this. Three out of four of them were earth ponies, and the one unicorn, though magically able, couldn’t even work out the rubber-duckie puzzle, much less the issue of the Howling Front.

As testament to their uselessness, Marco, Applejack, and Torrin silently stared and waited for Twilight to take the lead. Overly clueless herself, the unicorn took a deep breath, and realized they only really had one option.

“Sunny.” Twilight said what they’d all expected her to say, “The only thing we can do is find Sunny again. Even if he can’t help directly, our best bet to solving this mess is through him, or maybe even the observatory itself.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Applejack turned on the spot, now facing the direction Sunny had charged off earlier, “Let’s hop to it! We ain’t got all day!”

“Oi!” A voice called out down the street, seemingly from the direction Applejack and the others now faced, “You guys!”

“Huh, well... that was easy.” Applejack remarked, her tone surprised, yet flat, “Maybe I should take charge more often.”

In moments, the figure galloping toward them was revealed to be none other than Sunny. It was as if he had come running from the observatory, right back to where he left the others in the middle of the street.

“Wow, I didn’t expect to find you lot so fast!” he exclaimed, scanning the area for a moment, “Isn’t this where I left you before- wait, have you guys seriously just been standing here the whole time?!”

“We... uh, were just talking things through a bit.” Marco answered awkwardly, though he picked up on the unicorn’s slight distress, “Why? What’s wrong?”

“I had hoped you would’ve gone and found your friend from earlier...” Sunny trailed off, gears slowly ticking in his mind, “But I guess it can’t be helped. You lot have got to come with me!”

Unconsciously, everypony’s eyes drifted to the clouds above steadily growing darker. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what he was going to say next.

“The worst is yet to come, I’m afraid.” Sunny said grimly, “Do you know the way back to the observatory?”

“Yeah, I think so...” Marco was confused, but compliant, “Why? What are we gonna do?”

“It might not look it, but same as any structure around here, that place is built like a rock.” Sunny replied evenly, “You four are going to hunker down for this next part. I’m gonna round up that other girl and bring her back with me.”

“I wouldn’t go worrying about that one if I were you...” Applejack stepped in, although she was uncertain about how far to elaborate on Tager’s independent nature, “She can handle herself. Besides, I’m not too sure she’d want to follow you, or any of us for that matter. It’s... well, it’s hard to explain, okay?”

“I’m not sure I understand, but I suppose it’s your call.” Sunny was hesitant, but accepting, “She ought to be safe in any old building around here anyway, if worst comes to worst.”

Abruptly, Sunny’s brain sparked and kicked back into crisis mode. Now that he had been convinced that he had ‘assembled’ all those he felt responsible for, there was only one thing left to do...

“Anyway, enough about that!” he commanded, kicking up snow as he turned, “Time to follow me! Let’s get back to the observatory, it isn’t safe here!”

No arguments there. Following close behind Sunny as he led the way back, the full group, including Torrin, kept pace for the relatively short trip back to the centre of the town.

One by one, Marco and the others entered the observatory for what was now the second time. When the last of them was safe inside, two ponies on either side of the thick doors hefted them shut, and then bolted them tight for good measure.

“That ought to do it.” Sunny said with a dull kind of satisfaction, nodding to the two scientists as they scampered back off to their own business, “We should be safe now.”

“Should?” Applejack questioned, assessing the fortress-like structure around her, “I don’t think I like the sound of that...”

“Sorry, but I don’t like to make a habit of taking things as being certain...” Sunny explained as he negotiated his way around the observatory, stopping briefly to interact with various objects around the lab, “Since we never know what’s in store with the Howling Front, I can never say anything for sure.”

“So what happens now?” Marco surveyed the familiar surroundings as he watched Sunny tinker around, “What’s the plan?”

“Uh, plan?” the unicorn stopped for a moment and faced him, “The plan is to get everypony in off the streets and under one of these Mistmantle roofs. And then to wait. Oh, and also, not to die.

“So yeah, this is the plan.” Sunny continued, perhaps sensing the concerns rising in their minds, “You guys are the only ones not already on board with it, by the way. Everypony who lives here knows the drill by now.”

“But... but we saw for ourselves the kind of damage this storm can do!” Twilight spoke up urgently, “Some of those lightning bolts took chunks out of the buildings around here! They’re not safe enough!”

“They’re still the best defence we have.” Sunny argued calmly, “Remember, we have no idea what kind of weather we’re about to get. The buildings around here are fine against temperature changes, wind, blizzards... you know, that kind of thing. No, they’re not perfect, but it’s all very dependant. We might not have any problem!”

“Might?” Applejack couldn’t believe it, her voice coming out as a mixture of anger and surprise, “And that’s your plan?! You’d rather give up on stopping the storm and have everypony hiding away, not knowing if they’re safe or not?”

“Give up?” Sunny repeated, shocking the group by reflecting Applejack’s accusational tone, “Watch your mouth, before you get carried away and say something you shouldn’t!

“Don’t you understand?” Sunny’s uncharacteristically angry tone instantly evaporated as he regained himself, “This is all we can do...”

As he trailed off, an awkward silence begun to develop. In response, Applejack put a careful hoof to the scientist’s shoulder, helping to remind each other that they were on the same team.

“I didn’t mean no harm, Sunny... I, no, we just don’t wanna see things go south up here for no good reason.” she reasoned, her voice gentle, “But, answer me honestly. Is there absolutely no way to stop the Howling Front?”

“You guys have good intentions, I get it... I really do.” Sunny sighed slightly, “But I don’t know what to tell you. We’ve had lots and lots of practice with it over the last thousand-odd years, yet I only know of one time the Howling Front was pushed back.”

“And when was that?!” Twilight questioned, her hopefulness practically palpable, “Do you know how they did it?!”

“Believe it or not, it was the last time it came, which was ‘bout a year ago now.” Sunny replied, although he sounded anything but hopeful, perhaps even dejected, “And don’t ask me why it’s here again today, because until a few minutes ago, even I didn’t believe it. Dating way, way, way back, the storm came every decade during winter. It never came late, and it sure as hell never came early.”

“So... how?” Applejack returned to what she felt to be the more important part of Twilight’s question, “How did y’all beat back the storm?”

“It didn’t work, did it?” Marco asked carefully enough, suspecting where this story may be headed, “What happened?”

“The storm came as scheduled, obviously.” Sunny continued, “This scientist, he was the better of our magic users. And since his device needed a lot of power, he and it were the frontline against whatever the Howling Front had to throw at us.”

“And that was the year it rained lightning, wasn’t it?” Twilight adapted Marco’s cautious tone, “Frozen lightning even... it doesn’t sound like something the device you described could handle.”

“Well, we had backup strategies, and plans B, C, and D through to Z, but that year in particular we were getting hit hard.” Sunny sighed, “Less than a minute in, and I thought we were done for. The thousandth year of our town sitting up on this mountain showing the Howling Front what-for, and it looked like it was all gonna get wiped out.”

“That bad, huh?” Torrin wasn’t as careful with his questions, “But it looked like you dealt with it pretty easy this time. Especially when you say you would’ve normally had nine more years to come up with something...”

“I don’t feel like I’m stressing this enough.” Sunny backpedalled, “Last year was the worst we’ve ever seen, period. It wasn’t just what kind of storm we had, but how especially severe it was. Otherwise there would have been no problem...”

“Even so, you said this was the only time someone beat back the storm.” Marco sounded confused, “Just how did that happen?”

“The observatory is called Sunny Day’s and Night’s; has been ever since my pops died and I got to put my name on the sign.” Sunny replied curiously, “My dad founded it along with a fellow called White Night, which was before I was born. Sometimes I think he named me knowing it’d be my name up there next to his one day.

“Anyway...” Sunny continued, his deviation having been rather forced, “This scientist I was talking about was none other than White Night’s kid. We were childhood friends, due to our fathers hanging out so much, which made it weird when my dad passed away and then it was me and Whitey running the observatory. I was my friend’s boss and his dad’s colleague, so we kinda drifted apart.

“He was still a genius scientist though, and when that storm roared in, he was all ready to prove himself.” Sunny got back on track, “But when it all went to heck, and he was the first in line to get swallowed up by the storm, White Night jumped in and saved him at the cost of his own life. He died, sacrificed himself I guess, and that was the end of it. As quick as it had come, the storm to end all storms was gone.”

“That’s quite the story.” Applejack was the first to speak, “And, uh... ‘that’ was what stopped the storm?”

“Yep.” Sunny nodded curtly, “Well, that’s what I reckon anyway. But I ought to tell you, none of my peers agree with me. Even so, I was there... and it’s the only way I saw it that made any sense, even if it kinda didn’t make sense. Know what I mean?”

“It does make sense actually...” Twilight tapped at her muzzle thoughtfully, “A lot of sense.”

“You’re making one of those faces again Twi.” Applejack observed, easily recognising the signs of her friend’s brain at work, “What’d ya work out?”

“Think about it...” Twilight reasoned, “Even though it was the worst they’d ever had it, that time was the only one in which they stopped the storm. And as we were saying before, the reason they have such a hard time is because they’ve been trying to fight magic with science...

“Remember, windigoes are brought by hatred.” she continued, “But this White Night guy, he gave his life to protect his son. Such a powerful act of love... what if it was stronger than the hate that summoned the windigo?”

“Uh, what’s a windigo?” Sunny asked, causing everypony else’s ears to perk, “Hate? Love? Summoning? You guys do realize you’re talking crazy, right?”

“Hrm... we didn’t think you’d know.” Twilight closed her eyes in thought, “But how to explain?”

“It might be easiest to say that the ‘Howling Front’ is just another name for a windigo.” Marco was the one to answer, “And although I’ve never heard about one striking so regularly, or even more than once in the same place, this kind of phenomenon isn’t unique.

“You see, a windigo is a mythical, magical creature that brings total ruin to places ruled by hate.” he continued, giving the most basic version of the Heart’s Warming Eve tale that he could, “Legends say that the only thing that can chase them off is love.”

“Okay then...” Sunny replied, his attempts to consolidate this new information visible on his face, “Aside from that stuff about White Night and his kid, what’s a windigo have to do with any of this? We’ve been getting this storm consistently for a thousand years, and I’ll be the first to tell ya, hatred has no home here.”

“And I believe you.” Marco answered honestly, “I mean, this storm is nuts. If it was a windigo, it should be obvious just looking around why it would come to this place. And yet... I don’t see any signs, not a single thing to back up the fact such a creature has been constantly waging war on Mistmantle.”

“I know it doesn’t make a lick of sense, but there’s no doubt a windigo’s here.” Applejack stepped in, drawing a line between the stallions, “We saw the monster for ourselves. All four of us.”

Though Sunny couldn’t know what they’d seen, Marco had to hold his tongue. There was no question about what he saw, but even if there were, he would have believed the others. They could discuss it to death, but the facts remained. There was a windigo in Mistmantle.

Again, a silence developed as nopony knew how to proceed. The storm was closing in, but so long as there was any debate, they’d spend its final phase in here behind locked doors and solid walls.

“I have a question.” Torrin spoke up, his tone making it obvious that he was worried about changing the subject, “If White Night died, why is the name of the observatory still Sunny Day’s and Night’s? You said the name changed when you took over for your dad... then how come White Night’s name is still up?”

“It isn’t.” Sunny replied easily, “Like how it was in my case, Whitey’s kid took over when he died. And while nopony calls him it anymore, his name is Silver Night. No need to change the sign, you see?”

“And you said White Night’s son was also a scientist, and a strong magic user?” Torrin’s voice drifted as his thoughts wandered, “So Silver Night... he’s also known as Quicksilver, isn’t he?”

“Gold star for the little genius.” Sunny winked, “Kinda weird it would turn out to be that troublemaker, huh?”

“Yeah...” Torrin replied, only half concentrating, “Weird.”

“White Night... and Silver Night...” Twilight rolled the names around on her tongue, “A father sacrificing himself for his son. If that’s what happened, then it makes sense that last year was the only time they were ever able to get rid of the storm.”

“So you’re still saying that the town was saved by ‘love’ without them even knowing it?” Marco replied, his tone still doubtful, “But I don’t know Twilight... I still can’t accept that there’s hate enough to bring a windigo here. I mean, every ten years for a millennium? If we hadn’t seen the monster with our own eyes, would we even suspect this town was even remotely hateful?”

“I’m still not sure I accept this talk of myths and monsters, but if my word is worth anything in this discussion, then your friend’s got the right idea.” Sunny provided his input, “I mean, our town isn’t the biggest ever, so the community’s pretty tight. And to my knowledge, which, let’s face it, is kinda vast, my town hasn’t got a history of having any major quarrels.”

“I’ve gotta say, even though a lot of this stuff’s just a bit over my head, some things just don’t add up.” Applejack gulped, not wanting to stick out too much from the more intellectual back and forth, “I mean, Sunny says they’ve been getting this storm for a thousand years running. What kinda problems could be going on in this place that would make a windigo keep coming back across all those generations?”

“This may be a bit specific Sunny, but how does this town keep in touch with its history?” Marco understood what Applejack was getting at, “I mean, is it all written down somewhere?”

“Kind of...” Sunny nodded once, “I mean, we have a good grasp of what’s been going on with the storms this last thousand years because ponies thought it was prudent to keep an archive of what happened during each coming of the Howling Front for future reference.

“Of course, they only started doing that after it arrived the first time.” Sunny continued, “Naturally, the town’s been here for quite a while before that started happening, but for whatever reason, we haven’t got much of a surviving record of what it was like back in those days.”

“That’s not too surprising.” Twilight sighed, “I mean, its amazing you have a record going back even a thousand years, though it makes sense because of the weather you got. We’ve already seen our share of disappointment trying to look back any further than that...”

“It doesn’t matter to you guys anyway.” Sunny shrugged, “If we had time I could just show you, but you’re gonna have to take my word for it this time. There’s really no bad stuff in our history. If what you say about these ‘windigoes’ is correct, then they shouldn’t be here.”

“And I’m seeing some fairly compelling evidence that they are.” Marco eyed the developing storm through a nearby window, “What the hell are we missing?”

“None of this makes a lick of sense.” Applejack sighed, “A windigo shows up when there’s no hatred... for a thousand years straight no less, and then they decide to break the habit and come twice in two years? I’m still waiting to hear a reason why all of this can happen!”

“A thousand years straight, and then a sudden change...” Torrin mumbled, all but to himself, “Hatred across generations, but no bad history...

“How is it all connected?” his thoughts were strained, as if trying to force everything into place, “What are we missing to have this all make sense?”

For a few long seconds, the colt’s brow furrowed to reconcile all the scattered pieces of information. The voices of the others turned to hash in his ears as his mind wandered on, the things he’d only just heard, things he’d heard back at Canterlot, and even things he’d wrote under the spell of prophecy, all came rushing at once to the fore. Until...

“Holy crap.” Torrin swore, totally out of place and mind, “I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of that! Oh gosh... oh gosh!”

“What’s the matter kiddo?” Marco asked, somewhat alarmed by the colt’s sudden outburst, “You look like you’ve seen a ghost...”

“Twilight... does it really take a whole village hating one another to bring a windigo?” he asked, not even registering Marco’s comment, “It could be less than that right? Well... not really ‘less’, but... it would still happen if it was bad enough right?!”

“Calm down.” Twilight tried to settle the colt, his question all mixed up, “And I don’t really know for sure. I think it just has to be strong enough. It’s not the kind of thing that one, or a general group of ponies could be responsible for.”

“What in tarnation’s gotten into you kid?” Applejack demanded, confused and slightly alarmed, “I hope this ain’t some kinda joke... this here’s serious!”

“Seriously serious... I know!” Torrin responded with a shaky voice, “It all makes sense now! A thousand years! That’s why the windigo has been coming! That’s why it’s come again so soon!”

“Hang on...” Sunny stepped forward, also made curious by that last part, “What did you just say?”

“Not what I said!” Torrin twisted the unicorn’s words, “It’s what Luna said! Actually, it’s what Luna said Neptune said!”

“Uh, Neptune?” Marco repeated, that name possible the last he’d expect to hear in the explanation, “What does he have to do with windigoes?”

“Remember when Luna told us about how she asked Neptune what he did to his brother?” Torrin asked, “You know, about the seal. And where he put it?”

“Yeah, of course... but what does that-” Marco was in the middle of questioning the colt before his words suddenly froze and his jaw hung loose, the same realization now striking him, “Oh... holy crap!”

“You too now?” Applejack raised a confused eyebrow, “What’s gotten into you guys?”

“It was right in front of our faces this whole time...” Marco said, barely saying the words as he put it all together in his mind, “Mistmantle was the place they chose. The seal... Terra was sealed here!”

“What the?!” Applejack blurted, her confusion only compiled, “How the hay do you figure that?”

“It explains everything...” Torrin answered, “Neptune said he left the job to a guild of unicorns, and that they ensured it would forever remain a secret. Mistmantle is an entirely unicorn populated town, that exists in total isolation, with no surviving knowledge of its early history... and the ‘Howling Front’ has been coming for a thousand years, ever since he was locked away.”

“And then, the storm was the most intense on the thousandth year.” Marco added, “The same time he busted out. His hatred... it only makes sense that it was what kept bringing the windigo here.”

Sunny made to interject, their apparent revelation making absolutely no sense from his point of view. However, when he looked about, the looks on the faces of the others informed him that he was well and truly excluded from whatever this was...

“It... it still doesn’t make sense.” Twilight’s brow furrowed as she tried to stay neutral, “I know what you’re thinking, but... it doesn’t account for everything. Why every ten years? Also, why would it be happening again now? If Terra was responsible for it, there should be no storm. He isn’t sealed anymore.”

“I can’t figure out the ‘ten years’ part yet, but this is definitely worth investigating.” Marco’s levelled his stare at the unicorn, “As for the storm coming back so soon, it’s the very reason that the continuous cycle has been broken that tells me Terra’s seal is here, somewhere in or near Mistmantle.”

He sighed before continuing. “I can understand if it’s hard to believe...” he said softly, understanding but determined, “But even if there was only a slight chance, I think you of all ponies would support the idea of Terra being sealed here...”

This only caused Twilight’s doubtful frown to evolve even further. “And why would that be?” she asked, now more curious as to what he was thinking than to whether or not what he and Torrin had suggested was actually true.

“Because... if we’re right...” Torrin replied, sharing a look with Marco as he answered for him, “Then we’ve found Celestia.”

Chapter 17: A Change of Scenery

From the Ashes

Chapter 17: A Change of Scenery

Cuts, bruises and bandages concealed under a fresh set of armour, Caliber stared skyward, his mind lost in deep thought. For once, he was not cooped up in the royal palace, which was a nice change. As it usually did, gazing out off the edge of Canterlot and across the vast landscape below made him want to stretch his wings and fly, but unfortunately, that hope was grounded, owing to the cast and wrappings holding his injured wing to his side.

Eventually, he broke from his trance and finally paid heed to his surroundings. There was grass below his hooves, but it wasn’t the usual kind. He was still in Canterlot, waiting in a large, artificial garden park in the furthest end of the city’s bottom tier, virtually on the cliff’s edge. And he wasn’t alone. Rows upon rows of other guards cluttered the normally open clearing, most facing forward and sticking to a loose formation. Others, he noticed, occasionally ventured a cautious glance his way. These guards were the ones who had come from the deep sea, and had likely only just been brought up to speed on the latest events.

Thus, with rumours at a high, and his injuries obvious even underneath a brand new set of armour, Caliber had to wonder what kind of stories they had heard to make them stare as they did. But he didn’t mind all that much. They had all been gathered here for a reason, and getting the real story was a part of that. Even so, while he had recounted the truth of recent events enough times by now to know every detail off by heart, this time the job of briefing his fellow guards did not fall to him. But as each and every one of the armoured ponies before him were royal guards, the task of briefing them did indeed require the authority of a royal guard captain.

The assembled guards suddenly hushed and straightened as somepony took stance at the tip of their formation. They knew him all too well, which was natural. They had been at his command for as long as they had been deployed in the deep sea.

“It’s good to be back.” Shining Armor began, his voice carrying over the din effortlessly, “It feels like such a long time since we’ve been home, but I don’t think I need to tell you that it doesn’t feel as welcoming as we might remember.”

As he implied, this did appear to be a shared feeling. Caliber, still separate from the rows of guards, wandered closer as a small chatter developed in their ranks in response to what Shining Armor had said.

“I’ll be honest, the situation isn’t good.” he continued, his commanding tone not dropping despite what he was saying, “We were sent away, to deal with another country’s problems, all the while, our home was suddenly and unexpectedly thrown into turmoil.

“But things are the way they are.” he continued, his head dropping slightly, “The princess... our princess, has been stolen, and Canterlot and its people have been dealt a savage blow. We are here now, but we find the world as we know it teetering on the verge of collapse.

“We owe much to the heroics of the few who took up our duty, and I intend to see that debt paid.” his head and tone lifted as one, “Our mission is to infiltrate Meetlemarsh, liberate the town, and if possible, hold those responsible for its troubles to account.”

Shining Armor continued to speak, going more into the specifics of their mission and their strategies, but as the assembled crowd continued to hang on his words, one pony among them scanned left and right nervously, the voice of the captain fading to hash in her ears...

“Now, whos idea was this?” Rarity stammered, fancying herself a polar opposite to the armoured guards all around her, “Honestly. I shouldn’t be here...”

“Um, wasn’t it your idea?” Fluttershy mumbled, although she was of a similar mind to her friend, “I mean, you did say... back at the palace-”

“I said I wanted to help.” Rarity cut the pegasus off, “I certainly didn’t mean I intended to participate in, in... well, whatever this is.

“Why are we even here?” she continued with a hopeless sigh, “What can we possibly do? It doesn’t make any sense...”

“It should be obvious why the princess picked you three.” Caliber spoke up from her left, intruding on their whisperings, “Everypony else here, including the captain, have been away for this entire incident. What they know about Terra, the three heroes, and everything else that has become relevant these past few days, is very limited.

“You may not like it, heck, I was against it myself... but it really can’t be helped.” he continued, shaking his head, “If we want any chance to save that town and get on the offensive for a change, then we need to move as soon as possible. And like it or not, me, the princess, you, and your friends are the only ones with any real knowledge.”

“Fine... I understand.” Rarity sighed tiredly, “And since we’re the only ones available...”

“That’s right.” Caliber nodded, but then turned to something a little ways behind him, “No matter how much we kick and scream... or cry... this is the way it is.”

Fluttershy was the first to follow his gaze. As Caliber had said earlier, the princess had picked three to tag along and fill the information role, and with all the others spread over Equestria, and himself excluded, there was only one other candidate.

“Waah! I don’t wanna...” Pastel Pride sobbed, her tears flowing like torrents as she cried miserably into her own hooves, collapsed pitifully on the ground like some filly in a tantrum, “And just when things were looking up for me... I’m too young to die!”

Truly, for a mare so named, ‘pride’ seemed to be one of her non-concerns. Among the guards doing their best to look forward and avert the shameful display, only one of their rank knelt down, patting the earth pony with an armoured hoof.

“Give it up Pastel.” Spellbound poked her old friend in the side playfully as she refused to get up, “You can make a scene as much as you like, it’s not going to change a thing...”

Suddenly, the earth pony lunged off the ground and at her friend, wrapping her front hooves desperately around the unicorn’s waist and resting her head on the gold of her armour. As if her life depended upon it, her watery eyes looked up, pleading wordlessly...

“Come on Spellie!” Pastel whimpered, “You gotta help me out here! You’re the acting captain aren’t you? Please... can’t you make it so I can go home now? I’m a liability! I’ll crack under pressure! I’ve got the I-can’t-liberate-Meetlemarsh-and-stop-evil-schemes disease!”

With a thin smile and another couple of reassuring pats on the head, Spellbound hefted her friend off of her chest, forcing her into a slumped sitting position.

“Sorry.” she smiled again, “Even if I wanted to, I’m not the acting captain anymore. Caliber may not be fit enough to get back in command, but we’ve got Shining Armor now. I never even made lieutenant, remember? I’m just a normal royal guard again.”

In the distance, Caliber watched with distinct irritation as the comically distraught earth pony begun to swing back into tantrum mode as her attempts at escape were rejected again.

“Urgh... that pony.” he shook his head in frustration, “This is your area isn’t it Fluttershy? Can’t you, I don’t know... do something about her? Maybe?”

“I’ll... I can go and talk to her, if you want.” the pegasus replied, her kinder eyes more sensitive to Pastel’s plight than the unamused Caliber, “We’re all nervous. Maybe she just needs to talk to somepony?”

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s it.” Caliber’s tone was dry and sarcastic, watching neutrally as the pegasus hovered off to the mare’s aid, “You’re the expert I guess.”

His eyes shifted back to Pastel as the Fluttershy joined the scene. He only really knew of the earth pony by way of their shared relationship with Spellbound, and while that had led them to meet once or twice, what little he knew of her was by association. Regardless, he had not developed much patience for her antics. Fear, nervousness, intimidation... these were all things he could understand, possibly even relate to. But melodrama? If she was unable to take such a serious matter seriously, then perhaps she really shouldn’t be here after all.

But as Spellbound had continuously been trying to tell her, it was unavoidable. Ever since the simple librarian had been intertwined with the princesses, all her time and effort had been directed towards becoming an expert on Terra, the three heroes, and the prophecy. So, while having Caliber, Rarity and Fluttershy come along would be useful, Pastel Pride’s inclusion was absolutely essential. At least that was how Luna saw it. As for Caliber...

“Excuse me captain.” Rarity said suddenly, tearing the pegasus away from his thoughts, “A question, if I may?”

Breaking away from his stare, he dispelled his thoughts and once again faced the unicorn. “Sorry, I was somewhere else.” he apologized with a reflexive smile, knowing she had remained silent from quite a while now, “What’s up?”

“If it’s as you say, and we are here to provide our knowledge and experiences, then why wouldn’t you be the leader?” Rarity asked, not beating around the bush, “Not to discredit Twilight’s brother of course, I just think it’s a little odd he’s taking charge when he doesn’t have as good of an idea of the situation as you do.”

“I thought you might ask that.” Caliber nodded, acknowledging the thoughtful question, “And while things must seem pretty complicated from where you’re standing, the reason is really quite simple.

“Procedure.” the pegasus continued, also not keen on beating around the bush, “The main body of guards we have access to are used to Shining Armor as their leader. Also, I’m not fit for duty. Under normal circumstances, my authority would be suspended until I am judged to be of a fit state.”

“You’re here, are you not?” Rarity questioned, what he had said not sitting right with her, “And, well... I don’t mean to understate what you’ve been through as of late, but to me you seem to be getting along okay.”

“If I didn’t think I was in a condition to come along to Meetlemarsh, I would not be here.” he answered, somewhat vaguely, “I’m not so stupid or prideful to ignore my limits. This is something I can handle.”

“Then, that just makes it even more confusing.” Rarity cocked her head, trying to work her way around it, “If you’re fine, then why is Shining Armor taking your place?”

“Well, the reason I gave earlier still stands, but... ‘fit state’ refers to more than just physical integrity.” Caliber explained, his words decidedly neutral, “And as it stands, it’s a popular theory that I’m not where I need to be mentally to lead this many ponies.”

“Oh my...” Rarity was surprised, “And you’re okay with that?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that...” he replied awkwardly, not expecting that kind of question, “Let’s just say I understand, and leave it at that.”

“Well, I don’t understand.” Rarity kept up with her inquiry despite Caliber’s aversion, “You seem fine. Well, perhaps ‘normal’ is better way to put it. But what do you think? Is it fair for them to think you can’t do your job properly?

“Come to think of it, who is ‘them’ anyway?” she continued, her questions flowing into one another, “Was it Luna who decided to put Twilight’s brother in charge?”

“Come on... that’s too many questions at once.” Caliber sighed, overwhelmed by the unicorn’s assault, “It was Luna’s decision, ultimately, but she ran it by me first. And with what we aim to achieve with this latest move, she decided that objectivity would be an asset, and that I would not be able to provide it.”

“Well, I can’t say I agree with that.” Rarity pursed her lips as she tried to make sense of it all, “The merits of objectivity aside, wouldn’t the intimacy of your knowledge be the greater asset?

“If I’m not mistaken, it was for that very reason Fluttershy, myself, and that poor Pastel Pride person were made to come along.” she continued, obviously not satisfied with the reasoning, “It seems to me that the princess does indeed value the very thing you would have to offer as leader.”

Caliber, for a moment, was silent. “You know, I might have to keep my eye on you.” he said with a chuckle, genuinely surprised by the unicorn’s hidden intelligence, “But you’re missing one little thing, and now that I think about it, I guess I didn’t explain it properly.

“Earlier, I said that I was unfit for duty, and that under normal circumstances my authority as captain would be suspended.” he repeated what he had said before, “The key word there is ‘circumstances’. Forget leading the expedition, if circumstances were normal, I wouldn’t even be allowed to be here.”

“That is what I don’t understand.” Rarity replied, “How is that decided? Does the princess have the say?”

Caliber chuckled again. “Under normal circumstances.” he repeated with a smile, “Yes, the princess decides. This time, she decided to ignore procedure and keep me on as captain of the royal guard.”

“This time?” Rarity questioned, “You say that as if-”

“It’s happened before?” the pegasus finished her sentence, “It has. Not long ago in fact. After your friend Marco had his little episode, things between Celestia and I got a little heated.”

“I didn’t know about this...” Rarity was stunned, not even able to imagine it, “What happened?”

“Well, I’m happy enough to let bygones be bygones, but that whole incident got to me.” he elaborated, his tone dropping slightly, “Butting heads with that guy affected me in more ways than one. Sure, it landed me in the hospital, but the chaos he brought with him that night was infectious. I’m not ashamed to say I slipped mentally, and made it obvious to Celestia that I needed time.

“That’s the kind of thing they are worried about now.” Caliber continued, returning to his main point, “Physically, there is no question that I’m in a bad way. But this time, I’m not shaken... my mind is where it needs to be. However, as long as there’s any doubt, Shining Armor takes the stage.”

“I see.” Rarity replied rather tentatively, slowly letting it all slot into place, “I never knew that what happened that night had such repercussions for you.”

“I still haven’t decided if I should be thankful that things unfolded the way they did.” Caliber said distantly, “The potential for things to have gone wrong was so high... and look at where we are now. I really wonder how different things would be if it had happened any other way.”

That final sentence bore weight as a silence developed, both between the two and in the gardens at large. If felt strange, for the both of them, to discuss the events of that night so casually, as if it were some far off and forgotten story.

“It feels like so long ago.” Rarity spoke up, her eyes locked onto something imaginary, “Such a horrible experience, for all of us, but I am thankful that things are the way they are. Our current predicaments aside, I shudder to think what troubles we would have if that night had gone any different.”

“Hrm, you know, you might actually be quite the optimistic pony.” Caliber smiled lightly, pleased with the response, “We’re going to need that kind of spirit later on, I assure you.”

“Of course I am optimistic... how else do you imagine I would have agreed to this?” Rarity flicked her head humbly, “But as positive as I may be, I cannot help but worry sometimes, especially with so many of my friends so far away. I do hope they are alright.”

“They’re a capable bunch, as I’m sure you know.” Caliber tried to reassure the unicorn, “Times may be especially challenging at the moment, but I don’t doubt we’ll see it through.”

The scene was interrupted as, with Fluttershy and Spellbound in tow, Pastel Pride shambled limply up to the two ponies. Apparently, the pegasus’ attempt to get her to come over had been successful.

“Urgh, I’ll have what he’s having...” she droned lifelessly, as if allergic to Caliber’s optimism, “How can you guys bully us into this... I want my lawyer.”

Caliber’s lips curling as something contrary threatened to emerge, Fluttershy saw the future, and intervened just in the nick of time, confident in the headway she’d made in talking to the earth pony in the brief time she’d had.

“It certainly is scary, and frightening.” Fluttershy was staring right at the captain, dropping two massive hints as obviously as possible, “I think we all feel like that, in some way or another.”

Rarity watching as Pastel wavered, she couldn’t work out if the earth pony’s quirks were genuine or for affect. With a tense sigh, Caliber took Fluttershy’s lead and ignored Pastel and his own opinions, putting his attention back on Shining Armor.

“Why are you the only one who understands me?” Pastel Pride sniffled, the notion woefully poetic to her, “We should stick together, okay? These muscle-heads are too stubborn to realize what they’re asking from us!”

Despite Fluttershy being a stranger to her until mere moments ago, now that Pastel seemed to have somepony empathetic to lean on, one could be forgiven for thinking the two as childhood friends. This appearance was especially awkward for Spellbound, as she and Pastel actually had been friends since they were fillies. Watching as she continued to vent, all Spellbound could do was smile nervously with Caliber beside her, his irritation practically palpable.

As Rarity wondered what might result from his particularly low tolerance for the earth pony, she caught Pastel looking her way. Sensing their introduction was in order, she decided to walk up to her and Fluttershy, knowing that Caliber would be better off with a little distance.

“Let me guess, you’re our final fellow conscript.” Pastel spoke first, sizing Rarity up, her well-kept and pampered aura instantly separating her from the hardy bunch around them, “How’d they rope you into all this?”

“Oh, Fluttershy and I volunteered of course.” she nodded curtly, “My name is Rarity, by the way.”

“Fluttershy and Rarity, huh?” Pastel looked between the two, her attitude still as bleak as ever, “We’re supposed to be their ace in the hole? What the heck?”

“Truth be told, I was worried about the same thing at first.” Rarity also attempted the considerate approach, “And mind you, I was a little concerned about the coordination of all this. But as soon as I realised how needed we are, us three I mean, I decided that this was something I wanted to do.”

“Come on girls, be straight with me...” Pastel lowered her head and her tone, staring at the pair seriously, “Tell me I’m not the only one who thinks this is some total B.S.”

“You’re not the only one who thinks it’s scary...” Fluttershy tapped her front hooves together timidly, “And you’re not the only one thinking of ways to not have to do anything, and to go back to home like normal.”

“Fluttershy?” Rarity’s focus was redirected by that last part, “Are you sure you’re...”

As the unicorn trailed off, even Pastel shelved her nervous and stared at Fluttershy. She understood that pegasus was timid and everything, but the thought that she was also looking for a way out of this gave her pause. She was also right about being scared. When they had talked earlier, Fluttershy seemed to realize that complaining and making a scene was Pastel’s way of dealing with that fear. Yet...

Surrounded by armoured guards, Fluttershy raised her head slightly and closed her eyes. With a deep breath, both Rarity and Pastel were surprised to see a kind of resolve rise from within her.

“But I decided to be brave this time.” the pegasus continued, her mind flashing back to her time in the hot Appleoosan desert, “We can’t sit around and wait for it all to just blow over.”

At this, a collection of eyes drifted her way. Caliber, listening silently, now looked on, his interest piqued. Even Spellbound found her attention wander to the pegasus.

“Twilight told me... and Applejack said it too.” Fluttershy’s tone lifted, her words distant, “We all have things we can and cannot do. Right now, they’re a long way away, and they are doing things I can’t. But I’m here. And I feel like... this is something I can do.

“It’s scary... to have people depending on me.” she continued, her voice wavering ever so slightly, “And although I would really, really rather they didn’t... what I want most of all is not to let them down.”

“Very well said darling!” Rarity nuzzled her friend earnestly, “I dare say I feel exactly the same.”

“Yeah, yeah... really inspirational.” Pastel remarked flatly, “Boy, do I feel rallied. Put me on the frontlines chief, I’m ready to do my princess proud!”

“Stop it.” Spellbound intruded, correcting her friend’s behaviour with a bonk to the back of the head, “Don’t go trampling on their resolve just because you’re the only one who doesn’t think this is important.”

“Oh, I’m all for important.” Pastel swivelled, virtually jumping at the opportunity to vent some more, “Look, I’ll count it off. We’ve got... two royal guard captains, one, two, three, four... lots of royal guards, the ex-acting-captain of the royal guard, the royal herself, miss Princess Luna, with her proverbial hoof in the proverbial pie, and let’s not forget, the element of kindness, and the element of... what was it? Generosity?

“Whatever...” she continued quickly, not wanting anyone to interrupt her, “I’m just saying, yes, I do realise this important and all that. But, all the important ponies I just made a list of, account for all but one of the ponies here, and that little outlier is me. I. Do. Not. Belong. Here.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, where would you rather be?” Rarity interrupted, trying her own tactic, “What I mean is, if you didn’t have to be here, and you could have it your way, where would you be right now?”

“Ha, that’s an easy one.” Pastel’s mind was instantly transported to that fantasy, “Back at Canterlot General, night shift... getting paid overtime for just being with my library.”

Rarity’s keen technique of trying to calm and centre the earth pony seemingly successful, it was just as her imaginings begun to elate her that the reality of it came crashing down.

“Those guys were friends of yours, huh?” Pastel struggled with the idea, their contrasting personalities incompatible to her mind, “And that nonsense, as you so rightly put it, has been my life ever since they appeared in it.”

“Then you are important, are you not?” Rarity saw her chance, and smiled ever so slightly as she took it, “In fact, the way you say it, you surely realise it yourself. You are the single, greatest, most complete resource on Terra, the three heroes, and the prophecy.”

At this, Spellbound put her front hoof over her friend’s shoulder, and leant on her heavily, trapping her. “So, it’s like Fluttershy was telling us earlier.” she smiled collaboratively, “We’ve all got things we can and can’t do. And you, my dear Pastel, can be our brain and do what us dumb grunts and muscle-heads can’t.

“And in return, we’re not asking you to slap on a set of armour and storm the castle, as you seem to be afraid this entails.” Spellbound continued, tussling her friend’s mane roughly as she released her, “That’s my job. But I can only do it if you can do yours.”

This was Pastel’s final prompt, and the faces all around her reflect it. Fluttershy, Rarity, Spellbound, they all stared silently at her, and they were waiting. The ball was in her court, and so long as she had her free will, she still had the final say regardless of what everyone else was telling her.

“So, what’s it gonna be, huh?” Caliber spoke up from the front, his back to her, but his eyes looking her way for the first time, “Are you in?”

“This is stupid.” Pastel used up all the air in her body in a long, drawn-out, suspenseful sigh, “Uurrghh... this is sooo stupid. I... you... but... okay. Fine, I’ll do it... jeez.”

“That’s the flimsiest answer I can imagine, but it looks like we’re in business!” Spellbound exclaimed, slapping her friend on the back again, “I never doubted you for a second, Ms Pride.”

“I swear, you guys are so crazy... it’s infectious.” Pastel was practically limp, “If you guys get me killed, I am so gonna haunt you.”

“So, we’ve got our expert after all.” Caliber smiled for Pastel, surprising the whole bunch, “And not a moment too soon.”

As the girls begun to wonder what he meant, the body of guards surrounding them shuffled slightly, their captain now having finished their briefing. It was difficult to see through the crowd, but it looked as if there was something going on around the outside.

“Take a good look at Canterlot guys; it’s the last you’re going to be seeing of it for a while.” Caliber said, turning on the group, still smiling as if he was motivated by something, “Come to think of it, you can say goodbye to the sun as well...

“Where we’re going...” he continued ominously, “is a place where its light has never reached.”

* * * *

The skies above Mistmantle churned, still whirling with the fury of the windigo within the deep grey clouds. With a cool and analytical gaze, Quicksilver simply watched and waited for the final phase of the so-called ‘Howling Front’ to come and wreak its havoc.

As he continued to stare, he saw the bright blue spectre dart across his field of vision for the first time. Squinting behind his reflective goggles, the unicorn saw the hollow white eyes and the ghostly figure of the monster as it broke from its constant circling and shot across the sky like a shooting star, directly away from the town it was sieging.

“What are you up to?” he muttered to himself, the shock and surprise of witnessing such a creature absent from his voice, “Where are you going?”

His answer came soon enough. As the ghostly form of the windigo reached the peak of a neighbouring mountain, it hovered for a moment, before it let loose with a sharp squeal and dove down, slipping seamlessly through the snow-capped mountain-top.

A bone-chilling silence hung for but a moment, enough to make Quicksilver wonder what had just happened. In that sudden quiet however, a new sound begun to fill the air. It started low, like a deep ornate grumble, and the earth trembled slightly to match. But then it grew, and as the ground below begun to quake violently, the deafening crunch of broken rock echoed out from the mountaintop as it was split harshly and unbelievably into two.

Quicksilver, for perhaps the first time in his life, doubted his own eyes. A mountain, one that had constantly stood watch outside his home, had been vertically sundered, and its peak, even higher and lonelier than that of Mistmantle, had become two. A thousand whats, whys, and hows ricocheted inside his mind, but it quickly became apparent there was no time for answers. For, as the split between the mountain grew and its halves begun to drift apart, the tear in the earth grew, stretching further and further from the source, its jagged path advancing in a very deliberate direction.

“No...” Quicksilver’s stance wavered, his voice only a silent whimper, “That’s... that’s impossible!”

Yet, right before his widened eyes, the harsh crack extended forwards, right towards his home, the earth steadily opening up to swallow it whole. This was nothing like what he had planned for. It defied reason... it even defied belief. This wasn’t even something he could imagine, let alone solve.

Oddly enough, Quicksilver’s mind flashed back to a year ago, during the last Howling Front, to a time where he last felt this kind of helplessness. When the clouds above hurled frozen lightning like raindrops, he and Sunny thought it to be the end. But in emerging from that disaster, he had sworn to exceed that feeling, and with his father’s death to fuel his resolve, make it so that fateful storm could be conquered once more.

But with the mountain in the distance now totally divided, and the hungering crack through the earth well on the way to splitting Mistmantle, the unicorn couldn’t help but feel that grim feeling of helplessness return. Just like it did one year ago, those definitive words once again entered his mind...

“This...” he muttered, his own thoughts escaping him, “This is the end.”

Meanwhile, closer to the centre of the town, Twilight and the others were no closer to understanding the phenomenon they were faced with. Having left the observatory and now out on the open streets, they raced as fast as they could to the source of all the havoc, fighting to keep their balance as, with each reach of the vicious crack that was threatening to split Mistmantle, the earth below shook in violent bursts.

“Of all the things I imagined the storm would throw at us...” Marco grunted, his stance wide as he tried to stay upright, “This is way outside anything I expected.”

“It always is...” Sunny replied, his tone eerily unplaceable, “But even still, this is just beyond anything I’ve ever seen before. That mountain’s been there forever. And just like that...”

The earth started to shake a little bit less just as he trailed off. Applejack, perhaps the most level-headed of the bunch at the moment, broke away from her preoccupation with the terrified Torrin and looked back towards the scientist in concern.

“Sunny?” she asked cautiously, “Are you gonna be okay there?”

The unicorn was silent for a good long moment. But in realising the other eyes drifting towards him, and in recognising the fear freezing him in place, he exhaled deeply and regained himself.

“Don’t worry about me.” he replied finally, his tone significantly stronger, “But... I’m sorry. I need to ask a favour.”

“Can’t we talk about this on the move?!” Marco insisted, the tremors intensifying again, “We haven’t got much time!”

“No, we can’t.” Sunny held firm, “Because I’m going back... to the observatory I mean.”

“But we just came from there!” Torrin exclaimed, the urgency of their situation clear to his frightened mind, “What’s the point of going back and forth so much?!”

Sunny exhaled deeply again, his breath materialising in the cold air. “No matter what we do, that... that thing is gonna hit Mistmantle.” he said, his tone dropping slightly, “We can’t control that. Not me... and not you.”

“Sunny?” Applejack didn’t understand, “What are you-”

“But there are things I can still control.” the unicorn unleashed his resolve, “But to do that... I have to be back there. Which is why I need a favour.”

“I know it’s hard Sunny... but you’re not thinking straight.” Twilight approached, trying her best to be comforting despite the situation they were in, “If we want any hope of stopping this thing and saving your home, then we need to be at the source! There isn’t anything you can do if you-”

“No... you’re wrong.” Sunny cut her off, “I’ve got an idea. And it just might save my home.”

Just then, the ground below begun to shake again, more violently than before. Beside Marco, Applejack staggered, and Torrin stumbled and fell, taking a moment to lift himself back up.

“Tsk, we haven’t got enough time to convince each other we know best.” he spoke up above the rumbling, drawing a wedge between Twilight and Sunny, “Come on. We’re splitting up.”

Twilight was visibly opposed to leaving things at that, but she wasn’t ignorant to the urgency of the situation. And as Sunny appeared more adamant that ever to do things his way, there was only one thing to do.

“I can’t say I like it, but good luck.” she stepped back, “What was this favour of yours?”

“Quicksilver’s a fool, but his heart’s in the right place.” Sunny smiled, returning briefly to his normal self, “In all likelihood, he’s got the same plan as you lot, so I’d bet anything you’ll find him where you’re headed.

“He’s probably preparing to tackle this thing head on.” he shook his head slowly, “So find him for me, and don’t let him do anything stupid.”

As the quaking started to die down again, there was a brief moment of silence to be had. Twilight stared back at Sunny again, trying in vain to work him and his motivations out...

“Okay!” Marco cut through the moment, “We got it. Now let’s go! We won’t be helping anyone if we keep standing around any longer!”

Without waiting for a response, he took off, leading the charge back towards the storm, if it could still be called that. With a silent nod, Twilight turned her back and begun to follow, leaving only Applejack and Torrin still staring at the curious scientist.

“Don’t you do nothing stupid neither!” Applejack commented as she let Torrin clamber aboard her back, “If we’re helping Quicksilver for you, then that’s the promise you gotta make, you hear?”

“That’s an easy request, being the genius I am.” Sunny flashed a grin as he made to head his own way, “Okay... Understood. It’s a promise, so get going already!”

Watching as the steady shuddering of the ground did little to slow Applejack’s gallop, Sunny maintained a slight smile until she and Torrin were out of sight.

“Don’t do anything stupid, huh?” he said to himself as he picked up the pace, head right back to the observatory, “Cheeky girl. But I guess whether or not I get to keep that promise depends on whether this work or not...

“But I guess I really am grasping at straws here.” Sunny steeled himself, an aura of seriousness taking over as he increased his speed, “Okay then. May as well grasp.”

* * * *

“This some straight-up fairy tale stuff right here.” Tager muttered as she flew, observing the chaos from the skies, “He said this storm comes along a lot, but if it did stuff like this every time...

“I wonder why it’s okay to fly all of a sudden anyway?” she asked herself as she rolled unfettered through the cold air, losing her train of thought, “I mean, it’d still probably be bad if I didn’t spend all that time conditioning myself... but still. It’s gotta be to do with that windigo. All that freezing wind and whatnot is gone...”

Far above the impact of the extending crack and the shaking earth, Tager simply flew along, tracking its progress from above as she thought to herself out loud.

“Looks like it’s gonna hit Mistmantle head on.” she found herself stop, hovering in mid-air as she contemplated her own position, “It’s probably going to chew right through all those buildings... and cut the damn town in two.

“I’m sure Marco and that have gone and gotten themselves involved.” Tager continued, sighing in mock exasperation, “It sucks, but I should probably find them and see what’s going on... I wouldn’t want-”

The brash pegasus’ monologue was cut unceremoniously off as an especially audible earthly crunch echoed out from below her. She looked down to see what had caused it, and from her perfect vantage point, she saw something that caused ever her, safe up in the sky, to feel concern.

Now closer to reaching the town toward it had been extending, the vicious crack took on new life. Instead of maintaining the direct path it had followed thus far, it suddenly begun to snake, waving in and out in dramatic loops, but most shockingly of all, still headed ever onwards, on a collision course for Mistmantle.

From high above, Tager could see it all, and in her mind’s eye, could follow the pattern as it would unfold. What left her stunned however, was the intentionality of it all. To so suddenly alter its course, to so specifically head towards the town ahead of it... it was as if it was designed to do as much damage as possible.

Tager looked back to the origin of all this, staring at the twin mountain peaks that had until recently been only one. Until now, that was the fate she saw for Mistmantle. But with the way the earth was tearing itself apart, Tager wasn’t worried about the mountaintop splitting anymore. If that crack continued its current path, Mistmantle would shatter. There wouldn’t be anything left.

“Shit.” the pegasus spat, zipping back towards the town as fast as she could, no longer content sitting on the sidelines, “This isn’t good. Those guys better be alright.”

Unopposed by any kind of wind, Tager was free to make a direct route right back to the town. Doing so was a strange sensation, for it would normally be an impossible thing to do, and it was likely that she may in fact be the only pony to have ever flown here freely. As she thought about it more, she realized that the rarity of something like this would only really be appreciated by a fellow pegasus. For her new and flightless companions, it would akin to the ocean suddenly drying up and allowing them to walk freely on the seafloor.

With greater concerns on her mind, and now close to her destination, Tager had little time to continue to contemplate such things. Scanning the outside of the town, she couldn’t make anything out against the deep dark purple of the surrounding walls. It was safe for her to assume that her group must then still be inside the town, unless they had decided to flee, which would put them back on the path they took to get here; a road that just so happened to be on the opposite side of the town to this one.

“Hrm, this might not be so easy.” Tager furrowed her brow, not knowing enough about the others to accurately guess their movements, “They didn’t seem like the type to run away, but... this is a windigo we’re talking about here.”

Hovering on the spot with one hoof to her muzzle, Tager tried to think it through a little more. She could rule out the possibility of them staying in the town and taking shelter. The townsfolk may have been doing just that, but she knew that was because they had been through the same drill many times before. She didn’t believe that the others would follow suit, not without knowing what they were up against first. Thus, to Tager’s mind, there were really only two other options left.

“Run away from an foe you can’t escape, or fight an enemy you cannot beat.” she pondered, tapping her muzzle thoughtfully, “I guess it boils down to what kind of stupid they are.”

The pegasus sighed heavily, as if exhausted. Ever impatient, Tager quickly gave up on thinking it through anymore, and instead settled on taking some kind of action.

“Whatever...” she shook her head to herself, “So long as I can fly, I’ll check the other side of town, just in case. Otherwise... it isn’t a big place. They’ll probably see me first if I make a few passes over-”

Tager found herself stop mid-sentence. As she got closer to the edge of town in her attempt to pass overhead and on to the opposite side, she finally spied a lone figure, standing alone just outside the entrance to the town, his back to the wall and his eyes toward the incoming chaos.

As she looked a little closer however, she realised those weren’t eyes at all. Recognising those wrap-around goggles, she figured out pretty quickly who it was she was looking at. Her intrigue getting the better of her, she diverted from her path, and in the space of a few seconds, landed on the far side of the entrance.

If Quicksilver recognised her too, it didn’t show. His stare didn’t waver as Tager casually walked towards him. She came in beside the unicorn, but interestingly enough, it was him who spoke first.

“When I saw you flying earlier, I assumed you were doing the sensible thing and escaping this place.” he said, still not looking away, “Though I suppose I’ve asked you to leave this town once already, now it’s for an entirely different reason. So long as the storm isn’t stopping you from taking wing, you should take the chance and get away from here.”

“Sorry, but that’s not my style.” Tager teased, “Either way, you don’t need to worry poor little me. Earthquake or whatever, it’s not exactly a threat to a pegasus, or anything else that can just watch from above as everything gets trashed.”

“You have a point.” Quicksilver accepted her response, “So what then? Are you just here to observe?”

“Hrm... more or less.” the pegasus actually considered her answer for a moment, “But maybe waiting is a better word. What about you, huh? You don’t exactly look like you’re in a hurry to get out of here either...”

“I suppose I’m waiting too.” Quicksilver’s stare forward intensified somewhat, “But I doubt it’s for the same thing as you.”

Staring idly at the motionless unicorn, she followed his gaze, despite already knowing full well what he was so transfixed on. Seeing the effects of the sundered earth approaching, and with the big event only minutes away, it didn’t take a genius for her to figure out what he meant.

“Hopeless as it is, you didn’t strike me as the kinda guy with a deathwish.” Tager sighed, determining her next move, “If you wanna go ahead and get yourself killed, then that’s your business, but I’m gonna go find some friends of mine, and I suggest you come-”

“You assume too much.” Quicksilver finally looked her way, his voice tellingly deprived of fear or hopelessness, “You said you were here to observe, did you not?”

Slowly and deliberately, the unicorn once again looked out towards the destruction. Surprised, Tager watched as his expression became filled with determination.

“Then observe...” he said, a strong resolve shining through, “The moment that I finally defeat this storm... this plague... and free my home and my people from this damn curse... will soon be upon us.”

* * * *

Rarity held her breath, trapped in a world of black. She felt her body sinking slowly, unable to move through the thick, viscous substance around her. And the heat... it surrounded her on all sides, and despite everything else, the temperature was close to unbearable.

Just as she began to feel the need to breathe tugging at her consciousness, she felt something strong grip at her front hoof. It instantly begun to pull, and within moments, she was free of the hot darkness and once again free to breath deep the stale air.

“Welcome to Meetlemarsh.” Caliber said with a pained grin, hefting the unicorn out of the muddy bog in a single, full-bodied motion, “Are you okay?”

Understandably, Rarity took a moment to catch her breath. She looked back to what had swallowed her up, the ugly brown pool of mud gurgling and swaying as if it were a living, breathing thing. Then, perhaps with even more woe, she looked to her own soiled coat, the pure white now hidden under a coat of drying mud.

“I’m fine.” she said, finally taking a deep breath, “Thank you. What... what was that stuff?”

“You’ve just had yourself an encounter with one of Meetlemarsh’s famous volcanic mud pits.” Spellbound said from afar, a mud-encrusted Pastel Pride secured on her back, “Heat from underground keeps them from solidifying... so you need to be careful not to fall in. It’s like quicksand.”

“Ergh...” Rarity moaned, feebly trying to scrape the mud away, “Thank you for the warning... but I could have done with it some time sooner.”

Seeing the unicorn’s disgust as she continued to try and shake free of the thick mud, Spellbound set aside the traumatised Pastel Pride and moved closer. “You know, I’ve heard this mud does wonders for your complexion.” she mentioned, peering at the gurgling pit in question, “Apparently the volcanic veins that keep them hot also make them rich in minerals. Some ponies travel the world over to get their hooves on this stuff.”

“You don’t say?” Rarity held a mud-slathered hoof before her eyes, the change in her tone instantly recognisable, “I wonder why I’ve never heard of it...”

Suddenly, Shining Armor appeared from behind, standing tall on a thick root with a concerned-looking Fluttershy hovering beside him.

“I wouldn’t take things so lightly if I were you, girls.” he warned, looking more to Spellbound than Rarity, “These mud pits can be extremely dangerous... and they are only one element of this hostile environment.”

“Sorry Captain.” Spellbound bowed her head apologetically, “We’ll be more careful.”

As he accepted this and turned to leave, Rarity made to ask what he meant by ‘hostile environment’. But as she opened her mouth to speak, Pastel Pride stole the spotlight with a sudden yelp, the so-far silent pony taking in the scene around her with dread.

“What the heck is this place?” she muttered in shock, whatever expectations she had for this place seemingly betrayed, “What kinda swamp is this?”

Her surprise could be easily forgiven. Truthfully, Rarity had yet to stop and appreciate her surroundings, and now that she followed the earth pony’s stare, she too found Shining Armor’s warnings to be well timed.

They were surrounded by thick trees, yet not one had any leaves to speak of. Above that, the bark that covered them was black and hard. The ground was dotted with gurgling pots of viscous mud, and the path between them was hardly trodden. At first the ground appeared to be covered in a dry brown grass, but on closer inspection, it appeared to be a kind of moss. Also, occasionally the earth bore harsh cracks and small gorges, as well as oddly shaped formations of pale rock. Finally, there was the most ominous thing of all. As foreshadowed by Caliber back in Canterlot, the skies above were dominated by blackened clouds, making night and day indistinguishable. True to Pastel’s disbelief, if this was supposed to be a marsh, Rarity wasn’t seeing it.

“The lava flows that keep the mud pits from solidifying branch out underground in all directions.” Caliber spoke up, sensing the unicorn’s questions, “Wherever there’s a pool of mud, you know that’s a spot where the volcanic veins are close to the surface. They are dangerous though, because the flows are unpredictable. If you’re unlucky, any one of these pits can be as hot as magma.”

“That explains the trees.” Fluttershy spoke up, “They can stay alive even this close to such a strong heat source... but anything growing on them is impossible.”

“Why are we only hearing about this now?!” Pastel growled from below, still mostly covered in drying mud, “Two of us have already fallen in! We could have died!”

“You were warned not to wander off.” Caliber replied impatiently, “And if you had listened to the captain instead of throwing a fit earlier, you would have known about these kinds of dangers already.”

“Well, excuse me for not expecting to fall into a potentially magma-hot vat of mud the first time I take two independent steps in this wasteland!” the earth pony retorted, “I’m just a librarian, remember? You guys need to take better care of me!”

“Okay, that’s enough of that.” Spellbound intervened, taking her friend away from the scene, sitting her down and helping her get the mud out of her coat, “You won’t get very far trying to stir up the capt- uh, Caliber. So why don’t you stay close to me from now on, hrm? I’ll protect you.”

“Okay...” Pastel hung her head slowly, “That sounds good. Just like old times, right?”

“We’re not kids anymore, but sure.” Spellbound smiled confidently, memories of their childhood flashing in her mind, “You did a brave thing you know? Stepping into my world. You’ll be back to your library before you know it.”

“I miss it already...” the earth pony sighed, but then stood, “If this is the outside world that everyone keeps going on about, I don’t think I ever wanna leave again.”

“Cheer up.” Spellbound commanded, looking over her shoulder to see Caliber and Shining Armor talking to one another, “Now, sit yourself down here. The big boys are talking, and I don’t want to miss out on what they’re saying.

“Fluttershy, Rarity!” she continued, calling out to the two, “Could you two come over here? I’d rather have you girls stay together for the time being.”

“I’m sure that’s it...” Pastel droned sourly, seeing through her old friend’s intentions with ease, “I’ll just get into trouble on my own, huh? And right after you said to stick with you...”

“It can’t be helped.” Spellbound shrugged casually as she trotted off, “Stay where I can see you, okay?”

By way of reply, Pastel simply looked about her own seated self, as if to affirm that she wasn’t about to go anywhere. With a dreary sigh, she let her posture slump and lent her cheek against her front hoof, forming the very image of irritation.

All but ignoring the immature antics of her old friend, Spellbound approached Caliber and Shining Armor, the two standing tall up on the higher ground. Instantly she could guess at the topic of their discussion, and Caliber did not look impressed.

“They came through here long before us.” the pegasus was in the middle of saying, “And they have all the available information on the town and the situation. It’s very unlikely they have been spotted, or have run into any issues. It should only be a matter of time before they are back.”

“Time, however, is not on our side.” Shining Armor retorted, “Your confidence in the scouts aside, they are late. I think we should move in as soon as possible. Hopefully, we may rejoin with the scouts on the way if they really haven’t run into any issues.”

“We shouldn’t risk moving closer to the town with so many of us.” Caliber replied seriously, “We need the scouts to return to determine an effective way to do this.”

“From what I’ve been told of the enemy so far, the possibility of a trap is not out of the question.” Shining Armor thought out loud, “And the scouts are late for some reason. If they have gotten into trouble, holding here is pointless.”

“That would only make moving forward more dangerous.” Caliber objected, “And this time, there should be no way for them to know we are coming. The scouts will be back soon. I’m sure of it.”

“The princess was clear that time is one of the more important factors here.” Shining Armor reasoned, “If it weren’t, we would have travelled here on our own means, and not have risked sending in a unit to teleport us in the first place.”

“What do you mean by risk?!” Pastel Pride’s voice echoed in the distance, “You told me it was safe!”

“Never mind that.” Spellbound covered up her friend’s cries with purpose, “Captain, I know what Luna said, but Caliber’s right. Rushing it will cause problems.”

“I understand, and I agree that we must be cautious.” Shining Armor nodded ever so slightly, “But this is already a compromise. Risk or no risk, we cannot afford to delay much longer.”

“Let me link up with the recon group then.” Caliber offered, not satisfied with the captain’s judgement, “If there’s a reason for the wait, or something to report-”

“No, not while you can’t fly.” Shining Armor cut him off, “We will hold here for ten more minutes. If they take longer than that, then we will just have to make do without them.”

Caliber bit his lip at first, but then nodded firmly. “Okay.” he conceded, “That should be long enough. I’ll go and spread the word.”

And with that, the pegasus was away. Spellbound and Shining Armor watched him go, both of them occupied with their own thoughts. Now standing alone together, it was only a matter of time before they broke from their respective trances and met eyes.

“You’re lieutenant Spellbound, aren’t you?” Shining Armor asked almost immediately, “The one who took over for Caliber as the acting captain after he was injured?”

“Ah, I’m not a lieutenant, but the rest of that is right.” Spellbound replied quickly, snapping into a salute on reflex, “I’m just a royal guard sir.”

“Is that so?” Shining Armor replied, genuinely surprised, “Sorry, I just assumed. I was told you did an outstanding job, especially given the circumstances.”

“Really?” Spellbound’s formal air broke at that last part, “Where’d you hear that?”

“Well, from the princess of course.” Shining Armor replied, “As for being a lieutenant, that must have been a simple rumour among the other guards. I guess they must have made their own assumptions as well.

“In any case, don’t go too far.” he continued, “I would value your input as much as Caliber’s. Ranks aside, your experience will prove useful.”

“O-okay...” she trailed off, not expecting the discussion to go that way, “Happy to help.”

With an optimistic nod, Shining Armor was on his way. Spellbound stood still for a moment, unsure of what to do with herself. She spied Caliber talking with a small group of guards off to her left, and behind her was the grumbling Pastel Pride, with Fluttershy beside her, the kind pegasus helping to remove the last dregs of the now-dry mud clinging to her coat.

“Excuse me Spellbound...” Rarity snuck up on her from the right, “Do you have a moment?”

“O-oh, Rarity... you surprised me.” the unicorn stammered, taken off guard, “Anything wrong?”

“That... hrm, that remains to be seen.” Rarity struggled to find the right words, venturing a not so subtle look around, “Do you mind if I ask what all that was about?”

“Before we had that gathering at Canterlot, two teams were sent here in advance.” she explained as simply as she could, “One group was Shining Armor’s unicorns, and it was their job to use their magic to bring the lot of us here. The other group was some of Caliber’s pegasi, and it was their job to scout out the town we’re heading towards, and report back.

“But they haven’t come back yet, and they should have.” Spellbound continued, “That’s what we were arguing about. Caliber thinks if we wait longer, they will come back on their own, but the captain wants to move ahead as soon as possible.”

“Oh dear.” Rarity sighed, understanding the dilemma, “How about you? Do you have a stance on this?”

“Naturally, they both have a point...” Spellbound also sighed, “Going in blind won’t do us any favours, but I don’t share Caliber’s faith in the scouts. With what happened to you and your friends in Appleoosa, our people at Canterlot, and the others in Hordimare, It’d be foolish to just assume that things will go to plan.

“That said, we’ve taken every precaution about keeping ‘you-know-who’ totally secret.” Spellbound continued, hinting not-so-subtly at how Atlas Black had been intentionally pronounced dead, “And Shining Armor made a fair decision in the end.”

“Perhaps this is all a little beyond me after all.” Rarity replied, looking about herself as she felt increasingly unqualified to comment on what had been said, “No doubt it’s a hassle having me sticking my nose into your business-”

“No, it does help to sort out my own thoughts.” Spellbound waved her off casually enough, but then rounded back on her, “Even so, is there any particular reason why you’re so curious?”

“Well, it does involve me and my friends, no?” Rarity feigned innocence, if only briefly, “However... well, let’s just say that following my little talk with Mr. Caliber back at Canterlot, I’m just a little concerned about him. That’s all.”

Unconsciously, the both of them looked his way, the pegasus in question now standing alone and looking into the distance as if awaiting the return of the scouts.

“I can only imagine that the circumstances are rather tough on him.” Rarity continued, “He’s been through quite the ordeal, and even that is putting it lightly. And now with Twilight’s brother in command... I just worry is all.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic...” Spellbound almost chuckled, shattering the serious atmosphere, “This is just the business of running the guard. Caliber and Shining Armor are good friends, and have worked together for a while. They each have a good idea of how the other thinks, so even when they disagree they can still be considerate.”

“Hrm... I had heard that they were close...” Rarity replied, humming doubtfully, “But I still can’t say I’m satisfied that Shining Armor is in charge of everything, even if Caliber doesn’t seem to care.”

This time it was Spellbound who found herself hum. “Well, that may not be the case.” she said tentatively, quickly contrasting her previous attitude, “Between being in a rough patch already, and now getting roadblocked by the leadership... I hope he’ll be alright.”

“Oh?” Rarity changed tune to hear the unicorn waver, “What makes you say that?”

“Because...” she sighed, looking over Rarity’s shoulder, “His ten minutes are almost up.”

The following moments passed by in silence. As Caliber’s time was done, Spellbound and Rarity stared quietly at the still Shining Armor. He of course knew that he had already waited as long as he had agreed to, but as the seconds continued to tick by, he didn’t give the order. Seeing Caliber still staring intently off into the distance, he finally sighed heavily, but just as he made to raise his voice and order the guards into formation, an unexpected shout stopped him in his tracks.

“We’ve got movement!” one of his unicorn guards exclaimed from his left, “Dead ahead... it looks like the recon squad, sir!”

A restrained murmur emerging from the surrounding guards, Shining Armor followed their gaze to see the silhouettes of half a dozen pegasi trotting his way with heavy encumbered steps.

Relieved, Caliber and Shining Armor both stepped forward to greet them, followed by Spellbound and an odd number of the nearby guards. As the groups joined, the small squad of pegasi ground to a halt, panting heavily in total exhaustion.

“Take a moment.” Shining Armor said, understanding the situation, “When you’re ready... start from the beginning.”

Caliber, mouth open and ready to question his scouts, found himself pause. Here he was, ready to interrogate them about being late and what they’d discovered, yet it was Shining Armor who could sense the serious atmosphere. Now that he took a moment, Caliber believed he could see it too. His pegasi looked to one another in breathless silence, as if urging one another to be the one to speak up.

“C...captain.” one of them spoke up bravely, his speech broken by heavy breathing, “We... we may have a problem...”

* * * *

“We haven’t got long!” Marco’s voice was strained as they ran, the group now nearing the edge of town, “But what are we going to do when we get there? I don’t have any ideas...”

“We need to figure out what we’re really dealing with first.” Twilight replied, her voice also rather shaky despite trying to maintain her composure, “Only then will we know what we can do about it.”

“Sunny seemed to have a plan.” Applejack commented, Torrin still firmly upon her back, “If worst comes to worst, we could leave it up to him, and just grab Quicksilver and get out of harm’s way.”

“What about everypony else?” Torrin asked the obvious question, “I haven’t seen anyone since we left the observatory! Are they going to be alright just staying inside these buildings?”

“Sunny said something about evacuating the town, but it wasn’t very clear what he actually had in mind.” Twilight answered, “But those structures are made from some very serious stuff. They’ve been here for a long time now, and have always endured the crazy weather. Maybe it’s not too optimistic to think this time won’t be any different.”

“I don’t know about that Twilight.” Marco wasn’t convinced, “Like Sunny said earlier, that mountaintop had also been there forever. And now look at it...

“Besides, I’m sure even you can tell, this time it’s different.” he continued, his tone low, “This isn’t the Howling Front they’re used to...”

“So you’re still convinced this all revolves around Terra’s seal being here?” Applejack asked, memories of their talk in the observatory coming back to her, “Is that why you think the windigos come back so soon after the last storm? Because it’s attracted to something you think is hidden here?”

“We’ll have our answer soon enough.” he replied vaguely, unconsciously slowing his pace, “But to me, it’s looking more and more likely... obvious even.”

“How do you mean?” Twilight also found herself slow down, too curious in what he had just said, “What makes you so sure all of a sudden?”

“It’s too convenient.” he answered simply enough, “This isn’t just some earthquake; the ground itself is opening up. Something below us... something buried beneath Mistmantle... is slowly being unearthed. Knowing what we do, what do you think that thing could be? Could it be anything but the place in which Terra was sealed away?”

“Seal or no seal, whatever it is, this earthquake’s fixing to take the whole town with it!” Applejack replied, “Isn’t that the kinda thing we should be trying to do something about!”

“What do you think Twilight?” Marco asked, skipping past Applejack’s comment, “If I’m right, and Terra’s seal is here, then it is also where Celestia was imprisoned.”

“Enough.” she replied sternly, taking the group by surprise, “Applejack’s right, we’re wasting time! If... if you’re right, then we’ll know afterwards. But right now, this place is in real danger. Don’t get distracted!”

“We’re pretty much at the edge of town.” Applejack spoke up, “I don’t think there’s much else I can help with except for finding Quicksilver. Should we split up?”

“Look!” Torrin almost threw her off balance as he leant forward off her back and pointed forwards, “That’s Tager, isn’t it?”

Following his gesture, Twilight saw her too. She stood still atop the roof of a nearby building, looking out and over the town’s solid walls and at the storm outside.

“Well, I’ll be...” Applejack breathed, “Now she shows up! Tager! There you are! Where the heck have you-”

“The reunion’s going to have to wait girls...” Marco’s voice was shaky, “Look...”

From where they now stood, they could easily see through the open gate and to the world outside the walls. A look of horror crossed each of their faces to see the giant crack tearing its way through the earth, its destructive path headed right for them.

Torrin was the first to see him. While the others were instantly stunned by the spectacle before them, the young earth pony quickly realised there was somebody standing tall between them and the incoming quake. For a moment, his own fears were gone from his mind as something else came to the fore. It was hard to place at first... but it didn’t feel unusual or unnatural. He felt certainty, clarity... intrigue. Indeed, at looking at this mysterious pony... it was as if that was what he was supposed to feel.

“There’s the guy!” he exclaimed, the words out before he realised, “It’s Quicksilver!”

Marco’s eyes boggled to see the unicorn who, for reasons beyond his comprehension, was content standing so close to what could only be called certain death.

“We have to hurry!” he yelled, breaking off into a run, “If-”

He didn’t have time to finish his sentence. Before he could gain any significant distance, the ground begun to shake with new life, much more violently than before. Instantly, everyone on the ground struggled to stay upright, Torrin even falling unceremoniously from Applejack’s back as the two grappled for support.

“It must be real close now...” Applejack grumbled, the reason behind the shaking obvious to her, “Damn... we can’t move like this...

“Tager!” she suddenly roared above the din, “What are you doing!? You’re the only one who can do it now! Get out there and grab that guy before it’s too late!”

The pegasus didn’t budge, nor show any sign of hearing the earth pony. Despite her surroundings, her eyes faced forward, not to the storm, but to the figure standing definitely before it, refusing to be overthrown by the violent shaking of the ground below.

“No can do.” she finally said, her refusal barely audible amidst the quakes, “This idiot says he’s gonna save the day, so I reckon we should let him...”

“Don’t be stupid!” Applejack growled, the words nonsense to her ears, “Look around you damn it! Ain’t no one can stop this! We’ve gotta run! It’s the only choice we got left!”

Twilight, also fighting to keep her balance, bit her lip at that last part. Her friend was right of course, but she didn’t want to believe it. They had run here, hoping they could stop the crisis, but now that they were here, it really did look like that all they could do was run away. Looking between the angry Applejack and the cool Tager, the world slowed down around her as she thought desperately about what to do...

She couldn’t move, not with the ground shaking like this. Marco, Applejack, and even Torrin were in the same situation. Tager had the advantage of flight, and for Quicksilver’s part, even if he wanted to run away, he probably couldn’t move either. Sunny was nowhere close, and even though he claimed to have his own ideas, they didn't really factor in here, so there weren’t many options.

And just like that, the situation was clear. Twilight had made her decision.

“Tager, please... you have to stop him!” she cried out, demanding her attention, “No matter how hard he tries, it’s impossible for him, for anyone to stop the storm!”

At this, all eyes were on Twilight. As she was perhaps the most resolute to solve this problem initially, to hear her abandon hope on stopping the storm meant that there was now only one thing to do.

For a second, Tager stared back down at Twilight, but then she slowly closed her eyes and turned away again. “Sorry, but I don’t have to do anything.” she replied deadpan, “That guy’s made up his mind, and so have I.”

Furious, Twilight scowled silently at the intolerable pegasus, but just as she made to challenge her, she realised her friends around her had different priorities...

“Applejack... can you move?” Marco called, “If you can, grab Torrin and make your way into that building over there!”

“What about you guys?!” she replied, fighting against the quakes as she scooped up the colt, “What are you gonna do?”

“Just worry about Torrin!” he snapped back, “We promised not to let anything happen to him!”

“Marco, you go take care of him too.” Twilight said evenly from beside him, “You’re the one who made that promise to the princess, so you are responsible for him.”

He couldn’t find a way to refuse. There was something about her tone that made him realise how serious she was being. Even so, he wasn’t about to let the notion of her taking this on alone go quietly. This however, was something that Twilight was expecting.

“If Tager’s going to be stubborn, then it’s up to me to save that scientist.” she spoke, knowing Marco’s question before he asked it, “You guys can’t move properly with all this shaking... but I’ve got my magic. So hurry up and take shelter.”

“Fine, we’re useless... but don’t do anything stupid!” Marco reluctantly accepted her decision, “Do what you can, and have Tager help you if you get in trouble...”

With a determined nod, Twilight silently took in his advice. Then, with the purple glow of her horn, and a bright flash of magic, the unicorn was away.

Even as she instantly teleported beside the unicorn, he didn’t jump at her sudden appearance. Too focused on what was before him, his eyes didn’t waver at all. For her part, Twilight was momentarily speechless to see the storm coming from her new vantage point. She didn’t have long... not even a minute. She had to act fast.

“Quicksilver!” she called, trying to break his gaze, “That’s your name right? My name is Twilight... I was sent to get you by your friend Sunny Day! You have to come with me! It’s dangerous here!”

“Sunny, huh?” he replied, something unplaceable to his tone, “Sorry. But I’m not going anywhere. I intend to stop this storm... once and for all.”

“You can’t!” Twilight stepped closer, “There’s too much you don’t understand! It’s impossible to stop-”

“And what would you know, Twilight?” his voice shifted, teetering on aggressive, “Once upon a time, it was impossible to negate tornadoes, or earthquakes, or tidal waves! Even... even last year, it was impossible to combat frozen lightning. There is no impossible when it comes to whether... not for me.”

“But it’s not about weather!” Twilight replied urgently, her time short, “It never was! No matter how hard you try, the storm... your ‘Howling Front’ can’t be stopped! Not by magic, science, or anything else!

“This whole time, you’ve been trying to fight something you don’t understand!” she continued, gaining momentum, “Windigos bring disaster where they find hatred, and for a thousand years straight, unknown to anyone, Mistmantle’s been the strongest source of hatred ever to exist!”

“I’ve studied these phenomena every day, and devoted everything to finishing this storm... once and for all.” Quicksilver faced forward, “What do you know? What could you know? Some outsider... spouting stupidity on fairy tales. You need to leave!”

“It’s not like that!” Twilight was at a loss, “You have to believe me... you can’t stop it!”

“For one thousand years straight, no one has even been able to even make a dent in the Howling Front.” Quicksilver’s tone lowered, “I know... I know. The only ‘victory’ we’ve ever had was paid for in blood, and it was brought on by my mistake. My father died in my stead... and for what?

“I refuse to let that be in vain...” he continued, his voice determined, “All those who came before me... how can I face them if I let a sacrifice like that go to waste? Since that day, I’ve bet my life on protecting this place. I don’t care what you think you know about that, and I’m not going to back down when my destiny’s right in front of my eyes!”

“I understand, I really do!” Twilight urged, the advancing storm not one to wait, “I already know that’s the reason you pushed so hard to be the expert you are now, but this storm hasn’t got anything to do with what you studied! Without stopping the hatred, the blizzard will never die!”

“There isn’t a thing in this world that can’t be explained...” Quicksilver didn’t falter, all but ignoring the unicorn’s pleas, “Everything I’ve ever done has been for that end. You fear this storm because you don’t understand it, but I am a scientist. I will not fear something simply because it is unknown.”

“But I do understand it!” she retorted, the urgency obvious in her tone, “That’s why I’m telling you this is crazy! I know that nothing you do will be able to stop the windigos, but you’re still trying to throw your life away!”

“Just because I’m willing to risk my life, it doesn’t mean I’m throwing it away!” Quicksilver exclaimed, “Don’t underestimate the science of weather! Generation after generation, year after year, the people of this town have been fighting back, and inventing new ways to overcome what others have thought impossible. I don’t get to give up. All those lives, all that effort, I refuse to let it go to waste!”

Even with the raging storm mere seconds from their position, a silence seemed to hang as Quicksilver voiced his resolve. “Go, follow your friends to shelter while you can.” he continued, “This is my decision, and this... is not your fight.”

Time slowing down in her mind, Twilight knew what she had to do. Her steps were impossibly hard to place, but she didn’t have far to go. Her horn was bright with magic... she only needed to reach a little further, and in an instant, she could teleport herself and Quicksilver back into the safety of the ornate structures. She wanted to avoid doing it this way... but he wasn’t being reasonable. Even if it was unforgivable, she had to force him.

Too focused on what was ahead of him, Quicksilver didn’t see Twilight reach out from behind him. Just before it would be too late, her hoof made contact... and she let her magic flare.

The impact hit her like a load of bricks. Eyes boggling as Tager slammed into her exposed side, the pegasus lifted her up and into the air along with her own airborne figure, having taken the unicorn completely off guard with an unexpected grab.

The air all but pushed from her lungs, Twilight didn’t have time to question her attacker before her own spell activated, absorbing her and Tager and disappearing the pair in a flash of purple light.

Shocked beyond their own words, Applejack and Marco gasped as the unicorn and the pegasus appeared in a flash, and tumbled inside the shelter, collapsing together in a heap.

“T-tager?” Applejack stuttered, but was quick to understand the situation, “Wait... where’s Quicksilver?”

“Twilight!” Torrin exclaimed, scuttling over as if to help her up, “Are you okay?”

“What were you thinking?!” Twilight demanded, instantly upon the pegasus that had stopped her, “Why would you do that!?”

As always, Tager’s blank expression gave nothing away as she stayed silent. With her intentions masked, and the clock all but run out, again, Twilight knew where her priorities lie. Without a word, she took off towards the exit...

“What are you doing?” Marco moved in to stop her from leaving, “You can’t go out there... it’s already too-”

“No, there’s still time!” Twilight cried, intent on saving Quicksilver, “Get out of the way... I can still-”

She struggled past his guard, and even as Applejack joined the scene, Twilight forced her way past and back outside. Sharing a quick look, Marco and Applejack followed close behind, intent on returning her to the safety of their shelter. Even in the background, Torrin made to join the effort, but oddly enough, Tager touched a steady hoof to his side, wordlessly instructing him to stay put with her.

Barely outside, Twilight lent on the side of the entrance to the structure, steadying herself against the quaking earth. Her eyes struggling to focus properly, it took her a few seconds to locate Quicksilver.

But with those last few seconds gone, so too was her opportunity. Her efforts for naught and her time well and truly up, the disaster that had been looming ahead finally arrived upon Mistmantle with all of its terrifying force.

* * * *

Rolling hills and stretching rivers passing underneath in a blur, a dark shape flying too fast to be properly seen cut a clean path above the calm sky. Like a shadow passing over high above, its trajectory didn’t waver an inch, moving in a direct, straight line towards the horizon.

With her dark wings splayed wide, carrying her quickly across the clear blue sky, her shadowy figure stuck out harshly against the bright light of day. It had been such a long time since she’d known such a sensation, but this time, she paid no mind to the freedoms of the wild blue yonder.

“C-an... Ca-n you... hea-r me-?” a familiar voice crackled in her ear, delivered by some mysterious force, “Princess... L-una?”

“Yes.” she closed her eyes quickly and calmly, relaying her own message back, “What is it, captain?”

Luna kept her eyes closed as her reply came, the message clearer and more detailed this time. Shining Armor’s voice echoed in her mind for a few long moments, and once it was gone, silence took its place as what he’d said sunk in.

“I understand.” she finally said, her eyes opening and expression setting into an intense scowl against the incoming wind, her wings locking as her speed suddenly increased...

“I’m on my way.”

Chapter 18: Lands of Snow and Cinders

From the Ashes

Chapter 18: Lands of Snow and Cinders

“Emergency!” a shrill, high-pitched voice echoed all through Canterlot, “It’s an emergency!”

The skeleton crew left to keep the city in order scrambled about in chaos. Pegasus guards flew about frantically, scanning the roads and alleys from above, while the others proceeded on the ground, checking on the citizens and their homes.

“H-he just walked right up to me...” one street vendor stuttered, the mare visibly shaken, “He was wearing a ripped-up cloak, and I couldn’t see his face properly. He cornered me and started asking me all these questions... but he wasn’t making any s-sense!”

“Calm down.” the unicorn guard interviewing her placed a reassuring hoof to her shoulder, “You’re safe. Now, you say he cornered you. What kind of questions did he ask you?”

“I don’t remember too well... but it was so strange.” she replied, taking a deep breath, “He demanded to know where he was... the date... even the time! I think he even stole a loaf of bread.”

“And you say you didn’t see his face?” the guard questioned, “Did he have any other identifying attributes? Anything that may help us find him?”

“Well, I think he was kind of old, and he had quite a limp, and... and...” she lowered her voice with a shudder, forcing the guard to lean in as she began to whisper, “I think I saw blood on him.”

“That’s very helpful information.” the guard replied, nodding to himself as he magically scribbled the words onto his notepad, “Is there anything else you can tell me?”

“Well, I know I said I couldn’t see his face...” she put a thoughtful hoof to her muzzle, “But it wasn’t just his limp making him stumble. It was like... well, I can’t say for sure, but I think there was something wrong with his eyes. It felt like he couldn’t see me properly.

“It’s hard to explain... since I didn’t see his face or anything.” the street vendor continued, struggling to articulate it, “It was just the way he moved and acted I suppose. There was something off about him, that’s for sure.”

As this questioning took place, a very similar exchange was occurring further up the street. By an alleyway, two guards stood by an old and frail looking unicorn, trying to sit the stallion down before he stumbled blindly into something.

“Are you sure you are alright?” the first guard asked, watching nervously as the old unicorn finally complied, “We can get a doctor or-”

“Nonsense.” he replied sternly, “I’m fine, and I certainly don’t need you mollycoddling me...”

The two guards swapped a look. Even as the old pony made to berate them, their eyes didn’t make contact, the spirited unicorn confusing the fire hydrant beside him for the guard who had shown his concern.

“Well, if you’re sure...” the second guard said tentatively, “Would you mind if we asked you a few questions?”

“Get on with it then.” the stallion replied, still staring at the fire hydrant, “I’m not getting any younger here.”

“We are currently looking for the stallion who assaulted you.” the first guard took the lead, “If you have any information that could help us locate him, we would appreciate it.”

“Ah, of course...” the unicorn nodded sagely, at the fire-hydrant no less, “Why, if I was a little younger, I would have shown him a thing or two.”

“Yes, that’s one we’re looking for.” the second guard echoed his partner’s point, its repetition apparently necessary, “Can you tell us anything that might help us catch him?”

“Ah, sure... I can.” he nodded again with self-satisfaction, the fire-hydrant impassive to his conceit, “I got a good look at that fellow, I’ll have you know.”

“You... did?” the first guard couldn’t mask his doubt, cocking his head at the old unicorn, “What did you, um... ‘see’?”

“He had a bit of a limp to him, and was wearing this cloak over his head that was all ragged and torn.” he replied, “At first I thought he was some down-on-his-luck traveller, and when he came up to me I thought he was looking for me to throw a bit or two his way...

“I might’ve done it too, but when he got closer, I could see quite the anger boiling in those blue eyes of his.” he continued, recounting the events in superb detail, “He didn’t attack me or nothing, and a good thing too, but he still robbed me.”

“Blue eyes, huh?” the second guard repeated, not sure how much stock to place in the word of the virtually blind unicorn, “Are you sure you were able to get a good look at him?”

“That’s what I said, wasn’t it?” the old stallion took obvious offense, thrusting his hoof accusingly at the fire-hydrant, “Blue eyes, tattered dark green cloak, and a faded brown coat. A grey mane too. I saw it all, I tell ya!”

“And he didn’t harm you in any way?” the first guard questioned, “Not in the head, or-”

“He did nothing but rob me you buffoon!” the unicorn cut him off, not ignorant to what the guard was implying, “He took my pocketwatch... my satchel... and worst of all, took the spectacles right off my nose!”

“Yeah, well...” the second guard made to say, but then stopped short, “Wait, what was that you just said?”

“I said, he took my glasses!” the old stallion replied, “What, did you think I was blind or something? They weren’t my best pair... not worth much money. He must’ve needed them for himself to want to take them.”

“Then that means, you could see him properly before he took them...” the pieces slowly fell into place in the mind of the first guard, “In other words...”

“Your description was... accurate?” the second guard finished his partner’s sentence, “Sorry sir, but if you could... would you mind telling us from the beginning?”

“Heh, youngsters these days...” the old unicorn shrugged to himself, “Fine, it can’t be helped. Now, listen here and listen good. I’ll tell you all about that troublemaker...”

Meanwhile, in yet another darkened alleyway, several blocks further to the edge of the city, the mysterious cloaked stallion clung to the shadows as he rested.

“They don’t seem to know what’s going on.” he said to himself, sitting down inconspicuously by a clutter of litter, “I suppose they really weren’t told anything about me...”

His muzzle jerked up as he raised his head, the stallion looking cautiously at the skies and the pegasi guards scanning the city from above. “This cloak is only going to do more harm than good at this stage.” he thought out loud, handling the frayed cloth with care, “If I wait for the time being, I should have no problem walking out of the city.”

With a flourish, the stallion removed the dark cloak from his back. Taking a moment to align his stolen spectacles, he moved towards the end of the alleyway, looking seriously out into the much brighter street.

Seeing the disorganised mass of guards scrambling about, Atlas Black’s eyes seemed to gleam subtly. “Looks like Luna kept her end of the bargain.” he almost sounded surprised, “Had anyone known I was alive, it would have been impossible for me to make it this far...

“Furthermore...” he continued, “Having this much freedom, anyone who might know the truth must be away from the city. Caliber, Luna... as well as anyone they may have trusted... if not here, then where could they have gone? Have they not learned from what happened the last time they left this city leaderless?”

Seeing an opening in the street before him, and checking to make sure no one was paying any kind of special attention to him or the alleyway, he stepped out casually into the full light of day, assuming the guise of a common Canterlot pony.

“Whatever.” he muttered to himself in exacerbation, “It is no concern of mine how the situation here has become so fortuitous. There’s a place I need to be.”

Meanwhile, at another location in the city, a pair of ragged and worn out ponies cut a swath through the city crowd. Steam pillowing out of the train behind them as it begun to inch away from the station and back towards where it had come from, the two who had just arrived looked back with tired relief.

“If I never see the inside of a box carriage again...” Slayde muttered, “It’ll still be too soon.”

“I hear that...” Pinkie voiced her own agreement, though she sounded far more dry than her usual bubbly self, “Next time I visit Appleoosa, I’m seriously going to consider an alternative mode of transportation.”

“Oi.” Slayde spoke up suddenly, rearranging the twin saddlebags weighing down on his rear, “We’re here.”

Obviously, he wasn’t talking to Pinkie. The bags he carried started to rumble all on their own, until a pair of familiar heads popped out from each one. Paragonia let his twin black wings droop out from the lid of the saddlebag as he scanned the scenery, but then his head jerked a full one-hundred-and-eighty degrees to observe his fellow ‘passenger’.

While Paragonia was and had been pretty worse for wear ever since the incident at the palace, Philomena was a whole other story. Virtually featherless, her pale neck flopped like spaghetti as soon as she emerged from the saddlebag. With a sickly cough, her beady eyes did all the work, bouncing comically about in their sockets in an attempt to absorb all the surroundings as fast as possible.

“Okay, that’s enough sightseeing for you two.” Slayde commanded, “We’re not done until you two are safely back in the palace. Which means I don’t want you to draw any attention to yourselves.”

Philomena’s head rotated slowly, staring blankly at the unicorn. For his part, Paragonia also stared at Slayde, not especially eager to stuff himself back inside the cramped saddlebag.

“Oh, get over it you primadonnas.” Slayde snapped, lacking the energy to take any more of the pair’s antics, “Let’s just buck up and finish this off. I’m as eager to be done with this as you.”

Finally obliging, the two retreated back into the confinement of the saddlebags. Without a word, Slayde took the lead, walking off in the direction of the royal palace.

“You can say whatever you want...” Pinkie Pie panted, referring to the unicorn’s earlier comment, “But I’m totally exhausted...”

“Stop complaining.” Slayde grunted impatiently, his own poor health making him no stranger to his partner’s tiredness, “We’re almost home.”

“You’re almost home.” Pinkie Pie retorted as they walked, sounding more deflated than spiteful, “It feels like ages since I left Ponyville! Don’t get me wrong, I love a little excitement in my life, but I miss Sugar Cube Corner... I miss Gummy and the Cakes...”

Suddenly, and to Pinkie’s surprise, Slayde stopped in his tracks, a serious look in his eyes. She made to ask him what had caused him to stop, or why he was making that kind of face, but he didn’t give her the chance before he spoke first.

“Something’s wrong.” Slayde commented, “Look. The guard are all over the place. Something has definitely happened.”

“What do you mean?” Pinkie asked, the conclusion not as obvious to her, “I don’t...”

She trailed off as she took a better look around. Armoured pegasi flew low over the buildings, as if searching for something, while on the ground, pairs and small groups of unicorns walked with hastened steps, looking through shop windows, patrolling the streets, and even questioning some of the local ponies.

“It’s odd.” Slayde spoke up again, “It doesn’t look like a huge disaster or anything has happened... but their scrambling like it’s something serious. I wonder who’s in charge?”

Slayde saw fit to give his own questions a little bit of thought, but as he raised a hoof to his muzzle to ponder, Pinkie’s voice pulled him back off track.

“Hey mister!” she called, stopping and waving over a passerby, “Has something bad happened?”

Slayde cast a sideways glance as Pinkie Pie stopped the old pony in his tracks. He responded well enough to Pinkie’s out-of-place mannerisms, obliging her as he came closer.

“Yes?” Atlas Black’s expression was totally impassive, “Were you asking me something? My hearing isn’t what it used to be, young lady.”

In the background, Slayde’s mind registered the old earth pony’s face. He was convinced he recognised him, but perhaps due to some combination of his poor health and fatigue, no matter how he tried, he couldn’t place it.

“We just got here, and it looks like something weird is going on.” Pinkie Pie started from scratch, a personable smile covering up her tiredness, “Did something bad happen?”

“Something certainly has stirred up the guard, as you can clearly see.” Atlas spoke directly to Pinkie Pie, “From what I’ve gathered, it’s a 'someone' that they’re searching for, but as for the crime, it only seems to be a few minor instances of theft and public disturbance.”

“That doesn’t sound right...” Slayde’s response was slow, the face of Atlas Black still trying to register in his memory, “If it was only something like that, there would be no reason to make an uproar like this...”

“Yes, you’re right.” Atlas voiced his agreement, turning from his stare at Pinkie for the first time, “Might you have some relationship with the guard yourself?”

“Y-yes.” Slayde faltered, not knowing why he felt on edge, “I’m a night guard... though I’m not on duty at the moment.”

Silently, Slayde cursed himself. Wasn’t that supposed to be a secret? More than that though, he couldn’t understand this feeling. It felt like, if he had lied, the old earth pony would realize it. But even if that could possibly be true, why did the thought cause him to shiver? For this encounter with a stranger, there couldn’t possibly be any lasting consequences. Unless...

“Indeed, especially for a guard such as yourself, this situation must seem curious.” Atlas broke Slayde’s train of thought, “It seems to me that the guards don’t know why they have been organised. I wonder who is in charge... and more so, I wonder what they are looking for.”

“Wowzers, you’re pretty smart aren’t you?” Pinkie Pie marvelled at his apparent deductions, brought back to life somewhat by the encounter, “Anyway, thanks for cluing us in!”

For a few deliberate moments, Atlas simply started back at the bright earth pony, the light bouncing off his stolen spectacles serving to mask his gaze. As Pinkie’s grateful smile faded into a curious frown, it was only then that he responded.

“Don’t mention it.” he turned with a huff, already on his way again, “Now then...”

“Please wait a moment.” Slayde called to him, stopping him only after a few steps, “Just one last thing before you go...”

Atlas obliged, stopping dead in his tracks. However, he did not turn around, nor acknowledge Slayde or his request.

“I don’t mean to be rude...” the unicorn gulped nervously, still struggling with recognising the same face he’d seen a hundred times on the wanted posters he and Ceasler would put up, “But I have to ask. Who the heck are you?”

The tension in the air was palpable. Despite the everyday bustle of the city going on around them, a silence seemed to hang as Atlas still refused to turn. Seeing Slayde’s eyes narrow seriously, even Pinkie Pie felt the atmosphere shift.

And then, Atlas simply resumed walking. “My apologies.” he said clearly as he departed, “But for both our sakes, I think it would be better if I don’t answer that.”

Watching as his figure grew smaller in the distance, Pinkie turned on Slayde, curious as to why he had seemingly let the matter drop. But what she saw surprised her. The unicorn was scowling, not through menace, but as if pained.

He didn’t get it either. The conflict clear on his face, Slayde couldn’t understand why he couldn’t muster up the will to insist against the pace of a single old stallion. He couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t able to recognise his face, nor could he understand where this overbearing feeling of intimidation was coming from.

“Slayde?” Pinkie leaned in close, rightly concerned, “What’s the matter? Are you getting one of those headaches again? Should I get help?”

“No... there’s nothing wrong.” Slayde shook it off, more ashamed now than confused, “Let’s keep moving. We need to get these two to the palace, and now I want to talk to whoever’s in charge and find out exactly what’s going on here.”

As he spoke, he immediately turned and begun walking, not waiting for Pinkie to respond. She lingered for a few seconds, looking back to where Atlas had gone. Oddly, he was nowhere to be found. She had only taken her eyes off him for a few seconds, and in that time, he had seemingly vanished...

“Come on.” Slayde insisted, “It’s not far to go now.”

“O-okay.” Pinkie shook her amazement off, trotting to catch up, “That old guy sure was weird.”

In the following silence, unbeknownst to either Pinkie or Slayde, a tiny head popped out from the fold of the saddlebags. Paragonia, stirred by some happenstance, found himself staring back toward the direction from which they had come, and, more importantly, the direction that Atlas had gone.

He lingered outside the saddlebag for a few long moments, his stare transfixed as if his beady black eyes could see something that simply wasn’t there. Quietly, a low grumbling coo emerged, expressing some kind of ambiguous discomfort.

Hearing the creature’s unique sound, Pinkie was quick to see that Paragonia had re-emerged from the saddlebags. “Hey, what are you doing?” she whispered, somehow able to be authoritative and amiable at the same time, “You need to keep your little head down until we get a safe place.”

Paragonia, still fixated on whatever sense had captured him, didn’t immediately heed Pinkie’s instructions.

“Do as she says.” Slayde commanded, not quite looking back to the creature sticking out from the saddlebags he carried, “You stand out too much. Especially in this chaos, we want to avoid drawing undue attention to ourselves.”

“Hey, Slayde...” Pinkie begun, capitalizing on Slayde’s talkativeness, “About that old guy from before. Do you think-”

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” he cut her off with purpose, “We’ve got a job to do, so let’s not worry about other stuff until it’s done. Okay?”

Pinkie couldn’t help it. Like Paragonia, she had her own unique senses, and she couldn’t shake that something was well and truly off about that old stallion. But even as she ventured yet another glance at the way he had gone, Slayde was right. The moment had passed, and the mystery would remain.

“Fine.” she finally responded, “If you say so.”

* * * *

For a lonely town in the middle of a lonely, inhospitable marsh, it was off the map for a reason. It was often referred to as Meetlemarsh, which was a generalisation for the region at large, but in truth, that was a mistake. Sticking rather crudely by the road leading into the town was a sign made of black wood, a product of the local trees. It had faded with age, and while it may have once read ‘welcome to’, or ‘keep out of’, the one word that was needed was still clearly legible.

“Cinderwood.” Spellbound said under her breath, she and the others stealthily surveying the town from afar, “For a town to actually be all the way out here... if this was the first I’d heard of it, I’d probably think it was just some kind of rumour.”

“That’s what makes it so perfect as a hideout.” Shining Armor commented, “Out of contact, off the map... and an earth pony settlement. It’s a haven. Even if the princess had infinite resources at her disposal, finding this place would have taken a miracle.”

“We have Atlas to thank for that.” Caliber replied, “If what he said was true, they should have no idea we’re coming.”

“I don’t know what kind of history you two have, but I’m warning you Caliber...” Spellbound said cautiously, “That guy’s got his own agenda. He can’t be trusted.”

“I don’t know all the details, but it seems as though our aims are aligned for now.” Shining Armor retook control of the conversation, “In any case, we should fall back and devise a strategy. If they don’t know we’re here, sitting up here in the line of sight won’t do us any favours.”

“Good idea.” Spellbound nodded solidly, turning to address the bulk of the guards behind her, “Hear that? Back it up for now.”

As the mass of guards shuffled back slowly, keeping themselves quiet, Shining Armor moved through, seeking someone particular in their ranks. She tended to stick out, so finding her only took a moment.

“Pastel Pride, I’d like your help.” Shining Armor surprised the earth pony as he came up on her, the skittish librarian having been doing her best to remove herself, “Caliber, Spellbound and I need to come up with a plan, and I would like you and the girls to listen in and help us out with some of the details.”

“O-okay?” Pastel fumbled, not understanding if he was asking her or ordering her, “I guess I- uh, we could do something like that...”

“Good.” Shining Armor replied with a smile, “I’ll gather my people, so could you collect Fluttershy and Rarity and bring them to us?”

“Um, sure.” Pastel was still tentative, “I’ll go do that then.”

And with that, the earth pony stumbled off, changing directions several times within a few steps as she realised that she didn’t know where to look. Turning away with a light sigh, Shining Armor trotted off, the task of finding Spellbound and Caliber much easier.

The two of them stood alone, still staring out over Cinderwood. But while Caliber’s eyes were set on the dark, foreboding town ahead, Spellbound’s stare was stuck on Caliber. When she finally broke away, she looked downward in shame, and with a weary sigh, she made to speak-

“You don’t need to say it.” he said distantly, beating her to it, “Even now that I’m seeing it with my own eyes, I still don’t want to believe it.”

“You can‘t blame yourself.” Spellbound didn’t look up, “It isn’t anyone’s fault but theirs.”

Caliber stayed silent, whatever thoughts occupying him clearly unpleasant. It was normally hard for Spellbound to see through the pegasus, but this time, it was written all over his face.

“This can be fixed.” Spellbound spoke again, taking a firm step forwards, “The captain got through to Luna. She knows what happened here, and she’s on her way.”

“I’ve been thinking that she made the right choice.” Caliber replied distantly, “If I was in command right now... I don’t- I don’t know what I’d do.”

Without another word, Caliber finally tore himself away from his stare and turned on the spot, making his way to Shining Armor and the others with slow steps. Not following, Spellbound let loose with another weighty sigh, and took one last long look at the town below her.

Even from this distance, looking back to Cinderwood rekindled that feeling of dread that had followed with the scout’s return. As much as she didn’t want to believe it then, she couldn’t deny it when it was right before her eyes. They had been too late.

With almost mechanical steps, several villagers wandered aimlessly about the town, their bodies made not of flesh, but of stone, and their eyes, once full of life, were now like blank spheres of marble. Some stood still and stared like they were trapped in some kind of deep thought, while others shambled about, getting in each other's way as if they were lost in a place that had once been their home. It made Spellbound’s stomach churn. Below her was an entire community, hypnotised, distorted, and aimlessly waiting for some force to tell them what to do. The only thing keeping her from despair was the hope there was a way to fix it all.

“Keep your head on straight Spellbound.” she told herself as she too turned and made to rejoin the others, “You won’t be helping anyone if you can’t keep it together.”

There were a few things already going on when Spellbound returned to Shining Armor. He and Caliber were in the middle of a discussion with a nervous Patel Pride, with Rarity and Fluttershy apparently only there for moral support. Caliber and Shining Armor obviously had a lot of questions, and it was her poor old friend Pastel that they were after.

“Okay, so with all that considered...” Caliber was in the middle of saying, “Explain for us again the enemy presence we can reasonably expect in this town.”

“A-ah... okay.” she murmured nervously, “I’m not saying I’ve got all the information or anything... but if this is their hideout, then Truant should be here, and Haywire too. The twins are dead... and Atlas is locked up tight, so that should be all of them, assuming they didn’t have any other vicious criminals we never heard about on their payroll.

“But, um, that’s not counting...” Pastel made to continue, but stalled as she sensed the atmosphere, “Well, I don’t know what kinda population this town has, but if what the scouts said was true-”

“Okay, we understand.” Caliber interrupted, his tone empty, “But no matter what, I refuse to consider those unfortunate souls my enemies...”

Shining Armor slowly turned his gaze back towards the town, Caliber’s conflicted words still painful for everyone to hear. Naturally, they all felt the same as Caliber, in one way or another, but none considered it a failure as much as he.

“Something in particular still bothers me.” Shining Armor changed the topic, this time focusing on Fluttershy and Rarity instead of Pastel, “Even after the princess explained it to me, I’d like you two to walk me through your experience with Truant at Appleoosa.”

“Oh?” Rarity was surprised to be suddenly included, but as the question sunk in, her expression darkened considerably, “Ah... that. You’ll have to forgive my tone. It is not a pleasant memory.”

“It was awful.” Fluttershy took over for her friend, “He uses some kind of dark magic... and is unbelievably cruel. We wouldn’t have gotten away without Mr. Ceasler and Slayde, and even then... he came back, and hurt Rarity... Applejack... and Twilight! If it wasn’t for Philomena... I don’t even want to think about what might have happened.”

“That reminds me...” Shining Armor looked over his shoulder, specifically at Caliber, “Where are we at with the fallout at Appleoosa? Did we find out about your people?

In response, the pegasus kicked at the ground. “No confirmation yet.” he said sourly, obviously not hopeful in that regard, “Luna sent their friend Pinkie Pie out there to check, but there’s no official word yet. But if those two, or even Philomena, if they were fine we’d have heard about it by now.”

“It’s still to early to say for sure.” Spellbound commented, trying her best to lift spirits in these bleak circumstances, “Don’t count them out just yet. I’ve met those two. They’re tough.”

“Anyway, back to Truant.” Shining Armor retook command of the conversation, “Pastel, what did you say the odds are that he’s here?”

“E-eh, well, as I said, I’m not an expert on those guys or anything...” she struggled, always prefacing her responses to avoid accountability, “But if Atlas wasn’t jerking you guys around, and this really is their hideout, then there’s nowhere else for the guy to be.”

“If that’s true, then I really need to reconsider what we’re dealing with.” Shining Armor lent in slightly, “Rarity, aside from my sister, I heard you experienced the most of his magic and abilities.”

“Fair to say.” Rarity’s tone was still laced with malice, “Your sister helped me to understand and use totem magic, but it didn’t do much good. He was just far too overwhelming. He could summon up black orbs to suffocate us, projectiles, and the last thing I saw was when he got fed up and caused a huge explosion.

“And also, while I don’t entirely understand how...” she continued, pursuing her lips as she tried to determine a way to phrase it, “He implied that he could read minds or emotions. It was how he explained finding us, and how he threatened to use us to find the others.”

“Truly, that must have been quite the ordeal.” Shining Armor bowed his head slightly, “I can understand if you’re upset to hear we may be confronting him here, but rest assured, I will ensure your safety.”

“We all need to be careful.” Fluttershy warned him, being uncharacteristically cryptic, “He’s not just a bully, or just cruel. He’s evil.”

“Understood.” Shining Armor nodded firmly, but then his eyes gleamed as a small grin emerged on his face for the girls to see, “I hope you realize, I have every intention of bringing him to justice.

“For, like you, I can not forgive the harm he brought to your friend, or as I know her, my sister.” he continued, his obvious passion for the matter flaring, “So don’t worry about him. He’ll be too busy dealing with me.”

“I don’t mean to put a damper on your heroism captain, but Truant isn’t the only consideration here.” Spellbound interrupted boldly, “Pastel also said we have to account for Haywire.”

“Forgive me...” Rarity spoke up suddenly, “I’ve heard the name before, but who exactly is Haywire?”

“He’s the number one bounty head.” Caliber answered, “But he doesn’t even register as a direct threat compared to Truant. With what little anyone knows about that maverick, he’s not a fighter. No, he’s considered dangerous for an entirely different reason...”

“And also, I’m much less certain that he’s here at the moment.” Pastel Pride added her view, “I mean, while Truant’s a unique exception, Haywire is supposed to be a pegasus, and isn’t invested in what Terra’s trying to do. They’re mostly at odds, and Haywire has his own agenda, so it’s more likely he’s off doing his own thing.”

“If that’s all true, then what is their relationship?” Spellbound asked the obvious question, “I mean, its easy to understand that they wouldn’t like or trust one another. There must be some kind of mutual benefit.”

“His bounty was assigned because of his inhumane and since outlawed scientific practices.” Shining Armor replied, trying to make the connection, “To my knowledge, he was the sort that was infamous for pushing the boundaries, and ended up in some pretty dark territory.”

“So you think that’s the link then?” Caliber asked, understanding where the captain was going with this, “If Terra has some kind of use for his methods, we should be pretty worried about what’s been going on between them.”

“Indeed, he’s the number one bounty head for a reason.” Shining Armor nodded in agreement, “We might not know what his aims are, but Luna mentioned he some kind of interest in her and her sister. We’re asking for trouble if we don’t keep this guy in our sights.

“Not that we need any extra reason to arrest Haywire, but keep your eyes peeled.” he continued, making his concern official, “If he’s here, don’t let him slip away. It would be wise to consider him as much a threat as Truant, if not greater.”

Rarity bit her lip, caught between Shining Armor’s previous comments as well as her own personal experience with Truant. And while she didn’t know anything about Haywire other that what they’d just told her, he didn’t seem to measure up as dangerous against her memories of Appleoosa.

“I thought you mentioned he wasn’t a fighter?” she responded, sharing her confusion, “How could he possibly be more of a threat than that terrible unicorn?”

“Because, having an unknown in this equation is not good.” the captain answered, his tone serious, “They don’t hand these bounties out for no reason, and I don’t like the idea of an awful pegasus like that teaming up with Terra.

“Also, the princess passed me on a warning from Atlas Black.” he continued, including the others in the conversation, “We’ve been told that we can’t afford to let him do as he pleases. While we don’t know to what extend he’s been involved so far, I think he’s had more than enough time outside a dungeon already.”

“To be honest, I’m kind of hoping he isn’t here.” Spellbound admitted, “With the resources we have at the moment, we can probably only deal with one big shot at a time.”

“As long as we’re talking resources...” Caliber took over for her, “There’s not much we can afford, period. Our only real option at the moment is stealth.”

“Thanks to your pegasi, we already have a layout of the town to consider.” Shining Armor nodded once, though he didn’t seem to either agree or disagree, “But we don’t know much about what’s happened to the townspeople. Stealth might not be effective.”

“What do you think we should do then?” Spellbound asked, maintaining the middle ground, “The element of surprise is all we’ve got. And if stealth won’t work, and the townspeople are hostile, we can’t work with much.”

All these things considered, Shining Armor took a moment to think. The ponies around him watching and waiting quietly, the captain tapped at his muzzle slowly, letting everything fit together inside his mind.

“So long as we’re undiscovered, and no longer on the clock, we should take some time to gather intelligence.” he finally commanded, having decided on the best course of action, “Caliber, take your pegasi and get as many eyes on the key structures as possible. Anywhere Terra’s people might be holed up, we might be able to get a location on the key players.

“Spellbound, I want you to take the rest and spread out also.” he continued, surprising the unicorn by putting her in a leadership role, “Study the movements and behaviour of the townspeople. If there are any patterns, features, or anything else worth knowing about them, it could be important in our plans.

“Finally, you three.” Caliber concluded, rounding on Pastel, Rarity, and Fluttershy, “I need you to stay here with me. We still have a few things to talk about.”

His commands acknowledged, the full mass of guards was divided into its two groups. Caliber and his pegasi on the left, and Spellbound and the others on the right. Also, as they had just been directed, Pastel, Rarity, and Fluttershy stood around Shining Armor.

“Captain...” Spellbound spoke up, “What about you?”

Looking briefly to the girls by his side, Shining Armor lifted his head. “I need to reach the princess.” he replied steadily, “She’s on her way, and I believe she may have a few things to say about the situation before she gets here.

“Anyway, you all have your jobs.” Shining Armor thrust a hoof out, ordering them to disperse, “Keep your heads down people, and report back here in thirty minutes. We’re going to need all the information you can get.”

* * * *

At a different time and place in Mistmantle, a few minutes before the ruinous quake had struck Mistmantle, a few different things were going at different locations. Quicksilver and Tager were still staring out, awaiting the disaster, while Marco and the others fought against the shaking earth as they made for the edge of town. The town itself, however, was still. The population knew well what to do in an emergency, the streets deserted as they all hunkered down in the safety of their sturdy homes.

And although it wasn’t visible from the outside, a spark of activity was going on right in the centre of town. In the wake of the crisis, the observatory was alive with the desperate efforts of Sunny and his scientists.

“Forget it, just throw all of them in there!” Sunny roared, his command over the situation tight, “If you’ve re-calibrated them, get them with the others! Quickly! We need to move!”

Watching over everything on the catwalk above the lab proper, Sunny wiped the sweat from his brow. Below him, all of the scientists at his disposal rushed about in a barely-organised mess, stacking, checking, and essentially throwing hoof-fulls of strange, square, flat gizmos into the small opening in the middle of the laboratory floor, a barely used passage that led to an outdated basement level.

“Sir!” a particularly flustered scientist beside Sunny insisted, “Are you sure this is going to work? The tremor tablets haven’t made it past testing yet... and they were only designed to counteract certain kinds of ground tremors! We don’t know what kind of earthquake this is, or what will happen if we combine multiple tablets-”

His urgent protest was cut off as a particularly strong burst of shaking caused he and Sunny to wobble, reaching for support as the quake subsided.

“Please reconsider!” he continued, somewhat panicked, “This observatory isn’t built like the other structures! At this rate, staying here is suicide!”

With a nervous chuckle and a slight degree of hesitation, Sunny nodded his head in agreement. “Yeah, can’t argue with that.” he muttered, before putting a hoof on the railing and raising his voice so as to address the whole building, “Alright, last call! Pack it up fellas, we’re getting out of here!”

Not waiting around for a response, Sunny turned away from the full group, surprising the scientist beside him by rounding on him and addressing him directly. “Do me a favour.” he said without losing step, “You lead the evacuation. Get our people indoors, but away from the observatory.”

“But sir...” he muttered, surprise and fear rendering his voice barely audible, “What about-”

“That last part is very important.” he cut him off, “Get them away from here. If this all goes the way I think it does, this observatory will be a place you don’t wanna be near.”

“What about you?” the scientist repeated what he meant to say earlier, “You sound as if you’re not leaving...”

“I didn’t get you guys to pile up those tremor tablets gizmos for fun.” he replied deadpan, “And since it’ll take more time than we have right now for me to explain what I’ve got planned, just do what I say. You’ve got to go, and I’ve gotta stay here with my finger on the trigger... uh, so to speak.”

“I can’t say I understand...” the scientist was slow to respond, “But sir...”

“Oh, don’t be such a baby.” Sunny shook his head, “Your concern is flattering, really... but I’m not going down with this ship. I’ll just be the last one out, that’s all.

“Seriously though, hurry it up.” he continued, his tone shifting, “The longer you guys stay here, the more things there are that I have to worry about.”

With a brief pause, the previously meek scientist looked out from the catwalk and over the lab, seeing that his colleagues were done with their task, and all but ready to evacuate.

“If you’re sure, then we’ll be going.” he finally said, backing up slowly, “But be careful.”

“Yeah, yeah...” Sunny waved him off sarcastically, keeping an air of mockery until he was out of sight, “I’ve already gone and made that promise.”

Maintaining a cool gaze over the lab as it emptied, the occasional hesitant look coming back his way as the building emptied one by one, Sunny finally sighed as he thought back to his exchange with Applejack and the others before he headed back here.

“What am I remembering that for?” he shook his head, turning on the spot and taking the stairs back down to the lab floor, “I’ve still got stuff to do.”

When he was in position, staring down into the darkened opening to the underground floor, Sunny could see the modest pile of curious gizmos that had been so hastily brought together, and now lay dormant.

As he stared, another burst of violent shaking ran through the ground, causing Sunny to wobble and loose plaster to shower from the ceiling.

“It won’t be long now.” he said to himself, taking a much needed breath, “I just hope to hell this works.”

As the final seconds ticked by, Sunny stood still as the observatory around him shook harder and harder, the whole thing threatening to come crashing down even without the impending earthquake coming to tear it apart. Knowing that the crack was only a moment from reaching the edge of town, Sunny steeled himself, and, with his breath held tight, let his horn glow bright in the empty lab.

Below his position, the stack of tremor tablets lit up with the same glow of his horn. And, with a series of tiny clicks, whatever curious contraptions responsible for their inner workings kicked individually to life at the command of Sunny’s magic.

The idea behind the tremor tablet was a simple one. Developed at the request of a far off region, whose mineral rich mines were too dangerous to access due to consistent ground tremors, they were designed to react to, and counteract the effects of small earthquakes. Sunny had no delusions. Even with all the tremor tablets in the world, they wouldn’t make a difference in trying to stop the quake threatening to demolish his town. However, as he had instructed his colleagues, all these tremor tablets had been re-calibrated. And that meant, instead of functioning as designed, they were now geared to produce an output. They were set to cause an earthquake.

As far away from the middle of his lab as possible, Sunny gripped the stairwell that led up to the catwalks with all his might. He wasn’t yet sure if this strategy was insane or genius, but what he was certain about was that surviving it would take a miracle.

So, as seen from above, the observatory formed the epicentre of a whole new explosion of shifting rock and splitting earth. While it wasn’t much compared the destruction closing in on the town, it was a genuine earthquake, splitting the main street from end to end, perfectly along the empty road, and miraculously avoiding all the surrounding structures.

Technically, that wasn’t entirely true. As the initial force of the quake subsided, and the ground below was separated by the deep cracks extending from one end of the town to the other, the building from which it originated, right in the centre of it all, crumpled and collapsed inwards. All things considered, the observatory got off easy, splitting as cleanly as one could expect, right down the middle, as if some giant knife had cut into it.

The impact of this second earthquake, as mighty as it was in its own right, could not even be felt at the outskirt of town. Twilight, frozen in time, slowly realized that she was too late as Quicksilver offered himself before the utter destruction of the Howling Front’s rage. With her friends secure inside the structure she had forced her way out of, and Quicksilver defiant to the last, she could only watch in horror at what was about to unfold in front of her.

And so, with the zig-zagging and malicious advance of the windigo’s violent attempt to raze the mountain town of Mistmantle now finally upon their doorstep, Sunny’s scheme kicked into action. With the quake he had caused, the random destruction that was ready to assail Mistmantle had a path already laid out for it. Thus, like tearing through a sheet of perforated paper, all that tremendous power was forced to follow the crack that was already there.

This had two effects. One, since the earthquake Sunny had manufactured went straight from one end of the town to the other, what would have chewed the town to pieces by way of its random pattern had no choice but to follow the line, with all its force channelled into the path between the buildings. This resulted in the town being split cleanly in two, with the random pattern of the crack resuming only on the other side of the town.

The second, and unfortunately unavoidable effect, was that all that energy had to go somewhere. Having been forcefully focused along what was temporarily a moderate crack in the ground, the degree of the split instantly became infinitely more severe. In a similar fashion to the fate of the first mountain split by the windigo, Mistmantle, and the entire mountain it was a part of, was now two. The crack that had momentarily formed a line between two halves of the town was now an unfathomable gorge.

But with that cost paid, it was over. The quake continued on its random destructive path for a while after being channeled through to the opposite side of town, but that was no longer anyone’s concern. The Howling Front had, once again, passed.

Silence ruled in the moments following the calm. Twilight and Quicksilver were motionless on the ground, flecks of snow sticking to them as they recovered from being so suddenly thrown around violently by the humongous tear.

Twilight must have been knocked out, for, as her senses came back in a dizzy haze, her friends were standing around her. She quickly gathered that she must have only been out for a couple of seconds. Quicksilver was across from her, sitting in a defeated heap, clutching a head that, like her, must have been slammed to the ground when the impact hit.

She saw Marco and Tager together, standing on the edge of the newly formed gorge, seemingly staring into its depths. Because the ground had shifted considerably now that the mountain was essentially in two pieces, her current angle didn’t let her see into the gorge.

“Twilight...” a tiny voice said from outside her field of vision, “Are you okay?”

Torrin, at eye level with the kneeling Twilight by way of his small stature, was the picture of concern. Applejack was right behind him, and visibly concerned as well, the only difference being that her attention was split between her friend and what had become of their surroundings.

“I’m fine.” she said simply, betrayed somewhat by her wobbling legs as she made to stand, “How... how long was I out?”

“Barely a minute...” Applejack breathed, relieved slightly, “Just long enough for us to get our bearings back...”

“Urgh, my head is killing me.” Twilight put pressure on her temples, “What the heck happened?”

“I can’t rightly say.” Applejack admitted, obviously fuzzy on the details, “I scrambled out after you, and I saw that big quake coming... I swear I saw my life flash before me, and then there was this massive crash out of nowhere. It all was happening so fast. I’m just glad you’re okay...”

“It was Sunny.” Quicksilver spoke up from his position, his tone soured only by his apparent injury, “I didn’t expect him to stay quiet... but to think this is what he had planned? That idiot.”

In response, Twilight made to ask him some more specific questions, but just looking at him, she could tell he was going to have none of it. Having said that much, he visibly retreated inside himself, not even slightly interested with engaging those around him.

“Torrin, can you stick with Twilight for a bit?” Applejack said from Twilight’s right, “I’m just gonna talk with these two for a sec.”

Indicating Marco and Tager, Applejack didn’t wait for a reply before moving to join the two by the edge of the gorge. Twilight however, ignoring the ache of her rattled head, stood up as well, committed to join in on whatever discussion there was to be had.

“Somehow, the worst possible situation was avoided...” Marco was in the middle of saying, his voice distant, “And at the last possible moment too. Sunny really pulled through.”

Even Tager, who had little interaction with the scientist, and thus very little faith in his plans, marvelled at the gorge at her feet. “Ain’t this what they call ‘tearing along the seams’?” she thought out-loud, “Amazing. He saved the town by destroying it his way.”

Their steps advertised by the crunch of snow beneath their hooves, Marco and Tager turned their heads to see Applejack, Twilight and Torrin approach from behind, stopping just short of being able to see down into the gorge.

“It’s not something any of us would have thought up, that’s for sure.” Applejack spoke up, referring to Tager’s comment, “We were all too busy thinking of some impossible solution... while he figured out what he could sacrifice to save his people’s lives.”

“There’s a lesson in there somewhere, but what you just said makes me uneasy.” Marco grimaced, acknowledging Applejack, but turning his attention to the unicorn next to her, “Twilight. You’re thinking what I’m thinking right?”

“Yeah, I think I realize what he did.” Twilight nodded, looking into the distance, or more specifically, the direction of the observatory, “He generated an earthquake to create a fault line along the main street of the town...

“That decision made sure no homes got caught up in the damage, but there’s still that one place right in the middle of town.” Twilight gulped, eerily analytic of the situation, “No, it probably wasn’t a decision at all. Sunny would have had to use the facilities of the observatory to force an earthquake to occur.”

“So... if the observatory was swallowed up by the gorge...” Marco asked the obvious question, “What do you think happened to Sunny?”

As the question faded out into silence, a low grumble and a slight shifting of earth took place beneath their hooves, but it stopped just as suddenly as it begun. Just a reminder that they were on unstable ground.

“Knowing him, he would have made sure he was the only one in the observatory.” Twilight finally replied, “And with what I know about their unique science of weather, I don’t think it would have been possible to trigger an earthquake after he was out of harm’s way.”

“The ground’s not gonna hold forever...” Applejack pointed out, the nervousness clear in her voice, “What’re we supposed to do?”

“That should be obvious.” Marco replied steadily, swapping a look with the overwhelmed Quicksilver, “The windigo may be gone, but we can hardly call this a victory if someone dies for it again.”

“So, what?” Applejack wasn’t sold, “We find where the observatory fell and hope Sunny is still okay?”

“No.” Quicksilver answered coldly, surprising everyone by rising up from his position and joining the group, “You lot go find that idiot, and drag him out of the wreckage before this whole gorge comes crashing down. I will-”

“Us?” Twilight was taken aback by the unicorn’s attitude, “He’s your friend isn’t he? What could be more important at the moment than-”

“He’s right.” Marco cut her off, “This is as much an opportunity as it is a disaster. Terra’s seal is likely to be down there too... and Celestia along with it.”

“How can you be so certain?” Twilight questioned, “Sunny should be our priority, especially when we don’t have any evidence Mistmantle was where the seal was placed, or that this gorge has exposed it-”

“Normally, I’d agree with you.” Marco accepted, yet didn’t falter, “And I don’t know what to tell you... but I can feel it. Like instinct. It feels like there’s something down there... something massive... and it’s-”

“Have you lost it?” Tager chirped, “And here I was beginning to think you were the only one with half a brain rattling around in there.”

“I- I think I know what you’re talking about...” Torrin spoke up nervously, even more timid than usual, “It’s like... weird. Kind of like when you’re looking up at a really tall building and it makes you feel funny.”

“You too?” Twilight asked quizzically, “Are you sure it’s not to do with your foresight or-”

“Sorry, but I feel it too... I think.” Applejack was slow to voice her agreement, “Like... like standing on the edge of a cliff. It makes my head feel light, and my skin all prickly...”

“One after another... these earth ponies are all losing their marbles.” Tager observed crudely, “I don’t feel nothing. Quit being weird.”

“Then perhaps you phrased it appropriately.” Quicksilver indicated Marco, “Instinct. Particularly, earth pony instinct. An interesting topic, but its mostly clouded in rumour and hearsay. No proper study has shown anything of the sort to exist.”

“Well, aren’t you full of useful information?” Tager remarked, cocking her head at the unicorn, “Are you the same guy that was getting all preaching and hot-blooded just before?”

“I was being emotional then... and it did not benefit the situation.” Quicksilver didn’t deny her comment, “But being analytical helps me keep my head, especially now that there’s the mystery of the gorge to consider, and Sunny could be injured or dead...”

“And I’m still scratching my head as to why we haven’t acted on that already.” Applejack didn’t want to see the discussion trail on while there were other priorities, “Can’t this wait until later?”

“Absolutely not.” Marco stopped her in her tracks, “It may not be certain, but if all these things are linked the way I think they are, this may be our one and only chance to get Celestia. If we get her back, it’ll be over for Terra.”

“But...” Torrin begun, “What about the prophecy-”

“Screw the prophecy!” Tager snarled, “What’s it done for you guys anyway? This way reeks of excitement... and you better not be forgetting why I even signed on for this in the first place-”

“Okay, we get it.” Twilight cut the pegasus off confidently, “It just means we split up. Marco, you and Tager can go your own way. Everyone else... this gorge won’t hold forever. We need to find Sunny, as well as get everyone out of town safely.

“At the very least, it’s safe to assume Sunny is alive.” she continued, not losing any momentum as she indicated Marco and Applejack’s headgear, “His transmogrification magic is still in effect.”

“If it’s all the same to you, I would prefer to go with these two.” Quicksilver took stance by Marco and Tager, “If this is to do with what has been happening to my home all these years... I must get to the bottom of it. As for Sunny... I feel as though I can trust you with his safety.”

Instantly, Twilight made to object, with ideas of a friendship between Sunny and Quicksilver at the ready, but before she could, she was stopped by the tugging of tiny hooves against her own.

Silently and conspiratorially, the colt jerked his head at the significant sight. At first, Twilight was clueless as to what he was trying to hint at, but it finally struck her. Tager, Quicksilver, and Marco... a pegasus, unicorn, and an earth pony... and, at least in her mind, the first, second, and third hero. Far be it from her to break up this formation.

“Fine...” Twilight surrendered with a drawn-out sigh, “Applejack, Torrin, and I should be enough to take care of things up here.”

“I’d best try and get to Sunny while you two coralle the townsfolk.” Applejack pitched in, “I shouldn’t have much trouble climbing up and down, or doing some heavy lifting.”

“And getting the ponies here organised and to safety should be quick enough with Torrin and a little co-operation with the town.” Twilight nodded to her friend, her confidence building, “There shouldn’t be any problem-”

As she said the words, another light tremor ran through the earth below, telling of another slight shift in the gorge below them.

“Then enough waiting around already.” Tager took the event in stride, her wings twitching as her blood heated up, “Even if it’s with these two eggheads, I’ve been waiting for a proper adventure!”

“You sure about this Quicksilver?” Marco questioned, fastening his saddlebags, their contents prepared for any kind of confrontation, “There’s a possibility that we’re walking into danger.”

“I can handle myself.” the scientist remarked coolly, going so far as to lead the way, “All the better if this leads me to someone I can hold accountable-”

“You guys!” Applejack called, seeing that the trio was already on their way, “Be careful, you hear? Do you best to work things out down there... but make sure you come back, alright?”

Tager and Quicksilver continuing forward without a care, Marco was the one to stop and turn back. Torrin, Twilight, and Applejack watched as, silently, Marco smiled a thin smile and dipped a hoof into the fold of one of his saddlebags.

“You got it.” he said, producing Luna’s amulet and clasping it around his neck, “We’re not taking any chances this time. So you focus on what you gotta do, and don’t worry about us.

“Because this time around...” he continued, turning boldly on the spot, “It’s our turn to take ‘em by surprise.”

* * * *

The day at a close, it was a setting sun shining on Canterlot. The frantic searching that had been going on earlier was long done with now, having been for naught. Slayde and Pinkie had also made it to the palace without any additional difficulties and handed over Philomena and Paragonia, and while Pinkie Pie remained in the palace taking a well earned break, Slayde had wanted some answers and gone off on his own.

So, left by herself, and unburdened by some kind of a mission for the first time she could remember, Pinkie had sat down in a deflated heap the moment Slayde left her, seizing the furniture that had been nearest to her. Looking around, she felt like she was in some kind of foyer-like area of the palace. She didn’t care anyway. The moment her eyes closed, she was out like a light.

Time passing unannounced as she rested without interruption, the first noise to be heard in the foyer for the longest time, other than her soft snoring, was the scrape of metal steps on the marble floor.

Not enough to rouse the exhausted Pinkie Pie, the steps got closer and louder until whoever they belonged to stopped right in front of her sleeping figure. Clearly uncomfortable with the prospect of interfering with her rest, the armoured pony fidgeted slightly, leaning in precariously as if his getting closer would somehow wake her up on its own.

“Stop that.” a bold voice from the other end of the foyer ordered, causing him to pull back, “You’re just going to scare her.”

Truly, a more obvious thing could not be said. Blinking his yellow, snake-like eyes in innocence, as if to prove his partner’s point, the devilish-looking jailer flicked his bat-like wings unconsciously. He and his partner, owing to their fearsome appearance, were Luna’s favored dungeon masters, rarely exposing themselves to the world outside Canterlot’s underground.

“Well, this was your idea, wasn’t it?” the more nervous guard replied, “You should know that I’m uncomfortable in these wide-open spaces! Why don’t you wake her then?”

“Fine.” his partner sighed impatiently, closing the distance with quick steps, “The sooner the better.”

Now next to his more skiddish counterpart, the bolder of the two guards was now staring down at the still sleeping Pinkie Pie. Barely even pausing to consider the situation, he nudged the corner of the chair she sat in with a swift kick and spoke.

“You’re Pinkie Pie right?” he asked as she roused, less of a genuine question and more of matter of course, “Sorry to disturb you, but we’ve been meaning to find you.”

Returning to the world with a slow stretch, Pinkie’s first action was to rub at her tired eyes. But soon after she removed her hooves from her eyes and saw who it was that was in front of her, they shot open, the pink earth pony unsurprisingly startled by the intimidating appearance of the two jailers.

“Uh, hi.” the nervous guard betrayed his fearsome first impression with a tiny wave, “Sorry to, um, disturb you. I’m Dusk Runner, and this is my partner, Guts Goldhound.”

“H-hello?” Pinkie’s voice escaped her as a whisper, put somewhat on edge by this sudden encounter, “Can I help you or something?”

“No.” Guts tone was like ice, “We’re here to help you. Please come with us.”

“Jeeze, Guts, now who’s scaring her?” Dusk Runner saw Pinkie Pie shrivel in response to his partner’s cold reply, “Sorry Pinkie, but we know... well, mostly, what’s been going on, and we’re trying to help you out.”

“Yes, that’s right.” Guts agreed, his malignant tone and the words he spoke a total contrast to one another, a likely result of having little experience holding conversation with anyone that wasn’t behind bars, “You must be exhausted. We’ve set aside some space here in the palace for you to get set up. A proper bed and facilities.”

“Uh...” Pinkie was, of course, tentative, “Sorry, but, who did you say you guys were?”

“I am Guts Goldhound, this is Dusk Runner.” he answered robotically, stiffly indicating himself and his partner, “Feel comfortable referring to us as Guts, or Dusk, respectively.”

“What he means is...” Dusk took over for Guts, his more personable side letting him see through to Pinkie’s true meaning, “We’re guards, just not like the type you’ve probably seen around here. Most ponies get scared just by looking at us, and we’re more comfortable in close environments, so we try to keep to ourselves in the city’s secret places.”

“Oh!” Pinkie changed tune instantly, bounding out from the chair she sat on, “I’ve heard about ponies like you before! Cool... so you guys are the ones who look after the secret stuff? Wait, what’d you want with me?”

“Since the incident this morning, things have been disorderly here at the palace.” Guts answered, his tone warming up along with Pinkie’s, even if it was only slightly, “For your comfort, and as a precaution, we are to take you to a reserved room here in the palace, and stand guard.”

“Stand guard?” Pinkie’s energy levels tapered off, “But what for? Isn’t this the palace?”

“Don’t worry.” Dusk tried to reassure her, “Like he said, this is just a precaution. Anyway, please follow us.”

On either side of her, the two jailers walked slowly out of the foyer, escorting the somewhat reserved earth pony towards the staircase in the next room. She was as comfortable as could be following their lead, given the circumstances, but she couldn’t help but be hesitant. As much as she avoided judging anyone by appearance, the fact remained that these two were just plain scary-looking.

“Hrm... well it’s not like I mind or anything.” Pinkie followed, trying to shake off her trepidation, “Was this Slayde’s idea or something?”

“Slayde?” Dusk repeated, “Was he the unicorn guard who arrived here with you earlier?”

“What, so he didn’t ask you two to look after me?” Pinkie asked curiously, her original question answered in a sense, “Then what’s he doing?”

“He had a brief talk with the higher-ups, before being ordered to report in at the hospital.” Guts answered, apparently more knowledgeable than his partner about Slayde, “He’s in for an overnight stay, at the very least. Rest assured, the main reason is due to overexertion. He’ll be back to full health soon enough.”

“Yeah, I was getting worried for a bit there when he found me in Appleoosa.” Pinkie replied, quietly relieved, “So, if he didn’t, who asked you two to look after me? Was it Luna or something?”

For a second, the two guards were silent. Curiously, Pinkie watched as they swapped a glance. Then, suddenly, they stopped walking. Pinkie too, skidded to a halt along with them.

“No one did.” Guts finally answered, “We decided to take some measure of initiative and see to your protection ourselves-”

“Guts...” Dusk’s tone was cautious, “Are you really sure about this?”

“Pinkie, the truth is, there’s a reason why the incident this morning was so severely disorganised.” Guts skipped past Dusk’s question, turning and facing Pinkie Pie directly, “As my partner mentioned earlier, ponies like us look after the secret places in this city, and it was our job to guard a particular prisoner.

“The individual that the guard was searching for was that prisoner.” he continued, his honesty shining through his stern tone, “He somehow escaped. The chaos that resulted was due to the fact that the princess went to extreme lengths to keep his existence a secret. Likely, this is the reason why he was able to avoid recapture.

“Thus, as we are the only ones in the city that know who that prisoner was, or even that there was such a significant breakout, we have decided to take it upon ourselves to see to your protection.” Guts concluded his explanation, “In truth, we only know of this secret by circumstance, and that Luna has only shared the truth with a small circle of trustworthy individuals. If the princess knew I was telling you any of this, or that we decided to act on our own, I am not sure that she would approve.”

Pinkie stood there, soaking it all in. The obvious question bordered on her lips. “So, why?” she asked, “Why are you telling me this stuff?”

“Because, Atlas is clever... too clever for us to work out.” Dusk was the one who answered this time, “And now that he’s free again, there’s no telling what he wants to do next.

“And, as you’re the only one in the city right now, apart from Slayde, who has any relationship to anything that has been going on lately, and for as long as we don’t know what Atlas is up to, we want to cover all the bases and ensure your safety.” he continued, trying not to worry the earth pony, “Look, it’s all very unlikely. He shouldn’t know who you are... or have any reason to be anywhere near the city, but we’re not going to pretend to know anything about him.”

“Okay... I think I get it.” Pinkie Pie nodded, “Sorry if I’m being a hassle... it’s just been, like, a crazy day.”

“If anything, we’re just here to help you rest easy.” Guts got the message, “Don’t let our worries become yours. Now, let’s get you to the room.”

Satisfied with their explanation, Pinkie followed along confidently as they continued on to wherever the two guards were leading her. After reaching the staircase, they ascended two levels, and, with that little bit of exertion enough to kick the life back out of her, Pinkie felt some measure of relief that these two were showing her to a proper room with a proper bed. Them guarding it would just be an added plus.

“Here we are.” Dusk broke through Pinkie’s trance, stopping her in front of one of the many doors along the hallway leading out of the stairwell, “This is the one. We’ll be sitting just out the front here, so don’t worry about anything.”

“Okay... thanks, you guys.” Pinkie said with a yawn, “If you don’t mind, I’m just gonna head right in. This pony’s about to crash...”

“Understood.” Guts replied simply as he held the door open for Pinkie, “If you need us for any reason, we’re at your disposal.”

“Got it...” she slowly replied, her head poking out as she slowly closed herself inside, “And thanks again.”

Staring at the closed door, Dusk and Guts, now alone, each let out a weighty sigh. Without a word, they positioned themselves on either side of the doorway, putting their backs to the wall and their faces forward. Not unlike the formation they normally took down in the dungeon, the only thing missing was their interlocked tridents barring the door.

“Well, that wasn’t so bad.” Dusk said, following up on his heavy sigh, “Although, being in this enormous corridor still makes me uncomfortable.”

Guts looked about himself before voicing his agreement. “There’s no helping that.” he said matter-of-factly, “But you’re right, that went significantly smoother than we expected.”

“I guess not everyone up here is so bad after all.” Dusk joked, a nervous relief present in his voice, “She was being pretty nice to ponies like us...”

“No comment.” Guts rolled his eyes silently, not one to indulge gossip, “Let’s just focus on keeping guard.”

The pair’s chatter inaudible from inside the spacious room, Pinkie sauntered sleepily through the luxurious environment, disregarding furnishings that would cause even Rarity to swoon as she homed in on the only thing she cared about.

Finding the gigantic bed dominating the bedroom, she dived unceremoniously into a pile of decorative pillows, settling instantly on top of the covers. Clutching a nearby ruffled and tasselled pillows, Pinkie Pie tucked it under her head, and, finally settled, let her eyelids meet.

Having found the necessary comfort, she was asleep as soon as her eyes closed. Clearly, whatever concerns that Dusk and Guts were worried would unsettle her weren’t enough to keep her up. Obviously, nor was the idea of having two scary-looking dungeon masters standing watch outside her room.

And so, the physical and mental exhaustion of her quest in Appleoosa finally catching up to her, Pinkie Pie was absorbed immediately into the world of dreams.

She awoke with a harsh sneeze some time later. Renegotiating herself on top of the covers, she wiped at her nose unconsciously as she rolled onto her back. However, when an unexpected chill crept up on her, she sat up and forced her still tired eyes open.

Getting her eyes back in working order was a slow process. But as she regained her vision, the first thing she noticed was that it was dark. Although it felt like it was only a few seconds ago that she came here, it was obvious even to her tired mind that she had been sleeping solidly for quite some time. It was nighttime already, and pretty late into it at that. She could have been asleep anywhere from three to five hours.

As she begun to consider why she had roused, that unexpected chill returned, in the form of a slight breeze. As it caused her to sneeze once more, she quickly realized that sleeping exposed on top of the covers had not done her any favours.

Getting off the bed with a tired groan, she staggered out of the bedroom. Soon enough, she found the culprit, a wide-open window on the far side of the next room. Her still sleepy mind not caring for anything other than getting back to sleep, she slowly made her way over and closed it.

She stared through the glass for a moment, looking out over the darkened streets of Canterlot. She had never seen them from up high before, and despite herself, the view was quite stunning, which wasn’t exactly unexpected considering she was in the royal palace at the moment.

The spectacle was enough to stall her thinking, as only after a few moments did she begin to wonder why the window had been open. She hadn’t remembered seeing it like this when she first came in here, but to be fair, she really didn’t pay much attention. Perhaps the room hadn’t been used for a while, and it was being aired or something...

Only then did Pinkie Pie notice. In the reflection of the glass, as well as bordering on her peripherals, she registered the faint wavering glow of yellow light behind her. Turning on the spot, she clearly saw its source, a solitary candlestick, placed on a small table at the side of the room from which she entered. And behind it, the still silhouette of an intruder seemingly sitting down in a chair.

“Dusk?” Pinkie Pie asked as she squinted at the figure, not able to make it out with such a small light source, “Or is that you, Guts?”

She continued to stare, but whoever it was, they didn’t reply, or even move for that matter. As her confusion developed, Pinkie’s unique senses begun to tingle.

“H-hello?” she tried one more time, her caution mounting as she begun to recognise the feeling welling up in her stomach, “Who’s there? Can you hear me?”

“Yes, I can hear you.” the gruff voice finally replied, his shadow shifting as he moved to lean forward slightly, “But please, not so loud...”

Now alert, Pinkie Pie focused her senses, trying to force the stallion to take shape in her eyes. As he lent in just that little bit further, and the soft light of the candle’s flame bounced off his spectacles and back at her, her eyes flashed with recognition. She now remembered this feeling. It was the same as what she felt earlier, back on the streets of Canterlot, when she stared out after that strange old pony she and Slayde had bumped into.

“Can you sit?” Atlas Black asked quietly and disarmingly, indicating the empty seat opposite him with a gentle nod of his head...

“I just want to have a little talk.”

Chapter 19: First Last Daybreak

From the Ashes

Chapter 19: First Last Daybreak

“We’re all ready on this end.” Spellbound said, joining Caliber, Shining Armor, and a collection of other guards all crowded around an impromptu map, “They all know their route. Just say the word.”

“Okay, very good.” Shining Armor replied with a confident nod, “Show it to me on the map.”

Obliging, Spellbound shuffled one of the guards aside and lent in to study the map. “We’ll use these three here.” she said, indicating a series of red crosses that had been marked on the map, “I’ll take my guards in through the north entrance and round up as many as possible, then swing back from the west end towards the marked location.”

“That’s the opposite of our route.” Caliber observed, indicating himself and his pegasi, “We’ll come in through the south end then bank east towards the area we’ve marked.”

“Great.” Shining Armor nodded again, studying all of the crosses marked on the map, several left over in odd locations, “We’ll have the whole town covered if the rest and I move through diagonally. Going off the map... the best choice looks like southwest to northeast.”

“Ah, I see.” Spellbound watched as Shining Armor traced an invisible line across the map as he described the route, “So what’s the actual plan then?”

“If we all follow the path we’ve each described without any problems...” Shining Armor explained, “Each group should end up approximately in these locations after exiting the town.”

As he talked, he tapped three points on the map in sequence, forming a rough triangle. His group was at the northmost point, with Caliber and Spellbound’s groups at the east and westmost respectively.

“From there, with each group having rounded up the most of the... ‘earthen’ as possible...” he continued, stalling slightly as he struggled to refer to the townspeople who had been transformed, “You will move around the town in an anti-clockwise cycle, and in sync with the other two groups, in order to ensure that we lure all the earthen along with us.

“Remember, the objective is to get them out of Cinderwood and to the locations crossed on the map.” Shining Armor concluded, emphasising the point, “Do not engage them in battle, and prioritise escape if you find yourself in trouble, or cannot meet the objective.”

Looking over the faces of those surrounding him, there was a general silence and collection of affirming nods. It seemed as though he was understood.

“Looks like we’re all set then.” Caliber spoke, observing his pegasi and taking their silence in stride, “Any last questions?”

“Just one...” a dignified voice called from behind, “What about us?”

Shining Armor and Caliber turned to see Rarity with a hoof raised satirically. They also saw Fluttershy and Pastel Pride behind her, the two of them busy re-creating the hastily drawn map of the town like they had been asked to, the intention being that each group would have their own version to use after splitting up.

“It’s not safe to leave you girls sitting here while we’re out of reach, but we can’t exactly spare anyone to babysit you.” Caliber replied, tapping his chin thoughtfully, “Unfortunately, we can’t afford to bring you along either...”

“Actually...” Shining Armor coughed, stepping forward, “I want the three of you with me and my group.”

“Uh... Captain?” Spellbound raised a cautious eyebrow, before casting a glance back to the trio, or more specifically, her old friend Pastel, “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“As Caliber pointed out, we don’t have a whole lot to work with considering all the earthen down there.” Shining Armor reasoned, “And as I understand it, we need all the help we can get to make effective use of the little manoeuvre we have planned.”

“You’ll have to forgive me, but I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about.” Rarity confessed, ever dignified, “Please be a little more specific. What manoeuvre? What plan? And what the devil do you want from us?”

Considering how to best respond to her questions, Shining Armor pursed his lips for a moment, and called out over her shoulder. “Excuse me, Fluttershy... are you done with the map?” he asked all of a sudden, “Bring it over here please.”

Faltering for a moment, Fluttershy checked her work before zipping over with the parchment. Handing it over without a word, Shining Armor had a quick look himself before flattening it out on the ground between him and Rarity. It was quite a basic copy, but to Fluttershy’s credit, it contained the important features and information that was on the original. More or less.

“Thank you.” Shining Armor bowed slightly, “Oh, and if you could, please listen along as well. I’m going to explain what’s going on with your friend here.”

In the background, Spellbound approached silently. “Hey!” she whispered harshly, causing Pastel Pride’s ears to perk, “That includes you too! Huddle up!”

Waiting for the earth pony, Shining Armor finally began his explanation. “Okay, I’ll make this quick.” he said as he indicated the map between them, “Aside from what you three helped us flesh out earlier about some of the finer details, the entire town of Cinderwood has been taken over by Terra’s ability.”

“Why don’t you tell us something we don’t know?” Pastel remarked, the mare lasting about as long as expected without a sarcastic quip, “Whatever he’s done to them has got ‘em totally zombified. We kinda noticed that much...”

“Then you probably also noticed that, while we were setting up, Spellbound took some of her people to do some reconnaissance on the Earthen.” Shining Armor continued, taking Pastel’s comment in stride, “And we managed to establish that they’re locked in some kind of hypnotic state. They’re totally reactionary, and hardly self-conscious.”

“So, like zombies?” Pastel returned to her previous comment, “No way. I’m out.”

“I still say it’s strange.” Caliber pitched in, ignoring Pastel as he intruded on the conversation, “The twins were nothing like that. Atlas did claim that their personalities had changed... but that’s a far cry from this.”

“We don’t know enough about what actually happened to the twins or these ponies to say for sure in any case.” Shining Armor replied coolly, “But, what we can be certain about is that their physical characteristics are the same. They don’t feel... and they are impervious to damage.”

“Zombies.” Pastel repeated dryly, “Seriously, what’s not to love?”

“Actually, with the right approach, we can make these things work to our advantage.” Shining Armor replied, surprising the girls with his positive spin, “Despite circumstances, our objective is to rescue this town. As they are, we cannot do the citizens of Cinderwood any harm.”

“Yeah, which is more than you can say about us!” Pastel growled, “I saw those things! They’re mindless killing machines! One whiff of us, and they’ll come running like a bunch of bloodthirsty animals!”

“Yes, well... as I said, it’s to our advantage.” Shining Armor smiled subtly, “To put it another way, we’re counting on them doing exactly that.”

In response, both Pastel and Fluttershy’s faces ran white. For her part, Rarity maintained her calm and composure, but could hardly stay silent any longer.

“I’m confused...” she took a considered breath before continuing, “I must have misheard. Did you say you intent to provoke these poor souls into chasing you? You, being the same pony who asked us to come with along with, well... you?”

“Yes, that’s correct.” he responded matter-of-factly, causing poor Fluttershy to shrivel in response, “You asked me to explain my plan, and that’s its premise. Now, as for the details, and before you all freak out on me, let us consider the map Fluttershy was kind enough to reproduce.”

Despite their imaginings of being torn to shreds by the brainwashed townsfolk threatening to overwhelm them, Pastel and Fluttershy obliged, following Shining Armor’s gesture and looking at the map. As it was her who insisted in the first place, Rarity more seriously followed the captain’s indication.

“It’s relatively simple.” Shining Armor begun unconvincingly, “Caliber, Spellbound and I each lead a group into the town from different directions.”

As he spoke, Shining Armor tapped the three locations that he had worked out previously with Caliber and Spellbound. “If you look at the outline of the town on the map, you’ll notice that it forms a rough circle, which is good for us.” he referred to the map as he continued, tracing out three individual paths through the town with his hoof, “And that’s because, the whole point is to attract the attention of every single earthen in Cinderwood. Since each group comes in and exits the town from unique locations, there’s a total of six points here on the map where we’re either coming or going, which lets us get even the ones spread out on the outskirts chasing us.”

“You seem to be avoiding the ever-important question of why.” Rarity spoke up, “I fail to see why it is so important to inspire a genuine horde of, urgh... ‘zombified’ ponies to chase us.”

“Two reasons.” Shining Armor answered, accepting her hesitation, “One, we need to secure the town square. And two, while our duty is to the people of Cinderwood, there isn’t much we can do for them at this stage, and definitely not while they are in such a state. We need to deal with them, which is why we need to lure them out of the town.”

Shining Armor paused, knowing they weren’t following. “Let’s look at the map again shall we?” he tried again, “Now, see how once each group exits the town they end up in these three locations, forming a kind of triangle? You may have overheard us as we were just talking about it, but once everypony is in position, each group moves in a circle, counter-clockwise, making sure to keep the same distance between the group in front of them and the one behind them.”

Squinting and biting her lip, Pastel studied the map as Shining Armor spoke, visualising the movements he described. And that’s when she noticed.

“If you all do that...” she mumbled, reaching a tentative hoof out and tracing a circle through each point of the triangle, “You’ll go through all these crosses you’ve got marked here... and here... and-”

“Exactly.” Shining Armor nodded, “If we can lure the earthen through those marked crosses, then we win.”

Intrigued by this, Rarity looked at the map as a whole. It was strange. Cinderwood sat right in the middle of a large clearing, with nothing but flat empty ground surrounding the town proper in every direction up to the forest in which they were now concealed. She could easily imagine how this empty flat ground was ideal for running the circuit Shining Armor was describing, but what she couldn’t figure out was what those crosses were that had been marked on the map. From what she could see, the area around Cinderwood was totally featureless, and the marks on the map were distributed randomly.

Finally, she made to ask what they were, but she found herself interrupted as Fluttershy finally decided to break her silence. Truth be told, the pegasus had been so reserved so far that Rarity had almost forgotten she was here...

“Um, sorry to interrupt...” Fluttershy spoke up for the first time, “But, well... if you don’t mind, could I maybe sit out on the whole circuit thing? It sounds dangerous, and I don’t fly all too well under pressure-”

“Me neither!” Pastel lunged at the opportunity, “In fact, I don’t fly at all! No magic either, nope! Better stay behind with my pal Fluttershy-”

“Don’t worry... I have something else in mind for you three.” Shining Armor cut her off, his tone serious, “But keep in mind, it is no less important.”

He could feel the inquiring eyes of Caliber and Spellbound creeping up on him, the two of them not knowing nor condoning his intention to utilise the trio. Not keen on getting sidetracked again, he decided to continue right away.

“Rounding up and luring the earthen will take up all of our attention.” Shining Armor explained, “Since they’re mindless, they won’t stop chasing us, so we can’t stop running. Caliber, Spellbound, and I, as we’re leading the three groups, we won’t be able to re-enter the town after exiting it, since we’d just bring the earthen back with us.

“But, as I said before, we need to secure the town square.” he continued, “Can you guess why?”

“Unless it’s to deal with Haywire or Truant or any other nasties, I’d rather not know...” Pastel muttered bitterly, “Can’t you just tell us?”

“True, Truant and Haywire are likely to be here, and rest assured, we have no intention of involving you with them, but there should be somepony else here.” Shining Armor replied, “And once the town square is clear and we lure the earthen off, I want you three to stay behind and seek him out.”

“Oh, no-no-no... N to the O... no!” Pastel scoffed, “If there’s anyone here that isn’t brainwashed and stupefied, then that makes them even more dangerous! You can count on me to be going the other way than somepony like that...”

“Rarity, Fluttershy... perhaps you two will have more reason to want to do this.” Shining Armor looked to the two friends, totally ignoring Pastel’s ranting, “I mean, he has to be here, doesn’t he?”

“Why would-” Rarity begun, but then cut herself off, “Wait. Who are you talking about?”

“Scryer, or as you two know him better as, Torrin’s father.” he answered, “I’m sure Pastel Pride would agree. If this is their hideout, we can expect him to be here just as much as Haywire or Truant...”

Rarity and Fluttershy swapped a look as they thought back to their time in Appleoosa. Back then, they had been so frantic and focused on trying to get Torrin to safety that it was easy to forget why they went there in the first place, and painful to remember that they failed to rescue the pony for whom they had come for originally.

As Rarity and Fluttershy maintained their thoughtful stares, it was clear that they shared some feeling of responsibility towards, not only Scryer, but to his son, Torrin. Noticing this, and dreading its meaning, Pastel’s hooves began to tremble underneath her.

“Oh, come on...” she gasped, shivering as she sensed the atmosphere, “You’re not seriously considering- you are aren’t you? Please don’t do this to me!”

“Is the captain correct?” Rarity responded, turning to face the pleading earth pony, “How likely is it that Scryer is here too?”

Mouth already opened, Pastel gawked in silence before setting into a pained grimace, her teeth grinding as if to hold back an honest answer. Regaining her composure, she simply closed her eyes and sighed, having finally realised the futility of it all.

“Yeah, of course he’s right.” she shook her head woefully, “If this is their hideout... and it is... then the prophet or whatever is being held here somewhere.”

Once again, Rarity and Fluttershy exchanged glances. “What do you think?” Rarity asked evenly, “It could be quite dangerous. Especially with that Truant person involved.”

Fluttershy, though giving off a rare aura of determination, faltered slightly at her friend’s question. Both of them had their own experience with that evil unicorn, and while it was Rarity who had suffered heavily to his mercilessness, Fluttershy could not forget the terror she had felt when he first confronted her.

Seeing that the pegasus was visibly shaken, Pastel leaned in. “You don’t have to force yourself.” she reached forward, expressing some measure of genuine concern for her wellbeing despite being mostly consumed by self-interest, “Let the guards handle it. We don’t need to throw ourselves into harms way just for-”

“No, I already decided I wanted to do my best.” Fluttershy cut her off resolutely, “And I can’t help but feel like it’s kind of my fault. Poor Torrin pleaded so desperately to the princess to help save his father... and we’re the ones who couldn’t bring him back in the first place.”

“I concur.” Rarity nodded proudly and firmly, “We did promise to save Scryer... and, well... it’s better late than never!”

“You two are crazy.” Pastel objected, “He’s their prisoner. What can you two do, huh?”

“We’ll work something out.” Rarity replied confidently, “And we definitely can’t force you to come.”

“Damn straight you can’t!” Pastel crossed her front hooves and sat down definitely, “Why should I care anyway? I didn’t make any promises or anything...”

The line clearly drawn, Caliber saw fit to once again intrude. “Look, I hate to interrupt, but we’re wasting time.” he looked Pastel over before addressing Rarity and Fluttershy, “We’re about to head out. Are you with us?”

With Rarity staring at her silently, Pastel closed her eyes and turned up her nose. With a light sigh, the unicorn simply turned around and moved in beside Caliber, ready to leave.

Fluttershy however, still had something to say. “You know, before all this, when the rest of my friends were still with me in Canterlot, we met up to talk with Luna in the palace.” she begun, her quiet voice attracting Pastel’s attention, “Torrin wanted to do whatever he could to help find his father, and even insisted against the princess...

“Even though he’s so small and young, he’s brave.” Fluttershy continued, “Braver than us. But that same colt told me that he looks up to you. After working with you, Marco, and Twilight in the library and all that, he said that to me. I guess, as one earth pony another, you inspired him.”

“Hey, come on Fluttershy, this isn’t funny...” Pastel groaned, “Stop trying to work me, ‘cause I ain’t buying.”

Turning on the spot, Fluttershy followed after her friend. “I wasn’t lying.” she said as she walked away, “But it would be wrong to try and force you. Sorry.”

“Tsk... Torrin, huh?” she muttered to herself, watching Rarity and Fluttershy follow Caliber over to the other guards, “Come to think of it, he did have a lot of questions about my job. He was pretty starry-eyed about an earth pony managing the royal archive, and I’d go jump if he wasn’t interested in some day working as a-

“Oh... you brat.” she cursed his name, “Guilt-tripping me from the other side of Equestria are you? And Fluttershy... that was pretty sneaky. Screwing with my feelings huh? And right before you said you didn’t wanna force me...”

Teeth grinding and the veins showing above her eye, Pastel exhaled in a hot, angry breath before uncrossing her hooves and standing herself up.

“Fine... you win, damn you.” she growled before breaking into a gallop and yelling out after them, “Hey, wait up! You guys win, I’m coming too. But you gotta promise to take care of me, okay?

“Don’t pretend you can’t friggin’ hear me!”

* * * *

“Did you hear that?” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, scanning the otherwise spooky Everfree surroundings with unaffected eyes, “Owls and critters and bugs and snakes making a commotion even when it’s so dark in here. Seriously... it feels like we’re constantly being watched!”

Receiving no reply, Pinkie’s expression deflated slightly, but only momentarily. Never one to dwell, she continued moving forward, skipping for several steps, then, as if sapping her own energy, collapsed head over heals in pretend exhaustion.

“Can we stop for a minute?” she moaned dramatically, “I was already exhausted when you found me... and we’ve been walking non-stop since Canterlot!”

Her complaints falling on seemingly deaf ears, the hooded figure leading her continued the march forward. As always, the sun above Everfree Forest was obscured by a mess of vines and gnarled branches, but today, an oddly thick and darkening fog hung low in the woods, meaning that the small and battered lamp the cloaked figure carried was their only way to see through the murky darkness in front of them.

“Seriously though, Everfree forest is super dangerous, even at this time of day...” Pinkie switched tune as she tried once more, “I can understand why we aren’t allowed to stop in Ponyville, but don’t you think it would be better to find a place to hole up?

“I mean, we can barely see where we’re going!” she continued, looking about herself with some small modicum of concern, “Believe me, it’s easy to get lost even when you’re only a little bit into the forest...”

As she continued to scan the darkened surroundings, Pinkie failed to notice the pony in front of her stop, and she continued on to bump into his rear and stagger backwards.

Barely registering the impact, the figure reached up and pulled the hood down from his head before speaking. “Very well.” Atlas Black spoke, “This should be far enough. I had originally planned to camp here anyway.”

“Well why didn’t you just say so?” Pinkie Pie huffed, “And here you had me thinking you wanted to navigate Everfree Forest with this annoying fog everywhere!”

“My apologies.” Atlas didn’t even look her way, “But if I may say, if we waited for it to lift, it would most likely be night then, which would only compound our issues.

“In any case, we should rest for now.” he continued with a stern shaking of the head, realizing the futility of arguing, “Please wait a moment while I find us a suitable location.”

Searching around briefly, it only took the old stallion a few seconds to find a light-trodden path stemming from the one they were on, going under a mess of overgrown thorny vines and towards what looked like a towering formation of mossy rocks.

“Here.” Atlas faced the path, “This seems to lead to a sheltered clearing. Follow me, and mind the thorns.”

Obliging, Pinkie Pie mimicked Atlas’ movements as he negotiated through the underbrush, as she could barely see a thing without the lamp. Her hair often caught a wayward thorn or two, and her steps were unsteady through a maze of protruding roots and slippery rocks, but for the most part, she managed to keep behind Atlas.

Suddenly however, one of her leading hoofsteps landed on a particularly mossy stone, causing her to slip and harshly trip over. With what little breathing room she had, her body touched the thorny vines, and her front hoof became ensnared by the tangled mess.

A pained whimper escaping her lips as the thorns dug slightly into her, Atlas was quick to respond, planting the lamp close by to observe her trapped hoof, and proceeding to carefully handle the vine so as to work her free from its thorny grasp.

“Whew...” Pinkie sighed as Atlas freed her, rubbing a sore but otherwise unharmed hoof, “Thanks. And, ah... sorry.”

Without a word, Atlas picked the lamp back up and turned away. Pinkie made to press him on his lack of response, but just as the aged stallion made to resume his way through to the clearing, he found himself pause, and finally, face her again.

“After I came to you at the palace...” he begun, his response taking her by surprise, “Why did you ask to come with me?”

“Um, that?” Pinkie Pie stood back up properly, not expecting that kind of question to come now, “Sorry, but I don’t really get it... I asked because I wanted to.”

“I’m not talking about that.” Atlas replied unamused, starting to move forwards again, intent on taking this conversation on the road, “Surely you must have heard about me being wanted... or that I am an enemy of the princesses. Why then, did you wish to come?”

“Well, I don’t really know about any of that stuff.” Pinkie Pie replied unreservedly, “All I know is that when you said my friends were in trouble, and that you wanted to help, you were telling the truth.”

“I am always true to my word.” Atlas responded, still not satisfied with the answer, “But even so, you must be quite confident in your own judgement to come this far on what would otherwise be a simple whim.”

“I don’t really know how, but you don’t seem like a bad guy.” Pinkie elaborated slightly, “But I gotta say, this Terra guy you’ve been going on about... I don’t like him. He’s a bad guy.”

She was met with silence, and in the next instant, Atlas stopped in his tracks. Worried she may have hit a nerve, Pinkie tilted her head so as to see the face of the stallion in front of her. His expression was totally still, but his eyes were intense. She quickly felt a little more worried to think that he really was upset, but then she saw his blue eyes shift quickly from left to right, then back again, as if looking for something.

“We’re not alone.” Atlas growled, fully alert, “There’s something, or someone else out here... up ahead.”

Focusing her eyes against the darkness, Pinkie tried her best to force them to adjust. Try as she might though, she couldn’t see anything, even with the aid of the lamp next to her. But a quick look at Atlas confirmed that he could see something. Perhaps though, ‘see’ wasn’t the right word. It was more like he could just somehow tell.

“Stay behind me.” Atlas ordered, whispering to her without breaking from his gaze, “Whoever they might be, their presence is massive. Follow close... and try to keep quiet.”

Not understanding, but still doing as she was told, Pinkie crept silently behind Atlas as he took the lead, being extra careful not to slip on anything again. As they got clear of the thorny maze of vines and more out into the clearing that Atlas had mentioned earlier, Pinkie saw it.

“Look...” she whispered, being careful to keep her voice as low as possible, “There’s a light...”

Atlas quickly noticed it too. There was a soft wavering glow of yellow light coming from up ahead. He and Pinkie realised at the same time. It was a light from a fire, or more specifically, a campfire.

Atlas’ mind was alive with activity. A campfire meant that there was someone else out here, which was strange in and of itself. And even then, the odds of running into them were slim in the extreme. And considering that they were on the run, he couldn’t accept that someone just happened to be out here, and that they had just so happened to bump into them. To his mind, it didn’t take any kind of special sense to know that, whoever it was, this was no coincidence.

These troubled thoughts running away with him, Atlas was caught trying to decide what to do. Could this be happenstance? If this wasn’t random, then would it be better to confront them, or to escape? As these questions preoccupied him, he failed to notice that Pinkie Pie was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing that she had nonchalantly sauntered on up to the source of the light, the option of what to do next was taken away from Atlas. Running up to her with quick steps, he ended up beside her, covering her on one side, and peering around the corner on the other.

What he saw surprised him. It was a campfire after all, and a pretty rudimentary one at that, located in the centre of a comfortable-looking clearing, covered from high above by the overhanging rock formation. And there was somepony standing over it.

Whoever it was, they were huge. Their entire body covered in a massive haggard rag, Pinkie and Atlas’ eyes widened to realise the figure wasn’t standing after all, but sitting. With no visible feature to tell them of their identity, the pony did not move, nor seem to notice he was being watched.

Despite the shock, Atlas was no longer certain that this was something sinister. Just from their size, it couldn’t possibly be anyone that knew him, unless it was Terra himself. With that ludicrous possibility dismissed, Atlas begun to think that this really was just a coincidence.

“A vagrant perhaps?” Atlas whispered to his left, where Pinkie was, “It probably doesn’t matter. We should-”

Atlas cut himself off to realise that she wasn’t even there. Looking left and back towards where they had come from, and discovering nothing, he realised it too late. He peered around the corner once more to see that, of course, Pinkie had exposed herself entirely, walking out into the open and up to the mysterious figure without a single thought of fear or caution.

“Wowzers, you’re huge!” Pinkie marvelled innocently, stating the obvious as she looked the rugged-up pony up and down, “Who are you supposed to be?”

Still fearing the worst, Atlas exploded out from hiding and rushed to Pinkie’s side. Slowly, the figure’s head turned from underneath the rags concealing it, so as to face the intruders.

The tension in the air was palpable as the figure just stared invisibly out from the shadow concealing its face. Atlas had since assumed a defensive stance, and Pinkie just looked between the two in ignorance.

“Hohohoho!” the figure bellowed, his heavy laughter shaking the very air, “What a funny combination you two make! I wasn’t expecting that!”

His boisterous jolly laughing resuming, Atlas’ cautious scowl wavered, if not only from confusion. Pinkie Pie however, saw no reason to not join in the fun, and fell into a giggle-fit of her own.

Though he was surrounded by confusion, Atlas wasn’t one to fall into anyone else’s pace. “You should answer her.” Atlas spoke evenly, his bold insistence cutting through the confused mood, “Who are you?”

“Hoho...” the gigantic pony grunted ambiguously in response, his laughter trailing off as he turned his shadowed-out face to Atlas, “Hrmm... seems we’ve got a rude one here.”

Despite what he was saying, his thundering voice carried with it the same gusto as it did before. “Since you two are the ones coming up to me...” he continued, shifting how he sat slightly as he spoke, “It’s good manners to introduce yourselves before you ask me to do the same, don’t you think? Hoho...”

Pinkie obviously saw no flaw in this reasoning. “Well, my name is Pinkie Pie!” she answered with extra energy, her lively nature easily compatible with this stranger’s attitude, “I’m from Ponyville, and I love making new friends!”

“Hohoho!” the giant pony bellowed again, obviously amused by this, “What an excellent outlook you have. A pleasure to meet you!

“And?” his tone altered slightly as he rounded on Atlas, a small measure of cunning slipping through his jolly nature, “Who might you be? Hrm?”

Atlas took his time before responding. He was far from making sense of this situation, but as he looked at it objectively, while he would do well to stay cautious, there was no reason to be aggressive. He would play along.

“The name is Atlas.” he finally answered, “Atlas Black. Sorry for the third-degree.”

“Hoho... water under the bridge, as I like to say!” came the reply, “Good to meet you as well.”

A fleeting moment of quiet followed as their introduction concluded. Noticing this, the giant pony snorted, and threw his head back underneath the rags obscuring it.

“Hohoho... now who’s being the rude one!” he continued, chuckling at himself, “Come, come, have a seat Pinkie and Atlas! There’s space around the fire!”

Atlas, of course, noticed the stranger hadn’t followed by giving his own name, or even revealing his face. It was in his nature to be blunt and bring up the suspicious nature of this odd encounter, but he lost the opportunity as Pinkie once again took the lead.

“Thanks!” she exclaimed, instantly accepting the offer to join by the fire as she zipped into place on the opposite side of the campfire to the towering pony in rags, “You have no idea how much I wanted to kick my hooves up!”

“Hoho... by all means!” the giant figure responded, “Sorry if the fire’s a tad crude, I can’t even remember how long it’s been since I tried to make one of these!”

While Atlas was still significantly reserved, he didn’t want there to be much of a distance between him and Pinkie, just in case. Observing the campfire as he too found a place by it, he quickly noticed that giant pony wasn’t fooling around, at least no more than he seemed to normally. The campfire was especially poorly made. If he was a drifter or a vagrant like Atlas thought, he ought to know how to assemble one of these properly.

“Yes, yes... the more the merrier!” the figure’s boisterous voice shattered Atlas’s train of thought easily, “Don’t be shy now! Come on in, warm yourself up! Hohohoho...”

The next moment passed in a curious silence. Already unsettled, Atlas looked to Pinkie, who, once she was done busying herself with her own thoughts, adopted a look of intrigue as the figure that had invited them to sit was motionless, apparently staring into the fire.

“Hello?” Pinkie cocked her head as she attempted to regain the figure’s attention, “Anyone in there? What are you staring at?”

“Hohoho... my apologies, but before you came, this is what I was doing.” he replied curiously, “Would you believe that this is one of the few times I have had the opportunity to watch a fire?”

“What are you talking about?” Pinkie somehow managed to cock her head even further without breaking her neck, “Never had a campfire before?”

“Try staring like I do.” he said mystically, “Watch what happens.”

Pinkie didn’t understand, but with her unique temperament, that wasn’t a prerequisite for following along. Never one to deny a chance at amusement, she stared at the campfire, watching absently as the flames danced about.

With Pinkie doing the same, Atlas found it hard to resist. He was hardly playing along, but eventually he looked at the fire as well. He was hardly focused like the other two... he was too curious about this stranger.

The seconds ticking by silently, it became painfully obvious that there would be no end to this. Naturally, it was Pinkie Pie who looked away first, frowning as the fun that she had somehow expected never came.

“I don’t get it.” she confessed sourly, looking at the giant pony in confusion, “What’s the deal?”

“Hohoho...” he chuckled modestly in reply, “I guess we see things a bit differently! That’s okay though! It just means I’m a little more patient, I suppose.”

“Now I’m even more confused...” Pinkie Pie scrunched up her muzzle as she tried to find meaning in his words, “What were you looking at?”

“The story, of course!” he bellowed again, attracting Atlas’ attention, “It’s normally so hard to see something unpredictable happen... but for something ponies like you see so often, it must be a little harder to appreciate the randomness of fire dancing around. It’s violent, but elegant. Chaotic... and responsible for a lot of good, as well as a lot of destruction.

“Oh well, doesn’t matter!” he continued with a laugh, “You guys are much more interesting after all! How about you tell me what brings you out here, hrm? I’m sure that’s quite a tale!”

“Hold on.” Atlas seized his chance, cutting Pinkie off just as she took a breath to answer, “Thank you for letting us by your fire, but after introducing ourselves, we still don’t know who you are, or what you’re doing out here...

“So, before we go any further, and tell you our business...” he continued boldly, “How about you start us off? We still don’t know your story...”

“Hohoho...” he laughed again, slower and deeper this time, “A curious choice of words! But are you sure about that? I would have thought that, if you were the ones I’ve been waiting for, then at least one of you would know my story...”

Without a word, the figure reached up from underneath the rags covering him, pulling it up by the section covering his face, and letting the whole thing drop off to the side. What was revealed as it fell, caused both Pinkie and Atlas’ jaws to drop.

Even by the dim light of the campfire, and against the unnatural darkness of the fog around them, the rich colour of his coat was easily seen. From hoof to head, his coat was of the richest and boldest blue, and his mane and tail flowed out from his body in ethereal waves, swaying, bobbing, and sparkling as if comprised of incomprehensibly pristine water.

“I am King Neptune of the Undersea.” he stood up on all fours as he spoke, no wings upon his back, no horn atop his head, and nothing but a giant earth pony by all appearances, “Please forgive my manners, I’ve been away from the world for a long... long time.

“Hohoho... you’re quite surprised!” Neptune laughed heartily, his rags no longer able to mask his jolly expression, “Ah, excuse me! My story was it? Hrmm... let’s see now...”

Shocked beyond the ability to respond, Pinkie and Atlas swapped identical glances, with the same exact thought screaming out inside their heads. Just what the heck had they walked into?

“Well, I’ve been quite busy by myself for the longest time, doing some meditating.” Neptune didn’t seem to mind the lack of reply he was receiving, or perhaps he didn’t even notice it, “Hohoho... and I quite lost track of time! No point in worrying about that though. Not now anyway.

“The point is, I’ve been wanting to meet you two.” Neptune continued, his tone shifting instantly, “That’s why I was waiting here... watching the fire.”

Still not saying anything, Pinkie Pie and Atlas swapped another glance. They couldn’t even guess at what was really going on, or comprehend much of the hidden meaning that was obvious behind the king’s words.

“Hohoho...” Neptune chuckled lightly, smiling to himself, “Shall we sit back down? Hrm? There’s a few things I’d like to talk about...”

* * * *

“The others are good to move on our signal.” Caliber spoke up from the front, he and his pegasi in position and prepared to charge the town, “You ready to get this party started?!”

Inspiring a cheer from the guards behind him, Caliber faced forwards and raised his hoof upwards, ready to lead the assault. “Let’s go!” he roared, throwing his hoof down and kicking into a gallop, “Advance!”

As he and his pegasi ran, he could see Spellbound and Shining Armor’s groups doing the same, approaching Cinderwood via their respective routes. “Watch out for the mud pits!” Caliber called out as he lead them, seeing several of the gurgling pools dotting the otherwise clear flats around the town, “There’ll be no getting you out if you step in one!”

As he looked over his shoulder to ensure his guards were avoiding them appropriately, the bandages that were securing his wing caught his eye. Without a second thought, he reached at them, and pulled the wrappings off with his teeth and let them fly.

Now liberated, he tested the movement in his injured wing. He grimaced in pain as he attempted a full range of motion, the wing itself still significantly stiff. Having hoped for better, Caliber bit his lip as he continued on. Flying would be out of the question, but he could probably manage to glide if need be. And if he got into any kind of trouble, he would have to be sure not to lead with his injured wing, and only use it for support.

“Sir!” one of the guards closer to Caliber called from behind, bringing him back to reality, “Earthen, up ahead!”

He saw it. Their attention drawn by the large body of ponies fast approaching them, the blank faces of transformed townsfolk turned on Caliber and his guards. Slowly, they begun to shamble towards all the activity, until, as if they were waking up, their steps became better placed and significantly faster.

“Here we go!” Caliber addressed his guards as they moved to enter the town, “Don’t stop moving, and keep them following you!”

As he was first to enter the town, Caliber had to roll sideways to avoid the lunge of a nearby earthen. “Don’t let them corner you!” he continued as he ignored its attempts to grab at him as he passed, “Take wing and rejoin the group if you get into a tough spot!”

The plan was simple enough. Have three groups enter the town from different directions, and pass through it so as to attract the attention of all the earthen in Cinderwood. And, if each group could follow the routes they agreed upon, they would intersect at the centre of the town, and on their way out, each lead what would end up being about a third of the townspeople out into the open flats surrounding Cinderwood.

The intelligence that had been gathered beforehand made this a relatively safe bet, in that, considering what Spellbound and her unicorns had observed from the earthen, their behaviour would be easily predictable, and thus, controllable.

However, while Spellbound had been busy studying the earthen, Caliber and his pegasi had been tasked with gathering a different kind of intelligence. And because of that, he was very conscious of where their whole scheme was most at risk of falling apart. For, assuming that Pastel’s knowledge and assessment of the situation was accurate, and he and his guards had correctly identified the spot in the centre of the town as the enemy’s headquarters, then what happened next would define how their entire plan would proceed.

Only a few metres from the point at which his and the other groups were expected to intersect, Caliber could see the signs of Spellbound and Shining Armor’s groups approaching. Small blinks telling of magical teleportation advertised the difficulties the unicorns were having evading the earthen. It was only natural that Caliber’s group had reached the centre faster, as the more agile pegasi had had an easier time than the others dodging the heavy and predictable movements of the transformed townsfolk.

Even though they were ahead, Caliber knew he couldn’t risk stopping. Still at the leading edge of his group’s advance, he rounded in on what seemed to be Cinderwood’s town square. As he did however, time seemed to slow. His pegasi not far behind him, Caliber’s pace slowed slightly, and his senses sharpened, preparing himself to duck, roll, stop, or sprint on a moment’s notice. And that was because he knew what was going to happen next...

With a flicker of dark magic, Truant materialised right in front of the pegasus. In the instant following his sudden appearance, the unicorn’s long horn was thrust violently forward, coated in black energy and intending to kill.

Caliber, however, still nimble enough even with an injured wing, ducked left, tucking his wings and front hooves in so as to slide through Truant’s stance and between his widely placed legs. The unicorn’s jab went wide, and Caliber dug his hooves into the ground, cutting his slide short and taking an angled stance on his foe’s exposed side.

Truant, never one to be shocked into inaction, didn’t miss a step. His dark energies already flaring, and, now that Caliber was behind him, his horn was now pointed at the mass of pegasi that were following right behind him. Already in position, and sensing an evil opportunity to fell their numbers, he begun to conjure a dark spell at the tip of his horn, directed right at the surprised crowd of guards before him.

With his guards only a second away from annihilation, Caliber’s eyes flashed with fury. Not only had he been basically ignored by the unicorn, and not only was it his own pegasi now under threat, but payback was long overdue for his experience at Canterlot. With that being strikes one, two, and three, Caliber’s leading hoof cracked the ground below as his body spun into motion.

Throwing his own weight over his shoulder, Caliber paid no heed to his injured wing as he thrust both of them outwards, using them to rush forwards and instantly accelerate into an aggressive aerial spin. Even from a standing start, his speed was so intense that his figure blurred completely, his outstretched wings becoming like a buzzing sawblade as he came at Truant with a vengeance.

The unicorn noticed his mistake a moment too late. Caliber’s manoeuvre circled Truant with intent, his leading wing striking each of the unicorn’s joints in turn, causing him to buckle, and, following a final blow to his exposed side from the incredibly fast pegasus, Truant fell.

Caliber emerged from the encounter back on the opposite side of the collapsed Truant, standing back between his guards and the sinister unicorn. But as he took stance again, he cursed himself to see his injured wing droop. He had been too reckless, and now it wouldn’t move despite his wishes. That attack was all he had in him, and it was far from enough.

His guards now close behind, Caliber grimaced. He was a sitting duck like this, and while he and his guards hadn’t needed to be overly wary of the earthen so far, with Truant stopping them here, they were between a rock and a hard place. With the bounty head on one side and the horde of earthen on the other, escape wouldn’t go smoothly. But they had a plan, and he had to make a decision. Press forward and try to evade Truant, or turn back and face the earthen right behind them.

But as the unicorn stood up, wearing a scowl of utter contempt, it appeared the option of choice was taken away from him. With his manoeuvrability gone, and staring down the business end of Truant’s horn as it kicked back to life with a sinister crackle of dark magic, Caliber saw the future, and realised there was no stopping him this time.

The pegasus’ eyes widened to see Truant’s spell launch toward him. Fearing the end, his eyes boggled even further as his magic seemed to strike not him, but the air in front of Truant’s face, and explode behind an invisible barrier.

As Caliber came to terms with his situation however, he realised it wasn’t invisible at all. Holding back the blast, he saw a light blue shimmer, like glass or ice, capturing Truant like a snowglobe. As the pegasus saw Truant’s empty stare shift from his vulnerable form to something more to his right, Caliber realised what had happened.

“Whew... I made it in time.” Shining Armor breathed a sigh of relief, his trademark magical barrier having successfully encapsulated both him and his target, “Sorry we’re late.”

Standing boldly before Truant, Shining Armor simply stared back as his shield begun to crack and crumble from the attack. As one unicorn to another, they both seemed to take a moment to assess one another. Truant’s empty eyes narrowed slightly as he considered the stallion before him... as if appraising some hidden quality.

“So you’re Truant?” Shining Armor questioned, his tone shifting as his switched focus, “I’ve heard quite a lot about you...”

Observing the exchange in stunned silence, as could be expected following his near death experience, Caliber jumped slightly as Spellbound teleported in beside him.

“Caliber!” she called as she reached for him, helping him to stand properly, “Are you okay? Your wing...”

“It’s fine...” he lied as he struggled to rise, still unable to get a response from his drooped wing, “Don’t worry about me. Help Shining Armor. That unicorn is something else...”

“No.” Spellbound refused, lifting the pegasus up more forcefully, “His orders are for us to lead the groups and the earthen back out of the town. The captain’s got a plan!”

Shaking off his nerves and Spellbound’s grip, Caliber rose properly to his hooves and considered the situation more calmly. One look at Shining Armor confirmed that he wasn’t going to budge an inch, and another look back to his pegasi reminded him that the earthen they had rounded up weren’t waiting for him to make up his mind.

“Okay, I get it.” Caliber nodded once, “I’ll take my pegasi out through the east as we planned.”

“Good.” Spellbound smiled despite herself, “I’ll make sure my group follows our route, so even without Shining Armor, his group should have no problem getting the remainder of the earthen out of the town.”

“Wait...” Caliber’s head perked up to realize, “The girls! Where are Rarity and the others?”

“They’re doing their part of the plan!” Spellbound physically pushed the pegasus into action as she led him away from Truant and Shining Armor, “Now come on! We’ve got to hold up our end!”

His hollow eyes moving between his escaped prey and the unicorn who had intervened, Truant seemed to recognise that some kind of scheme was underway. He couldn’t tell what, or even figure out how they had even known to come here, but he wasn’t about to let them proceed unabated.

“What are you plotting?” he questioned, dismissing the scene around him and focusing on Shining Armor, “You had the opportunity to take us by surprise, yet you arrive at our doorstep like a roaring tide. If this is some kind of strategy, I fail to understand its workings...”

He didn’t receive a reply. Again, Truant ventured a look to the guards he had attempted to strike. They had already regrouped, and were retreating with some significant measure of organisation. Even if he didn’t know what they were up to, he knew full well that nipping their schemes in the bud took priority.

Seeing Truant’s focus shift, Shining Armor realised he wasn’t being taken seriously. With a flash of bright blue magic, he took the initiative, summoning up another bright spherical shield, again encapsulating both himself and Truant behind its deceptively sturdy defences.

Essentially cut off from the enemies he had his sickly white horn pointed at, Truant sighed and faced shining Armor once more, the pale unicorn wearing a look of tired annoyance.

“Sorry.” Shining Armor remarked with an uncharacteristic level of facetiousness, “But I am Captain of the Royal Guard, and by order of Celestia, princess of Equestria, you are wanted for the crimes of conspiracy to commit treason, the use of black magic, and most grave of all, harm brought to one Twilight Sparkle and her friends and allies.

“My name is Shining Armor.” he continued, his tone morphing to one deep with tempered fury, “And you’re not going anywhere.”

Meanwhile, out of sight and out of range of the duelling Truant and Shining Armor, the shadow of a pony skulked about on the ground, stealthily navigating the now abandoned streets of Cinderwood.

Slowly, it crept upon the entrance to one of the many dark wooden houses, and with a tentative hoof, pushed the door open just enough to stick a head inside, the rusty hinges groaning all the while.

“U-um...” Fluttershy mumbled, her quiet voice struggling to fill the dark, empty cabin, “Sorry to intrude... but is there anypony in here-”

Her head barely poking through the doorframe, she didn’t notice Pastel Pride come in from behind. “Anyone in here better come out right frikken now!” she roared, the nearby Fluttershy utterly shrivelling in response, “Speak now or forever be dead!”

The glass windows remarkably unshattered in her wake, the room was silent once the echo of her roar faded away. “Not this one either.” she put her hoof to her muzzle in mock thoughtfulness, “That’s it... we tried. We gotta get out of here Fluttershy!”

“This is only the second one we’ve tried...” the pegasus replied meekly, foolishly putting up some resistance, “Don’t give up... this is for Torrin’s sake-”

“But- I mean- You-” Pastel was already a mess, “We’re gonna be turned into Hay-Do at this rate! What’s worse? Us not finding the shrimp’s pops, or all four of us still being here when-”

“Please calm down...” Fluttershy closed the door to the cabin, oddly grounded now that there was someone else to do all the panicking for her, “We still have time. Let’s try the bigger building over there.”

Totally unconsoled, Pastel was a moment from continuing to vent, until she spied Rarity approaching from just outside her field of vision, the unicorn having been searching elsewhere. Instantly, Pastel bounded over, filled to bursting with the hope that she had found Scryer.

“Rarity?” Pastel spoke through gritted teeth, “Please tell me you’ve found this guy...”

Exhaling, she simply shook her head. “I take it you two haven’t had any luck either.” she assumed, “This isn’t good. We’re running out of time...”

“You’re telling me!” Pastel leaned in close, “But Fluttershy won’t listen to reason! C’mon, agreeing to find this dude is one thing, but we can’t afford to search all these buildings...”

“What we can’t afford to do is waste time!” Fluttershy argued, unusually outspoken given the situation, “If... if we can’t-”

Though she fumbled her words, for once she was not cut off of her own accord. The ground had suddenly shook, a tremendous force booming out from just across the block. Looking over as one, the three of them gasped in unison to see Truant atop one of the buildings in the town square, his horn launching streams of dark energy as he battled against Shining Armor.

All together, Rarity, Pastel and Fluttershy slid back, putting their backs to the outside wall of the nearby cabin as they hid themselves from the pale unicorn’s view. Though Truant hadn’t seem to have noticed them, not one of them was keen on distracting him from his duel.

“He’s still over there?!” Rarity questioned, whispering harshly, “That was close... too close.”

“That’s the captain for ya...” Pastel whispered back, most of her sarcasm lost between heavy panicked gasps for air, “He said he’d keep the guy tied up while the guards got rid of the earthen.

“Speaking of which...” she continued, regaining control of herself, “Did either of you see Spellie and the others? Did they get away okay?”

“I don’t really remember what they were trying to do, but I saw one group run past me.” Rarity replied, thinking back to when she was searching for Scryer by herself earlier, “They’re probably still escaping, but it didn’t look like they had any problems...”

“Is... h-he still out there?” Fluttershy spoke up suddenly, her voice trembling, “Is it safe to... to-”

As the pegasus trailed off, Pastel grit her teeth. She remembered hearing about it earlier, and hadn’t given it much thought, but in looking over at her now, Pastel realized just how positively terrified Fluttershy was of Truant. And yet she was still committed to the search...

Though the bookish earth pony also had every reason to fear the bounty head herself, she couldn’t help but feel guilty. It was her looking for every excuse to abandon the search, yet Fluttershy was the one torn between her fear and her recently assumed duty...

“Fine!” Pastel announced her private resolve to the bewilderment of the others, swallowing hard as she made to inch her way along the outside wall of the cabin, “I- I’ll go check...”

Holding her breath, Pastel slowly made her way to the corner of the cabin. Her heart beating loudly in her ears, she finally summoned up the courage to peek around the corner...

...Only to find Truant still standing in full view atop the same black wooden structure, parading around its rooftop as he defended his footing from Shining Armor’s attacks. With the flow of their combat threatening to force Truant to face her way, Pastel wasted no time in ejecting herself from view, putting her back against the wall again as she released the breath she had been holding.

The look on her face said it all. “Yup.” Pastel confirmed with a nervous gulp, feeling the eyes of Rarity and Fluttershy upon her, “He’s still there.”

T-then what d-do we do?” Fluttershy asked the obvious question, “If we don’t h-hurry-”

Putting a hoof to her friend’s shoulder, Rarity looked at the pegasus seriously. “Take a deep breath darling.” she instructed, recognising her fear all too well, “I understand what you’re thinking, but Pastel had a point. There isn’t enough time to search all the buildings here...

“As desperate as it is, if we rush, we’ll get into trouble as well.” she continued earnestly, levelling with Fluttershy, “Then who will be able rescue Torrin’s father?”

“E-even so... we can’t just sit here!” she retorted, “Even... even if the chances are slim, the only way we can’t find him is if w-we don’t even try!”

“Please, try to calm down...” Rarity tried again, doing her best not to add to the pressures her friend was under, “Recklessness will get us nowhere. We need to do this carefully...”

This back and forth continued for quite some time, the two of them clearly holding different priorities. All the while, Pastel stood still, tapping her trembling hooves together as her mind slowly and silently ticked.

Then, as Rarity and Fluttershy reached an impasse in their arguing and fell briefly silent, it dawned on the earth pony. There was a way. She didn’t like it... but as much as she tried to convince herself otherwise, it was definitely their best, if only chance.

“I’ve got it.” she spoke up, surprising the squabbling friends, “You’re gonna hate me, but I’ve got it.”

* * * *

Her world running in slow motion, Spellbound ventured a worried look over her shoulder as she breached the edge of town. Beyond the wall of hungering earthen shambling after her, she could see continuous flashes of magical light coming from the town square, telling her of the fierce duel underway between the captain and Truant.

“Focus!” Caliber roared, darting to her side as he lunged with a two legged kick, knocking down a rogue earthen that had remained by the outside of town, “Face forward, and worry about your own damn self!”

Shaking off her surprise, Spellbound decided to stall her thanks. Caliber, unable to fly due to overexerting his injured wing, panted hard as he ran, obviously fatigued. Unfortunately, they weren’t very close to being finished with running away. Now that they had made it out of the town and onto the flats that surrounded Cinderwood, they had to focus on staying ahead of the earthen behind them, which meant there wouldn’t be a whole lot of time to stop and catch one’s breath.

“The captain’s group is clear!” Spellbound spoke up, seeing the body of guards running out of the opposite side of town to them, kicking clouds of dust high into the air, “As for mine...”

Caliber’s eyes were locked onto to the southern edge of Cinderwood as he ran, waiting to see some sign of their escape. Biting her lip, Spellbound anxiously awaited her group to emerge safely...

With a sigh of relief, Spellbound watched the first of her guards come running out from the southern exit, the earthen hot on their tail. “Thank goodness...” she breathed, re-focusing on what was in front of her, “Maybe this crazy plan might work after all.”

“Looks like we’ve succeeded in rounding up all the earthen.” Caliber masked his own relief well, “Okay, hard part’s over. Now, the area we marked on the map should be right ahead...”

After a few more moments of running, Caliber signalled for the group to stop. They had gained a bit of ground on the earthen now that they had made it into the open, but not much. They couldn’t afford to dawdle.

Caliber looked out over the advancing earthen and the town behind them and towards the group opposite them, the one previously led by Shining Armor, as if he was looking for something. “Spellbound.” he called, “Are you ready?”

“Just waiting for the signal.” she replied, staring intensely at Shining Armor’s group as well, “It should be any second now...”

As she said the words, a tiny bright light flashed from the bulk of the guards on the northeast side as a magically conjured yellow flare shoot up into the sky with purpose.

“There!” Caliber roared, “Spellbound, you’re up!”

He didn’t need to tell her twice. Her horn igniting with a magical glow, she shot her own coloured flare high into the sky, signalling for her group.

“Okay, everyone, you know what to do!” Caliber ordered, thrusting his hoof out commandingly, “Counter-clockwise! Keep up, and whatever you do, don’t fall in!”

At his command, the guards begun their charge left, the earthen following close behind. Arching wide, they ran as part of a circuit, winding around to where the guards to the south were gathering.

Just as they kicked off, a familiar magical flare shot up into the sky, this time originating from Spellbound’s previous group located at the southern side of Cinderwood. As it’s light faded, the group began its advance, also going counter-clockwise, so as to maintain the same distance between their group and the one Caliber and Spellbound now led.

“So far so good...” Spellbound remarked, her fatigue coming out in her somewhat strained voice, “Now, we just need to keep it up...”

“Don’t talk.” Caliber snapped, more wary than frustrated, “Keep your eyes ahead... no matter what.”

Even as he said that, a lone earthen, whom, by some happenstance, had caught up with Caliber’s group by heading diagonally instead of following the guard’s non-direct route, and was now hot on their heels. It came in right beside the pegasus, and despite it’s empty stone eyes, seemed fixated on him.

But even as the transformed stallion neared him, Caliber kept his eyes forward, as if he was actively ignoring the threat. Now firmly on his heels, the earthen kept a vacant expression as it reached forward, trying to bite at the pegasus’ tail as it flapped up and down in front of its stony muzzle.

After a few failed attempts, it looked like Caliber was in trouble, given his limited manoeuvrability. Even still, Caliber didn’t budge, his attention locked on the road ahead, or rather, the ground below his hooves...

As the earthen made for a final grasp at the vulnerable Caliber, he appeared to be caught for a moment, before the earthen suddenly tripped, seemingly dropping through the ground itself.

Knowing what had happened without even needing to turn around, Caliber resisted the cocky smirk bordering on his lips. “One down.” he said to himself, “However many more to go...”

Eternally stupefied, the lone earthen snapped it’s stony maw at the flurry of guards that navigated their way around it’s fallen figure. It couldn’t budge any of its legs, and even as it struggled feebly, it seemed to sink further into its viscous prison.

Moments later, another unfortunate earthen fell into the same hot mud pit with a gurgling splash. Instantly trapped, it joined its fellow victim in its fruitless struggling, biting the air dumbly in the direction of anyone else who happened to dodge the concealed mud pit.

Mud pits, which, of course, were all carefully marked by bold crosses on the maps Fluttershy and Rarity had reproduced for each of the groups.

And just like that, the plan was obvious. If each group kept up the pace and continued to lead the earthen behind them around the circuit they had planned out, then eventually they would all fall into one of the many hot mud pits along the way. This not only neutralised them as a threat, but also did so without harming any of them. It wasn’t exactly a long-term solution, but the true nature of the phenomenon was well over their heads. They had little choice but to leave something like that to the princess.

And so, one by one, after several loops around the town of Cinderwood, and just as the three groups of guards were beginning to tire, the very last of the earthen eventually fell into the mud pits, firmly entrapped in the hot and sticky embrace of their veritable prisons.

With an air of victory about her, Spellbound marvelled at the scene around her, watching with exhausted eyes as the horde of earthen around her snapped and struggled harmlessly from within the various mud pits around her.

“Well, that’s the last of ‘em...” she panted, more than a few of the guards around her doing the same, “Now... there’s only one thing left to do.”

Caliber, despite being the most fatigued by far, stood firm, looking over the seemingly empty Cinderwood with precise eyes. “Don’t ease up just yet.” he responded, unable to conceal the strain in his voice, “We need to confirm that there’s no earthen left in the town. It would be horrible if any of them were still there when-”

“I’m telling you, we’ve got them all.” Spellbound insisted, “There’s been no signal from either of the other groups. They’re all accounted for.”

Considering this, Caliber stalled for a moment before sighing. “I guess you’re right.” he turned to face her, “Fine. Tell the others it’s mission accomplished.”

With a firm nod, Spellbound realigned her stance and pointed her horn upwards. Signalling to the other groups, she sent up two individual flares in succession, lighting up the sky with the colour of her magic.

In reply, she received the same signal from the other two groups. Around her, she heard a murmur develop among the guards. And that’s because they knew what it meant. Their plan had succeed, and the earthen had been taken care of.

“Now then...” Caliber stared at Cinderwood, or rather, the town square and the action unfolding there, “It’s all up to Shining Armor now.”

The entirety of the guard now spectating from well out of harm’s way, back in the heart of Cinderwood, the battle raged on. It was near impossible to tell what was really going on from this distance, but even if they could, they were in no position to help. Even though the earthen had been dealt with, there was an entirely different reason why they could not re-enter the town. From here on out, they had no choice but to have faith in Shining Armor, as well as Rarity and the others.

The remnants of one of his shattered barriers dropping, Shining Armor wiped a stray drop of sweat from his brow. Defence was his specialty, and considering his job was to keep Truant occupied, he was staying off the offensive, saving his energy as best he could while keeping his foe at a stalemate.

Truant however, though overwhelmingly powerful in his own right, was curiously mismatched. He was most proficient in offensive spells, but for whatever reason, he was acting oddly reserved, almost defensive.

Though it was to his advantage, Shining Armor struggled to make sense of his foe’s behaviour. Whenever he tried to lure him in, Truant refused to pursue, yet whenever Shining Armor made to widen the distance, Truant continually cut him off. This had the odd effect of making Truant fight defensively with offensive spells, and Shining Armor fight offensively with defensive spells.

It was, in every sense of the word, a stalemate. Truant refused to leave his rooftop, and since he refused to commit himself to a proper offensive, Shining Armor was able to defend himself with relative ease.

“I don’t get it.” Shining Armor attempted to taunt his foe, the two of them taking a moment, planning silently since their current strategies weren’t working, “I mean, what’s the temptation? If this is all there is to black magic, then why bother?”

His taunt successful, Shining Armor raised an invisible barrier as a sickly fork of dark lightning surged its way from Truant’s horn and towards his throat. Like with a cracked pane of glass, Truant's vision of his opponent was distorted behind the damaged barrier. As it begun to disintegrate and fade away, Shining Armor teleported.

Having lost his visual, Truant’s head quickly jerked left and right, scanning the surroundings from his elevated position, absorbing everything with his blank black eyes.

Not even turning around, the pale unicorn’s long horn crackled to life, summoning up a twisting black tendril in mid air, which instantly arched over his back and covered his blind spot, coming in just in time to block three consecutive blue bolts of magic.

His strike having failed, Shining Armor came to rest on the rooftop of a nearby building, trading glances with Truant as the tall unicorn unsummoned his now disfigured tendril and turned on the spot to face the captain.

“It is more than I can say for your flimsy barriers.” Truant returned Shining Armor’s taunt, “If I may say, having to remain inside your own shields to maintain them is something of a design flaw.”

“Is that right?” he responded with a quick, thin smirk, obviously unaffected by the psychological jab, “It does come with its advantages...”

Unfortunately, Truant smirked back this time. Trying to understand why, the colour drained from Shining Armor’s face as he realised. He’d fallen into a trap. And he’d figured out too late.

Suddenly, the rooftop on which Shining Armor stood erupted with clutching black tendrils, instantly pinning his legs, and wrapping tight around his midsection. He instinctively made to struggle, but the hold was too firm. This had been set up well in advance.

He should have expected this. If Truant wasn’t committing to his offensive strengths, then traps were his best option, and Shining Armor had fallen right into a powerful one. And Truant had set him up perfectly. He had manipulated how he positioned himself on top of the building, so that if someone wanted to attack him in his blind spot, their only option was to stand on the rooftop directly behind him. A rooftop that was now crawling with his trademark black tendrils.

Truant seized the moment. Lunging from his well-guarded position on the rooftop, his long horn pointed forwards as he made for the vulnerable Shining Armor. Squirming helplessly as the end neared, Shining Armor’s eyes grew wide as Truant landed on the other rooftop and made to finish his enemy personally.

With a bold blue flash however, that possibility was eliminated. Simultaneously freeing himself from the tendrils and teleporting behind Truant’s position, the pale unicorn’s vicious strike missed by a mile.

“Just kidding.” Shining Armor teased uncharacteristically, “Good try though.”

“How?” Truant seethed, not understanding, “With those tendrils touching you... it should be impossible to use magic...”

“If they were touching me, maybe...” he replied mysteriously, “Let’s just say, they don’t call me ‘Shining Armor’ for nothing.”

Instantly, Shining Armor’s horn burned bright, the captain capitalising on Truant’s confusion to summon a powerful spell. Reacting too late, Truant grimaced as the two of them were encapsulated by one of the captain’s trademark spherical shields.

“Before, you said that me having to be inside my own shields was a weakness.” Shining Armor’s tone was deeper now, more serious, “And while that does make blocking attacks troublesome, it works wonders for trapping enemies in with me.”

Truant looked about his new prison, then scoffed. “Surely you don’t think that confining us in this tiny arena serves you more than it does me?” he questioned, the reasoning beyond him, “If you think you are assuring anything but your own demise by restricting me here, then you-”

For perhaps the first time in his life, Truant was cut off, the words caught in his throat as he saw it. Just outside the barrier he was trapped in, and thus, well beyond his reach, he just barely caught the tails of three individual ponies disappearing inside of the building he had been so covertly defending.

And just like that, Truant’s expression morphed from one of arrogance to one rife with total fury. It was not Shining Armor who had fallen for his trap, but rather, he, who had fallen for the captain’s.

“I thought so.” Shining Armor spoke, the shift in Truant’s expression a dead giveaway, “You were acting odd... so Scryer’s really in there, huh?”

Not saying a word, Truant’s horn caught alight, overflowing with harsh black energies. To match, Shining Armor prepared himself, the tip of his horn pulsing with precise blue magic.

“Now to buy them the time they need.” his eyes narrowed, steeling himself for a much more intense battle, “Easier said than done...”

Meanwhile, as they were uncertain of whether or not they had been seen, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pastel Pride wasted no time. As Patel held the door behind her shut, pushing hard against it with her back, the three of them released the breath they had been holding as one.

“That. Was. Close.” Pastel huffed, the fear strongly present in her voice, “I hope to hell he didn’t see us...”

“That hardly matters at this stage.” Rarity was quick to reply, her regular composure compromised by stress, “It doesn’t change the fact we need to hurry.”

Even as she said this, Fluttershy was already in action, scanning fervently about the room they were in. Accepting that it was empty after a quick analysis, she rounded on the others, eager to join the conversation.

“He must be in here somewhere.” she spoke up, sounding particularly certain as compared to her earlier desperation, “S-Should we split up?”

As if to confirm the urgency of the situation, the floor beneath them trembled, reminding the three of them that an obviously fierce struggle was underway outside, and that Truant had no intention of being imprisoned by Shining Armor for long.

Recoiling, Rarity and Pastel nodded silently to one another. Instantly, the three split up, each making for the nearest door at an understandably brisk pace. Conveniently, there were three adjacent rooms connecting to the one they were gathered in, and without another word between them, they each disappeared through the one of their choosing.

It was Pastel who had figured it out. In her moment of bravery, she, unlike the feuding Fluttershy and Rarity, had applied her head to the problem of finding Scryer. And, like Shining Armor outside, she had found Truant’s behaviour strange. And while she didn’t know that Shining Armor had confirmed his own suspicions by trapping the pale unicorn within his barrier, Pastel reasoned that if this building was worth guarding, there could only be one reason for it...

“Wait.” a tired voice droned, rising from the quiet and the darkness, “Are you the one?”

Frozen mid-stride, Pastel gawked as a hunched over figure in the corner of the room she had run into beckoned slowly and lifelessly for her attention.

“G-guys...” Pastel struggled to speak up, so taken by surprise, “I think I found him...”

“Your mark.” Scryer stood, his green eyes oddly vacant, “Show it to me...”

Put on edge by his empty gaze, Pastel was worried for a moment that he was an earthen, and thus, ‘zombified’ like the ones that had been lured into the mud pits. But even at a glance, he was clearly made of flesh and blood, and obviously captivated by something entirely different.

The dark green-coated stallion still bearing down on her, Pastel’s eyes unconsciously drifted to her cutie mark as she tried to decipher his vague request. She was saved however as Fluttershy and Rarity charged into the room, having heard her calling out moments ago.

“You...” Scryer spoke up again, surprising Pastel as his empty eyes came in barely inches from her own, “You know the prophecy... and are a child of the earth. Are you the one? Show me your mark...”

“W-w-w-what’s with this guy!?” Pastel stammered as she reeled, taking a liberal step back from the creepy pony, “Oi... are you really- is this dude really the little squirt’s dad?”

Not answering, Scryer’s eyes rounded on Rarity and Fluttershy. “Three... a union of the races.” his cryptic jabbering continued, apparently triggered by seeing the three different types of ponies before him, “Children of the sky, earth, and magic. But you are not the ones...”

“Could he be talking about the three heroes?” Rarity questions, distressed somewhat by the unexpected encounter, “Never mind that... what’s gotten into him?!”

“He started getting weird, saying stuff about the prophecy...” Pastel replied, subtly sidestepping so as to put Rarity between him and her disturbed self, “He keeps asking to see my mark...”

As she said this, something clicked inside Rarity’s head. Remembering back to Canterlot and her discussions with her friends about the prophecy when it was all still an unravelling mystery, she recalled Marco’s hang-ups about his cutie mark and its connection to the prophecy.

“Could it be?” she put her hoof to her muzzle, her thoughts running away as a possible conclusion loomed, “Does he think you’re one of the heroes? The third one?”

As this question hung in the air, Scryer, for the first time, blinked. Brought back to the world, his apparent trace broke as his seemingly transfixed eyes reawakened and took in their surroundings.

“Don’t be silly.” he remarked, somehow conscious of what had been said, “This one has no such fate.”

“Right, the prophecy said the third one was a dude, and also-” Pastel made to say, but the shrieked as she rounded on Scryer, fully aware of his reputation as a prophet, “Fate?! What do you mean fate?! Do you know my future?! Are you saying-”

His eye twitching as Pastel exploded, Scryer silenced her by raising a single calm hoof. “Again, don’t be silly.” he repeated, reacquiring his composure, “People may call me and my son prophets, but our premonitions only have to do with the prophecy. I do not know your future.”

Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pastel were silent, obviously recoiling from Scryer’s sudden change in attitude. Exhaling tiredly, as if above the whole thing, the stallion decided to start from the beginning.

“I suspect you know this already, but I am Scryer.” he bowed ever so slightly, mock-introducing himself, “Sorry for the circumstances of our meeting. If you know my son, as I assume you do, you’ll know ponies like us sometimes get thrown into trance-like states.”

As he explained, he gestured at Pastel Pride, still hiding herself behind Rarity’s figure. “It seems that your friend triggered such a state for some reason.” Scryer seemed to look her up and down again as he said this, “Forgive me if it was somewhat intense. I wasn’t exactly lucid.”

“Y-y-you were saying some pretty dodgy stuff there pops...” Pastel thrust an accusing hoof his way despite her shaking voice, “Why’d you wanna see my mark so bad, huh?”

“Um, excuse me...” Fluttershy spoke up, “But can this wait? We finally found Torrin’s father... but we still need to get out of here.”

As logical as it sounded, and as eager to get out of Cinderwood as anyone else, Pastel bit her lip as she seemed to pause, something not sitting right in her gut. She felt the anxious eyes of the others on her for a moment, until she figured out what it was that was bothering her.

“You’re suspicious!” Pastel thrust her hoof out again, “Torrin said he wrote that prophecy, so what would you know?! You shouldn’t be able to sense stuff like he can... so why were you mumbling all that crap, huh? If you don’t know my fate, why’d you have so many questions?!”

“Please calm down.” Scryer held up his hooves disarmingly, “There’s an easy explanation for why I know you’re not the third hero... and it doesn’t have anything to do with me knowing your fate...”

Rarity keeping the paranoid Pastel at bay, she too rose an eyebrow at Scryer’s response. She recognised as much as Fluttershy that this was hardly the time for explanations, and while she definitely didn’t share Pastel’s ‘suspicion’, him answering this question would go a long way for their understanding.

“Didn’t you think it was odd?” Scryer asked, sensing the tense atmosphere, “Back in Appleoosa... they were set up there for a long time. Ready and waiting. I don’t know what trials you endured to retrieve my son, but there’s only one reason why you escaped in one piece.

“They didn’t need him.” he continued darkly, “Think about it. Between the siege at Canterlot and the overrunning of Appleoosa, you people had nowhere to go they couldn’t corner you.”

“Well... even if that is true, I don’t understand your point.” Rarity replied, “Torrin knew the prophecy and helped us get this far. They had you and used you for the same reason, correct? That sounds like a stalemate if you ask me. If it wasn’t because of our efforts, why would they have given up on foalnapping little Torrin?”

“You’re friend said it before.” Scryer indicated Pastel Pride behind her, “He’s the one who can sense such things, not me. So, as you put it, it wasn’t a stalemate...”

“Then that makes even less sense.” the conclusion was obvious to Rarity, “If you were unable to help them find the heroes, then why on earth would they give up on capturing your son?”

“As I said... it wasn’t necessary.” Scryer repeated, “They didn’t need him. They didn’t need to find the heroes. Understand?”

His three bewildered listeners clearly did not understand. It was only natural. Since the very beginning, this quest was essentially a race to locate the ponies mentioned in the prophecy before Terra could get ahold of them. And now they were being told that Terra and his minions weren’t even trying to beat them to it. It didn’t make any sense...

“Your side needed to gather all three to succeed, whereas they only needed to eliminate one to assure victory.” Scryer continued, staring seriously at the trio, “That’s why they didn’t need to worry. From the very beginning, ever since Appleoosa, they already had what they needed.

“Because it’s me.” he concluded, totally deadpan, “I am the third hero.”

In the confines of the dark wooden cabin, it was totally silent. For Rarity, Pastel Pride, and Fluttershy, a million questions ran through their minds as they tried to make sense of what they were being told. If it was true, the meaning of finding him here was huge. It was no longer just a matter of rescuing Torrin’s father. If Twilight and the others succeeded in finding the second hero in Mistmantle, then getting Scryer to safety would be the final piece of the puzzle. They would have everything they needed to take down Terra and save Celestia.

Even as all these questions and realizations stirred about in their minds, Pastel was still somewhat uneasy. One thing in particular stuck in her head, and she stepped forward to question Scryer one more time, but as she opened her mouth to speak, she found herself interrupted by an unexpected blue flash, bursting suddenly out from the space between her and him.

“We’re out of time.” Shining Armor spoke, his image appearing from out of the magical flash of light, having teleported before them from outside, “I hope you’ve got what you came here to get...”

Visibly strained, the unicorn trailed off as he made eye contact with Scryer. It only lasted a moment, but that was all it took for him to realize. Following that, he allowed for another second to confirm that everyone was in the room.

“Okay girls, you know what happens now.” he nodded briskly, waiting for a look of recognition from each of them before continuing, “Stay calm and get behind me. Scryer too.”

Hearing his name mentioned, a quick look of confusion spread across Scryer’s face. However, it was made absolutely clear there was no time for questions as Pastel launched forward with an uncharacteristically intense burst of speed, clutching the stallion and yanking him along with her, forcing him into position behind Shining Armor alongside Rarity and Fluttershy.

Just as she did so, Shining Armor’s horn lit up, summoning a small version of his trademark spherical shield. Taken totally by surprise by the whole thing, Scryer didn’t understand the sense of any of it. Inside the already tight room, they had just been put behind an even tighter barrier.

What happened next answered all his questions. Assailed from outside by a mighty force, the cabin around them lurched horrifically, until, in the next instant, every plank, tile, and fixture exploded into splinters, the entire cabin being blown to smithereens. As the ponies behind him watched with mouths agape at the destruction, Shining Armor held fast, maintaining his shield as a shower of black wooden debris rained down around them.

The source was obvious. Striding menacingly through the mayhem, Truant’s empty eyes seethed fury as he stood before his enemy. His form crackling with black magic, he held his tongue and wore his anger on the outside, staring daggers at Shining Armor.

“Looks like this is it...” Shining Armor said, more to himself than anyone else, “Just one last thing left to do now.”

Behind him, Pastel and Fluttershy clutched one another, terrified beyond words, and closer to such an overwhelming source of fear than either of them could handle. For their part, Rarity and Scryer stood petrified, eyes wide with shock and horror before the enraged unicorn.

“Finally cornered...” Truant growled, too used to being on the other side of Shining Armor’s shields by now, “You overplayed your hand, whelp. You stalled me this long, and for what? Together, you make for easy quarry...”

“Scryer.” Shining Armor spoke facing forward, not wanting to risk turning away from Truant, “There’s isn’t any time to explain, so just follow the girls, okay?”

Though Scryer struggled to understand, as Shining Armor spoke, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pastel Pride, despite their fear, slunk back slowly, stepping well back, stopping just short of the far end of the shield’s wall.

What happened next happened fast. Without a word, Shining Armor lunged forward, disabling his shield so as to open the way to Truant. With his horn alight with blue magic and pointed forward aggressively, Truant, despite his rage, was taken by surprise as the captain seemingly made to strike him with his horn. Dodging wide, Truant, owing to his surprise at the unexpected attack, stalled for a moment, and lost his opportunity to retaliate.

His surprise didn’t end there. Turning, now on the other side of Truant, Shining Armor revealed that the spell building at the tip of his horn was not offensive at all. Angling his horn skyward, his energies burst out, launching a bold blue flare high into the sky, similar to the signal his guards had been using to coordinate their manoeuvres.

Infuriatingly, Truant found himself caught in Shining Armor’s pace. He’d already missed one opportunity, and now, having wasted even more time considering the meaning of his opponent’s suspicious choice of spells, reacted too late as Shining Armor once again surrounded the two of them with one of his larger and stronger spherical barriers.

Noticing that the three ponies, plus Scryer, were now on the other side of the shield wall, Truant grit his teeth in anger. “Curse you and your petty distractions.” he spat at Shining Armor, his earlier composure all but dissipated, “You will not hinder me any longer!”

Despite himself, Shining Armor smiled ever so subtly. “Distractions?” he questioned, picking up on the pale unicorn’s phrasing, “Take a gander, Truant.”

He was in no mind to play along with his foe’s taunting any longer, but even as kept his focus directly on the unicorn in front of him, Truant saw in his peripherals something that was truly odd. The ponies outside the shield were not fleeing. In fact, they hadn’t budged from where they were when they were being protected earlier. But most curious of all, they all stared skyward, tracking Shining Armor’s flare as it reached ever upward.

Unconsciously, Truant followed it as well. It was odd. Unlike the signals used by the other unicorns, which burst at about mid-height, this one flew higher. Too high in fact. As it traced a thin blue line as it continued upward, it disappeared into the thick volcanic clouds overhead, vanishing instantly within the impenetrable smog covering the Meetlemarsh sky.

“Enough of this...” Truant stepped forward, closing in on the captain, “I don’t know what you are plotting, but it will do you no good-”

He cut himself off as he realized. Staring upwards once again, he felt it coming before he saw it. The purple trinket in his possession pulsating, the one stolen from the party he encountered at Hordimare, he didn’t need to look before he realized.

Alerted by Shining Armor’s signal, Princess Luna burst through from the other side of the thick black clouds, her bold wings spread wide, and long horn ablaze with magic.

Truant could contain himself no longer. “This is your plan?” he scoffed, laughing a deep, evil, and amused laugh, “Oh, how I’ve come to hate you, ‘Shining Armor’... but this? For this I must thank you.

“I was wondering where you’d run to!” Truant roared at the sky, grinning all the while, “But I never did hope you would save me the trouble of hunting you down! You-”

Already shouting, Truant audibly choked on his next words. If there were ever any colour to the pale unicorn’s face, it would have ran utterly white to fathom what he saw next. Even Rarity, Pastel and Fluttershy, who had been told to expect it in advance, were rendered totally breathless.

Her expression steeled, Luna flew straight down, like an arrow from the blackened heavens. But as fierce as she seemed, she only led the way, the light of her horn beckoning something else along with her. It was this something that inspired Truant’s fear, with its utterly gargantuan form splitting the dark clouds above, and rendering the princess but a spec against the now-broken sky.

“I-I don’t believe it...” Scryer stammered, the scene above like an event from nightmares, “I see it... but I cannot believe it.”

His attitude was understandable. For, following behind the princess was something not quite of this world. With its size blasting a hole wide in the thick volcanic smog above, Cinderwood would have seen it’s first ever sunlight, if only the sun itself were not eclipsed by what Luna brought with her...

...And what she brought with her, was nothing short of a meteorite. Being pulled along by her magic, it matched the princess’ speed as she rocketed down towards the earth, but, since the giant mass of alien rock was so enormous, it seemed to move slow, looming overhead like the moon itself.

Truant, of course, was the first to realize that this was not the case. And along with this realization, everything else suddenly fell into place. This was why the guards had expended such effort luring the earthen out of Cinderwood. They had intended to target the town itself from the beginning, and taken advantage of the situation to incapacitate the town’s population outside of harms way. Luna had been above the clouds the whole time, waiting for Scryer to be found and secured before-

As he wondered in disbelief, Truant froze as he suddenly realized his plight. Surrounded by Shining Armor’s shield, he remembered what he had said before, the last time he’d summoned one of his shields to lock them inside together. That one of the better uses of his magic wasn’t keeping enemies out... but locking them in.

“You fiend...” Truant seethed, having realized their plot, “You intend to hold me here... all the while-”

For possibly the first time, a look of fear flashed on the pale unicorn’s face as he chanced another look upwards at the impending destruction. There was no denying it this time. He, and Cinderwood along with him, would be history in the wake of that meteorite.

“You’ll die too.” he said, looking back at Shining Armor, “And these others won’t make it far-”

Again, he was cut off as, Luna, of all ponies, appeared before him, only inches away on the other side of Shining Armor’s barrier. She had given up flying down to earth and abandoned her meteorite, and had instead teleported, leaving the rest up to the loyal force of gravity.

“Truant.” she spoke plainly, ushering Pastel, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Scryer in close, “We meet again. Though the circumstances don’t allow for much, at the very least, this time we can manage a proper farewell.”

Scowling futilely from behind the glowing blue barrier, Truant didn’t have it in him to respond. With Luna lighting her horn back up, and enveloping the four ponies around her in her spell, the princess’ gaze was as condescending as her tone.

“This is it then.” she spoke once more, her voice remaining as her figure faded away with the light of her teleportation spell, “Goodbye, Truant.”

And like that, she was gone, along with the others. Now, Truant and Shining Armor were the only two left in the entire town, and, with the massive meteorite bearing down from above, one way or another, there would soon be no one remaining, nor a town to remain in.

Still encapsulated by his shield, Shining Armor and Truant stared at one another in silence. Despite the princess’ words, the pale unicorn had far from given up. He knew what they were planning. Shining Armor would stall here, keeping the shield up until the last possible moment, and disabling it just in time to be teleported to safety.

The window of opportunity was small, but it was there. Truant didn’t even look above as the meteorite closed in. And that was because he understood magic far better than most unicorns. These shields provided an absolute defence, meaning that, if Luna hoped to save her captain, the shield would have to be disabled first before she could teleport him out. In that moment, Truant would be able to do the same.

The problem was, he didn’t have the range to get completely out of harm’s way. In order to avoid the meteorite entirely, he would have to teleport in quick succession, which carried its own risks. But he didn’t have a choice. He knew full well that if he was here when the meteorite hit, it would be the end of him.

And so, he and Shining Armor stood motionless, waiting with bated breath for the inevitable. Like a pair of duellists, they stared unflinching at one another, motionless on the outside, but inside, they were coiled like springs, and ready to explode into action at a moment’s notice.

With only a matter of seconds left until Cinderwood would be no more, Truant realized something was wrong. Something strange that he hadn’t truly picked up on until now. Why did Luna leave? Since she would have to wait for Shining Armor to drop his shield before she could do anything, surely it would have been less risky to remain here and coordinate it with him.

With only moments left to spare, the answer to that question caused a chill to rack Truant’s spine. There was only one possible way that her actions made sense. And if that were the case... Shining Armor wouldn’t need to drop his barrier...

“No!” Truant roared in distress, looking away to the edge of town, “It couldn’t be...”

Having teleported to the main guard’s position outside of Cinderwood, Luna stood before Spellbound and Caliber, watching with unblinking eyes as her meteorite made to meet the earth.

As the rest of the guard stood captivated by the unbelievable scene, it was Caliber and Spellbound’s job to make sure the princess wasn’t distracted. If she broke focus, she risked losing her captain. In fact, of the ponies that she had teleported back with her, only Rarity stood beside her. And that was because she had a very essential role in what was to happen next.

“The moment is upon us.” Luna’s eyes flashed with purpose, “Are you prepared, Rarity?”

“Here you are princess.” Rarity replied, gently passing an easily recognisable icon to Luna, “It’s been a while, but I spent more than enough time on this one. Rest assured, there are no mistakes.”

Luna looked at the totem in her grasp. True to her word, Rarity had crafted it perfectly. And as the princess had told her, and as Twilight had taught her, the more a totem resembles the original, the more powerful it is. And what Luna now held might as well have been a miniature Shining Armor. It would do nicely.

As Luna lit up her horn with magic, Rarity recalled the warning the princess had given her prior to setting out for Appleoosa, intending to use totem magic to help her friends. And that warning was, while totems are designed to spare someone damage by transferring it to the totem, they work both ways, in that, spells used on a totem will instead affect the pony it is linked to.

So, as Luna prepared yet another teleportation spell, it appeared this weakness of totem magic was not without its advantages. With a flash of deep, blue, magical light, she targeted the totem, reflecting her spell onto the faraway Shining Armor, causing him to materialize beside her.

This, of course, left Truant all alone in the now-desolated town of Cinderwood. The barrier around him beginning to crumble now that it was unsupported, was no longer much of a prison for the powerful unicorn inside.

But it didn’t have to be. In one, definitive moment, Shining Armor’s shield, as well as the surrounding structures, were all shattered as one. In the next instant, the colossal meteorite touched its own shadow, not slowing in its descent even as it pushed away the hard earth below.

And so, with the die cast, Luna, Shining Armor, Caliber, Spellbound, and, in one way or another, Truant, braced themselves for impact. Its full overwhelming force brought to bear on the once hidden-away, humble, and hardly little town, the crushing meteorite posed one simple truth...

Cinderwood had seen its first, and final daybreak.

* * * *

“Whoa...” Pinkie Pie wobbled back and forth, swaying with exaggerated movements, “Did you two feel that?! We don’t get many earthquakes in this part of Equestria! That one was a doozy!”

“I’m not entirely sure that was an earthquake...” Atlas mumbled, obviously having felt the significant tremor himself, “That... that may have originated from where we were headed...”

Neptune, still staring into the campfire, sighed uncharacteristically, as if in response to the reactions of his guests. It seemed that this was enough to draw Pinkie and Atlas’ attention however, as the two shelved their concerns about the earthquake and looked his way.

“She’s far too hasty.” he shook his head slowly, as if disapprovingly, “Destruction, the more casually inflicted it is, is made all the more difficult to be undone.”

With only this one ambiguous comment to be said, and as he continued to stare into the flames in front of him, Pinkie and Atlas shared a brief look of worry.

“Um, hey, Neptune... err... king-person?” Pinkie faltered as she attempted to speak up, “Are you okay there?”

“Hoho... fear not little one.” Neptune chortled briefly, easing the two of them with an earnest grin, “It seems as if I’ve been around long enough now to just be another hopeless, rambling old windbag. If I were you I wouldn’t entertain a word of it.”

As the large blue pony’s eyes seemed to flicker, Atlas saw through to some hidden emotion. Putting aside his own reservations, considering his prior affiliation to the king’s brother, he decided to speak up.

“Windbag or not, I’ve heard your ‘ramblings’ are well worth entertaining.” he responded, toying cleverly with Neptune’s phrasing, “You are supposed to be incredibly wise. You legend was hard to come by, but I am familiar with it...”

“Yes, I know you are.” Neptune replied, “I would certainly have a difficult time enlisting the aid of anyone who hadn’t heard those old stories...”

“I believe you know more than that.” Atlas wasn’t putting up with any pretence, “If you know who I am, then you also know where my loyalties lie.

“If you happen to be lying about this place called Cinderwood...” he continued, his tone level, even in the face of a king, “Then that will be where our ways part.”

For a moment, Neptune simply matched Atlas’ stare. In some way, the large pony seemed to take some kind of pleasure in the old stallion’s defiance. More than that however, he seemed to see past the reflective bifocals and through to the stern earth pony behind them.

“You really do remind me of him you know.” Neptune smiled sneakily, before letting loose with yet another carefree chuckle, “Hohoho... Fine. Fine. Look’s like we’re all understood!”

“Hehe... I’m just glad we’re all getting along!” Pinkie couldn’t help but join in the laughter, “But boy... I just can’t get over us finding you out here like this! I can’t wait to see Twilight and the others again... they’re all gonna be so blown away!”

“Hohoho... I look forward to meeting your friends as well!” Neptune replied with his own measure of enthusiasm, “Oh, and speaking of which, what say we get on our way? I’d love to continue our campfire and properly appreciate this alien forest, but, well, time waits for no one.”

“Just one thing.” Atlas almost stalled before speaking up, “There’s one last thing I need you to answer before I agree to go with you...”

Despite having already stood up, Neptune turned around on the spot and sat back down, now directly facing the earth pony. “Hrm, very well.” he replied, grunting as he took a seat, “As I very much do want your help, I suppose I’ll have to answer.”

“Yeah, what is it?” Pinkie Pie bounced on the spot impatiently, having followed along when Neptune made to leave, “C’mon, you were the one who said we had to hurry, remember?”

“Why?” Atlas asked, ignoring the pink earth pony, “Of all times, why now? How come you suddenly decided to take action, after everything that’s happened already? What’s your endgame?”

“Hohoho... that’s hardly only one question there.” he made to make light of Atlas’ questioning, but quickly corrected himself, “Hrm... looks like you’re serious about this...

“Okay then.” he grunted again, shifting his weight so as to get more comfortable in his seated position, “If it’s your desire to entertain more of this old windbag’s rambling, then who am I to complain?”

Despite his joking tone, something about Neptune seemed to shift. As he glanced at the now-dying flames of his crude campfire, watching for a moment as the small licks of fire struggled to stay alive, the atmosphere seemed to change along with his attitude.

“Life and destruction are but two faces of the same proverbial coin.” he begun, his voice neutral and deep, “Chaos. A curious force. For all my wisdom, it is a system I cannot fully understand. I dare say this is why it fascinates me. Mortals tend to resent it though, and I suspect it is for the very mystery of it.

“Again, I refer you to this humble campfire.” Neptune indicated his creation with the tip of his long blue hoof, “Flame can devastate, but life could not exist without it. Chaos is the same. It is what birthed the universe, and yet, simultaneously, it is the force most likely to some day bring about its end.

“Entropy... it is the compulsion of order to move towards disorder.” his eyes drifted from what was in front of him, having been entranced by some memory, “My brother was the very picture of stoic. Unwavering and stern in his conviction like the earth he ruled over. But time passes, oh does it pass. And nothing lasts forever. His pure heart was slowly overtaken, and no matter how long or far I searched, there was no power that could possibly turn it back.

“For you see, his only sin was innocence.” Neptune remembered back, a hint of sorrow to his words, “I watched with pride as he carved out a world of his own creation. It may have been arrogant... but it took a lot of courage, and a great deal of vision, for him to look the world as it was, and try to shape it into something better. There was no obstacle to his ideals that he wasn’t confident to overcome, nor a bitter voice of objection that could penetrate his resolve.

“I was something I never believed I, nor anyone else could do.” he continued, “Through and through, he was committed to fixing what he saw as broken. And therein lies the error of pursuing perfection. Mortals may believe such a thing can exist, because they can spend their whole lives chasing it. But when you live as long as we do... when you possess the kind of power we do... the prospect of perfection is enough to drive one to true foolishness.

“For, as my brother desired more and more for things to be better for his people, he became the one most unsatisfied with the progress he had made.” Neptune’s somber tone hung, “Chasing after his perfect world, he wouldn’t stray from the path he saw as necessary, and thus, it wouldn’t matter what or who stood in the way. Even his own people. Even his own brother. His ultimate fault was seeing a better future not as a progression, but as end to be pursued. His own stubbornness made him alone in the cause many had once rallied for, and in failing to accept that it was he who had strayed, grew cold and indifferent to the world he had helped create.

“Denying change, and the will of those he once regarded his children, my brother sought the only thing left to him...” he continued, shaking his head ever so subtly, “His own perfect world. And no council I offered, nor threat of intervention would sway his hardened heart. The urgency of that time forced me to action... to make a decision no brother should have to. Back then, I had no choice... and suffered heavily to the pain of regret. But now...

“Much like how dear Celestia can forgive her younger sister for the jealousy that once twisted her, I love my younger brother and I cannot bring myself to rise against him.” Neptune brought himself back to the world, once again looking at Atlas, “However, because I love him so, and because I cannot forget who he truly is, I am disgusted by what he has become. For, if some part of who he was still exists in the shell he has become, I know that it would weep to know of the steps he now takes.

“Thus, I find myself placed in a dilemma.” he shook his head as he continued, “Long ago, in my sorrow and my destitution, I manipulated the circumstances of my brother’s sealing so that I could not undo it, and I made it so time would forget the both of us. I committed myself to meditation, and for the next one thousand years, I resolved to remain dormant.

“That may have been a mistake.” he admitted, peering away once more, “And it was selfish. My reclusion left my people without their king, and while I tried to find peace, and the answers within, my kingdom became divided, and in need of Celestia’s help.

“I forgot something important.” Neptune concluded, raising his head, “I was preoccupied with worrying if it were right or wrong to stop my brother, and in fearing the consequences of misstepping, I stayed silent. But only now do I realise, doing nothing has consequences too. Only now, do I accept that wisdom alone is useless. That, understanding, by itself, solves nothing.

“I dare not confront my brother...” he spoke his own resolve, “But for the first time, I know what I have to do...”

Captivated by what he had been saying, Pinkie and Atlas were speechless. Though the both of them, in one way or another, were not unfamiliar with interacting with ponies of significant standing, being the sole audience to a king bearing his heart out was something else. Despite the impression he had initially given, and beyond his humble and boisterous demeanour, Neptune was a genuine king, and as such, knew how to wield it.

“I trust that answers that.” Neptune stood up once more, repeating his earlier intentions as he turned away from the two earth ponies, “So then, shall we?”

As he took the first steps though the now lifting Everfree fog, he knew he needn’t turn around nor wait for their reply before continuing on. Behind him, still silent, Atlas and Pinkie swapped yet another meaningful glance before following.

“Yes, yes... come along now.” Neptune’s usual tone returned as he savoured the experience of trekking through the otherworldly forest, “Enough of these treacherous woods! Let us head for Meetlemarsh.

“Destiny awaits!”