Age of the New Sun

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Prologue
Chapter 8

Chapter 1

Dawn was ebbing slowly over the walled city of Canterlot, the gold light splashing across the battered, ivory towers as if to draw attention to some of the disrepair. The streets were vacant, ghostly, and silent. Before what had once been the palace of Princess Celestia, Equestria’s solar ruler, stood three connected towers. The frontmost was a tower with the imposing forms of armored Equestrians carved into the front. Tall, stoic ponies garbed in heavy steel, bearing shields with the Mark of Celestia upon them, patrolled the entrance to both the towers and the remnants of the palace. Mostly, they were there to ensure nopony broke curfew.

Of the three towers, two were almost completely locked down. The main tower itself was incredibly large and tall, with a decorative, peaked roof and observatory the crown at the top, and housed, for the most part, unicorns. Here was where, almost exclusively, magic was taught and learned within the kingdom. Most of the students were not entirely voluntary. Comet Strike was one of such students.

High in the topmost observatory next to a homemade but pristine telescope slept the young, pale blue unicorn, her cheek to the book-lined table she sat at. She drummed her back leg against the floor awkwardly as she snoozed, huffing, blowing her tomboyish white-blue and mauve mane from her face. She scraped her white hoof across the table beneath her and pressed her cheek against its surface more closely as her ear twitched to the vague sound of a familiar voice in the backdrop of her mind. Her eyelids fluttered under the light, though she didn’t wake.

“Comet Strike!”

The unicorn snorted and her ears perked, twitching, and her large golden eyes opened and groggily blinked, but she slumped in her seat again, unsure if she had actually just heard something that was not in her mind.

“Comet Strike!” she heard again.

The unicorn’s eyes snapped open this time and she felt a jolt of panic, suddenly remembering what she had been doing. She sat up immediately, scrabbling on her front hooves, pulling the telescope before her closer with a bolt of blue magic and stuck her eye up close to the lens.

“Did I miss it?” she demanded.

Her eyes scanned the brightening sky, searching for the comet shower she had been watching for. She saw nothing, but before she could slow herself to take a better look, her telescope was pulled away from her by a cloud of yellow magic and she almost fell forward onto her face.

“Comet Strike!”

She turned quickly to see a pink, turquoise-eyed, freckle-faced unicorn looking back at her with a sympathetic smile.

“The comet shower was over four hours ago, I was talking to you!” she said.

“Pinklily, what...? Oh...” Comet Strike dipped her head and her ears drooped, but she grinned embarrassedly at her friend. “Sorry, I thought you were saying a comet had hit the ground.”

The other unicorn laughed and shook her head, her pale pink and gold streaked mane, rife with bed-head, tossing from side to side until she made an “oh!” sound and leaned her head back to get it out of her face. Her pelt shone in the morning’s glow, giving her Soul Mark of three crystals in blue, pink and cream an almost unnatural sparkle.

“You’re such a goof,” she said with a smile.

Comet shrugged one shoulder and then turned to look at the sky, pouting a little.

“I guess I fell asleep before I could take many notes...” she muttered. “Anyway, did you need something?”

The other unicorn merely laughed at her and stuck her hoof to her friend’s head, ruffling her already tussled mane.

“You just looked really uncomfortable. I would say go to bed, but the sun is rising.”

“Whatever.”

Comet laughed sleepily and slid onto the floor from her chair, yelping as she nearly stumbled over an old copy of All About Falling Stars. Pinklily’s magic held her steady and moved the book carefully from her way before letting Comet back down onto the floor.

“Whew, thanks,” she said, her ears drooping.

The mare shook her head and rolled her eyes, smiling a bit and turned to leave the cluttered observatory. Comet sighed and turned back to her telescope and the scattered notes she had taken. She stared for a while, groggily, at her equipment and then looked down at her notes. She pawed one of them closer to her and peered at it. She was disappointed to see that she had barely written anything, other than, “I wish I could fly.” She felt a hot sting of embarrassment and she crumpled it into a ball and tossed it across the room where it disappeared behind a tower of old books. She supposed, late into the night, watching the sparkling of the stars across the sky, she had been daydreaming a little.

Quickly, she found her sky-coloured bag and undid the clasp: a sort of white fireball, mimicking a portion of the mark on her flank. She pushed her notes inside with a hoof as she grabbed two of her astronomy books, Black Holes are Magic, and Adventures with Telescopes, in the blue glow of her magic and slid them in as well. She didn’t know the time, but magic lessons and a presentation would most likely be starting within the hour. She didn’t want to be tardy; it wasn’t any sense of love towards classes, but being unaccounted for could be incredibly dangerous in this place. The Sunwalkers, the guards of the unicorns and their towers-- they were strict, and sometimes cruel. Comet Strike didn’t want to give them a reason to suspect her of mischief. She couldn’t afford to.

As she tried to shake herself awake, Comet put her saddlebag on and, trotting carefully between the books, left the observatory the way Pinklily had. There was a narrow spiral staircase, often unused and quite dark that lead down to the regular levels of the tower. She headed there carefully, watching her hooves with a justified paranoia: she had fallen down these stairs on several occasions. At the bottom, she pushed open a large, heavy wooden door and stepped into a wide, checkerboard tiled hallway. She could see a groggy Sunwalker, a tall, narrow-faced tan stallion all in gold, sun-emblazoned armour, taking his place to stand on guard near another set of stairs to her right. That meant it must have been around 6am. The Sunwalkers were always like clockwork with their changing shifts. She didn’t make much of it and continued down the hallway. There was a huge communal sleeping hall nearby; undoubtedly, that’s where Pinklily would have gone back to. They shared a bunk-bed when Comet wasn’t passing out in the observatory.

However, that wasn’t where Comet was headed for now. Instead, she continued around the floor and to another, unguarded and wide set of stairs that lead down to a more public level of the tower. Sun was streaming through the windows warmly, and though Comet thought it was much too early to be awake, she was happy to see the sun rise. It was beautiful; something about it calmed her but at the same time, it always struck her with a sense of melancholy. The sunrise felt empty and impersonal, something that somehow felt wrong.

Now, Comet trotted to one of her most frequented haunts: the library. The huge, wooden doors, though locked at night, were already open wide. Inside, shelves of books about magic, cosmology, geography, history -- almost anything imaginable -- towered, reaching up to brush the ceilings. The magic books were mostly at the front, so that a pony wouldn’t have to search intensely for the basics of their studies. Most ponies didn’t delve much farther than that. It was a bit of a shame, but the blue unicorn liked having much of the library to herself.

Comet smiled a little to herself and headed through the memorized labyrinth of knowledge. Her hooves echoed on the clean, tiled floors of the otherwise silent place until she arrived at the cosmology section, which was around the center of the library. Opening her bag, she eyed the ordering curiously and then returned Adventures with Telescopes to its vacant spot on the shelf. It didn’t look like any other pony had been taking books from this section at all. She paused and scanned her eyes across the titles on the spines of the books. She was a bit disappointed. She had read all of the books within immediate reach already. She stepped back and looked at the titles above, but frowned to herself as she realized she had read all of those as well. Deciding to head for a book of spells instead, Comet backed away from the shelf and began to return from where she had come from, but stalled suddenly, her ears swiveling as she heard a second set of hooves. Normally, she wouldn’t have thought much of it, except that the echo resounded from the back of the library. She felt a sting of nerves. Nopony was ever back there.

Cautiously, Comet shuffled on her hooves, unsure of what to do. Pinklily would have told her to ignore it. It was probably the smart thing to do, but then again, studious as she was, Comet wasn’t exactly known for choosing the smart thing. Unable to quench her curiosity, she turned quickly towards the back of the library.

Tiptoeing on her hooves, she tried to be as quiet as possible as she slunk through the twisting paths of bookshelves. The back of the library had almost a clearing: a parting of shelves where piles of unsorted books lay. It didn’t make sense for somepony to be back there. Comet was on edge and had to stop herself from jumping as she heard the hoofsteps over her own once more. The unicorn hurried her pace, following the path of the shelves closely.

When Comet finally reached the final corner before the ‘clearing’, she hesitantly poked her head around to look. She was surprised to not see anything out of place at first. Frowning, Comet stood up straight and stepped into the opening, peering around curiously. Things were so quiet now. Her ears drooped back; she didn’t know what to make of it. A voice in the back of her mind that reminded her very much of Pinklily told her to get out of the library, that she had seen enough. As usual, Comet ignored it. She scoured the room, peeking between the piles of old, dusty books, and then inspected the ring of smaller shelves against the back wall. She still didn’t see any signs of anyone else, but she did find a strange, grimy scuff mark on the old tile. Peering down at it suspiciously, Comet poked it with her hoof, only to hear a a few sudden, loud thuds. Comet just about jumped out of her skin, skittering back and rearing onto her hind legs defensively, her eyes wide and darting around the room.

A tower of books was wobbling, while another lay scattered on the ground, and around the corner she had come from, she could have sworn she saw a tail disappearing.

“Hey!” she called out quickly, dropping back down to all fours.

There was no response, not even hoofbeats. Comet was baffled, her heart beating a little more quickly than she would have liked. Hurriedly, Comet headed back to the front of the library. There still wasn’t a single sign of another pony. She pouted a bit, her ears drooping backwards as she thought about how strange it was. A bit unnerved, Comet forsook another magic book and left the library quickly and headed back upstairs.

Trying to shake off her nerves, Comet Strike returned to the sleeping hall, hoping to meet back up with Pinklily. Amongst the bunk-beds and sleeping unicorns, Comet did her best to be quiet, though some were starting to stir on their own. After a quick glance around for Pinklily, she headed to the rear of the room and into the bathroom, where there were rows of sinks, mirrors, and a few tubs in the back to clean up in. Inside, as she suspected, Comet found Pinklily, her mane now combed, a little curly and pristine, spraying herself with a little bit of hairspray from an old glass bottle. Her tail, too, was combed long and straight, the pink and light gold stripes divided evenly down the side in a pattern of pink-gold-pink-gold from the top down.

“Oh, hi!” the pink unicorn said, a little distracted as she watched herself in the mirror and sprayed her mane again.

“Hey,” Comet said in reply.

“What took you?” she asked.

“Went to the library,” the blue mare replied simply.

She glanced around and found a comb, and with her magic, ran it casually a few times through her mane. Comet had an almost perpetual bedhead, her mane white-blue with jagged mauve streaks through her forelock and down her neck. Her tail was a bit spiky as well and of moderate length, with mauve running in a thin line at the top, and then in a separate stripe down the center while framed by the white-blue. The combing did next to nothing and she shrugged to herself, splashed a bit of water on her face, and then turned to leave.

“Wait up!” her friend called.

Comet paused and Pinklily skipped up to join her. She couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose a little at the scent of the overkill of hairspray. The other unicorn snickered at her and nudged her laughingly with her head as they left the bathroom.

“You should let me do your mane sometime-- clean you up a bit,” she said with a grin.

Comet merely stuck her tongue out at her good-naturedly in response.

Comet Strike and Pinklily, along with over one hundred other unicorns, resided in one of the few towers left in the walled city of Canterlot. It had been about 300 years since the solar ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia, had disappeared. A group of unicorns calling themselves the Cult of Nightmare Moon had claimed responsibility and a great war broke out as strange, twisted beings known as the Nightspawn appeared from what seemed to be the darkened sky itself. The sun and moon froze in the sky until a band of ponies lead by Celestia’s own protege forced the Everfree forest to spread across the land so that nature could rule itself. Now considered beyond dangerous, unicorns were herded to the remaining Canterlot towers, guarded diligently by the Order of the Sun and their Sunwalkers, ponies specially trained to deal with and neutralize unicorn magic. Comet Strike had lived in the gilded cage that was Canterlot for longer than she could remember; Pinklily had been there even longer than that.

Growing up in such an environment was torturous for Comet Strike for the most part. Her curiosity was unyielding in a magic tower where asking questions could get a pony into a lot of trouble. As a young filly, one of the only things keeping her sane was a Sunwalker mentor, a Pegasus named Nimbus. He had found her when she was only a few days old; had even given her her name. As she grew, despite a justified paranoia about the other Sunwalkers, he was like her brother; he had given her her first magic books and watched over her. However, while she was still little, before she even had her Soul Mark, Nimbus was expelled from the Sunwalkers, and, broken-hearted, Comet never heard from him again.

Comet resented the Sunwalkers deeply, but feared them as well. A unicorn breaking Canterlot rules or practicing any magic that was considered “forbidden” ran the very real risk of having their horn cut off and losing their magic forever. Comet was clever, but impetuous, and considered herself beyond lucky to have a friend like Pinklily who was levelheaded and steady. Comet loved learning spells; she was like a sponge, taking in even what she may not have been supposed to, her most dedicated passion being the practicing of offensive spells made of pure energy and ice. It was exhilarating, and along with being what could be considered Comet Strike’s special talent, it was also unconditionally forbidden. Pinklily was probably all that was keeping her out of trouble.

Now, the young mares were expected at a lesson for some very young unicorns to perform some spells as an example. Comet knew there was going to be a celestial event the night before the demonstration; she hadn’t volunteered herself, but when Archmage Springbreeze asked a pony to do something, there wasn’t a way to say no without incurring a heavy dose of motherly guilt. She wished, however, that she hadn’t had to sacrifice a good night’s sleep.

The magic class they were sitting in on was targeted for the very young. Comet liked playing with kids, and Pinklily had the patience of stone, so that wasn’t really the problem. It was too early for everyone. But then again, the Archmage had claimed she would be very busy for the rest of the week. Comet secretly suspected that she was only saying that as an excuse; she probably liked early classes because the young ponies were much quieter when groggy.

They found the classroom on the ground level of the tower in a quiet study with cushions on the floor. Many of the younger ponies were there already, fidgeting on the floor or talking amongst themselves. None of them were old enough to have earned their Soul Mark yet; Comet found it quite fun how small they were. They barely reached her knees. She plopped down on her haunches behind the other ponies and Pinklily sat beside her, raising a hoof to hide a yawn.

As more ponies trailed in, so too did another mare and a stallion that Pinklily and Comet had taken their classes with. Glimmer Pearl, a tall, ivory unicorn with a long mane of half-magnolia, half-cyan down the right side of her head, a long, luxurious tail, and the figure of a supermodel pranced on the tips of her hooves, looking as pretty and graceful as ever. Her silver eyes were bright and wide awake: she looked as if she never slept and yet never felt any ill effects. She was giggling and bumping her snout against the slightly shorter Jinx, a bright blue, purple-eyed unicorn with a short, spiky mane in two lighter shades of blue and a small tuft of a tail.

“Comet, Pinksy! Good morning!” Glimmer exclaimed.

She hugged both of them before either could even begin to greet her and then plopped down on a cushion beside the blue unicorn, stretching her forelimbs above her head contentedly.

“Hey guys,” Comet said.

Jinx nodded at her and a bit shyly took a seat near Glimmer as she patted the spot to her left with a hoof.

“Comet, how was the meteor shower?” the ivory unicorn asked brightly.

“Well, they... were actually comets,” she replied, cringing as she held in a yawn.

“Whatever. How was it?”

“Very pretty.”

“She slept through most of it,” Pinklily said a bit slyly, cutting her eyes at Comet.

The blue mare bumped Pinklily in annoyance, but Glimmer didn’t seem to mind either way.

“It seems to be happening more recently, you can probably catch the next one in a few months,” Glimmer stated confidently.

Comet smiled a bit and nodded. It was true: the next one she had charted would happen in approximately three months. It wasn’t urgent, anyway: more of a curiosity than anything.

“Hey, Jinx,” she said, leaning her head back to look at him, “how was that spell going for you? The levitation one?”

Jinx opened his mouth to answer, when abruptly Glimmer chirped, “He got a whole foot off the ground!” while patting him affectionately on the back.

“Really?” Comet asked brightly.

She knew Jinx had been having a great deal of trouble with his levitation spells. In fact, he often had trouble with most of the practical magic he tried. His specialty seemed to focus more around magic that was just for show, punctuated by the gold star rimmed with purple and blue fireworks on his flank. When Jinx nodded, she grinned at him and Pinklily abruptly put in,

“Congrats!”

“Aw, well... it could be better,” he admitted, “but thanks, guys.”

His ears were perked and, though still shy, he smiled and Glimmer patted his back again. Comet was about to reassure him that he’d get better with practice, as was the case with most magic, but at that moment, the Archmage trotted into the room, calling out, “Hello, my little ponies!” in a sing-song voice. Comet rolled her eyes immediately as the lanky, elderly unicorn in a black robe trotted to the front of the room beside her paper-flooded desk. Archmage Springbreeze was a mint green unicorn with a long, turquoise and sky blue mane that she wore long and elegant in the back and left the forelock in the front spring forward with a flippant curl at the tip. Though her left eye was clouded and white, her right was still a bright, vibrant pink. She didn’t wear many signs of her age, save for a few wrinkles on her snout and under her eyes. She had the nickname “Soothsayer”, though nopony really knew why for sure. Some said she could see the future, but Comet wasn’t so sure: it was more likely that it was just rumours based on superstitions and Springbreeze’s foggy eye.

As the younger ponies chorused a, “Good morning, Archmage,” Springbreeze smiled warmly.

“Welcome to your next magic lesson! As you’ll probably have noticed, we have some of our graduating students at the back. They will be helping us with demonstrations today.”

She gestured broadly to the older ponies at the back, and most of the little heads up ahead turned to look at them curiously. Springbreeze’s brow furrowed a little, however.

“Where’s Warmspark?” she asked.

Pinklily raised a brow questioningly and Comet merely shrugged as Glimmer looked around quickly. Warmspark was another unicorn from their year of studies, known for lighting things on fire.

“Guess he couldn’t make it,” she said, sounding a bit disappointed.

Springbreeze rolled her eyes and muttered, “Again? Honestly...” under her breath, but almost immediately put on a smile.

“Well then, we’ll just have to start without him, won’t we?” she said.

With a shock of silver magic, she pulled a chalkboard from against the wall and sent it to the front of the class. It was covered in basic notes about an equally basic spell.

“So last week we did a light spell, who remembers?” she asked, and when every hoof went up, she said, brightly, “Good! Let’s do a refresher.”

Comet drooped and sighed tiredly. She had to get up when the sun was barely in the sky for this? As the younger unicorns went up one at a time to demonstrate their magic, she frowned at the floor, trying to decide if she should tell Pinklily about what happened in the library or not.

Maybe it wasn’t a big deal; maybe I just startled somepony and...

She frowned a bit more deeply as she tried to figure out what had happened. She still didn’t know what to make of it.

“Hey, what did the floor ever do to you?”

Comet looked up quickly and Pinklily smiled at her jokingly.

“Sorry, just... I was thinking,” Comet replied.

The pink unicorn’s brow furrowed: the expression was out of character for Comet, but before she could ask, or make any assessment, there were exclamations from the front of the room, and almost immediately, Glimmer began to clap her hooves against the floor, cheering, “Way to go!” loudly. Comet and Pinklily looked to the front where many of the younger ponies were gathered, cooing over a pale red filly with a carrot coloured, bob-cut mane who was staring, her blue eyes bright and wide, at a newly appeared Soul Mark on her flank. It was a ten-pointed yellow star with a border of white. The filly recovered from shock rather quickly and began look incredibly proud.

“Well, well, would you look at that!” Springbreeze said. “Congratulations, Brightspot!”

She ruffled the unicorn’s mane; Comet and Pinklily quickly joined in clapping their front hooves against the floor. Brightspot, probably named for the white freckle spots on her snout, smiled broadly.

“Brightspot, are you the first in your class?” Glimmer called, her eyes alight.

The filly nodded proudly and returned to her seat as Springbreeze gently bade the young ponies to calm down. Pinklily looked at Comet and raised her eyebrows.

“A bit more interesting than normal,” she commented.

“I guess,” Comet said, and smiled a little. “She must be happy.”

She nodded at the filly, who was grinning from ear to ear as a few of her friends hovered around her.

“I remember getting mine,” Pinklily said. “Do you remember?”

“Yeah, you just about scared yourself out of your fur. I’d never seen you jump that high before,” Comet replied with a grin.

Pinklily smiled a bit wider and nudged her friend with her elbow.

“What about yours? Yeesh! What a mess of a night that was!”

Comet laughed despite herself and grinned embarrassedly, shifting a bit on her rump as she felt a tingling up her legs, only to have Glimmer lean over, fluttering her eyelashes.

“Ooh, sounds like a story,” she said. “What happened?”

Comet felt a twinge through her spine, and quickly lied, “Oh, didn’t sleep for about a week studying the meteor showers when I was little. No big deal.”

Pinklily rolled her eyes though Glimmer didn’t see. Her ears perked and she brightly said, “Oh!” as she leaned back in her spot. Comet tried not to grimace, but she knew better than to tell Glimmer Pearl the truth. Comet’s Soul Mark had been a direct result of breaking Canterlot rules, and though she loved Glimmer, the mare couldn’t keep gossip to herself if her life depended on it.

As the class finally began to settle, Springbreeze took the front again, smiling brightly.

“A light spell Soul Mark, how lovely,” she said cheerfully. “Did I hear that you’re the first in your class, Brightspot?”

“Yep!” the red filly said happily.

“Do you all know about Soul Marks?” the Archmage asked.

Though some of the younger ponies looked a little perplexed, most of them nodded.

“They’ve been called many things over time. Cutie Marks, Emblems, Destiny Marks, etcetera,” Springbreeze explained, and was about to continue when a small green colt stuck his hoof in the air almost urgently.

“Archmage, do we all get one?” he asked.

“Of course,” she replied.

“How? When?”

Springbreeze smiled as more small voices echoed the questions in different words; young ponies wondered aloud what theirs might be.

“You’ll get yours eventually,” Springbreeze assured them, and then beckoned to Comet Strike.

Comet flinched, but got up and walked to her side near the desk and the blackboard; she nodded appreciatively. Figures Springbreeze would pick her, especially when her legs had fallen asleep.

“Your mark always has to do with what you are truly best at,” the older unicorn explained. “Take Comet Strike’s, for example. She developed a keen interest in space and shooting stars at a young age, so, her mark reflects that.”

The young ponies oohed and aahed at the sight of the white comet, a purple and blue flame trail streaming behind that was emblazoned on Comet’s flank. She blushed a little and Springbreeze began to speak again, elaborating further on Soul Marks. Comet wasn’t listening, however; her mind was elsewhere. More specifically, it was on Springbreeze’s desk. Amongst the piles of books and scraps of letters, a small piece of parchment was sticking halfway out of an envelope once sealed with Celestia’s crest. The red if the seal stood out amongst the paper clearly, like a beacon. It directed her eyes to a map, like blueprints: a portion of the library Comet had never seen before. Her curiosity was peaked immediately and her heart began to beat a little faster. The map showed the back section of the library, where somepony had been skulking around before she had startled them off. Comet gulped and tried to casually lean towards the desk, but before she could even attempt to sneak a closer look, Springbreeze nodded at her and said,

“A stargazing Soul Mark is very interesting, thank you Comet. You may take your seat now.”

Reluctantly, Comet returned to the back of the room. Pinklily gave her a knowing look as she plopped back down beside her. They both knew that Comet hadn’t gotten her Soul Mark through stargazing, not in the conventional sense, anyway. It had been much more dangerous than that.

Almost immediately, Glimmer stuck her hoof in the air and waved it until the Archmage took notice and said, “Yes, Glimmer Pearl?”

“Can I show mine as well?” she asked.

“Of course you may.”

Springbreeze smiled. Immediately, Glimmer was on her feet and she trotted up to the front of the room, proudly displaying the mark on her flank; a magic silver orb surrounded by a splash of turquoise magic.

“Ah, yes, Glimmer’s represents her telekinesis-” Springbreeze began.

Comet didn’t hear the rest of it. Her mind was a million miles away. Could it simply be coincidence?

The lesson continued with each of the graduating students showing off a basic spell to the foals. Glimmer showed off basic levitation with much enthusiasm, and Jinx shyly demonstrated a spell to make objects glow. Comet’s display was basic and in her mind, rather lame, but was still a little too advanced for the foals: she froze the water in a small container. Pinklily fished up with a simplified explanation of enchanting gemstones with magical properties, her specialty.

Comet was still distracted through the demonstrations of her friends; was even distracted through her own. Had the Archmage been the one in the back of the library? Did she know something about what was back there? Comet wanted to ask her, but she doubted she would get an answer: Springbreeze was usually frustratingly cryptic. It struck her with stomach-turning nerves to consider going back there, and asking about it didn’t seem like a good idea for several reasons.

Lost in thought, the class seemed to speed by; Comet was only jostled out of her thoughts when Pinklily nudged her to get up. As they left together, the pink unicorn stared at her with a light frown on her brow. As they walked through the entrance hall, past the main doors, Pinklily beckoned Comet towards a bench underneath a row of stained-glass windows. A bit puzzled, Comet followed, and the other unicorn said,

“So, what’s on your mind?”

“What do you mean?” the blue unicorn replied.

“Well, you were distracted all lesson,” Pinklily said with a shrug; she slid down onto the bench carefully.

Comet plopped down beside her and looked at her a bit nervously.

“Also, you’ve been staring into space, and you don’t usually have that look unless you’re planning something, so I just figured something was up,” Pinklily continued.

She smiled slyly at her friend, and Comet’s ears drooped. She smiled a bit shyly.

“I just... saw something, I dunno,” she said quietly.

“What kind of something?” Pinklily pressed.

“I’m not sure,” Comet admitted. “I guess... something spooked me in the library.”

“Oh.”

Pinklily’s eyes went wide and she inclined her head curiously, her expression asked Comet to elaborate.

“It’s nothing, really, it’s just that I heard in the back of the library, but when I went to check, no one was there,” Comet said, trying to hide her reluctance. “And then I saw weird library blueprints on Springbreeze’s desk. It was just weird is all.”

“Huh.”

Pinklily drew back, frowning. She looked as if she wanted to say something, but couldn’t come up with the words. Comet shrugged absently and got to her hooves.

“I could really go for some food right about now,” she said.

Pinklily seemed reluctant; her eyes probed Comet’s face, as if trying to read her more deeply. The blue unicorn’s ears drooped and she smiled awkwardly, knowing that her forcible changing the subject was anything but discreet, but after a moment, Pinklily’s expression softened and she got up with her.

“Breakfast would be great,” she agreed.

Under the dappled, coloured light, the two unicorns headed off, though just as they reached the entrance to the hallway that would take them to the dining hall, Comet couldn’t help but pause as she heard the massive front doors of the tower begin to creak ajar. Curiously, she turned to look, as did Pinklily, her ears twitching and her brow furrowed.

One of the double doors was shoved open roughly, sunlight spilling through behind the silhouette of an armoured Sunwalker and the young colt he was pushing along in front of him. Comet cringed against the light and watched curiously. Almost as quickly as it had opened, the door slammed shut as the red stallion herded a young, cream coloured unicorn into the tower. The colt was about the same age as the ones Comet and Pinklily had been sitting with just a few minutes prior, though this one was a little taller: gangly and totally out of his element. He looked around cautiously, red eyes bright as he tossed his short, scruffy burgundy mane from his face until he became fixated on the almost mystical light pooling from the stained glass.

Cautiously, Comet edged a bit closer, hoping to-- she wasn’t sure, perhaps introduce herself? It didn’t seem to be an easy thing, coming to the tower when one could still remember the outside. She envied, and pitied, him. She had never known the world outside Canterlot.

Pinklily followed her, a bit more confident in her steps. That is, until the young colt was sent sprawling to the tile by a swift kick from the hoof of the Sunwalker. Comet felt herself gasp, a shock of terror striking her. While she froze, Pinklily did the exact opposite. She was across the room in an instant, her face set in a scowl.

“Hey, what the hay do you think you’re doing?” Pinklily barked.

She positioned herself, steadfast, between the small colt and the large Sunwalker. The stallion looked down at her with an ice-cold frown.

“Get out of my way, filly, I need to take that foal to the Archmage.”

Pinklily raised an eyebrow and stood a little taller, clearly unimpressed, but otherwise, her face was stone.

“Why don’t you let me take it from here, seeing as you clearly aren’t fit to take care of a pet rock?” the unicorn said.

Comet felt her heart sink and her ears went back with worry, especially when the large stallion bared his teeth and leaned forward, trying to seem larger and more intimidating with moderate success. Pinklily was unmoved and she lowered her head a little, more to aim her horn than anything. The stallion snorted angrily and tried to duck around Pinklily, but the pink unicorn sidestepped simply to block his path. Comet wasn’t sure what to do, but her heart was racing.

“I order you to get out of here, you stupid unicorn,” he said. “Or should I tell the Sun-Commander about your bad attitude?”

Comet felt a shock of panic, though Pinklily was still a rock. Usually, this worked. Usually, no reaction to threats was effective, but this stallion seemed to just be getting more upset. Pinklily must have been able to see this, but backing down wasn’t really an option, especially with the foal at the most risk.

Comet wasn’t sure what to do, but with the stallion starting to try to circle again, she knew she had to try something. Quickly, she snuck closer and she jostled a book out of her saddlebag and, with much gusto, strode towards it at such a speed that she couldn’t prevent herself from tripping. She flew sidelong into the Sunwalker, sending both herself, her books, and him sprawling to the ground. Dazed and apologizing as if she meant it, she shook her head and tried to get a front hoof under herself and looked up to see Pinklily looking at her with a mixture of confusion and pride.

“You stupid filly!” the stallion barked, scrambling to his feet with a look of rage on his face, but before he could say another word, his attention was caught by a deep voice.

“You, colt, get over here at once.”

All four ponies turned to look. Across the hallway, in the high-arched doorway, stood the Sun-Commander Stonehoof, a tall, barrel-chested grey stallion garbed in gold armor from head to hoof. He glared, cold-eyed at the Sunwalker, whose expression abruptly turned to one of alarm.

“Yes, sir!” he said quickly.

He straightened his posture and trotted with forced pride towards the Sun-Commander and ducked in the doorway and past him. Stonehoof remained to look at the unicorns before him tiredly, and then turned without a word and followed the Sunwalker, kicking the door closed behind him as he went.

Comet felt breath leave her in relief almost immediately and she slowly got her legs under herself to stand. Before she knew it, however, her books were floating in her face and she could see Pinklily smiling at her.

“Good thinking,” she said, and then laughed. “You did do that on purpose, right?”

“Of course,” Comet replied, rolling her eyes.

The young colt beside Pinklily couldn’t help a small grin and he trotted up to Comet as the other mare returned the books to her friend’s bag.

“Thanks, miss,” he said brightly. “I was scared I wouldn’t meet anypony nice here after that guy.”

“Not a problem,” Comet said with a smile. “Are you okay?”

As the colt nodded, Pinklily gave her an unsure expression and Comet couldn’t help her ears folding back a little. Unaware of anything wrong, the young colt said, brightly,

“I’m Arrowburst, the archer’s son! From Trottingham. It’s very nice to meet you both.”

He stood tall on his small legs and the pink unicorn couldn’t help a smile.

“I’m Pinklily, and this is Comet Strike,” she said, pointing her horn at her friend.

Arrowburst seemed quite pleased, grinning at both of them. Comet was about to ask him how the trip there had been, but Pinklily spoke first.

“So, you were headed up to the Archmage?”

“I guess so,” the colt said, his ears drooping a little. “Is she scary...?”

“Pfft, no,” Comet scoffed, laughing. “We can take you.”

Arrowburst perked up immediately and Pinklily turned to Comet.

“She’s probably still in the study,” she said.

Comet agreed, so the three ponies doubled back to the room where the class had just been held.

Springbreeze, however, was already gone, leaving the classroom much neater than it had been. Comet peered deeper into the classroom. She tried to conceal her disappointment: the desk had been partially tidied and the curious map was gone.

“Huh,” Pinklily mused, snapping Comet back to reality. “Guess she went upstairs.”

“To her office, I guess,” the blue unicorn agreed, backing out of the room.

They went slowly through the tower, up the stairs and to Springbreeze’s guarded office, allowing plenty of time for Arrowburst to look around his new surroundings as they went. At the door to the office, Comet noticed Arrowburst hesitate a little at the sight of the Sunwalker guards, but she gently nudged him on as they went up to the closed, wooden door. Pinklily knocked, and when Springbreeze called, “Come in!”, the unicorn pushed the door open and stepped in, guiding Arrowburst. Comet trailed behind and closed the door after them.

Springbreeze’s office looked much like the back area of the library: books were scattered everywhere and stood stacked high in teetering piles against shelves that were crammed to the brim with even more books. Despite the mess, the room was decorative and bright with gold lining, a border just below the ceiling depicting inlaid pictures of Celestia’s protege, Twilight Sparkle, leading a band of ponies and a dragon across the land to confront some vague, faded enemy. Springbreeze herself sat at a desk that was all but invisible behind books and under papers. She smiled at the ponies and got up to greet them.

Arowburst recoiled a little, but Springbreeze cheerfully said,

“Nice to see you all! I’ve never seen this little colt before. New, are you?”

She smiled at him and the colt nodded, squeaking out,

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Interesting to see you two with him,” the Archmage said to the older unicorns.

“Well, we--” Pinklily began.

Comet cut in accidentally, unable to stop herself blurting, “The stupid Sunwalker with him kicked him over on the way in, so there was no way we...”

She trailed off, noticing Pinklily’s stare and she shut her mouth tightly. Springbreeze, however, looked startled, and she turned her gaze on Arrowburst.

“What an awful introduction to the tower!” she gasped.

She bent and nuzzled the small colt’s head gently, and he finally seemed to relax. When she stood straight again, she frowned, locking eyes with Comet.

“Who?”

“I... I...”

“We don’t know. Haven’t seen him around much; probably a patroller,” Pinklily interjected calmly. “Red. That’s about all I can say.”

“I’ll talk to the Sun-Commander,” Springbreeze said quickly, her magic whisking a pen from the desk and marking a note on parchment behind her. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with this colt.”

Pinklily nodded, and though Comet was still feeling the sting of shame, she smiled reassuringly at Arrowburst, who quickly said, “Thanks for the help,” before the two unicorns left the office.

They were quiet as they walked away, back towards the dining hall. Comet’s ears were low and she kept her eyes to the ground, not wanting to see the look of disapproval she knew her friend was wearing.

“Comet,” she said after a while.

She sounded disapproving, too. Comet gulped and flinched, but said nothing.

“Comet,” Pinklily repeated.

She stepped in front of the blue unicorn quickly, forcing her to stop and look up.

“I’m sorry,” Comet squeaked.

“I know your heart was in the right place, but-”

“I know, I know, I screwed up again.”

“Comet Strike, you know those Sunwalkers outside the door almost definitely heard you, right?”

Pinklily looked at her sternly and Comet felt her heart sink to her hooves.

“I...”

Fear struck her and she wanted to hit herself. Of course they heard her: she had practically been shouting. She drooped in place and before her, Pinklily sighed and patted her on the shoulder gently.

Comet was worried now. She had been cited for “bad attitude” just two month ago: honestly, she just tried to keep her head down and go about her business, but she just couldn’t help herself sometimes. Being stuck in the tower did that to most ponies. Well, except for Pinklily.

“Maybe they’ll understand,” Comet said, mostly trying to reassure herself as she straightened to look at her friend hopefully. “Maybe they won’t report me.”

Pinklily didn’t look even a little convinced, but she smiled and nodded, half-heartedly agreeing, “Maybe,” before moving back to Comet’s side and nudging her forward with her snout.

“Just be more careful,” she said. “Let’s go eat.”

The dining hall, a simple array of wooden benches and tables in a cafeteria-like setting in what was obviously once a much more important room, was scattered with ponies. Some, a bit younger than Comet and Pinklily, studied notes from books whilst gulping down food in a hurry, while other, older ponies chatted amongst themselves without a care.

The friends got some food and sat at a table on their own. Comet was quiet, munching on a dandelion and raspberry jam sandwich, hoping it would make her feel better. It didn’t, really; her stomach was still in knots. She tried to ignore Pinklily’s silence. After a little while, she heard Pinklily sigh, and say,

“It’ll probably be fine. Don’t worry too much.”

“Sure,” Comet agreed; though she nodded, she didn’t really believe it.

The pink unicorn’s face said that she knew. She didn’t seem to believe it either. She picked through the salad in front of her delicately while Comet wolfed her sandwich absently. She noticed Pinklily shoot her an amused smile and some of her tension gave way, finally, and she allowed herself to slump a little.

“Anyway,” Pinklily said, “how was last night, anyway?”

Comet looked up at her friend, and though her ears drooped back, she smiled and couldn’t help a small laugh.

“From what I remember, it was pretty,” she said, “and my calculation for the position was accurate. Good non-sequitur, by the way.”

The other unicorn shrugged and smiled.

“Maybe, you know, since classes are over for us, we could get a free Canterlot pass and do some actual outside stargazing in a few days,” she suggested.

The notion perked Comet up immediately. She hadn’t had a free Canterlot pass in months; some free time to roam around the ruins of the city, if only for a few hours, would be more than welcome. She smiled at Pinklily, understanding her motives immediately, and said, “Thanks,” quite earnestly. Pinklily shrugged and went back to her salad.

The two ponies chatted for a while, mostly trivialities; Comet enjoyed it, it made her mind feel less muddled. Their conversation was derailed, however, by the arrival of a Sunwalker in the dining hall. Pinklily noticed him first, quietening mid-sentence and forcing Comet to follow her distracted gaze over her shoulder. The light blue stallion approached them as the other chatter in the hall dimmed, and for a moment she was terrified, but only then did the blue unicorn notice Arrowburst trailing a bit shyly behind him.

“Pinklily and, uh, Comet Strike, right?” the large pony asked.

When Comet nodded and awkwardly replied, “Yeah?”, his ears perked and he gently nudged Arrowburst towards them.

“The Archmage asked me to bring this colt to you; said you should show him around. That okay?”

“Oh, um... sure,” Comet replied.

She was surprised, and hoped she wasn’t shaking visibly. He smiled, seeming relieved, and again he nudged Arrowburst, gently saying, “Go on. You’ll fit in fine.”

“Thanks,” the colt replied, and the stallion nodded and headed back from the hall as, a bit awkwardly, Arrowburst clambered onto the bench beside Comet.

The tension dispersed almost immediately, and Comet felt herself blush at the amount of panic she had felt. She put a hoof to her brow as Pinklily smiled sympathetically and then she turned her gaze on Arrowburst curiously.

“So the Archmage wasn’t as scary as you thought?” she asked,

“Nah, she was nice,” he replied brightly, and then squeaked out a quick, “Thank you!” as Pinklily pushed what was left of her salad to him.

He shoved his face into it hungrily and the two older unicorns shared looks of mutual amusement.

“I’ll get you some more,” Comet volunteered.

As the colt let out another exuberant “Thanks!”, Comet slid off the bench and trotted off to grab more food.

Arrowburst was ravenous after his long trip; inhaled what Comet set on the table before him like a monster. He had been on the road for five days, he told them, and they had only stopped to rest three times. Despite that, his energy was still high; he asked for a tour, and Comet and Pinklily obliged.

A quick run around the ground floor, excluding the Sunwalker’s temple, showed a few more studies; nothing particularly interesting. As they headed towards the stairs upwards, the young unicorn kept pace with Pinklily. Comet trailed behind a little, letting Pinklily take the lead.

“There’s a basement, also,” Pinklily told Arrowburst, “but we’re not allowed to go down there.”

“Why not?” the colt asked curiously.

“It’s full of demons,” Comet joked, sticking her tongue out, and when Arrowburst cast a glance back at her with raised brows, she said, “They don’t tell us. You just get in a lot of trouble if you even try.”

“But now I want to,” Arrowburst grumbled.

“Don’t you dare,” Pinklily replied.

Though she smiled at him and her tone was light, her eyes said she was utterly serious.

On the second floor, Pinklily showed off some of the large classrooms, many of which were filling with students, and an equipment room where potion ingredients and spell reagents were kept. The colt was fascinated. Farther up the tower, past the library, Comet let Pinklily do much of the explanations of the classrooms, practice rooms, reading rooms, and rules of the tower, lest the new unicorn be coloured by Comet’s obvious disdain. She didn’t want him to be as frustrated as he was. Many of the young unicorns seemed happy, and she hoped that he could be too. Despite that, he gravitated to her more than to Pinklily, and she was certain he caught at least one of her involuntary eye-rolls at the mention of the strict curfew or some other such Sunwalker-imposed nonsense.

Around midday, Arrowburst was hungry again and Pinklily suggested Comet take him back to the dining hall. She had to go, she explained, to work on an enchantment project; the blue unicorn was left with Arrowburst stuck to her like tree sap.

Upon Pinklily’s departure and their renewed trek down the stairs, he looked up at Comet with a smile on his face despite her hurriedness to return to the dining hall.

“So, what do you think?” he asked.

“Um... Well, personally, I like the dandelion and jam sandwiches, but the carrot soup is also good,” she said with a shrug.

“No, you dope, about the tower,” Arrowburst laughed. “It sounds okay, I guess. But what do you think?”

“It’s not bad,” Comet said, shrugging again, and then straining for something nice to say, admitted, “The library is really good.”

“Ah, I’m not really into books,” the colt admitted, trotting to keep pace beside her. “I’d love to learn more about magic. I’ve never really done any spell casting before.”

“Well, it’s okay for that too,” Comet said.

‘Okay’ was overstating a little. Normal classes almost never taught anything useful, especially not for the foals. Nevertheless, Arrowburst seemed pleased and he skipped down the stairs in front of her.

Back on the first floor, as the two ponies neared the dining hall, Comet couldn’t help the nerves suddenly pinging inside her: there were strange whispers about. The other students were oddly quiet and on edge. Arrowburst didn’t seem to notice as he trotted, head held high, into the dining hall and up to the counter where the food was kept. Cautiously, Comet followed him, turning to a nearby stallion and asking, “Hey, do you know what’s up?” a little nervously.

She hadn’t seen the students like this since a rogue unicorn attacked the tower from the outside three years ago. The stallion shook his head, his ears drooping, and he replied,

“No idea, but it’s freaking me out.”

“Same,” Comet agreed. “Thanks.”

She hurried up to the counter with Arrowburst, who now had two food trays with both dandelion sandwiches and carrot soup on them and was trying very, very hard to lift them with magic. Though a small spark trail of red trickled from his horn, nothing would come of it. Comet absently lifted them up and, with the trays hovering in midair, she trotted to an empty table and sat down tiredly. Arrowburst followed and sat across from her, rather oblivious as he dug into the sandwich eagerly.

Comet’s ears were alert; rotating around the hall, trying to catch a fragment of conversation. Boring and controlling as it may, Comet usually felt at least a little safe in the tower. Not today, though. It was like there was a fog in the place, like there was something just beyond her that she couldn’t see. She heard a vague whispering about Sunwalkers, and almost immediately cast her eyes around the hall for them. Strangely, she saw none, not even the usual guard at the entrance. It made her uneasy; the Sunwalkers were nothing if not predictable.

“Comet?”

The blue unicorn’s gaze snapped to Arrowburst as he stared at her from across the table, looking moderately concerned.

“Is something wrong?”

“Huh? Oh, no, nothing,” Comet replied, forcing a smile.

“So... Do ponies ever leave here? Or come in? Can my dad visit?”

“I’ve seen families visit,” Comet assured him.

“Yours?” he asked.

Comet shook her head and immediately replied with a simple, “No.”

“Why not?” Arrowburst asked curiously, inclining his head.

“Well, I just don’t have a family, that’s all,” the mare replied with a shrug of her shoulders, but when she saw the colt’s face utterly fall and his ears flop downwards, she smiled and laughed a little, waving her hoof at him. “It’s no big deal. I have Pinklily. And some other friends. They’re my family, right here in the tower.”

“Oh.”

Arrowburst looked reassured and his ears were erect again. Once again unburdened, he began to eat. Comet pushed her tray towards him and stole a quick glance around the hall again. Still no Sunwalkers; still a hushed dread amongst the students.

Comet didn’t touch her lunch at all, though Arrowburst ate it all readily. They headed back into the main hall, the noon sun painting dappled colours on the floor through stained glass.

“So,” Comet said a bit awkwardly, “what would you like to do now?”

“I’m not sure,” Arrowburst replied. “Can we go outside?”

“We’d need to apply for a free Canterlot pass,” the blue unicorn sighed, shaking her head, “and those usually take a few days to go through.”

“Aw.”

The colt pouted, and then turned around quickly, looking around at all the hallways Pinklily had taken them through earlier. Comet was about to suggest taking him to the observatory, but she was distracted almost immediately by the sound of frantic hoofbeats clopping across the hard tile towards them. Comet turned in the direction quickly, eyes wide, unable to stop a feeling of panic in her gut. Arrowburst, too, turned to the sound, looking startled and worry.

Within seconds, the tall, ivory unicorn, Glimmer Pearl, barreled through into the main hall.

“Comet, Comet, Comet!!”

Glimmer was utterly panicked, her silver eyes bright with tears as she rushed to the shorter, blue unicorn’s side and threw her hooves around her neck in a desperate embrace as Arrowburst watched on with wide, confused eyes.

“Whoa, whoa, what’s wrong?” Comet asked hurriedly, trying to push away her surprise and patting Glimmer on the back gently. “I’ve never seen you like this before.”

“It’s Warmspark, the Sunwalkers found out about his fire magic!”

She whimpered and buried her face against Comet’s neck. The blue unicorn felt herself go cold. Fire magic itself was not forbidden, but Warmspark had taken to training it with offensive purposes, and was getting quite good at it, too. Comet gulped. She knew what was next, but she didn’t want to believe it.

“They cut his horn off!” Glimmer wailed.

Comet cringed and felt her heart begin to stutter. She didn’t know what to say or what to ask for a little while, her body frozen with fear and shock as the other unicorn wept into her fur.

Finally, Comet Strike regained her voice, though her mouth felt very dry.

“Was it close to the base, or-?”

“No, no, thank Celestia,” Glimmer said.

Comet felt part of her relax with relief, and the ivory unicorn pulled back, wiping her eyes on a hoof and taking a deep breath, finally getting a hold of herself a little.

“No,” she repeated, “he’s still himself. They didn’t cut to the base.”

Comet let out a sigh of relief and nodded, muttering, “Thank Celestia,” under her breath.

“I don’t understand,” Arrowburst put in worriedly. “They cut his horn? I... what?”

Comet winced. She didn’t want to have to explain this to somepony so young, especially on his first day in the tower.

“Arrowburst, the Sunwalkers have a lot of control in here,” she said reluctantly, “and... when they think a unicorn is getting too strong or dangerous, especially using magic that could be used for attacks... they’ll sometimes cut off the horn.”

“What?! They can do that?”

The tiny colt’s eyes became huge and Glimmer put a hoof around him to try to reassure him as Comet continued.

“If they cut off just most of your horn, your magic becomes very weak. But, if they go down to the base, a lot of times you-”

“Comet, should you really be telling him this?” Glimmer cut in, her eyes wide and scared.

Though Arrowburst looked frightened as well, he looked up at Glimmer Pearl.

“I need to know, though.” Looking a little squeamish, he turned his gaze on Comet. “Right?”

She nodded and sighed, her ears drooping.

“If they cut to the base, you stop being you. Ponies go... braindead. They stop feeling things. It’s... I can’t imagine anything worse.”

“No feelings?” Arrowburst squeaked. “And that happened to your friend?”

“No, no, he lost just about... two-thirds?” Glimmer said quickly. “He’s going to be okay, sort of...”

She looked overwhelmingly sad again and Comet patted her shoulder reassuringly. She smiled weakly and said, “Comet, you should go visit him.”

Comet didn’t question; just nodded. She felt a bit dazed.

She left Arrowburst in Glimmer Pearl’s care soon after, heading towards the infirmary. To get there, however, required a trip through the Temple of the Sun, where Sunwalkers congregated to worship Celestia. Though the rest of the tower was rustic in its architecture, the Temple was obviously a relatively recent addition. Down a narrow, but brightly lit hallway to the far right of the main entrance to the tower, it was more elaborate in design, with patterns of the sun all over its pillars, walls and the pulpit at the front. As she entered, Comet was relieved that were was nopony else there. Even passing through to the infirmary could elicit many a cold stare from Sunwalkers. She had even heard, once, a mention that unicorns disgraced the place. Despite Comet’s disdain the Temple, she couldn’t help but admire the designs on the walls as she passed. Strange that the symbol of her oppression could be so beautiful.

She paused before a massive, stone carving of Celestia positioned to the right of the pulpit. She thought it, too, was beautiful, but other than that, she wasn’t sure how to feel. She had heard that Celestia loved all ponies, even the unicorns. She herself had the horn of a unicorn. Would she really have approved of them being holed up like they were? Somehow, Comet doubted it. Or, at least, that’s what she hoped. In the Temple, Comet noticed a distinct lack of Celestia’s protege in the art, most likely because she was a unicorn as well. Even so, most ponies she knew swore by Twilight Sparkle at some point or another.

As two large, Sunwalker stallions trotted into the Temple the way she had, Comet hurried on her way and out the other side. There was a short hallway leading to the infirmary's closed door there, guarded by a third, stoic-faced Sunwalker. He made no protest nor motion to stop her as she approached, and she eyed him cautiously.

“Is it okay if I go in?” she asked.

He nodded and opened the door for her; she smiled her thanks and headed inside, nudging the door closed behind her.

The infirmary was enclosed, quiet, and dark; almost cozy. At the front there was a desk where the medicine mare, MintTea, normally sat, though she was absent for now; the rest of the room was laid out in two rows of beds for the recuperating. Warmspark was the only one there.

Comet spotted him immediately, in a bed near the back corner, his black mane spiked and pulled in such a way to cover his brow. He was lying on his back, his orange eyes fixed in a blank, frustrated frown on the ceiling. Cautiously, she crept in closer, but he didn’t seem to notice her until she was only a bed’s length away from him.

“Comet?” he asked, and then sighed in annoyance, slumping. “Glimmer told you, huh? I told her not to make a big deal.”

A bit hesitantly, Comet smiled and edged closer until she was at his bedside.

“Well, you know Glimmer,” she said with a shrug. “How are you?”

Warmspark opened his mouth to speak but paused and frowned deeply at the ceiling.

“I’m angry,” he said finally. “At them. At myself.”

He snorted, blowing some of his mane from his face. Comet could see the flat stub of his horn and an uncomfortable tremor shot through her body. She felt like she was going to be sick. She couldn’t even imagine what Warmspark must have been going through. He frowned pointedly up at the ceiling and pulled the blankets closer.

“Warmspark, I’m sor-”

“Nah, Comet Strike, don’t bother,” he grumbled, his ears flattening.

The blue unicorn cringed and cast a glance behind her for the Sunwalker guard, just in case. He wasn’t there, and she felt a quick brush of relief. She scooted a bit closer to the stallion and, though she felt a twinge in her stomach at the sight of his stump of a horn, she leaned in closer, asking,

“Your magic, is it... all gone, or...?”

She was hesitant, but when Warmspark turned his gaze upon her, he grinned tiredly. Quickly, he scrunched his eyes shut and concentrated hard, and after a few seconds, a faint glow pulsed up the horn.

“Dear Celestia,” Comet breathed.

A small dribble of red sparks scattered around the stump, but stopped rather abruptly as his eyes shot open and he panted desperately. Despite that, he grinned, and choked out a triumphant, “Hah!”, before he paused and took in more air.

“They should have done a better job,” he said as he composed himself, and then winked. “Don’t tell anyone.”

“Of course not,” she responded quickly.

Warmspark nodded and smiled a little.

“You and I, we’re pretty similar,” he said, nodding at her Soul Mark, “except that once I build my power back up, I’m going to set the barracks on fire.”

Comet felt her heart stall, and by the stallion’s face, she couldn’t tell if he was kidding, though she suspected he wasn’t. It made her nervous, but she nodded a little and gave him a tired smile.

“Just be careful, okay?”

He nodded and saluted her, and she held a hoof out to him. He readily clapped his own against it and she smiled a little wider.

“Do you need anything?”

“I’ll be fine. Thanks.”

She nodded and said a quick goodbye before turning from the infirmary.

As soon as she was beyond the door and the guard, though, her smile fell utterly and she had to stop herself from shaking. She didn’t know if a unicorn could build up their magic again once their horns were cut, but somehow, she doubted it. It was a terrifying prospect. Warmspark hadn’t been wrong about their similarities, but thanks to Pinklily, Comet was much more discreet. Warmspark had flaunted his power among the students, and it pained Comet to think some jealous pony might have turned him in. She surely hoped not. She couldn’t help admire the stallion a little: he was handling the situation very well. Comet couldn’t even fathom what she would do if she lost her magic. It was her life.

It wasn’t long before Comet found herself mulling about in the observatory, still feeling sick; still feeling confused. She thought she heard someone call her name from below at some point, but she paid it no heed. She drooped herself across her observatory table tiredly. She closed her eyes, her ears folding back against her head. She felt like she had only been there for a few moments when she felt a hoof on her shoulder, shaking her.

“Comet Strike?”

Comet opened her eyes to be met with turquoise.

“This is the second time I’ve found you here today,” Pinklily said, “How you doing?”

Comet groggily sat up and blinked at her friend, who smiled at her sympathetically.

“Fine. Just fine.”

“Liar,” the pink unicorn said. “You saw Warmspark?”

“Yeah. How long have I been here?”

“I don’t know, when did you come here?”

“Noon-ish?”

“Way to go,” Pinklily laughed. “It’s night now.”

“Oh! Sorry,” Comet said, startled. “I... left Arrowburst with Glimmer, is he okay?”

“Just fine,” the other mare replied with a smile. “He’s okay. We set him up with the other foals in the dormitory.”

“Good.”

Comet nodded to herself, sighed, and then pushed herself off her seat and back to the floor.

“Don’t feel too bad,” Pinklily assured her, patting her shoulder. “After Jinx talked to him... he threw up.”

Comet let out a weak laugh, and Pinlily joined her.

“That’s awful, I’m sorry,” Comet said quickly. “I just... can’t believe it.”

It worried her deeply, though she didn’t have to tell her friend that. Usually, when she felt like this, Comet would go to a special place, hidden below Canterlot, to practice her magic, but after what happened, it felt far too risky. She didn’t know what else to do.

“I know that look. Want to talk about it?” Pinklily asked.

Comet edged back and forth on her hooves and her ears drooped back.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I... I just... I guess I don’t feel safe.”

“I understand,” Pinklily assured her.

She stepped forward and nuzzled Comet’s mane gently. The blue unicorn sighed.

“I’ve been off all day,” she admitted. “I heard something weird in the library.”

“Like what?” Pinklily asked.

She took a step back and looked at Comet with concern on her brow.

“I went in there and I heard someone at the back, but then when I went to look, there wasn’t anypony back there,” she explained, “and then someone managed to get around me, even though there wasn’t anything there.”

“Huh,” Pinklily said, her eyes wide. “Interesting. Could it have been magic?”

“Maybe,” Comet admitted. “It’s just... I dunno, that freaked me out and now Warmspark... if he got caught-”

“Hey, don’t worry, we just need to be careful,” the mare assured her, smiling. “No one knows but me, and if we keep it that way, it should be fine.”

The blue unicorn nodded and took a deep breath, her eyes wandering out the window and over the darkening sky. She didn’t want to tell her that, somehow, Warmspark knew, and that worried her even more.

“I’d like to go for a walk,” she said, and then hesitantly added, “Want to come with?”

“No, that’s okay,” Pinklily said. “I still have some work to do.”

Comet smiled gratefully and nodded. It was only a half-truth and she knew it.

Comet Strike bid her friend a goodnight and left the observatory quietly. She slowly made her way down to the main floor. It was quiet, now, even more quiet than it had been at noon. Her eyes roamed the stained glass a bit absently, her mind wandering as she looked at the glass images of Celestia, her sun dark against the night sky. Comet sighed: despite the dark, she wanted to go out there. She wanted the air. There were still no Sunwalkers around, no one to really stop her. She was very tempted to just push the front doors open and go outside, but she couldn’t bring herself to even touch them.

Comet was tired, still. Her head was starting to hurt. Just a little run on the grass would be great right about now. She knew it probably wouldn’t amount to much, but she wondered if the Archmage might be a bit lenient. It couldn’t hurt to ask for the free Canterlot pass early, could it?

Upon arriving at Springbreeze’s office, Comet found the door to be slightly ajar. Hesitantly, she knocked, and upon hearing a, “Come in,” the unicorn slunk inside quietly. Inside, she saw Springbreeze at her desk writing what appeared to be letters. The old unicorn looked up at her and smiled gently, saying, “Comet Strike. Good evening, what can I do for you?”

Comet felt her heart falter for a moment, suddenly felt herself shaking a little. She gulped.

“Archmage, I was wondering if I could get a free Canterlot pass.”

“For when?”

“Um... tonight?”

The Archmage looked at her curiously.

“Do you have a Sunwalker escort?”

Taken aback, Comet shook her head, and the Archmage smiled sympathetically.

“Sorry, dear, no instant passes without an escort.”

Reluctantly, Comet murmured out, “Okay,”, and though she had intended on leaving, she couldn’t help but ask one more question.

“After graduation,” she began, “can I... I mean, is it possible to get a posting outside Canterlot?”

“Outside the tower?” the Archmage replied, her eyes widening. “Comet Strike, why would you ever want to do that?”

“It’s just...” Comet began, suddenly wishing she hadn’t said anything, “You know, Canterlot... it’s nice and all, but I really want to see the outside.”

She looked at Springbreeze hopefully, but the Archmage grimaced a little.

“Comet Strike...”

She sighed and put down her pen, placing her hooves on the desk as if bracing herself. She looked sympathetically at the young unicorn.

“You know how dangerous it is in the outside world, especially for a young unicorn,” she said gently.

“So, I can’t-?”

“Not any time soon, I’m afraid,” Springbreeze replied.

She smiled kindly as Comet’s ears drooped and she reached out a hoof to gently pat her on the shoulder.

“Is this about Warmspark? It really spooked you, didn’t it?”

Comet bit her lip and nodded slightly, and the Archmage grimaced a little.

“That was an unfortunate turn of events.”

“Unfortunate?!” Comet all but barked, her eyes wide. “He had his horn cut! How could you let that happen?”

Springbreeze looked suddenly stunned, and Comet drew back, mortified, and stammered out a quick, “I’m sorry. I... I know it wasn’t your fault, I-”

“No, Comet Strike, it’s alright,” the Archmage said gently, quickly regaining her composure, “Perhaps I should have been more observant. Unfortunately, I can’t do anything about a ‘should have’.”

The blue unicorn nodded sadly and let out a deep sigh. Again, the Archmage leaned forward and placed a hoof on her shoulder, giving her a sympathetic and reassuring smile.

“Comet, I believe that you’re destined for great things if you stay in Canterlot,” she said. “Just wait and see.”

Comet nodded, overwhelmed, and quietly said, “I guess I better get to bed,” to which Springbreeze nodded understandingly.

“Sleep well,” she said gently.

Comet left the Archmage’s office with a heavy heart and muddled thoughts. Destiny? Comet didn’t know if she believed in destiny, but if even if she did, she refused to believe hers was to stay in Canterlot. It was unbearable.

She walked, downtrodden, back to the dormitory. There were a few ponies reading or chatting quietly in the corners of the room, but aside from that, all was quiet. The warmth of the room did nothing for her. She headed straight to her bed and peeked over onto the top bunk. She looked for Pinklily, wanting to vent, but her friend was already sound asleep. She winced and recoiled, biting her lip as she contemplated waking her, but quickly decided it would be unfair and clambered into bed herself.

Comet flailed her limbs in her blankets and pulled them over herself, trying to relax and get comfortable. It didn’t feel right, though; her mind was racing, she felt much too antsy. Her body was bordering twitchy, and no matter how she adjusted herself, she couldn’t get comfortable. She kicked her blankets off, clutched her pillow to her chest and stared up at the wooden bottom of the bunk above her. Graduating meant the end of formal studies, but it still didn’t mean she could leave. She sighed and cringed. It wasn’t like she would have anywhere to go, especially with Nimbus falling completely out of contact. Despite that, she wanted to leave. The tower was stifling, and now with what happened to Warmspark, terrifying. She heard there were unicorns out in the world; a local village healer here and there, and others deeper into the Everfree forest called ‘apostates’ by the Sunwalkers. Comet often thought she would be quite happy to be an apostate. She could practice any magic she wanted, away from the probing eyes in the tower.

She sighed again; her heart felt heavy and she didn’t know what to do. After a little while, silently, Comet slipped out of bed, taking her blanket with her, and quietly left the dormitory. She paused to see a guard in the night, trotting down the hallway quietly, yawning. It was the same tan stallion from earlier in the day. Comet froze, but it was obvious he saw her, and projecting a whisper and thus defeating the point, he said, “Heading out?”

He didn’t seem mad or suspicious, just curious, and his voice betrayed him as rather young.

“Just to the observatory,” Comet replied.

The stallion nodded and raised a hoof to her.

“Okay, have a good evening,” he said.

“You too,” the unicorn replied.

She turned to head towards the narrow staircase, and then frowned to herself. She kept seeing that stallion. He must have been recently assigned to the dormitory area, she supposed. She brushed it off and headed upstairs.

The tower was a bit more chilly than normal, and in the dark, Comet set the tip of her horn aglow to light her way. As she made her way up into the observatory, she was disappointed to see the night dark, with the moon only barely peeking through layers of slate grey clouds. Shadows cast from her magic light sent blackened pillars up the windows. Comet shivered and pulled her blanket in close around herself, and then headed for the table where her telescope still stood. She supposed that she wouldn’t see much tonight with the cloud cover, but she sat down at the table anyway. It didn’t really matter: anything was better than just lying around trying to sleep when her mind simply wouldn’t have it.

Pulling the blanket up around her shoulders, Comet grabbed her telescope and adjusted it to eye level. Looking through, the sky was a blanket of dark grey, and so uniform that Comet drew back and checked the other end just to make sure it wasn’t covered with something. When she went back to looking, she turned her gaze to what little of the moon there was. The wind was picking up outside, howling a cold, low sound around the tower; rushing the clouds over the light of the moon until it looked like it was under water. Comet felt a chill run down her spine, a tingling in her body sending the fur on her neck bristling.

Carefully, she began to move the telescope around, searching the sky for anything else; perhaps any remnants of the comet shower, but the clouds were spread out as far as the eye could see. Comet bit her lip as the wind mournfully howled around her. It was getting a little spooky up in the observatory, perhaps things would be a bit better if she went back to bed? At the very least, she wouldn’t be alone in the dormitory. As she contemplated her options, she shifted her focus back to the swimming moon tiredly. She was only focussed on it for a moment when a dark streak of a form shot across her view, startling her to the point where she cried out and jumped back from her telescope.

Her eyes wide, her heartbeat suddenly thumping, Comet gulped deeply, her blood like ice in her veins. She took a few, quick and deep breath and tried to steady herself, trying to reassure herself that it must have just been an owl. And yet... she was still afraid to take another look. Again, a voice in Comet’s head told her to get out of the observatory, and fast. She didn’t need to take another look. Comet’s ears flattened, and, after a few seconds, she stuck her face next to the eyepiece again.

Comet moved her telescope around in the direction the object had sped, at first seeing nothing until her gaze was pulled towards a small patch of land outside the walls of Canterlot where the ruins of train tracks fed into the darkened trees of the Everfree forest; past a clearing of grass that was normally bright green. However, most of the land now was pitch black, even darker than the sky. Comet felt her heart skip a beat and she adjusted the focus to look at the closer objects more clearly. As she did, however, her heart stalled in her chest.

The dark spot wasn’t a shadow; wasn’t anything Comet could have possibly named. Instead, she saw a mass of creatures, packed in close, moving like a snake and swaying together, bright white eyes peering through the black and straight at Canterlot. Comet’s mouth dropped open and she felt herself say, “What?” several times, but couldn’t hear it over the sound of her heart and blood rushing in her ears. Her limbs felt numb, but she hurriedly propped herself up on the table, her blanket slipping from her back as she guided the telescope around the clearing.

A sudden burst of blurry white jarred her, and she yelped again and adjusted the focus. She wished she hadn’t. One of the creatures had broken from the group and was hovering in the air. It looked almost like a pegasus, but it was black as coal, with a body warped and alien to Comet’s senses. It bared shining fangs and the eyes, glowing and white, stared back through the telescope and into the young unicorn. Comet froze, her eyes going wide and scared, and she couldn’t help but mutter, “What the hay are you?” aloud. To her shock, almost as if in response to her, the creature’s face split into a wide, toothy smile.

“There’s no way,” Comet muttered to herself, only to see the creature’s mouth move.

“You cannot stop us, little unicorn.”

She didn’t hear it, but she felt it, deep in her bones. Terrified, Comet stumbled back and away from her telescope. She felt like she could just drop dead at any moment.

“He can see me,” she breathed, “He can see me...”

She dropped to the floor on her belly, hiding under her table, though the windows reached down to the floor. She didn’t feel much safer and pulled her blanket up around herself and over her head. She clamped her eyes shut, only to see a bright flash of light on the back of her eyelids. Hesitantly, Comet opened her eyes again, and snuck over against the glass. Another flash of light and she knew exactly what was happening. That flying creature had rammed itself against Canterlot’s barrier. Not just once or twice, though. As the barrier flashed again upon his third contact with it, Comet felt her heart sink. The barrier was shattering. Pockmarked with the fractures of a thousand impacts, it became visible each time one of the creatures below began striking it. It looked liked they had been at it for a while: weeks, maybe even months. Comet’s eyes were bright with the magical light, but wide and terrified. She backed away from the window quickly and scrambled to her feet.

She stood in the bursts of light, watching in horror as these strange creatures that seemed to be of the night itself rammed themselves against the barrier. The flying one, the one with the smile, turned his head up to look at her and made eye-contact once more. She shuddered and turned on her hoof quickly, galloping from the observatory as fast as she could go as his message, again, rumbled deep inside her.

You cannot stop us. You cannot stop us.

Chapter 2

Comet was completely out of breath when she slammed back the door to Springbreeze’s study, panting heavily, her mane even more of a mess than normal. The Archmage, a cup of tea to her lips, paused mid-sip, her eyes widening as Comet barked, “There’s something attacking the barrier!”

Cautiously, Springbreeze turned to face her, placing her cup on her desk as two Sunwalkers raced up behind Comet.

“Sorry, Archmage, we couldn’t stop her,” one of them called.

“That’s quite alright,” Springbreeze assured them, and then beckoned them in after Comet as well as she edged up to the younger, frantic unicorn.

“Dear, what’s this all about?” she asked.

“I was up in the observatory,” Comet said hurriedly, “and I saw these... these things start hitting the barrier. They’ve been cracking it!”

“Cracking? Is that even possible?” one of the Sunwalkers asked nervously.

Springbreeze frowned slightly, saying, “I’m not sure.”

“It’s true!” Comet said rather shrilly.

“It better be, or else you’ll be in deep manure,” the second Sunwalker grunted, frowning at Comet.

“Shush. I’ll investigate,” the old unicorn assured them, and then nodded at the two Sunwalkers. “Please ask Stonehoof to meet me here as soon as he can.”

“Yes, Archmage.”

The two Sunwalkers left in a hurry; Comet watched them go with wide eyes, trying to stop her body from shaking. When she turned back to Springbreeze, she had just donned a dark robe and straightened it quickly. She strode past Comet with a quick, “Follow me,”, and Comet nodded and trotted alongside her. The blue unicorn was starting to feel absolutely exhausted, but she hurried despite that.

“What did these creatures look like?” Springbreeze asked.

“Dark, um.. like...”

Comet tried to think of something comparable and gulped to wet her dry throat.

“Dark pelts with white eyes, and they... well, they sort of looked like ponies, but... I don’t know, wrong?” Comet tried to explain. “Their bodies were all twisted and strange. I have no idea what they were.”

Springbreeze’s brow furrowed and her ears pressed back.

“I’m not sure either,” she admitted.

She slowed her pace and Comet followed her lead, and the older unicorn looked around until she picked out a plain, unsuspecting door in the wall. Comet was surprised; she had never noticed it before.

The glow of the Archmage’s silver magic shot forth and pried the door open with a heavy creak and the sound of small bits of debris crinkling down to the floor. Opening it sent a burst of fresh air into Comet’s face, and she was stunned to see a small, unkempt balcony. Though Springbreeze stepped out of the tower and onto it without trepidation, Comet was hesitant at the sight of the crumbling railing and edges. She sucked it up and walked out beside the Archmage, and then looked around quickly to get her bearings.

They were high up the tower, with a what would have been clear view of about half of Canterlot if it hadn’t been so dark. Comet got her bearings almost immediately and raced to the right end of the balcony, ready to point out the field that was absolutely black with the creatures, only to be stunned still. They were all gone. Comet gulped and her mouth dropped open with shock.

“But... But they were all right there,” she breathed.

The Archmage heard her and edged closer to her with an air of caution about her. Comet merely shook her head.

“I can’t believe it,” she said, and then quickly whipped around to face Springbreeze, mortified. “They were right there! There had to be hundreds of them, but-”

“Comet Strike, I don’t think you’re lying, don’t worry,” the older unicorn reassured her quickly.

She frowned into the darkness and Comet backed up, allowing her to get closer to the railing as she peered into the field. The young unicorn tried to read the Archmage’s expression carefully, but couldn’t garner much other than the mare’s obvious concern.

Comet’s stomach was starting to knot and she bit her lip nervously. The chill wind sent her mane bristling and she took a hesitant step back towards the interior of the tower again. She noticed Springbreeze’s horn start to glow, so she gave her a bit more space. A shock of silver magic shot upwards and crashed against the barrier, splashing like water and spreading against it, staining it with light. As it spread, the cracks came into view, shining in bright contrast against the sky.

For Comet, it was a bit of a relief to see them again, if only so that she knew she hadn’t imagined it the first time. Her relief was short-lived, however; realizing what she had seen was unequivocally real set her mind spinning and her body trembling. Springbreeze’s hushed, shocked words of, “Dear Celestia,” didn’t make matters any better either.

“Comet,” the old unicorn said, turning a stern, steady gaze on her, “you should go back to bed.”

Comet almost had to do a double-take.

“What?” she replied rather dumbly.

“Let Stonehoof and I handle this,” she said. “Go back to bed.”

Her tone was stern, her face utterly serious. Comet had had more questions, but they evaporated under the heat of the old unicorn’s gaze. Her throat dry, she nodded shakily and scooted back into the tower.

Once inside, Comet tried to contain her fear. She was mostly unsuccessful and was shaking from eartips to hooves, but despite that, she could only think of one thing to do. She took off at a gallop towards the library.

Her run was a blur in her mind, but when she finally arrived at the library, it felt like it had taken a week. As she panted for breath, Comet saw that the large double doors were tightly shut. Mumbling out a tired expletive, she put a hoof up to the door and pushed, but to no avail. She drew back again and huffed in irritation, and then summoned a burst of magic to her horn. Before she could even try to knock the door back, she heard an abrupt, “Hey!” It almost scared her out of her fur, and she whipped around, wide-eyed.

Before her stood a Sunwalker, light orange in gold armour, his green eyes probing her questioningly. Comet felt like she could just die on the spot, until he asked, “You’re... Comet Strike, right? The bookworm?”

“Wha- Um... Yes! Yes, that’s right,” Comet said hurriedly, trying not to let her utter relief show. “Yes, I’m Comet. And you?”

“Uh... Redstreak,” he replied a bit awkwardly, a look of confusion on his face.

“Well, Redstreak,” she said, placing a hoof on his shoulder, “I need help. You wouldn’t happen to have the key to the library, would you?”

“Yes, but-”

Comet looked at him pleadingly.

“I have some research I really need to get done. Do you think you could open it up for me?”

“This late?”

He looked skeptical. Comet nodded quickly and he paused and looked her up and down, and after a moment, sighed and craned his neck to reach back into a pocket at his belt. He pulled out a key ring and passed it to Comet. Her eyes lit up and she unlocked the door in a hurry, rushing out a fast and sincere, “Thank you,” before galloping inside.

Comet summoned light to her horn and charged through the library to the bestiary shelf, pulling down all the books she could find concerning magical beast or evil monsters from the Everfree Forest. She rushed them, all twenty six of them, to one of the study tables at the front, spreading them out all around her. Forcing her light into a hovering ball by her side, she began to flip through the first book frantically. Her eyes skimmed sections on the cockatrice and dragons, and several other creatures, but none matched the description of what she saw. She frowned frustratedly at the pages and closed the book, hurrying onto the next. Her mind was racing: what could those creatures be? As she read on, she found Changelings, creatures with a shape like that of a pony and a twisted, black hide, but these didn’t fit the bill either. Their appearance had more insect leanings, while the creatures Comet had seen were simply monstrous.

What the hay are you...?

Comet frowned to herself, trying to work it out. Reflecting upon it frightened her, but she felt like she needed to know.

As she pawed through her books, coming across sections on timber wolves and quarry eels and other creatures of the forest, nothing stood out to her as what she had seen. Comet slumped in her seat, blowing out a large puff of air and resting her cheek on her hoof. He ears twitched to the sound of hooves behind her and warm light pooled around her, and she craned her neck over her shoulder to see Redstreak approaching her, holding a bright lantern.

“Thought you could use a light you didn’t have to hold up,” he said as he placed it on her table.

Comet tried to hide her surprise and smiled.

“Thanks,” she said, extinguishing her ball of light, “Good idea.”

The stallion smiled and nodded, and then began to head out of the library. Comet turned back to her books, though she heard the pony behind her stop and let out a startled, “Oh!”. He trotted back to her quickly.

“Here, I think this is yours,” he said.

He placed a folded piece of paper before her. Comet frowned with confusion.

“I didn’t think I had any paper on me,” she said, puzzled.

Redstreak shrugged.

“Not mine,” he stated simply.

“Well, thanks,” Comet said with a shrug.

He nodded at her and bid her a quiet goodnight before clip-clopping away back into the hallway.

Comet stared at the paper curiously. Perhaps it had fallen out of one of the books? Holding it in midair, Comet unfolded it and paused to look at it. The paper was a rough copy of the library blueprint on Springbreeze’s desk, with the words “check into Equestrian history” scratched near the bottom. She didn’t recognize the writing. Comet’s mouth ran dry and she spun in her seat, her golden eyes casting about in the dark. Her mind demanded, how? over and over again. She couldn’t answer it.

Comet was on her feat before she could even begin to think about it. Taking the lantern and paper with her, Comet rushed through the darkened, book-lined halls of the library to the clearing at the back. When she arrived, casting the area in the warm glow of the lantern, she was startled to see the tables in the back completely cleared.

“Okay, weird, definitely weird,” she mumbled to herself.

Cautiously, she edged to the closest table and placed the lantern down, letting its light fill her little section of the room. Someone had definitely been to work there.

Comet turned her attention back to the paper. and stared at it closely. The picture on it indicated a room behind a bookshelf; the unicorn tried to match it with what was before her in her mind. Cautiously, she went around the tables to the shelves against the wall and peered at them closely. With her magic, she brought her lantern closer. Scuff-marks on the floor drew her attention to one shelf amongst the rest. She remembered seeing them earlier, but now, as she spied a book called Equestrian History at the edge of the rows of books, she knew there had to be something to it.

Her heart beating quickly, she sucked her tongue and slid the book gently from the shelf. It looked a bit older, and upon opening it, she noticed it flipped most naturally to the end. She winced as she noticed some pages had been roughly torn out. She knew the story before the missing pages well; she assumed every pony did. It told the tale of how Celestia was somehow sent from the world by a group called the Cult of Nightmare Moon. Not much was known about Nightmare Moon, except for that she had been banished from the moon once before by Celestia. Rumours said that the two were once sisters. Comet wished she knew more, but the books always only included so much; they all felt like they were missing a part of the story. Then again, the events had occurred around three hundred years ago, the unicorn supposed it wasn’t entirely strange for the story to be incomplete. This book, however, reeked of deliberate sabotage. Before the torn pages, however, the story continued to explain that once Celestia had vanished, the sun and moon were frozen in the sky, and in this strange, unchanging land, before the Everfree Forest had spread, a new creature had appeared to threaten Equestria, though it didn’t say what it had been. She flipped through the book, hoping for a more information, but found nothing. She frowned and groaned in irritation, and put the book down. It was time to see what was behind the book case. In truth, she had been putting it off. She was nervous to see what was there, but she felt now that she had to keep going. Perhaps there were answers in the strange, hidden room.

Comet immediately set her magic to work, wrapping the blue around the bookcase and trying to levitate it out of its spot. Her magic, however, faltered and faded around the shelf, leaving it standing very much where it was.

“Oh, great,” Comet sighed, rolling her eyes.

She tried once more just to be sure, and when the magic continued to fail, she grumbled and took a spot beside the shelf. Putting her front hooves against it, she shoved with all her might, what little muscle she had straining badly. She heard the scraping of wood against tile; grunted as she pushed the bookcase to the side and then, when there was some room behind it, pushed her side forward until there was enough of a gap to pass through.

There was what seemed to be a small doorway cut into the wall quite cleanly leading into a dark passageway and downwards sloping stairs that were illuminated a little by the lantern. Comet gulped and felt cooler air drift in from the passage and brush her face. It made her shiver a little. After hesitating for a moment, Comet pulled the lantern to her and cautiously made her way into the hidden room.

The warm light spread over stone walls and a set of stairs that were battered with age. Dust was brushed from just one side, as if someone had gone down the stairs with their shoulder to the wall. After a moment’s hesitation, Comet followed the cleaned path.

The way down was deathly quiet, with only the sound of Comet’s hooves on the stairs echoing against the stone. A glint below her hinted at the bottom of the stairs, and she thought about hurrying before she remembered how prone she was to toppling and decided against it. She proceeded carefully, noting as she went that she under the light she was starting to be able to see the reflection of her light quite clearly. At the bottom of the stairs, to Comet’s surprise, the stone transitioned into what seemed to be polished crystal. After a second thought, she supposed it wasn’t so strange. Canterlot was known for having crystal caves underneath it. Carefully, Comet tested one hoof on the top of the crystal. It wasn’t very slippery and seemed solid, so she continued. She tried not to let her own clear reflection framing her down the hall unnerve her.

Down the end of the hallway, she found a door, or what she suspected was a door: it had no handle or anything of the sort. It was large, divided into several sections of varying purples, with three circles running down each side vertically. In the center, a stylized sun stood out, a hole almost like a keyhole in its center. Comet stared at it with awe, wondering how it got there; how long it had been in such a strange place. Her magic holding the lantern aside a bit, Comet snuck forward to peer into the hole. She could see nothing but blackness beyond. Part of her wanted to turn back, leave it to the Archmage and the Sun-Commander, but another part of her insisted that she had come too far already, that she should finish what she started.

Comet stood back and looked at the door quietly, trying to determine how to open it. She doubted it would work, but she conjured a simple lock picking spell and stuck her horn into the hole to try to aim it. Before she had even released, however, the door surged to life with a powerful, distinctive whumf sound. Comet skittered back with a yelp, her eyes wide as she was bathed in a bright blue light that traveled from the keyhole, around the edged of the sun, and up around the outer rim of the door. Stone ground past stone and the door parted slowly down the middle. Comet watched, mouth agape, as the blue faded down to nothing, leaving just her lantern’s light to illuminate the strange room within.

One step inside the room set a faint magic glow in the room, illuminating a strange, square chamber made of crystal and stone. Engravings of alternating dark and light alicorns frolicked across the walls, glimmering in the light. Comet looked, wide-eyed, at the strange place, observing a strange, purple second door inside and six square panels on the floor framing a seventh in the center of the room. Looking up, she could see a ceiling lined with crystal balls, arranged in a closely packed series of rings. The unicorn had no idea what to make of such a place.

“Dear Celestia,” Comet breathed, awed.

Upon her words, the chamber roared to life, bright lights shooting from the crystals above her so suddenly that Comet jumped up in fear and reared back, pressing herself against the wall in panic. The light flashed brightly and she yelped and had to close her eyes. She felt the white on the back of her lids dim and, carefully, she looked again to see the white light had changed to cerulean, then turquoise, cobalt and heliotrope. When the light dimmed entirely, Comet’s gaze was drawn to the crystal balls in the ceiling that still glowed bright. Scattered in the crystal, she saw, in fragments, a moving image of a palace and, to her utter surprise, Princess Celestia.

For the umpteenth time that night, Comet’s mouth dropped open and she stumbled back onto the ground.

“H-How?” she stammered aloud. “Princess Celestia?”

Above her, the alicorn smiled gently and Comet felt her knees go weak.

“Approach,” she said.

Comet didn’t know what to do or where to go, though again, Celestia said, “Approach,” and a pale blue light streamed from the ceiling and into the center of the six square panels in the middle of the room. Without question, the unicorn edged her way into the light, unable to tear her eyes away from what she was seeing.

How is this possible? She’s gone, she’s... I don’t understand!

The image above her jittered and set back, and Celestia smiled once more, exactly as she had last time.

“My faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, I have-”

“Wait, wait,” Comet interjected quickly. “I’m not...! I’m not Twilight Sparkle, my name is Comet Strike.”

The Celestia above her paused and flickered across the crystals, as if computing what she had said.

“I do not understand,” Celestia said finally. “Repeat?”

Confused, Comet stood a little taller to look at the image more closely, and she said loudly, “My name is Comet Strike. I’m not Twilight.”

Celestia’s eyes narrowed in apparent contemplation.

“Understood,” she said.

Comet relaxed for a moment, but wished she hadn’t as a the beam of blue light changed to gold, warm magic sparking across her body with it. She felt herself being pulled upwards and she drew in a sharp breath of surprise, fear gripping her as she realized she was floating. She gulped, shying away from the intense, pale magenta gaze of Celestia peering down at her. Almost as suddenly as the magic had appeared, however, it vanished, leaving Comet to plop unceremoniously to the ground. As she stood again, dazed and confused, she heard the voice, now a little distorted, say, “You’ll do.”

“I’ll... I’ll what?” she stammered. “Celestia, I... I’m sorry, I... I don’t know how to address someone like you. I’ve... I’ve never spoke to a god before.”

“I am no god,” Celestia replied simply, her tone slightly amused.

Comet paused, uncertain, though Celestia seemed unfazed, her stance kept flickering and resetting, as if replaying. Comet gulped.

“Are you really here?” she asked.

“No.”

The unicorn took a deep, shaking breath and muttered, “Okay,” to herself.

“Then how am I seeing you?” she asked curiously.

“My dearest student, Twilight Sparkle, discovered a way to record images into crystal through the use of magic. A wonderful technology, I wish I had thought of it myself,” Celestia replied.

Cycle back to her gentle smile. Comet’s brain whirred and she nodded. She was starting to understand.

“So you’re a recording with preset answers to certain questions, then?”

“Yes.”

Again, Comet nodded and she sat down on her haunches, rubbing her head with one front hoof tiredly. She wasn’t sure what to ask, or even what answers the recording could give.

“What did you mean when you said, ‘I’ll do,’ to me?” she asked.

“You have sufficient magical abilities. Once we are done, I will give you something that you might make use of.”

“Okay...” Comet said quietly. “Why are you here?”

“To leave instructions.”

“For what?”

“Once we are done, I will give you something that you might make use of,” she said again, the recording jumping back.

Comet frowned and inclined her head. She didn’t know what else to ask, but hesitantly said, “Do you know what Nightspawn are?” and when she got no response, she tried, “How did you vanish?” Again, Celestia had no answer. The unicorn sighed.

“Why do you have to be so cryptic?” she asked, a little frustrated.

“My apol- apol -apologies.”

The recording was faltering, a hiss playing through words as the image was crossed with white gaps in the recording. Comet gulped. Was the magic running out? She wasn’t sure, but she felt like now that she had her here, she needed to ask Celestia more.

“Why did you make this recording?” the unicorn inquired.

“The recording- made when there were rumours of- plan,” she explained, her dialogue stilted and broken; missing pieces, “Plan to overthrow me. The recording was for Twilight and- friends. But you’ll do. Magic bends to you.”

The crystal balls flickered, the light dimming. Comet gasped unwittingly and jumped to her hooves, calling, “Wait!” desperately.

“I do not understand,” came Celestia’s voice.

Comet shook her head at herself, recalling that she wasn’t talking to a real-live alicorn.

“What else do I need to know?” Comet asked quickly. “Anything you could tell me about... anything! Anything at all!”

Celestia paused, froze in place; it felt like she was considering, though Comet knew that was not the case.

“If I am correct, and the plan of my enemies succeeds, there will be much fighting in the future,” Celestia said, her eyes sad. “Friendship is what will get you through. Be ver- careful the- of Harmony will- and the new sun will-”

The recording had degraded so much that it was all but inaudible, and the image quickly flickered and died, leaving Comet standing in only the pale, magic glow of the walls around her. She unceremoniously plopped back onto her rump, her eyes wide, only now realizing that her heart was pounding frantically. Why had that just happened? Before she even had time to really mull it over, Comet was startled to hear the sounds of gears whirring and tile sliding over tile. She approached the spot slowly; a space was opening up in the floor, and from it, a jeweled chest was pushed upwards. Curiously, Comet snuck up to it, and then once it stopped moving, opened it.

Inside the chest, Comet was surprised to find two books. She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t that. One was clearly a book of spells, and a very old one at that. The other, however, was a thick, leather-bound brown book with gold inlays and the head of a golden unicorn with turquoise eyes on the cover. Intrigued, Comet pulled it from the chest first and flipped it open. It was about the Elements of Harmony, a mystical power that had been used to save Equestria on several occasions. Comet knew little about them other than that. As she skimmed the pages, it seemed to be a combination of a history book and an explanation of the aforementioned Elements. In this book, however, she found the first record of the war from three hundred years ago she had ever seen written and saw, in in-depth detail, two pages filled with illustrations labeled “Nightspawn”. It gave Comet chills; the twisted, monstrous creatures in the pictures looked exactly like what she had seen outside. She read a little farther, and the book spoke of their toxic blood and aversion to the sun. Comet was starting to feel sick.

“Nightspawn,” she breathed. “Oh... this is not good...”

She put a hoof to her forehead and rubbed her face tiredly.

“What did I get myself into now?” she grumbled at herself.

She took a deep breath and the turned her gaze on the second book in the chest. A quick look through told her immediately that it was something she would need to hide: it was a book of spells, and strong ones too.

Comet decided it wouldn’t be a good idea to hang around and read these old tomes now: warning Springbreeze of Nightspawn was more important. She gathered up her books and the lantern, and before she left, tried the other purple door, just in case. It wouldn’t open, not even with magic, so she gave up and hurried back to the library, replacing the bookshelf where it had been and dousing the light before she left.

The unicorn hurried back to the dormitory first, hiding the books beneath her mattress before she took off at a run back to Springbreeze’s office. Upon arriving, she heard hushed voices talking sternly to one another. Comet paused outside the door, unsure if she should wait until whomever was inside was done talking to the Archmage or if she should interject; it didn’t take her long to choose the latter. Quickly, she knocked on the door, and when she heard Springbreeze ask for her to come inside, she hurried through the door. She saw the Archmage, tired and a little disheveled, sitting at her desk while the huge grey stallion, the Sun-Commander, Stonehoof, stood beside her, his face fixed in a concerned frown.

“Sorry. To interrupt, I mean,” Comet said quickly. “Archmage, I know what they were.”

“I have my own suspicions, but go on,” the older unicorn said.

Comet nodded. She had a moment of doubt. What if they didn’t believe her? Nevertheless, she sucked it up and tried to look as confident as she knew she should have been.

“Nightspawn,” she said.

Springbreeze and Stonehoof shared a knowing glance, and the stallion sighed deeply.

“I was afraid of this,” he admitted.

“Have you heard something, Commander?” Springbreeze asked.

“Unfortunately, yes. Nightspawn being spotted at the edge of the forest. Threats of attack, I’ve heard, that King Tornado is taking very seriously,” he said. “There may be battles in the near future.”

“So... you believe me?” Comet asked a bit hesitantly.

“I almost wish I didn’t,” Stonehoof said with a tired laugh, “but I know better than that. Thank you for the news, filly.”

Comet nodded and smiled a bit shyly. Springbreeze’s face donned a strange expression. She seemed almost proud.

“Thank you, Comet Strike,” she echoed. “How did you figure it out?”

“I found a book in the library about the war that started after Celestia vanished,” she said, and when Stonehoof gave her a strangely probing look, she continued to say, “It... didn’t say much else. Just a bit about Nightspawn.”

“Where is this book now?” the stallion asked.

His expression was cold and Comet immediately knew that it wasn’t something she wasn’t supposed to have stumbled across. Weakly, she shrugged.

“At the back, somewhere,” she lied. “I just sort of shoved it back into the nearest shelf when I was done. Sorry, sir.”

“Very well,” he said, nodding. “You may go.”

Comet nodded hurriedly and scooted from the office.

When Comet awoke in the dormitory the next morning, the normal teenaged chatter was replaced by hushed, tense whispers. The unicorn rolled out of bed groggily and peered around for any sign of Pinklily or her other friends, but they weren’t around in the immediate area, so Comet went to wash up quickly.

Once she was done, she set out to find her friends, though Glimmer Pearl found her first, jumping her almost as soon as she left the dormitory.

“Comet, did you hear?” she demanded quickly.

Comet’s brain wasn’t awake enough yet to even begin to know what she was talking about, so all she managed to say was, “What?” rather tiredly. Glimmer frowned and leaned in close to Comet.

“Two of the Sunwalkers vanished last night! The tower’s a mess about it!” she said in a hurried, hushed tone.

This woke Comet right up.

“...It... wasn’t from the area near the field with the train tracks, was it?” she asked.

“It... Yeah, it was,” Glimmer replied, looking confused. “How did you know that?”

“Some weird stuff was happening last night,” Comet admitted, but before Glimmer could ask, Comet quickly said, “Have you seen Pinks anywhere? I need to talk to her.”

“Well.. yeah, she’s fooling around with some rocks or something in that workroom she likes,” the tall unicorn said, a small frown creasing her brow. “What’s going on, Comet?”

“Well...” Comet said quietly; she mulled it over for a minute and then patted her friend on the shoulder. “How about I fill you in when I actually know what’s going on?”

Glimmer looked a bit disappointed, but she nodded and said, “Okay, I’m counting on you.”

Comet felt a little guilty as she trotted off to find Pinklily, but she couldn’t tell Glimmer without worrying about the information ending up all over the tower. The ivory unicorn was always well intentioned, but she had a sort of compulsion to talk that could get others into difficult situations.

Just as Glimmer said, Comet found Pinklily on the second floor in a work room, her magic wrapped around a dark blue crystal as she manipulated it in midair. Sparks like lightning could be seen jumping across its surface. Comet knew better than to interrupt. She waited until the crystal flashed brightly and a look of satisfaction passed over her friend’s face before approaching her, saying, “Looks like that went well.”

“Sure did,” Pinklily said proudly, placing the crystal down on the floor where it levitated of its own accord. “I just made a lightning totem. Anyway, good morning! You look like you had a rough night.”

“Thanks,” Comet laughed. “But, uh... I had some stuff I wanted to tell you about.”

“About the monsters outside?” she asked, and before Comet could ask how she knew, she smiled and said, “The Sunwalkers are talking. A lot. Two went missing, did you hear?”

“Glimmer mentioned,” Comet said, her ears drooping, “and... I think I know what’s going on. Sort of.”

Pinlily looked intrigued and inclined her head. She looked at Comet quietly for a moment before an expression of surprise shot across her face.

“By Celestia, you saw them, didn’t you?” she said quietly. “What was it?”

“Nightspawn.”

Pinklily looked taken aback.

“Nightspawn? But I thought they were exterminated in the last war.”

“Guess not,” Comet joked weakly. “I even heard that... well, the Sun-Commander mentioned that there’s actually been threats of attacks. Big ones. King Tornado, you know, from Zenith, he’s actually gonna be fighting them or something.”

“Scary,” Pinklily said quietly.

“I know, right?” Comet agreed readily. “But, I really need to show you something.”

“Okay...” the other unicorn said a bit hesitantly. “What?”

“Just come with me, okay?”

After making a quick stop-off in the dormitory for her saddlebags and her secret books, Comet lead a curious Pinklily to the back of the library and, once again pushing the shelf out of the way, the blue unicorn took her friend down to the strange chamber below, explaining what she had seen last night as they went.

Once more, the chamber below the library lit up as they entered it. Pinklily scanned the room with an inquisitive eye, not saying much. She was quiet after Comet finished her story, and the blue unicorn watched her eagerly as she ran her hoof curiously along the wall. Her yellow magic tested the wall, and she looked up at the crystal balls in the ceiling and touched them as well. The crystals flickered at the insistence of her magic, and she drew in a sharp gasp as, quickly, the image of Celestia flashed across them before they dimmed. She turned to Comet, wide-eyed, and the blue unicorn perked up hopefully.

“This whole room is... amazing,” Pinklily said. “You really just found this last night?”

Comet nodded and Pinklily said a quiet, “Wow,” as she circled the room. She came to the strange purple door and pointed at it.

“What’s this?”

“Not sure,” Comet admitted. “It doesn’t open.”

Pinklily frowned at it and then whirled on Comet quickly.

“So you really talked to Celestia?”

“Well, a recording, yeah,” Comet replied.

She opened her saddlebags and pulled out the two books, and as she gently placed down the historical one, she flipped it open to the picture of the Nightspawn.

“She gave me these because... Well, I’m actually not sure,” Comet said. “I think this place was meant for Twilight Sparkle to find.”

“But she never did,” Pinklily concluded.

She sounded a little sad.

“Celestia kept saying ‘you’ll do,” to me,” Comet continued. “I’m not really sure what she wanted, but she gave me this book. It showed me... well, look.”

She sat down and gestured to the Nightspawn illustrations. Pinklily sat on the floor as well, frowning at the pages.

“I think I would have screamed if I saw that for real,” she admitted. “What were they doing?”

“Honestly, it looked like they were trying to get into Canterlot,” Comet said, ears folding back.

“Did you tell the Archmage?” the pink unicorn asked swiftly.

“Of course I did.”

Comet sighed deeply, and then nudged the book towards Pinklily.

“It actually has info about the war from three hundred years back,” she said. “Do you know a lot about it?”

“Just that Celestia vanished and because the sun and moon got stuck, her student, Twilight, and some other ponies had to spread the Everfree forest all over Equestria,” Pinklily said with a shrug, “And... that that’s when the Nightspawn appeared. That’s about it.”

“This book talks about a group called the Wardens of Harmony, a group who used to fight the Nightspawn,” Comet explained. “I’d heard of them, but I sort of thought they were a myth.”

“Same here,” Pinklily agreed. “You’ll have to let me read that when you’re done with it.”

“Sure,” the blue unicorn said with a nod.

Pinklily smiled appreciatively, and then stole another glance around the room.

“I’m just gonna-”

“Go ahead,” Comet said with a laugh.

Pinklily’s face brightened and she got to her hooves once more and went back to inspecting the various aspects of the room.

As the the day wore on, Comet and Pinklily returned to the tower proper and tried to keep themselves busy. Comet heard the word Nightspawn whispered throughout the halls several times, and waited to see if the Archmage would call an assembly to warn the students about what was going on. It didn’t happen.

That night, against Pinklily’s advice and her own better judgement, Comet returned to the observatory to scan the area once more through her telescope. She saw nothing out of the ordinary, save for that the guard at the edge of Canterlot near the field had been doubled. As the night went on, Comet found herself far too on edge to go to bed. It was risky, she decided, but she felt like magic practice would help her, as it always had in the past. She headed downstairs.

Comet’s secret training room was deep below Canterlot, in a set of crystal caves long forgotten by most. Taking her new spell book and traveling with the utmost silence, Comet hurried into the Temple of the Sun. She had always thought it perfect that the entrance had been hidden there by whomever had crafted it, stuck behind a pillar and a pew, and a small statuette of the sun on a pedestal. Nimbus had shown her the place when she was just a filly, though she still didn’t know how he had found it. As far as she knew, no other Sunwalkers had ever found out about it. Though she had to sneak past the Sunwalker’s barracks hall to get there, the night was quiet so far so, though she was on edge, Comet found her way to the caves without incident.

The caves Comet trained in were made of large crystals of varying hues of purple and turquoise. They were strangely beautiful, and in a way, Comet felt a little sad that only she and Pinklily knew about it. When she arrived there, lighting her way with illuminated spheres of magic, she looked around the place and felt a little proud to see the streaks of discolouring and long cuts in the crystals: scars of her training. Before starting this time, however, Comet decided to take a look at her new book, so she put it on the floor and lay down to read it.

The spell book seemed ancient, with tattered pages and faded words, but there were notes in ink scribbled in the margins, obviously by somepony who knew the subject matter deeply. Some of the spell Comet already knew: shields made from ice, energy bolts that could slice through or pierce many things or a similar spell that was merely a blunt impact, and pure energy eruptions. The blue unicorn felt a little uneasy with the book. If anyone else found out about its contents, she could only imagine the worst for herself. Sighing, Comet flipped to the front of the book where she had seen a spell she didn’t know. It was a teleportation spell, and though those were still very much against the rules, it was a bit out of Comet’s comfort zone and seemed interesting.

Getting to her feet, Comet stashed the book behind a jutting crystal for safety and then stood in the center of the chamber to practice. Comet was quite good at magic. At least, she usually was. Attacking and projectile magic was simple to her, but this teleportation thing wasn’t quite working. She got the basic concept: visualize oneself in a different location and use magic to put the body there. However, though she tried to for over an hour, she couldn’t quite get it. Though she was a bit frustrated, she understood that it wasn’t really her forte, and at least she was tired now.

Sleepily, Comet returned to the surface and headed back into the Temple of the Sun. To her surprise, however, she heard the sound of hooves and distant chatter. She held in a squeak and skittered back and ducked under the pew in front of her. After a moment, three ponies, one a pegasus and two earth ponies, trotted into the temple, snickering.

“-I can’t even... ugh, he’s just sad. Just sad,” one of them said.

Comet’s ears drooped and she slunk down against the floor, ducking down as far as she could.

“I can’t believe that blankflank actually took the bait,” the pegasus said as she rolled her eyes.

“I don’t understand why he’s even here,” the first said.

Comet felt a yawn coming on, and she took a quick breath and held it in, trying to shut herself up. She just wanted to yawn even more.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be so harsh,” said the third pony. “I heard he didn’t have a choice. No parents.”

“Whatever,” the first scoffed. “Neither did I, and I’m fine.”

“Yeah, most of us are orphans, big deal,” the pegasus said quickly, frowning at the other two.

“Well, either way I don’t envy the headache he’ll have in the morning.

They laughed, a bit louder this time, until one of them hushed the other; Comet couldn’t tell which. They continued on, whispering to themselves about their patrol. Comet didn’t move a muscle until she couldn’t hear them anymore.

When all was quiet, Comet released her held breath slowly and emerged from her hiding place, biting her lip and trying to remain quiet. She felt rather uncomfortable with what she had heard.

I guess they bully each other, too, not just us, she thought, her ears drooping.

She wondered whom they had been talking about, wondered if maybe they had beaten somepony up. Comet paused, shuffling on her hooves a little, and then quietly edged to the barracks hallway. She peered down into the dark, but there didn’t seem to be anything there. She felt her heartbeat quicken, but she drew back away.

I should really go to bed. Seriously.

A bit hesitantly, she backed away and began to head slowly back across the temple towards the main area of the tower. Despite her best efforts to hold it in, she yawned, nearly stumbling over her own hooves in grogginess and letting out a shrill “Oops” as she regained herself. Her ears flattened a bit and she grimaced: so much for being quiet. Nervously, she froze, listening carefully with ears erect, but after almost two minutes of silence, she supposed if any Sunwalker had heard her, none of them were worried enough about what she was doing to approach her.

As she reached the passageway from the temple, the vague sound of a male voice sent her jumping, her heart pounding with shock. She spun on her back legs and her eyes shot around, peering into the shadows of the temple. However, she saw nothing. Comet took a deep breath and her mind began to race, debating with herself over whether she should go back to check or not, but in an instant, she froze, hearing the voice again. It was like a groan; tired, and a little upset. Frowning, she stared down the barracks corridor. She didn’t want to go down there: she was terrified of getting in trouble. She bit her lip and shuffled on the spot. She heard the voice again and her ears drooped. He didn’t sound like he was in a good way. Sighing deeply, nervous, but unable to ignore the voice, she edged back across the temple and quietly down the hall towards where she had heard the voice.

Lights were out further down the hall, so she quickly had a small ball of light hover beside her as she followed the voice. It lead her down a hall she had scarcely been in, though she didn’t recognize it in the dark. At the end, a small set of stairs lead to a plain wooden door left slightly agape. Cautiously, Comet clip-clopped down the stairs and edged her way into the next room. Again, she was unsure of where she was, but there was another open door at the end of this new room, with firelight pooling out to expose a few armor racks nearby.

This must be where he is, she thought, I’ll... I’ll just take a peek.

She pawed at the floor with one hoof anxiously, but she was worried about the possibly injured Sunwalker. She took another deep breath as she doused her magic, and then stuck her head in through the doorway.

Before her, Comet saw what appeared to be a small barracks dining hall, with worn benches and tables lining a room that, though still illuminated quite brightly by firelight, was vacant save for one tan-coloured stallion. He lay, a bottle of cider nearby, his face pressed against the table as he made some strange mumbling sound to himself. Comet recognized him a little, had seen him around the dormitories a few times. The pony was a Sunwalker in training, around her age, and though he had brown appaloosa spots on his flank, his Mark was still absent. At the moment, he seemed rather inebriated, much to Comet’s relief. It was much better than the alternative.

After summoning a bit of courage, Comet trotted up to the pony, inclining her head.

“Um, ‘scuse me,” she said quietly, sounding a bit more worried than she had intended to. “Are you okay?”

The young stallion slowly turned his head and looked at her with big silver eyes, seeming utterly startled that she was there.

“Oh!” he said, seeming dazed; he sat straight up at a speed that didn’t seem healthy. “Sorry. Sorry, I’m- I’m-”

He spoke with a Trottingham accent, though his words were a little slurred. He hiccoughed and shook his head, tossing his short, dirty-blond mane from his face, and then suddenly looked very dizzy.

“Somepony spiked my- my cider,” he whined, and then put his head to the table again. “And the barracks are so far.”

Comet looked at him sympathetically and used her magic to pull the bottle over to her and gave it a sniff. She cringed; it indeed smelled heavily of fermentation.

“Why would they do that?” she wondered aloud.

“They think I don’t take this seriously,” the stallion answered, putting a hoof heavily on the table. “Being a Sunwalker, I mean. And I’ll tell you what: I don’t take it seriously. Hah!”

He giggled to himself and waved his forelimbs around in front of him.

“All these grumpy old ponies lording over the unicorns, I don’t want to be like them, it’s such a downer,” he said, grinning just a little, but then his face fell. “They don’t like me now, though.”

Comet didn’t know what to say and merely nodded to acknowledge his words, but to her surprise, he patted the bench beside him, inviting her to sit. Hesitantly, she did, and he looked at her with a tired smile.

“So what’re you doing up here, blue... pony?” he asked. “What’s your name?”

“Oh,” Comet said, surprised, “I’m Comet Strike. I study in the Canterlot tower.”

He nodded understandingly and replied with,

“Runestone. That’s my name, I mean. Hello. Hi. Nice to meet you.”

He started laughing loudly as if someone had said something hilarious, but then thumped his forehead down onto the table. He snickered a little more and said, “Sorry, Comet Strike, I’m not having a very good night.”

Comet smiled sympathetically. In all honesty, this pony confused her. She had never met a Sunwalker who hadn’t poured all that he was into the position. To find somepony who clearly didn’t want to be there puzzled her, but also gave her a bit of hope. It meant not all of them looked upon unicorns with such disdain. It was a bit reassuring. After watching Runestone sort of roll himself on the table, Comet piped up a bit.

“Maybe you should get to bed?” she suggested.

The stallion perked up, and stood to get off the bench, saying, “Good idea!”, only to topple unceremoniously to the floor.

“Oh... right,” he mumbled to himself, and Comet cringed a little before getting up from the bench.

Since he obviously couldn’t walk, she easily levitated him above the ground. He didn’t look very surprised that he was floating, but he did seem surprised that she was the one causing him to.

“Where do you sleep?” she asked, and he awkwardly pointed through another door at the opposite end of the room.

“Two... no, three doors that way,” he said.

Comet bit back a sigh. As tired as she was, it did seem much too far. She sucked it up, however, and with Runestone floating before her, she headed for the next room.

She passed through a small armour cache and another hallway before arriving in a dimly lit barracks, filled with sleeping ponies. Comet trod softly and found a vacant bed midway through the room, where she placed Runestone and tucked him in with her magic: he was already basically asleep by now. His eyes shut, he waved a hoof in the air and groggily mumbled, “Thanks, Comet Strike.”

“No problem,” she whispered in return.

Feeling rather good for helping the poor inebriated pony, Comet turned to leave, only to see, looming before her, the imposing form of Stonehoof. Comet felt her blood run cold and her mane prickle as he stared her down with eyes of ice.

“You again? What are you doing in here?” he demanded.

His voice was low, still considerate of the other ponies, and yet it frightened Comet to her core. She stammered for a moment before he said, “Spit it out, filly!”

“I, um, I found Runestone in the dining hall and he was drunk because somepony spiked his cider so I brought him back to his bed and that’s all and please don’t cut my horn!” she rambled, fast and shrill.

Stonehoof looked down at her, frowning, and she felt her knees begin to wobble.

“That’s all?” he asked.

She nodded quickly and, after a moment of feeling like her heart would beat out her chest, the huge pony sighed, his expression softening, and he said,

“Thank you. Some of the others have been picking on him. Now, off to bed with you.”

“Yes, sir,” Comet squeaked.

She found herself running out of his sight before she could stop herself.

As she returned to a more familiar place, tired but still a bit shaken, she rushed back towards the sleeping quarters. She hated this feeling of terror the Sunwalkers evoked in her. When she returned to the dormitories, she headed for the lower level of her bunkbed and rolled onto it. Almost immediately, above her, there was a shifting sound and Pinklily stuck her head down over the edge, smiling at her groggily.

“Good time?” she asked.

Comet shrugged, mumbled, “I couldn’t do the teleport,” and put her pillow over her face. The other unicorn’s ears drooped a bit, but she smiled sympathetically.

“Maybe tomorrow,” she said hopefully. “Goodnight!”

“Yeah,” Comet tiredly agreed.

She still wasn’t in the beset state of mind for sleep. Physically, she was exhausted, and even though her mind was tired as well, her thoughts still raced over Nightspawn. She could see the face of that flying one too clearly in her mind for comfort. She couldn’t help worry that they would get through Canterlot’s defenses. And if they did, what then? Could the Sunwalkers hold them off? She hadn’t a clue. Her heart thumped painfully in her chest as something dawned on her: she had offensive magic, if attacked, she’d have to fight, wouldn’t she? She cursed in her mind and took a deep breath, and then pulled her blankets up around herself tightly.

Chapter 3

“So, then I said to him, ‘Jinx, that’s not the potion, that’s just oatmeal!’! It was hilarious! Right, Comet? ...Comet? Hellooo, Comet Strike?”

Glimmer Pearl waved her hooves in the blue unicorn’s face, snapping her back to reality. It was midday. Comet, sitting with Glimmer, Pinklily and Arrowburst in the dining hall, leaned back from her slouched position and masked a yawn behind a hoof, saying, “Yeah, sure, it was pretty funny.” Comet’s mind might as well have been on the moon. All she could think about were the Nightspawn and the books the recording of Celestia had given her.

“What is with you, Comet?” Glimmer asked with a frown.

“She’s just been staying up late,” Pinklily assured the ivory unicorn gently. “She hasn’t been sleeping well after... well-”

Pinklily looked to Comet as if for permission, and when the other unicorn nodded, she continued, “You know, she’s the one who saw the Nightspawn first.”

As Arrowburst gasped out a “No way,” Glimmer’s silver eyes went wide and she grabbed one of Comet’s hooves in both of hers.

“That must have been horrible!” she said.

“It was scary, sure,” Comet said, nodding, though she didn’t really want to talk about it. “Anyway, where’s Jinx today anyway?”

Pinklily rolled her eyes at the obvious change in topic, but Glimmer didn’t seem to care. Her ears perked up at the mention of Jinx and she smiled.

“He’s applying for a job at the storeroom,” she said proudly, and then leaned in closer to the table and beckoned the others in as well. “Do you think I should ask him to be my coltfriend?”

Comet blurted, “What?” without thinking and Arrowburst began to laugh. Pinklily looked surprised.

“Of course, if you want to,” she said.

“I will, then,” Glimmer said brightly, beaming at them. “I’ll go right now. Try to get some sleep, Comet!”

She hopped up from the table and skipped from the room jubilantly. Again, Arrowburst started to laugh, and Pinklily shook her head, smiling.

“Glimmer’s such a scatterbrain,” she said fondly.

“I like her,” Arrowburst snickered. “She’s silly.”

He finished his lunch quickly and then said, “Guess I better get to class. See you later!”

“Good luck,” Pinklily said, and Comet nodded her agreement.

Arrowburst grinned at them and he, too, trotted from the dining hall.

Almost immediately, Pinklily turned to Comet, saying, “So, what are we going to do?” Comet looked at her with wide eyes and her ears folded back. The pink unicorn frowned.

“Don’t you think those things are going to attack?” she asked.

“I... Well, I hope not,” Comet mumbled.

“So you don’t have a plan, then?”

“I was just going to work on my magic, just in case,” she said.

Pinklily frowned.

“You’re thinking you’ll fight them off if they get in.”

“I don’t want to, but...”

Comet sighed and put her hooves through her forelock tiredly.

“I’m already using, you know... that magic, might as well make use of it.”

Pinklily stared at her quietly for a few moments before nodding. She seemed to understand, and she patted Comet’s head with a tired smile crossing her face.

“That’s very responsible of you,” she said, “especially since I know you’re terrified.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Comet joked, trying to brush it off; she stuck her tongue out at her friend.

“Well, I’ve been worried too, to be honest,” Pinklily admitted. “That lightning totem I showed you yesterday? I’m going to make more and have the Sunwalkers put them near the ways in and out. Good idea?”

Comet was surprised; she hadn’t realized Pinklily could really do such a thing, but she smiled and nodded, relieved to not be the only one of her group of friends taking things seriously. Pinklily seemed pleased and she nodded at the threshold to the dining hall.

“Mind if I show you how they work? They might come in handy.”

“Sounds good,” Comet agreed brightly.

The two unicorns finished lunch together and then headed out of the dining hall and into the area near the main doors. There was a group of young Sunwalkers chatting there, and Comet unwittingly walked closer to Pinklily as they passed. They were almost at the first set of stairs when a male voice called, “Hey!” after them, causing Comet to jump despite herself.

“Just ignore them,” Pinklily advised.

She picked up her pace, but Comet stalled in her tracks when she heard the same voice call out her name. She turned to look, as did Pinklily, only to see a familiar tan pony rushing towards her. He was garbed in the golden Sunwalker armour, minus the helmet, and in an instant, he was in her face, looking surprisingly pleased to see her.

“Comet Strike!”

The stallion’s eyes were alight and he grinned into her face as Pinklily looked on with uncertainty. Comet skittered backwards just a fraction, her face a picture of shock. Pinklily uttered the start of a question, but Comet accidentally talked straight through, saying, “Runestone?”, stunned. He beamed in response.

“You remember me!” he said jovially.

“...I was about to say the same to you,” she replied.

Pinklily looked between the two, her brow raised, and she turned to the blue unicorn.

“You know this Sunwalker?” she asked.

“Yeah, I-” Comet began, but the stallion immediately turned to her friend.

“Comet Strike helped me out when somepony spiked my drink,” he told her, and then took her hoof to shake it. “I’m Runestone, good to meet you!”

“Pinklily,” the mare replied, a hint of skepticism in her voice. “...You are a Sunwalker, right?”

For the first time in recent memory, Comet saw Pinklily look flat-out confused. Runestone shuffled a little shyly on his hooves.

“Technically,” he admitted, but his embarrassment faded quickly as he turned back to Comet. “I just wanted to thank you again. For the help. Last night.”

“Oh that... that’s no problem,” she assured him; she was feeling a bit flustered.

“I really, really appreciate it, though,” he said, and then looked back at the other Sunwalkers and snorted a bit. “Yeah, brotherhood my hoof.”

Comet smiled sympathetically and tried not to laugh.

“I think I know who did it, if that helps,” she suggested.

Runestone opened his mouth, but then reconsidered, glanced back at the group, and then let out a large, annoyed sigh.

“No, I think it’s best I don’t know,” he said a bit reluctantly. “Thanks, though.”

Comet shrugged and Pinklily looked between the two with interest. She tapped her chin with her hoof in thought, and then turned to Runestone.

“Hey,” she said, “I was just going to show Comet some totems I made to defend the ways into Canterlot. Might help you out to know how they work as well. What do you think?”

Pinklily had a sort of strange expression on her face mostly masked by a gentle smile, like she was testing him or something. Like most Sunwalkers, Comet assumed he wouldn’t want any part in the magic, but when Runestone’s ears perked and he said, “That sounds interesting, sure!”, Comet couldn’t help but give him a rather surprised look.

“What?” he asked with a laugh.

Pinklily beckoned to him and he followed her up the stairs eagerly.

“So, Pinklily, what do you do here?” he asked.

“Enchantments, mostly.”

“Oh cool!”

Up in the workroom, ducking around other students to her work station, Pinklily lead the two ponies to a workbench where there were two large, polished crystals resting in metal stands. She lifted them both up at once to show them to Comet and Runestone; the stallion looked at them in awe through the glow of Pinklily’s magic.

“What do they do?” he asked curiously.

“I made them to shoot electricity at anything that attacks the city,” she said. “I don’t know how effective they’ll be, but they should help, at least a little.”

“Pinks, that’s really cool,” Comet said, her ears perking up.

Pinklily looked flattered and she nodded, saying, “Yeah, I thought so too, but I’m not really sure how to put them into use. Sunwalkers, no offense, usually won’t go anywhere near this kind of stuff.”

Comet’s ears drooped, but Runestone looked thoughtful, inclining his head as he peered more closely at the crystals. The blue unicorn turned to to him curiously.

“Got an idea?” she asked.

“Yeah, actually,” he replied with a smile. “I could take them to the Sun-Commander. If they work, I’m sure he’d love to use them. Especially, after... you know, two ponies went missing.”

He turned his attention to Pinklily, as did Comet. She was surprised to see her friend’s eyes wide. She looked stunned.

“You’d do that?” she asked Runestone a bit eagerly.

He nodded and a grin flashed across Pinklily’s face. She whirled and scrabbled around her worktable hurriedly. Comet tried to peer over her shoulder and then shared a puzzled look with the stallion beside her. They could hear the sound of pen on paper.

“If you two could take them, that would be great. I’ll work starting the enchanting process on a couple more while you’re gone,” she said hurriedly.

The pink unicorn spun around quickly, presenting a folded letter proudly.

“If you could give him this as well,” she said, and Runestone nodded and took it from her to place it in a small pocket at his belt.

Comet took one crystal and Runestone took the other on his back, and the two headed from the work room. The blue unicorn could barely articulate how relieved she was that Pinklily had created these totems; even though it wasn’t much, they made her feel safer already.

“That’s what she does, right? Enchanting?” Runestone asked Comet as they went. “Her Soul Mark, it’s-”

“Yeah, crystals,” she confirmed.

“Yours is a... comet? How’d you get that?” he asked curiously.

“Oh, just... star mapping, that stuff,” Come lied with a smile on her face.

“And your magic, it’s-”

“Ice magic, mostly.”

“Cool!”

He looked at her innocently and Comet couldn’t help a laugh. It seemed to take him a moment to clue in, but when he did, his face went a little red and he snickered to himself, saying, “Pun not intended.”

“Yeah, I figured,” Comet laughed, nudging him with her shoulder, “Why are you so interested in magic?”

“I think it’s interesting. I’m interested in... interesting things,” he said, wide-eyed. “What, no non-unicorn’s ever asked you about magic before?”

“Not since I was a filly, no,” Comet said with a shrug.

“Weird!”

They headed down the stairs together, Comet watching the Sunwalker’s back as he balanced the crystal rather carefully. There was a public Sunwalker office on the first floor where the Sun-Commander was set up, one that wasn’t beyond the Temple of the Sun; that’s where they were headed.

Upon arriving, Runestone knocked on the door and announced, “Sir, it’s Runestone, may we come in?”, hoping the Sun-Commander was in. When they heard a tired but gruff, “Come in, colt,” Runestone pushed the door open and he and Comet trotted in. Stonehoof was at a sparse desk in a room rather bare save for ornamental swords and shields along the walls, and an armour rack that currently bore the golden armour the Commander was rarely seen without. He was currently hovering over a map, his dark blue eyes intense. He looked up to see them as Comet closed the door behind him and sighed when he saw her.

“I keep seeing you everywhere, filly.”

Comet gulped.

“Sorry... sir?” she replied a bit awkwardly.

The Commander shook his head and got to his hooves, looking at what they carried curiously. Before he could ask, Comet presented her crystal to him.

“Sun-Commander, we brought these defense totems made by the unicorn enchanter Pinklily. She says that they can help protect us from attacks from the outside,” Runestone said.

Stonehoof looked at him a little suspiciously, but he passed him the note from Pinklily quickly. Stonehoof’s eyes rushed over the note, his brow furrowed, but when he looked up, he seemed a bit calmer.

“I’ll take them out for testing,” he said, and then turned to Comet. “Your friend, yes? Thank her for me.”

Comet nodded quickly. Runestone put the other crystal on the Commander’s desk and the two ponies left rather swiftly.

“He seems tired,” Comet said once they were out of earshot.

“Worried,” Runestone agreed.

The unicorn’s ears drooped and she pawed the ground. She wanted to ask Runestone how much he knew, but she didn’t want it to seem like she was only sticking around with him to interrogate him. He looked at her curiously, almost as if he knew and was waiting for her to ask something, but when she didn’t, he continued talking.

“He’s mentioned that us Sunwalkers are really going to have to take on a lot more responsibility, since he thinks the attacks will continue,” he said, and though he tried to keep a straight face, he sounded a little scared. “But... you know, we’re meant for fighting rogue unicorns, not... those things.”

“Nightspawn?” Comet volunteered.

“You know about them?” he asked, surprised, and then laughed a little. “I thought we were keeping that part quiet.”

“Not doing a very good job,” Comet joked, sticking her tongue out. “Actually... I was the one who found them first.”

“What?!” Runestone barked, eyes as wide as saucers. “Seriously? You’re not serious, are you?”

Comet looked back at him a bit shyly, her ears drooping, and his face fell.

“By Celestia, you’re serious, aren’t you?”

She nodded and Runestone looked to the floor and shook his head.

“I’ve only heard rumours... That must have been terrifying.”

“Scared me out of my fur,” Comet agreed, and then quietly added, “Do you think the Sunwalkers can actually do anything? I heard the King is actually going to fight them. That’s a pretty big deal, right?”

“Well... I don’t know, actually,” the colt admitted. “I suggested that maybe unicorn magic against those things would be a good idea, but the others just laughed at me.”

“Attack magic is banned,” Comet pointed out.

Runestone’s ears drooped.

“Right, right, of course,” he said quickly, and then sighed and muttered, “That’s stupid.”

He almost immediately grinned with embarrassment and said, “Um... don’t tell anypony I said that, okay?”

“Not a word,” Comet assured him.

His smile brightened and he huffed out a relieved, “Phew, thanks!”

He held out a hoof to her and, after hesitating for just a moment, she bumped her hoof against his. Somehow, he seemed even happier, and he said, “Hey, Comet Strike-”

He was cut off as, behind him, another Sunwalker in full armour said, “Hey, blankflank!” rather loudly.

He turned casually and Comet followed his gaze, frowning, as the passing pony shoved a helmet at Runestone, saying, “Come on, it’s our shift. Meet me outside.”

“Sure, see you soon.”

“Now, blankflank.”

Runestone’s ears drooped and Comet felt a sting of anger at the Sunwalker.

“Hey!” she shouted after him, stepping forward.

The Sunwalker whirled on her, looking at her with eyes narrowed. Fear hit her very suddenly, but she gulped and said, as Runestone looked at her like she was crazy, “You’re going outside?”

“What’s it to you, unicorn?” the pony asked.

“Just, you know, be careful. I’ve heard those things outside... they travel in herds, together. Like, a lot of them. And they’re dark, so after the sun sets, you probably won’t even see them coming. Also, I’ve heard they eat ponies,” she said.

The Sunwalker snorted, but the nerves were clear on his face. He turned, his tail swishing in an irritated sort of way and he headed off.

Comet let out a deep breath and Runestone looked at her with with eyes and his expression said that he was trying very hard not to laugh. When Comet turned to him again, before she could say a word, she nearly jumped to see a long, fuzzy black leg poking out of the helmet he was holding. Quickly, she grabbed the owner of the leg with her magic and lifted it up to reveal a large, black and googly-eyed spider.

“Oh!” Runestone squeaked, scooting away from it a little, and then peered into his helmet worriedly.

Comet rolled her eyes and released the thing onto the floor, where it skittered away quickly.

“They really have it out for you, don’t they?” she asked, her ears drooping low: the thought of it made her feel terrible.

“Guess so,” Runestone admitted.

He put the helmet on his head a bit cautiously and smiled at Comet brightly.

“Thanks, Comet Strike,” he said, and suddenly looked a bit shy. “I... You know, I didn’t expect you to have my back, but I’m really glad that you do.”

Comet nodded and smiled; felt her face heating up a little. She ignored it, or tried to at least, but when the taller pony ruffled her mane playfully, she knew she was blushing.

“It’s... It’s not a problem,” she stammered. “But, uh.... seriously, you should be careful outside though.”

“Absolutely,” he assured her. “Thanks. See you later!”

He began to head off and Comet replied with, “Good luck,” rather quickly, but before she could leave, Runestone turned around quickly.

“Hey, we should hang out again sometime,” he suggested.

Comet was a bit surprised, but she sort of liked the sound of that. She nodded.

“Sure,” she agreed.

The stallion grinned widely.

“How about tomorrow? I have some free time in the afternoon then. I was thinking,” he said, “what if we go outside? And... I dunno, have some lunch or something?”

Comet stared back blankly, unsure if he was unaware of her situation or if he didn’t care. Runestone looked back at her with a smile on his face, and leaned in a little closer, perking his ears as he waited for her answer.

“I can’t go outside,” she said after a moment.

“Well, technically, but I could get you out,” he said with a shrug. “Just say you’re into botany and you need a plant for some potion, I sign you out for the day, and we go out, sit on a nice grassy hill and eat sandwiches.”

The notion was very tempting. He was a nice stallion, and any chance to get out of the tower would be a welcome one. However, with the Nightspawn she had seen out past the walls, she wasn’t sure if it was safe. Then again, all her readings had told her that they didn’t do well in the sunlight. She swiveled her ears back and forth as she thought; all the while, Runestone waited for her patiently.

As per usual, Comet’s sense of curiosity far outweighed her want for caution, and she nodded.

“Yeah, alright. Sounds fun.”

The stallion’s face brightened immediately and he grinned widely at her.

“Great! See you then!”

He trotted off with a skip in his step and Comet had to hold in a laugh. She supposed Runestone must have been quite lonely, what with all the other Sunwalkers picking on him. His sunny disposition seemed to make him a target, along with the fact that he had no Soul Mark yet. She felt quite bad, and now a sense of worry started to gnaw at her. She hoped her new friend would be okay, outside, patrolling in the darkness.

Before returning to Pinklily, Comet stopped in to visit Warmspark. He was even more angry than the had been before, but otherwise, he was doing better. Comet was starting to worry that he might find a way to do something crazy and destructive, putting an extra layer of stress on her mind. The sight of the nub of his horn still made her very unsettled.

Back in the workroom, as she moved to rejoin Pinklily, Comet saw that there were much fewer students than before, but a few were gathered around the pink unicorn’s table as she demonstrated more crystals. These ones were a bit smaller, but seemed to do the same as the other two. Comet hung back until Pinklily was done talking to them and they headed out past her.

“Hi, Comet,” Pinklily said when she trotted up. “How’d it go?”

“The Sun-Commander said to tell you ‘thank you’,” she replied.

Pinklily let out a relieved sigh and smiled at Comet.

“Great. And... your new friend, he-”

“Got called onto patrol duty,” she said with a shrug.

Pinklily nodded, but she began to look just a little worried. She didn’t get a chance to ask more, though; the two were promptly distracted by a shy knock on the open door.

Jinx stood in the doorway, smiling shyly, and though his ears were drooped, his purple eyes were alight.

“Glimmer asked me to go out with her,” he said bashfully.

“Ooh,” Pinklily cooed. “And you said?”

Jinx blushed and scraped a font hoof on the ground, mumbling a shy, “Yes,”. Comet laughed and trotted up to him, patting him cheerfully on the back. It was good to see her friend happy, plus it took her mind away from the clouds in it.

“Just thought I should say,” Jinx replied, and then looked between the two. “She wanted to know if you wanted to hang out with us. She wanted to give you guys something.”

Comet and Pinklily shared a glance.

“Would you like us to?” Pinklily asked.

When he nodded and smiled brightly, Comet said, “Let’s go find her.”

Jinx seemed to know where Glimmer was, so the others followed him. He had a certain bounce in his step and, though he didn’t seem to notice, glittering sparks were trailing from his horn. Comet smiled to herself and when she looked to Pinklily, she could see her looking fondly at Jinx.

They found Glimmer near some stained glass windows and benches she had moves into a circle up near the dormitory. She looked like she was trying very hard to hide something behind her, grinning the whole while.

“Jinx Lulamoon! Jinxy! Jinxypie!” she cooed, waving her forelimbs at him.

Comet bit her lip, trying not to laugh, and Jinx blushed furiously as he approached the elegant unicorn and she squished him against her in a tight hug. He ‘oofed’ quietly and she rubbed her narrow snout against his cheek affectionately before letting him go and gesturing to the seats around her. He sat beside her and she ruffled his mane as Comet and Pinklily sat across from her. Almost immediately, she produced what she had been hiding; a small platter of strawberry shortcakes.

“Ta-daa!” she sang happily. “Take one! I made them myself.”

Jinx took one readily, though Pinklily and Comet both hesitated for the same reason: Glimmer Pearl was a terrible baker. Cautiously, though, the blue unicorn took one, thinking that the cakes didn’t look too bad, and Jinx was eating his quite happily. She took a tentative bite, but had to force herself to swallow it. It tasted like she had forgotten sugar entirely. Beside her, cool as ever, Pinklily ate her cake, stonefaced. Comet had no idea how she did it.

“Uh, thanks Glimmer, that’s really nice of you,” Comet said with a forced grin.

Glimmer looked quite pleased and looked at Comet with a sort of shine in her eyes.

“So I heard you have a coltfriend now, too?”

Comet’s jaw all but hit the ground and she began to stammer incoherently, until Pinklily began to laugh and patted her head, telling Glimmer, “She just met him last night, Glimmer, they’re not going out.”

“Aw,” she said, pouting. “I was hoping we could double-date. Right, Jinx?”

Jinx looked back shyly and he said, quietly, “That sounds kind of like fun,” as Glimmer put her hooves all over his mane again.

“N-No, that’s... not a thing,” Comet stammered.

Glimmer shrugged, but then leaned forward, peering at her with wide eyes and ears perked as Comet took another hesitant bite out of the ‘cake’.

“So, where did you go behind that pillar in the Temple?” she asked.

Shock struck Comet so hard that she choked on her food and began coughing loudly. Pinklily thumped her on the back while Glimmer looked apologetic and Jinx looked between the ponies rather cluelessly.

“How did you-?” Comet demanded, but Glimmer cut her off.

“I followed you,” she stated a little proudly.

Comet stared at her, wide-eyed, unsure of how to feel. Pinklily was looking at the ivory unicorn with a sort of disapproving frown. Finally, Glimmer seemed to catch on and she drew back, sighing.

“Sorry,” she said a bit reluctantly, “It’s just that I notice that when stressful stuff starts going on around the tower, you always start vanishing at night. I just wanted to see where you were going.”

She smiled embarrassedly and said, “Sorry,” again. Comet sighed and rubbed a hoof through her forelock. Pinklily looked at her with both curiosity and expectancy. Comet took a deep breath.

“Can’t talk about it out here,” she said, “I’ll show you tonight, okay?”

The tall unicorn seemed satisfied and she grinned.

“Thanks!” she said brightly, and then gestured to the cakes broadly, saying, “Come on, eat! Eat!”

Comet spent the rest of the day with her friends, and it surprised her when she realized that it was actually making her feel much better despite wondering what she would say to them once she showed them what was in the temple. She was still a little on edge, but she felt a little less stressed with ponies to talk to. Her mind sometimes slipped to Runestone, especially as the sky outside darkened. She hoped he was okay.

Though Glimmer was getting antsy and impatient, Comet made the group wait until late at night, past the time when most ponies were asleep, before sneaking them into the Temple of the Sun and leading them down the passage to her training room. Pinklily had been there before and kept up quickly, but Jinx and Glimmer trailed behind: they were in awe. The stallion pressed close to his new fillyfriend as she stared, wide-eyed, at the glimmering halls of crystal around them.

Down in the room of turquoise and purple crystal, at Glimmer’s insistence, Jinx lit the room brightly with his magic, sending a golden sheen across the walls, illuminating the many ridges and scars of Comet’s training.

“Dear sweet Celestia,” Glimmer gasped. “This...! This place!”

She scampered around, putting her hooves all over the walls. Pinklily rolled her eyes but still wore an amused expression on her face. Abruptly, Glimmer whirled on Comet, dashing up to her and getting so close to her face that she had to step back.

“What is this place? How did you find it? It’s amazing!”

“I was wondering that as well,” Jinx agreed. “It’s... really cool.”

Glimmer giggled and twirled on her back hooves, and then locked her forelimbs around a large jutting crystal, sighing happily.

“Can I just bring this back with me?”

She didn’t sound serious; Pinklily laughed and said, “I think that’s pretty well stuck down.” Playfully, Glimmer stuck her tongue out at the pink unicorn, but then turned to Comet.

“So, what’s the deal with you and this place?” she asked as she detached herself from the crystal. “How’d you find it?”

“I didn’t, actually,” Comet replied with a shrug. “Nimbus... you wouldn’t know Nimbus, but Jinx, you might remember...”

She looked to the bright blue unicorn curiously, and he nodded, looking interested.

“Nimbus was a Sunwalker, sort of my guardian. He showed me this place when I was just a filly. I’ve been using it as a training room, as you can see.”

She gestured around the walls, directing Glimmer and Jinx’s eyes around the deep slash marks in the crystal.

“...What the hay kind of magic does that?” the ivory unicorn mused aloud, but then she donned a look of shock and hopped up and down, looking at Comet as if she had just unraveled the greatest mystery in the world. “That’s why I almost never see you practice. You’re using forbidden magic!”

Jinx looked stunned and Comet’s ears drooped bashfully. She nodded and Glimmer peered at her inquisitively.

“But... you’re so... you,” she said. “Forbidden magic... That seems way off your register.”

Comet couldn’t help a sting of embarrassment; she merely shrugged in response.

“Then... Comet?” Jinx asked hesitantly. “Is your Soul Mark from that too?”

Comet nodded and almost immediately, Glimmer Pearl sat in front of her with a look of anticipation on her face.

“What?” Comet asked, confused.

“Story time,” Glimmer announced.

Comet sighed and put a hoof to her forehead. She was starting to get a headache. To her surprise, however, Pinklily patted her on the shoulder, saying, “I was there. I’ll tell it,” gently.

Comet felt relief splash her and she dropped onto her haunches tiredly. The pink unicorn laughed and sat beside her.

“Do we really have to?” Comet asked.

“Knowing the story helps you know the pony,” Glimmer announced.

Jinx seemed to agree as he plopped down beside her; she immediately wrapped her forelimbs around him and squished him to her.

“Let me,” Pinklily said again. “It was a while back. Maybe a year or so after I got mine. There was a comet shower and we both really wanted to get a closer look at it than what the tower allowed. Security was more lax back then, so we managed to sneak outside and get out of Canterlot.”

“Wow,” Glimmer gasped, surprised.

“So,” the pink unicorn continued, “we traveled out into the badlands a little bit to watch the comet shower but when we got there, they seemed to be burning up in the sky too fast. To try to see them a little longer, Comet cast an ice spell on them, but... it worked a little too well.”

She cut her eyes at Comet and shot her a smile. The blue unicorn’s ears drooped and she felt her face heat up embarrassedly.

“Anyway, the comets stopped breaking up at all, and they were going to land right on us, and that’s when Comet found her spell.”

Comet remembered well. It was most commonly believed that for a unicorn to get their Soul Mark, they had to discover their spell, a spell that was thought to come from deep within. Comet’s happened to be an intense blast of tri-coloured energy, mimicked in the tail of the comet on her flank.

“She blasted the comets out of the sky, saved us, and that’s about it.”

Comet was surprised to see Pinklily shoot her a look of pride. Glimmer looked between Comet and Pinklily with wide eyes, and then began to clap her hooves jubilantly. Jinx joined her and smiled at Comet.

“That’s really cool,” he said. “I’m jealous.”

“Oh, no, don’t be,” Comet said hurriedly. “Because that’s what my magic focuses on, I’ve had to practice in secret my whole life. It’s a major pain.”

“Sounds like,” Glimmer agreed.

She got to her hooves and ruffled Comet’s main affectionately.

“Wish you had told us sooner,” she said, skipping away quickly. “I could practice my telekinesis with you! And...”

She placed a hoof on a protruding crystal.

“Maaaybe you could cut me off one of these?”

She leaned her head back and fluttered her eyelashes. Comet sighed and couldn’t help a quiet laugh.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll try.”

Comet had known the three other ponies since she was young, and yet that evening, in the room of crystal, was the first time she had ever practiced magic with all of them at once. In truth, she enjoyed it very much. By the time the group made their way out of the room, Comet was actually feeling rather good. She didn’t feel nearly as scattered or frantic as she had before. For the first time in days, Comet slept well.

The morning snapped into focus for Comet with the worried chatter of students and whatever relaxation she had garnered from a proper night’s rest vanished. She rolled out of her bunk a bit clumsily, casting a cautious glance around the dormitory. There was no one else in bed anymore; it was mostly empty, though she noted a small group of ponies standing nearby, and another, slightly larger gathering just beyond the entrance-way. There were even a couple Sunwalkers involved.

This can’t be good.

Comet approached the small group quickly and interrupted a young mare mid-sentence, saying, “Sorry to butt in, but... what’s everyone going on about? Is everything okay?”

“You didn’t hear?” one stallion asked, his ears perked but his eyes worried. “Another Sunwalker vanished last night.”

“Yeah, everypony’s freaking out,” another mare put in.

Comet felt her heart sink and her ears drooped back.

“I... uh... thanks, I... I gotta go,” she stammered.

She was out of the dormitory in an instant, rushing brazenly through the group at the threshold with only one pony on her mind.

Comet raced down the stairs to the first floor and through the Temple of the Sun, all the way down to the barracks, where she slammed a hoof against the closed door a few times as she panted for air. She didn’t hear the approach of hooves over the pounding in her ears; she jumped when the door was opened by a stocky, white pegasus.

“...Yeah?” she asked.

She seemed rather confused by Comet’s presence, her eyes roaming the unicorn uncertainly.

“Is Runestone here?” Comet asked quickly.

The pegasus seemed to draw a blank. She scratched her head with her wing and repeated, “Runestone,” quietly as if trying to jog her memory.

“Yeah, Runestone, he’s... like, a big tall lanky pony, tan, no Soul Mark,” Comet said quickly.

“Oh! The blankflank!” the pegasus said, her eyes brightening. “Yes! ...Well, not exactly, he’s been out since the sun came out this morning.”

Comet could have melted onto the floor.

“So he didn’t-” she began quietly.

“Get taken by the Nightspawn?” the Sunwalker finished; her ears drooped.

Comet was taken aback, and almost began to apologize before the pegasus said, “No, not him, we haven’t been told who yet.”

“I’m sorry,” Comet said quickly.

The pegasus looked a bit sad; she nodded and said, “You might find him in the dormitory hall,” before turning and heading back to join the other Sunwalkers. Looking in, Comet could have sworn they looked just as rattled as she felt.

The blue unicorn left through the Temple of the Sun again, trying to ignore a few dirty looks shooting her way and returned to the dormitory hall. She didn’t need to find Runestone immediately: it was enough to know that he hadn’t been taken in the night. After all, her book had told her Nightspawn couldn’t operate in sunlight. She didn’t see him near the dormitory anyway, but she did see Glimmer Pearl, staring at her intensely from down the hall. Comet all but froze in her tracks until she saw the tall unicorn give her a joking grin and bounce up to her.

“You have fun later! I’m going to visit Warmspark, I’ll tell him you said hi, okay?” she said brightly before skipping away.

Comet turned to ask her what the hay she was talking about, she she had already vanished, humming pleasantly around the corner. The unicorn wasn’t sure whether to feel charmed by her happily oblivious nature or frustrated by it. She decided it was a little of both.

Comet went to wash up, wondering what to do with the day until noon. She supposed the book on the Elements of Harmony could be a good place to start. Stashing it in her saddlebag, Comet snuck back into the library and down into the secret passageway.

The room below was undisturbed, for which Comet was very grateful. She was relieved to have a place to go during the day now, even though she thought it unwise to practice magic there. Cautiously, she tested the strange door that seemed sealed by magic. She still couldn’t open it, and the recording of Celestia in the crystals above wouldn’t reappear to offer any explanation.

Comet lay on the floor to read the book, flipping back to the start. It detailed Celestia’s rise to power against a creature of chaos named Discord, but Comet was surprised to find parts of it censored, and badly. Black ink was smeared over portions of illustrations and of words, and as Comet tried to read past that, she found it only get worse as the historical tome continued to the already read portion about Nightmare Moon. It was as if a someone had removed a key figure entirely.

The unicorn’s ears drooped and she frowned at the ink-stained pages before her. She hadn’t realized that so much had been taken out. When told verbally, the story didn’t seem to be missing a thing, but seeing this tome, so marred with an angry vandal’s pen, she felt, in a way, lied to.

Maybe no one knows, she mused, and then peered hard at the dark splotches, trying in vain to see through them.

She sighed when she pulled back. She was half-tempted to ask the Archmage if she knew anything, but that would mean admitting where the book came from, and that didn’t seem to be a very wise plan.

After reading and rereading the censored passages, trying to figure them out, Comet felt her stomach growl and decided to leave her hideout. Perhaps it was nearly noon? She returned to the surface world quickly and quietly.

The library was quiet as ever when Comet emerged from the tunnel to push the bookshelf back in place. The scraping noise it made was unpleasant, and loud as well, but she didn’t hear anyone to complain until a sharp, “Ahem!” drew her attention. Comet’s heart all but exploded out her chest and she spun with eyes as round as the moon, only to see Runestone, without armour this time and carrying a bag over his back, leaning casually against a bookshelf nearby, looking at her with an unnervingly amused expression.

“Wha- umm... ur... I can explain,” Comet babbled hurriedly.

The stallion smiled and yet he looked a little confused.

“Explain what?” he said. “Your ‘secret’ study room? Pinklily mentioned you might be back here.”

“St-Study room?” Comet repeated, and then stared at him blankly before realizing her best friend had given her an out. “Y... Yeah. Sorry. It’s just... kind of private, I wouldn’t want other ponies to... you know, find it, start using it, get sticky oatmeal hooves all over it...”

“Don’t worry,” Runestone assured her with a laugh. “I’m not really one for studying.”

Comet blew out a sigh of relief and nodded, saying, “Of course. Right,” as she tried to keep from looking as flustered as she felt. He laughed again and then gestured towards his saddlebag.

“I have lunch,” he explained. “And I’ve signed you out. Just make sure we get some... what’s it called? Puzzlegrass samples, before we come back, so no one suspects we were just out there to sit and do nothing.”

“Right,” Comet said.

She tried to conceal her surprise. She didn’t realize he would be so efficient. He grinned at her and nudged her with his snout, saying, “Come on, let’s get going.” Comet jumped but followed him out of the library quickly, silently thanking Celestia for Pinklily as she went.

When the two ponies arrived at the main hall, Comet suddenly felt rather small looking out the main doors. She hadn’t been out in a long time. She wanted to take a moment to brace herself, but Runestone didn’t consider it very much; he simply trotted up and pushed the door open casually. The gape between the wood was all but glowing. The light stunned Comet for a second and she had to step back, blinking quickly, trying to get her eyes to adjust. She saw Runestone beckoning her to follow and so, quickly, she did.

Stepping out into the fresh air, Comet couldn’t help herself from taking in a deep breath. Her eyes settled into the light quickly, and she saw before her a set of stairs leading past two armed guards to a cobblestone walkway. They still had a little ways to go before reaching the outside. She kept close to Runestone as they trotted across the stone walks, through rows of abandoned stores. Not many ponies lived in the actual city of Canterlot. There was an inn and tavern where outside researches sometimes stayed and houses where a couple of retired Sunwalkers made their homes. The place was beautiful despite its slow state of disrepair. Despite that, Comet found it a bit creepy and stagnant; it was a bit of a ghost town. She had read in history that it had once been the seat of Celestia, and had been the hub of Equestria; one of the busiest cities in the world. That position was now taken by a bigger city far to the north called Zenith, where a Pegasus king and queen ruled.

“So,” Runestone said, jarring Comet out of thought, “when were you out last?”

“Um...” She had to think about it for a moment. “Three or four months ago, I can’t remember.”

“Really?” The stallion looked surprised and then he shook his head, a small frown creasing his brow. “That’s really quite dumb. I don’t understand why they don’t let you go around Canterlot at all. For Celestia’s sake, it’s a walled city, what sort of trouble could you possibly get into?”

“The ruins of the palace, for one,” Comet said with a sigh. “Holy site, forbidden, especially to unicorns, blah blah blah.”

She noticed Runestone roll his eyes and she smiled a bit despite herself.

“And... we are allowed out, just... you know, either like this, or we can get a ‘free Canterlot pass’, but it takes a few days to approve and you only get one if you have a good record, have no classes, and are going with a friend.”

“Seems unnecessarily restrictive,” Runestone replied.

They continued through the city quickly. The exit, a portcullis and guard house made from the ruins of a train station in the middle of a tall wall, was opened for them as they passed. Beyond that lay a stone bridge with grooves where train tracks had been removed. Near the end of the bridge, they passed through the final guardhouse before the magic barrier and Comet caught her first glimpse of the field that served as a buffer between Canterlot and the start of the dangerous part of the Everfree forest. It was the first time she had seen it from ground level since she had found it swarmed with Nightspawn. She felt a little trepidatious, but it wasn’t enough to deter her. At the edge of the barrier, she stepped through after Runestone without hesitation.

Cheerfully, Runestone trotted around in the grass; he seemed to be looking for something. Comet kept close, trying very hard not to give in to her urge roll around in the greenery. She turned an eye to the sky above, marveling at the blueness and the fluffy, but slightly grey clouds that drifted above. She let out a quiet ‘wow’, though abruptly found herself stopped in her tracks and flopping to the ground as she ran into Runestone and tumbled over. He whirled on her, a look of worry on his face for only a moment before he began to laugh at the blue unicorn splayed in the grass.

“I guess this is as good a place as any,” he said brightly.

He plopped down onto the grass and scooted back to give Comet a little more room as she regained herself and he opened his bag. Comet, as she blew her mane from her face, watched curiously as the stallion pulled two wrapped packets and two flasks out of his saddlebag, and then nudged one of each towards her.

“Cider,” he said a bit proudly. “Not fermented, this time! I made sure.”

“Great,” Comet said with a laugh. “Thanks for getting the food. I’m starved.”

“I made it,” he said proudly as he unwrapped his, revealing a sandwich inside. “I hope it turned out.”

Comet wondered how a sandwich could not turn out, but she shrugged to herself and floated hers up and removed the wrapping.

“Thanks,” she said. “You didn’t have to.”

“No, no, Comet Strike, consider this your thank you for the other day,” he said brightly, his mouth half-full, and he swallowed loudly. “You know, you’re the first pony that’s never commented to me about how I don’t have a Soul Mark.”

“Oh, come on, that can’t be true,” Comet said, trying to sound reassuring.

“It is!” Runestone insisted.

“...So you get bullied a lot, then?”

She immediately felt bad for him.

“Not bullied, exactly,” the stallion said quickly, but then, after tracing a circle absently in the grass with a hoof, he sighed and said. “...Yeah. I guess so.”

“I was late in my year as well,” Comet said quickly, but then bit her lip and laughed embarrassedly. “Sorry... We’re the same age, aren’t we? I guess that doesn’t help.”

Runestone couldn’t help but chuckle a little and a bit awkwardly, hitting herself internally, Comet took a bite of her sandwich. She was stunned to find it was dandelion and raspberry jam, her favourite. Runestone watched her with interest and his ears perked as he asked, “Is it good?”

“Yeah,” Comet said. “Raspberry jam with dandelions is my favourite.”

Runestone grinned and though the sandwich was good, Comet eyed him suspiciously.

“How could you possibly know?” she wondered.

“Honestly?” he asked, and then laughed. “I asked your friends what you liked. I... well, I wanted to impress you. Sorry.”

He smiled sheepishly and Comet felt herself blush. She was taken aback.

“Impress me?” she repeated, her brow furrowed with confusion, but then she shrugged and took another bite of the sandwich. “Whatever, that’s cool. This is really good.”

“That’s a relief,” Runestone said with a bit of a giggle, “because, you know, normally, I’m a terrible, terrible cook. But there’s not much in a dandelion sandwich with raspberry jam so-”

“Almost impossible to screw up, gotcha,” Comet laughed.

Runestone nodded, his smile never falling.

“You should have seen this one time,” he said. “I swear, I burned soup.”

Comet smiled and took a sip from her flask of cider. Across from her, the pony grabbed his as well and took a deep, clumsy swig until he nearly fell backwards and Comet had to try not to spit out her drink. Runestone grinned shyly as he righted himself and Comet felt her ears perk of their own accord. She sort of liked his smile.

“Question,” she said a bit hesitantly. “Why...? Why are you a Sunwalker?”

He inclined his head.

“Well, you don’t seem to want to be here at all, is all I meant,” she said.

“Oh! Right, that,” he said. “Yes. Well, I’m an orphan. Probably like most here, I expect. I went from the orphanage in Trottingham to working part time for the Apple Family in Dawncliff, and then I ended up stuck in the Temple of the Sun where I eventually got passed on to here.”

Externally, he didn’t seem to mind, but Comet flinched anyway, her imagination running away with her. She didn’t like the sound of that at all. Unsure of whether to offer condolences or to try to make light, she paused, only to have him ask, “What about you? How’d you get here?”

“Oh,” Comet replied, surprised, “I’m apparently from one of those northern pony herds. From what I’m told they were attacked. A young Sunwalker called Nimbus found me when I was probably just a few hours old hidden under some stuff and brought he me back here, took care of me and stuff. I haven’t know much else.”

She sipped her cider again and had to stop herself from spitting it again as Runestone said, “Pity. I feel like someone like you is wasted in Canterlot.”

Comet gulped and said, “What does that mean?”

“Well, you’re kind, and smart and good at magic, and seems like you’d be of more use to King Tornado or something like that,” he explained, though his face had gone a little red.

“Oh, stop it, you,” Comet joked, waving a hoof at him.

He grinned at her again, but his smile slowly fell and he looked up to the sky with ears drooping.

“Hope it doesn’t rain,” he said as a shadow began to pass over his face.

Comet turned her gaze upwards as well to see, to her surprise, a mat of dark grey clouds drifting in towards the city.

“Think we should go back?” she asked.

Runestone shrugged and took another glance up as the shadow began to pass the field. Comet felt a little bit chillier without the sun on her fur, but she didn’t mind. She sipped her cider again absently until the sound of a snapping branch drew her attention from the clouds to the wooded area behind Runestone. She leaned around him, ears pressed forward curiously. He turned his head to look, and Comet got to her hooves. She was starting to see something in the shadows of the trees. Something with bright white eyes.

Comet felt like her blood had turned to ice and she took a step back. With clouds above smothering the sun, whatever she saw stepped forward. She heard Runestone curse but she was barely paying attention. The hard, twisted black hide of the creature in the trees seemed to ripple with shadow, it’s face, though almost equine, was stretched too far forward and its teeth were like a carnivore’s.

“Run,” Comet said, unable to force out more than a whisper. “Run, now.”

Runestone whipped around to face her, eyes wide, and the Nightspawn behind him charged from the forest’s cover, followed by more as if they had peeled themselves from the shadows of the trees.

Comet wasn’t sure when she had started running, but before she knew it she was barreling towards the bridge. She was terrified; could only think of getting away and how stupid she had been. She saw Runestone at her side when she glanced right, but was shocked by a sudden rumbling beneath her. She yelped as she felt a front hoof sink down into the dirt and she, stumbling, dashed out of the way as, to her horror, a snarling, clambering Nightspawn began to wrench itself from the ground as it caved around him. Almost dazed, Comet spun and kicked him, hard. She heard the impact; sort of felt it before propelling herself forward until she realized she was going completely the wrong way. Spinning, trying to find the bridge, Comet was horrified to see more dark shapes pulling themselves out of the ground. Runestone was still running, but not towards the bridge: he was dodging the Nightspawn from below, but Comet shook in terror to see more heading straight for him from the tree line.

She stalled, trying to calm her rasping, frantic breath. She couldn’t do it. Gritting her teeth, she charged forward. Her lungs were burning and her eyes were watering, but she lowered her horn and pulsed magic outwards. Beams with tips like knives erupted out around her body and whirled outwards as she went forward, keeping her eye on Runestone. She couldn’t look at anything else.

She felt her magic cut and knock away, but as she got closer to her panicked friend, she saw a large, musclebound Nightspawn get in her line of sight and lower its head to charge with a guttural roar. Her heart pumping a mile a minute, she lashed out, the blue energy bursting forth and shooting straight into the chest of the running beast. Its black body gave way, only to reveal another behind it. Comet yelped and stumbled back. She was knocked off her hooves almost immediately, wide, vacant eyes staring in her peripherals as she felt teeth sink into the back of her neck. The fangs burned like fire. Before a cry had even left her mouth, she saw the shape of the beast fly over her head and Runestone soon followed, spinning to kick the creature in the face with his back hooves. Comet jumped up and, cringing, fired another burst of magic that scattered Runestone’s opponent. He looked back at her, his eyes wide and scared, and he shouted, “Run!” Comet did without hesitation, almost keeping pace with the stallion in her panic.

As they tore across the field in the right direction, Comet couldn’t help but steal a glance over her shoulder. Her heart sank to her hooves. Behind her, amassed so tightly as to resemble a singular creature, the beasts gave chase on quick feet. Comet felt her throat catch and her breath shorten. She wished she hadn’t looked.

Spurred on by fear, she pushed her body forward, though it was starting to ache. She felt like there was something whispering in her head; felt like her heart was going to beat right out of her chest. Over the madness of blood in her ears, she heard Runestone cry out and she skidded to a stop in the dirt and whirled to see her new friend tumble head over tail in a tangle of flailing legs, his pelt like a beacon against the black mess of monsters moving towards him.

Comet felt terror seize her, turning her blood to ice, but through that she forced herself to move back towards Runestone. She was at a gallop, but her legs felt like lead. In her peripherals, she saw a darkened pegasus-like creature break ranks and rush towards the stallion, who, dazed, was barely starting to right himself. Her thoughts were screaming, No!; she might have shouted it aloud as well, and quickly, she shot out a burst of magic, cold and sharp and fast. The blue burst of power ripped through the diving pegasus-beast, and Comet, shaky legged, ground her hooves into the dirt to stop as she stood protectively before Runestone, staring, determined, into the blackness.

She summoned as much magic as she could muster into her horn, letting it glow a radiant and sparkling blue before her and, with a deep breath, lowered her head and fired the energy forward. She wasn’t exactly sure what she had done, but a boom like thunder followed and blue magic arced and shot into the creatures at the front of the pack with a blinding light. She had to take a step back, and took only an instant to realize that they would too. A quick sense of triumph took her, and she whirled on Runestone to tell him to run. She saw, however, that he was not even on his feet yet. His silver eyes were wide with shock, his jaw dropped open and his gaze fixed directly on her. Comet didn’t have time for this, nor for explanations; she quickly dipped her head and started nudging him to his feet. He got the hint almost immediately and was up and running with her in a second.

The rush to the barrier felt like only seconds. The two ponies pushed through and halted, panting, and Runestone dropped to his haunches on the stone of the bridge. Behind them, the fastest few in the group plowed, hissing and snarling, against the barrier, bouncing back and onto the grass unceremoniously. Comet jerked away, eyes wide, and Runestone was on his hooves, pressing close to her in fear.

The slower of the group held back from the barrier, white eyes staring daggers at the two ponies beyond their reach.

“Do you think they can get us?” Runestone breathed, his voice trembling.

Comet stiffly shook her head and began to step back.

“Come on,” she said quietly. “Into the guard house.”

Runestone nodded and began to step backwards along the bridge. He didn’t want to turn his back on these creatures, and Comet certainly couldn’t blame him.

They hurried back into the guard house, and Comet paused to shove the door closed tightly behind them. As soon as she had, however, and before she could even demand where the guards were, she was abruptly yanked backwards and though she yelped, she found herself slumped over her friend’s shoulder as he hugged her tightly. His body was trembling.

“Comet Strike, you saved my life!” he squeaked.

A bit hesitantly, Comet put her forelimbs around him as well and patted his back reassuringly. He squeezed her and laughed in a sort of shaky and relieved way.

“You’re bleeding,” he said. “I... I can’t even believe...”

He shook his head, seeming unable to finish, and then pulled back to look into her face. She was surprised to see his silver eyes glossy, and his ears were drooped back despite the grin on his face.

“How could I ever repay you?” he asked.

Comet smiled shyly.

“Well, if you could not tell anypony about the magic I used, that would be great.”

“Well, obviously,” he said immediately, and smiled. “I mean a real thing, not a common sense thing. Of course I won’t tell anyone.”

A jolt of shock passed through the unicorn and she stammered out, “I... I’ll have to think about it, then.”

She smiled a little and he laughed and let her down onto her own four hooves again. His words stunned her. Of course he wouldn’t tell. Of course. Trying not to seem rattled, Comet spun and headed for the small window near the door.

Outside, gleaming warmly, the sun had burst through the clouds and now showered the meadow with its rays. There wasn’t a trace left of the dark monsters that had been baring down on them before, and nothing in the grass either but the tar-like splotches in the green where a few had fallen. Comet let out an unwitting sigh of relief and felt Runestone leaning over her as he followed her gaze.

“Twilgiht’s tail,” the stallion gasped. “Where’d they go?”

He pulled away to give Comet room and she almost uttered an ‘I don’t know’, but a curse came out instead as she saw the clouds begin to pull over the sun again. She wasn’t sure what would happen, but she let out a shriek when she saw the black puddles that had once been Nightspawn begin to rise and, rather grotesquely, take shape again.

“Dear Celestia, no,” she gasped.

“What?” Runestone demanded.

Comet backed up and shoved him towards the window, pointing, and he immediately whinnied and skittered backwards. He looked at her with wide eyes and squeaked, “Use your spell again! The big bright one!”

“I... I can’t, I don’t even know what I did,” Comet said quickly. “Maybe guards are coming? Someone has to have seen that!”

She hurried to the other side of the guard house and peered out, hoping beyond hope that there would be someone coming to their rescue. There wasn’t.

“Okaaay,” she said.

She bounced from hoof to hoof and hurried back to the window. Not only were the ‘dead’ Nightspawn rebuilding themselves, but more from the woods were hesitantly edging back onto the field.

“Okay. Okay. Okay.”

She paced back and forth. Runestone watched her fearfully and he began to say her name, but Comet was out the door and along the bridge before he knew what happened. She heard him call after her, but she didn’t stop. Pausing only for a moment in front of the barrier, Comet winced and began to build up magic again. She faltered for a moment, tired, and she heard Runestone call for her again. His hoofsteps caught up to her quickly and he grabbed her and pulled her back, saying, “Comet, I’m sorry, it’s not fair to ask you to do this.”

“But-” Comet began, but she all but jumped into his forelimbs in fright when a high, wrenching screech ripped through the air.

“What the hay was that?” Runestone shrieked.

Before Comet could even speculate, a dark form streaked downwards from the clouds and sped low over the field. To the pony’s surprise, the reforming Nightspawn scattered like smoke and followed the creature. The other Nightspawn began to yowl and roar, and, on heavy paws, the dark form, his body seeming to absorb the remains of the monster, a griffon landed. He was dark brown and grey, and massive, his huge wings almost entirely blocking out the pony’s sight of the Nightspawn. They heard them roar, but the griffon roared back, the sound echoing up and down the gully and ringing in their ears. Neither of them were sure what happened next, but as the sun came out once more, the griffon vanished, taking the fog of the Nightspawn with him. There was nothing physical of the monsters left.

Comet felt herself release a breath she didn’t realize she had held and a trembling Runestone pressed close to her. They looked at each other, neither sure what to say or do, but they were jarred out of their stupor by the griffon’s sudden reappearance, landing heavily before them.

The dark-coloured griffon was huge: probably three times as large as Runestone. He didn’t seem injured in the least, though the skin of his grey forelimbs crawled with the energy of the Nightspawn. His golden eyes locked on them and his feathered crest raised and fell. To their surprise, however, he clacked his grey beak and smiled kindly at them both, saying, “My, you foals look like you’ve had quite the day. I am glad I arrived when I did.”

“Me too,” Runestone squeaked.

The griffon bent forward and looked at the wound on Comet’s neck carefully before pulling back and smiling a little once more.

“I am Graham, a pleasure to meet you ponies,” he said. “Who might you be?”

“Urm... I’m Comet Strike, he’s Runestone,” Comet said hesitantly.

She couldn’t understand why he was so calm.

“Might you be able to direct me to your Archmage?” he asked. “I’ve been requested, and I have some business here.”

“How did you do that?” Comet asked.

Runestone and Graham looked at her with varying levels of confusion.

“Do what, little one?” the griffon asked.

“You stopped the Nightspawn. You... took their... something? How did you do that?” she asked quickly.

The griffon’s crest raised and he looked a little surprised, but then smiled.

“I am the Commander of the Wardens of Harmony. I am here, among other things, to deal with the Nightspawn.”

Chapter 4

Comet had never seen a griffon in real life. She hadn’t expected him to be so large, nor so powerful. Nevertheless, as she lay on a bed in the infirmary, Graham cautiously running his hooked beak through her mane and inspecting the puncture wounds on her neck, she felt safe with him.

Runestone watched, ears drooped and hooves shuffling, waiting as the resident medicine mare, MintTea, prepared a salve at her desk near the entrance of the room. Comet kept her eyes on him, her body sinking onto the bed tiredly. She felt a bit of a prick on her neck; her tail swished though she tried not to complain.

“I am sorry, Comet Strike,” Graham said gently. “I am nearly finished.”

“It’s fine,” Comet assured him quietly.

She cringed; she saw Runestone’s face fall, he looked as if he wanted to say something. Comet shot him a tired smile before biting back a sigh and resting her cheek on one of her forelimbs.

“Is it alright?” the stallion asked, edging closer to Graham worriedly.

The griffon didn’t answer at first, though he pulled back from Comet and looked her intently with one eye and then turned his head to stare with the other. He clacked his beak and his feathers bristled a little.

“Yes, it will be once treated,” he said finally, and then smiled at the ponies. “Good thinking, Runestone, suggesting we come here first.”

Runestone smiled bashfully and nodded, though his eyes shifted back to Comet. The blue unicorn’s ears flattened and she brushed her mane from her face a little.

“I don’t understand,” she said a bit grumpily. “Everything I’ve read said that Nightspawn can’t go out in the sun.”

“I’m afraid you need to take that a little more literally,” Graham said, sounding almost apologetic. “They can exist in any shadow, day or night.”

“Wait, so on a cloudy day, they could just-?!” Comet began, though cut herself short when the griffon nodded solemnly. “Dear Celestia, that’s... that’s terrible.”

Beyond them, Runestone wore an expression of horror, and on a bed near the other end of the room, Warmspark leaned over, his ears perked and his eyes wide.

“Hey, Mister Griffon,” he called over, looking worriedly at them. “Are we in danger?”

“My boy, everyone is in danger,” Graham replied, his voice gentle.

Warmspark grabbed the blankets around him a bit closer. Graham looked rather regretful; he turned back to Comet, his crest raising up a bit and he tilted his head as he looked at her, a slight frown ruffling his feathers.

“What do you know about the Nightspawn?” he asked.

“Um... well...” Comet said; she shrunk under his intense eyes. “Not... Not much. I read about them in a book that said they appeared after Celestia vanished. It also said their blood is poison and that they can’t go out when it’s light.”

Graham pulled back a little, his feathers smoothing a bit, and he clacked his beak thoughtfully.

“I see,” he said quietly.

“Mister Warden, sir,” Runestone said quietly as he edged in closer.

The griffon smiled and said, “Graham is fine,” and Runestone grinned shyly.

“Graham, is it... is it true, what’s happening out there? With the Nightspawn? And the King?”

Graham frowned a little and he ruffled his wings and cast a glance around.

“In her letter, your Archmage asked me not to discuss with the students,” he admitted. “But since you’ve already seen... I suppose the truth wouldn’t hurt.”

He sighed.

“The situation is much more dire than what has been occurring here. A few months ago, the first of the Nightspawn began to appear, more than anyone has seen in decades. They are amassing in the wilds near the ruins of Harmonia. Do you know it?”

Comet nodded while Runestone shook his head and looked baffled. Graham smiled.

“It was a fortress built hundreds of years ago where the final battle against the Nighspawn was won when they first appeared.”

Runestone’s ears perked up and he nodded, letting out an understanding, “Ooh,”.

“The other Wardens and I are going to be joining the King there soon.”

“And taking a Sunwalker or two with you, is that right?”

Graham and the ponies turned their attention quickly to the entranceway to see Springbreeze standing just inside, a knowing smile on her face. Her mane was a little more preened than usual, as was the feathering at her hooves, and she was wearing a cloak that seemed to emulate the wings of a vulture, with little silver gems along the collar. Graham smiled and dipped his head.

“It is good to see you once again, Archmage. Yes, that is my plan.”

Runestone’s ears perked and he looked between the griffon and the unicorn quickly. Before he could ask any questions, the Archmage was at their side, turning her good eye on Comet Strike, her brow creasing with worry.

“Are you all right, dear?” she asked.

“Mostly,” Comet replied with a weak smile.

Springbreeze seemed pleased but then turned her attention to Runestone; her ears went back a little and she inclined her head.

“You... What were you doing with Comet Strike?” she asked.

Runestone shrunk back and pawed at the floor nervously; before he could answer, Springbreeze began to chuckle.

“I’m only curious because usually the students and the Sunwalkers don’t intermingle,” she explained.

Comet noticed his face go a bit pink, and he stammered a little before Comet cut him off.

“We were looking for plants outside for a botany thing I found in a book, and when we stopped for a break, we got attacked,” she said quickly, shooting Runestone a glance.

He nodded quickly in agreement.

“They were both very brave,” Graham assured Springbreeze. “I don’t mean to change topic so suddenly, but I believe you and I have business, Archmage.”

“Yes. Yes, of course,” the green unicorn agreed.

She gestured towards the door and, with a bow of his head, he followed her, but before he went, he turned and smiled.

“Until we meet again, little ones.”

“Thanks again, Graham!” Runestone said hurriedly.

“Yeah, thank you!” Comet added.

Graham nodded at them and continued out, starting to speak quietly with the Archmage as they went.

Comet slumped as the room got a little quieter and stretched a little, wincing at the ache of the bruises and the sting of the wounds on her neck. Runestone seemed like he was about to ask her something, but he paused, bit his lip, and then turned to the pale green medicine mare.

“Is the stuff almost ready?” he asked.

MintTea looked up from her mixture across the room a bit tiredly, her magic pulling a strand of her lime mane back into her bun, and she said, “Just a moment. I’m going as fast as I can.”

“Thanks,” Runestone said quickly, and then turned to Comet. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Sore, that’s all,” she assured him.

He nodded and muttered “Okay,” to himself, and was quickly pacing beside the bed. Comet had to subdue a laugh and she pulled herself back to sit on her haunches.

“Relax, will you?” she said. “How are you? You looked like you fell pretty hard.”

“Hmm?”

His head snapped towards her and he looked confused for a moment, a blush on his face again, but then said, “Oh. Right. Yes. I forgot. I’m fine, don’t worry. I’ve always been a quick healer.”

Comet’s brows raised high, but she nodded, and he turned quickly, sighing; his short tail swishing quickly. He began to say something; Comet couldn’t quite make it out, but he was interrupted by MintTea’s approach. She carried a bowl of the salve she had prepared with her, and without a word began to gently smear it on Comet’s neck. It was cool against the hot sting of her wound, but it still hurt quite a bit when touched; she winced and tried very hard not to let the other ponies see that her eyes were watering.

Runestone stared intently, and then looked to MintTea with large, worried eyes. Again, he was interrupted before he could ask a question when a loud, male voice, stung with anxiety and hurriedness, called the medicine mare from the room. MintTea shoved the salve into Runestones hooves and headed away in a hurry. He stared after her with wide eyes, his mouth dropping open, but she was gone. His ears drooped and he turned to Comet. She looked up at him with confusion and he sighed, shrugged, and then stuck one hoof in the medicine and used the other to brush aside her mane. Holding it out of the way, he smeared the paste on her neck over the puncture wounds. She drew in a sharp, pained breath past her teeth and slumped back down into the blankets, her ears drooped. Runestone smiled sympathetically.

“You were really brave,” he told her. “Outside, I mean.”

She smiled tiredly, an ear perking and she shrugged.

“Not really, I was scared out of my fur.”

“But you still saved me,” he said.

His brow creased ever so slightly with a puzzled frown and he absently massaged the medicine into her fur. She shifted, crossing her forelimbs and unwittingly leaned towards him, her expression smoothing.

“You’re my friend, right?” she said a bit quietly. “Of course I saved you.”

She smiled a bit and cut her eyes at him. He responded with a shy laugh, but his eyes had brightened.

He wore a goofy smile on his face as he continued to rub the paste against her neck. It still hurt, but he was a bit gentler than MintTea had been. She finally felt herself starting to relax, just a little. There was a pressure in her head every time she closed her eyes and when she paid any attention, her chest still hurt. She did feel a little better knowing Graham was in Canterlot now, however. She felt like he knew what he was doing, but she still couldn’t help worry from gnawing at her.

She stole a glance at Runestone from the corner of her eye. He didn’t look worried in the least; he still wore a big smile on his face. Finally, he pulled his hoof back, wiping it a bit awkwardly on the sheets of the bed, and then leaned forward, inspecting the wounds curiously.

“How does that feel?” he asked. “Any better? Worse?”

“About the same,” she said, sitting up on her haunches. “Thanks for that.”

“Anytime,” he said brightly, but then hurriedly added, “I hope there won’t be any need for it. But... you know... any time a big black beastie decides to try to munch on you, I’ll be there, I... I... maybe I should just stop.”

He grinned, blushing, and his ears folded backwards. Comet inclined her head and couldn’t help but snicker at him.

Out in the hallway, seemingly out of nowhere, hooves began to clop across tile and the clinking of armour echoed up from the Temple of the Sun. Comet’s smile fell and she craned her neck to peek around to the door, though it was only slightly ajar. Behind them, she heard the rustling of blankets, and Warmspark cautiously trotted up and past them. Hesitantly, he peeked out the door, and the two other ponies waited and watched in puzzled silence as the ruckus seemed to get even more boisterous.

After a moment, Warmspark backed away, his brow furrowed. He turned to head towards them, saying, “The Sunwalkers are gathering in the Temple. They look freaked.”

He turned to Runestone and frowned more deeply.

“Shouldn’t you be there?”

“They haven’t told me a thing. I’d rather stay here,” he replied.

The orange unicorn shrugged and nodded, heading back towards his bed. Runestone winced and Comet bit her lip worriedly. It wasn’t long before the sound got even louder, this time with a strong female voice pulling through the muddle; Comet was surprised that she recognized it as it shouted for ponies to get out of the way.

With a panicked hurriedness, the infirmary door slammed open completely, causing Warmspark to let out an expletive behind them. Glimmer stood in the doorway, her eyes glossy and wide, her expression distraught. It was the first time Comet had even seen her without her long mane and ivory coat perfect. Behind her, Comet spied Jinx and Pinklily, but before she could greet them, Glimmer shrieked her name and was beside her on the bed, forelimbs wrapped around her tightly as she pushed her snout against her cheek desperately.

“Uh... hi, guys,” Comet said a bit awkwardly.

The other unicorns hurried to the bedside and Runestone stepped back to make room. Jinx timidly booped her snout with his and Pinklily looked over her with an intense expression of concern.

“We saw what happened from the observatory,” she said bluntly. “That was insane, Comet.”

Comet knew that she didn’t mean that in a good way, and her ears drooped as a frantic Glimmer grabbed her tighter; the pink unicorn’s gaze softened.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” she said, and then looked to Runestone and finally cracked a small smile. “Both of you.”

Runestone looked utterly surprised and he mumbled out a baffled phrase of thanks; Jinx turned to Pinklily with a wide-eyed, worried expression plastered across his face.

“But Pinks, maybe you shouldn’t be so harsh,” he said quietly.

“Yeah, what was she supposed to do?” Glimmer squealed, hugging Comet even more tightly.

Pinklily frowned.

“She’s just worried about me getting caught is all. Which... I guess I must be by now,” Comet said.

Her ears drooped and she felt a sinking sensation in her gut, even when Pinklily patted her back in attempts to reassure her.

“Maybe not,” Runestone said quickly, sneaking his way back into the group. “Comet, remember? There were no guards at the gatehouse. That means we were caught in the middle of them changing shifts.”

“So they might not have seen,” Pinklily concluded, relief clear in her voice.

Comet couldn’t bring herself to hope, but Glimmer squeezing her did make her feel a little better. Runestone patted her head gently, but almost immediately, Glimmer reared back, squishing Comet to her chest and pointing her hoof at Runestone almost accusingly.

“You better not say a word!!” she exclaimed.

“Of course I won’t,” he squeaked,.“Why would I?”

“I dunno, you’re a Sunwalker! You’re cute, but you’re still a Sunwalker,” Glimmer insisted.

Runestone’s jaw dropped and Comet finally weaseled herself out of the choke-hold hug the ivory unicorn had on her.

“It’s not really fair to generalize,” she said, rubbing her sore neck. “We don’t want the earth ponies and the pegasi to lump all of us in together, right?”

Glimmer opened her mouth as if to protest, but her comments fell short and her ears drooped as she cast an embarrassed glance around the group.

“Sorry,” she said. “I’m just kind of freaking out a bit over here!”

“It’s okay,” Runestone said a bit shakily. “Um... what’s happening out in the hallway anyway?”

“I heard they found somepony,” Jinx volunteered. “One of the missing Sunwalkers.”

“And Stonehoof is giving some lecture,” Pinklily added, shooting a glance at Runestone. “Are you sure you shouldn’t be there?”

“I’d rather stay here with Comet Strike,” he replied a bit meekly. “Besides, I just got put into active duty. It’s not like I’m very important.”

A loud ruckus outside startled the ponies and they edged together a bit unconsciously. Steel shod hooves stormed up the hallway and the wooden door was thrown back. A large, green stallion in Sunwalker armour thrust his head into the room and peered at the group huddled together.

“Hey,” he said loudly, “get out here. The Sun-Commander and Archmage are calling an assembly.”

The ponies looked at each other, startled, and then scrabbled to get up and out of the room. Comet’s wounds still stung painfully, and though Runestone watched over her protectively, Pinklily slipped in against her side and put her shoulder against her, just in case. Comet smiled gratefully.

Outside, the group could see a large group of Sunwalkers trotting urgently from the temple and towards the dining hall. Glimmer nudged Jinx forward and they hurried after the group; Comet was hesitant, but followed along despite the sinking feeling in her gut.

The dining hall was magically lit up to the point where it seemed like the sun was directly overhead. Ponies were packed in tight, crammed onto the benches and huddling in groups of friends. For once, the Sunwalkers and the unicorns didn’t look so different. Everyone was on edge, shuffling and mumbling uncomfortably under the severe gaze of Sun-Commander Stonehoof. He stood like a watchful sentinel at the front of the room, his expression stern and a bit distant. Comet and her friends were stuck near the back of the herd. She tried not to get too close to the others because of the bruising, but she found herself bustled against them as more ponies hurried into the room. She winced and held in a complaint.

The sense of anticipation was broken rather suddenly as the robed Springbreeze, accompanied by Graham, joined Stonehoof at the front of the room. A collective sense of surprise rattled the ponies. Comet guessed that most of them had never seen a griffon before, the same as her.

Springbreeze tapped her hoof against the floor to draw attention and when the room didn’t quieten immediately, Stonehoof bellowed, “All of you, quiet!” The sound in the room dropped off completely. The Archmage looked a bit embarrassed but nodded her thanks to the Sun-Commander before clearing her throat.

“Good afternoon,” she said, her voice flat and serious. “I will skip the brunt of the formalities for now. As most of you will have gathered, Canterlot has been under attack. The creatures plaguing us are called ‘Nightspawn’.”

A sort of alarmed whispering began, but fell quiet again quickly under Stonehoof’s glare.

“Most of you will not know what Nightspawn are, but let me clarify quickly. They are the creatures that attacked Equestria after our dear Princess Celestia vanished. Yes, they were thought to be wiped out, but now it is clear that that is not the case, and they are on the offensive once more, all over the world,” Springbreeze said.

Comet felt a deep sting of fear, a dark cloud settling in her mind. Beside her, Runestone pressed in closer to her, his ears drooping as he bit his lip.

“A hoofful of Sunwalkers and one of the students have been attacked,” Stonehoof added loudly. “Only two have made it back on their own, so know that this is a threat we are taking very seriously.”

Comet felt the eyes of her friends on her. She gulped. In the front, Springbreeze gestured politely to the huge griffon beside her.

“Graham is the current leader of the Wardens of Harmony,” she said, and over a sudden burst of whispering, continued, “As you may or may not know, the Wardens are a group dedicated to fighting the Nightspawn. They are the best of the best.”

Comet heard whispers, excited and nervous, spread through the crowd like a fire. She a few ponies saying, hushed, that they hadn’t even realized the Wardens were real.

“Graham is here to advise us and help the Sunwalkers deal with the problem,” Springbreeze said.

“If I may,” Graham put in politely, and when there was no objection, he said, “The Wardens specialize in fighting the Nightspawn, though because of their apparent absence, our numbers are quite low in this time of crisis. I will be looking for a few ponies to be joining our ranks. With your permission, of course.”

He shot a glance at Stonehoof, who nodded at him and then snorted, his dark eyes boring into the crowd.

“So be at your best, Sunwalkers,” he said loudly.

“Yes, sir!” many voices replied.

The assembly was dismissed shortly after a quick safety warning, and that was that. It seemed like Graham’s visit was a ray of light in the otherwise dismal circumstances, but as Comet picked up fragments of conversations, she couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed that all she could hear were ponies talking about how to impress the griffon. The frown on her face caught Pinklily’s attention, but the other unicorn didn’t say anything, preferring instead to nuzzle her cheek quickly and gently. The blue unicorn sighed and was about to ask her friends something, but was jostled out of her thoughts by the Sunwalker stallion she remembered as Redstreak approaching.

“Pinklily?”

Pinklily paused in her tracks and turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

“The Sun-Commander wants to talk to you about your... um... totems, I think,” he said.

“Right,” Pinklily said.

She bid the rest of the group goodbye and followed Redstreak away. Comet watched her go; didn’t realize her friends had continued on without her until Runestone doubled back for her. He put a hoof on her shoulder and she looked at him sharply, eyes wide.

“Comet, you okay?” he asked.

“Oh, um... yeah, I guess,” Comet said absently, her gaze shifting away.

Runestone looked her up and down and inclined his head. The expression on his face told her that he knew that she wasn’t all right in the head at the moment.

“Hey,” he said after a pause, his ears perking as he smiled a little, “no mention of your magic. I think they don’t know.”

Comet nodded. It was true, and it made her feel a little better, but not by much. Again, Runestone looked her over, analyzing her.

“Maybe you should rest,” he said. “Take a nap, maybe?”

“Yeah,” she agreed a bit reluctantly.

He gently nudged her until she started walking again.

The dormitory was filled with chattering, anxious ponies upon their arrival; Comet knew she’d never be able to sleep through it. She took her blankets, thanked Runestone for his concern, and then tiredly wandered up the small set of stairs to the observatory. She fell asleep under a table.

When Comet awoke, the moon and stars were high in the sky. Groggy and aching, she heaved herself out from under the table, but was startled still as she noticed another pony napping a little ways away from her, closer to the stairs. Hesitantly, Comet snuck up to get a better look, only to see that it was Runestone. She couldn’t help a bit of a smile from crossing her lips. She dragged her blankets over top of him before she quietly headed back to the windows to peer out. Pinpricks of light shone out from the guard towers and watch posts, and, if she squinted, Comet could see the totems Pinklily had made in some sections around where she was sure the edge of the magical barrier was. The blue unicorn allowed herself to feel a little relieved. Pulling back from the glass, she quietly headed for the stairs and snuck out of the observatory.

Comet never used to make a habit of breaking curfew except when she needed to practice magic. Now, she couldn’t bring herself to stay in the dormitory. Sleeping without the excuse of being utterly exhausted was getting harder by the day. She peeked in, however, noting that Pinklily was fast asleep on the top bunk of their bed, but also that there seemed to be a piece of paper on the bottom bunk. Curiously, Comet edged to the bed and took a cautious look at the folded paper before opening it to read.

Dear Comet Strike, it read, Keep building your power. Your destiny will come to you soon. You will have the power of an Archmage.

Comet stared at the note, baffled. It wasn’t signed; she didn’t even recognize the writing. It didn’t sound like one of her friends, either. It unnerved her, but she had no idea what to do with it. As she frowned, her blue magic crumpled the paper into a ball and she stashed it under her mattress. It didn’t matter, anyway. She took her saddlebag and magic book and went down into the room under the library to read.

The next day was the first time since Comet had initially seen them that there hadn’t been any Nightspawn activity. There was, however, plenty of Sunwalker activity. Jousting duels and intense training exercises were taking place just outside the tower, and the ones left inside where rushing and busy. Comet was a bit disappointed; she couldn’t find Runestone anywhere.

Having woken up late, all her friends had already gotten started on their days. Jinx and Glimmer were working in the store room now - or, moreso, Jinx was working and Glimmer was cheering him on. Pinklily was even busier, making more totems for Canterlot’s defense. She only had a few other ponies helping her; it wasn’t a job Comet could do, her magic wasn’t suited for it, and sitting in just made her feel like she was in the way.

Around noon, hoping to find at least one of her usual group, or even the young colt, Arrowburst, to talk to, Comet headed to the dining hall. On the way, she spotted Graham and Stonehoof walking and discussing something: it sounded like battle strategy against Nightspawn.

“If it can be helped,” Graham was saying, “do not confront them in the dark. Especially if your groups are small in numbers.”

“I wouldn’t be too concerned,” the stallion replied, a steady frown on his face.

Though Graham nodded, he didn’t look convinced; he paused in the hall when he spotted Comet listening in. The unicorn blushed with shame and tried to look busy, but Graham smiled at her and quickly excused himself from Stonehoof as he approached her.

“Comet Strike,” he said, and inclined his head to look at her neck. “How are you feeling today?”

“Kind of sore, to be honest,” she said. “Um... it’s not too bad.”

“Not sick at all?”

A little confused, Comet merely shook her head and a look of relief passed over the griffon’s face. He clacked his beak, but Comet’s ears drooped and she asked, “Can I... Can I ask what’s going on?”

“You may ask, of course,” Graham said gently. “I can only tell you that we are preparing for another Nightspawn attack.”

A small twitch of frustration crossed his brow and Comet cocked her head curiously as she peered up into his face.

“There’s a problem?” she asked.

“I fear the Sunwalkers are not taking this as seriously as I would like,” he said.

The unicorn couldn’t help but look baffled. Before she could ask, Graham laughed embarrassedly and said, “I’ve said too much with simply that, I’m afraid.” He dipped his head to her and, prior to another word leaving her mouth, he was striding off smoothly down the hall the was the Sun-Commander had gone.

Comet sighed to herself and muttered, “Okay,” in a confused sort of way.

Not taking it seriously enough? she wondered, But they seem like they’re training extra hard. I don’t get it.

Comet was curious now. Trotting quickly, she went to the front of the tower to the main doors, hoping to maybe catch a glimpse of outside through the window, but instead, she was shocked to find the huge double-doors wide open. There was still a guard on either side, but she could see through into the cobblestone courtyard easily. It looked almost like some sort of festival.

Cautiously, the unicorn edged up to the door, and when the guards looked at her with only mild disinterest, she straightened up, tried to look as if she was supposed to be there, and trotted outside. Nopony even attempted to stop her. It was then that she realized why Graham had been so put off. It was a festival outside. Ponies gathered around a jousting competition, watching eagerly as Sunwalkers bowled each other over with pointed lances, and there seemed to be some other sort of fighting competition going on a little farther off. There were even banners up around the area, and seats put out. Comet could barely believe her eyes.

“Who’s stupid idea was this?” she gasped aloud.

She couldn’t help it. Their disregard for the threat utterly baffled her.

Cautiously, Comet headed down the steps and began to wander amongst the other ponies, wincing at the harsh sounds of the lances against armour and the cheers of the surrounding onlookers. She wondered if Runestone was out there somewhere: it seemed like almost all the Sunwalkers were somewhere out in the courtyard. She stretched her neck and tried to look around through the crowd, hoping to see a familiar face. A glance over to her left made her squint as a bright light struck her eyes. She blinked, puzzled, and looked away for a moment, and was stunned still. In a small opening in the crowd, not five meters away, the shimmering, elegant form of Princess Celestia stood, smiling at her surroundings. Comet felt as if she were about to faint. The alicorn’s pelt glowed in the sun, a gentle, snowy sheen. Comet nearly stumbled over her own hooves, but when she blinked again, Celestia had vanished, the spot where she had stood seamlessly occupied by three other ponies.

Comet became very aware that her mouth felt like sand and she tried to regain herself, only to be nearly bowled over by a quick rush of Sunwalkers excitedly pushing past her. She was steadied, dazed as she was, by a white pegasus with a blue tornado on her flank. Comet recognized her from the other day and muttered a hurried thanks.

“Sorry about that,” the pegasus replied with a laugh. “Did you hear about the dueling?”

“What?”

Comet was at a loss. The pegasus laughed again and tossed her short silver mane back and out of her eyes.

“Come on, it’s gonna be cool. Even you unicorns should get out and see some fun stuff sometime, right?” she insisted.

She nudged Comet with her head and, still quite baffled, the unicorn began to walk with her.

“I’m Twirlwind,” she said. “You’re Comet Strike, right? The bookworm?”

Comet stared back at her blankly and nodded, wondering how it seemed that all the Sunwalkers knew her. Did she really ask for the keys to the library so often?

Again, the white pony laughed and offered her a pale blue hoof in greetings. Comet was a bit surprised. The feathering on her hooves indicated a pony from the nomadic herds of the Frozen North, as did a light grey diamond shape on her forehead. Comet had a similar one, though white and rarely seen through her mane. There were a few other northern ponies in the tower, the Archmage included, though Comet hadn’t talked to many at all; most of them were Sunwalkers.

She bumped her hoof against Twirlwind’s; the pegasus smiled, her pale purple eyes lighting up, and then began to head through the crowd, beckoning for Comet to follow. She did so, if not a bit hesitantly. Following the other Sunwalkers that had passed through the cheering and stomping crowds, soon they came upon an arena that had been set up; filled with dirt and rimmed with a flimsy wooden fence. Two ponies were already battling inside. Both were covered head-to-hoof in steel armour, only the ears, lower jaws and tails left exposed as the two battled. One swung a large axe while the other nimbly dodged, wielding a sword along with a shield with the mark of the sun on his left forelimb. They struck at each other, though the pony with the shield was much faster; able to deflect the blows with excellent timing. Comet winced, but Twirlwind’s face lit up. She shoved some of the other ponies aside and thrust the two of them up to the fence, leaning over and looking totally enthralled.

“This is so awesome!” she said enthusiastically.

The axe-swinger’s weapon hit the other pony hard in the side; Comet cringed as he went down heavily. He was up again in a scrabbling of hooves; the ponies around cheered. It didn’t seem like anyone was routing for a particular side. Each hit and recovery got applause and shouts.

“Who are they?” Comet wondered.

“Who cares?” Twirlwind said as she clung to the fence with anticipation. “They can fight!”

A few more impacts sent the shield-pony reeling, but he always got back up again. It made Comet’s heart race with panic just to watch it, even knowing there wasn’t any real danger. Righting himself for the umpteenth time, he rammed his shield against the axe-pony and then struck with sword, much to the delight of the crowd. A few more hits, and spinning round to kick out with his back hooves, and suddenly the pony dropped his axe and was splayed, dazed, in the dirt. A cheering count-down from five bellowed across the area and, just like that, the match was over. Though the pony with the shield stood proudly, he dropped his sword down and quickly helped the other up before taking a bow to the crowd. Beside her, Twirlwind clapped her hooves on the fence and whistled loudly. Comet was a bit relieved that it was over, but her heart was still going too fast.

“Relax, Comet Strike, it’s just for fun,” the pegasus assured her with a laugh.

Comet nodded and cast a glance back into the arena, where she was surprised to see that the victor seemed to be looking right at her. He was trotting towards them before she could even contemplate why, until he was at the fence and jubilantly said, “Comet!”

Her jaw dropped, and as the pony raised two steel hooves, she reared and couldn’t help but crack a huge smile and take his hooves in hers.

“Runestone! That’s you in there?”

He nodded and before she could say another word, he had lifted her over the fence and hugged her tightly against his shoulder, laughing. She flopped slightly and patted his back.

“Did you see that?” he said. “I can’t believe I did it!”

He put her down and then quickly took off his helmet, shaking his disheveled mane quickly and blinking in the light.

“You?” Twirlwind gasped, and then, from across the fence, boosted herself up a little with her wings and called, “Everypony! The blankflank can really fight!” as she punched the air triumphantly with her hooves.

Cheering arose quickly, a rhythmic chorus of “Blankflank! Blankflank!” Runestone blushed a little and his ears drooped; he leaned over to Comet and said, “Didn’t think I’d ever hear them do that in a positive way.” Comet smiled sympathetically and Twirlwind, behind her, flitted over the fence and landed beside them.

“You two know each other?” she asked.

“Yeah,” the unicorn replied with a nod. “We were the ones who got attacked yesterday.”

“No kidding!?” the pegasus said, eyes wide. “No wonder. I was wondering what those marks on your neck were. I didn’t want to ask.”

Comet shrugged and then turned to Runestone curiously.

“How did... I mean, how did this-?”

“Ah, got roped into it,” he said, shrugging. “A bunch of the younger stallions were kind of pressured into it. I wasn’t top tier, but-”

“How many rounds?” Twirlwind asked impatiently.

“Oh. Six,” he replied.

The pegasus seemed pleased and she bumped his shoulder with a hoof.

“Didn’t realize you were so good at fighting, blankflank,” she said brightly.

“Runestone,” Comet corrected.

“Eh?” the pegasus asked quickly, confused for a moment before she blushed and said, “Yes. Right. Sorry.”

Runestone shrugged but smiled at Comet, his ears perking up cheerfully. They headed out of the arena as another pair of armoured ponies began to enter.

They followed Runestone to an area with weapon and armour racks, where the stallion plopped down on his rump and began to unfasten himself.

“Just, uh... Give me a moment,” he said hurriedly; Twirlwind pawed at one of the plates, trying to help.

Comet rolled her eyes and engulfed him in a cloud of magic, undoing all the fastenings at once. He sat, looking startled, as the plating all clinked to the ground.

“Well, that’s... why didn’t I think of that?” he asked, rubbing his forehead.

Comet shrugged and Twirlwind snickered. The two Sunwalkers gathered the armour and weapons and placed them back on a rack, but as the pegasus looked rather satisfied, Runestone looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

“So what did you want from Comet?”

“What?” Comet asked blankly.

Twirlwind tried to conceal an embarrassed grin.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Oh, come on,” Runestone said. “Have you ever even talked to her before?”

Shyly, under her breath, Twirlwind admitted she hadn’t really, and Runestone looked at her with a bit of a frown on his face.

“I’ve known you for four years, and you’ve never said a word to me without asking for a favour,” he said, tapping a hoof against the ground.

“Well, it’s just...!” the pegasus protested, and then sighed and turned to Comet with her ears drooping. “I’m sorry. You seemed pretty nice and I kind of wanted to talk to a unicorn because I don’t really know any, but... I didn’t want to be called out by the others. And I was... I was scared, of tonight, because I’m in a group that’s going after Nightspawn.”

She sighed again and Comet felt a pang of sympathy despite the sense of being used she had started to feel.

“I knew it was you that was out there yesterday, and I thought you might be able to... I dunno, give me some tips?”

She looked at Comet with a pleading expression that didn’t sit well on her normally grinning face.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to use you, it’s just...”

“It’s okay,” Comet said despite the knot in her stomach. “I think we’re all kind of scared.”

She smiled a little despite herself and bopped the pegasus’s shoulder.

“You could have just asked.”

“I’m sorry,” she said again, a grin reappearing on her face. “I just thought it would be rude without talking to you first.”

Comet shrugged and shook her head; Runestone’s expression softened and he turned to Comet curiously.

“Do you? Know anything, I mean? Anything else?”

“They’re poisonous, and hard to get rid of,” Comet replied. “Also, you’re going out tonight?”

Twirlwind nodded and Comet’s ears drooped.

“That’s a really bad idea. I just know they can’t come out in direct sunlight, but that doesn’t really help, huh?”

She could see the pegasus get a little more nervous, despite her quick attempts to conceal it.

“You wouldn’t happen to have any magic that could help us out there, would ya?” she asked, forcing a grin.

Comet’s ears drooped; not a single spell came to mind. She bit her lip and wracked her brain, and then shrugged.

“Not sure,” she admitted. “I’ll ask around.”

“Thanks,” Twirlwind said, letting out a deep, relieved breath. “Wanna get some lunch?”

She looked between Comet and Runestone, and though Comet didn’t answer, her stomach quickly did.

The three ponies spent much of the rest of the day together, though the tension was growing palpable. Though Twirlwind overcompensated with loud laughter and large grins, she seemed absolutely terrified of what was to come. Runestone was more subtly nervous. He appeared normal other than an almost constantly thumping rear leg. Comet slipped away a little before sunset, hoping that she could find somepony to lend some aid. She wasn’t sure what to ask for, but she knew that Pinklily would probably have some ideas.

She found the pink unicorn sitting, tired, but seeming content in her workroom, sipping on a glass of iced tea and spinning a crystal on the table with her hoof.

“Hey,” Comet greeted.

Pinklily looked over her shoulder to see Comet more clearly and grinned.

“Things went really well today. I got out over two dozen totems.”

“That’s great,” the blue unicorn replied with a smile. “I actually have a question.”

“Oh,” Pinklily swiveled in her seat. “For the Sunwalkers.”

Comet was taken aback and it clearly showed. Her friend giggled at her and said, “Just heard a few ponies talking about it. I’m surprised to see you, of all ponies, getting chummy with them. Not that it’s a big deal or anything.”

“Right,” Comet said a bit shyly. “They were just looking for something to help against the Nightspawn tonight. I was hoping you might have some ideas.”

“I don’t know that much about them,” she admitted. “You know way more than I do. What don’t they like?”

“The sun,” Comet said with a shrug.

Pinklily tilted her ears back and forth and “Hmmed” to herself for a moment. She spun back to her table and pulled out one of the drawers. Comet tried to peer over her shoulder, though she only rifled through the table’s contents for a moment before she produced three small, smooth, yellow gemstones.

“These are shield stones,” she explained. “There are bigger, stronger ones holding up the barrier around the city. I think I might be able to get some of these to hold onto some sunlight. Get my drift?”

“So...” Comet’s ears perked and her eyes lit up. “So you can make a sun shield!”

“Theoretically,” Pinklily agreed with a smile.

“Great!” Comet reared onto her back legs excitedly. “Great! Yeah. That’s good news! Can you-?”

“I’ll get started right away,” Pinklily assured her with a gentle smile.

Comet grinned widely and rushed over to squish her friend into a tight hug. The pink pony laughed and patted her back.

“I better hurry, then, sun’s going down,” she said.

Comet nodded quickly and pulled back.

“Thanks!” she said in a hurry, and then darted out of the room, only to run straight into the feathered chest of Graham.

“Oh, sorry!” Comet said, righting herself quickly.

“Not a problem, my dear,” the griffon said; he took her shoulder and steadied her gently. “I was looking for you, actually.”

“Me?” Comet replied, her eyes widening. “Why?”

“I am still rather concerned about your wound,” he explained. “I’ve seen Nightspawn bites before and, most often, they get badly infected if one is not a Warden.”

“Oh,” the unicorn said, gulping deeply, “um... but I feel fine, that means I’ll be okay, right?”

“I believe so,” Graham replied, “but please tell me if you begin to feel at all ill.”

“I will,” Comet assured him quickly.

He seemed satisfied, but continued to look at her with an expression of both confusion and concern. Comet wasn’t sure what to say to him. After a moment, he cleared his throat.

“Perhaps we could speak privately? Do you know of a place?” he asked.

His feathered brow was creased and he looked quite worried as his crest flattened back against his head.

“Oh, um... Sure. I know a spot,” Comet said.

Despite her puzzlement, Comet nodded and gestured for him to follow.

As she lead him around the floor and up the stairs to the observatory, she wondered what the griffon could possibly want to speak to her about. Upon arriving, Graham looked around curiously, his eyes a little sad as they laid upon the slowly setting sun.

“Is everything okay?” Comet asked cautiously.

The griffon clacked his beak twice and then turned to look back at her with gentle eyes.

“I’ll be frank,” he said quickly, “I want to know all that you know about the Nightspawn. And how you know it.”

Comet’s heart sunk and she recoiled a little, unsure of how to answer. She scrambled for words, mumbling out an incoherent sentence about a book somewhere; how she couldn’t remember.

“Comet Strike, I will not get you in trouble,” he assured her. “This is very important. Please. What do you know?”

The unicorn bit her lip, though her heart was racing. She gulped and, after considering for a moment, said, “Wait here,” and galloped off.

She returned within the minute with her saddlebag, and quickly presented him with the history book with the golden unicorn head on the cover. The griffon’s eyes lit up and, cautiously, he took it from her and flipped it open. He skimmed the pages carefully; quickly, a frown creasing his feathers.

“What is this ink?” he asked.

“I’m not sure, it was like that when I found it,” Comet replied a bit shyly. “Looks like somepony got to the book before I did.”

“Someone quite long ago, it seems,” Graham added as he passed a claw over one of the splotches of ink.

He sighed deeply, and Comet edged up shyly and turned a couple pages to show the first page about the history of the Wardens.

“This is where I read about you guys for the first time,” she said, “and about the Nightspawn, too.”

Graham nodded, but he frowned deeply and flipped through a couple more pages.

“Your thirst for knowledge is refreshing,” he assessed thoughtfully. “You would make an excellent Warden, though unfortunately, I have been asked to refrain from taking a unicorn with me. Where did you get this?”

He looked up and ruffled his wings. Comet hesitated, unsure of what to say, but chose the truth rather quickly.

“A weird room under the library,” she replied. “It looked like it might have been part of whatever was here before the tower was built.”

Graham’s face didn’t show much, but he ruffled his wings again and clacked his beak. Comet inclined her head and pawed at the air to draw his attention.

“You can borrow it, if you’d like,” she volunteered.

The griffon turned, surprised, to her, and then smiled, bowing his head gratefully.

“I will keep it safe for you.”

Comet grinned and her tail wagged despite herself.

“Good, because I got the feeling from Stonehoof that I wasn’t supposed to know anything about this,” she said.

“You are probably correct,” the griffon said. “I have noticed, throughout Equestria, much history is suppressed.”

“So... you know about that?!” Comet demanded; she felt a sudden rush of excitement. “I was starting to suspect, but... Do you know why? Do you know more?”

“I have my suspicions as to why,” he admitted. “As to more, yes. I do know more. Now is not the time, however.”

He gestured to the setting sun with a wing and Comet turned her eyes to the orb of light dipping beyond the darkening horizon. She felt a sudden knot in her stomach, though noticed movement below. Comet hurried to the window before Graham could continue any sort of thought; the unicorn’s mind shot elsewhere. She could see, far below, the pale green form of MintTea, accompanied by a few armoured Sunwalkers, racing out of the tower and towards the bridge. Comet’s breath caught in her throat and she threw her gaze to the edge of the barrier. When she spotted two ponies hauling a third across the barrier, a shifting shadow nipping at their hooves, she didn’t need to see anything more. She whipped around, only to find Graham peering grimly over her.

“I have to go,” he said suddenly. “Excuse me, Comet Strike.”

Comet’s eyes went wide, though before she could ask, the griffon had run off, the sound of his wings beating resounding against the stone. The unicorn bit her lip and couldn’t help but shuffle on her hooves uncomfortably. She felt the dread returning to her heart; she took a deep breath and rushed down the stairs after him.

A loud rabble of voices met her as she emerged near the dormitory, pushing the door open amongst a crowd of very upset unicorns. Frowning, Comet peered through the herd of students. Unicorns from Comet’s age, all the way down to foals, were jammed into the hallway between the stairs and the dormitory. She spotted Arrowburst, clinging together with Brightspot and a few other foals near the wall, and made a beeline for them, asking, “Are you ponies okay?”

“Comet,” Arrowburst said quickly, whirling to face her. “The Sunwalkers herded everypony in here and they won’t tell us what’s going on.”

“This is really freaking me out,” a little grey colt with them said nervously.

Brightspot nodded quickly and pressed her shoulder to Arrowburst’s.

“Can you do anything?” Arrowburst asked.

“I’m not sure,” Comet admitted. “I’ll go see what’s going on.”

She left the foals a little reluctantly and followed the wall, sneaking her way through the other unicorns until she reached a large, angry group lead by, to her surprise, Glimmer Pearl, and also spotted Graham wading through the herd to the front.

“You can’t hold us in like this!” Comet heard her shout; she seemed very angry. “We have a right to know what’s going on!”

A chorus of voices agreed with her and Comet bit her lip again and tried to slide her way in between the other ponies. She heard a male voice she didn’t recognize shout for the unicorns to settle only to quickly be booed. Comet grimaced and put her head down as she made her way through the crowd until she was up behind the griffon. She could hear him gently convincing the Sunwalkers to back down a little, but most of the words were swept away by dozens of other, louder voices.

There was something wrong going on with the Sunwalkers downstairs: she couldn’t think of any other reason for them to be acting like this. Her mind shot to Runestone and she felt sick to her stomach. Her eyes roamed around the front of the crowd, prying for a way to get past the guards, but she couldn’t see past the massive, feathery form of Graham. She cursed under her breath, though after only a moment, she clued into an idea she found to be quite clever. She hunkered down and slid around behind the huge griffon; he was too distracted to notice her, even when he turned to pass the guard at the stairs. No one else seemed to notice either, but Comet stayed low and light on her hooves, and while she could see no eyes on her, she rushed down the stairs.

Comet’s heart was racing and she took a deep breath in attempts to steady herself. She didn’t descend all the way and lurked just a little above the ground, though no one was on that level anymore, and she continued in a rush down to the main floor.

A meeting was in progress on the floor, with armoured Sunwalkers crowded up close to the huge double doors to the tower. The numbers overwhelmed Comet, and she couldn’t help but feel as if she had trotted unwittingly into a manticore’s den. She gulped quietly and kept her head down a little, only chancing a peak into the herd. Sun-Commander Stonehoof stood tall and grave right in front of the doors, framed by two other Sunwalkers, much older than the regular recruits and guards from around the tower. Comet only recognized one, a large, yellow mare with a carrot coloured mane and tail: Sun-General Peachbloom. The other was a rather imposing looking pegasus stallion, light purple from what she could see through his armour, with very intense grey eyes. The Sun-Commander was mid-sentence, describing another Nightspawn attack.

“This is an affront to Canterlot itself,” he said, loud and confident.“We were not ready before; we are now.”

Before him, Sunwalkers cheered. Comet slunk backwards a little, only to feel something behind her. Her blood turned to ice and she looked out of the corner of her eye to see what she had hit. All she could see was dark, and with a gulp, she turned her head, only to have Graham’s intense golden eyes meet her. Her ears drooped and she wanted to melt into the floor, but he swiftly looked away from her and straight ahead, simply stepping over her as he proceeded to the front of the room.

Comet had to stop herself from laughing with relief and watched as Stonehoof nodded at the griffon.

“Thanks to Graham, Commander of the Wardens of Harmony, we now have enough knowledge to fight the Nightspawn,” the stallion announced as Graham took his place beside him. “Tonight, we will bring the fight to them! They will regret ever attacking the Sunwalkers of Canterlot!”

Cheers again echoed around the hall.

“Now,” Peachbloom called out loudly, her brow fixed in a frown; pink eyes glaring across the crowd, “all ponies not on guard duty will be expected to report outside within the next ten minutes, got it?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“All pegasi past 5 years on duty will report to Sun-General Storm Feathers,” she continued, pointing to the armoured pegasus, who dipped his head respectfully.

Comet felt her heart sink and she knew Runestone felt the same way she did. She strained to see him in the crowd, but quickly, Graham drew her attention as he approached the Sun-Commander.

“I can not emphasize caution any more strongly,” he said, “and I’m afraid I must accompany you.”

“Absolutely not,” Stonehoof said quickly, shaking his head. “We cannot risk you in this raid.”

Graham’s crest raised and he looked vaguely disapproving. He leaned close to speak to the stallion and Comet trained her ears towards them anxiously to try to listen in. She could hear something along the lines of only Wardens being capable of defeating Nightspawn. Stonehoof simply told him not to worry before turning back to the crowd of Sunwalkers.

“Moving out in ten minutes. Stay light on your hooves and keep your wits about you. Celestia grant us glory!”

The Sunwalkers stomped their hooves until the hall seemed to shake.

“Celestia protect us all!”

The ponies cheered gruffly and quickly dispersed, most of them heading towards the main doors. Comet bit her lip and reared back, searching for Runestone. She spotted his light mane through his helmet and beelined through the crowd towards him. He looked baffled and scared, and didn’t notice her until she shouted to him. He looked at her, startled, and then trotted through the crowd that was primarily going the other way.

“Comet Strike, you...? What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Just wanted to tell you that Pinklily is working on a sun shield crystal for you. I’ll get it to you,” she said quickly. “And... be careful. Remember, the Nightspawn, their... goop? Or whatever? That stuff is poison, so... just watch it, okay?”

Runestone seemed taken aback but he nodded quickly. Comet forced a smile and she held a hoof out to him. He quickly bumped it with his own armour-shod one and smiled at her, his eyes brightening.

“Don’t worry. I think we’re just going to chase them back to the mountain. Give ‘em a good run. We blew up a bunch of them,” he said, sounding as if he were trying to reassure himself as much as he was her. “There can’t be that many of them left around here.”

“I hope you’re right,” she said, and then hesitantly added. “See you tomorrow?”

“Bet on it,” he replied.

“Unicorn!”

Comet winced and turned to the female voice, unwittingly pressing closer to Runestone as she saw Sun-General Peachbloom looming over her.

“What are you doing here? You were ordered to stay upstairs,” the pony said, glaring.

Comet’s ears drooped and she rushed for an excuse.

“I.. uh.. I’m sorry, I got caught in the herd and I thought it would be rude to make a scene and leave, and-”

“Don’t lie to me!” the mare snapped.

Comet was left with her mouth agape, but before she could even process what to do next, Twirlwind pushed through and saluted Peachbloom.

“Ma’am, it’s true. I saw her before.” She turned to a blue stallion beside her. “Hey, didn’t you notice that unicorn stuck in the group?” T

The stallion turned to look at Comet, confused, and tilted his head.

“Yeah, I think I might have,” he agreed.

“She was beside me the whole time,” Runestone added. “I told her not to interrupt.”

Comet felt her knees go weak, and Peachbloom rolled her eyes and snorted.

“Get out of here, filly,” she grunted, irritated, before turning and stomping away.

The unicorn sighed and slumped back, falling onto her rump and muttering a shaking, “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Twirlwind assured her, thumping her on the back. “Got anything for us?”

“In progress,” Comet said, shyly getting to her hooves again. “I can get it to you before you leave.”

“Awesome,” the pegasus said brightly, though her gaze was quickly caught by the huge double doors at the front opening. “Guess I better go. You coming, blankfl... Runestone?”

She grinned shyly and beckoned him forward. He nodded, but before he followed her, he turned back to Comet.

“Thanks for coming here,” he said.

He booped her on the forehead with his snout before turning to follow the rest of the herd. Comet’s cheeks flushed and she froze, watching him leave into the orange, sunset glow.

The hall was quiet now, with just a few stragglers heading out. Comet sighed deeply, hoping that Pinklily’s enchantments were almost done, and then turned her attention to Graham. He was still near the doors, but he seemed rather dejected now. He watched the Sunwalkers leave with an incredibly concerned expression, and when the doors finally creaked shut, he sighed and sat back on his haunches, lowering his head to rub a talon tiredly through his feathers. Comet was fairly certain she understood. Cautiously, her ears back, she edged up to him.

“Graham?” Comet asked hesitantly.

He lifted his head and his golden eyes fixed on her intently; she paused without thinking until he gave her a tired smile.

“What... What do you mean about... only Wardens being able to defeat the Nightspawn?” she asked hesitantly. “That is what you said to Stonehoof, right?”

She felt chilled to the bone; sick to her stomach, and the griffon cast a forlorn glance at the sunset-stained windows.

“The Wardens are in possession of the Elements of Harmony that were wielded by the unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, three hundred years ago,” he said, “Many believe that what makes the Wardens ‘special’ is all about fighting prowess. In reality, that is only a part of our success. Though we haven’t found the creature able to wield all six of the Elements yet, the Wardens have a certain magic in our blood that comes from the Elements. With this, we can absorb the dark energy of the Nightspawn and render it useless.”

“Meaning they can’t use it to rebuild themselves,” Comet concluded quietly.

Graham nodded.

“Exactly.”

Comet grimaced and couldn’t help but shift nervously on the tips of her hooves and the griffon, gently, patted her on the head.

“Don’t worry, Comet Strike,” he said. “I will be following them tonight, if I can.”

Comet nodded, relieved. Of course, Wardens weren’t obligated to follow anyone’s orders, were they?

“As long as they don’t go underground, everything will be fine,” Graham continued, nodding to himself.

Comet felt a sort of sinking feeling in her gut.

“Why did you have to say that?” she muttered, and when he looked at her with a puzzled frown, she replied, “Now I won’t be able to stop thinking that that’s exactly what they’ll do.”

“I am sorry,” the griffon replied, smiling sympathetically.

The unicorn sighed, and shook her head quickly.

“I gotta go,” she said. “Good luck tonight.”

“Thank you.”

He smiled at her once more and her ears perked up a little before she headed off quickly, trying to quell her nerves as she ran upstairs to find Pinklily.

Though she peeked into the workroom just in case, Comet suspected she’d find her pink friend upstairs with the other unicorns. Comet didn’t have time to worry about the guard; despite the tired Sunwalker at the top of the stairs to the dormitory, the blue unicorn rushed through, calling back a hurried apology as she shouldered by the baffled pony.

Though the crowd had calmed a little, they had not entirely dispersed, and Comet found a rather agitated Glimmer Pearl first, leaning back against the wall, her forelimbs folded across her chest and her face fixed in a pout.

“Hey,” Comet said quickly, “can you come with me?”

“Comet?” Glimmer asked, her brow furrowing as she plopped back down onto all fours. “What...? Yeah, sure.”

The blue unicorn nodded her thanks and hurried through the hall, glancing around for Pinklily as Glimmer watched her with confusion. They found the pink mare farther down the hall. She was standing precariously on a bench near a window that, to Comet’s surprise, she had obviously forced open.

“Pinks, did it work?” Comet called.

Pinklily whirled on her, wide-eyed, and quickly and worriedly demanded, “Where have you been?!”

Comet blushed unwittingly and her ears drooped low as she grinned shyly.

“Sorry... I wanted to see what the Sunwalkers were doing.”

Pinklily let out an exasperated sigh and jumped off the bench to conk Comet several times in the head with her hoof.

“Ow,” the blue unicorn grumbled; Pinklily looked at her in dismay.

“You’re crazy! You’re just crazy,” she said a bit shrilly. “Do you have any idea how much trouble you could get in?”

“Yeah, but I had a few ponies to cover for me, it was okay,” Comet said a bit timidly.

She couldn’t bring her eyes to leave the ground.

“Oh, go easy on her, Pinksy, she’s just trying to figure out what’s going on around here,” Glimmer said; much to Comet’s relief.

Pinklily seemed to relax at her words and nodded, and the ivory unicorn turned back to her with wide eyes.

“How did you get past the Sunwalker at all, though?” Glimmer demanded.

“Snuck behind Graham.”

“Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Because you aren’t crazy,” Pinklily put in, but this time shot Comet a joking smile.

The blue unicorn perked up immediately, but then pointed to the window.

“Did the enchantments work?”

“I think so,” her friend replied.

She hopped back onto the bench and then used her magic to pull down the two smooth crystals and shut the window and passed them to Comet. She looked at them, watched with awe as she saw a sort of light gleaming from within what had previously been rather unassuming looking stones.

“Thank you so much,” she said, and then turned to Glimmer, saying, “We have to hurry.”

Though she looked a bit puzzled, the mare nodded and Comet hurried off back towards the stairs with both Glimmer and Pinklily in tow.

The guard seemed to have taken a break, so they faced no problems as Comet lead them down and to the semi-secret door to the balcony the Archmage had shown her a little while ago. When they reached it, they could see the Sunwalkers were already, slowly, starting to move out. Comet’s heart sunk and she peered out over the crowd, trying to fine Runestone or Twirlwind. She found the stallion first, and then noticed Twirlwind beside him and grabbed Glimmer, pointing at them.

“See those two? The tall stallion and the pegasus with the silver mane? Those two. I need you to send the stones to them.”

“Them? Okay,” Glimmer said, and then tilted her head as she took them from Comet’s magic and into her own, twirling them in a turquoise glow, “Why me?”

“I can’t send them that far with any sort of accuracy,” the unicorn replied a bit shyly, “and telekinesis is your special talent.”

Glimmer shrugged and smiled to herself, puffing out her chest; Pinklily shook her head and looked as if she were trying not to laugh. The taller unicorn’s magic flashed brightly and the two enchanted stones were off, shooting downwards until they hovered before the intended targets. Comet could see the pegasus take the stone; Runestone did as well, but not before looking around curiously. Comet smiled a bit to herself, and then gestured for the others to go back inside.

“We should go, not supposed to be out here and all that,” Comet said, winking at Pinklily.

“You hypocrite,” the mare joked.

The three trotted back inside, and Comet turned to close the door behind them. The sight of the sun dipping below the horizon made her sick to her stomach, though she said nothing about it to the others. She felt helpless, and frustrated as well. The night would be yet another strained and sleepless one.

Chapter 5

As darkness descended and the Sunwalkers headed in past the edges of the Everfree forest, Runestone was absolutely on edge, no matter the sword at his side and the herd around him. He had never wished to have been assigned guard duty more than at this moment.

Beside him, Twirlwind didn’t give him much cause for comfort. Despite the grin and the constant chatter of giving the “Nightspawn the old one-two”, as she put it, he could see the perspiration under her helmet and hear the nervousness in her voice. He found himself holding back sighs as they trod lightly through the underbrush and into the darker forest. He found himself wishing for Comet. Maybe she would be just as scared as he was, but she was powerful, and more clever than he was, he thought. He couldn’t help it: he missed her. As they proceeded through the woods, he kept feeling like he was seeing Nightspawn in the spaces between the trees: just flashes of light in the shadows that made his stomach twist. He cast a glance into the shadows where his fellows marched beside him. No, the numbers still weren’t reassuring.

“Sunwalkers, attention!”

The voice of Stonehoof threw Runestone totally off balance and he nearly ran straight into Twirlwind when she stopped and stood at attention. The stallion cast his gaze around, but couldn’t see the Sun-Commander despite the fact that he had sounded quite close.

“You will split into groups of four and spread out over the forest. There must be at least one pegasus per group. If you encounter Nightspawn, engage and herd them back towards the mountain. If you hear a horn, you are to rejoin the group and engage. Are we all clear?”

“Yes, sir!” was the unanimous reply.

Runestone couldn’t help but cringe, and beside him, Twirlwind spun and grabbed his shoulder.

“We’re a team,” she announced. “Gotta find two more.”

“Oh, uh... okay,” Runestone replied a bit dumbly.

Twirlwind cast a glance around and then grabbed a passing white stallion with a bright golden mane stuck up through his helmet, saying, “Need a group?” quickly. When he nodded, she pulled him in.

“You’re Aspen, right?” she asked.

He nodded again and his green eyes darted between the two of them curiously.

“Runestone and Twirlwind,” Runestone said, pointing to each of them in turn, only to see that the pegasus had pulled another into the group, a marmalade-coloured mare with a royal purple and blue mane introduced as Fanfare.

“Okay, we’re four!” Twirlwind announced, trying to force a smile onto her face. “Going?”

“Guess so,” Aspen replied.

His voice was shaking a little, and he took a deep breath. Fanfare, on the other hand, stuck out her chest and trotted ahead. Runestone grimaced a little and took up the rear as they moved deeper into the woods.

It was getting darker and darker, and harder to see through the gloom. The sound of other clinking hoofbeats was also getting quieter. Runestone glanced around and squinted in the dark.

“I don’t think this was really the best plan,” he murmured.

The other ponies stopped ahead of him and turned. Twirlwind and Aspen both looked a little surprised, but Fanfare stormed back and her red eyes glared deeply into his.

“You’re questioning our orders?” she demanded. “Who do you think you are?!”

Runestone drew back a bit, his ears drooping, but Twirlwind quickly flitted between the two ponies, gently pushing the other mare back.

“Hey, relax, everyone’s on edge here,” she said.

“Hmph, I’m not,” Fanfare replied, turning her nose up at them and spinning to continue straight into the woods. “I don’t want to hear any more talk like that, or I’ll report you to the Sun-Commander.”

Runestone bit his lip and Twirlwind’s face bent into a scowl as she muttered, “Yeesh,” under her breath. Aspen shifted uncomfortably, but hesitantly began to follow Fanfare through the darkness once more. Runestone sighed and began again, Twirlwind keeping pace at his side.

As the night wore on, Runestone was finally starting to let himself hope that they wouldn’t find anything when a scream ripped through the night and the deep blast of a horn’s call boomed afterwards. Runestone felt his heart drop to his hooves and he shared a look of fear with Twirlwind before they raced off. Hoofbeats and his heart were all that the stallion could really focus on as they raced through the underbrush until they broke through to a small clearing that, in turn, lead up to the mountain and the old train passages that cut through the ancient stone. Across, they could see the silhouettes of more ponies converging on dark, twisted shapes with bright white eyes. Runestone felt almost like he wanted to puke, but he pushed himself forward, pulling his sword out just in case. Barreling across the field, he joined the others, herding the monsters towards the mountain. It took him a moment to realize that he wasn’t entirely sure why the Nightspawn were running. He skidded to a halt, taking a few deep breaths to regain himself as he watched the rest of the ponies rush by him.

It doesn’t make any sense...

He took a deep breath and tried to think of what Comet would do. He supposed she’d try to get all the information she could. Though not entirely sure what he was doing, Runestone headed after the main group a bit more slowly, his eyes roaming the area cautiously; his ears up and rotating. The plan to herd the Nightspawn into the caves and away from Canterlot was seeming successful at first glance, but upon a closer look, Runestone felt his throat go dry and his mind reeled: he noticed white pinpricks dotting the ridges above the caves.

Cursing to himself, Runestone broke into a gallop. The Nightspawn weren’t being herded at all. He cringed and then, having a terrible thought, he cast a glance over his shoulder. His suspicions were blood-chillingly confirmed at the sight of more white, gleaming eyes shining from the tree line behind them. With a deep gulp of air and trying not to simply break down, he ran as hard as he could, sheathing his sword to call out, desperately, “IT’S A TRAP!”

At first it didn’t seem like anypony had heard him; his heart sunk, until he noticed Twirlwind stop and turn as if to ask, “What?”, only to be bowled over and knocked into a flailing mess of limbs with Aspen, Fanfare and two other ponies he didn’t know.

“What is your problem!?” Fanfare shouted.

Runestone wasn’t sure if she was talking to him or not; to be honest, he didn’t really care. He kept pushing forward, but his legs were starting to feel numb.

“IT’S A TRAP!” he yelled again, though his voice was getting weak. “DON’T GO IN THE CAVES, THEY’RE LEADING YOU INTO A TRAP!”

It didn’t seem like anyone had heard him, and his voice was too strained to shout again. Panic set in and he had to stop, sucking his tongue and trying to catch his breath.

“Runestone!”

Twirlwind came up on him fast, though he was too tired to be surprised, and when he looked up past her, he could see Fanfare, Aspen, and the two others trotting up after as if nothing was wrong, despite the looming, dark mass behind them.

“For the love of-! RUN!” he shouted back at them hoarsely.

Fanfare looked at him with a scowl, but one of the ponies he didn’t know turned his head to look where Runestone was and let out a shriek and began to run, only to trip in his panic. The others finally looked, but it was too late to flee now. Shrinking with terror, Fanfare, Aspen and the other two were quickly engulfed as Twirlwind screamed out. Runestone froze in place, terror taking him, wishing for some way...

Wait! The crystal!

With a gulp, the stallion hurried back for the others, quickly producing the stone that Comet had sent to him. It began to glow immediately, almost blinding him, but he ran towards the Nightspawn swarming the other Sunwalkers. He heard hissing and shrieking, and without much thought, the stallion tossed the stone into the fray. Warm golden light spread, forming a dome where, Runestone was relieved to see, the four Sunwalkers seemed safe. He rushed into the dome himself, watching the dark mass that had shrunk back and away, seeming stunned. Twirlwind was right behind him, shouting, “Dear Celestia!” as she barreled into the light.

Aspen had somehow lost his helmet and was shaking, looking completely stunned. One of the ponies, a red stallion, was lying, panting on the ground, and the blue one who had screamed was unconscious with a shallow wound do the head. Fanfare was awake, but sitting and clutching one of her back legs close, her ears drooped back and her eyes watery.

“I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry,” she whispered.

“Are you okay?” Runestone asked quickly.

“I think it’s broken,” she said, her voice strained. “...Why didn’t I listen...?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Runestone said hurriedly; he turned to look back past their barrier.

Out of range of the light, he could see the Nightspawn, snarling and moving slowly around, most not staying to linger around the ponies. He cringed and then darted to the other side, peering through the light to look to the mountain. He couldn’t see much, just a bit of movement; he supposed the group had already reached the tunnels and the battle had begun. He gulped quickly and looked around the group, pulling off his helmet and running a hoof through his mane.

“Aspen,” he said, “you have a mace, right?”

When the stallion nodded a bit stiffly, he said, “Break it, somepony get some cloth and make a splint for Fanfare, okay?”

Aspen did as he was asked, and Runestone looked to the red pony and hurried to him, nudging him gently to his hooves.

“You okay? What’s your name?” he asked.

“Um... Starleaf,” he muttered.

“Okay, Starleaf, could you go check on that blue pony? Thanks.”

Starleaf awkwardly headed over to the unconscious pony and Runestone, taking a deep breath, turned to Twirlwind. She had landed behind him and as looking at him with wide, surprised eyes.

“Are you a fast flyer?” he asked.

“Pretty fast,” she replied, “Why?”

“Those ponies that went into the cave are probably fighting right now,” he said, “but I don’t... I don’t think they can do it on their own.”

“The Sun-Commander’s really, really strong, though,” the pegasus said, her ears drooping. “And there’s dozens of ponies, are you sure-?”

“I don’t think the Nightspawn can be killed,” he admitted. “At least not normally. When Comet and I fought them, they wouldn’t stay down until Graham arrived and took some sort of energy from them.”

“The griffon?” Fanfare put in quickly before letting out a quiet yelp as Aspen worked on tying the wooden mace handle against her broken leg, and she bit her lip. “But then why didn’t the Sun-Commander believe him when he said we needed him?”

“Arrogance, maybe?” Twirlwind volunteered. “Or maybe he didn’t understand that Graham was being literal.”

“Doesn’t matter now,” Runestone sighed. “Twirlwind, will you take your sun crystal to them?”

Twirlwind’s violet eyes went wide and her jaw dropped, but she swiftly forced her ears to perk and donned a determined frown, saying, “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll do it. What about you?”

Runestone turned his gaze back into the darkness, from the way they had come. He felt sick and suddenly became painfully aware of his heart thumping against his ribs.

“I... I’ll go back,” he said, hoping he didn’t sound too nervous. “I’ll find Graham.”

Twirlwind gawked at him for a moment, but he tried not to think about the danger he was about to put himself in and pulled out his sword. The pegasus cringed and offered him her hoof.

“Good luck, Runestone,” she said.

He bumped his hoof against hers and nodded before turning back to face the darkness. He knew the Nightspawn were just beyond the range of the light, waiting. He gulped, and then broke into a run, rushing through the barrier of sunlight and back towards the trees.

He was met with an immediate snarl and, as his eyes adjusted to the dark, he raised the shield on his forelimb. He felt it smash into something and he struck out with his sword. It connected as well, and without a moment’s hesitation, he took off at an all-out gallop.

The sounds, monstrous and loud, stuck behind him as if they were right on his back, and he raced as fast as he could as he could finally see through the moonlight dappled woods. He tried not to think of how far he had to go; tried not to dwell on his fear. He tried to keep his mind solely on holding his footing. His breath was getting ragged and his lungs were starting to burn in his chest. Just a few minutes felt like forever as he raced through the underbrush he had travelled with the other Sunwalkers just a little while before. He leapt a fallen log, terror striking him as his hoof slipped in the leaves as he landed. Limbs flailing as he forced himself forward, he regained himself quickly, only to hear the muddled thuds of many landing as they jumped as well. Cold terror struck Runestone and he tried to be faster. The pounding on the ground behind him jarred him on, as did the sharp strike of claws against his back leg. He let out a yelp and sped on, his mind reeling with fear.

They have claws? They have claws!!

He couldn’t get it out of his mind. He felt another strike, and another, but didn’t let it slow him, though his muscles were starting to ache. His eyes began to water, and a sudden shadow passing overhead blocked out the moon; Runestone stumbled, blinded, against a tree and toppled to the ground. Before he could even fathom a thought, the moon was back, but the deep sound of huge wings resounded and a wind trailing behind a huge, feathered form bowled the pony over completely. Runestone struggled to right himself and shook his head, only to have to shield his ears from a roar that seemed to shake the very ground. He heard higher shrieks and hisses, and a strange splattering sound, and in an instant, Graham whirled on him, golden eyes shining in the night and a foggy, dark substance flowing into his body.

“Graham!” Runestone cried; his voice was completely hoarse and he struggled to get up, wincing at the pain in his back legs. “Graham, they went into the tunnels, but it was a trap, and-!”

“Calm yourself,” the griffon said gently. “Take a breath.”

“I... I can’t, we don’t have time,” the stallion said hurriedly. “Everypony is in danger!”

Graham looked down at him sympathetically and turned to frown in the direction of the mountain.

“I felt the Nightspawn clearly,” he said, frowning. “No wonder there was so much activity.”

He knelt down, and much to Runestone’s surprise, said, “Get on.”

Runestone pointed at himself a bit awkwardly; the griffon nodded and, hesitantly, the pony heaved himself onto Graham’s back. They were up in the air before Runestone could say another word; the wind rushing in his ears was only matched by the panicked thumping of his heart.

Graham barely even needed to flap his wings to get them to the the mountain; Runestone grasped onto his feathers tightly as he dove, pulling his extremities in close as he hurtled forward and into the tunnels. The pony felt his stomach lurch and he flattened his ears to his head as Graham let out a blood-curdling screech. Cautiously, Runestone tried to lean around his side to look. He saw a golden light and turned back to see the night sky receding quickly. He was shocked to see that the battle had continued so far in, and when he looked forward again, they were all but on top of the fighting. The sun shield was flickering but seemed steady: wounded ponies were inside as the ones still able to fight defended from a massive swarm of Nightspawn penning them in. Runestone gasped to see the dark fog rising up to meet Graham as he got closer; he began to land, the air from his massive wings sending some Sunwalkers and Nightspawn alike tumbling as he flapped and dropped to the rocky floor heavily before a stunned looking Stonehoof. His talons immediately annihilated three Nightspawn and he took their energy into his body as the Sun-Commander watched, eyes wide, and then turned to kick a fourth straight in the face.

“I suppose you came to say ‘I told you so’,” the stallion said, raising an eyebrow.

“Not at all.”

The griffon whirled and Runestone quietly slid off his back and tiredly pulled out his sword as the Nightspawn began to right themselves. He could see them more clearly than he had been able to before. Some of them were strange and wraithlike, like a ghost from a nightmare. Others, on the other hand, were muscular and large with patchy fur and strange, scale-like growths on their bodies. Some had talons instead of hooves, despite their pony-like bodies, and those with wings had the twisted, leathery ones of bats. He gulped and looked to Graham, who seemed rather calm despite the frown on his face. Beside him, Stonehoof snorted and raised his shield.

“Well, I’m glad to have you,” he said.

Graham clacked his beak and smiled a little as he braced his back paws on the stone: he launched himself into the fray almost immediately following. Runestone felt obligated to do the same, but before he was about to charge, he was grabbed and yanked back. Blinded for a moment by the gold light, he blinked and dropped his sword, only to be spun around and hugged tightly. Runestone blinked the sunspots out of his eyes only to see Twirlwind, who, though bleeding a little, seemed insistent on hugging the life out of him.

“Glad you’re okay,” he choked.

She nodded and released him.

“What you did back there, that was insane,” she said, and then grinned tiredly. “Thanks. I think with him...”

She gestured to Graham: he was like a juggernaut, throwing Nightspawn around the tunnel with ease as Stonehoof and a few others covered his back.

“I think we’ll be alright. How are your legs?”

Runestone opened his mouth to answer, but then realized he didn’t really know. He looked down at them quickly, only to see that his back legs were torn up with scratches. He felt himself jump a little and he said, “Oh horsefeathers,” very shrilly.

Twirlwind looked as if she was about to say something, but she was interrupted as Graham jumped through the barrier, breathing a little heavily and accompanied by several exhausted, slightly injured Sunwalkers.

“Runestone,” he said quickly, striding up to him, “things are about to get very nasty down here.”

Runestone couldn’t help but wonder how things could get any nastier than they already were. The griffon reached back and pulled a sword from the belt on his back. It was short, but sharp and glimmering, the edges seeming to catch the light and hold it. Runestone couldn’t help but stare, and to his surprise, Graham passed it to him.

“This sword holds some light of the sun,” he said. “It has served me well, and will now serve you. I need you to lead the injured back to Canterlot.”

“Me?” Runestone bleated with surprise, and then shook his head swiftly and rubbed his brow, saying. “Sorry. Of course. I’ll do my best.”

“Good lad,” the griffon said. “Quickly, now.”

The stallion gulped and nodded, and then forced himself to his hooves. As Graham turned on his paws and left swiftly, barreling back into the fray, only then did he notice that over two dozen ponies within the sun barrier were staring at him hopefully. He took a deep breath and Twirlwind nodded at him.

“I’m with you, buddy,” she assured him.

She carried a short-sword under her wing, and pulled it out quickly; Runestone winced as he saw a harsh scratch torn through her armour and flecked with red right beside it.

“Everyone ready?” he asked loudly.

He was met by a tired, “Yes sir!”. He braced himself and cringed. He was no leader. What could he do, really? He was terrified.

I can’t let them down. That’s all I’ve got.

After taking one more gulp of air, about to dive into the ocean of the night before him, he plunged forward through the barrier. His eyes on the distant flecks of stars, he galloped, Graham’s sword held out before him. It really did hold the sun.

“Comet? Comet, what are you...? Comet, are you even listening?”

Pinklily waved a hoof in front of the lens of Comet’s telescope. It was hours since the Sunwalkers had set out, and Comet had vanished almost immediately afterwards. Pinklily hadn’t been able to find her at first, though she checked all the usual haunts. Only now, on her second check of the observatory, did she find Comet Strike, perched precariously on a stool with her eye pressed a bit too hard against the eyepiece of her homemade telescope.

The blue unicorn winced and pulled back, her eyes wide as she looked at her friend.

“What? Sorry,” she said awkwardly. “I didn’t... sorry.”

“Are you okay? What are you doing?” Pinklily asked.

“Oh,” Comet muttered and she put a hoof on the telescope almost tenderly, “I was just... looking. Sort of wondering if I could see the Sunwalkers, and... I dunno...”

Her ears drooped low and, with a sigh, Pinklily’s magic shot out to grab a stool and pulled it in close so she could sit by her friend.

“I know, it’s worrying, huh?” she asked gently.

Comet nodded and bit her lip, tossing her gaze out over towards the mountains again. It looked almost like there was a small glint of a fire over that way, but there was no smoke to be seen. She gulped. Her heart was beating too fast. Pinklily gently said her name as if to draw her attention, but the blue unicorn quietly grumbled, “I can’t believe they’d send Runestone out again, after what just happened to us.”

“The attack?” Pinklily asked, and her ears flattened when Comet nodded. “I agree, but you know the Sunwalkers, they’re not exactly big on sympathy. Or empathy.”

“I just don’t get it,” Comet muttered.

She pulled her telescope in close and stuck it up to her eye again, trying to focus it much closer than it was really built for. A glint of light caught her attention and her heart stopped; she tried to follow it as best she could when she realized it was moving. Her breath caught in her throat when she realized it was a pony. She hurried to adjust the view, and she let out a gasp and drew back almost immediately.

“It’s Runestone,” she said.

“What? Where?” Pinklily asked hurriedly.

She peeked into the telescope as Comet jumped to her hooves.

“Dear Celestia, he’s got a group and they’re... Oh no...”

She turned to Comet with wide eyes.

“What do we do?”

Comet bit her lip and looked out the window quickly and then back to her friend.

“Split up,” she decided. “Can you find MintTea and some of the professors? I’ll see if I can get anypony else who can use healing magic.”

Pinklily nodded, and with that, Comet took off down the stairs hurriedly.

In her haste, Comet took a tumble and rolled to the bottom of the stairs, slamming through the wooden door with a loud thud. She grunted and righted herself quickly, rushing into the dormitory and, with a spark of magic, set of a bright flash of blue light as Pinklily raced by behind her. Ponies began to stir almost immediately, and though she heard some complaints, Comet called, “Hey! It’s an emergency, who here can do healing stuff?”

After a moment, Comet saw a few unicorns groggily agree or raise their hooves.

“Great, everyone who can, meet me at the bridge out of Canterlot as soon as possible,” she said loudly.

“Comet, what’s going on?”

Glimmer Pearl peeked up from her bunk with wide, worried eyes.

“The Sunwalkers are coming back from their fight with Nightspawn and a lot of them are in a bad way," Comet said, "They’re going to need some help!”

A panicked chatter started in the group, but the blue unicorn noticed some of the ones who answered her initial question struggling to get out of bed.

“Wait!” somepony called; Comet couldn’t see who it was, but a few heads turned into the crowd nonetheless. “Why should we help the Sunwalkers? They’re the ones keeping us stuck here. Who cares?”

Comet heard some agreement despite Glimmer’s response of, “You can’t be serious.”

“Hey, anypony who knows me knows that I’m no friend to the Sunwalkers and their rules,” Comet retorted, “but they’re still ponies, and if we can help them, we should!”

“But Comet-!”

She knew the pony this time. It was Arrowburst, worriedly looking over at her from his bunk in the area for foals on the far left.

“Comet, aren’t they mean? I don’t understand.”

Comet bit her lip. She felt so hypocritical: just a week ago, she probably would have been asking the same questions as these ponies, but now her friends were in trouble. She gulped and tried her best to articulate.

“Listen, everypony, I have an issue with their dogma, not with them, for the most part,” Comet assured them. “Wouldn’t most of you say the same?”

She heard a reluctant mumble of agreement and her ears perked; she saw Glimmer smile at her proudly.

“I’m not a healer, but I’m helping!” she said brightly.

“Me too,” Comet heard Jinx add.

Glimmer jumped out of bed and began whipping the covers off ponies with her magic, chanting, “Up, up, up!” almost jubilantly. To Comet’s surprise, the others seemed to be agreeing with her.

“Okay, fine, fine.”

Comet recognized the original challenging voice and the mauve mare with a periwinkle mane that it belonged to stepped up front. She was a little younger than Comet, in a different year of classes so she didn’t know her name, though she had a green, six-pointed star encircled by a snake as a Soul Mark.

“You have a point,” she admitted reluctantly. “I’m a healer. I’ll help.”

“Thank you so much,” Comet said, unable to help a grin.

The mare couldn’t seem to stop a small smile as well and she nodded before heading back to start getting others up and out of bed.

Comet let out a phew to herself and then turned on her hoof and bolted for the way downstairs. As she expected, the main doors were blocked by two night guards that eyed her suspiciously as she rushed up to them.

“Hey, shouldn’t you be in bed? It’s past curfew,” one of them said.

Comet didn’t care, nor did she have time to argue with them.

“Your friends need help outside,” Comet said, and though her nerves almost caught her, she continued, “either open that door or get out of my way.”

One of them stammered out a “What?” while the other donned a frown and took a step closer to her. Comet didn’t bother with trying to reason any further. She summoned a jolt of magic to her and shot it, a blunt force impact of energy, at the double doors, which burst open almost immediately with a wood-busting boom. Comet was outside, racing past another set of guards before any of them knew what had happened.

Comet felt like she made it to the bridge in record time, coming to the start through the gate just as Runestone pushed through the barrier on the other side, followed by dozens of other Sunwalkers, many wounded; all exhausted. Some were being carried by others, suffering from bites or broken bones. Comet felt sick, but rushed forward as she saw Runestone plop down, exhausted, onto his flank and drop the glowing sword he carried before him.

“Hey!” she called.

Her friend looked up and seemed utterly baffled; she skidded to a halt in front of him, eyed him up and down, and couldn’t help but hug him tightly before using her magic to help him out of his armour.

“Comet, how...? What are...? Oh.... Never mind,” he said tiredly, and then grabbed her to hug her again.

She patted his back gently and she felt him slump and sigh deeply; he was shaking.

“I saw you guys from the observatory,” she told him. “I asked some other unicorns to come out and help. What happened?”

“We got ambushed,” he said quietly; he finally pulled back, ran a hoof through his mane and blew out a deep sigh. “Stonehoof wanted us to herd the Nightspawn back towards the tunnels. At first, it looked like there weren’t that many, but I noticed a trap and tried to get help and... it was just a mess.”

“What happened? Is everypony else okay? Or... okay-ish?” Comet asked quickly. “Did Graham find you?”

Runestone nodded and Comet breathed a sigh of relief, along with the words, “Oh good.” She patted his shoulder lightly and he finally smiled a little. His gaze turned upwards and Comet looked as four bright balls of light flitted overhead, illuminating the end of the bridge thoroughly. Glimmer marched in with a first-aid kit, leading about a dozen other unicorns, who quickly spread out through the group and began casting healing magic. Glimmer knelt down beside Runestone and Comet, and after eyeing the stallion, said, “Let me patch up your legs, okay?”

He nodded a bit shyly, and with startling efficiency, the ivory unicorn opened her kit, cleaned, and bandaged his wounds quickly.

“There you go!” she stated proudly.

She moved on to the next patient. Striding past her, Comet spotted Twirlwind, who shot her a smile as she trotted up and lay down on the stone with them

“Those sun crystals were amazing, thanks Comet Strike,” the pegasus said brightly.

“Oh, those... I was... It wasn’t actually my idea,” the unicorn replied a bit shyly. “I asked my friend Pinklily for help and she made them.”

“That’s awesome, and either way, thanks. And also, you shouldda seen this guy, here--” She jabbed her hoof at Runestone. “He was awesome.”

Runestone smiled a bit weakly and blushed, and as Comet tiredly lay down, he joined her, yawning widely.

It wasn’t long before Pinklily arrived with MintTea and a few of the professors and some stretchers. MintTea called for the students to start carrying the weaker ponies back to the infirmary as she and the professors took their places, using magic to soothe and help close some of the larger wounds. Comet couldn’t help but feel very relieved; she leaned on Runestone tiredly, hoping that he wasn’t hurt too badly. He sighed and laid his head down on his outstretched hooves.

“Hey, guys, you all okay?”

Comet looked up to see Pinklily smiling at her, looking very relieved as she lay down beside her.

“Relatively,” Runestone said. “Thanks.”

The pink unicorn nodded at him and looked across to Twirlwind a bit curiously.

“Hello, I don’t think we’ve met,” she said. “I’m Pinklily.”

The pegasus had donned a sort of shocked expression, looking at Pinklily with wide eyes, only to force a grin quickly.

“Hi! Hi, Pinklily, I’m, uh... Whirltw- Twirlwind, sorry!”

Her face flushed and she extended a hoof to the pink unicorn, who shook it with a quiet laugh.

“Good to meet you,” she said. “I wish it were under better circumstances.”

“Sure is a mess,” Comet agreed.

She couldn’t quite convey to the two Sunwalkers how good it was to see them again without becoming a babbling, sappy mess, so instead she elected to keep quiet, preferring instead to pat Runestone’s forelimb. He smiled tiredly and ruffled her mane as a reply.

Around them, Comet noticed that almost everyone else was gone, under the watchful eye of MintTea. Comet inclined her head curiously.

“Where’s the Archmage?” she wondered.

Pinklily and got to her hooves slowly, stretching one of her back legs.

“I’m not sure,” she said. “I couldn’t find her.”

Almost immediately, Twirlwind hopped up, flittering on quick wings.

“She should know about this, right? Maybe we should go look for her?” she asked.

Pinklily’s eyebrows raised, but she nodded.

“You’re right.” She turned to Comet and Runetsone, smirking gently. “Don’t do anything crazy while we’re gone.”

“Right, absolutely,” Comet laughed tiredly.

The pink unicorn’s smile widened a bit and she tilted her head back towards the tower before starting on her way, with Twirlwind trailing close behind.

Comet watched them leave curiously and then she, too, got up, stretching back and asking, “What’s with her?”, looking at Runestone with her eyebrows raised.

“Twirlwind or Pinklily?” the stallion asked; he got up as well, wincing when he put weight on his back legs.

“Twirlwind.”

“Maybe she likes Pinklily, I don’t know,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t really know her that well.”

“Fair enough,” she said with a nod, and then turned to face her friend.

He looked so tired. He moved almost in slow motion as he reached down to the pile of armour he had left behind and fished out a belt and sword’s sheath. He put it back on and, almost tenderly, picked up the sword he had dropped. Comet could have sworn that it was glowing, but under the magical lights it was hard to tell. She didn’t get much of a chance to look at it, though: Runestone sheathed it without noticing her stare. She tilted her head back and forth, debating on wether to ask or not, but he seemed distracted. His silver eyes stared off past the barrier and into the forest once more. It was like he had left something back there. Comet bit her lip. She wanted to hug him again, but wondered if it would be a little too much. She wasn’t much good at comforting with words, but wanted to give it a shot nonetheless. A bit awkwardly, she pawed at the air with one hoof and then gently bumped his shoulder with it. He looked at her quickly, surprised. He looked as if he had forgotten where he was.

“Hey... I’m glad you’re okay,” she said. “I was actually pretty worried about you.”

Runestone hesitated, opening his mouth as if to speak, changing his mind, and then trying again a bit shyly.

“Thanks,” he replied, “I... I’m glad you came out here to meet me tonight.”

“Of course,” Comet replied matter-of-factly, and then rushed to add, “And... you know, I know it doesn’t make that much sense, but I feel sort of responsible for this whole Nightspawn thing. I wanted to be involved out here.”

“What?” Runestone looked back at her with wide-eyed confusion, and then shook his head. “There’s no way! It’s not your fault at all, why would you feel responsible?”

“Well... Yeah, I know that,” Comet tried to explain, “but I saw them first. I’ve kind of been involved since then, so... I feel like I have to do something.”

“Right,” Runestone said, and he looked like he was about to say more when, from the distance, both ponies were distracted by a deep, rumbling roar.

They shifted together unconsciously, frightened, and Comet stared through the barrier and into the night.

“Maybe we should go inside too?” the unicorn suggested nervously.

Runestone nodded quickly and eagerly.

Though the main hall was quiet and empty, light and sounds from the infirmary flooded down the hall and echoed around the otherwise quiet tower. Comet checked the door quickly as she and Runestone entered, and couldn’t help a tinge of pride as she noticed she had left a little bit of a dent near the top. Runestone looked exhausted, and Comet noticed him shifting back and forth on his hind legs a little.

“Want to go to the infirmary?” she asked.

“Oh, no, that’s alright,” he assured her. “I just got scratched, and-”

“Dear Celestia, they have claws?” the unicorn couldn’t help but blurt.

“That’s what I thought,” Runestone said with a laugh. “Only some of them, but yeah. But what I’d really like is a drink or something.”

Comet nodded and cast a hesitant glance around, peeked down the hall, and then beckoned for him to follow.

Comet set her horn aglow and then sent a ball of blue light ahead of them as she brought Runestone to the dining hall the unicorns usually used and sat him at a table. After asking him to wait, Comet broke the lock into the pantry and crept inside, kicking the door open wide behind her to get a bit more light. It was cavernous in there, storing the food that could be kept in bulk. Hesitating for a moment to look around, she made a beeline for a barrel of crisp, green apples and fished out two. Levitating them with her, she also found a sliced loaf of bread that was a little stale, but still spongey. She left with all three, along with rolling out a barrel of chilled water from the back.

When she emerged, snatching some glasses as well in her levitation spell, Runestone looked at her with surprise, saying, “Oh! You should have asked for help!”

“Nah,” she replied.

As she rolled the barrel up to where her friend sat, her magic diced the apples as easily as if they were professionally precut before gently placing them on the table alongside the loaf of bread. Then, she uncorked the water barrel, using her magic to carefully pour some into each glass. The stallion drank his quickly, so she poured him seconds. The unicorn sat down across from him and gnawed on one of the apple slices.

“Do you mind me asking? What happened out there?” she said.

“I don’t mind,” he said, but he sounded very tired.

Comet was about to interrupt to say he didn't have to explain if he didn’t feel like it, but he continued before she could.

“Like I said, the Nightspawn sort of set a trap for us. We were split into groups of four in the woods, but I guess the Sun-Commander’s group got into a battle and we all had to join. I noticed, though, that there were Nightspawn above them in the caves and behind us as well.”

“Wait,” Comet said quickly, “You went underground?”

“Well, the main group did, yes.”

“I knew it!” Comet exclaimed, slamming a hoof down onto the table and making her friend jump.

She smiled apologetically, but then couldn’t help her face from falling into a puzzled frown. She rubbed her chin and her ears twitched.

“But... the Nightspawn lead you there... They set a trap. That’s strange, most of my readings said they weren’t really intelligent, with a few exceptions,” she mused.

“So someone’s leading them?” Runestone wondered.

Comet shrugged and nodded, agreeing, “Maybe that makes sense,” while at the same time considering that the mastermind might be that strange, pegasus-like creature that had spoken to her. Across from her, Runestone shuddered and gulped down his second glass of water.

“Creepy.”

He put his head down on the table. Comet nodded and blew out a sigh, folding her forelimbs before her and resting her face on them.

They sat together in the quiet room without a word, exhausted, but both finally starting to relax, if only just a little. Runestone’s eyelids were getting heavy, slumping closed for moments at a time before they snapped back open and he blinked at his surroundings before the cycle repeated all over again. Comet stole a glance at the stallion. She felt herself smiling a little, a sort of gleeful tingle dancing down the back of her neck. She was so glad he was okay.

Comet risked closing her eyes and her thoughts drifted away. She could still hear the sounds from the infirmary, but she found herself not paying attention in the least. It felt nice to just relax.

Her comfort was short lived, much to her chagrin, as she was startled into an upright, hoof-flailing mess as the booming sound of the main doors being flung back echoed through the tower, closely followed by a stampede of armoured hooves and loud voices. Comet tried to regain herself as she flopped off the bench beneath her and awkwardly struggled back onto her hooves to rush to the threshold and peek out. She saw, amongst a rush of tired looking and battered Sunwalkers, Graham standing with Stonehoof, his feathers a little torn and dark energy still surging through the skin of his talons, but victorious nonetheless. The two were chatting quietly, and though Comet strained her ears forward, she couldn’t hear them above the rest of the commotion and the ensuing echoes. She scraped one hoof on the floor, grimacing, debating on whether to go over or not. She heard hooves behind her, felt Runestone brush up beside her. She turned to look up at him, noting a grin of relief blooming on his face. Without a moment’s hesitation, he trotted out of the hall and called out to Graham. The griffon’s attention was drawn instantly, as was the Sun-Commander’s. Comet shrunk back, pressing against the wall; she didn’t want to get in Stonehoof’s way again.

“Runestone,” the griffon said, his gaze turning gentle, “you made it back. I am very glad.”

“Same to you!” the stallion said brightly. “Here.”

He reached back to unsheathe the sword to hand it back to Graham, but the huge griffon shook his head.

“No, son, you keep it,” he said.

Runestone paused and then looked back at him, his eyes wide and all but glimmering, his jaw dropping open as he fumbled for some phrase of gratitude. In a rare moment, a small smile passed over Stonehoof’s face.

“Your bravery tonight was unexpected, but well appreciated,” he said, taking his helmet off and dipping his head respectfully; Runestone looked absolutely flabbergasted. “I would be seriously considering an increase in rank for you, but I think Graham has something a bit more pertinent.”

The stallion looked to the griffon, who confirmed with a nod. Runestone looked like he was about to faint. Comet felt a similar bought of shock and stomach butterflies. She felt even more jittery when Graham’s gaze turned to her.

“Comet Strike, I would like to speak with you as well, if you don’t mind.”

Stonehoof shot him a questioning glance; despite that, Comet edged over, a little trepidatious.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” the griffon assured her. “I think even Stonehoof would agree.”

The huge stallion nodded and, to Comet’s surprise, smiled at her almost apologetically.

“I’ll confess, I believed you were acting rather suspiciously earlier in the week,” he said, “but several of my Sunwalkers have told me you have been nothing but help in this whole Nightspawn mess.”

“Oh, I... um... thank you,” Comet managed to stammer out.

Stonehoof nodded and quickly excused himself as Peachbloom entered the tower, her mane ragged and looking as if she were ready tear into the next pony that looked at her funny. Comet hoped desperately that mare wouldn’t come over to yell at her again and, to her surprise, Runestone nudged her shoulder with his, saying. “She scares me,” at a whisper. Comet nodded readily.

Graham seemed amused; he leaned in closer to them, holding his huge wings out like a shield around them.

“We must speak in private,” he said, “where no one can see, or interrupt.”

Comet was about to suggest the observatory again, but quickly changed her mind; the room was almost entirely windows. Runestone inclined his head, tapped his chin with his hoof.

“Oh! I know! Comet’s reading room!” he said.

Comet felt her breath catch in her throat as Runestone grinned obliviously.

“In the library,” he added, and then turned to Comet; his smile fell almost immediately at the look on her face. “Oh! I’m sorry, was I not supposed to tell Graham?”

His ears drooped low.

“I’m sorry...”

“It’s okay,” Comet said, trying not to seem too rattled. “It’s just that I could get in a lot of trouble if-”

“No one else will know, I promise you,” Graham assured her.

Comet nodded. Despite his words, she felt a wobble in her knees. She took a deep breath and lead them towards the library.

There was nopony, not even guards on the way up and into the library; the door hadn’t even been locked properly. Comet showed Graham and Runestone to the back of the room and, hidden amongst the veritable forest of bookshelves, she shoved the one blocking their path out of the way, much to the surprise of the others. Though Graham had to press his wings tightly against his sides, he squeezed through after the ponies as they descended into the dark. As they went down the stairs, Comet brought light to her horn and the surprise was almost palpable. Once they had reached the ground floor, Comet sent her light floating around to better reveal the strange architecture. Runestone seemed to be utterly in awe, and even Graham wore a sort of stunned expression.

“This is where you found your book?” he asked quietly; his voice echoed nonetheless.

“Yeah.” After considering it for a moment, she pointed up to the ceiling. “Princess Celestia spoke to me here, also.”

Runestone inclined his head, seeming mildly surprised, and said, “Oh! I didn’t know you were religious.”

“What? Oh, no, I meant literally.” She tossed her light magic up to the crystal patterns in the ceiling, drawing the others’ eyes straight to it. “Well, maybe not super-literally. It was a magical recording in these crystals. I think they ran out of power, though.”

Runestone stared at the crystals with wide eyes, his mouth forming an “o” shape and Graham frowned at them, trying somehow to discover their secrets.

“What did she tell you?” he asked.

Comet shrugged and drew a circle on the ground with her hoof.

“Mostly cryptic stuff,” she admitted. “I wish I could say I understood all of it, but it was about my magic. Sort of.”

The griffon stared at her inquisitively for a moment as Runestone said, “Lucky,” a little enviously. Comet smiled shyly and shrugged before turning her attention back to Graham.

“So what did you want to tell us about?”

Graham ruffled his wings a little and the stallion turned his attention completely to him.

“It is a complicated situation,” he admitted. “I would like both of you to join the Wardens of Harmony.”

Comet had suspected that for Runestone, but couldn’t mask the surprise she felt. But something wasn’t quite right. The tower would never let her go, would it?

The stallion, on the other hand, seemed totally blown away, his face donning a stunned expression.

“What? What? I understand Comet, but why me?” he asked, his words swift and a little stumbling. “I thought the Wardens were the best of the best! I... I’m not-”

“I think you ponies may have misunderstood,” the griffon said with a gentle smile. “I am not choosing based on the results of the games you set up. I have selected you on the grounds of your reliability and... loyalty.”

Runestone couldn’t seem to think of another thing to say, other than a stunned, “Oh!” as he plopped back on his rump. Graham smiled and turned to Comet, though his crest flattened.

“You seem like there is something wrong.” he said.

“I won’t be allowed to go,” she said. “I... I want to, but I-”

“You’re correct, Comet Strike, I was forbidden from asking you by-”

“Stonehoof? Yeah, I know,” she sighed.

Graham’s eyes widened a little in response as her ears drooped and Runestone bit his lip, his brow suddenly bent with sympathy.

“No, by the Archmage,” the griffon responded, sounding a little surprised himself. “Stonehoof informed me that you would be an excellent candidate.”

“Wh... What?” Comet stammered. “But why would Springbreeze...?”

She was lost in her musings almost immediately, her mind scrambling to find out why the Archmage would have trapped her so. Perhaps one of her “predictions”; her strange, baseless talks of destiny? Comet was starting to feel a little sick, and was only snapped from her thoughts when Runestone put a hoof on her shoulder as if trying to reassure her.

“I believe I have figured out a workaround,” Graham said. “I will bring Runestone to the battle at Harmonia. Afterwards, the King and Queen are scheduled to meet with many leader-figures all around Equestria, myself, your Archmage, and the Sun-Commander all included. I will send a Warden here to get you, and after that you’ll be free.”

Comet’s eyes widened and she felt a spark of hope in her heart. Graham smiled at her.

“It may take a few months, but I believe that you are worth it, especially after seeing that spell you used on the Nightspawn in the encounter in the meadow.”

“Th-Thank you,” Comet stuttered, and beside her, Runestone beamed at her.

“Runestone, we will have to set out tomorrow,” the griffon said; Runestone’s face immediately fell, but before he could protest, Graham said, “we have much distance to cover and much to speak about beforehand.”

“What about the Nightspawn threat here?” Comet asked hurriedly.

Graham smiled reassuringly, saying, “I need to you to trust me, Comet Strike. Can you do that?”

Comet’s ears drooped, and though she yearned to learn more of his plan, the unicorn reluctantly nodded.

“Yeah, okay.”

“It’ll be fine!” Runestone hurried to assure her, and then turned to the griffon. “It will be fine, right?”

Graham merely smiled as a reply, his crest raising high. Comet didn’t feel like it would be, though. Her hopes were high, but at the same time she felt as if she were the only one not invited to a party. She grimaced a little and took a deep breath. She was happy for Runestone, though, and so she forced a smile on his behalf. She bowed her head to Graham.

“Thank you so much for this opportunity. I know Runestone won’t let you down, and when my turn comes, I’ll do my best. I’ll let you two discuss your plans.”

Graham nodded gratefully, and Comet began to head out and up the stairs.

Reaching the dark library once more, Comet let out a sigh, unable to shake a feeling of dejection, though she was quickly shaken by the sound of hooves behind her. She turned to see Runestone clambering up the stairs, his eyes wide as he said, “C-Comet, wait a second!”

Comet almost laughed as he emerged back into the library.

“I left to give you two privacy!” she said, nudging him with her hoof.

“I know, but... are you upset?” he asked. “You seemed... I dunno...”

He suddenly seemed rather preoccupied with a scuff mark on the floor, his ears drooping. Comet inclined her head and she gave him a bit of a smile despite herself.

“Runestone, it’s okay,” she said, “this is great for you. You won’t have to be a Sunwalker anymore.”

“That’s true...” he mumbled. “But you seemed-”

“I’m just gonna miss you, is all,” she confessed, shrugging.

The stallions eyes shot up to meet hers and he gawked for a moment; a very determined look shot over his face.

“We’ll be back for you,” he said. “As soon as we can. I promise.”

He held out his hoof to her and repeated, “Promise,” determinedly. Comet felt herself start to smile and she bumped her hoof against his.

“I’ll hold you to it. And you better say goodbye to me before you leave.”

He nodded and grinned at her, and then quickly booped her forehead with his snout before hurrying back down the stairs.

The tower felt different in the morning. In all seventeen years of her living there, Comet had never felt truly at ease in the tower until today. The normal tension seemed to have melted. In the dining hall, she saw Sunwalkers and unicorns dining together, chatting; looking, for all intents and purposes, to be friends. Some of the recent graduates, she noticed were in the infirmary, helping the more seriously injured of the Sunwalkers. Even MintTea could be caught smiling once or twice. Comet didn’t know how long the change would last, but she hoped it would be a while. What was even better was that there were no casualties from the night, allowing everyone to celebrate the victory.

Comet, however, was still a little down. She couldn’t find Runestone anywhere; wondered if he and Graham had left Canterlot under cover of darkness. She sat in the library, trying to read, but she found her eyes constantly skimming the same couple of sentences as her mind wandered away. She thought she would feel excited at the prospect of freedom, even if it would actually happen for a few months, but all she could think about was how dangerous it was beyond the barrier and how much she would miss her new friend.

She sighed ruefully at her book and flipped the page, only to realize she hadn’t actually read the page before it. She cursed inside her head and turned back and was about to try again when she heard somepony call her name. Her ears perked and she looked up quickly. In the doorway stood Pinklily and Twirlwind. Comet let out an “Oh!” of surprise, but smiled at them and gave them a wave. Twirlwind grinned widely at her and flew over, pulling out a chair at Comet’s table and plopping down in it. Pinklily followed, ruffling Comet’s mane when she got there and also took a seat.

“How’d you sleep after all that?” the unicorn asked.

“Didn’t,” Comet replied with a shrug.

“What?! I passed out like a rock!” the pegasus cried. “Well... I guess you weren’t running around all night.”

“I don’t know, Comet does a lot of late night running around,” Pinklily joked.

“I had to talk with Runestone and Graham,” Comet explained. “Runestone’s leaving. He’s going to be a Warden of Harmony.”

Twirlwind shrieked out a “WHAT?!” and Pinklily leaned towards Comet, her eyes wide.

“Not you? I thought for sure he’d take you,” she said.

Comet shrugged, but couldn’t help a frustrated frown from passing over her face.

“No, the Archmage ordered Graham not to.”

She couldn’t tell them the entire truth of what the griffon had told her... No, not yet. Just in case somepony else where to overhear.

“What is her issue?” Twirlwind asked, scowling and folding her forelimbs against her chest.

Comet inclined her head and the pegasus pointed between Pinklily and herself.

“We were looking for her last night, and when we finally found her, she just made comments about how strange it was for the Sunwalkers and the unicorns to be hanging out,” Twirlwind explained. “She kept sort of walking in a way to separate us. That mare has some serious control issues.”

The blue unicorn looked between the two and then scratched her chin.

“Weird,” she muttered.

As Twirlwind muttered, “You’re telling me,”, Pinklily leaned towards Comet and grabbed one of her hooves in between hers.

“Are you going to be alright?” she asked gently.

“Yeah, thanks,” Comet assured her, nodding.

She hoped she wasn’t lying. Pinklily smiled at her almost as if she knew. Across the table, something drew Twirlwind’s attention outside and she got up from her seat.

“Almost time for my guard shift,” she said. “See you girls later?”

Comet waved to her as Pinklily nodded. As she left, Pinklily donned a contemplative frown and looked at Comet, tapping the table.

“Why would Springbreeze forbid him from taking you?” she wondered, and then looked a little embarrassed. “Not that I want you to go, but I know it’s what you’d really want.”

“I have no idea,” she said, “but... when I asked her to get a posting outside Canterlot in a few months, she told me no because she said my ‘destiny’ is here. I don’t know what that means, but I’m not going to believe it.”

“Ooh, going against the words of a soothsayer, huh?” Pinklily asked, sticking her tongue out at her.

Comet shrugged.

“As far as I can see, there’s no thing out there predetermining your fate. You always have a choice,” she explained, “and I’m not just going to wait around here just because an old unicorn says it’s my destiny.”

“Fair enough,” the pink unicorn said with a laugh. “Waiting around this tower sounds like a pretty crumby destiny anyhow.”

Comet nodded readily. She didn’t have much to say, and she was glad of the company. Pinklily seemed to be in the same frame of mind.

Before long, rushing hooves drew their attention to the hallway, and within seconds, Runestone was in the threshold. He looked tired, but excited, and was wearing a set of light scale and leather armour, Graham’s old sword hung about his waist and a sun-emblazoned shield bound to his left forelimb. Comet’s eyes went wide and a silly grin spread across her face. He beamed back and hurried over, giving her a quick hug and then offering one to Pinklily, who gently hugged him in return.

“Just saying some goodbyes!” he said brightly, and then drew back from the pink unicorn, announcing, “I’m leaving to be a Warden.”

“Comet mentioned,” Pinklily replied with a smile. “I’m sure you’ll do great. Keep safe, alright?”

“Thanks, I will,” he said, and the unicorn got up and headed towards the door.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” she said.

Comet was about to tell her she didn’t have to, but she was gone quickly. As soon as her hoofbeats were out of hearing range, Runestone’s demeanor changed quickly. His ears drooped and his smile fell, and he whirled on Comet and hugged her once more, pulling her from her seat.

“Whoa! What’s the deal?” she asked quickly, patting his back.

He huffed and let her down onto the floor, looking away with an embarrassed, “Sorry,”, biting his lip for a moment.

“What?” Comet asked again.

“I can’t tell you,” he grumbled, frowning at the floor. “Graham made me promise.”

“Okay,” the unicorn replied, confused. “Um... Is it really bad?”

“Dangerous,” he said, “but it needs to happen.”

“You gonna just keep dropping hints, or will you tell me?” Comet joked.

Runestone’s gaze jumped up to match hers and he fumbled for words for a moment. She couldn’t help but laugh and she patted him on the shoulder.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” she assured him. “Are you leaving now?”

“Yeah,” he said. “But... Comet, don’t worry, we’ll meet again really soon.”

“Of course, in a couple of months,” she agreed.

“No, sooner, I promise,” he assured her.

Comet inclined her head and looked at him probingly, though he didn’t seem to have anything else he was willing to tell her. She sighed and couldn’t help a chuckle.

“That’s fine,” she said. “Be careful out there. And tell Graham he can keep the book I lent him until I see him next. He probably didn’t get a chance to read it yet.”

“Will do,” the stallion assured her.

He looked awkward for a moment, looked at the floor, and then hugged onto her one last time.

“Thanks for being my friend, Comet Strike,” he said. “You’re... Okay, this is sort of pathetic, but you’re the first pony I’ve ever been around that hasn’t made me self-conscious of my... you know, my blank flank.”

Though the unicorn was surprised, she smiled to herself and patted his back.

“It’s not pathetic,” Comet assured him as he released her. “But don’t even worry about it. You get one tomorrow or in a hundred years, it doesn’t make a difference to me.”

The stallion’s eyes became as round as saucers, but he nodded and made a strange grimace before he leaned down and pressed his forehead tiredly against hers. She reciprocated, trying to ignore the heat in her cheeks. He was a little quivery and Comet felt a sort of warmth tingling in her chest.

You’ll be okay out there, won’t you?

When he pulled back, his face was a little red and his eyes looked a bit glossy.

“I better go.” He grinned despite himself and turned, trotting backwards towards the door. “Don’t forget, we’re coming back for you!”

“I know, Runestone, have a good trip!”

“Yeah, of course! See you soon?”

“Yeah! Good luck!”

Comet grinned and waved. His ears perked and he spun to face forwards and hurried away, trotting with confidence down the stairs. Comet couldn’t bring herself to move from that spot until she couldn’t hear any trace of him.

Even though it was just a single pony missing, Comet felt the tower was much too quiet now. She tried to make up for it by lurking around the the storeroom with Jinx and Glimmer Pearl. At night, the usual worry began to set in; she felt so nervous that she couldn’t bring herself to join her other friends for dinner. Instead, she went back to the library and kept to herself and her books.

In the dark, illuminated only by her magic, Comet tried to lose herself in adventure story books she hadn’t read since she was a filly. Stories of the no-doubt exaggerated adventures of Twilight Sparkle rushed and battled across the pages, but still Comet couldn’t feel at ease; couldn’t quite get her mind of the fact that one of her friends was out in the middle of nowhere with Nightspawn roaming about. Then again, Graham had said not to worry about them around Canterlot anymore. Perhaps things really were better. Comet couldn’t say for sure; she realized she had been rereading the same paragraph over again for the second time that day. She sighed to herself and tried to put her brain away.

It didn’t last long, however: she was interrupted again, this time, to her surprise, by the Archmage herself. Comet slammed her book closed and tried to straighten herself as the old mare walked in, smiling at her gently.

“Not eating dinner tonight, Comet Strike?” she asked, and when Comet shook her head, the Archmage’s expression turned sympathetic. “You looked perturbed. Is this about that Sunwalker going with the Warden? You knew him, didn’t you?”

“Uh... yeah,” Comet said a little hesitantly. “We’re friends. Um... I don’t know, it’s just-”

“You wish you could have gone as well?” Springbreeze asked, cutting through her words rather cleanly.

That was only part of it, but nonetheless, Comet nodded.

“Maybe it is best this way,” the old unicorn suggested. “Who knows what the Sunwalkers were thinking, trying to get close to you. First with Nimbus, and now this.”

Comet was taken aback, and visibly so, but the Archmage seemed not to notice... No, perhaps it was more accurate to say that she ignored it.

“Sunwalkers and unicorns, we have such completely different ideologies,” she explained a bit ruefully. “They’d like to be able to use our powers for their own ends, you know.”

“I... uh...”

Comet couldn’t think of a thing to put in. The Archmage’s voice was honey, and yet her words were making the unicorn feel sick.

“You must be careful,” she said gently. “Comet, you are one of our brightest minds. That makes you dangerous, I hope you understand. I suppose that’s why Stonehoof wanted to keep you close.”

“Stonehoof?” the blue unicorn managed to repeat, baffled.

Springbreeze nodded and sighed tiredly.

“Of course. Graham wanted to take you with him, but the Sun-Commander forbid it.”

Comet felt her stomach knot almost immediately, but she managed to ask, “Did he? I... Well, I wish he hadn’t. I would have loved to help against the Nightspawn.”

“Of course you would have, dear,” the Archmage said sympathetically, “but, it is very dangerous out there. Maybe it’s for the best.”

Comet nodded almost unconsciously, her mind racing and her heart thudding painfully in her chest. Cautiously, she voiced, “There wasn’t anything you could say to change his mind?”

“The Sun-Walkers have the final word, as always,” Springbreeze replied ruefully. “I’m sorry, Comet, but it seems like you will not be leaving. Maybe it’s best to forget about the Wardens and your friend.”

“I...”

“Please consider my words, honey. Nimbus hasn’t contacted you after all this time. Your new friend left on an adventure without you... and it’s not just them. All Sunwalkers are unreliable to us. We unicorns must take care of ourselves.”

Comet tried not to show it, but she felt sick. The way the Archmage looked at her, she seemed to know that she had struck a nerve. Drawing in a shaky breath, Comet forced a tired smile and nodded.

“I... Yeah, maybe you’re right. Studying here is safe. It’s not that bad,” she forced out.

Springbreeze nodded and walked up to Comet, gently ruffling her mane. Comet tried not to grimace. She wanted to push the old mare away, preferably with a blunt force spell. She gulped and the Archmage pulled back and turned for the door, flicking her long tail as she went, saying, “Sweet dreams, dear.”

“Thanks, good night,” the unicorn made herself reply.

Chapter 6

A week passed in a blur for Comet Strike. She spent much of her time with her friends, the pegasus Twirlwind seeming to have firmly cemented herself into the group, and trying desperately to avoid the Archmage. She wanted to scream about what a liar she was, how manipulative she had been, but Comet was stuck. No one could know about that, because to explain that would be to explain the secrets that Graham had told her.

She waited on news from Runestone, but none came. Though still not sleeping much, every night in bed, Comet hoped that he and Graham were okay out in the wilds. Her dreams were all the same: a vision of Celestia leading her through Nightspawn.

Pinklily was very attentive, trying to make sure the blue unicorn was getting enough to eat, at least; for her part, she wasn’t doing a bad job. However, she was spending a bit more time with Twirlwind. In fact, many of the unicorns were spending much more time with Sunwalkers. Comet couldn’t help but think that at least one good thing had come from the battles with the Nightspawn.

As the end of the week rolled up, Comet couldn’t run on empty any longer. 7 pm, the sun barely setting, and the blue unicorn decided that she absolutely must go to bed and sleep. Standing before her bunk, she used her magic to pull up her covers and sheets, flatten them, and spread them cleanly. She also grabbed her pillows and turned, holding them away from her bed as she fluffed them; she cringed a the little sprinkle of dust that fell from them. She wrinkled her nose as she felt a sneeze tickling her. She sniffed in deeply and then turned with her pillows back to her bed.

On the smooth covers, Comet noticed something that she hadn’t left there and leaned over it, eyes wide. It was a note, creased carefully in half and with her name scrawled across it. Her look of surprised dropped into a frown and she looked around the dormitory hesitantly. The only other ponies in there were some of the younger foals, but they were all asleep already. Cautiously, the unicorn reared up and checked the top bunk. Nopony was there either.

Comet sighed and put her pillows on the bed, and then picked up the note cautiously and opened it.

Dear Comet Strike, it read, I know about your quest for power. Meet me in the library after the moon rises tonight. Look for Equestrian History.

The note wasn’t signed, but it made Comet feel all kinds of chills nonetheless. It had to be a mistake. They had to be mistaking her for some other pony. Comet didn’t want more power, she wanted freedom. It didn’t make any sense. Though she did want to know who had left the note, and judging by the message, who had been guiding her around the library in the weeks prior, she couldn’t bring herself to go. She knew it would bother her, but whoever the pony was had her pegged wrong. Comet went to bed that night, crumpling the note and hiding it under her mattress before passing soundly into sleep.

Comet awoke to warm sun on the backs of her eyelids. Cringing and blinking against the light, Comet sat up, kneading her eyes with her hooves before groggily looking around her. She was startled to find that she lay among old, dusty books in the observatory in the tower. It was dawn. Comet rubbed her eyes again and shook her head at herself. She pushed herself to her hooves and stretched until her back gave a satisfying crack and, pleased, she began to head back for the dormitory.

The stairs going down to the ground were dark as ever, but they felt much longer. Comet trotted cautiously along the descending spiral, yawning to herself. She was starting to hear voices through the walls, whispering: Sunwalkers on patrol, probably. She had to stop herself from hurrying down the steps, but somehow, she felt like she wasn’t getting anywhere fast.

“Comet Strike.”

Comet was startled still at the sound of her name and she glanced around. It had been a female voice, and a familiar one at that, but she couldn’t see a single pony around. In fact, she couldn’t see much of anything.

“Keep going, Comet Strike,” the voice insisted gently.

Comet stared ahead, her throat going dry. Her heart began to thump noticeably in her ears, and though she didn’t want to continue, she felt pulled to do so. She just couldn’t shake the feeling that she had been walking for far too long.

When she finally reached the doorway, Comet felt like she had been going down forever. Relieved, Comet pushed the door back, only to be stunned still in her tracks. She had expecting to see the familiar, empty hall that lead to the dormitories. Instead, before her was a spacious walkway of ivory and grey, with a fancy crimson and gold rug running down the center and up to a set of stairs and a door much like what had been below the library. The checker-tiled floors and columns were sparkling under the pastel light painted by the rising sun as it shone through stained glass scenes that nearly reached the ceiling. Cautiously, blinking quickly in the light, Comet edged out onto the tile. Her hooves against the floor shattered the silence; biting her lip, she skittered onto the rug.

“Hello again, Comet Strike.”

Comet whirled on her back legs, eyes wide and heart thumping. A white glow met her and she fell backwards onto the rug. Shrinking inwards and blooming with colour, the body of a tall pony formed swiftly. Wings spread and a horn sprouted, and as the gently billowing aurora of a mane drifted into reality as the body solidified, Comet knew exactly with whom she was speaking.

“Princess Celestia.” She awkwardly scrambled to her feet, her mind burning with questions, and she stared up at the alicorn with wide eyes. “How are you here? Where is here?”

“I am a magical imprint on your mind,” Celestia said gently. “It won’t last too long.”

“And this place,” Comet said, casting a tentative glance around. “It’s... it’s not real.”

“It is to me,” the alicorn said with a smile. “This is my home. Come, let me show you something.”

Celestia strode past her confidently; the young unicorn wasn’t sure what to think, but she followed behind quietly.

The Princess, glowing as she walked, seemed to have a set destination in mind; Comet looked at the images in the windows as they went. Old legends were depicted there, like the founding of Equestria, or the first defeat of a chaotic monster called Discord. Comet had read a little about it. More followed until Princess Celestia came to a halt in front of one scenes. The depiction was that of the defeat of Nightmare Moon. Comet was surprised, however, to see that there were six ponies surrounding her. She knew that Celestia’s protege, Twilight Sparkle, had been involved in the defeat, but who were these other ponies? Before she could even voice the question aloud, Celestia looked down at her fondly.

“Those are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony,” she said. “Twilight represented Magic. Her friend Applejack: Honesty.”

She pointed her gold-clad hoof at the orange earth pony in the image; Comet leaned in a little closer to look, and Celestia moved her hoof to a yellow pegasus.

“Fluttershy was Kindness. Pinkie Pie: Laughter.” She indicated the pink earth pony, then a white unicorn and a blue pegasus. “Rarity was Generosity, and Rainbow Dash represented Loyalty.”

Comet nodded, trying to process what she was hearing. Of course, it made sense that more than just Twilight Sparkle had wielded the Elements of Harmony. Six ponies for six Elements. She just couldn’t figure out why anyone had lied about it.

“You didn’t know any of that,” Celestia concluded, and looked to her a bit sadly. “I see...”

“Is that what you needed to tell me?” Comet asked. “I... I’m sorry, Princess, but I still don’t understand what you want with me.”

Princess Celestia seemed to consider it for a moment.

“Check the end of of your story, Comet Strike,” she said. “You may not understand, but you will find someone who will. I’m sure of it.”

“Okay,” Comet replied, her ears drooping.

It really wasn’t possible to get something straight-forward out of the Princess, was it? Comet sighed and sat down on the rug, her eyes roaming over the glass. She put her hooves against her eyes, rubbing them, exhausted.

“What the hay happened to Equestria?” she asked. “How did it get so messed up?”

She felt the brush of feathers around her shoulders and she sharply looked up to see that the Princess had taken a seat beside her. The young unicorn was surprised to find her quite warm.

“I can tell you only what I know.” She, too, seemed fixated on the window. “Before I was sent away, a small group of ponies were starting to rise up against an imagined tyranny.”

She looked quite hurt as she uttered the words; Comet’s ears drooped.

“I was perceived as a despot by this group, who identified very closely with Nightmare Moon.”

“They wanted eternal night?” the unicorn asked, and hit her forehead with her hoof. “How can anypony be that stupid? Don’t they realize we need the sun for basically everything?”

“I recall Rainbow Dash urging me to react harshly,” she said, smiling forlornly. “But I believe that is what they would have wanted. They would have become more than just a fringe group then. And, still, they were my subjects. I could never take such action against them. But... perhaps I should have done more. Judging by the fact that I am communicating with you, not Twilight Sparkle, means this has gone much farther than any of us anticipated.”

“That... really sucks,” Comet sighed sadly. “But... do you know about the Wardens?”

“I recognize the term from your mind, but I am unable to take in new information; only determine what information that I have that you do not,” the alicorn explained.

“Alright,” Comet said with a sigh. “They don’t know that they need six ponies to work the Elements. They think Twilight did it all on her own.”

“How curious,” Celestia replied.

“I should tell them,” Comet decided. “They need to know, or else they’ll never get rid of the Nightspawn. Right?”

Celestia merely smiled at her. She slowly got to her hooves and spread her shining, feathery wings.

“I need to leave, now,” she said.“The magic is about to fade. Good luck, Comet Strike.”

“Um... okay, bye,” the unicorn replied, a little confused.

The Princess was gone in a flash of golden light. Comet cringed and had to blink hurriedly, but she was blinded by sunspots. She raised a hoof to rub at her eyes, blinking hard.

When she could finally open her eyes to see, Comet was floored. She was lying on hard stone in a dilapidated hall, dark and grey, with broken columns. The only light pooled in, cool and white from the moon above, through a hole in the ceiling. Confused, she stood and looked around quickly. She noticed the windows, boarded from the outside, with broken images in stained glass standing tiredly in their frames. The sight of the one before her made her mouth run dry. It was the same depiction of the defeat of Nightmare Moon that she had seen with Celestia, but all the ponies save for Twilight were smashed from the image. Comet gulped and looked around, her eyes scanning desperately for a door. There was one across the hall and the unicorn was at it in an instant. Her heart sunk when she found that it wouldn’t open and magic simply fizzed out against it, just as it had on the bookshelf in the library. Comet tasted ash and she grimaced, her mind racing. She didn’t even know where she was until she stopped to wonder, and then panic set in. Celestia had said it was her home.

I must be in the palace ruins!

She bit her lip and skittered around, and then raced to each window. In every case, all ponies with the exception of Celestia and Twilight Sparkle were broken away, Even so, not a single one had gaps enough for a pony to fit through; Comet had no idea how she had gotten in.

Unless... I’m still dreaming?

Comet frowned and then, cringing in advance and squeezing her eyes shut tightly, smacked herself in the face. She whined out an, “ow!” and hesitantly opened her eyes. Nothing had changed. Comet sighed and decided she had to check the rest of the room. She must have gotten in somehow.

Comet circled the room again, wondering how in Equestria she was going to get out, when her train of thought was crashed by a terrible cracking and crumbling sound. In an instant, Comet felt her stomach drop and she found herself landing heavily on her chin. Groaning, she blinked around herself and set her horn alight. She had fallen through the floor, or, more accurately, a flattened door that she hadn’t seen. Cursing quietly, the unicorn heaved herself to her hooves and looked around through the drifting dust and rubble. To her relief, it seemed like there was a tunnel or path under the building. She wondered if the Sunwalkers knew about it. She cast her light down it; small patches of crystal glittered and Comet took a deep breath and began to walk.

The path beneath the ruins of the palace wasn’t in as much disrepair as the building above. Much of the tiles were still intact, and some of the magic gems in the walls still lit up as she passed. Comet wanted to just run through the tunnels; wanted to get out as soon as possible, but she knew it was probably a terrible idea.

Comet walked for what felt like hours. The place was so devastatingly silent that it was making her paranoid. Was she simply going deeper underground? Where was she?

How do I keep getting myself into junk like this?!

When Comet finally began to hear hoofbeats other than her own, for a moment, she thought she was hallucinating. She paused in her tracks, perked up, and swiveled her ears, trying to pinpoint the sounds. She was still too far off, but she could hear some strange, deep chatter. Her excitement and hope was dampened, but her curiosity was certainly not. She extinguished her light and hunkered down as she continued forward. She began to hear more hoofbeats, more low voices, and a sound like a steady stream of magic. The unicorn felt herself start to shake a little.

Rounding a corner, Comet was stunned still to see a wide tunnel cut through the pathway, illuminated by a strange glow of white and periodic blasts of red. She gulped and inched forward, only to have a dark shape with glowing white eyes pass in front of the hole. Comet covered her snout to stop herself from shrieking and pressed back against the wall tightly, hoping beyond hope that the Nightspawn before her hadn’t caught a glimpse of her. For the moment, it paid no attention, casting its glowing eyes back over its shoulder and barking out a loud, gruff sound before starting a march straight ahead. Comet didn’t even have a moment to relax when another passed by, and then another. The shapes began to blur together, the remnants of tile beneath starting to clink and tremble. Comet’s heart sunk and she couldn’t help her body from shaking as well.

The Nightspawn raced through the tunnels like a black torrent of water burst forth from a dam; rushing with only the rumbling of the ground to herald their approach. Comet squinted through the dark at them, their eyes like light off a river, all blurring together, especially as her eyes began to water. Her mind was racing, trying to figure out how they had gotten in, but she couldn’t budge, couldn’t even see what was happening behind the group.

Doesn’t the barrier go underground? she wondered.

She gulped and pressed closer to the wall.

After what felt like forever, the Nightspawn started to thin, and finally trickled down to just two. They were tall, fanged creatures, a little lankier than the others with spiraling ridges of scales across their bodies and long, jagged horns on their foreheads. They conversed in a guttural drawl that Comet couldn’t even begin to understand before continuing along with the swarm. The blue unicorn, her heart racing, finally peeled herself off the wall and, though her legs were shaking, peeked hesitantly into the tunnel. Her heart sunk and she felt like her mouth was filled with sand. The way the Nightspawn had come from was framed by a cracked, flickering shell of white magic that dripped with patches of red energy.

But that means... oh no...

She felt as if the ground was falling out from under her but she tried to keep herself steady. The only thing she could think to do was to follow.

It was all Comet could do to not break into a gallop. She couldn’t afford to run into the creatures ahead, and yet she wanted desperately to outrun them; to warn Canterlot of their imminent approach. She couldn’t even risk lighting her way in this deep tunnel. The rumbling of the charge made her nauseous and she had to stop and wipe her eyes frantically more than once. Her entire body felt frozen on the inside and her legs seemed heavy and sluggish, as if she were yanking them through mud.

A sudden crash overhead sent Comet’s head reeling and she yelped and jumped despite herself. With a desperate thought of what have I done?! she cast her gaze around, expecting the Nightspawn to descend on her at any moment, but instead, more noise exploded above her. Though muffled though the dirt, after Comet regained herself, should could hear screams and blasts of magic, and the roaring of monsters. The unicorn’s mind raced away as she did as well, racing up the tunnel the way the Nightspawn had gone.

Stumbling against rock and dirt walls, and over her own hooves, Comet galloped, her heart striking against her ribcage painfully. Without warning, Comet collided with something unmoving and hard and crumpled to the ground. She groaned and was forced to finally start breathing normally; she shook her head and struggled to get up, looking around to regain herself. She nearly dropped back down again, flabbergasted as stared up into a cloud-blanketed sky though a huge hole in the earth above her. For a moment, she was entranced. It seemed almost peaceful.

A dark shape cut across her view, snapping her back into reality, and then a bolt of lightning like magic sliced the air behind it. Comet gulped and looked around, noticing a steep, ramp carved from dirt up the side of the hole. She winced and then hurried to force herself upwards, trying to ignore the chaos above.

When Comet finally hauled herself out of the hole and looked around her, she felt like she was in a place completely foreign. The tunnel exit had cut up and through an old park, ravaging the ground, along with half a dozen other craggy holes running alongside it. The air stung with magical energy and the hisses and roars of the Nightspawn as they tore through the buildings nearby. More magic shot after them and Comet whirled to see that it was one of Pinklily’s totems, though it was surrounded and a few other beasts were trying to smash it.

Trying to contain her fear, Comet skittered away, getting her bearings and then heading as fast as she could back towards the tower. Her ears trained on distant screams, and though she was exhausted, she pushed herself faster. All of a sudden, she was bowled over and sent sprawling on the road. Immediately, she had magic shoot from her horn and she heard a bestial shriek. Dazed, she righted herself only to see three Nightspawn before her and a fourth reeling away and collapsing. Comet gritted her teeth and set her horn aglow, bracing her hooves. The largest creature’s eyes narrowed and it began to circle her. Comet drew back and lowered her horn, her breath ragged.

“Come on...” she snorted.

With a roar, the creature’s fangs flashed and Comet shot her spell into him immediately, flinging him back and through the roof of what was once a bakery. The two others charged her in an instant; Comet frantically dodged sideways, nearly slipped, and reared back to shoot a spike of ice at them before rushing away as fast as she could. She didn’t even know if it had hit; was far too scared to look back as well.

By the time the blue unicorn, exhausted, badly bruised, and breathing heavily, had gotten close to the tower, she could really see the extent of the damage. Buildings were in ruins and though Sunwalkers engaged in battle, they were tiring quickly against the dark hordes that smashed upon the makeshift barricade they had set up around the tower. Comet gulped and sucked her tongue, and then lowered her horn again. She closed her eyes, drawing up energy through her body until long, sharp tendrils of blue flared around her. She was only confident holding up two, but she called four nonetheless. Taking a deep breath, she began to run again towards the main horde.

The energy around her waved and struck like the tails of manticores: it struck through one Nightspawn, and then another, reducing them to temporary puddles of dark sludge. She felt a bit of a rush, a little relief that it was actually working, only to come upon the horde at the barricade. She took a deep breath again, spinning her magic around her, lowered her her head, and charged through. She cringed as the first Nightspawn was shredded by the magic, but she powered through despite the roars and the strikes she felt on her back and legs.

She was approaching the barricade fast, and all she knew was that she needed to get over it. Cringing, her mind raced to think, and before she knew it, she had to jump. Twisting a little, she shot a burst of blunt force energy at the ground. The impact made the few Nightspawn in the immediate area fall back, and as Comet squeezed her eyes shut, knocked her, spinning, up over the barricade.

She tumbled, rolled and collapsed in a heap on the ground. She heard hooves clinking around her and, when she hesitantly opened one eye to look at her surroundings, she saw three exhausted looking Sunwalkers hovering over her. One opened his mouth to speak, but was almost immediately shoved back, only to be replaced with Twirlwind. She grasped Comet in her hooves and heaved her up.

“Comet, what in Tartarus were you-?! How-?! Are you okay?!” she demanded.

“No, not really,” the unicorn croaked, dazed. “They... They came up through the ground, I couldn’t... I couldn’t-”

She was cut off as the pegasus shoved a flask of water into her mouth. Comet took it and drank deeply as Twirlwind assured her, “They took everypony by surprise.”

“What was that magic you used?” one of the other Sunwalkers asked quickly.

Comet passed the flask back to her friend and looked at the other pony nervously, only to have Twirlwind smack him upside the head.

“It was forbidden magic, obviously,” she snapped. “Who cares? We need that right now! Comet should just blow them up!”

“I-” Comet began. “I can try, but I-”

She was shut down as a strange, metallic cracking sound could be heard from above. She looked up, her ears pressing back, and many of the Sunwalkers followed her gaze.

In the sky, the barrier flickered and, to their horror, began to slowly collapse as if dissolving into sparkling glass and dust and Nightspawn with wings poured in. Twirlwind, eyes wide, swore loudly and the disembodied voice of Sun-General Storm Feathers called out for the pegasi to lift off to confront the diving menace. Comet readied her magic, her eyes struggling to focus on the Nightspawn against the clouded sky. Suddenly, she saw a burst of turquoise and, to her surprise, huge chunks of rock and pavement began shooting upwards, smashing into the Nightspawn. Comet looked up and couldn’t help a grin; She could see, up on the balcony, Glimmer Pearl and Pinklily. Glimmer’s magic was pulsing, exuding from her body in thick trails of light and sparks as she used her signature telekinesis to smash through the battle. A resounding cheer shook the Sunwalkers and the pegasi took off in a flurry of beating wings.

More magic began to pour out at the Nightspawn through the windows of the tower, and Comet felt a burst of confidence. She shot a few more puncturing spells into the mass outside the blockade, but she couldn’t help a wonder at how long they could hold out. Hopefully until sunrise, whenever that was, but then what? Perpetual battle every night?

Comet wasn’t sure what to do. She reared up to get a better image of their opponents. Sunwalkers crowding from the back were fighting usually two-on-one and seemed to be doing alright, but now the ones close to the barricade were taking turns ramming into it violently. Her attention was drawn by a red light to her right, but was terrified to see one of those two unicorn-like creatures charging and sending a huge ball of energy her way. Comet yelped and grabbed the nearest pony and dragged him down with her as she flattened herself to the ground. The magic slammed into the tower, caving in a section and sending debris everywhere with a deafening crash.

The unicorn hopped to her hooves and looked out in shock, only to see the creature about to do it again. She frowned deeply and tried to scrabble over the barrier to get to him, charging magic up into her horn once more. With a feeling of static passing through her, Comet saw only blue and she was behind the unicorn beast, stumbling in place and feeling rather sick. Instead of wondering what she had done, Comet took a deep breath and rammed herself against the Nightspawn, knocking it onto the ground. It rolled to its feet and confronted her with a shocked snarl, pulsing red magic from its horn. Comet felt panic take her but she rushed at the creature nonetheless, locking horns with it. It roared, spitting at her; pushed her back. Comet didn’t give, but after a moment she didn’t have a choice. The Nightspawn jerked its head back, causing her to stumble forward, and it struck her hard with its horn. She tumbled to the ground with a yelp and hurried to get up and she leapt at it, tackling it to the ground and hitting it hard in the head with her hoof. To her relief, it seemed to pass out. Exhausted, Comet drew back and coughed, tenderly touching her cheek with her hoof. It was really starting to hurt.

Screams from the tower drew her attention and she gasped to see the second unicorn-like creature blasting through the barricade. At almost the same moment, the sharp sound of glass shattered the air and she saw the observatory- her observatory- penetrated from the air as Nightspawn dove through the thick glass. Her eyes darted around frantically, and she tried to ignore the black goo that were Nightspawn beneath her hooves. She could see they were coming over the walls now, not just from the sky. There were so many; the air was rank with their stink, shrill with their screams; she couldn’t see anypony in the crowds anymore. Her mind racing, she reared onto her back legs and couldn’t come to any other conclusion: she had to do something, forbidden magic or not.

She fell forward and planted her hooves squarely on the ground, anticipating what was to come, or at least what she hoped would come. Comet let energy rush through her veins and concentrated as much as she could on the strongest spell she had ever learned. She had performed it once, but only once. There was a split second of doubt, but she forced it out of her mind. She couldn’t afford to screw this up.

Blue sparks began to ripple along her body and her fur bristled. She bared her teeth and closed her eyes tightly, and she could feel the energy beginning to build; could feel an electrical wind rushing through her mane and spinning around her body. The magic arced like lightning, crackling and buzzing, bright and glowing blue. To her sides, she heard the gathering Nightspawn rushing and wheezing, though they couldn’t get close to her. She heard one try; heard it sizzle and shriek at the touch of the energy circling her. She bit her lip and frowned in frustration. She was building energy much too slowly. She didn’t know what else to do, but she knew she had to help her friends. She pushed herself farther, more energy billowing from her, even as her limbs began to weaken.

Come on, Comet, you’ve done this before! Do it, do it, come on!

It was only an instant before she felt a deep and terrifying heat shoot through her body from tail to horn-tip. Her eyes shot open with pain, only to see nothing but absolute blue for just a second. Before she could even blink, her own energy had almost knocked her to the ground as it rocketed with a paralyzingly deep sound from the tip of her horn and straight into the sky. The sparks from her body jumped and leapt, and took off like a shockwave, billowing a deadly blue-and-purple razor of magic that shredded Nightspawn into mere puddles of dark tar as her eyes glazed over with glowing white. She stumbled and her body felt utterly cold as all around her went quiet. She felt dazed, sick, and weak, and her legs gave out on her before she could even try to will them not to. She was fairly certain she was on the ground now, but she couldn’t keep her eyes open.

“Did I make it?” she heard herself say; it didn’t even feel like she had moved her mouth.

Was she asleep? She couldn’t tell.

After what felt like no time at all, Comet opened her eyes a crack, her vision fuzzy and blotched with coloured sunlight. Her ears were echoing with yelling voices, though she couldn’t understand. She felt a body pressed close to her; saw an armoured hoof before her as if shielding her. It took her a moment before she realized that she was on the tiled floor near the entryway of the unicorn’s tower.

“Her magic is dangerous!” she heard.

The voice was loud and gruff; she knew it.

“I can’t believe you would be like that, after she just saved your city!”

The replying voice was incredulous, a bit sarcastic and loud; she knew it as well.

“How dare you talk to me like that?! I order you to-”

“I’m a Warden now, you have no authority over me anymore.”

Still dazed, Comet blinked quickly a few times and she turned her gaze upwards. The sight of Runestone’s face above her, his normally jovial visage twisted into a defiant frown, startled her several times over. Across, looking puffed up and furious, stood Peachbloom, her bright eyes shadowed in a dangerous frown. Stonehoof stood behind her, looking exhausted and a little sad. She stomped one iron-shod hoof to the floor and seemed almost to snarl.

“You impudent foal, I ought-to-”

“General, that’s enough,” Stonehoof sighed, giving her a frustrated glance.

“I would say so.”

Peachbloom whipped her head around furiously, and Comet and Runestone turned as well to see the small, robed form of Springbreeze approaching slowly, her eyes soft and concerned. Graham was also at her side, his brow furrowed, but seemed much calmer than the two ponies before them. Comet noticed, however, there was no grey nor brown on his body. His skin, and even his feathers and beak, all swam with the dark energy that must have come from the Nightspawn. As they arrived, Runestone hurriedly slid from his protective stance around Comet, whispering, “You okay?”

She nodded and replied with a quick, “thank you,”, to which he smiled slightly.

“I told you I’d come back for you,” he said matter-of-factly. “You did good.”

“So the spell worked?” she whispered.

“I’ll say,” Runestone replied.

She could have sworn he sounded a little proud.

“Springbreeze, this is outrageous,” the Sun-General said, seething, though her ears were drooped back a little. “That unicorn used forbidden magic; Celestia only knows where she learned it. We cannot let this be, it’s too dangerous.”

Comet felt her heart sink and her ears drooped back; she gritted her teeth, trying very hard not to yell back at the mare. I defeated the Nightspawn, and this is the thanks I get?! she wanted to scream, but she didn’t. Springbreeze seemed to be thinking and Stonehoof, to her surprise, looked at her sympathetically, and then turned to the Archmage and the griffon.

“I... I cannot make exceptions for her,” he said, and then sighed, but gave Graham a knowing look. “If she stays, action will have to be taken.”

Comet’s knees went weak and she flopped to the floor, devastated with just a sentence. Runestone barked, “No!” immediately, but Graham raised a talon and he quietened a little.

“Then, might I suggest I take her with me?” he asked, looking between the older ponies.

Peachbloom incredulously snapped, “What?!” while the Archmage also looked at the griffon with an expression utter shock that seemed very unlike her.

“But Graham, surely-” the old mare began, her voice only registering a little wobble of her surprise, but Graham cut her off.

“If I am honest,” he said, “that wound to Comet’s neck from the initial Nightspawn bite... it appears to be worse. I had expected it to heal, but it appears to me that it is on the verge of a contagious infection.”

Comet’s eyes went wide and her stomach dropped; Runestone’s expression mirrored hers.

“For her to survive, I will take her to become a Warden. We will make good use of that magic if she lives, and... even if she does not, it will eliminate the risk of the other students getting infected,” he explained cooly.

Comet couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but the words seemed to shut Peachbloom up, and the Archmage grimaced. She seemed to be thinking hard, closing her foggy eye and looking to the ground with her other.

“Sounds like a solution to me,” Stonehoof volunteered. “I grant my permission.”

The Archmage’s head snapped up and she scowled at him, but he seemed not to notice. Graham smiled and bent his head to the stallion and then smiled at Comet and Runestone.

“Comet Strike, best get your things together,” he said, approaching them and enfolding them in a wing. “We should be leaving immediately.”

“Im... what? Really?” Comet demanded. “Can...? Okay...”

She was shaking, but even so, she was comforted when Runestone pressed up against her warmly and told her, “I’ll go with you.”

In the dormitory, Comet had just barely finished packing her telescope into her saddlebag when it hit her that she was leaving. She was leaving for good, and probably never coming back. She put a hoof to her mouth as she felt tears prick in her eyes and she stared, dazed, at the wall ahead of her for a long while before she resumed packing. Runestone watched her sympathetically and joined her, patting her head gently.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Um... not really,” she said, and then laughed tiredly. “I’ll be okay... I hope.”

He nodded and sighed, his ears drooping on her behalf.

“I’m... I’m sure Graham can fix your neck thing,” he assured her.

She nodded and reached under her mattress for her books of forbidden spells, and put them in the other side of the bag before slinging it over her back.

“Comet?”

The unicorn jumped to hear her name and she looked to the sound of the voice to see, almost huddling together, Pinklily, Arrowburst, Glimmer Pearl, and Jinx looking at her with worry and apprehension.

“There you are,” Pinklily said, relieved; she trotted up and hugged her tightly. “I was so worried when you teleported out in the night.”

“I... I did what?” Comet asked blankly.

“Teleported. You were in bed and you just teleported,” Pinklily said. “I didn’t know you could actually do that.”

“I... didn’t either,” Comet replied, scratching her head. “Um... is everypony okay?”

“As far as we know,” Jinx said quietly.

The other ponies edged into the room and Glimmer hugged Comet and Runestone at once, as Arrowburst pressed up to her legs and Jinx gave her cheek a quick nuzzle.

“Are you okay?” Arrowburst asked cautiously.

“Fine,” Comet said, nodding. “Just a bit sore.”

Glimmer edged forward, her eyes bright, and she said, “That was amazing, what you did. I saw everything.”

“Thanks. You were pretty good yourself.”

Comet smiled, but Pinklily frowned at her and stepped forward.

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” she demanded.

Comet’s breath caught in her throat for an instant.

“Yeah, Graham... Graham’s taking me with him” she explained, and though her friends made expressions of varying levels of surprise, before Pinklily could ask more, she explained, “The Sunwalkers would cut my horn otherwise. Graham thinks my magic will help him.”

“Well, of course it will, you splattered a legion of Nightspawn with one spell,” Runestone said with a laugh.

“A spell that I can barely do and that knocks me out for a few hours afterwards, yeah, that’s real useful,” Comet joked.

Though Arrowburst let out a small, “Oh,” in surprise and admiration, Pinklily looked at the other unicorn with an almost unreadable expression of vague disapproval for just a moment before she sighed, her shoulders drooped and she quickly hugged Comet again.

“Be careful out there,” she said.

Comet felt tears in her eyes again, but she blinked quickly and patted her friend on the back.

“I will. I have the chance to make a real difference now. I won’t screw this up.”

“You better not,” Glimmer said jokingly, sticking her tongue out, though her eyes were a little sad.

Comet hugged both of the other ponies after breaking away from Pinklily.

“I’ll come back to visit,” Comet promised; she didn’t know if she’d be able to keep her word, but she hoped to Celestia should could.

Pinklily smiled sympathetically at her, but suddenly her ears perked.

“Wait just a second, I have something for you.”

She galloped from the room and the other ponies watched after her curiously. She returned almost immediately with, to their surprise, a cuff-like bracelet suspended in the yellow of her magic.

“This,” she said a bit proudly, winking and zapping it into place on Comet’s body, “is enchanted. I just made it recently. It was for your birthday, but I figure since you're leaving it's okay to give it a few weeks early. It'll protect you against a lot of negative spells. It should help just a little.”

Comet’s eyes were wide with surprise and she looked down at the light metal around her right forelimb. The bracelet was imbedded with an oval, blue stone that only showed telltale sparks of its enchanted nature. Comet could feel the energy radiating from it, and when she looked back up to Pinklily, the unicorn seemed to grow even prouder.

“Pinks, thank you!” she said quickly, and hugged her friend again.

“Yeah, yeah,” the other mare said jokingly, and then held her back by her shoulders. “Just stay safe, okay? Promise?”

“Absolutely!” Comet said, grinning. “And... thanks, again. Say goodbye to Twirlwind for me, okay?”

“Of course. Go on, get going,” Pinklily said, nudging her with her head, “or we’ll just stand here hugging for the rest of the day.”

“Would that be so bad?” Glimmer asked.

She smiled but her eyes were sad, and Jinx’s ears flopped down as he muttered, “We’re gonna miss you, Comet. And Runestone, it was good to have you around too. Maybe we can all get to know each other better when you guys come home.” Runestone looked surprised, but smiled and nodded, and then beckoned to the threshold.

“Graham is probably waiting,” he said a bit reluctantly.

They each had one more round of hugs, and Comet stood with her forehead against Pinklily’s for an extra moment, hoping desperately to see her friend again one day. Then, trying to seem confident, she puffed out her chest and trotted from the room, saying, “See you guys later!” as she left, Runestone at her side.

The sun was warm in the clear midmorning sky outside, with not a cloud in sight. It was almost surreal after what had happened in the darkness before. As the two ponies walked on towards the bridge with Graham, Comet couldn’t help but wonder aloud, “Do you think all the Nightspawn are gone here now?”

“Certainly,” Graham answered. “They threw all they had at Canterlot, and because of you, we were able to eliminate them all in one swoop.”

Comet’s ears drooped and she sighed, muttering, “Glad nopony got killed.” Runestone nodded and then, a little anxiously, poked Graham.

“Um... about Comet’s neck wound...” he asked.

“Oh, do not worry about that in the least,” he assured them with a smile.

Comet’s eyes went wide, but before she could ask, he said, “I may have told a little fib in the tower.”

“Well, thank Celestia for that!” Runestone said loudly, blowing out a sigh of relief.

Comet’s ears perked and a small smile spread across her face.

Suddenly with a little bounce in her step, Comet was able to keep pace with the other two despite the throbbing in her head and the exhaustion. Maybe she really would have a chance to come back and visit her friends someday.

Exiting Canterlot felt a bit foreign as they crossed the crumbling bridge from the city to the field. Runestone looked a little wary, but much more confident than last time despite there being no barrier to protect them. Comet felt her chest tighten and she took to the grass, staring ahead into the Everfree forest as Graham prowled ahead, Runestone trotting at his side. Comet bit her lip and turned back to look at the tower, to the cracked dome of her observatory. As she did, she was startled to see magic begin to sparkle forth in the form of small fireworks, pouring from the broken glass. The unicorn couldn’t help a smile despite getting a little misty-eyed.

Behind her, she heard hooves stop and Runestone called her name. She turned to see him gesture towards the woods, his ears perked.

“You coming or what?” he called.

“Yeah! Yeah, I’m coming!” she replied.

She glanced back at the observatory once more, just in time to see the sparkles starting to fade. She bit her lip and set her horn alight, shooting a ball of blue magic into the air. She hoped her friends would see it, and she turned and trotted back to catch up with Runestone and Graham as they passed through the tree line.

Chapter 7

The crackles and glowing sway of fire light was hypnotizing, especially seen through the watery distortion of tears; Comet couldn’t bring herself to look away. Maybe it was that she couldn’t bring herself to look at the others around her, or maybe she just hoped they wouldn’t notice. She sniffled and scrubbed at her eyes and drooped downwards against the grass. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed some object sliding towards her and hesitantly looked: it was a flask of water. She felt a long, fuzzy body pressed close to her side and a tan hoof pushed the water ever closer. With a sniff, Comet drew the flask to her and took a swig, muttering a tired, “Thanks,” after she was done. Beside her, Runestone smiled sympathetically at her.

“You okay?” he asked. “I mean... Well... Dumb question. Sorry. But-”

“I’m fine,” she said. “Just...”

“You miss everypony?”

Comet nodded and, to her surprise, Runestone nuzzled her cheek with his soft snout. The unicorn didn’t even bother to feel embarrassed; it felt just like what Pinklily would do and so she accepted the gesture readily.

“I’ll be okay,” she repeated, managing to smile a bit. “Thanks.”

Comet had always wanted to leave Canterlot behind but now, sitting in a modest camp with Runestone and Graham before a fire, heading towards an all but inevitable battle, the unicorn couldn’t help the nerves and longing for her friends that welled up in her gut. Runestone seemed to be adjusting much more readily. She supposed that he had less to leave behind.

The group was settled just a little beyond the cavernous entrance to the mountain pass that had once given way to a smooth tunnel and train tracks. With the trains long since gone and any maintenance out of the question, the craggy entrance seemed dark and imposing. To make matters worse, it was the same place the Sunwalkers had done battle with the Nightspawn barely a week prior.

Comet still carried a sense of worry within her as well, wondering about the creatures in the night, but Graham didn’t seem the least bit concerned. Comet turned to watch him curiously as the griffon flipped gently through the book she had lent him. His expression was thoughtful, but a little concerned. She wondered if it was something he had read, but after a moment came to realize that she had never seen his face not wearing that expression.

“Graham?” she asked. “You’re sure there are no Nightspawn around, right?”

“Certain,” he assured her, looking up briefly from the worn pages before him.“Once one has gone through the full process of becoming a Warden, sensing the Nightspawn becomes second nature. Conversely, they can sense me, but since there is only one of me, it’s often not much of an issue.”

Comet nodded, but then frowned to herself.

“No offense, but... why did you leave the first time?” a little hesitantly.

Beside her, she saw Runestone grimace and he suddenly looked incredibly guilty. She felt even more confused, and Graham sighed and his crest fell back before he shifted to face her, his face stern but there was something else... Perhaps regret? She wasn’t sure.

“Let me be absolutely honest, and clear,” he began. “Being a Warden means to defeat the Nightspawn, by any means, at any cost. As soon as I saw that spell you preformed in the field, I developed a plan that you were instrumental in, and yet could not be aware of.”

Comet felt a sudden shiver run down her neck and Runestone bowed his head, muttering, “Please don’t be mad,” shyly.

“I have fought Nightspawn for almost two-hundred years. I know their methods,” the griffon continued. “I knew that once they were back underground, they were out of reach and in their own element. It would be insanity to insist the Sunwalkers pursue them there. So I left the area, and we waited on them to show themselves instead.”

The blue unicorn felt as if her blood had turned to ice and her throat felt dry; she got to her hooves, eyes wide.

“You let them attack Canterlot?” Her heart was pounding.

“I know it sounds cruel,” Graham said gently, “But by doing so, and with them believing the only Warden was gone, they unleashed all their forces within the area. And you wiped them out, allowing me to return and siphon their energy away.”

“I... I can’t believe...”

Comet couldn’t even articulate. Her mind raced through what could have gone wrong at lightning speed, but the griffon looked back at her with such confidence that it made her feel confused, angry, and yet reassured. She gulped and shook her head to herself.

“What if I couldn’t do the spell?” she demanded.

“You did.”

“But what if I couldn’t?”

“But you did.”

The griffon looked back at her as if he didn’t see her point. Comet was taken aback for a moment until it dawned on her: it simply didn’t occur to him that it could have gone any other way, and he certainly didn’t seem to be someone who would underthink something like this. The unicorn sighed deeply and turned back to the fire, only to see Runestone all but cowering. She supposed he had known of the plan, recalling the something he wasn’t allowed to tell her. She didn’t know how to feel, but her chest hurt.

“Comet, I’m so sorry,” he said quietly. “Graham made me promise not to tell because he was sure that if you knew, you would try to practice the spell too early and make yourself exhausted.”

Comet opened her mouth to protest for a moment, but rethought almost immediately and turned a frowning, probing eye on Graham, who merely smiled knowingly at her. She was shocked. How could he have known that was exactly what she would have done? She pouted and shuffled on her hooves.

“Alright, I get it,” she muttered before flopping to the ground and rubbing her eyes.

Runestone gently rubbed her shoulder as if to reassure her and she sighed again and managed to crack a small smile.

“Forgive me?” the stallion asked cautiously.

She laughed tiredly and nodded, saying, “Yeah, yeah,” and eliciting a relieved grin from her friend as he flopped down in the grass.

“I am glad you’ve come to understand,” Graham said gently. “You did your job perfectly.”

Comet grimaced a little, but she was starting to get the picture, and she looked to Graham as he turned back to the book.

“This is fascinating,” he said. “Both what is here and what is not.”

Comet sighed and tried, in her mind, to insist she get over herself.

“Were you looking for anything specific?” she asked.

Graham tapped his claws against the ground and inclined his head.

“Yes,” he said, “I must have mentioned the Elements of Harmony to you. The main problem with Nightspawn is that they cannot actually be eliminated forever until the Elements are wielded against them, but they have to be used by one who has a specific affinity for them. I was hoping this book might give some hints on how to find the one, pony or otherwise, that must use them. We have been searching ever since Twilight Sparkle left us.”

Comet’s ears perked and she sat up a bit as her mind was jogged.

“Right, I was meaning to tell you,” Comet said quickly. “You need six.”

“Six?” Graham repeated; he leaned in and gave her a puzzled frown.

Comet nodded eagerly.

“Yeah, Twilight Sparkle didn’t use the Elements alone, she had five friends with her,” she explained. “Celestia left a magic imprint in my brain. She filled me in.”

Graham sat back, folding one talon over the other, his crest puffing up. Runestone turned to him with wide eyes, waiting for a response. The griffon clacked his beak.

“It makes sense,” he admitted. “But tell me, Comet Strike, what are the Elements, did she tell you that?”

Comet nodded and then scrunched her face up as she tried to remember. It was a little vague in her mind; the words had come from a dream, after all.

“Kindness, Honesty, Laughter... um... Generosity,” she said, tapping her chin, “Loyalty, and Magic. I think.”

The griffon couldn’t conceal the surprise, and Comet could presume why: that information certainly wasn’t in her book. The unicorn smiled a bit awkwardly and Graham eyed her up and down, sighed, and then smiled tiredly.

“You are certainly full of surprises,” he said.

“So... she was right?” Runestone's ears perked high when Graham nodded once more, and he grinned at Comet. “So I guess Celestia really did speak to you, huh? D... Do you know? Is she coming back? Because that would just be peachy.”

“I can’t say,” Comet replied, shaking her head. “It wasn’t... it wasn’t really her. It was a magical recording of her; I guess some of her memories from before whatever happened. She mentioned that Twilight Sparkle made it.”

“That’s so cool,” the stallion said.

“Mostly it was freaky,” the unicorn admitted a bit shyly. “I think she’s gone now, but while she was... in my brain, I guess, I kept hallucinating her just standing around in places.”

“Okay, yes, I agree, freaky!” Runestone said with a quick nod.

“What a fascinating technology,” the griffon put in thoughtfully. “I suppose I should expect no less from Twilight Sparkle. I’m sure neither you of are aware, but she founded our order.”

“Twilight Sparkle did?” Runestone repeated. “That’s amazing!”

“Makes sense now that I think about it,” Comet said quietly, nodding to herself, “since she was one of the ponies with the Elements of Harmony. I bet her friends were involved too.”

She turned to Graham, brows tilted inwards in puzzlement and she tried to wrap her mind around it.

“Do you know what happened to them?” she asked.

“I wasn’t there for the founding,” he said. “I am old, though not that old. I was told that Twilight Sparkle was only with the Wardens in the early days. She, and I suppose her friends as well, spread the seeds of the Everfree forest around Equestria once Celestia vanished, letting the seasons and days change on their own. She established the spell that would change one into a what we called a Warden. Not much is known after that.”

“So much is missing,” Comet sighed, rubbing her forehead.

Beside her, Runestone’s ears drooped and he looked to the griffon questioningly. Graham answered his unasked question rather quickly.

“There was much conflict in the early days of Celestia’s disappearance. The Sunwalkers were much more violent and controlling then. They were an order developed explicitly to combat the now extinct Cult of Nightmare Moon thought to be responsible for the whole mess. They raided our records, along with all others, attempting some sort of information suppression. I believe they believed if none knew exactly what had happened before, it would not be repeated.”

“How can we know what not to repeat if we don’t know what went wrong?” Comet sighed, rolling her eyes. “Is that what happened to my book?”

She pointed at the tome in Graham’s talon and he nodded, saying, “I believe so.”

“What’s wrong with your book?” Runestone asked curiously.

“Someone scribbled all over it before I got it.”

The stallion pouted as a response.

“Sorry,” he said.

Comet laughed without thinking.

“Why are you sorry?”

“Sunwalkers did it, probably, and I’m a-”

“Shut up,” Comet joked, prodding his shoulder. “Think about it for just a second.”

Runestone looked surprised and blinked back at the unicorn for a moment before his cheeks pinked and he said, “Oh,” and then laughed quietly at himself.

“Sorry. I guess that was stupid,” he said.

She snickered and pushed him lightly.

“Stop apologizing for everything,” she said.

She settled herself down by the fire and folded her forelimbs to rest her head upon them.

Her mind drifted back to Canterlot and she held in a sigh as she closed her eyes. She wondered what Pinklily was doing right now. She missed all her friends, of course, but it was the first time she’d been without the pink mare in recent memory. Though Pinklily was almost two years her senior, Comet had latched onto her as a filly and, especially after Nimbus had left, the two had been inseparable. It was certainly a strange sensation to be away from her now. She supposed they’d all have to start rebuilding Canterlot soon. By the way things were going, she wondered if the Sunwalkers and the unicorns would be working together. She hoped so. It would certainly help smooth relations between the two.

Comet fell into a comfortable sleep quickly despite her uncomfortable circumstances, though her mind drifted in and out of the fog frequently to small sounds in the dark.

Sun was just starting to flick onto Comet’s eyelids when she awoke, her ears twitching to the sharp sound of metal on metal. She shifted, sitting up to find a warm blanket falling away from her. She looked around, confused for only a moment before she noticed Graham and Runestone sparring nearby. Graham, with his long, narrow blade, struck at the stallion a few times as he blocked, and then announced, “Good!” rather proudly. Runestone beamed, though his brow was set in a determined frown, and he lunged with his own blade to be parried and blocked on his own turn, until the griffon sidestepped; Runestone stumbled to the ground, but rolled and righted himself in an instant. Graham chuckled and nodded, assuring him, “Well done,”, gently patting him on the shoulder.

“Really?” Runestone asked.

“Yes, you’re getting quite good,” he replied.

The stallion smiled proudly, and Comet couldn’t help but mirror his expression. He looked much more controlled, and much faster than he had been when she saw him fight last. She stomped her front hooves approvingly, drawing her friends’ attention. Runestone looked surprised and smiled at her, calling, “Good morning!” before trotting over to her.

“Hi,” she said. “That looked good. Did you get better?”

“I think so,” he said brightly.

“He certainly has,” Graham said, his feathers puffing and crest raising up as he smiled. “Runestone has applied himself more vigorously to the training I’ve been giving him than anyone I’ve seen in a long while.”

Runestone’s tail wagged and he looked absolutely elated. Comet booped his shoulder with her hoof. She was proud of him, and it showed clearly on her face. The stallion’s snout pinked just a little and he quickly hurried to begin packing up.

“Leaving right away?” she asked.

Graham nodded and moved to begin dispersing the remnants of the fire pit. Comet rose to help.

It wasn’t long before they moved out, heading for the passageway down the mountain. The entrance to the tunnels, less than a field’s length from where they had camped, was craggy and dark, and at once, Runestone hesitated. Comet looked at him curiously, reading a sort of suppressed panic behind his eyes. Frowning, she set her horn alight and let a ball of blue light spring forth the encircle all three of them.

“Wonderful idea, Comet Strike,” Graham said with a nod.

The griffon strode ahead with no trepidation whatsoever and Comet moved to follow, but stalled in her tracks as Runestone didn’t budge an inch. She flinched a little and doubled back, nudging him gently with her snout.

“C’mon Runestone, we gotta go,” she said gently.

“Has to be this way, huh?” he asked nervously.

“Guess so,” Comet said reluctantly.

He grimaced and leaned forward to peer into the blackness after the griffon, gulped, and sucked in a deep, deliberate breath and trotted in over the stony threshold.

The path down along the old train tracks and through the mountain wasn’t near as daunting as it had been in the dead of night. With Comet’s light shining the way alongside Graham, the tunnel didn’t seem nearly so scary. The place, in many ways, was like the tunnels underneath Canterlot. Mounds of chiseled, grey stone sprinkled with gemstones glittered along their path; it wasn’t as frightening as the ponies had expected.

Deep down, it was cool, but stagnant, and almost unbearably quiet. The place was deadly still, even though there were clear remnants of Nightspawn habitation. Graham remain unfazed, and so Comet tried her best to follow his example. Runestone’s chatter, nervous and rushed while trying very hard not to be so, was mostly what broke the silence, his words echoing off crystal and rock. Nonetheless, it was welcome talk. He related to Comet about fighting a few scattered Nightspawn and training with Graham over the course of the week he had been gone. He spoke very fondly of his time with the griffon, and in turn, Graham seemed flattered though he didn’t add a word. Comet fibbed about her week: she didn’t want him to know that she had spent most of her time moping while he wasn’t there.

It took close to two days with only a couple hours rest betwixt to make it to the base of the mountain. The sun was setting in a deep orange glow as the small group emerged from the silent pathway. Comet couldn’t help a gasp, even though all that stretched before her was forest. Graham gave her a warm, knowing smile and strode out into the open, stretching his large, powerful wings high above.

“It is very nice to have the open sky above,” he admitted.

Runestone grinned and bounded out onto the grass.

“Woo! A breeze! Didn’t think I’d miss wind so much!”

Comet snickered and made to follow them, turning back for a moment to look at the massive mountain behind them. It made her dizzy for a moment, trying to fathom that there was a plateau all the way up there; a place she had lived her whole life. She took a few steps back, only to run straight into Runestone, who cut in front of her before she could even turn to apologize.

“This must be really exciting fore you!” he said brightly. “Never been this far from home, huh?”

“I, uh... No,” she admitted; he beamed.

“I’m really excited, too! It’s been so long since I’ve been anywhere without being tied to those Sunwalkers!”

“Must be nice,” she said with a smile.

“You must feel the same, though, right?” he asked, tilting his head. “I mean, you never have to go back to the tower. You don’t have to play by their rules anymore. If you’re a Warden of Harmony, you can do what you want so long as you help defeat Nightspawn. Right?”

He looked to Graham, and the griffon nodded. Comet’s ears drooped back just a little and her mind spun. It was hard to have the thought settle properly in her head. She tilted her head back and forth, and then trotted up beside Graham, peering at him inquisitively.

“So,” she asked a little tentatively, “I don’t have to hide my magic anymore? I can just... use it?”

“Of course, dear girl,” Graham assured her, and then smiled, “I’m counting on it.”

Comet was taken aback for just a moment before her face split into a wide grin. Her eyes were alight, and she couldn’t help but bounce up and down with utter jubilation as a warm, powerful sense of freedom and relief took her. She stammered out a ‘thank you’, and quick as a wink, Runestone had her hooves in his, beaming at her as he bounced up and down with her. She found herself grinning before she knew it, and laughing along with her friend, even as he stumbled and sent them both tumbling to the grass.

“Sorry,” he said through a laugh.

He rolled to his hooves and helped her up quickly.

“This is so exciting,” he said brightly. “Scary. Kind of terrifying, actually. But exciting.”

“I just can’t believe I’m finally out,” Comet said.

She stole a glance up the cliff, and Graham smiled at her before peering ahead pointedly into the woods.

“Come,” he told the ponies, “we mustn’t stop yet.”

“What?” Runestone asked, surprised. “We’ll be walking all night?”

“It’s not safe in these woods,” the griffon stated simply.

The stallion gulped and he and Comet shared a worried look before she nodded and said, “Right, sorry for goofing off.”

She only had to concentrate for a moment to bring back the hovering, blue sphere of light to surround the group. Graham nodded gratefully and beckoned into the woods with his wing. The two ponies followed him, wary as the sun began to set.

Lit only by the blue glow of Comet’s magic, the three marched onwards through the woods, cautiously and quietly. The ponies stuck close behind Graham: despite the darkness, he seemed to know exactly where he was going. The unicorn was on guard, nervous; trying not to jump at every sound in the night, and she kept her eyes on him. She did, however, notice the path they were traveling was outlined by the remnants of train tracks.

“Too bad the trains aren’t around anymore,” Comet said a bit absently.

“I agree,” Graham said, chuckling.

“Has anyone ever tried to rebuild them?” Comet asked.

“No, with all the creatures in the forest now, no one wanted to risk disturbing them,” the griffon explained.

“Creatures?” Runestone bleated, shuffling closer to Comet, his eyes wide.

“Yes, Runestone, there are all sorts of creatures in the Everfree Forest. This is why we must be cautious,” Graham stated.

“Right, cautious. Of course,” he said quickly.

He gulped quite audibly and tried his best to trod lightly while keeping up with the others. Comet flashed him a reassuring smile. Her legs were getting tired, but she felt like she could keep going for a while

The dark, cool night was awake with the sounds of owls and bugs; the distant rumblings of larger creatures were unnerving. Graham was calm, but alert, and he took the two ponies deep through the Everfree Forest without a word until the silhouette of a windmill stood out against the bright of the moon.

“We can rest here,” the griffon said quietly, and rather suddenly as well.

Runestone started, hopping closer to Comet in the process; she took a deep breath and peered through the trees curiously at the sparse outlines of buildings until they finally cleared the tree line.

The moon shone a cool, almost protective glow over the straw-thatched roofs of cutesy, timber framed buildings as they cast their shadows across the small stretch of grass before field gave was to forest. Only a flank-high, stone wall encircled the town before them, making Comet raise an eyebrow. As they got closer, however, the unicorn understood: Graham hopped up and over the wall gracefully, and a dark blue barrier shimmered across his body as he passed.

“Oh, that’s a relief!” Runestone exclaimed.

He hopped, missed, and hauled himself over the short wall and Comet, grimacing and wanted not to make the same mistake, took a few steps back, broke into a gallop, and leapt. She stumbled as she landed across the wall, a cool tingling passing through her fur, though she tripped and tumbled to the ground over the stallion that was still righting himself.

“Ah, sorry!” she squeaked.

She rolled upright and dragged him up with her magic, placing him on his hooves as he stared at her with wide eyes. Graham smiled at them and gestured towards the town with a huge wing.

“Welcome to Ponyville, my friends,” he said. “Harmonia is just a little ways more, but I believe you two should take a rest.”

“I can keep going,” Runestone volunteered immediately, but the griffon shook his head and began to prowl towards the town.

“We will head to the inn for a few hours, and then set out again,” he said. “Do not worry, ponies, we can afford a little rest.”

He took off down the darkened road and Comet stole a glance at Runestone, wondering, “Are you really not tired?” He shook his head and smiled a bit.

“Not really, I find I can usually go two or three days without... Oh! I’m sorry!” His ears drooped low and he blushed, drawing back embarrassedly. “I’m sorry, I should have thought about you. You must be exhausted,” he said.

“Um... maybe just a little,” she admitted. “But that’s okay, don’t worry about it.”

She shot him a smile and his ears perked back up, and she nodded after Graham.

“Right,” Runestone agreed, and so they began after him.

Comet didn’t know much about Ponyville, and could hardly see it properly even in moonlight, but she knew that it was the place Twilight Sparkle had lived during most of her time doing grand things for Equestria. The unicorn wondered in passing if her friends, the other five bearers of the Elements, lived there at one point as well.

She noted Runestone gazing around curiously, eyes roaming over small, neat stores and homes.

“This place is right at the edge of the forest,” he said quietly. “I’m surprised it looks so good, still. Dawncliff... that’s where I grew up, sort of- it’s been attacked and rebuilt a ton of times. It doesn’t look anything like this place.”

“Maybe they put up that barrier as soon as things started to go wrong,” Comet suggested. “I think I read that Dawncliff wasn’t actually built until after the first war, so...”

She looked to Graham and trotted a little faster to keep up and asked, “Graham, whose barrier is that?”

“In all honesty, I haven’t a clue,” he replied, “but you were correct in your assessment. It has been over Ponyville since the Nightspawn first appeared.”

“Lucky,” Comet commented.

It wasn’t too long before the small group arrived at a quaint building, lit gently by firelight lanterns. Graham squeezed his wings in close to his sides and opened the double doors quietly. He hunkered down a little and slid into the building; the two ponies followed.

Graham stepped aside as a wafting, comfortable warmth of air and light brushed the ponies, carrying with it the warm, cinnamon-laced scent of apple pie. Comet let out a sigh of relief, taking in her new surroundings curiously. The rustic, welcoming room past the entranceway housed a few tables and a sitting area of couches near a fireplace, where a few ponies were sleepily chatting and sipping at drinks; paying little mind to the newcomers. Packed in against the wall to the left was a long counter, adorned with a few beverage taps and a cash register that looked like it had seen better days. The same could be said about the baggy-eyed, but smiling, orange mare behind the counter; she seemed pleasantly surprised as Graham approached her.

“My, a griffon!” she said in a pleasant, southern drawl. “I haven’t seen a griffon around here in an age! What can I do for you, sir?”

“I would like to rent two rooms for the night, if you happen to have any available,” he said, and then gestured with his wing to Comet and Runestone.

The mare followed his feathers and gave the two a cheery smile. Comet smiled back and gave a polite nod, while Runestone waved a little awkwardly.

“Absolutely,” the mare at the counter assured him, and she tapped the old cash register gently with the tip of her hoof. “If’n you don’t mind me asking, what sort of business does three battle-ready looking critters such as yourselves have in little old Ponyville?”

“Just passing through,” Graham assured her.

“We’re heading for Harmonia,” Runestone put in.

“Ah, joining up with the King, huh?” the mare asked -- she rang up a total for fifteen bits and Graham reached in his satchel to pull out a small coinpurse -- “Well, I wish ya the best of luck there. I hear it’s been a might hairy.”

“Thank you, dear girl,” the griffon said; the mare smiled and stepped out from behind the counter.

“I’ll show y’all to your rooms.”

The mare lead the group away from the seating area and to a set of two rooms side by side before bidding them goodnight. Graham actually seemed a little relieved and relaxed, until he opened the door to the bedroom and suddenly looked a bit embarrassed without saying a word. Comet peeked into the room cautiously, confused. It looked normal, and very nice, clean and cozy as well. She inclined her head, puzzled, until she clued in that the single beds weren’t big enough for the griffon; he’d have to pull both together.

She drew back, shrugged to herself, and turned to the other room, tapping Runestone as she went.

“C’mon,” she said, bumping the door open with her shoulder, and then grinned a little. “Dibs the bed near the window.”

“Oh! Is it okay if-? Okay!” he said, a bit flustered. “Goodnight, Graham!”

The griffon looked surprised as the ponies headed away into the other room, and he let out an almost shy sounding, “goodnight,” as they left. The room was almost identical to the one Graham had shown them: a warm, firelight glow made the room a little gold and orange, highlighting metal sun and star emblems placed lovingly on the walls. Comet flopped down on the bed next to the window, snuggling her legs into the checkered-and-apple pattered quilt and lifted her saddlebag up and off her back. It felt wonderful to be rid of the weight; she stretched contentedly and sighed, laying her head down on her front hooves.

“This is nice,” Runestone commented.

Comet tilted her head to look at him; he took his bag off, as well as his belted sword and began to unbuckle his armour. Comet smiled to herself and her magic whisked the armour off him without any effort at all. He yelped, surprised, and then let out a laugh.

“Thanks,” he said, grinning as pushed the armour into a neat pile before he hopped.

Runestone bounced onto his bed and stretched out on his back, yawning widely. He rolled to the side and leaned over the edge of the bed a little, looking at Comet curiously, asking, “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she said with a nod. “Just tired. You?”

“I’m not too bad, but it’ll be nice to rest,” he said.

He struggled to kick up the comforter and cuddled into it happily. Comet was immediately jealous and did the same, using a shock of magic to pull the blankets down and then up again around herself.

Lying on her side, her eyes went to the window, looking out at the stars above the roofs of Ponyville houses and the telltale, blue shimmer of the barrier that protected the town. She was about to close her eyes when she heard Runestone hiss, “Psst! Comet? Are you still awake?”

Curiously, she rolled over and looked at him. His mane was already completely out of place with bedhead, and she suddenly felt a certain, superficial kinship with him; she tried not to laugh.

“What’s up?” she asked.

“You don’t mind having me in here? I mean...”

He looked embarrassed.

“I don’t follow,” Comet replied.

“Oh! Well, it’s just, I’m a stallion, and you’re- Graham probably was going to say I share his room and-”

“Okay, one, don’t be a dope,” the unicorn laughed. “Unicorn dorms were co-ed. Doesn’t make a difference to me. Two, no way Graham would fit into just one pony-sized bed.”

“Ooooh,” Runestone replied, eyes widening with sudden clarity.

“Funny,” said Comet, smiling to herself, “he could predict the actions of ponies he had barely met, and Nightspawn, in that Canterlot attack but he didn’t realize a pony inn would have pony-sized beds.”

“Guess that shows where his priorities are,” Runestone said with a shrug, and his eyes narrowed a little and he stated, firmly, “I think it’s good.”

“Me too,” Comet agreed, and her friend perked up again immediately. “I guess if you’re planning life-and-death things to that insane extent, with that amount of detail, it’s understandable to forget some everyday things.”

“Yeah,” Runestone agreed with a smile, but his expression fell almost immediately and he turned to the unicorn, ears drooping. “You’re not still upset, are you? If you are, I really am very sorry.”

“No, not mad,” Comet assured him, quickly masking a yawn behind her blanket. “Why? Do you still feel guilty?”

“No, I- ...Yes. Yes, I do,” he admitted with a sigh; he rubbed a hoof through his mane tiredly. “After I had to leave without telling you what I knew was going to happen, it... it sort of...”

His voice caught and a hoof went to his chest.

“...I’m sorry.”

He grimaced and Comet could have sworn his eyes were glossy. Her heart dropped and she bit her lip, and then let out a gentle, “Hey.” He looked at her almost hesitantly, and she gave him a tired smile.

“You’re a good guy, Runestone, and you did what you had to,” she assured him. “You’ll make a good Warden.”

The stallion stared at her and, finally, gave a bit of a smile and nodded.

“Thanks,” he said, pulling his blankets up. “I think you’re gonna be great, too.”

He rolled over away from her, raising the blankets up over his head.

“Goodnight,” he said quietly.

Comet inclined her head before shrugging to herself and flopped into her bed tiredly, replying with a gentle, “Sleep well,” as she cuddled herself against the comforter. She knew she only had a few hours, but she would relish them nonetheless.

The morning sun and Graham’s knock on the door came far too soon, but Comet didn’t have it in her to complain. She righted herself, rubbing her mane and trying to push it into place as she said, “Come in.” The door opened a crack, dark feathers filling the frame as the griffon leaned in.

“I’m afraid it is time to be on our way,” he said.

“Sure,” Comet said, groggily rubbing her head. “Right. Just give me a few minutes.”

The griffon nodded and backed out, closing the door behind him; the unicorn flopped out of bed and to the floor. She stretched and straightened the room with a quick spurt of magic, only to notice that Runestone and his gear were already gone. Comet groaned and muttered an “oh no,” to herself, and rushed to put her saddlebag back on and hurried out the door.

Graham was at the cash register, gently packing some muffins and other baked goods from the innkeeper into a brown paper bag when Comet rushed outside past him, saying a hurried, “Sorry I slept in!” as she went.

Comet was outside in an instant, but lost her breath to the sight before her. In the sunlight, Ponyville almost seemed to glitter. The buildings were rustic and charming, most trimmed with pink and yellow, with chocolate wood and fluffy straw roofs. They looked almost like cakes, designed by an expert pastry chef. Birds, unafraid, chirped and flittered about, passing through the almost perfectly symmetrical, green trees that sprouted willy-nilly throughout town.

Comet’s golden eyes roamed as she gawked with awe, feeling a strange tingling through the soil, only jerked from her trance as she felt an affectionate hoof ruffle her mane. She looked up quickly, her heart jumping, to see Runestone smiling down at her. His mane was almost set aglow in the morning sun and he looked very rested and pleased; Comet couldn’t help but notice that he looked much more in his element out here, away from the confines of the unicorn’s tower and Canterlot altogether.

“Nice place, huh?” he asked. “My first time here, myself. But everypony is so friendly! I’ve met five ponies in the last half-hour who have offered me free hats and baked goods!”

Comet let out a surprised, “Wow,” before she took another, quick look around and peeked down the road one way. She could see the edge of town, lined by its wall; even without that as an indicator, the grass itself was much brighter and greener in Ponyville.

“You look good for only a few hours sleep,” she commented a bit absently.

“I wasn’t really too tired,” he said, following her gaze curiously. “What’re you looking at?”

“This place... I think I understand,” she said quietly, and then looked to Runestone with wide eyed. “This place didn’t lose its magic. The earth... The trees- it’s all still magic here.”

“Ooh... You know, that explains a lot,” the stallion admitted. “We’re in what Age now? Age of the Starless Night, right? If these are pre-Starless buildings, like we thought with that whole barrier before the war thing, this place won’t have ever lost its magic. It never got wrecked by war or anything.”

“Why didn’t I ever read about this?” the unicorn wondered, scratching her head. “Seems like they’d want unicorns studying this place like crazy.”

“They cannot,” voiced Graham suddenly.

The two ponies jumped and spun to look at him, and he smiled apologetically.

“I am sorry, but I could not help but to overhear,” he said, passing each of the ponies a fruit muffin. “The condition of the barrier is that none with but the purest of intentions for the town may enter Ponyville. Those wishing simply to tap into its magical potential would not have gained access.”

“Fair enough,” Comet said with a nod. “But that’s some serious magic.”

“It is speculated that it may have been Twilight Sparkle’s doing,” Graham said. “This was her home, after all. However, the barrier’s magic does not match hers, according to history. So, in all honesty, I haven’t a clue what happened here.”

Comet frowned, a little annoyed with the abject lack of known history between the present and the time of Twilight Sparkle. She wished she had had more time with Princess Celestia to learn about some of the things left in shadows, but she supposed there wasn’t much she could do about it now.

Runestone watched her curiously for a moment, inclining his head, and he poked her with a hoof to draw her attention.

“That’s alright,” he said. “Hey, Comet, maybe you can look into it later? Sounds pretty interesting.”

“Maybe one day,” the unicorn agreed.

Graham seemed pleased and held out a wing.

“Shall we?” he asked.

Comet nodded and he smiled, his feathers puffing a little, and started off down the road. The two ponies hurried to follow, trotting along the gentle, sloping road leading back out of Ponyville. Passing an old windmill and slipping out through the barrier, they began their journey anew, heading back into the Everfree Forest.

Though there was no train-track trail this way, Graham still walked confidently into the woods. The trees were darker here, twisted and reaching, branches like spindly claws and knotholes like black, probing eyes. Comet was nervous for what was to come-- she watched the griffon’s reactions to everything. Runestone seemed twitchy: he was excited, but his nerves were clear.

As they continued through the dark trees, coming up on a ridge that dropped off steeply downward, Runestone, as if he had been holding in the question for a long while, asked, “So, Graham, what happens to us once we reach Harmonia?”

“Each of you will become a Warden, along with any other recruits that have been found,” the griffon replied. “You will be assigned a small group based on complimenting strengths, and you will serve alongside the King’s army as we push back the bulk of the Nightspawn.”

“Oh,” Runestone said, and his ears perked. “Can... Can Comet and I be in a group together? I mean, if you’d want that.”

He looked at the unicorn with wide eyes, and she gave him a reassuring nod, saying, “I’d really like to be in a group with you. I think we work well together.”

“Me too,” he agreed brightly, and ahead of them, Graham smiled.

“I’m sure it can be arranged,” he said; they had come to the edge of the cliff now, and the griffon peered over curiously, inspecting it with one eye and then turning his head to look with the other.

Comet trotted to catch up and hesitantly peeked over the edge, feeling an intense sense of vertigo. She immediately regretted the decision and pulled back

“You do play to each other’s strengths nicely from what I’ve seen. I see no problem with you two forming a group,” Graham said.

“Awesome,” Runestone said with a grin as he caught up, only to let out a yelp at the site of the deep drop and skitter backwards. “That is a long way down.”

Comet grimaced and cast around for something, perhaps a pathway down the cliff. She did, however, notice a few thick spires of stone poking from the trees a little ways away.

“I think I can see the ruins,” she said, pointing.

“Ooh, where?” Runestone asked, and his ears perked up when he spotted what she did. “Oh! Hey, that’s not so far.”

“We should press on,” Graham said a little sharply.

Comet turned her gaze on him, and noticed his face was more stern than normal. Her heart sunk and she felt a chill pass along her spine.

“Nightspawn?” she asked.

Runestone whipped around just in time to see Graham nod; his jaw dropped and he turned a quick gaze towards the sky. Comet followed, noting that there were some clouds slowly drifting in, but not covering the sun quite yet. Nervously, the unicorn glanced around again for a way down the cliff.

“They... They’re following us underground, right?” she asked. “They can’t keep up if we... But how do we-?”

Comet paced, annoyed that she still couldn’t do that teleport spell willingly. Then again, would it even do any good? She couldn’t teleport more than herself, could she? Graham coughed to draw her attention and spread his wings. The unicorn let out an embarrassed, “Oh!” and then rubbed her mane.

“Right! Good idea.”

“The one dilemma,” he admitted. “Is that I can only carry one of you at a time.”

Comet immediately pointed to Runestone, but was taken aback to see him point towards her as well.

“No, Runestone, you go first,” she insisted.

“No way, Graham, take Comet,” he said almost pleadingly.

“But if I get caught around Nightspawn, it’s easier for me to hold them back without getting too close,” the unicorn insisted.

It made her quake with fear to even think about facing them again, but she supposed this was her job now. She gulped and tried to look resolute. Graham eyed them both and then settled on Runestone.

“Oh, no way,” the stallion gasped. “You’re not really going to leave her here on her own?!”

“Reluctant as I am, I agree with her,” he said, and he lowered his body to the ground.

Runestone bit his lip and looked between the two, sighed, and reluctantly clambered onto Graham’s back.

“You... You better stay safe, you hear me?” he told Comet.

The unicorn forced a laugh and saluted him, and with the rushing of wind and heavy wingbeats, the two were gone over the edge of the cliff.

Comet grimaced and turned back to face the woods, gulping. She couldn’t feel the Nightspawn, but her mind put the possibility forward- she couldn’t help but imagine feeling their energy just below her hooves. She gulped and her ears flattened back. Seconds ticked by like minutes, and she could feel her chest tightening with fear. Gulping, she stole a glance up at the sky, her mouth drying to see that the clouds we blowing much closer to obscuring the sun. Sucking her tongue, Comet ground her hooves into the dirt and raised up two solid, ice spikes in her blue, crackling magic.

No sooner than shadows had cast themselves upon the ground and the sky darkened, Comet heard the earth cracking and the dull thud of dirt falling downwards. She didn’t see the hole until a dark, clawed limb shoved its way up into the air. Comet froze for just a moment, fear gripping tight in her chest, but after only an instant of hesitation, she rammed one of her ice spikes down to block the hole. She heard a pained snarl, but another hole opened up just a few feet away. Again, Comet slammed ice downwards into it, summoning up more spikes defensively, but this time, it was no use: the ground gave way completely in a spot, a wiry, winged Nightspawn leaping up, snarling. Comet didn’t waste an instant throwing both icicles at it, sending it tumbling back, but it was immediately replaced by two more, white eyes glowing, fangs bared. These ones, to her utter shock, wore makeshift, grimy armour, and each carried a sword, worn but mercilessly sharp and jagged.

Comet grimaced, frowning as she pulled her magic into bladed tendrils, and raced to meet them as they charged her. She was lighter; faster-- ducked under the first sword as she knocked it upwards and away, her magic tearing through the scrappy armour and into the beast. She felt the sharp, cold sting of the second sword grazing her shoulder and whipped around, eyes watering. She cried out and dashed back towards the cliff, slamming magic, pulse after pulse, against the one who had cut her, only relenting when it disappeared back off the cliff and Comet felt herself slipping too. She yelped and skittered back, whipping around on her hind legs only to see more Nightspawn pulling themselves from the dirt, snarling, hissing and spitting. She gulped deeply, sucking in hard breaths of air that made her lungs burn as she channeled magic back up into her horn. Through her own frantic breaths and heart thumping in her ears, though, she heard the distinctive, deep beating of wings-- she took a hesitant step back and glanced over the cliff. In the brief moment, she saw Graham rushing up towards her. In front of her, there was nowhere to go. She gulped, glanced back once more, and then turned, shouting, “Graham, I’m jumping!” before scrunching her eyes shut and diving from the ledge.

Her stomach dropped and wind whisked her breath away, chilling her to the bone as her eyes watered despite being closed tight. She felt like she was going to be sick, her heart racing and her head spinning and light. The roar of the wind stung her ears until they popped and for a second, all was silent. Her stomach was suddenly lurching anew as she felt strong, warm talons wrap around her and the chill of the air was almost completely gone. The sound of wind rushed back in and she was pressed gently against comforting feathers. She opened her eyes, seeing only black before her through the tears clouding her vision.

“I am very sorry,” she heard the griffon say.

“I’m fine,” she said, though her voice was warbling and weak, “n-no worries.”

She felt nauseous and closed her eyes tiredly.

“Comet? Comet! Please, please wake up, are you okay? C’mon, Comet!”

Comet’s ears twitched and she frowned, puzzled and blinked heavily. Big silver eyes stared back at her, and before she could even ask what was going on, she was whisked upwards into a tight, desperate hug. Startled, she couldn’t help a grunt at a deep, startling pain in her shoulder.

“Runestone, careful with her,” she heard Graham say.

The forelimbs around her loosened and Comet slumped, but she held her friend in return, frowning with confusion as she finally got a glimpse of her surroundings.

Aged stone walls encircled them protectively, lit by the sun pouring in through a few high, slitted windows cut through. Low-lying, white cots were stretched out across the room, along with a high shelf piled with bandages and other medical supplies. The doorway was blocked with a long, ornate sheet of cloth depicting a pelican in flight against the backdrop of the sun, though the light from outside spilled in through the gap between it and the floor.

“How...? Where are we?” she asked; her voice cracked and she gulped to wet her throat. “Is this Harmonia? When-?”

“You don’t remember?” Runestone asked.

He gently let her down and she stood on her own, though her legs were a little wobbly. He looked disheveled; tired, and his ears were folded back. She inclined her head.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Me? Me?” he demanded, eyes widening. “Wh- Huh? What?”

“I don’t understand,” she said, paused, and then rubbed her forehead. “I fainted again, didn’t I?”

“I apologize,” Graham said, his crest flattening; he patted Comet’s back gently. “I should not have left you. I should have found a way down the cliff.”

“I volunteered to stay,” she said. “Anyway, it was scary, but things turned out fine.”

She smiled, but to her surprise, Graham frowned in a concerned sort of way while Runestone looked at her like she was completely insane.

“Comet, you were out for hours,” he said.

The unicorn felt like she had been punched in the gut. She stammered out an awkward, “Wh-What?”, and to her surprise, Runestone embraced her again, more gently this time.

“You’ll be fine now,” he assured her.

“But what happened?” she pressed.

Her friend flinched and released her, but beckoned her towards the other side of the room. She followed him curiously, and he stopped before a tarnished mirror set up against the wall beside a small washing station. A bit hesitantly, the unicorn stepped in closer to get a good look at her reflection and yelped to see a long, deep, stitched up wound on her right shoulder. Her friend looked at her sympathetically but she took in a deep breath, smiling embarrassedly and putting her hoof to her brow.

“Sorry,” she laughed tiredly. “I didn’t think he cut me so badly.”

“You lost a lot of blood,” Runestone said, ears drooping low. “But... I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Thanks,” she said, booping his snout with hers, and ignoring his sudden shocked, blushing expression, she turned to Graham. “You came along at just the right time. That was awesome.”

The griffon’s eyes widened, but he sighed and bent to rub his beak affectionately against her neck. She couldn’t help but lean into it.

“I am very sorry for what happened. And I am even more sorry to say that that will not be the last time I will place you in danger’s path,” he said gently and pulled back, “but I should have been more cautious.”

“Can we all stop apologizing and worrying over me now?” the unicorn joked; she stretched her back and shoulder, and though it hurt, it was more than manageable. “By the way, Graham, they were using swords, did you see?”

“Oh, come on!” Runestone said in exasperation.

Graham frowned and clacked his beak, saying, “I saw. This is most troubling.”

“They don’t usually, I take it?” she asked.

“No, not unless they have an overarching force controlling them,” he said. “There were rumours in the first war, apparently, that a huge monster, an intelligent one, gave them direction, but not since then.”

“Oh great, it’s worse than we thought,” Runestone said, biting his lip.

“Do not worry, Runestone,” the griffon assured him. “The bulk of the horde has been amassing here, and when they attack, I am certain we have enough forces to thwart them.”

“Here? Do we know why?” Comet inquired curiously.

“Yes, actually. The Nightspawn seem to have an affinity for the Everfree Forest,” the griffon explained. “Where we are now has always been in the Forest, even before it was spread across Equestria.”

He sighed once more as the ponies shared a sudden look of understanding, but nonetheless, he ruffled his feathers contentedly as he looked upon Comet, though said nothing more and turned to head outside, brushing past the decorative curtain.

Comet tilted her head back and forth and then looked at Runestone.

“Get a chance to look around yet?” she asked.

“Are you kidding?” he replied, and when she stared at him blankly he let out a tired laugh, shaking his head. “Of course not, not with you how you were.”

“You... You stayed with me?” she asked; she felt her heart pick up its pace.

He nodded and shrugged, and her ears drooped back shyly.

“Thanks,” she said. “Should we go look ar... Oh, wait, my stuff?”

She cast a glance around, but Runestone shook his head, saying, “Sorry, your bag fell... Graham found your magic book, though. He has it.”

Comet’s heart sunk, wincing at the thought of losing the telescope she had spent so long building.

“Horsefeathers,” she muttered.

Her friend patted her good shoulder gently and then jerked his head at the door, saying, “We could go look around now, if you feel up to it.”

“Sounds good.”

They left the building together, and the immensity of the ruins took Comet utterly by surprise. Ruins wasn’t exactly the right word for the place: the unicorn had expected the structure to be wrecked and crumbling, but it was anything but. It was a fortress still, even if it had seen better days, surrounding them with high, stone battlements and the turrets they had spied from afar. Banners with the mark of the pelican and sun flew above the walls and ponies, heavily armed, patrolled high up. The space inside the massive, sheltered interior was clogged with elaborate tents, presumably bearing the mark of their owners. Ponies of all stripes and types wandered the areas, training, planning; worrying. Griffons were also dispersed thoroughly into the mix, along with a couple zebras, bison and Comet even spotted a couple of diamond dogs.

The blue unicorn looked around in awe, feeling suddenly very small amongst all the bustle.

“This is... This...”

She couldn’t finish. Runestone looked at her curiously and then peered around the encampment in the fortress, gulping.

“I guess this is really a big, serious thing, isn’t it?”

Comet nodded readily, only drawing her eyes away when a female voice called, “Hey,” from behind them.

When she looked, she was startled to see another unicorn there, taller and slimmer than average with a dark blue coat and, to her surprise, darker stripes across the whole of her body, like that of a zebra. Her mane, sectioned in purple and black, fell elegantly down the right side of her neck while the forelock on the left side was brushed almost over her eye. Before Comet could say a word, the exotic-looking unicorn strode in close, looking her up and down, and flicking Runestone in the face with her tail as she caught him gawking.

“You’re that kid that jumped off the cliff, right?” she asked, her yellow eyes narrowing.

“Um... yes?” Comet replied a bit hesitantly.

“You’ve fought Nightspawn before?”

“Yes, we both have,” the blue unicorn said, nodding at Runestone.

The new mare eyed them both up and down a little skeptically for a moment before shrugging to herself and announcing, “I’m Umbra. Newest member of the Wardens of Harmony. And before either of you ask, yes, I’m half zebra.”

“I wasn’t gonna say anything,” Runestone said hurriedly.

“Right,” she replied sarcastically. “Graham asked me to show you around; introduce you to a few ponies. Interested?”

“Sure,” Comet replied right away, and then looked to Runestone, but before she could ask him as well.

Umbra simply said, “Follow me, I guess,” and began to walk away. Sharing a puzzled look between them, the two ponies hurried to keep up.

The frowning unicorn trotted through the encampment, pointing out the Warden’s tent, large and grey with the symbol of a legendary hippogriff with wings spread wide emblazoned across it. Tents nearby, even more elaborate and larger, housed the King, Queen and their top advisors. More, spread out, housed equipment and food stores; even a makeshift eatery. Near the King’s tent, there was a small training area set up. Ponies were practicing there, swinging swords and maces against wooden dummies. More were getting outfitted a little ways away and beyond even that, there was a statue of Princess Celestia where ponies gathered.

“There’s so many,” Runestone muttered to himself.

“Of course there are,” Umbra said with a roll of her eyes. “Ponies from all over the Kingdom are here. Didn’t Graham tell you anything?”

“Yes,” Runestone said a bit defensively, but Comet was more curious than annoyed.

“We’ve been at the unicorn’s tower in Canterlot, they sort of keep us in the dark,” Comet explained, and the striped unicorn’s expression softened a little. “We didn’t even know the Nightspawn were a big deal until they attacked us a few weeks ago.”

“That’s pathetic,” Umbra grumbled, her ears flattening. “They really didn’t tell you? We’ve been dealing with the attacks for months.”

Runestone’s eyes widened and he and Comet shared a worried look as Umbra continued.

“We’ve even had two battles here in Harmonia. So far, we’ve been able to beat the horde back, but Graham said he felt something big coming. He thinks if we can beat that, the Nightspawn will be pushed back underground for a long time.”

Comet nodded; she supposed it was that smart, monster Nightspawn the griffon had mentioned.

“How long have you been a Warden?” Runestone asked.

“Why?” the unicorn asked suspiciously; Runestone’s ears drooped.

“I was just curious,” he said innocently.

Umbra sighed and looked almost apologetic for a moment.

“Three months.”

Runestone’s dejected expression quickly shifted to curiosity.

“So, you’ve fought Nightspawn before, too?” he asked.

The unicorn hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. Comet felt a sting of surprise and the stallion beside her looked visibly so.

“Graham’s kept me and a few other newer members out of the combat up until now,” she said, and when the other ponies gave her questioning look, she simply said, “He has his reasons. I trust him.”

“Now that I’m with you with a hundred percent,” Runestone said, smiling.

Umbra seemed a little surprised, but Comet was becoming more interested in something past the tents. There was a small group of ponies being escorted past the tents by a large stallion in dark steel armour. They didn’t look like fighters; they seemed as out of place as she felt. She paused and Umbra stopped and doubled back, inclining her head to look at what she was staring at.

“Those are refugees,” she said.“There was a small town north of Harmonia that got overrun by Nightspawn a few days ago.”

Comet’s heart went out to them immediately, and she noticed the stallion beside her slump with worry.

“They’ll be alright,” Umbra assured them. “Come on.”

She turned to show them around the corner of the King’s tent, but before the other two ponies could even peer around, the unicorn was backing up, eyes wide, and she knelt to the ground. Runestone peeked first and immediately mimicked her. Curiously, Comet peeked around the tent and was surprised to see a group of four large, rather heavily armed ponies. The pegasus in front of the group, a large stallion with bright red eyes and a dark teal pelt, inclined his head and took off his ornate, gold helmet, rubbing a hoof through his streaked cerulean mane.

“Sorry, your Highness,” Umbra said quickly.

“Highness?” Comet asked aloud.

She looked up at the pegasus for a moment before she felt a shock of embarrassment, but before she could correct her stance, the King laughed and said, “Rise, friends.”

A little flustered, Umbra got up and Runestone followed with wide eyes as Comet sidestepped close to him almost unconsciously so as not to stand out. Beside the King, the other pegasus leaned over. She was a pale violet and wore her blue and white mane tied back high behind her head, and was wearing a similarly ornate, golden armour emblazoned with the images of a songbird along the collar. She seemed curious.

“Oh! Miss Umbra, are these the new Wardens from Canterlot?” she asked.

“Yes, Highness.”

“Well, it is a pleasure to-!” the King began, but before they knew it the mare at his side pushed past him, her wings flaring as she grinned at the three smaller ponies before her.

“Good to meet you!” she announced. “I’m Skylark, the Queen and all that. This strapping young stallion is my husband, Tornado.”

She leaned back and exaggeratedly caressed the underside of the King’s chin and then beckoned the other two stallions behind him forward. To Comet’s surprise, one was a unicorn: pale blue-grey with a long, white mane and eyes like ice. The final was a heavily muscled, black-armoured earth pony with a closely clipped, black mane and a pelt much like the unicorn’s in a much darker shade.

“River Rush, our head General,” Skylark said as she pointed out the dark stallion, and to the unicorn, she said, “And Icicle Star. Resident strategist and battlemage.”

“We expect to be working quite closely with you Wardens,” Tornado said brightly, looking to the General with a smile, “Right, old friend?”

“With all due respect, sire, as I’ve said, we shouldn’t rely too heavily on the Wardens,” the stallion said, though he smiled a little, the expression looking a little foreign on his tired face, “but all soldiers are more than welcome.”

Umbra nodded a little stiffly. Comet wasn’t sure of her trepidation; royalty or not, they seemed nice enough. She smiled and bowed her her head politely, saying, “It’s very nice to meet all of you. Thanks for the welcome.” To her surprise, the group seemed taken aback until Queen Skylark barked out a laugh and beamed at her, bowing her head in return.

“I like you,” she announced. “What’s your name, little Warden?”

“I’m Comet Strike, and this one-” she poked Runestone with her hoof and he seemed to snap out of his stupor, looking a little embarrassed, “-is my friend, Runestone.”

The Queen smiled and the King also looked pleased. Behind them, Icicle leaned forward, eyes widening just a little.

“Did you say ‘Comet Strike’?” he asked quietly.

The look he gave her made her stall uncertainly.

“Do you know her?” Tornado asked curiously.

Seeming almost to ignore the King entirely, Icicle Star’s ears perked forward.

“I know your Archmage. She’s spoken highly of you,” he said.

Comet felt a lump form in her throat, but she forced a smile and said, “Did she? That’s nice of her.”

The other unicorn smiled a little and nodded, looking to the stallion at his side.

“Another strong unicorn is a welcome addition, right, brother?”

The stallion nodded thoughtfully and, quietly, excused himself from the group. Icicle followed, saying, “Looking forward to working with you, Wardens,” as he went.

The rest watched them go; Tornado turned back to the group first.

“Well! The more the merrier, I say!” he said brightly. “Welcome, again, to Harmonia, friends.”

“Thank you, your Highness,” Runestone said a bit shyly.

Umbra bowed again and the two regal pegasi continued on their way. Comet watched them trot off for a moment with lingering curiosity and then turned back to Umbra, expecting the tour to continue. Instead, she found the other unicorn glowering at her and she backed up a step, ears drooping.

“What?” she asked.

“Be more careful!” Umbra snapped.

“What? Why, what happened?” Runestone asked, stepping in as if to his friend’s defense.

“The Queen is notoriously temperamental,” the unicorn growled, and then took a step back and straightened herself gracefully, snorting and saying, “You’re lucky she liked you, speaking so casually like that.”

“Oh! I’m sorry,” Comet replied, her face flushing with embarrassment. “I didn’t know. Sorry...”

“It’s fine,” Umbra sighed. “Just... be cautious.”

“Right. Sorry.”

“How could she have known that?” Runestone asked a bit protectively, but Comet poked him with her hoof and gave him an embarrassed grin and he seemed to relax.

“Anyway,” the taller unicorn said, “Shall we continue?”

She trotted ahead without waiting for an answer, taking the ponies farther into camp until they reached the tent where they had seen ponies receiving their armour.

“Well, what was your name? Runestone? This is your stop,” she said abruptly.

The stallion looked baffled, his eyes widening.

“It is?” he asked.

Umbra responded with a sharp, “Yep,” and pushed him towards the tent.

“Okay, I guess I’ll see you later, Comet!” he said.

Comet waved at him and Umbra returned to her as the stallion headed, baffled, into the tent.

“Can I go with him?” Comet asked.

“No, you’ll just get in the way,” the striped unicorn replied simply.

“Oh.”

Comet’s ears drooped and Umbra poked her gently in the shoulder.

“You and I, we’re not really suited for the physical end of the combat, is all,” she said, her tone softening. “He’s going to get fitted for new armour and do some sword training today.”

“What am I supposed to do?” she asked, confused.

“You know, I didn’t have any orders concerning you, if I’m honest,” Umbra said with a shrug. “I suppose go where you’d like as long as you aren’t in anybody’s way.”

“Right,” Comet said a little awkwardly.

She suspected that the lack of orders was intentional, and her mind was drawn to the long, ugly stitches across her shoulder and back; her ears flopped just a little.

“I guess I’ll just wander,” Comet said.

Umbra nodded and turned to leave.

“Hey, tell Graham I don’t blame him, okay?” Comet called after her.

“Don’t blame him?” Umbra repeated, checking back over her shoulder.

Comet nodded and the other unicorn shrugged.

“Sure,” she said.

Comet felt a sudden, unexpected twinge of fear being alone, but she took a deep breath looked around, her eyes lingering on the tent Runestone had entered. She was tempted to go in there, but Umbra was right: she probably would be in the way. Puffing out a deep sigh, Comet slowly clip-clopped on her way, wondering what to do with herself. She felt sore and overwhelmed, and strangely bare without Runestone with her.

The bustle of the encampment seemed to pass her by for the most part as she looked around. Ponies looked either worried or cocky, and that, too, made Comet a bit uneasy. She wondered as well about Icicle Star. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with more Canterlot business now; maybe not ever. She hoped he would just forget he had even met her.

Frowning at the ground, Comet didn’t even notice where she was until she nearly walked straight into another pony. Immediately, her face turned apologetic and she skittered back, squeaking out a quick, “Sorry!” as the chocolate-coloured stallion in light leather armour hopped back to regain his hooves.

“Oh! Not a problem,” the stallion announced in a rather sharp Manehatten accent. “Hey... You’re new here, right?”

He looked at her sideways, blowing a section of his spiky, burgundy mane from his face as it tumbled into his eyes; she backed up a little and nodded.

“You here for training?” he asked.

Comet blinked blankly at him, staring until she noticed the stone wall and training dummies to their right. She nodded.

“Sure. I mean, yes. I mean...” She sighed and put a hoof through her mane as he smiled with amusement. “Sorry, I just woke up recently.”

The stallion’s bright blue eyes were on her wound in an instant and he nodded as if he understood.

“Well, lucky for you, I’m pretty good at training unicorns,” he assured her, grinning. “I’m Shatter Spear, by the way. Or, Shatter, if you like. You?”

“Comet,” she replied.

“Ah, the new Warden from Canterlot,” he said, smiling, and he looked her over quickly. “They told me a new unicorn was coming. I wasn’t expecting you to show up here. They mostly mentioned an earth pony.”

Comet nodded and Shatter shrugged and beckoned towards the training dummies lined up near the wall, made of straw and wood.

“I could use some training,” Comet said, tilting her head to point out the stitched wound on her shoulder.

“Ah,” the stallion said, nodding.

Shatter guided her in towards one of training dummies and pointed at it.

“Okay, kiddo, let’s see what you can do.”

Comet had to stop a flinch-- Nimbus always used to speak like that to her. She turned to look at Shatter Spear curiously.

“Just... hit it?”

“Yeah, however you want, as hard as you can, let’s see,” he said.

“With magic, or-?”

“No, physically hit it.”

Comet grimaced and braced her hooves on the ground. She focussed on the dummy straight in front of her and charged, only to realize she had no idea what she was doing. At the last minute, she thrust her shoulder forward and rammed the dummy with all her might. A splintering sound satisfied her but in an instant she found herself sprawled on the ground in an awkward tangle with the wood and straw.

A bit embarrassed, she rolled upright, blowing a bit of hay from her mane; Shatter laughed and trotted up to her, brushing her off.

“Okay, maybe physical stuff isn’t really for you,” he said. “...Didn’t that hurt?”

“A bit,” Comet admitted embarrassedl., “Um... yeah, maybe I should just hit it with my magic?”

“Best is to learn to combine physical blows with magic,” Shatter said. “With what you just did, I’m sorry to say, you’d be dead pretty quick.”

The unicorn’s ears drooped and her face flushed with shame, but Shatter quickly patted her good shoulder.

“But that’s why I’m here, kiddo. We’ll start you off slow and you’ll pick it up as we go. But first...” He eyed her bad shoulder, drawing in a sharp breath past his teeth. “Come with me.”

Shatter trotted off in a hurry and, puzzled, Comet followed him away from the training area. First, he took her to a white tent close by with a pink medical cross stuck to the front of it. He shoved his head in and she heard him shout, “Hey, Snowdust, did you see the unicorn with the bad shoulder?”

He was almost immediately pushed back by a white unicorn with a pale pink, tied back mane, glowering at him through the tent opening.

“Don’t shout,” she ordered harshly, and then looked past him to Comet.

She tsked and trotted out, tilting her head and pushing close to the unicorn’s bad shoulder, her pink magic shooting against it to quickly redo a few stitches before getting up in Shatter Spear’s face again.

“What were you doing with her? Your training? That’s the unicorn that jumped the cliff, you idiot!”

“That’s you?” Shatter asked, whirling on her with wide eyes, but before Comet could answer, he turned back to the white unicorn and said, “Is that really all you can do for her shoulder? I thought you-”

“Don’t give me that,” Snowdust said, and her ears drooped and expression softened just a little. “She got hit by Nightspawn swords. They poison the blades. That’s the best I can do. Now, excuse me.”

She rushed back into the tent rather abruptly and Shatter shared a wide-eyed look with Comet.

“Poison?” she said aloud, gulping. “Just great.”

“I’m sorry, kiddo,” the stallion said, ears drooping low. “I didn’t clue in that you were the one who-”

“Is this news all over camp?” the unicorn wondered worriedly. “I... I don’t want ponies treating me like I’m broken. I just want to help. I don’t want anybody worrying about me over this.”

Shatter Spear opened his mouth as if to speak, frowned, and then rubbed his chin, muttering, “Hmm...” He thought for a moment and then a grin spread over his face and he beckoned her to follow him as he raced off. Confused, Comet followed.

To her surprise, he took her to the armour outfitters and rushed inside. Cautiously, she peeked in after him; he was rushing around the tent, baffling a few other battle-clad ponies in there as he scrounged through racks of equipment. Before Comet could even ask what he was doing, he returned to her with a long strap held proudly in his teeth. He leaned down and quickly fastened it around her and drew back with a grin. Comet was surprised to see that he had found a shoulder plate: silver and emblazoned with a wing and probably meant for an archer. She puffed up a little to look at it and smiled despite herself.

“Good?” Shatter asked brightly, and when she nodded he smiled proudly and said, “Well, that shoulder won’t be normal for a while, so you might as well protect it.”

“Thanks,” the unicorn said; her tail wagged and the stallion nudged her out of the tent.

“Let’s try this again,” he said.

Comet wasn’t good at combat. In fact, it wouldn’t have been much of a stretch to say she was terrible at it. Her steps were frantic, her kicks off target, and she tripped over her own hooves like a foal learning to walk. She wasn’t deterred, though: she wanted to learn. Shatter Spear didn’t seem dissuaded either, coaching her in her movements no matter how many times she fell. Her body was sore with bruises, but Comet didn’t mind.

A kick slipping threw her for a loop and the unicorn plopped to the ground, wiping sweat from her brow and panting.

“Good effort, kiddo,” Shatter said with a laugh; her carried her a flask of water from which she drank eagerly. “Hate to say it, but you’re still pretty clumsy. Not sure how long you’d last in a brawl.”

“Probably not long at all,” Comet admitted with a nod, “I’m much better with magic.”

Shatter nodded and eyed her up and down curiously in silence for a moment as she took another sip of water.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” the stallion said, “why did you get sent for this training? The Wardens can’t be expecting you to actually be in combat, right? Don’t mean to be rude, but-”

“No, that’s fine,” Comet said. “No one sent me for training, I just thought it would be a good idea.”

Shatter stared at her, surprised, but when his eyes darted to her shoulder guard, he sighed and nodded.

“Gotcha. Ready to go again?”

She nodded and got to her hooves, stretching her back briefly before she set her eyes on her training dummy again. Shatter Spear stood and walked to the dummy, smacking it in the chin and the legs.

“See if you can get these two points.”

Comet nodded and frowned, focusing and, as the stallion stepped out of the way, she rushed the dummy and whirled, hitting it hard in the legs and regaining herself to strike it in the face; she missed the chin but the strike to the face made it wobble. She heard Shatter give a whoop of approval and she turned, only to be knocked down as the dummy smacked into the back of her head.

Shatter laughed and rushed to help her to her hooves.

“My fault, kiddo, you almost had it!”

She rubbed her head, snickering to herself.

“It’s fine,” she said.

She was quickly distracted by a laughter that didn’t seem to quite be on her side. She looked curiously, feeling a sting of shame; Shatter glared at a group of armoured ponies that were approaching, led by a red stallion with a sneer on his face.

“Get out of here, Shatter Spear,” he snapped. “I need this area. You and your pathetic unicorn can go practice on some barrels or something.”

Comet felt her face flush but before she could say anything, Shatter got up and got in the other stallion’s face.

“Get over yourself, Blaze Run,” he growled. “Don’t pick on a filly who is trying her best!”

“Her best is embarrassing. Lost cause. You’re a terrible trainer, and that attempt was embarrassing.”

“Hey!” Shatter Spear grunted. “She’s not so bad, especially considering--”

Comet shrunk back behind him. She really didn’t want to get involved, and recoiled when the red stallion leaned around him to look at her with a strange smile on his face.

“If you don’t think it’s so bad, maybe you should let her try to take me on?”

Comet gulped, but before any more could come of it, the red stallion was sprawled on the ground as, to the unicorn’s surprise, Runestone ploughed into him. He looked completely shocked as the tan stallion towered above him, glowering down as the other soldiers looked at him with surprise.

“Don’t you dare,” he said sternly, a deep frown on his face. “She is a Warden, don’t you dare treat her like that.”

“A Warden?” Blaze Run said.

His bad attitude faded in his surprise for just a moment and he gulped, but got to his hooves quickly, baring teeth and stomping a hoof as he got into Runestone’s face. The young stallion didn’t even flinch as Blaze Run growled out, “You uppity little foal.”

Comet grimaced and got to her hooves and, biting her lip, she drew up a bit of magic just in case, but was startled out of it by light feathers brushing her back. She looked up to see Graham with a stern look on his face and she dropped down immediately as he passed by her.

“Runestone,” he said calmly.

Runestone’s intense gaze went to the griffon and he instantly softened and pulled back a little. The red stallion glanced hesitantly over his shoulder and his ears drooped, his eyes widening as he almost coughed out Graham’s name in surprise.

“Runestone, would you please help Comet back to our tent?” the griffon said gently. “Blaze Run, I would like to have a word with you, if I might. You too, Shatter Spear.”

Gulping, Blaze Run nodded and quickly dismissed the other soldiers; Runestone snorted at him and strode past, joining Comet and nudging her gently. She grimaced and shared a worried look with Shatter before she and Runestone hurried off.

They were quiet and Comet’s heart was beating a little too fast in her ears.

“Are... Are you okay?” Runestone asked quietly. “What were you doing there? You weren’t hurt, were you?"

“Me? Oh, no, I was just trying to train with Shatter Spear,” she said quietly.

She felt a little embarrassed and her ears flattened.

“Umbra didn’t give me anything to do after she sent you off, so I ended up trying to get better at fighting and... yeah...”

Runestone grimaced and gently pressed his snout to her neck; Comet felt her face heat up.

“That Blaze Run guy sure is a jerk,” he grumbled, “He seemed kind of like a creep when he was giving us our training rundown earlier... Ooh, you’re kind of bruised, huh?”

Comet nodded and shrugged, laughing a little and saying, “Well, yeah, I was doing combat practice, and I suck at it.”

“You’re nuts,” the stallion replied, sticking his tongue out at her. “After what happened with the Nightspawn... oh...”

He looked at her with wide eyes and Comet guessed that he had clued in to her motives. His ears drooped and, again, he nuzzled her cheek.

“Just be careful, okay?”

“Thanks.” she said.

She was unable to stop her tail from swishing happily. She felt a little better being with somepony she knew again.

They went back to the Warden’s tent and peeked inside for the first time. The grey tent was empty of ponies, lit by hovering, white magic orbs that gave the place the atmosphere of cool, safe room. Low beds lined one side of the tent in two rows with chests for belongings at the head of each, and the other had a long meeting table laden with maps, notes, and to Comet’s surprise, her books. As they edged inside, beyond that, Comet could see some strange, steel boxes, emblazoned with a six pointed star and framed by a wing on each side, that ebbed the faint tingle of magic.

“Ooh, so this is our place, huh?” Runestone wondered. “Do we get beds? I could use a good bed right about now.”

Comet was curious as well, so she trotted over to the beds. To her surprise, she saw each chest was marked with a Soul Mark, and was even more surprised to find hers there as well. Right beside it was a box that didn’t have a Soul Mark, but instead had a specific series of spots, much like the appaloosa spots on Runestone’s back and flank. Comet beckoned him closer and he, ears perking, joined her and said a surprised, “Oh!” when he saw what she had. Contentedly, he hopped onto what seemed to be his bed and Comet followed his lead, flopping down on hers.

Her friend stretched out and rested his head on his front hooves, closing his eyes. Comet couldn’t help but smile and she relaxed back on the mattress quietly. She wasn’t really tired, but it was nice to rest her body. She supposed she’d really be feeling her training in the next few hours.

Staring up at the ceiling for a little while and Comet began to feel nervous rather than relaxing.

“Hey,” she said, drawing Runestone’s attention, “did you...? Did you hear anything about when the battle might happen?”

The stallion’s eyes opened and he looked at her with a sort of concerned frown on his face.

“You’re worried you aren’t ready, huh?” he asked.

Comet grimaced and muttered, “Yeah, kinda.”

“Stick with me, okay?” he said. “No matter what. You do the magic, I’ll do the rest, and we’ve got all our bases covered. We’ll be okay.”

He said it with such certainty that Comet couldn’t help but feel better, even when he said, “Anyway, I’ve heard that it’ll be in the next few days.”

“Scary.”

“Tell me about it. Still glad you left?” he asked.

“Absolutely,” she said with a nod.

Runestone smiled.

“Me too,” he agreed.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a little while; Comet tried not to think too much. It wasn’t really working, but she was finally starting to calm down when the rustling of the curtain in front of the tent’s door snapped her back into reality. She was surprised to see Shatter Spear walk in slowly, almost cautiously, ears down until he saw her and Runestone. He smiled a little, almost apologetic, and he sighed tiredly and trotted to one of the beds and flopped down, pulling his armour off tiredly. Comet stared at him for a moment, Runestone stared at her, and she sighed and set her magic out to unfasten the armour. Shatter looked at her with surprise and then snickered.

“Thanks,” he said.

He shoved the metal onto his box as he pushed it away from his body. Comet leaned around to see the box before him with the mark of two crossed spears on it, and looked up to see the same mark matched on his flank.

“Comet?” he said. “Sorry.”

“Oh. Okay,” she said a bit blankly.

Runestone leaned forward on his bed.

“Sorry for what?” he asked with honest curiosity.

The other stallion sighed and laughed tiredly, running a hoof through his mane and looked at the unicorn.

“I shouldn’t have pushed you,” he said.

“But you didn’t... Oh. Graham said-”

“Yeah.”

Shatter looked embarrassed and Comet shrugged, gave him a smile.

“No worries,” she assured him.

The stallion looked a little relieved and flopped back on his bed, stretching his hooves high above his head.

“Didn’t realize you were a Warden,” the unicorn commented.

“Oh, I didn’t mention?” he replied, laughing tiredly. “Sorry, kiddo, guess I forgot. Anyway, you okay?”

“I wish everyone would stop asking me that,” she joked. “I’m okay. Thanks.”

“Well, you fell pretty hard-”

“She does that a lot,” Runestone put in with a smile, and jokingly added, “Comet has a habit of full-body ramming things in a fight. And that shoulder plate will help her out.”

“True,” Comet replied, snickering, and even the apologetic Shatter cracked an amused smile.

“Ah, you foals are gonna fit in fine with us,” he said.

It wasn’t long before the tent’s entrance rustled and, feathers bristling, Graham strode in past the curtain entrance. The three ponies inside sat up almost in unison, and Comet immediately got to her hooves and hurried to him, ears drooping.

“I’m sorry to cause trouble,” she said quickly.

“Not at all, dear girl,” the griffon said a bit tiredly, though he smiled. “All is well.”

Comet couldn’t quite bring herself to believe him completely.

“Are you sure?” she asked quietly.

He patted her back gently and nodded.

“If you would like to learn physical combat, you will continue to train with Shatter Spear, if that is acceptable to you.”

“Of course,” Comet said, nodding.

Graham looked to Runestone, stating, “You will also train with Shatter Spear.”

“Oh! Okay, sure,” Runestone said, “but--”

“Blaze Run is a more experienced fighter,” Graham said, “but you will conflict less with Shatter Spear.”

“O-Okay,” the tan stallion said with a hurried nod.

Graham seemed pleased and cast a knowing glance at Shatter; the stallion looked a bit embarrassed and he muttered, “Thanks, Graham,” almost under his breath.

“Tomorrow, though,” the griffon stated, “Runestone, Comet Strike, you should relax if you can. You will be inducted formally into the Wardens tonight.”

“Oh! So soon?” Runestone asked, and he grinned a little nervously when Graham nodded.

“You will do fine,” the griffon assured him, “I will see you tonight.”

The griffon slid out of the tent quietly and quickly, and Comet and Runestone shared a sort of nervous look and she grinned a little.

“Well, that’s big,” she said.

“Tell me about it,” Runestone replied with a laugh.

“I wonder what Element you’ll be...?” Shatter asked to no one in particular.

“Element?” Comet repeated curiously, inclining her head. “So... You must have been through the ritual, right? Can you tell us anything about it?”

“Nope, not supposed to give you any warning ahead of time,” the stallion replied, shooting her a wink. “All I’ll tell you is that I was Generosity.”

Runestone stared at him blankly as the other stallion grinned, but Comet suspected she was starting to clue in. She smiled to herself and nodded.

“I hear you,” she said.

Shatter looked surprised but, after a moment, began to laugh and rolled his eyes.

“Figures.”

Shatter seemed more lively now; much less dejected and embarrassed, and insisted they meet the some of the other Wardens. Comet was a little shy: though reluctant to say it, she was worried that the news of the day would still her jumping from the cliff.

Inside the walls of the fortress, a small area was set aside with tables and benches, near large, tapped barrels of cider. Apparently, according to Shatter, many of the Wardens were out scouting in the woods; the ones left behind were either new, recruits similar to themselves, or had been on other business.

At the closest of the tables, playing a casual game of cards were three older creatures, a huge, shaggy red stallion with a short-clipped white mane and two zebra twins. They were utterly identical, with spiky, short mohawked manes, violet eyes; the only visual cue to separate them being a scar across one’s left eye. Comet’s worries were quickly stifled as not a one gave her a second glance.

Shatter nudged her and Runestone towards them and said, “Hey, guys! Good game?” with a grin.

The scarred zebra turned and gave him a small smile while the others didn’t move for a moment until the large stallion slapped a card down on the table. The other zebra groaned and turned her attention on Shatter and the ponies with him.

“Oh, my, new blood,” she said with a smile. “Greetings, little ones.”

“Hi,” Comet said a little shyly.

“Nice to meet you!” Runestone replied brightly.

“This is Comet and Runestone,” Shatter said, and then pointed to the zebra with the scar, “Calfala, and-”

“I’m Tafii,” the other zebra said with a nod.

The large stallion across the table simply said, “Crush,” before tapping Calfala and pointing to the cards she still held. She sighed and placed one facing down in the center of the three of them.

“Have you been officially inducted yet?” she asked as her sister laid out a few cards and Crush grimaced and had to pass one of his over to her.

“No, tonight,” Runestone replied.

“Ah. Good. Thought we might have missed it,” Calfala said. “Be brave, and you’ll be fine.”

“Exciting,” Shatter said, and then pointed a little farther down the hall, past some soldiers eating and towards a small group near the wall and close to the cider barrels. “Why don’t you two go introduce yourselves? I need to do a bit of catching up with these three.”

“Oh. Right,” Comet said with a nod, and began to trot away before doubling back and quickly saying, “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah,” Runestone agreed quickly.

Approaching the group Shatter Spear had indicated, she noticed three ponies and a griffon, garbed in light armour as if they had recently come from training. The griffon, tawny in colour except for the white of her face and flight feathers, noticed them first, her pink eyes growing wide and round with surprise as they approached.

“Well, hey there!” she said brightly, a little bit of the south leaking through in her accent. “Newbies?”

“Yeah,” Runestone said. “Runestone and Comet, good to meet you.”

The other ponies turned with surprise. A light-boned, baby blue pegasus took off his helmet and rubbed a hoof through his white mane as if trying to make himself presentable.

“Cloudrush, hi,” he said.

A yellow mare across the table waved a bit shyly.

“I’m Sunny Fields.”

The last pony, a light purple mare, northern in appearance with a lighter diamond on her brow and matching hooves, her indigo mane in a braid, seemed a little unenthusiastic and simply said, “Flowerdrop.”

“Come sit with us,” the griffon said brightly, patting the bench beside her. “I’m Gaila, by the way.”

“Thanks,” Comet said, and slid onto the bench beside her. “You’re all Wardens?”

“Me and Sunny are,” Gaila replied as Runestone plopped down with Comet. “I’m guessing that you two are in the same boat as Cloud and Flowerdrop?”

Comet nodded and the light purple pony across the table leaned in a little, inclining her head curiously.

“Where’re you from?”

“We’re from Canterlot,” Comet answered, but Flowerdrop shook her head.

“Before that,” she insisted.

“Oh, um... I don’t know, I’ve always lived in Canterlot until now,” the blue unicorn said with a shrug.

Flowerdrop looked a little disappointed but Cloudrush leaned in and seemed a bit more interested.

“I’m from New Cloudsdale. Gaila, too. Ever been?”

Comet and Runestone both shook their heads, but the pegasus smiled, his ears perking up high.

“That’s good, next time Graham goes around looking for recruits you can ask to go there with him, I heard he’s pretty partial to bringing ponies to new places.”

“Is it nice?” Runestone asked.

“Beautiful.” Cloudrush smiled, his eyes brightening. “How is Canterlot?”

“The architecture is nice,” Comet said. “But it’s getting a little run down.”

“Honestly, it’s a little creepy,” Runestone added, and when the others looked confused, he frowned to himself as if considering his words, and continued, “It’s not what it looks like. It’s just got almost a ghost-town feel to it.”

Comet nodded and he seemed a little relieved; in all honesty, she agreed with him completely.

“Weird,” Flowerdrop muttered.

She looked a little unnerved. Sunny Fields, on the other hand, seemed more curious, and lifted her light helmet to scratch under it lightly.

“But... you’re an earth pony? Why were you in Canterlot?”

“He must’ve been a Sunwalker, right?” Gaila asked, her chest puffing out, and her short crest raised up, pleased, when he nodded.

Flowerdrop’s blue eyes narrowed and she leaned in a little, seeming to almost analyze the two newcomers carefully.

“And you two...? You two get along?” the purple mare asked.

“Sure we do,” Runestone said.

Comet smiled and without even thinking about it, stated, “Of course. We’re practically best friends.”

The tan stallion blushed shyly immediately and couldn’t help but sit a bit taller, and Comet shot him a smirk and nudged him with her elbow.

“Oh. Weird,” was Flowerdrop’s only response.

Cloudrush buffeted her head with a wing and Sunny giggled softly as the other mare grumbled to herself and snorted.

“I’m from Dawncliff,” Sunny said, putting a hoof to her chest. “Guard in-training at the time Graham picked me out.”

“I was a thief,” Gaila said with a grin. “Flowerdrop is a great tracker and Cloud is the son of some well-to-do pegasi-- Well trained, though.”

“I couldda told my own story,” Flowerdrop grumbled, and Gaila laughed and ruffled her mane from across the table.

“My way’s faster. Anyway. Nervous for tonight?”

She cast her sparkling gaze around the table. Though she flinched, the purple mare shrugged.

“Nah!” Cloudrush stated proudly.

“I am, a bit,” Comet admitted.

“Yeah, me too. Especially since we haven’t been told much.”

“And it’ll stay that way,” the griffon said with a wink.

“Sorry,” Sunny added a bit shyly.

“What’s with the secrecy?” Comet wondered.

“You’ll understand tonight,” Gaila assured her, patting her shoulder. “You guys wanna go walk around a bit?”

She hopped to her paws and stretched her wings, heading for the outside; the other recruits and Sunny followed as well. Comet looked at Runestone curiously and asked, “Wanna go with them?”

“Do you?”

“I’m a little sore, to be honest, but maybe just for a little while.”

Runestone looked at her with a concerned frown, but before he could say another word, she bumped him lightly with her horn; they followed a little ways behind the others back outside.

Sunset was starting to creep in and Comet noticed an uncommon bustle outside. Ponies in gold amour trotted at a hurried pace, heading for the walls on all sides. Just as she was wondering how they kept the Nightspawn out overnight, she noticed a twinkle of light from one of the walls. A unicorn far in the distance sent up a beam of gold towards the sky above where it was quietly joined by another, and then after a few seconds, three more. A thin, bubble-like film spread between, creating a light dome overhead that tinted the sunlight very gold and gave it a sort of ethereal glow.

“Well, would you look at that,” Runestone muttered. “I guess Pinklily was really on to something.”

“I hope that goes underground too,” Comet said quietly, ears drooping. “But... I guess it must, huh?”

She looked at her friend, and though he looked worried, he nodded and agreed, “I’m sure it does.” Comet nodded as if to reassure herself. The last thing she wanted was a repeat of Canterlot. But of course, Wardens of Harmony were all over this place. Unlike the Sunwalkers --despite their best efforts-- the Wardens actually knew what they were doing when it came to Nightspawn.

Runestone and Comet followed along with the other Wardens and recruits curiously. The others were much more talkative; Runestone seemed a bit shy and Comet was tired. She didn’t really have much to say. The others didn’t seem to mind, though she did notice Flowerdrop giving her funny looks every once in a while.

Just as the group was heading back towards the Warden’s tent at Gaila’s behest, she was stopped, and suddenly too. Umbra stood at the head of the group, appearing suddenly and quietly, startling the group still.

“It’s time,” she said. “Recruits, follow me.”

She beckoned them away from the tent; Gaila and Sunny separated themselves and Sunny said, “Good luck!” as she and the griffon headed into the tent. Umbra looked at them with cold eyes and she seemed suddenly taller; more imposing.

“You’re going to need it. Get moving.”

Chapter 9

“Comet, you’re going to be fine.”

“Yeah. Yeah, sure.”

“You don’t sound sure.”

“No. I mean... I’m sure it’ll be fine. Yeah.”

“Then why are you pacing like that?”

Comet skidded to a stop, scuffing the dirt floor of the Warden’s tent with her hooves. She gulped and turned to look at Runestone; his expression was one of sympathy. The unicorn gulped again and drew in a deep, quivering breath.

“Sorry, it’s just--”

“It’s just Graham, you don’t need to be so scared,” Runestone said.

“No, it’s... I mean…” She rubbed a hoof through her forelock and grimaced; felt like her heart had dropped down a chasm. “Everything is changing so fast, and... I mean, I know maybe it’s weird because of the type of magic I do, but I really hate violence. It scares me.”

Runestone grimaced. He edged in closer and gave her a comforting hug. She couldn’t relax, but she appreciated the effort. She squished against him for just a moment and sighed. Her ears twitched to the sound of steps and she nervously stepped back and took a deep breath. She felt Orion climb onto her back, and for some reason, it reassured her.

The seconds before the tent flaps were brushed back felt suffocating, the silence making her ears ring. She knew it was coming, but she couldn’t help but jump when Graham’s dark form pushed into the tent, followed closely by Umbra.

“Getting muddled in wartime politics already, are we?” Graham asked.

He didn’t sound angry, much to Comet’s relief. He moved to stand before her and Runestone, head tilted inquisitively. Runestone grimaced.

“Sorry,” he said.

Comet echoed the sentiment, bowing her head.

“Ah, you do not need to apologize,” he said, and smiled a little. “Not yet. Now--”

He nodded at Umbra.

“Umbra has given me the details of what she knows. Now, if you two would be so kind...?”

Comet bit her lip; she was about to speak, but Runestone did so first, his expression desperate.

“It wasn’t Comet’s fault, she was just standing up for me, and--!”

“Runestone, it’s okay,” the unicorn yelped. “It’s okay, I’ll tell them.”

The stallion whirled on her, ears drooping, but after locking eyes with her, he nodded and took a step back.

“Okay, so, it started when I got a letter,” Comet said, trying to gather her thoughts as she spoke. “It was just something from some friends in Canterlot. Nothing weird. But I guess because it was from the same place, another letter got stuck to it when it was given to me. I ended up reading it, but it was for Icicle Star.”

She had to suck her tongue. It was still hard to put into words.

“The letter was instructions to kill Runestone. From... From the Archmage.”

Umbra frowned and looked inquisitively at Graham. The griffin’s brow furrowed, but Comet continued.

“I guess rightfully so, but the courier took it back to deliver it. I tried to get it back, but I was too late, and right after, Icicle Star sent out the ponies to Runestone that I ended up running off. That’s why I did it.”

Her ears drooped; Umbra’s eyes locked on her in a frown. The griffon was quiet for a moment but then began to pace, his crest flattening against his head. Comet bit her lip and Umbra strode up to her, her horn flashing. Runestone yelped out a, “Hey!” but the tall unicorn shot him a haughty glare.

“This won’t hurt,” she assured Comet, and touched her horn against hers.

Comet winced despite the other unicorn’s words. She felt something like a mild static shock along her horn and then a bit of magic scurrying around in her head.

Umbra yanked back quickly and looked at Graham, frowning deeply as Comet winced and rubbed her forehead.

“I thought so,” she said. “She’s telling the truth.”

“Of course she is!” Runestone barked; Comet wanted to melt.

Graham’s expression was grim. He approached the ponies and, as Umbra stepped out of the way, he put a wing each around Comet and Runestone.

“I am so sorry.”

He pulled back, frowning deeply; Umbra gave him a troubled look.

“Wh-What do we do?” Comet squeaked out.

“What were you planning on doing?” the tall unicorn asked.

“Um... Well, after what happened, I just planned on following Runestone around; not letting him be alone with anyone Icicle sends.”

“Huh. With the trouble you keep getting into, I’m surprised you weren’t thinking of confronting him,” Umbra said.

Comet’s face flushed and she shook her head.

“Never, never, never.”

“Comet doesn’t go looking for this,” Runestone said; he looked exasperated. “Stuff just... happens.”

Graham seemed troubled. He looked between the three ponies and then carefully settled back on his haunches.

“I’m afraid that I cannot address this directly, not with the battle so close,” he said. “This strikes me as rather odd. Why in Equestria would the Archmage of Canterlot want to have the King’s top battlemage assassinate a relatively innocuous pony?”

“She, um... she wants me back at the tower,” Comet said, staring at her hooves. “In the letter, it said... It seemed like she thought that if Runestone wasn’t here, I’d just come trotting straight home. At Icicle Star’s insistence, of course.”

“What does she want with you?” Umbra asked.

“I don’t know!”

Comet’s eyes were wide; tearing up a little.

“Relax,” the other unicorn said; the edge to her voice had dulled. “I think your plan just to stick by your friend is a good one.”

“Y-Yeah?” she asked.

“It seems like it may be all you can do for the moment,” Graham agreed. “I will speak to the King and Queen about this disturbing overreach after the battle. In the meanwhile, stick to your orders and to your groups. Remember that you are Wardens and you are not permitted to take orders from Icicle Star or General River Rush unless I specifically allow it. Umbra?”

Her ears perked.

“You will keep an eye out, won’t you?”

“I will,” she said.

Graham nodded.

“And Comet?” he asked.

“Yes?” she said.

“It is now your specific assignment to act as Runestone’s bodyguard,” the griffon said, “understood?”

Comet felt a little relief. She nodded.

“Yes, sir,” she said quickly.

She looked at Runestone, though he still seemed a bit grim. She supposed that she couldn’t blame him. It was his life that was on the line, after all.

Graham had a troubled look on his face. He muttered, “What a mess,” as he shook his head, and then patted Runestone reassuringly on the shoulder.

“Though I technically cannot intervene, be assured that I will not let them harm you.”

“Th-Thanks,” the stallion said.

The griffon’s crest flattened; he nodded and sighed. He turned, pinning his huge wings in tight as he shouldered out of the tent. Umbra took an extra moment to give the ponies a nod--one of solidarity, it seemed-- before she trailed the Commander outside.

Comet collapsed onto her rear almost instantly; Orion jumped into a hug and Runestone let out a huge, loud sigh.

“That went way better than I thought,” he said.

“Yeah,” Comet agreed.

“Now what?”

The unicorn paused to consider. Her friend looked at her, his brow furrowed, and she beckoned him over to give him a hug. He sagged into her. When he pulled back she gave him a rather matter-of-fact nod.

“I think I needed that,” he said.

“I know,” Comet said. “Ugh... What a mess is right.”

She rubbed her forehead with both hooves.

“It’s fine,” she muttered. “Fine. Okay. We’ll just stick to each other. Right?”

“Right,” Runestone agreed. “What should we do?”

“Why are you asking me?” Comet asked with a laugh-- it came out a little dryer than she had intended.

“Because my brain isn’t working well enough to make choices right now,” he admitted.

Comet sympathized. Every once in a while, her stomach would flip with panic, as if she were falling.

“I guess we could see if there’s anything to help with around camp?” she suggested. “The battle is supposed to happen tomorrow, right? If that’s true, I bet there’s still a lot of stuff to do.”

“Right.”

Runestone looked perturbed, but he nodded.

Comet was struck with paranoia. Any pony she didn’t recognize as a Warden instantly rubbed her the wrong way. She was alert and twitchy, even as the daylight faded and the Wardens bedded down for the night. Comet could swear she heard drumming again, but it wasn’t that that prevented her from sleeping. She was alert, but kept her eyes closed to a squint, ears alert even as she clutched the snoozing Orion against her body. Cloudrush was still gone, and she worried for him, but there wasn’t much she could do.

Sunlight on her eyelids startled Comet awake and she was instantly upright as the sound of drums left her ears. Her eyes shot to Runestone’s cot and she took a breath of relief to see he was there, just as he had been all night. As soon as other Wardens started to rise, Comet left and quickly returned with breakfast for herself, her crocodile, and her friend, which she left for him on his wooden chest at the end of his bed.

She was just about to settle in with a book when she noticed Runestone sit straight up, eyes wide, panting as he looked around in alarm. Comet cast a confused look at him.

“You okay?” she asked.

He sucked in a sharp gulp of air and focused on her, and then rubbed his mane.

“Thank Celestia.”

“Rough night?” she asked.

“Nothing unusual for me,” he admitted. “But that drumming—!”

“Me too,” she said.

He nodded, sniffed to clear his snout, and then reached out for the apple on his breakfast plate.

As others got up and started to go about their day, Comet and Runestone armoured up, grabbed their bags, and headed out together, though there wasn’t much for them to do but stay out of the army’s way and walk around the ruins. Comet kept herself alert, though, scanning through anyone who might pose a threat. She was tense on her own, but the atmosphere around them was crackling like the makings of a storm. The clouds moving in across the sky overhead weren’t helping matters.

Wandering through, one of the training pits caught Comet’s eye for the fact that she noticed Calfala and Crush. There were a few others with them, sparring, and with the hippogryph marking emblazoned on their armour, she guessed they must be Wardens as well. Nudging Runestone, she snuck up against the fence and peered over curiously to watch. He did the same.

The group was mostly ponies— though there was one tawny, long-eared griffon amongst them— and they certainly weren’t bothering with training dummies, but were somewhat gleefully engaged with each other. The hits were like thunder with these fights, and not a single step was taken out of place. Eyes widening, Comet focussed on Calfala, mostly due to the fact that, in her match against a pale grey pegasus, she ran sideways along a wall to gain a height advantage. Her steps were so quick and precise, she outmanoeuvred the pegasus in the air, until he took off and flew around her with such speed that his streaked mane and tail left a lightning-like blur behind him. They were both so fast it was hard to follow, but when they finally collided on the ground, each had a blade to the other’s throat before backing off and laughing it off like it had been nothing.

Comet had to force herself not to gawk, and Runestone scooped his jaw up from the ground, then gently snapped Orion’s closed as well.

“Are…? Do you think they’re all that good?” Comet asked.

Runestone backed up, took a deep breath and nodded for her to follow him. She was a little reluctant to do so because she caught a glimpse of Crush going after his partner with a mace bigger than he was, but she followed her friend nonetheless.

“I do,” he said.

“Do you think they’re the best?” she wondered. “Like, out of the Wardens? I mean, that’s way better than a normal soldier, right? I’ve never seen anyone move like that.”

“You didn’t see Graham,” he said. “Those guys down there, they’re amazing. No doubt. But Graham could wipe the floor with any of them.”

“Really?” Comet squeaked.

“We fought our way into Canterlot before you shredded those Nightspawn with your magic,” he explained. “He was like… I don’t know. Like he could predict every move. I barely had to do a thing. He was amazing. I think that anyone training with him, or in his same method, or whatever you’d call it… Well, I think they’d get good like that. But also, remember that Graham’s super old.”

“So he’s had a ton of practice,” Comet said.

They stopped near the river to let Orion take a dip and Comet was happy to take a short rest. Runestone plopped down onto the grass beside her, wondering, “How are you doing, by the way?”

“Fine,” she fibbed— the bruises under her fur were still achey and rough— and she took a deep breath. “Worried about tonight?”

“Yes. Absolutely,” he said. “It makes me a bit nauseous to think about it.”

“Yeah.”

She pouted, her eyes glazing as she stared into the ripples of the river. Orion swam into her field of view and she reached out a hoof, which he brushed up against happily. Her ears flicked to the sounds of hooves on the grass and, rather quickly, Orion was hissing. Comet whirled quickly and her mouth went dry as she saw Icicle Star standing a little ways away, near the bridge, looking at her perhaps as a grandfather might. He didn’t say a word, though, as another pale unicorn in silver armour— a mare she had never seen before— strode up before them. Icicle Star tossed his ivory mane casually and moved on.

“Greetings. Lord Icicle Star extends an invitation,” the new unicorn said. “There is an all unicorn assault team that he is counselling for the battle tonight. He would be pleased if you would attend, Comet Strike.”

“That’s not really something I can do,” Comet said. “I’m a member of the Wardens.”

“But surely the Wardens would allow you to come!” the unicorn insisted. “Lord Icicle Star was very insistent on including you.”

The mare seemed surprisingly sincere. Comet had to shake her head.

“That’s not how the Wardens work,” she said apologetically. “I have orders already.”

“But surely you—!”

“Specifically, I’m assigned to be this pony’s bodyguard,” Comet said. “So, I can’t just leave to go join some other group.”

“Oh… I see,” she said, and she sounded a little disappointed. “So, I should tell him ‘no’, then.”

“Yeah. Sorry,” Comet said.

“That’s alright. He’s not going to be pleased, though.”

“If he gives you trouble, send him to Commander Graham of the Wardens,” Runestone added. “He’ll tell him the exact same thing.”

The mare nodded and turned to head after Icicle Star and Comet and Runestone shared a worried look.

“That wasn’t very subtle, was it?” Runestone asked.

“I guess it wouldn’t be, assuming we weren’t on to him at all,” Comet said, shrugging. “I hope that unicorn doesn’t get in trouble, though.”

“You don’t think she’s in on it?” he asked.

Comet shrugged again.

“I have no idea. But I guess I just thought that if she were, she would have been a little pushier, like those ponies from yesterday.”

“Hmm. Yeah. Fair enough.”

“Then again, I could be totally wrong,” she said, “but either way, it doesn’t matter. I’m not letting you out of my sight. Not a chance.”

“Didn’t expect to need a bodyguard,” he joked.

Comet smiled tiredly and stuck her tongue out at him.

“You’d think they’d spring for someone a bit more buff than me, huh?”

“Nah. A unicorn like you is just as good. Maybe better,” he said.

She laughed, but despite that, she couldn’t help but feel on edge. She gently pulled Orion from the river with her magic and then cast a quick glance around.

“I think maybe we should head back towards camp,” she said.

“What? Why?”

“I dunno, just in case. I kind of want more Wardens around us.”

“Whatever you say, boss,” Runestone said.

The three headed back towards the Warden tents, with Comet once again on high alert. Her mane at the base of her neck was already bristling. She jumped when her friend elbowed her lightly.

“Your horn is sparking,” Runestone whispered.

Comet cringed and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, only to almost leap out of her fur when Shatter Spear jumped in front of them.

“Hey, kiddo! Hi, Runestone! You two busy right now?”

“Ah... N... No, not at all,” Comet said.

“Where’s the rest of Night group?” the stallion asked; he looked around.

“Umbra’s with Graham; Cloudrush is still busy with whatever she asked him to do, I guess,” Runestone said.

“Ah, okay, fair enough,” Shatter said with a nod. “Toby and I were about to get all the groups together just to make sure everyone knows where everything is. Just in case. You in?”

Comet and Runestone shared a look.

“I don’t see the harm,” Runestone said quietly to Comet.

“It’s probably safer, actually,” she said, nodding, and then turned back to Shatter. “We’re in.”

Meeting up with the rest of the new Wardens was rather reassuring to the two worried ponies. Toby, the Diamond Dog, led the group around the perimeter of the fortress. The barrier was holding strong, and the defences were good, which was reassuring until noting the white eyes shone out under the shadows of the trees from the forest just beyond. Comet paused to stare out and Runestone and Gwen joined her, pressing her wings in tight and leaning up on the battlements as many of the others passed them by. Comet could see why, now, they had been saying the attack was coming that evening.

“Thank Celestia for the sun,” Gwen muttered. “I guess kinda literally.”

“For sure,” Comet agreed.

“I know, it’s freaky, right?”

Comet jumped despite herself and the turned to see Cloudrush coming in to join them. He was wearing light leather armour, but nonetheless he seemed a bit worse for wear, one of his eyes was darkened with a bruise, and his right ear was missing a chunk.

“Dang, kid!” Gwen exclaimed.

“Are you okay?” Comet barked.

Runestone was all over the pegasus, checking him.

“Did you get this looked at? What happened?”

“Got in a bit of an air fight with one of those things that can fly,” Cloudrush said. “I’m okay, don’t worry.”

“Glad you’re safe,” Comet said earnestly; she gave him a quick hug. “Where’d you end up?”

“Ah, Umbra wanted me to take a letter to her mother,” he said. “She said she used to be a great warrior, and it had something to do with the battle coming up, but otherwise, private stuff.”

He shrugged and Runestone patted him affectionately on the shoulder.

“Glad you made it back,” he said.

Cloudrush was instantly absorbed back into the group and followed along as they took in the full layout of the perimeter of the fort. Comet did her best to solidify a map in her mind; hoped Runestone was doing the same. From the wall, they got their first true view of the armies accumulated within. It was impressive; reassuring, and the way King Tornado strutted around amongst the warriors gave Comet a little confidence. That, however, contrasted in her mind with General River Rush. She picked him out at a distance, close to the King but looking over some maps on a long table set out in the grass. He looked sick.

“This is weird,” Gwen commented as they walked. “Almost doesn’t seem real.”

“I wish I felt the same,” Runestone admitted. “Every once in a while, I lose track of it, but then it all comes back and I’m like, ‘Oh, right, probably going to die tonight. Lovely.’”

“You’re not going to die,” Comet chided.

“I’d say the chances are pretty high that we’re going to win this,” Gwen said. “King Tornado is pretty pumped. General River Rush is an old pro. And the army’s huge. We’re basically just here to make sure those creeps don’t rebuild themselves.”

“And I’d say we have a good chance,” Cloudrush added, “because we’re Wardens. Some of the best of the best, right? We’re all here because we do something really well.”

“That’s true,” Runestone admitted, but then laughed bashfully. “I don’t feel even close to being ready, though.”

The atmosphere in the ruins felt taut and strained as the day wore on. No one was comfortable, and the sounds of steel clashing, weapons grinding, and the grunts of last minute training reverberated around the walls, making rest fairly impossible to all but the most exhausted.

It was an hour or so past noon when Umbra approached the young Wardens, almost as if materializing straight from the shadows of the castle walls, and told them of a final meeting, called by Graham. With anxious steps, they followed her back to the Warden’s camp.

A few tents had been removed, making room for even more Wardens, many clearly veterans. Still, their numbers couldn’t have reached more than sixty. Graham stood in front, his calm expression and fatherly smile as he greeted the new arrivals reassuring despite what was to come. Umbra moved up to join him.

“Hello again, my friends. Now that we’re all here, let’s begin.” He ruffled his wings. “As you know, tonight is meant to be our final battle to put down the Nightspawn in Equestria. However, I would have you know it may not be so easy as our King’s bravado might have you believe.”

Comet saw Runestone wilt just a little and she nudged him, trying to reassure him.

“Nonetheless, keep your spirits high! You are Wardens of Harmony. You would not be here if you were not among the most capable in Equestria. This will be a challenge, but one that we can overcome with courage, teamwork, ingenuity, and careful planning.”

He smiled and Comet felt herself relax despite the circumstances; she noticed that many around her looked like they felt the same.

“I will now outline the basics. I feel like all of you are entitled to know our movements for this evening. Senior Wardens will be split into three groups: one on the front lines, and two flanking our enemy. Our rangers will stand with the King’s archery units as a second line of defence. Two scout groups will surround our enemy and take out marked targets,” he said. “Our numbers are small, but we will find ways to make ourselves as effective as possible.”

“If you’d look over here,” Umbra said— with her magic, she wheeled before them a large map on a rolling display board— “I’ll mark our movements. Pay close attention.”

Runestone nudged Comet.

“What are we doing? They aren’t sending us out, are they?”

Before she could answer, another pony hissed a sharp shhhh at Runestone, to which he hastily and bashfully apologized.

“Now, this applies to all but the newest recruits,” Graham said. “Wind group, you will be on the wall keeping watch, sending missives if you spot anything out of the ordinary, and maintaining the large barrier crystals. Stone group, your main focus will be support. Pull out the injured and help provide new weapons. There may be a little fighting involved, but your group will work with some of the more advanced archers. I’m sure you can handle it.”

“We sure as heck can!” Amber Moon called out.

There were a few snickers and some hoof-stomps of approval, and though Umbra looked annoyed, Graham smiled.

“Night group, your work starts a little early,” he said. “You will scout the walls from the base and make sure the lower barriers are secure. As some of you will know from Canterlot, Nightspawn are conniving and will often try to make their way in underground. Prepare to confront any sort of internal threat to our success.”

The meeting went on half an hour longer, but most of the information presented pertained to the groups joining with the main army. Once again, it was tactical jargon that went completely over Comet’s head. Judging from the faces of her friends, they didn’t seem to get it either.

When Graham finally announced that everyone was dismissed, it came along with a heartfelt, “May Celestia’s light protect you and Twilight Sparkle’s wisdom guide your steps.”

As everyone dispersed, Umbra joined Comet, Runestone, Cloudrush, and Orion with a light scowl on her brow.

“Something wrong?” Comet asked.

“I had expected to fight alongside Graham,” she said bluntly, “but I suppose he doesn’t feel I’m ready yet.”

“Well, you’re newish too, aren’t you?” Runestone asked.

She glowered at him. He quickly followed up.

“B-But Graham seems to treat you almost like you’re his second in command. That’s gotta mean something, right?”

Umbra snorted and then looked to Comet, and then disdainfully to the reptile on her back.

“You’re not bringing that, are you?” she asked.

“He has nowhere else to go,” she replied.

Umbra rolled her eyes and then looked them over with a sort of analytical stare.

“Stay alert,” she instructed. “We’ll start looking around.”

Sticking together, the group walked the walls, and Umbra showed them to one of the many points that held the barrier ridged around Harmonia. It was housed inside a port in the wall that looked as if it had originally been some sort of storehouse. Comet was surprised to see a stone, dark black, pulsing with a pale gold light. She had been expecting a crystal. As Umbra strode in and circled it cautiously, she couldn’t help but wonder if these or Pinklily’s worked better.

“So is this one okay?” Cloudrush asked.

“Seems so,” she said. “Don’t tell any others I said this, but they can be a little finicky.”

“Perfect,” Runestone joked. “How can we tell?”

“If the stone looks like anything other than this,” she said.

She nodded at the doorway.

“Comet and Runestone, circle the wall counterclockwise and check any others. Cloudrush, come with me. We’ll go the other way. Comet, do you know any barrier spells?”

“Uh… Not really,” she said bashfully. “Not like these. They’re made of sunlight, right?”

“Yes, they are. Fine. We’ll meet up at the other end of camp and if there’s any problems, tell me. Don’t try to fix it yourself.”

Comet nodded and Runestone saluted. Umbra rolled her eyes and strode out past them; Cloudrush waved to them and hurried out after her. They could hear Umbra, her voice low, ask the pegasus something about his encounter with her mother. Runestone and Comet shared a worried look and he turned towards the doorway. Comet was sure to stick close.

Making the rounds didn’t take too long. It was a relief to find that only a single barrier stone was out of whack on their side, and once they reunited with Umbra and Cloudrush, it was quickly remedied. Comet was becoming increasingly impressed with Umbra’s magic. She seemed to be a master of magic involving tricking the mind, or looking into it, but to also be proficient at barriers seemed unusual. Comet was intrigued. She hoped they might be able to stick together in a group for a bit longer. Maybe she could warm the older unicorn up a little; perhaps could convince her to be a teacher?

She was jarred out of her thoughts as their patrol took them past a small tower laden with the banners of the King and Queen that she had taken note of the other day. Where two unicorns once stood as guard now only one was left. He looked quite antsy, almost as if he would rather have been standing anywhere aside from where he currently was. She paused, tilting her head, and in turn, Runestone stopped to look at what she was before turning to her.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“What’s in there?” she asked.

“Looks like a watchtower to me,” Cloudrush said.

“It is,” Umbra confirmed. “Why?”

“I saw Icicle Star’s guard protecting it the other day,” she said.

“Okay, so?” Cloudrush asked.

The others looked at him with surprise until they realized he hadn’t been around to learn about what seemed to be edging into conspiracy territory.

“We are having issues trusting the General,” Umbra said. “But, could something not involving you two be legitimate?”

“Why, what happened?” the pegasus asked, eyes widening. “What’s wrong?”

“We’ll explain everything later,” Runestone assured him.

“Might not be best to talk about it right out here anyway,” Comet added, patting him on the shoulder. “Sorry to not keep you in the loop. It’s pretty bad, though.”

“Okay. I trust you guys,” he said, but he frowned. “Do you want to check in there? You think he’s hiding something?”

“I… I don’t know,” Comet said, ears drooping.

“Fine. I’ll ask him,” Umbra said.

Before the others could stop her, Umbra approached the other unicorn.

“Hey! Soldier! A moment?” she said.

“Uh, yeah, sure, of course, ma’am,” he said, eyes widening.

Hurriedly, the other ponies trotted to catch up as Umbra stared the guard down.

“Why are you posted here?” she asked.

“Icicle Star’s orders, ma’am,” he said.

“Yeah, yeah, but more like, why though,” Runestone said, waving a hoof as if to hurry the unicorn up. “What’re you guarding, exactly?”

“It’s for safety, sir,” he said.

“Safety?” Comet repeated. “What d’you mean? Is something wrong in there?”

“The floor collapsed.”

Comet’s heart dropped, as did Runestone’s jaw. Cloudrush yelped and Umbra scowled.

“Are you serious?” she demanded.

“Absolutely,” he said.

“And the other guards, are they inside?” Cloudrush asked quickly. “They must be, right?”

“Other guards?” the unicorn repeated, frowning. “No one’s inside, sir. It’s too dangerous. That’s why I’m posted here.”

Comet stared him down, worried, and saw him flinch back ever so slightly as Orion mimicked her posture over her shoulder. She tilted her head and frowned.

“So... you’re the only guard then?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And?” She raised her brows skeptically. “You don’t see any problem with that?”

“I’m not sure I get your meaning,” he said, frowning.

“Well, I don’t mean to be rude, but you’re telling me part of the floor just fell in in there and no one is going in there to investigate,” she said. “And we all know Nightspawn can travel well underground, so doesn’t it make sense to send someone in there to take a look around?”

The unicorn looked a little baffled.

“I’m just following Icicle Star’s orders, ma’am,” he replied.

“This is getting us nowhere,” Umbra scoffed. “Our orders are to investigate any possible internal threats. This constitutes a possible internal threat.”

“But I can’t--! I’ll get in trouble!”

“No offence meant,” Comet said quickly, and then turned to Umbra, “but, don’t you outrank him?”

“We’re Wardens, we all outrank him by default,” the unicorn said.

“But Icicle Star said--”

“Look, you don’t have to tell him,” Cloudrush suggested.

The unicorn simply looked worried and Comet nodded.

“Yeah, and if it comes up, just say I hit you.”

He raised his eyebrow as he looked her up and down and she laughed, moving to step past him; he reluctantly moved out of the way.

“Fine, say Runestone hit you,” she said.

“Yeah, say-- hey!”

Umbra rolled her eyes as Cloudrush snickered and they entered the tower.

Dappled light and a few scattered torches brightened the interior, and the rustle of birds’ wings echoed down through the tower from the weathered rooftop. As the group went in, looking around, Runestone suddenly let out a yelp and skittered backwards to the sound of rough pebbles dropping far. Hurriedly, Comet and Cloudrush came to his side, but neither needed to ask what had happened. They quickly realized that the floor fell away into a pit deep enough that the light was having trouble reaching its floor.

“Oh, damn, look at that,” Comet said.

She squinted and Cloudrush made as if to fly down, but before he could, Umbra called out.

“Wait,” she said.

They turned to look at her and her horn lit up; an orb of light formed from her magic and floated down into the pit. Comet’s eyes widened and she copied her, sending a second light down. The two danced in a circle like moths, revealing what seemed to be a rough tunnel. Comet bit her lip.

“That’s scary,” she muttered.

“Ah… Well, a bit, yeah,” Runestone admitted.

“Maybe it’s just something from the old times,” Cloudrush suggested hopefully. “This is an ancient ruin, right? There could be all kinds of weird stuff in here.”

Umbra prowled up behind them and stared down into pit, frowning. The pegasus looked at her hopefully, but his face fell when it was clear that she was concerned and serious. Runestone grimaced; lay down and extended his neck downwards to get a better look, and then turned to look at Comet. She gulped. Umbra turned her gaze on her, ears back.

“You know something?” she asked.

“I don’t wanna speculate and freak everyone out, but, I mean—“

“C’mon Comet, if there’s any time to be a hyper-alert scaredypants, now is it,” Runestone said. “What is it?”

“It’s… It’s just that, when the Nightspawn tried to take Canterlot, they had tunnels a lot like this one under everything,” she said.

“Oh, great,” Cloudrush said, eyes widening with fear. “You saying Nightspawn made this!?”

“N-No, I… I don’t know,” Comet said hurriedly. “I mean… You’re right, it could have been there earlier.”

“Or it could be recent,” Umbra said quietly. “But Nightspawn, in here? I doubt it. The barrier is too strong.”

“But they did get through the barrier in Canterlot, right?” Runestone said.

“Ours is more powerful,” Umbra said sternly; her eyes turned back on the tunnel. “…But in any case, I think it might be prudent to investigate.”

She hopped down, hooves clacking on the wrecked tower stone, and hurriedly, Cloudrush flitted down after her. Grimacing, Comet cast a worried look at Orion as Runestone jumped down into the darkness.

“Orion, will you get in my bag?” she asked.

The crocodile looked confused and she opened the flap.

“There’s room. I promise. I just don’t want to lose you in the dark. Okay?” she said. “You can watch over my books.”

Orion seemed pleased with the notion and slithered inside. Comet wasn’t sure just exactly how much space the enchanted bag held, but inside, he seemed happy enough and was actually lighter than before. She she jumped down the hole, stumbling as she landed. Runestone helped her regain her footing before they headed down.

It got cramped quickly down the tunnel, forcing Cloudrush to land reluctantly, sticking close to Comet and Runestone. Comet’s fur was bristling and she had to suck her tongue, but she noticed that the pegasus was looking far more uncomfortable that she had expected. She nudged against him.

“Just stay close to me.” she assured him. “I can zap anything we find.”

“Thanks,” he laughed. “It’s just… it feels so tight in here.”

He bit his lip.

“I know what you mean.” Runestone assured him gently. “Not being able to see the sky, feeling all that dirt above us—“

Comet shhed him sharply and his eyes widened.

“Oh! That’s not helping, is it?”

“Of course not,” Umbra said; she didn’t even have to look at them for them to know she was rolling her eyes.

“I didn’t mean it like that, I just mean I understand where you’re coming from and… Well, I’m an idiot.”

Cloudrush laughed half-heartedly, but he shot Runestone a smile.

“It’s fine, I get it,” he said.

Delving deeper along the path, it soon widened out, giving enough space for the tense pegasus to stretch his wings. The orbs of light swirled around them and Umbra turned her eyes to the walls. She raised a hoof and touched the stone curiously and her frown deepened thoughtfully.

“Comet,” she said, and the younger unicorn trotted up cautiously. “What would you say cut this pathway?”

“Me? Uh… I’m no expert in tunnel digging,” she said, but she touched the wall. “Oh! It’s so smooth.”

“Exactly.”

Umbra gave her a knowing look and Comet’s eyes widened.

“You don’t think-?!”

“What? Keep us in the loop, huh?” Runestone said.

“It’s been cut with magic,” Umbra said.

The stallion’s eyes widened and Cloudrush pinned his wings in nervously.

“Magic?” he repeated. “But… But who could’ve…?!”

“We won’t speculate just yet,” Umbra announced. “Come on. Let’s continue.”

Umbra continued onwards and an apprehensive Cloudrush hurried to follow her and the lights. Comet frowned to herself, biting her lip: she knew who she suspected of being behind the strange tunnels, but she couldn’t wrap her mind around the reasoning behind it. Could there be something hidden below the ruins? Of course, it could be something completely innocent, like storage, or a place to hide the royal family if things got too dangerous. She hoped it was something along those lines, but the knot in her stomach left her worried and alert nonetheless.

“Comet?”

Runestone’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she turned to see him waiting as the magical light faded away. Quickly, Comet conjured another orb of light.

“Sorry,” she said.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“Just thinking,” she said.

Runestone tilted his head.

“I mean, I can probably guess,” he said, “but let’s just keep looking for now, yeah?”

She nodded.

Umbra took the ponies down the tunnel, deeper underground than any of them had expected. The longer they walked, the more nervous Comet got.

After what felt like hours, Umbra’s light came up against a solid wall. The ponies stopped in their tracks.

“Th… That’s it?” Cloudrush asked, looking at his friends. “There’s nothing?”

Umbra frowned.

“Comet. Your light, too, please,” she said.

Comet nodded and hurriedly brightened her horn as she conjured a brighter orb of light and sent it to join Umbra’s. The striped unicorn took it from her and sent both around, but quickly took a step back, unable to hold in a gasp.

“What? What is it?” Runestone asked, immediately bracing his hooves on the ground.

“Down,” Umbra said.

The other ponies looked confused, but Comet’s heart sunk.

Without a word, Umbra hopped down a hole they had been unable to see in front of them. Quickly, Runestone followed and Cloudrush lifted off to drift down. Comet felt sick to her stomach, but she jumped down as well.

She arrived in a cavern that opened up much wider than she had anticipated, illuminated by the faint, sunshine-like glow of the spherical barrier that encompassed Harmonia— and was quickly struck by the sight of a huge, magic-seared hole straight through it.

“Not again,” she gasped. “No, no, no, this can’t happen again!”

“Calm down,” Umbra said, “I’ll try to seal it.”

Her horn lit up, but Comet couldn’t help but think it wouldn’t be of any use. Umbra went to work, but they all suddenly became aware of the sound of movement down the tunnel.

“Cover me,” Umbra said.

Runestone pulled his sword without hesitation and Cloudrush landed and braced his hooves on the earth. Comet conjured some energy blades to either side of her body and stood ready.

Comet counted only four heavy thuds of her heartbeat before the darkness beyond Umbra shot out towards them, lead with three sets of bright white eyes. Umbra jumped back, a magic shot slamming into one of the Nightspawn attackers. Comet drew back with alarm as Runestone hesitated for only a second before running in, smacking his shield hard into a wraith-like body. As Cloudrush jumped in to join, Comet concentrated her magic, shooting bolts left and right into the assailants. Her mind was racing; she didn’t stop until they were puddles of dark energy on the ground. Before any of them knew it, the energy divided itself between them, drifting into their body as if it were smoke absorbing through their fur. Comet felt a rush of cold, and then nothing more.

She looked worriedly between her friends. Runestone took a deep breath.

“Wow,” he said. “Okay. That wasn’t good. That was really, really not good.”

“They… They can just walk right through this,” Cloudrush said hoarsely.

“More will be coming,” Umbra said, her normally level voice elevated with urgency. “I… I’ll keep trying to seal it.”

Her horn lit up and she went back to work, but the others were left adrift. Comet bit her lip.

“Um... Okay. Okay. Damn.” She paced with urgency in her steps and she whirled on Cloudrush. “Can you warn them? Graham, I mean. Someone. Someone who can do something.”

“Me?” he asked.

“You’ll be the fastest,” Umbra said.

“Right. Right. You’re right.”

He gulped nervously and made to take off, but Comet hugged him quickly.

“Be careful,” she squeaked.

He squished her in return and nodded; spread his wings and took off, speeding away into the darkness. Comet took a long, deep breath. Runestone held her hoof. She leaned into him for just a moment before pulling away and hurrying to join Umbra.

“How can I help?” she asked.

Umbra frowned and pulled back, taking a breath. She shook her head and frowned at the edge of the shattered barrier.

“It’s not extending like I hoped,” she said. “It’s like it’s been sealed.”

“So can you do anything?” Comet asked.

Umbra’s frown deepened.

“Maybe,” she said. “Just… Keep watch.”

Comet wasn’t at all satisfied with the other unicorn’s answer, but there wasn’t much else she could do. She set out a few more orbs of light and waited. Her ears lifted high, tilting, listening intently. Runestone patrolled the area cautiously.

After a long while of only the sound of Umbra’s magic buzzing, low rumbling started, far away and above them. Comet flinched.

“Sounds like the soldiers are marching,” Runestone commented. “D’you think the fighting’s started?”

“I hope everyone’s okay,” Comet said quietly.

The sounds were getting lower, but were soon punctuated, much to their alarm, by huge, heavy thuds. It was like something was crashing to the earth from a great height.

“I’m seriously not liking that,” Runestone said.

“Stop whining,” Umbra growled.

“Well excuse me for not being thrilled about huge monster sounds!” the stallion barked.

“Guys, c’mon,” Comet said anxiously. “Now’s not the time to—“

She cut herself off with a yelp when she picked out white eyes in the dark beyond Umbra.

She shot a strong bolt of magic from her horn straight past Umbra and into the form of a Nightspawn just beyond her vision. Runestone instantly had his sword out again and Umbra cursed and jumped back from the barrier, shooting a spell of her own into the darkness. Before she had time to do anything more, it seemed as if the shadows exploded out at them, bodies swarming through the hole like ants and rushing past them down the way back into the fortress.

Panic took Comet and she was swiftly firing magic bolts at anything that didn’t look tan or dark blue, drawing fluid blades of energy up around her and spinning them in the closest thing she could manage to a barrier. It helped to clear enough space so she could get her bearings. Runestone was striking down a beastly Nightspawn with his sword as he slammed another that had jumped onto his back against the rocky wall, hard. Umbra was blasting attackers left and right with powerful, purple bursts, but her ear was bleeding and she was stuck near the barrier’s opening.

Gulping, Comet hurried towards her, ramming her small body shoulder first into the closest Nightspawn. It tumbled down, but seemingly only because it had been taken off-guard. Comet scrambled over it as fast as she could, but it was on its hooves again quickly, grabbing her by the tail and throwing her to the ground. She rolled; lost her attacker in the confusion of righting herself and shooting magic all around her in panic.

She was breathing too hard, her body hurting already. She wished she had taken to the combat training better. She tried to catch her breath and lowered her head, setting it alight with icy energy and trying her best to make herself into a battering ram. She cleared a few smaller Nightspawn from her path, dodged around a larger one with a bulky build, and shot some sharp, slicing energy behind her as she finally broke through to Umbra. The unicorn shot her a surprised look and Comet hurried to send a burst of blue-white through the barrier hole, giving them a small window of time to draw back and away from it.

Comet felt a small amount of relief, but it was short lived. Without warning, her shoulder began to burn with pain. She cried out and her front leg gave out and she couldn’t fight through it. The stitched wound under her shoulder plate felt like it was on fire. Umbra yelped and shot strong blasts of energy quickly to clear some room around the other unicorn.

“What’s wrong?!” she demanded.

“My… My shoulder,” Comet choked.

Umbra cursed and pulled her back, taking a hard, sturdy stance before her. Comet focused on trying to breathe but her eye caught something strange back the way they had come from. She could barely turn her head, but she was sure she pulled the form of a unicorn from the darkness. His horn was lit up with white magic, and for a moment, she felt relief. It was short lived, however, when she saw the unicorn’s horn pulse and the pain from her wound doubled, making her vision swim.

“U…Umbra…” she said, but her voice was warbled and weak.

She didn’t think she had heard her.

Time slurred in the unicorn’s brain, but Comet heard a harsh rushing in her ears and her vision went dark. She knew she was still conscious because she felt her limp body dragged across the stone. When her eyes cleared, she quickly realized that it wasn’t her vision that had blurred, but the Nightspawn had crowded in so close that she could see nothing else. Now, though, they had stopped moving, but she knew she was pinned, with a needle-sharp brow horn tucked up against her neck.

Her heart thumped with terror and she gulped, trying to catch her breath and figure out what on earth to do. Her eyes cast around frantically. She pulled out Umbra, held tight by a few Nightspawn that had talons rather than hooves and Runestone was pinned to the ground a few horselengths away, gritting his teeth as one of the bulkier Nightspawn pushed down on his head with a hoof.

“I see that poison is still bothering you, my dear?” a familiar voice asked.

Comet froze as pale hooves entered her field of view, but her reaction was mostly fed by Runestone’s look of horror and Umbra’s sneer of disgust. She felt nauseous, even more so as she was pulled up onto her hooves to see the gently smiling face of Icicle Star. Comet stared with blank terror, only vaguely aware of the cavern filling with more and more dark bodies.

“Now, that’s no way to greet the one who saved you, is it?” he asked.

“Saved us?!” Umbra spat.

“You’re controlling them. How are you controlling them?” Comet asked at a whisper.

“He’s a traitor!” Umbra snapped.

“Are you interested in my magic, Comet Strike?” the older unicorn asked. “Your Archmage said you were a clever one. You really should have come to my meeting, you know.”

Comet didn’t know if lying or remaining silent would be the better option, especially as Runestone stared at her with wide, worried eyes. All she could force herself to do was gulp.

“Your unicorns built this tunnel?” she asked quietly. “Why?

Icicle Star sighed, as if he were disappointed.

“You don’t understand, do you? I’m here to make you an offer. You and Umbra.”

“Don’t even bother,” Umbra spat. “Comet, don’t listen to him.”

“Please, Umbra,” the stallion began.

“No! I understand who you are now,” she said. “There’s no other way you could be working with the Nightspawn. I can’t believe the King trusted you.”

“And so it stands to reason that the King is now no more,” Icicle said simply.

Umbra’s eyes widened and Comet’s heart dropped to her hooves even as her mind rushed to piece together exactly what was going on.

“I’d like you two unicorns to come with me,” Icicle said. “I understand you might feel conflicted at first, but honestly, two powerful mares like yourself would fit right in with our organization.”

Umbra glared and turned her head upwards. Comet grimaced and hurriedly shot her eyes around, trying to see any way out, any weakness in the horde. However, she was stunned still and she let out a gasp before she could stop herself as she pulled out a familiar face in the dark, spiky, blank-eyed mass.

“C-Cloudrush?” she almost screamed.

“Hmm? Him? Oh yes,” Icicle said, absently poking the dark, twisted young pegasus with his hoof, “I’ve taken all the Wardens.”

Comet saw Runestone’s expression go blank with shock and she felt like her insides had collapsed. She looked through the spectral forms around them and saw many faces she recognized: Flash, Amber Moon, Calfala, Gwen, and even more that she had just seen in passing. Even farther back, Shatter Spear’s normally jovial face was twisted into a snarl. Comet felt tears prick in her eyes and she tried not to choke.

“No. No, you couldn’t have,” the unicorn breathed.

“He’s telling the truth,” Umbra said quietly, her ears pressed back, “You sick—”

“Now, now, Umbra. Graham, or... should I say the Wraith that was formerly your commander? He always thought so highly of you. You’re a smart filly. Please consider my proposition.”

The unicorn snarled and Comet’s eyes darted to Runestone again. Her friend looked like he was in complete shock. Umbra stamped and snorted.

“Get out of my face.”

Icicle smiled and turned on Comet. She wanted to throw up and she gritted her teeth.

“How about you? Your Archmage truly said you had amazing potential. Your power can only grow from here.”

“Wh-What?” Comet stammered, the words rung too familiar and she began to feel like the hooves had been knocked from under her.

“Surely you realize that other types of ponies have nothing for you. They’re scared of you, and the power you can unleash. Unicorns should be the ones in charge, not these ignorant others, and their Sunwalkers,” he said as he approached her with confidence. “We will be agents of the Night. Of the Nightmare. Don’t you see the beauty in it? You yourself have fought for the freedom of unicorns, yes? You must agree with our goals.”

Comet saw Umbra give her a stare of daggers and Runestone’s eyes widened; Comet grimaced and gulped heavily before raising her eyes to meet the unicorn before her.

“How could I possibly agree with you?” she said, and though her voice was weak, she meant every word. “After what you’ve done? You are a monster. And so is anypony like you.”

Icicle clicked his tongue and pulled back, looking at her cooly.

“Very well.” He turned, striding away through the Wraiths as they parted way for him like well-trained soldiers. “Take them. Start with the earthborn.”

The Nightspawn grasping Runestone tight lunged at him so quickly Comet didn’t even have time to react. She screamed for him, rammed herself against her captor, but there was dark magic stabbed into her friend before she could do a thing, and almost instantly, the Wraiths moved in, tackling them to the ground. Comet heard Umbra yell through the commotion and brought magic up quickly, only to be kicked down and pinned by a face she recognized.

“Cl-Cloudrush?!” she squeaked— white eyes stared back at her blankly, but he smiled at her with pointed teeth and she couldn’t help choking, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Cloudrush, please, don’t-!”

“Sorry, Comet,” he said, his voice deep, layered with that of Icicle Star’s, and raspy, chilling her to the bone, “but don’t worry, you’ll be much happier like us.”

The pain was instant and intense, burning cold so deep into the unicorn’s body that she was certain that she was dead. She was sure she screamed, but she didn’t hear it.

Chapter 10

Silence. It lasted, it seemed, forever.

A deep pounding in Comet’s chest roused her mind just enough for her to feel anger. Anger so deep and throbbing that she felt like she could explode.

He took everything.

She felt her fur bristle, prickling against a surface that was soft and sturdy. The realization dawned on her that she was staring at a wooden ceiling and her eyes snapped back into focus—she shot upright in a hurry, casting around in utter panic. The room was dark, lit only by a few candles by the bedside, and the walls were draped in old, mythical-looking tapestries.

Where is everypony? Where am I?!

She felt herself breathing much too hard and she tried to get up, only to cry out as pain shot through her whole body. She collapsed back into a quivering mess, her mind reeling. Sudden light hit her eyes and she winced back, shielding her face with her foreleg.

“You’re awake.”

Comet’s ears twitched and she looked past her hoof with wide eyes to see Umbra standing before her, a knick in her left ear but otherwise alive and well. Comet’s ears flopped back and she gawked.

“You’re alive?” she demanded.

Umbra nodded and came close, moving as if to check something on Comet’s body, but the blue unicorn had the other wrapped in a tight hug, choking on air as tears filled her eyes. Umbra clearly didn’t know what to say, but soon pushed back.

“Okay, enough, you’re alright.”

Comet didn’t dare to hope, but she wiped her eyes with the back of her hoof, and asked, “Did... Did Runestone make it…? And… And Orion, is he—?”

Umbra nodded and her steady expression gave in to a small smile. Comet felt like she could melt, and was abruptly a blubbery mess once again.

Umbra stared at her blankly for a moment and extended a hoof to her cautiously.

“Comet?”

“I couldn’t... I couldn’t—”

“Have some water,” the striped unicorn insisted.

She pulled a glass forward with her magic and passed it to Comet, who took a moment before she had stopped shaking enough to take it. She drank deeply and breathed heavily afterward, trying to regain her words.

“I c-couldn’t save them.”

Comet sniffled to herself and her shoulders sagged. Umbra inclined her head, rolled her eyes, and then sighed as her ears folded back.

“Look,” the older unicorn said, seeming to consciously try to sound reassuring, “you couldn’t have helped it. There’s nothing you could have done.”

“Yeah, but...” Comet muttered, her voice soft and defeated.

She rubbed her eyes again and Umbra sat down on the bed and put her hooves on her shoulders.

“Just a minute, let me take a look at you.”

Comet grimaced and nodded, sniffing again and letting Umbra check her over. It was only then that she noticed that three of her legs were wrapped in bandages, along with her middle.

“What happened?” she squeaked.

“They tried to turn you,” Umbra said simply as she continued to inspect the unicorn’s body. “You were surprisingly resilient, but my mother was able to make sure you would be all right.”

“T-Turn me?” she repeated.

“Into a Wraith. Like what they did to the others. They tried it on all of us.”

“And... And you? Are you okay?” Comet asked.

“I’m fine, thank you for asking,” she replied.

“How did we make it out?”

“I felt apprehensive earlier in the week about this battle and the King’s cavalier attitude. I sent Cloudrush to warn my mother of our mission beforehand. She used to be quite the warrior, and is a very powerful pony,” Umbra explained absently, “possibly one of the most powerful in the world. She broke through and rescued us after the army fell.”

Comet’s head reeled and she looked at Umbra with an expression of total shock. Umbra said nothing, but finished her inspection and gave her a pat on the shoulder before slipping out of bed.

“Your wounds are closing nicely and the bruises are fading. Get up whenever you feel ready.”

The striped unicorn slid from the room silently, leaving the door just a little ajar behind her. Comet stared after her for a moment before she lurched forward, pushing herself off the bed. She grit her teeth against sharp pain all through her body and barrelled from the room. She heard Umbra direct her outside as she cast around for her friend and, as fast as she could, she galloped out the only door she saw.

Pulling it open set a shock of light streaking into the cabin; it made Comet’s eyes water anew as she stumbled out into the open. The green before her stunned her still and her mind tripped over itself trying to figure out where she was.

A... forest? A house in a forest?

A fleck of light to her left made her spin on on her hooves, only to see Runestone standing a little ways away, emerging from under stand-alone tree at the edge of a small pond. He was gawking, his eyes wide. Comet’s legs started to wobble. He looked fine. She moved to greet him, but he reached her first, nuzzling his face against hers affectionately.

“I was so worried you wouldn’t make it,” he said in a rush. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

She touched her brow to his, exhausted, and he let her rest for a moment before she pulled back and pushed him away a little, lifting up his forelimb to look at where she was certain she had seen him get stabbed. There was no wound, though. Not even a blemish in his fur. She looked up at him questioningly but he merely gave her a relieved, watery-eyed smile, though the tears that had welled up began to trickle down his cheeks, darkening patches of his fur and freckle spots.

Almost immediately, Comet felt her knees start wobbling and she threw her hooves around Runestone’s neck. He jerked in surprise.

“When I saw you get hit, I was sure you were a goner,” she said hurriedly.

She was shaking. The stallion patted her gently on the back.

“No worries, Comet Strike. We made it,” he said as his ears folded backwards.

She nodded and pulled back, too frazzled to even bother to be embarrassed. She rubbed her forehead with a hoof.

“Did you...? Did you hear if anyone else got out?” she asked quietly.

Runestone’s ears went even lower and his shoulders sagged a bit. He shook his head.

“Umbra told me there wasn’t anyone else.”

Comet grimaced and felt her eyes getting warm again. Her thoughts went to Graham, and the other Wardens, but especially Cloudrush. Her heart ached and she looked to Runestone, her mouth agape as she tried to find words. Graham had been like family to him, despite the short time they had been together. She didn’t know what to say.

“I’m sorry.”

She felt pathetic, but it was all she could come up with. There weren’t words.

Runestone shook his head again, unable to keep his usual smile on his face a moment longer.

“I just wish...” he murmured to himself, but as Comet’s ears perked and she leaned forward to catch his words, he said, “Never mind.”

When he lifted his head, a tired, forced smile was on his face as he tried to regain some semblance of control.

“I’ll be okay.”

Comet looked back at him skeptically, but didn’t push him. She winced and edged up close again, pawing at him hesitantly.

“We... We’ll save them. I promise.”

Runestone grimaced.

“How?” he asked.

“I... I don’t know yet. But we will. We have to. Right?”

“Y... Yeah,” he said.

“I’m happy to see you two reunited,” a deep, female voice said.

Comet was taken by surprise and whirled, eyes wide, to view the speaker.

Approaching them from around the side of the house was a very tall unicorn with a dark blue pelt, garbed in a muted brown cloak worn over her shoulders and haunches, reaching down a bit past her knees. Her face was long and narrow, elegant, almost regal looking, and her bright turquoise eyes, though solemn, focussed on them intently. Her mane and tail were rather striking: though the tail was very long, her mane was relatively short and some of it was brushed gracefully across her eye and, in the dark blue, it seemed to sparkle as she moved. Comet blinked vacantly, getting lost staring at it for a moment. She thought it was a trick of a light for a moment, but it took her just a few seconds to see that it wasn’t. She was baffled, but her face lit up in an instant when she saw Orion poke his head out from around her shoulder.

The crocodile was bounding towards her quickly, and she took him into a tight hug, squishing her face against his.

“I’m so glad you’re okay!” she said.

“How are you feeling, little one?” the tall unicorn asked gently, circling the two ponies curiously. “Your friend here simply could not stop worrying about you.”

Runestone’s face flushed.

“H… How long was I out?” Comet asked; she clutched Orion nervously.

“It’s been four days for you,” the unicorn said.

“Four?!” Comet yelped. “Uh… Well, uh, I’m… kind of rattled. And—“

“Upset?” the tall unicorn asked, her ears pinning back. “I understand.”

“She saved us, you know,” Runestone said quickly, looking at the mare with admiration.

“I heard,” Comet said with a nod as she stood up. “Thank you so much, Miss... uh...”

She felt a prick of embarrassment realizing she had no idea what the unicorn’s name was.

“Call me Luna,” the mare replied, smiling and straightening up a bit.

Her expression, despite the smile, showed a sort of hesitation. Comet didn’t understand, but she nodded.

“Thank you, Luna. We owe you everything.”

The mare relaxed a bit and tilted her head towards the cabin.

“I’ll leave you two for a moment. I need to speak to my daughter.”

Both ponies nodded as Luna headed away into the cabin and used her magic to close the door tightly behind her.

Comet turned to look at Runestone.

“Four days?” she asked again. “Wh… What about you, are you okay?”

“Don’t worry about me,” he said. “I was only out for a few hours, honestly.”

Comet’s eyes widened.

“And Umbra?”

“About two days,” he said. “Luna told us that poison in your shoulder took a huge tole on you. More than we expected. We were worried, but… Well, I’m just happy you woke up.”

Comet nodded and took a deep breath. She sat down, rubbing her forehead, and Runestone sat with her. Orion scrambled between them and flopped to the ground. Runestone patted the crocodile’s head.

“He barely left your side, you know,” he said.

Comet smiled.

It wasn’t long before the cabin door opened and Umbra poked her head out.

“Hey,” she said, “get in here. We all need to talk.”

Inside, they were guided to a low, long dining table in a room lined with bookshelves and bright candles. Luna was already sitting on one of the cushions around it, a small opossum nestled against the crook of her neck. Umbra slid onto one of the pillows and flicked her mane as the others joined them.

“So,” she said, “straight to it, then. The royals are gone. Most of our friends have become Wraiths. River Rush has Zenith as regent, but we know Icicle Star is his brother. He is probably being manipulated. As far as I know, the world thinks the Wardens are gone and no one knows of Icicle’s treachery.”

Comet’s eyes went wide and she looked between her friends.

“Wait, General River Rush?” she said. “But… But he can’t be in on this, can he? He’s not a unicorn, would this weird group even take him?”

“We don’t know yet. But we suspect that, either way, this Icicle Star may be pulling the strings.” Luna leaned forward, tilting her head. “How much do you know about what happened?”

Comet was unsure and looked at Runestone for help. Umbra sighed.

“The tunnel we found was carved by members of the Cult of Nightmare Moon, working for Icicle Star. Their plan was to sabotage the battle. We don’t know why, yet. It may have been solely to get rid of the Wardens,” she said. “Icicle wanted you and I to join him, Comet.”

“I… I feel like my Archmage at the Tower wanted me to join, too,” Comet muttered. “She… She never said directly but she kept trying to put into my head that other types of ponies all hated unicorns.”

“But you did not believe her,” Luna concluded.

“N… No. My big brother, the pony who raised me, he was a pegasus,” she said. “And… And me and Runestone became really good friends really quickly.”

“Sorry, can I butt in?” Runestone asked. “What’s the Cult of Nightmare Moon, exactly?”

“I’m surprised you don’t know,” Umbra said, frowning. “Weren’t you a Sunwalker?”

“Well, yes, but,” he said, bashfully, “I was kind of forced into it. I mean, I’ve heard the name before, but they don’t really tell us much of the history. You know, just blame the unicorns for everything. At least, that’s how it was in the tower.”

“Stonehoof actually said that?” Comet said— she was disappointed.

“No, no, Peachbloom,” Runestone said. “Don’t worry, most of us didn’t buy into it.”

The unicorn felt a bit of relief.

“Anyway,” Umbra said, “the Cult of Nightmare Moon is the group that caused Celestia to disappear and threw the world into chaos hundreds of years ago. Mother?”

Luna nodded.

“Yes. They also became unicorn supremacists, and their work directly gave rise to the Sunwalkers to combat them,” she said. “Ironically, and sadly, their actions lead to the persecution of innocent unicorns that had nothing to do with the Cult in any regard.”

“And… And the Cult, they made the Nightspawn, right?” Comet asked.

Luna nodded.

“Okay, but what do they want?” Runestone asked.

“We don’t know,” Umbra said. “Power, maybe? Control of Equestria? Historically, everlasting night was a goal.”

Comet cringed and rubbed her forehead. She was getting a headache.

“How did this happen?” she asked. “I don’t understand. I thought we were ready for the battle. Everyone seemed so confident.”

“And… and Graham,” Runestone said, his voice taut. “He was so strong. I can’t believe they… they…”

“Shall I show you?” Luna asked cautiously. “I can project my memories. But I didn’t see much.”

Runestone flinched and Comet looked at him, ears drooping.

She wanted to see, but she didn’t want to make the choice for her friend. It took him a few moments, but eventually, he shook his head.

“Just tell me,” he said, “did…? Did you see Graham? The huge griffon.”

“I did,” Luna said, “at the end. He fought like a demon.”

Runestone grimaced, but he nodded. Comet felt her chest tighten, but she took a deep breath

“Umbra,” Comet said, “you said… You said they were Wraiths? What does that mean? Can we save them? Can they turn back?”

Umbra frowned, and she looked to her mother uncertainly. Luna answered instead.

“Wraiths are… Wraiths are ponies, griffons, zebras, anything, infected with Nightspawn poison and magic. They become like one of them, but with much stronger bodies. This is only a spell that can be worked by someone incredibly powerful. This is not normal, especially for Wardens.”

“But can we save them?” Comet pressed.

Luna looked thoughtful. On her shoulder, the small opossum yawned and stretched, and she touched him gently with her snout.

“There may be a way,” she said, “through the Elements of Harmony.”

Comet was stunned. Runestone’s ears lifted.

“You really think so?” he asked.

“I do,” Luna said. “As the stories go, it’s said that the bearers vanished a long time ago, but I believe that the Elements may still be able to help.”

“Okay. So we gotta find the Elements,” Comet said. “I have a book that said Twilight Sparkle and her friend’s had them a long time ago.”

“You may not need it,” Luna said. “At least, not yet. We are on the outskirts of Ponyville. It was once Twilight Sparkle’s home.”

The young unicorn’s eyes lit up and she shot Runestone a hopeful look. He smiled tiredly and nodded.

“We should take a look,” he said.

“Not today,” Luna said swiftly. “Spend one more night. Set off tomorrow.”

“Mother, are you sure?” Umbra asked. “We don’t want to impose.”

“I would feel much better knowing that the four of you are well and ready to travel before setting out,” the mare said.

“Thank you,” Runestone said.

She nodeed and then shot Umbra a smile.

“Besides, Tiberius missed you,” she said.

Umbra rolled her eyes, but the opossum on her mothers shoulder reached out and grabbed her, latching on as he hugged her neck. Umbra sighed and her mother snickered and got up, but her gaze turned to Runestone.

“Colt, a word?” she asked.

Surprised, Runestone got to his hooves and followed her out of the room. Comet shot Umbra a conceded look, but the other unicorn merely shrugged. A little worried, Comet scootched closer to the door to peek in.

It was surprising how tall Luna was, even compared to Runestone, who was uncommonly tall in his own right. He seemed a little nervous as the huge mare looked him up and down.

“You look a little familiar to me,” she told him. “Who are you parents?”

“I, uh… I don’t know, ma’am, I’ve never met them,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “May I ask, who named you?”

“Oh! I was told it was a battlemage who found me,” he said. “There were some old stones nearby, I guess that’s why she called me Runestone.”

Luna nodded and then disappeared from view for a moment. She returned carrying a shield bearing a gold sun and silver moon.

“This may be useful to you,” she said. “It’s an old guard’s shield. It’s not of any use to my daughter or I.”

“Th-Thank you!” he said brightly.

Luna nodded and smiled, and circled the room. Comet drew back as the mare began to speak to him again, reassured that all was well.

Umbra was absently petting the opossum on the table, her eyes glazed and distant. Comet bit her lip and edged closer.

“You okay?” she asked quietly.

“No,” Umbra said. “You?”

“Not really,” Comet said. “When… When I left the tower, I never thought I’d get mixed up in something like this.”

“And let me guess, you want to go home?” Umbra said.

Comet was taken aback. She shook her head.

“No,” she said. “No. I’m angry. I… I don’t think I’ve ever been so angry. I want to find those Elements, I want to track down Icicle Star, save our friends, and make sure that unicorn is never happy again.”

Umbra smiled a little.

“I think you and I are going to get along just fine, then,” she said, “I pegged you as more naïve than that.”

“Maybe I am, but after what he did…” She sighed. “I don’t know what happened to you down there, but it was Cloudrush that pinned me.”

Umbra got the hint. She nodded and snorted, her brow furrowing deeply.

“Yes, I understand. It makes me sick just thinking about it,” she said.

Comet nodded. She took a deep breath and sat back down, resting her head on one hoof and stroking Orion with the other.

Night came and Luna served the ponies stomach-warming vegetable pasties and broth made from celery, potatoes, and mushrooms. For some reason, it felt to Comet like one of the best meals she had ever had, but she still seethed inside. She felt so betrayed. She also felt so stupid. She couldn’t get over her inaction.

As the others were bedding down, Comet slipped outside into the darkness to get some air. The sky above was clear and bright with stars, and the moon hung high, shining like a lantern through the darkness. She wondered how long it would be until every town and city would need a barrier; wondered, still, if it would make a difference. She couldn’t help but dwell on the thought that she had sent Cloudrush back into the jaws of the beast. The guilt made her ache, and her anger gave her a pressure in her temples.

She wanted to stop Icicle Star, that much went without saying, but what truly, deeply bothered her was that Springbreeze had been his ally. She was the closest thing to a mother than many of the ponies in Canterlot had. That betrayal cut even more deeply deep for her. Her thoughts jumped to her friends in the tower and her worry started anew. Her first thought was to send a letter, but she felt as if that could be too easily intercepted. There had to be another way to contact them, hadn’t there?

Comet was jarred from her thoughts by the sound of the cabin door gently closing. Her ears pinned back and she turned to see Runestone, silver eyes alight in the moonlight, approaching her with a concerned look on his face.

“Aren’t you coming to sleep?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“Not yet,” she said.

Runestone watched her silently for a long while. She almost forgot he was there by the time she heard his hooves in the grass getting closer. Without a word, he lay down beside her and shared her view of the sky past the treetops.

“Runestone,” she said quietly.

He turned to give her a puzzled look, but his eyes widened to see that hers were glossy again.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“There is nothing for you to be sorry for,” he said quickly.

She bit her lip and rested her chin on her hooves. Her friend hesitated for a moment, but then put a hoof on her shoulder gently.

“We’ll head to Ponyville tomorrow,” he said, “and then maybe we’ll get some answers.”

Comet nodded and, somewhat self-consciously, checked the bottom of her hoof.

“I sure hope so,” she said.

Comet’s rest was uneasy. The sound of faint, distant drums and the glow of white eyes consumed her. She felt a soft whispering in her ears, and a blue light in her dream tried to soothe her, but all she could see was Cloudrush’s face, twisted and dark, with teeth like a dragon’s.

She woke up before the sun rose to find her friends still asleep in their varying cots and blankets. She petted Orion absently and got up. She heard some bustling in another room. Curiously, she peeked around a doorway to see Luna in the kitchen, her magic alight as she wrapped small packages and packed them into a brown travel pack.

“Good morning,” the tall unicorn said. “Did you get some rest?”

“Um… Yeah,” Comet said.

Luna cut her eyes at her and gave her a small, sympathetic smile. Comet gulped.

“A-Anyway, what’s all this?” she asked.

“Food,” she said. “I suspect you’re in for a long trip.”

“Oh! Oh, my gosh, thank you,” Comet stammered. “Let me help. I, uh…”

She rushed out of the room to grab her “bottomless bag” and returned with it. Luna lifted it and looked at the spell weaved into the bottom. She smiled.

“You have good friends,” she said.

Comet was quiet as she packed, but her eyes followed the opossum that trailed Luna around the kitchen. However, as soon as she took her eyes off him, he reappeared beside her, offering her an apple that he had to lift with his whole body.

“Thanks, little guy,” she said as she took it from him.

“That’s Tiberius,” Luna said as the opossum scampered back to her. “We’ve been together a long time.”

Comet smiled and nodded, and went back to work. Luna watched her silently for a little while and the slipped in without a word, taking her hoof.

“My, my,” she said.

Comet cringed, but Luna smiled at her.

“I believe you’re going to do just fine,” she said. “Go lie down for a little longer. Get some rest.”

“But—“

“Trust me, little one.”

Somewhat reluctantly, Comet returned to the bed and flopped down. Orion scooted up to her, positioning himself between her forelegs. He was instantly asleep again. Comet was sure she wouldn’t be able to join him, but as soon as she closed her eyes, she was out like a light.

The early morning was filled with last minute preparations for the journey ahead. Runestone wore his light, battered traveller’s armour, with his new shield across his back and Graham’s old sword over his shoulder. Umbra carried no weapons or armour, but she wore two thin, golden bands on her neck above a loose, copper necklace. It was adorned with a purple gem with a surface that swirled with magic, much like the enchanted stone Comet wore.

Comet pulled on her silver, wing-patterned shoulder plate over the healing wound and, cautiously, unbandaged her legs. She winced in anticipation, but the cuts on her body were not nearly as bad as she had thought. They didn’t even look like they would scar this time, much to her relief.

Bidding Luna farewell and thanking her profusely, the ponies and crocodile set off towards Ponyville. Umbra took point, seeming to know the way. The group was silent though. Comet hung back. Her heart was heavy and she couldn’t think of anything that seemed important enough to say. She could hear Runestone sniffling every once and a while, but the way he walked made her think that he was hoping they hadn’t noticed.

After a while, Umbra stomped to a halt and whirled on the stallion with a scowl on her face.

“Will you stop it?” she snapped. “Crying is not going to get us anywhere!”

Runestone shrunk and Comet rushed up to stand between them.

“Umbra!” she said, eyes wide. “Come on, we’re all upset.”

“Yes,” she said cooly, but then leaned around her to lock eyes with Runestone. “But we need to be strong or we will never get anywhere.”

“How can you be so cold?” Runestone barked. “All our friends…! And Graham, he’s—!”

“He was my mentor too!” Umbra snapped.

Comet grimaced but Runestone looked utterly shocked. It was as if he had forgotten. The tall unicorn rolled her eyes, but before she knew it, the stallion pushed in close, nuzzling her face.

“I’m so sorry,” he muttered.

Comet was startled, and Umbra looked completely shocked. She froze utterly, but quickly her expression fell into a sort of tired gratefulness. After a moment, she gently pushed him away.

“That’s enough. Thank you.”

He nodded and drew back respectfully; Umbra took a deep breath and looked to Comet, raising an eyebrow.

“We’re not going to have to hug, are we?” she joked.

The blue unicorn hesitated for just a moment before giving in to a tired smile.

“Yeah, I think we are.”

Before Umbra could protest, Comet wrapped her in a quick, but warm, embrace. She rolled her eyes, but patted the smaller unicorn on the back and managed a smile when they pulled apart.

“You touchy-feely ponies are so strange,” she commented, “but... I appreciate it. This time.”

“This is what friends are for,” Runestone assured her.

She looked back at him quizzically, repeating, “Friends?”

“Friends don’t always have to get along,” the stallion joked.

A faint smile crossed Umbra’s face and she nodded her head towards the small, sparse path.

“Nearly there,” she said. “Come on.”

She lead the way, but Comet hung back a second to check in on Runestone. He wiped his eyes on his hoof.

“You gonna be okay?” she asked quietly.

He nodded.

“Sorry. Sometimes it just gets to me,” he said; he started to move again and Comet followed. “It still doesn’t seem real sometimes, and then I realize it is, and well…”

She nodded. She hoped they’d find some answers they needed in Ponyville.

When they arrived at the edge of town, the place was bustling with ponies, some looking quite hard done by. As they passed by one of the low, stone walls at the border, they were met by a white mare, cerulean mane tied back and out of her eyes, her expression tired and worried.

“Are you refugees?” she asked. “Do you need help?”

“No,” Umbra said.

“Are there a lot of refugees coming through?” Comet asked.

“You didn’t hear?” the mare asked. “That fort in the forest got overrun.”

“There were survivors?” Runestone asked.

“Well, there are ponies from even further away who passed through there coming here now,” the mare said, ears drooping. “So you three don’t need any help?”

“No, thank you,” Comet said.

The mare nodded and trotted off in a rush.

The group shared a look.

“I guess we’ll just have to keep out of their way,” Comet said. “Umbra, do you know what we’re looking for exactly?”

“Twilight Sparkle lived here, once,” she said. “Perhaps that’s where we should be looking.”

“Is that a thing we can ask about without sounding suspicious?” she wondered.

“If we play ourselves off as pilgrims, perhaps,” Umbra said. “I’m sure Runestone wouldn’t have a problem. He looks like the religious sort.”

“What? No I don’t,” he whined.

“At least you’re not a unicorn,” Comet pointed out. “But before that, maybe we should take a look around?”

Umbra shrugged and nodded.

“I’ll follow you,” Runestone agreed.

Ponyville was bustling and busy, and it seemed as if the whole town had united to help those who had come from the forest. It was reassuring to see. What looked like a market square was filled with tents for the newcomers to rest their hooves in. Comet took note of a coral-pink unicorn with a pale mane helping out and her heart sunk. She strode past quickly, biting her lip, the strawberry mark on her flank confirming that she must’ve been one of Pointer’s relatives.

“Hey, excuse me!” a high, female voice called.

Comet came to a reluctant halt as a pale orange pegasus wearing light blue traveller’s armour trotted up to her. She had bright blue eyes and wore her red mane in a half-bob, pulled over the right side of her head with a strand around the center in a thin braid. Her tail was long and straight, the red divided by two stripes, orange a and gold, that ran side by side down the middle.

“What do you want?” Umbra asked.

“Whoa, there,” the pegasus laughed, and then nodded at Comet. “You do ice magic?”

“Uh, yes? How did you—?”

“Comet cutie mark. Comets are freezing,” she said, smiling. “There’s some ponies here who could really use some cold compresses. Do you think you could help?”

“We’re busy,” Umbra said.

“Wait a second,” Comet said. “I can spare a few minutes, can’t I? You two could keep looking.”

Umbra shrugged.

“Suit yourself,” she said.

She trotted off and Runestone smiled embarrassedly.

“Sorry about her,” he said. “I’ll meet you back here, Comet.”

She nodded and waved as the stallion trotted off.

When she turned, she noticed a surprised look on the pegasus’s face, only to realize that Orion had poked his head from her bag. The pegasus smiled and waved at him, before turning her pleasant expression on Comet.

“Oh, and your name is Comet, too? Nice coincidence,” she said. “Thanks for agreeing to stay.”

Comet nodded and the pegasus lead her towards what seemed to be a medical tent.

“I’m Talespin,” she said. “This isn’t really my normal scene, but I just couldn’t sit around and do nothing.”

The unicorn nodded again and, finding an empty barrel, froze the entire thing solid and then began conjuring ice to fill it.

“Ooh, thank you so much,” Talespin said again. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Comet said.

“Where are you three from? You don’t look like refugees.” She looked a bit embarrassed. “I was worried for a second when I saw that Sunwalker escorting you, but you seem like you might be friends? Are you battlemages?”

“Oh. No,” she said, and laughed, “no, we’re not. We’re, uh… we’re pilgrims.”

“Pilgrims?” Talespin repeated, her ears perking.

“Yeah. We, um… We came to find the place Twilight Sparkle used to live,” Comet said.

“Oh!” Talespin said brightly, and she started to grin. “I can help you with that, I think.”

“You know where it is?” Comet asked.

“I know a spot,” Talespin said. “One where worshippers like to gather. I’m actually quite a devout Sparklite.”

Comet had never heard that term before, but she nodded and smiled.

“I’d love to see it,” she said.

“And I’d love to take you there,” Talespin said.

Umbra scoped the town slowly and deliberately. The magic-steeped air of Ponyville was disrupting her regular ability to sense the arcane, but still, certain spots seemed to radiate. She peeked in to a building, refurbished over and over, that was designed to look like it was made of desserts. It seemed to be little more than a bakery. She darted out again before the mare working the counter took note of her.

Energy also radiated from an area of fields just beyond town, but the trees there, past strawberry patches, had become wild and foreboding. Umbra knew that venturing there alone without even informing the others would be ill advised, so continued on her way. She was sure she felt more near the river.

Meanwhile, Runestone trotted about town, eyes alert and ears erect. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was looking for, but, near a pony’s door, he picked out a familiar symbol engraved onto a stone totem: a six pointed star. Curiously, he edged over to it and looked it up and down. Though a little hesitant, he knocked on the door to the house. No one answered, so he moved on.

Soon, he started to pick out other totems near houses, some with other markings, such as an apple, or a lightning bolt, but the star stood out most prominently.

Near the remains of a train station that had been converted into a small library, Runestone found something much more striking. There was a circle of roots from the base of a missing tree sticking up from the ground in what seemed to be a ceremonial arrangement. There were gems and offerings of fruit in baskets placed all around more totems. There were six of them, evenly spaced amongst the roots, and at the very centre, a young tree sprouted, its branches decorated with gold and silver jewellery.

Curious, Runestone circled the place, seeing the star once more. Now, he also saw the other marks: an apple, a butterfly, a balloon, a diamond, and a lightning bolt.

“That was Twilight Sparkle’s home, once upon a time” a familiar voice said.

He turned to see the orange pegasus and Comet Strike approaching, and he smiled.

“Everything go well?” he asked.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Comet said, and she pointed out the pegasus. “This is Talespin. He’s Runestone.”

“Good to meet you,” Talespin said brightly. “I see you found this place by yourself. Did it draw you here?”

“Um… I’m not sure,” he said. “I mean, visually it did, sure. It really stands out. You said Twilight Sparkle lived here?”

“Yeah,” she said. “It was her home shortly before the first events that lead to the Nightspawn crisis occurred. Unfortunately, it was wrecked almost completely in her battle with the great beast, Tirek.”

“Never heard of him,” Comet said.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard of a centaur? He’s been described like that, with a face like a baboon mixed with a bull. The stories say he was a devourer of magic,” she explained, “and if he had had his way, he would have eaten Equestria and the whole rest of the planet dry. Twilight Sparkle was imbued with the power of Celestia herself and defeated him.”

“Sounds like it would’ve been quite the battle,” Runestone commented.

“I can tell you the whole story, if you’d like!” the pegasus said brightly.

“That sounds interesting,” Runestone said, “but, I have a question.”

“Anything,” Talespin said, and added proudly, “I’ve been a Sparklite for almost my whole life. I’ve been studying the stories around Twilight Sparkle for years.”

“A Spark—? Oh. Well, alright,” Runestone said, trying to mask his confusion. “Where did she live after this house, or tree or whatever, got blown up?”

Talespin’s eyes widened. Comet cast a curious look at her. She laughed as if trying to cover her embarrassment.

“Well, I mean, there’s rumours,” she began.

“Please. We’d really like to know,” the stallion said earnestly.

Talespin bit her lip.

“Well, I mean,” she said hesitantly, “I’d love to tell you. Really. But, it’s a sacred place. I only just recently got permission to go there from—“

“We don’t mean any harm,” Comet said quickly. “Look, if you can’t say, that’s fine. But so you know, we’re still going to look for it.”

The pegasus’s ears drooped a little, but she nodded and smiled a bit.

“That’s some dedication,” she said. “I’m sorry I can’t help more.”

Comet bit her lip to keep herself from retorting, but she was sure that Talespin didn’t mean any harm.

“Well, thanks for showing me here, at least,” she said. “I’m sure I’ll learn a lot.”

Talespin nodded and her ears perked up a bit and she ruffled her wings.

“Good to hear,” she said. “I should get back to helping with the refugees. Maybe I’ll see you guys around later!”

They waved her off, but as soon as she was out of earshot, Comet puffed out a long, deep sigh.

“What?” Runestone laughed. “She didn’t seem that bad.”

“She wasn’t,” Comet replied. “But I am getting super sick of all this weird secrecy about Celestia and Twilight Sparkle. And I definitely don’t want these Sparklite ponies getting in our way.”

“Can we pull the Warden card? Is that a thing?” Runestone asked.

Comet frowned and shrugged.

“No idea. We should ask Umbra,” she said. “But I think we should keep that quiet for now. Besides, I told Talespin we were pilgrims. She thought you were a Sunwalker.”

“What? Why?” he yelped. “Ugh, it’s worn off on me, hasn’t it? I just look it now, don’t I?”

Comet laughed.

“I’m sure it was just a guess. One earth pony in armour hanging out with two unicorns, I guess,” she said. “Anyway, how long have you been here? Seen anything interesting.”

“Just these stones,” he said. “They’re all around town, did you notice?”

“No,” she said as she started to circle them. “Good eye.”

She walked the full perimeter of the ancient roots and she began to frown with thought. Runestone nudged her to snap her back.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

“I’ve seen these before,” she said, and then lowered her voice, “these are the marks of the Elements of Harmony.”

Runestone’s eyes widened.

“How much do you think they know here?” he asked. “I’m starting to get really frustrated with all these different versions of everything.”

“I know,” Comet sighed. “In Canerlot, there might as well be no Twilight Sparkle. Everywhere else, she’s like the chosen one or something. Then, there’s the Warden’s version where she had wings. Then there’s what I saw where it wasn’t just her, but five others using the Elements, too. It’s confusing and I don’t like it.”

“And I bet there’s like, five other versions,” Runestone said, and then grumbled, “I guess it must be nice to chose whatever story fits best.”

“Very frustrating,” Comet agreed.

“Then I have some somewhat good news.”

Comet and Runestone turned to see Umbra had snuck up behind them.

“You found something?” Comet asked eagerly.

Umbra nodded, looking thoughtful.

“I also overheard your new friend. I found a large tree at the edge of town that is, quite oddly, kept under armed guard.” She smiled slyly. “And, it reeks of arcane energy. I wonder why that is.”

Comet’s face lit up and Runestone grinned.

“Ten out of ten,” the stallion said brightly. “Alright. What now? Storm in? Sneak over? Can we pull rank?”

“Absolutely not,” Umbra said. “Come on. We need some privacy.”

She began towards the library and continued on past a few trees and some brush until they were out of the way.

“Listen,” Umbra said sternly, “we don’t know the full situation. In one train of thought, Icicle Star knows we’re alive and will probably be searching for us. In another, he thinks we are dead and that the Wardens are finished. Either way, I feel that revealing ourselves would make our location clear, and would be an absolute disaster.”

“That’s a good point,” Runestone said.

“Okay. No problem,” Comet said. “So what do you think? Try to lie our way in?”

“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that,” Umbra said with a frown. “If I’m honest, I can confidently withhold information, but to deceive others with words, I’m not so sure.”

“Yeah, I’m rubbish at it, too,” Runestone said. “Have you heard me lie? I’m like a foal. It’s embarrassing.”

“Good thing you have me here, then,” Comet said, albeit a little reluctantly. “I’m almost a professional.”

Umbra’s eyes narrowed a little.

“What do you mean by that?” she asked.

Comet shrugged, though her ears drooped a little.

“In the Tower, my magic is completely forbidden,” she explained. “Like, they-cut-off-your-horn-if-they-find-out forbidden. It’s bad. I had to lie. All the time. I didn’t like it, but I did what I had to to get by.”

Umbra’s expression relaxed a little, but her ears went back a little.

“Fine. That’s good to know,” she said. “But I feel like avoiding confrontation might be best.”

“So, sneaking, then,” Runestone concluded.

“And maybe you could use some of that perception magic on any guards,” Comet suggested.

Umbra nodded.

“If it comes to that,” she agreed. “I’d like to get this over with as soon as possible.”

“No, we should wait,” Comet said. “I’d like to scope out the place first. And I think we’ll be safer in the dark.”

Umbra was quiet for a few seconds, in thought. Runestone looked between the two mares and then nodded.

“That makes sense to me,” he said.

“Fine,” Umbra said. “You’re right, Comet. Let’s take a quick look around.”

Umbra lead the others towards a great tree that towered over the other half of town. Comet had never seen a tree quite so big as this, but something seemed strange about it. Though its boughs were thick and strong, and leaves bright green and vibrant, they seemed to shimmer in a way that was not quite regular.

The so-called Sparklites had made no qualms about the fact that they didn’t want anyone near the tree. A wall of stone had been built around it, and guards dressed in an iridescent grey armour that shone with purple in a certain light stood ready at corner positions and at a gate. The wall itself seemed rather pointless— a pegasus would certainly have no problem with it; even a regular pony could probably jump it with a running start— serving more as just a symbolic barrier. For some reason, it made Comet a little angry inside. If this place really was a sacred area to Twilight Sparkle, why would she want it blocked off as it was? It didn’t seem likely; it seemed rather elitist to her.

Runestone must have noticed her furrowed brow and her her sour pout, because he edged in closer to her and bumped her with his snout.

“I don’t like the look of it, either,” he said. “Reminds me too much of Sunwalker garbage.”

“Really? You’re don’t miss the authority?” Umbra wondered.

“Dear Celestia, no,” Runestone replied quickly. “I never wanted it. I didn’t even sign up.”

“How does that happen, anyway?” Comet asked, brows raised. “You’ve mentioned that before, but—“

“Ah, right. I’m an orphan, see,” he began, and he tilted his head to gesture for them to keep walking. “A lovely battlemage found me and was taking care of me, but, you know, things happen, and I basically became a ward of the Sunwalkers pretty young. They trained me in Dawncliff for a while and they ended up sending me to Canterlot earlier this year.”

“So, you’re saying you were foalnapped?” Umbra said. “They just took you.”

“What? No, I… I mean… I didn’t really have a choice,” the stallion explained limply.

Comet grimaced. She knew how that felt.

“I guess a lot of Sunwalkers are like that,” she said. “That’s really sad, actually.”

“Why? I mean, I didn’t like it, but it wasn’t the worst,” Runestone said.

“Well, it’s just that, being a unicorn in Canterlot is basically the same for most of us,” she explained, “so really, we’re kind of similar. It just sucks how they pit us against each other when, really, I’m sure a lot of unicorns and Sunwalkers could relate.”

“Isn’t that just how these dictators work?” Umbra mused. “They take control and then have their victims fight against each other so no one notices the wrongdoing.”

Runestone looked like he was about to protest, but his words fell short and he frowned a little. Comet, however, felt a little vindicated.

She turned her attention back on the Sparklite guards.

“So,” she said, “did either of you know about these guys before today?”

“No,” Runestone said, “I’ve never heard of them.”

“I knew there were some sects that worshipped Twilight Sparkle more than average,” Umbra said. “I’ve been to Ponyville a few times before, so I knew there were worshippers active here, but an actual group called the Sparklites? No. Not at all.”

Comet nodded.

“Great, another weird secretive group with dubious motivations,” Runestone said. “My favourite.”

“I suppose we could also be considered that,” Umbra said.

“No way, we’re a weird secretive group with motivations that are absolutely clear,” the stallion corrected.

When night fell, the small group was ready. Guards seemed to change every three hours, so as soon as the most recent group had swapped out and were out of sight, Umbra went to work weaving a spell to distract minds of the new guards as they settled in.

Her dark magic wafted towards them like smoke and, one by one, seeped into their eyes without them seeming to notice a thing. From a distance, Umbra watched with a cautious gaze. She bumped Runestone’s shoulder.

“Go talk to them,” she said.

“What? Me? Why?” he yelped.

“As I’ve said, you look the most religious.”

“What do I say?” he demanded.

“It doesn’t matter,” Umbra said, rolling her eyes. “Something polite. If it didn’t work, just comment on the tree and excuse yourself. Honestly.”

Runestone pouted. He grumbled to himself as he wandered off.

The mares watched him with curious eyes. He looked back over his shoulder and Comet waved for him to move. His ears drooped for just a moment before he raised his head and forced them back up as he trotted to the guards. They couldn’t hear what he was saying to the first one, and he turned to the second. After a moment he waved his hoof in front of the stallion’s face. When there was no reaction, he turned around and waved to the waiting unicorns.

Umbra grinned smugly. With Comet close behind, they trotted rather casually towards the giant tree to reunite with Runestone, and bypass the stone wall.

The tree seemed even larger close up, but the way it shimmered in the moonlight stood out more clearly.

“Whoa, would you look at this place?” Runestone said. “It’s kind of fantastic. But, now what? Umbra?”

Umbra frowned slightly and her horn lit up purple. The glow didn’t last long and crackled out sharply.

“Damn,” she hissed. “It’s too strong for me. Comet?”

“Me? But—“

“Just try,” Umbra insisted.

Comet nodded and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes to concentrate, and she felt her energy travel to her horn. She reached out, but Umbra was right, the magic around the tree was very strong. Something about it was a little inviting, though. She got a strange feeling, almost like a a breeze whisking past her right ear. She opened her eyes, but suddenly what was before her wasn’t a tree anymore.

Comet’s jaw dropped and she almost collapsed as she rushed to take in the sight and her mind raced to piece together what she was looking at. What had once been the tree’s giant trunk now appeared to purple and blue crystal in a patchwork that mimicked tree bark. As she took a few steps back to get a glimpse of the branch-like structures that supported spires high above, she was jarred away as Runestone grabbed her.

“Comet? You alright? What’s going on?” he asked.

“It was a concealment spell,” she said.

Umbra turned to look back at the place, but her expression was simply quizzical when she looked at Comet again.

“Yes, I know, but what is it concealing exactly?” Her frown deepened, but then it seemed to dawn on her. “What does it look like?”

“It’s… It’s like a crystal castle, and…” Comet leaned around and then trotted to the right around the base of the structure; her eyes lit up as she found what looked like a large door. “Here! The door!”

“I don’t see a thing,” Runestone said.

Comet hurried to grab his hoof and pulled him towards it. She pushed her good shoulder hard against it. She felt a magic spark and it gave.

As her friend yelped, together they stumbled inward, hooves clattering against a floor of cool, polished crystal. Umbra followed close and the ponies took a moment to observe their surroundings — a room laid out before them with a star in a gold circle on the floor and seven thrones, one of which was much smaller than the others.

“Nice work, Comet,” Umbra said with a smile.

“This… This was under there the whole time?” Runestone asked.

Comet nodded and she gently placed Orion on the ground to let him stretch his legs as Umbra’s magic illuminated the room.

Upon inspection, the thrones were revealed to bear the same marks as the totem stones littered around town. The smallest of the thrones was pressed up close to the larger one that bore Twilight Sparkle’s six-pointed star. Biting her lip, Comet referenced the mark on her hoof to be sure.

“You know,” Runestone said, snapping her out of her thoughts, “this place looks a lot like that weird place you found under Canterlot, Comet.”

“What place?” Umbra asked curiously— she picked up her feet with disdain as Orion scampered about under them.

“There was an old crystal cave hidden under Canterlot, down under the library in the Tower,” Comet explained. “Or, several, I guess, but one was very kind of crafted looking, like this.”

“Interesting,” Umbra said. “Looks like we’re in the right place. Shall we split up and look around? Or would you prefer together. We should have until sunrise before that spell wears off.”

“A few hours,” Comet said, mostly to herself. “I think we should go together. More eyes.”

Umbra nodded and began towards a door on the right side of the room.

“What are we looking for, exactly?” Runestone asked. “Books, maybe? Or a diary?”

“That would be good,” Comet agreed.

Beyond the door lay a somewhat sparse crystal hallway. There were more rooms beyond, the place seeming far larger on the inside than it had been on the outside. There were also stairs that lead to more rooms upstairs. Comet gulped. The task seemed suddenly very daunting.

Peeking through rooms both upstairs and down soon revealed that the task wasn’t nearly as monumental as was first though. The castle was mostly empty, as if it hadn’t really been lived in at all. It soon became clear that the only room that had really seen much action was a large, upstairs room connected to an observatory.

There were bookshelves, coated in dust, that only held a few scattered books. Tables were covered with old maps and, though a portion of it was clearly a bedroom, the place had been forced into the role of a war room. Scattered armour racks were up against walls, but they were bare. Strange, scientific instruments were scattered around somewhat haphazardly. A large lens and mirror sat in a strange spot beside a table, empty beakers and flasks were scattered sporadically over almost every flat surface, along with small crystals that Comet could feel were faintly, arcanely attuned.

The group spread out without any words. Runestone headed for the maps, blowing dust from the old surface with care. Umbra took a look around the bedroom area, slow and cautious. Comet made a beeline for the bookshelves. Though she hoped desperately for a history book or, the ultimate prize, a journal, she found only books on beginner gardening, songbooks for foals, and an inexplicable blank-paged tome with only the word “test print” scrawled on the inner cover. Comet pouted. Her ears perked to the sound of Runestone hmm-ing to himself, and she turned to join him.

“So?” she asked.

“This is actually really interesting,” he said.

Comet leaned over the table to look with him. The maps were ancient, cracked at the edges, colour faded. It looked like it was a poster at some point, perhaps printed in bulk, but it had been modified with writing all over it in dark purple ink.

“Look, here,” Runestone pointed out, tapping the map. “It’s a bit faded, but this looks like where the forest was to begin with, see?”

He pointed out a patch that was relatively small, running nearby Ponyville. However, near it was the purple ink, drawing trees and arrows spreading out in all directions. She let her eyes roam the map, picking out the differences from what she knew. There was no Cloudsdale anymore, but New Cloudsdale now floated to the west, closer to the Smokey Mountain. Some mountains and towns had been renamed, but the main change seemed to be the addition of Zenith in the far northeast.

“Interesting,” she said.

“I know, right?” Runestone said. “Though… I don’t think this helps us much.”

“Unless they put where those Elements of Harmony ended up on here,” Comet said. “I looked, but I might have missed it. You see anything?”

Runestone shook his head. Comet couldn't help but pout. She felt breath puff behind her neck and noticed Umbra leaning in from the corner of her eye.

“Not a thing about it,” she said; Runestone jumped at the sound of her voice. “I think I’ve found something though. Come on.”

She jerked her head to the wall across from the bed and then guided them over. She showed them the floor where part of a carpet had been moved. There seemed to be a symbol there. Umbra rolled it back to reveal it— Comet’s breath caught in her throat and Runestone began to smile— it was a hippogryph.

“That’s great!” Runestone said. “What do we do with it?”

Umbra shrugged. The stallion tilted his head and then, cautiously, touched the symbol with his hoof. Much to their surprise— and relief— the symbol lit up pink, then shimmered a pastel rainbow. With the rumble of grinding stone, the wall before them opened up to reveal a small, closet-sized compartment in the wall that simply housed a polished, crystal orb on a metal pedestal.

“Can we move that?” Comet asked quickly, but before anyone answered, she grabbed for it with her magic.

It repelled her, so she hurried in and grabbed it to pull, Orion scampering up under her legs to mimic her. Runestone joined her so the crystal wouldn’t fall, and together they pushed the stand and crystal into the room.

“I suppose this is important,” Umbra said, ears lifting.

“I’ve seen one of these before,” Comet muttered.

Orion and Runestone both looked at her curiously.

“Really?” the stallion asked.

“Sort of,” she said. “In a room under the library in the Canterlot tower.”

“Full of surprises, aren’t we, Comet Strike?” Umbra said.

Comet shrugged and circled the pedestal and inspected the crystals with an inquisitive eye. From her right, she noted a movement and she straightened immediately despite her heart dropping, sending a ball of light into the dark corner. She heard a yelp, only to see the orange pegasus from before reared back against the wall as the blue orb hovered close to her. Comet sighed with relief and pulled her magic back, but Umbra didn’t seem nearly as happy. She lowered her horn.

“What are you doing here?” she said sharply.

“I’m sorry,” Talespin replied bashfully.

She folded her wings against her body and carefully headed in closer to the group.

“I was just... I was so curious!” she explained, a sort of awed light behind her eyes. “I’ve been studying in the library, and I’ve never been able to open that wall.”

“You knew it opened?” Runestone wondered.

“Well, yeah, there was a difference in the stone colour,” she said, shrugging. “Subtle, but still. And I figured that pattern on the ground was a switch. What did you do to it?”

Runestone shrugged.

“Touched it,” he said.

Though Umbra was about to protest, Talespin skipped across the room to look closely at the pattern on the floor.

“Oh! It’s a…” The pegasus’s eyes widened and she looked between the other ponies with surprise. “My gosh, you’re all Wardens, aren’t you? This is the Wardens of Harmony’s marking.”

Comet bit her lip and cast a worried look at Umbra. The tall unicorn sighed, but she nodded stiffly.

“Twilight Sparkle founded our order,” she said somewhat defensively.

“And she left that mark for other Wardens to find,” the pegasus concluded. “That makes sense. But what could all this be?”

She gestured broadly around the room.

“It’s a recording device,” Comet said, “I just need to figure out how to make it play back.”

“A whatnow?” Talespin asked blankly.

Umbra rolled her eyes and joined Comet as she inspected the crystals. Behind them, Orion ambled over to the pegasus curiously and Runestone beckoned them both closer. A bit hesitantly, Talespin edged into the group, the crocodile following behind her quickly.

“You said you saw some in Canterlot, yes?” Umbra said. “How did you activate it there?”

“I think I stepped on a switch or something,” Comet said.

“Okay! Check the floor then,” Talespin said brightly.

She lifted off gingerly to get a better view and Comet helped Umbra to brighten the room with their magic. As Runestone scoured the floor, Orion scampered about below Talespin until he stumbled over a tile in the floor and slipped unceremoniously downward.

“Whoa, watch out,” Comet laughed.

She helped the crocodile upright, only to notice that his claw had been caught on some small grooves in the floor. Her eyes lit up and she patted Orion’s horned head affectionately and then scampered back to the crystal and its stand.

“Someone help me move this?” she asked.

Runestone was by her side in an instant and, with her steadying the crystal, he easily shoved the pedestal forward with his shoulder until it clunked into place on the grooved tile.

The crystal lit up almost instantly, startling Talespin badly enough that she toppled backwards and conked into a wall. The light channeled a beam that, to their surprise, shot through the mirror and lens to create an illuminated projection on the wall.

The image was out of focus at first, something moving, but it soon came into focus. A purple snout was close, breathing on the crystal to clear it, and then wiping it off quickly with a wing.

“There we go!” she said. “Okay. Recording? Hope so! Sorry for breathing on you, there!”

The pony drew back to reveal a young mare, long, dark blue mane streaked with pink and purple. She had a scar over her right eye and a few down her neck as well. Aside from the wings at her shoulders, she also had the long horn of a unicorn standing out on her brow. She looked to be in high spirits.

Comet felt her throat go dry. She had seen this pony before. She cast a hesitantly look at the others. Talespin had edged over to them, her hoof to her mouth, her eyes watering. Runestone looked as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing, and even Umbra seemed somewhat shocked.

“Hello!” the recording of the alicorn said. “I’m Twilight Sparkle. Formerly, Princess of Friendship, now Commander of the Wardens of Harmony. And you, who are watching this, should probably be Wardens of Harmony. Don’t worry, though, I can’t see you, so no need to stand at attention.”

She laughed to herself, though a male voice near her groaned.

“Come on, Twilight,” he said. “You’re not really gonna make them just watch through all this stuff, are you? You gotta get to the point.”

A lanky, teenaged dragon, a brighter purple than Twilight Sparkle, spikes and ear fins green, walked into view and frowned at her. She laughed.

“I guess you’re right, Spike,” she said. “Okay! Start it over?”

“No, no, no, Twilight, just say the stuff!” Spike laughed tiredly. “Try to get to it before everyone gets here, okay?”

“Right! Okay. Yes. Okay, Wardens? Listen up! So, as you know, Celestia’s gone missing and it’s up to my friends and I to get her back. What I’m planning will probably work, but just in case it doesn’t, I’m gonna bring this crystal recording sphere with us so you can see what we did and learn from it.” She seemed rather confident despite her words, but then started to frown. “Easier to set up and more durable than film and a projector! Anyway! Unfortunately, some magical disturbances have made what we called ‘Rainbow Power’ weaker than I’d like, which is why we had to pull the Elements of Harmony back from the tree. Hence the forest spreading, the Sun and Moon teams, etcetera. But with—“

The sound of a door closing loudly distracted her and her ears perked up. She began to smile when she looked over to her right.

“Hey, guys!” she said. “I’m just finishing up a recording to explain what’s going on. You make it over okay? How was patrol?”

“Nightspawn are finally starting to stop being like a big, stupid swarm,” a high, growly female voice said.

“Which means something big’s probably coming,” a male’s voice added.

Twilight’s smile fell.

“Right. Right. Good thing we’re doing this now, then,” she said. “It should all be over in just a few days.”

A muscular pegasus mare, her pelt light cyan and pricked with scarring, her mane long, unruly, and the colours of the rainbow, strode into the room, staring Twilight down with intense, bright pink eyes. She was garbed in a burnished silver suit of armour covering her neck to her flank. She was incredibly imposing.

“Twilight, this plan you have, with the... the... whatchamacall it,” she began, “this’ll work? If we have everyone, it’ll work?”

“Theoretically, yes,” Twilight said, nodding; she adjusted some gauges on some far off instruments with her magic. “With the Elements of Harmony and our rainbow powering my magic, I believe I can send us to where they sent Celestia, and we can get her back.”

She turned and smiled at the pegasus, ruffling her wings.

“I can count on you, right, Rainbow Dash?”

“Pfft, you even have to ask?” the mare scoffed. “I’m not “Loyalty” for nothing, you know!”

Twilight smiled fondly, but then turned her gaze past Rainbow Dash to a large, long-eared, white griffon with the spots of a snow leopard entering behind her as he walked up to the crystal ball and tapped it carefully with a talon.

“And this…? What’s this for, Twi?” he asked.

“Like I said, I’m recording everything,” she said, sounding a little proud of herself, “just in case I need to see what I did, or what someone said, or in case we screw up and someone in the future needs this.”

The griffon nodded understandingly and doubled back to stand beside Rainbow Dash. She frowned defiantly at nothing in particular.

“We won’t screw up,” she said, resolute. “We won’t.”

Despite this, she seemed a little on edge. The griffon beside her sighed and nuzzled his beak against her cheek. She leaned into him tiredly.

“Thanks, Gaius,” she grumbled, before pulling away.

He smiled a bit, his feathered crest raising as his expression brightened.

Just then, the sound of a door creaking open drew the attention of the three in the room, and they looked up just as four more ponies entered. One was an orange mare, her yellow-blonde mane and tail both tied back, and most of her body coated in a heavy leather armour. A pale grey unicorn trotted beside her, her purple mane and tail curled elegantly in a way that seemed rather out of place amongst her outfit of light armour and the bow and quiver of crystal-tipped arrows slung across her back. Fluttering behind was a pale yellow pegasus, her pink mane a little hidden under a simple, gold helmet; she also wore a basic, light scout’s armour. Lastly, bouncing on light hooves and wearing dark apparel ideal for sneaking, was a bright pink pony, with a pink mane and tail just a shade darker than her pelt that were equal parts flamboyant and curly— rather reminiscent of cotton candy.

“There you all are,” Twilight said, sounding relieved. “Did you get held up at all on the way over?”

“Oh, only by a few brutish Nightspawn,” the unicorn replied, sounding more annoyed than anything. “Honestly, though, they didn’t stand a chance.”

“I reckon those others’ll be a might cautious around us for a little while,” the orange mare agreed, grinning.

“Good,” Twilight said with a nod, and Rainbow Dash smiled at the newcomers widely.

“Good job, guys. Fluttershy, glad to see you made it, too.”

Fluttershy, the other pegasus, smiled meekly and landed, fluffing her wings a little.

“I talked to Discord,” she said softly. “He said he’d come.”

“Perfect,” Twilight said.

The alicorn turned back towards the crystal.

“So,” she said, “this is everyone for now. We’re the representatives of the Elements of Harmony. Like I said, I’m Twilight Sparkle, there’s Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity.”

The pink pony waved from the back of the room.

“What we’re planning,” Twilight continued, “is to go down into the tunnels that start near the Badlands. There’s supposed to be a place of power connected to Celestia there, something that the Cult of Nightmare Moon stole. I’m going to use the Elements to power up my teleportation spell, and along with that, we should be able to get to where she is and bring her back.”

“And then everything will go back to normal,” Fluttershy said, her voice soft and hopeful.

“Sure hope so,” the orange mare said.

“So, if this works, this is gonna be a cool historical recording,” Twilight said. “And if it doesn’t, well…”

She smiled ruefully.

“Good luck, future Wardens!”

Her horn lit up pink and the recording cut out, but only for a few seconds.

When the image reappeared, there was a horrible cacophony, sounds of battle, shrieks, and the crashing of rocks. The light was bad, but red stones were clear as magic strikes lit up the area. The voice of the little yellow pegasus soon rang clear.

“DISCORD!”

She sounded frantic and horrified.

Something happened and the recording jumped, showing now Twilight Sparkle dragging the crystal towards her with her hoof. She looked scared.

“Something went wrong,” she said breathlessly.

She pushed the crystal and it rolled, and purple claws lifted it up as the alicorn straightened up, standing back to back with the pale unicorn, Rarity. She was shooting crystal arrows out with fervour , sweat on her brow, her pristine mane a little disturbed.

“Twilight, what are you—?” Spike asked.

“Spike. I’m going to do the spell,” she said. “As soon as I do, run. Take the others and run.”

“What, Twilight?! No!”

Her horn began to charge with bright, radiant magic.

“I’m with you, darling,” Rarity said. “We all are.”

“Twilight!” Spike protested.

She began to levitate before their eyes, and Rarity soon joined her, radiating with a purple glow. Blue, red, orange and pale pink gleamed around them.

“I love you,” Twilight told the dragon.

The image washed out in a pulse of magic, shining like a rainbow before washing out white. The recording ended.

It took a few moments of dead silence before Comet snapped back into reality. She didn’t realize how tight she was clinging to Orion and Runestone until the crocodile leaned back in her lap and licked her chin. She awkwardly released the stallion. He looked gaunt, eyes wide. Beside him, Umbra was biting her lip, hard. Comet took a deep breath, only to jump when she heard a loud, high hiccough. She turned and saw Talespin. Tears were pouring down her face and a hoof held up against her mouth.

“I… I never…” She hiccoughed again, her breath ragged. “I never thought…”

She couldn’t complete her thought. Comet bit her lip and patted her shoulder reassuringly. After a little while of silence— aside from Talespin’s whimpering— Umbra got to her hooves.

“They must’ve failed,” she said quietly. “Something went wrong.”

“Alright,” Runestone said with a sigh, “you know magic, yeah? What do you think happened?”

“I’m not certain,” Umbra said. “Comet, jump in if you know, but I suspect something disrupted them.”

“They were under a lot of stress,” she said, “and I guess a ton of Nightspawn were attacking them. I think disruption makes sense.”

“But… But then what happened to them?” Talespin whimpered. “And what about Spike, did he make it out?”

“Well, the crystal’s here, so…” Comet pointed out gently.

Talespin took a deep breath.

“Right. Right…” The pegasus sighed and smiled slightly. “Sorry, I…”

She had to take a moment to wipe her eyes. She laughed quietly.

“She was so normal,” she muttered.

“So now, we seem to have a few choices ahead of us,” Umbra said. “Our ultimate goal has to be stopping Icicle Star.”

“Who, the King’s Battlemage?” Talespin repeated.

“He’s betrayed us,” Runestone said. “He leads the Nightspawn.”

“What?!” Talespin snapped. “You can’t be serious!”

“It’s true,” Comet said, ears pinning back. “So, Umbra?”

“We need the Elements of Harmony,” she said. “The goal of the Wardens since Twilight Sparkle vanished has always been to obtain them. We know we need them to rescue the Wardens as well. We also know that there will be at least some answers somewhere below the Badlands. We also need allies. There’s no way three ponies and a scraggly lizard can do this alone.”

“Four ponies,” Talespin corrected, pointing to herself. “I’m coming with you.”

“What?” Umbra said blankly.

“I’ve heard the stories coming from Harmonia,” she said. “They said no Wardens made it out, but here you three are. That must mean something. And you need the Elements of Harmony? I’ve been studying Twilight Sparkle’s life and powers for most of my life. I know a lot. Let me help you!”

“Well, uh…” Runestone looked between his friends cautiously. “I… I don’t have a problem with it.”

Umbra grimaced a little.

“It’s not that simple,” she said.

“I dunno, someone with historical knowledge could be helpful,” Comet said, but her ears drooped.

Umbra seemed to know more than she was letting on about something.

“Would you give us a little while to decide?” she said,

Talespin looked a little disappointed, but she nodded.

“Alright,” she said. “I understand. We just met, after all. Meet me at the inn if you’d like to talk more. Knock four times. See you later!”

The orange pegasus flitted out of the room and away down the hall. Runestone cast a confused look at the striped unicorn.

“What’s the issue?” he asked. “She seems nice enough.”

“Like I said, it isn’t so simple,” Umbra replied. “Problem is, we’re going to be doing a lot of fighting out there. She isn’t immune to the Nightspawn poison as I am, and as you two soon will be. She’d be a liability.”

“Oh.” Comet pouted. “I… I guess that makes sense.”

“I don’t know, Umbra, Comet and I did pretty well against them before we became Wardens,” Runestone said with a frown.

“I just think maybe we could do with some help,” Comet admitted.

Umbra was quiet for a few, long seconds.

“We should sleep on it,” she said.

Prologue

The wind was cold and bitter, moreso than usual. Graham felt it through his feathers and it stung at the wounds along his forelimbs and haunches. He shifted his talons, grasping a solid stone nearby tightly and took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. He had been a warrior for ages-- what felt like centuries, since before the creatures they called Nightspawn had infested the world. It had gotten no easier.

From his perch along the top of a muddied cliff, he surveyed the land below and squinted into the sun rising of its own accord to the east. Forest and cold had taken this land called Equestria long ago. He could make out the speck that was a town called Ponyville, its windmill churning, a long ways away. He had been there once, as a fledgeling; before the Everfree forest had been forced to spread.

His crest of feathers fell back as he grimaced a bit, clacked his beak, and then turned. Behind him, he could see the remnants of the Nightspawn. These were creatures of shadow and darkness, usually taking the form of a pony, though the body was barely solid, and mostly wraithlike. It was like some obscene parody of what they were once; like an insult to Celestia herself. Graham fluffed his dark plumage and strode into the withering, dark mess of the Nightspawn and grabbed one of his blades left imbedded in the back of one of the larger ones. Upon its removal, the creature defied logic and bubbled, turning almost instantly into a goo of utter blackness that seeped into the earth around it. The griffon cringed and slid the long knife into a sheath he carried over one shoulder.

He could feel one more of them, like a whispering in the back of his mind. His golden eyes cast around the cliff top and a growling sound caught his attention. He frowned as he saw a dark shape stand from behind a stone, oozing a bit from a cut on its neck. The beast was shaped like a pony, but its eyes, a pale and glowing white, showed no sentience that he could see. It meant to kill him, and that was all. The Nightspawn pawed at the ground with a front hoof and bared shiny, unnaturally pointed teeth. Calmly, Graham stared the creature down. It was small; he didn’t even need a sword for this. With an unearthly snarl, the Nightspawn launched itself at him, its hooves scrabbling through the mess of its predecessors . He could feel its every movement; every harsh intake of breath. With little effort, he stepped to the side and, as it overshot him, he whirled and pinned it with one talon, snapping its neck with the other. As he drew back with a frown, the monster turned to sludge before him and the whispering was silenced.

He resented the idea that his mind was strangely tapped into these creatures, but it was inevitable of his station. He was one of the few left to protect the land from threats such as this. Even now, he could feel a sense of unease in the air, in the water; in the land itself. He was sure something was coming, something big; something terrible, unlike the world had ever seen before. He turned back to the sun, barely any higher now, but despite everything, it gave him a little comfort. He would do his best to undo what had been done.

He spread his wings wide, taking the cold wind in stride; then, swiftly, took off down the cliffside and towards the light.

Chapter 8

Harmonia was bigger than Comet had anticipated. She was worried that Umbra was taking them outside when she guided them through a small archway, but she was surprised to see, instead, more livable tents with more soldiers, but even more refugees. There were also open market stalls covered in tattered cloth sheets, selling extra food and equipment right near a small river that passed through the fortress. Just across and up a hill, there was a strange paddock with small animals inside and a tired stallion watching over.

None of these were their stop, though, and Umbra guided the group solemnly passed everything without even a second glance. Dark was creeping in and despite the barrier, Comet was starting to get a bit nervous because of it. She sucked it up and tried to remain confident, even though Runestone had edged a little closer to her on his own, ears twitching back and forth anxiously.

The small group came to a ramp that, as they walked up it, revealed a secluded balcony upon which stood a wide column a little shorter than Comet was tall, crowned with what almost looked like the top of a birdbath, save for the fact that instead of water within, it contained six disks, each one supporting a stone sphere. Umbra was first up onto the rise, her horn setting aglow with deep purple. Light sprung forth and the magic bounced between wooden poles, setting each alight with a purple flame. Comet’s eyes darted across the scene and, after just a few moments, the group was joined by another few ponies and a couple griffons-- youngish, and nervous looking as well-- and Umbra spoke.

“You will now be split into groups of three. Remember who you’re with.”

She prowled through the group, pulling a few ponies together.

“Group 1!” she announced, loudly and sharply.

Comet watched with worry and pressed closer to Runestone, hoping not to be separated from him: Umbra wasn’t going by who was standing close to who, though. It seemed like she had had the groups planned out ahead of time.

They saw Flowerdrop get pulled away into Group 4 with a griffon and a large, grey unicorn and then Umbra came to her. Her hoof went to Runestone and then to Comet-- much to her relief-- and then, finally, to Cloudrush.

“Group 5,” she announced.

The blue pegasus scooted closer to them and Comet beckoned him into their nervous huddle, an invitation he accepted readily.

Umbra continued on to make a final, Group 6, before ordering them all back down the ramp. The groups stayed clustered together, and as such, Cloudrush followed Runestone and Comet Strike when they moved to lie down near the side of the base of the ramp.

“She sure is... stern,” Runestone said a bit nervously. “Isn’t she new, too? Why’s she in charge?”

“I guess Graham trusts her a lot,” Comet said as she tiredly rested her chin on her outstretched front hooves.

“Good point,” the stallion said, and then looked at Cloudrush. “So, we’re probably going to be a group for a while after this, I think. You okay with that?”

“Yeah. You both seem pretty cool,” he replied with a grin, but the flop of his ears hinted at his nerves. “What did you do to get Graham to pick you, Runestone?”

“Oh, I... Oh! I think it was when I found out Nightspawn had set a trap for the Sunwalker group I was with and I had to run through the Everfree alone to get him.”

“And then he lead a group of injured ponies back to Canterlot on his own, through more Nightspawn,” Comet added.

Runestone blushed a little and Cloudrush looked rather pleased and nodded.

“How about you?” Runestone asked.

“Oh, me? There was an aerial Nightspawn attack near New Cloudsdale that I was the first one to spot, and I convinced a bunch of my friends to help me build a cloud wall to keep them out. Got into a few scraps, too. Those things are scary.”

“They are. But that’s awesome,” Comet said, and the pegasus’s wings fluffed, please.

“How about you?” he asked. “And... I’d also like to ask, do you have any family in New Cloudsdale, by any chance?”

“Uh... No, why?” the unicorn asked with confusion.

“Oh! Sorry, it’s just, you have such a pegasus-y name,” Cloudrush said with an embarrassed smile.

“I do?” she asked.

“She does?” Runestone echoed.

“And you sort of have a unicorn-y name,” the pegasus laughed, and then turned back to Comet. “Yeah, your name has a sky element and an attack, that’s a lot like a pegasus name.”

“Oh. Well... I was named by a pegasus,” she said. “My brother. Er, surrogate brother.”

“And you suddenly make sense!” Cloudrush said a bit proudly. “And your story?”

“Just blew up a bunch of Nightspawn with magic, that’s all,” she said with a shrug. “And-- like you, actually-- I found them outside Canterlot first.”

“Blew them up?” Cloudrush repeated, and he laughed. “Sounds useful. Cool. I’m surprised that you two have both run into them, though, most ponies here were chosen just for straight-up skill, as far as I could tell.”

“We come from the same place. A lot of our encounters actually happened together,” Comet pointed out.

“Ah, right. Right, I think you mentioned,” Cloudrush said with a nod.

All three ponies’ ears perked to the sound of Umbra calling for Group 1. After a moment, a small group moved through the dark and up the ramp.

“I wonder what they’ll make us do?” Runestone asked a bit worriedly.

“It’s pretty quiet up there,” Comet observed, running a hoof along the ground a bit anxiously.

Cloudrush bit his lip and glanced up the ramp cautiously, squinting, but only able to see the faint, purple lights above. He pouted.

“See anything?” Comet asked.

He shook his head.

They waited together as the groups before them were called one by one; they seemed to disappear in the dark as they returned to the place with the purple flames. Comet felt her heart beating a little faster than she would have liked. The feeling reminded her of nothing more than waiting to take a magic exam in Canterlot. She hated it. She turned her eyes on her companions, especially on Runestone. He didn’t look nervous, but he was drumming one of his rear legs periodically. Stretching her back, Comet sat up and patted his shoulder reassuringly.

“I’m sure if it’s a test, if we just work together, we’ll be fine,” she said.

“Unless they make us fight each other, that wouldn’t be very good,” Cloudrush said nervously.

“Well, then I’d be kicked out right away. I wouldn’t fight either of you,” Runestone announced.

“Same,” Comet agreed, and the pegasus nodded vigorously.

Comet felt another rush of panic, though-- she hadn’t even considered that. She hoped it wasn’t the case.

After just a little while longer, Umbra called out for Group 5, and the three ponies got to their hooves a bit worriedly.

“Keep close,” Comet said quietly, and taking a look at her worried companions and trying to poof herself up to look confident.

She certainly didn’t feel it though. Cloudrush’s confidence seemed painted on as well. Most honest was Runestone, whose ears were flat back against his head. Together, nervously, they headed up the ramp. The purple flames above were swaying back and forth hypnotically, but otherwise, it suddenly seemed unnaturally dark.

What should have taken just a few seconds seemed to stretch on and on, and they hadn’t even reached the middle of the ramp yet. Comet paused and turned around to look back down at where they had started. The stone path was clear, but beyond, she saw only darkness. Her heart dropped for a moment and she whipped around to look at the others. Runestone had stopped and looked back at her, confused, his expression a little glazed. Cloudrush was also still, a little farther up than the other stallion, but not by much.

“Does this feel weird to you guys?” she called to them.

“What do you mean?” Runestone asked.

Comet tilted her head. They didn’t feel it? She trotted back to them and, with a suspicious glance behind her, she beckoned them in close and said, “There’s magic working on us, can’t you feel it?”

“Uh...” Runestone blinked and suddenly his eyes looked a little brighter. “Oh! Yeah, I think so! This is taking too long!”

“Oh. Now that you mention it, yeah,” Cloudrush agreed. “What do we do?”

“Dunno,” Comet said, frowning. “Um...”

She didn’t have much of an idea, but she set her horn alight. The darkness didn’t subside, but her head felt a little clearer. Cloudrush pushed in closer to her, his fur bristling, and he spread his wings.

“I’m going to check around from the air,” he said.

“Be careful,” Runestone said.

The pegasus nodded and took off swiftly. The two other ponies watched him as he went up, but he looked almost as if he was dragging through water.

When he returned, he stumbled to the ground, panting, his wings limp. Comet held him up quickly.

“You okay?” she asked.

“It’s like... thick,” he said. “Heavy. Yuck. All I could see was those purple lights.”

Runestone bit his lip and looked at Comet. She gulped.

“Must be a test,” she said, trying to stay calm. “It’s okay. Everypony just stay together. Wanna get going again?”

“Y-Yeah,” the tan stallion agreed.

Cloudrush nodded and the started again. It still felt like they weren’t getting anywhere. Walking felt like pulling their legs through mountains of dirt. Comet’s shoulder was starting to throb, but she grit her teeth and kept quiet about it. She let her light bounce away from her in a luminous, floating orb, even as she felt herself dropping behind.

Of course I would, though, she scolded herself.

She had always been weak like that.

She was getting too hot and the task was infuriating. She could see the top, she just couldn’t get there. It was like the slope was vertical. She saw Runestone finally rest his hoof on the end of the ramp and felt a great amount of relief and little bit of envy. He let out a tired giggle and then turned, only to have his face fall upon seeing them. Frowning to himself, he bolted back down the ramp to meet Comet, and before she could even ask him what he was doing, he had her on his back and was powering up towards Cloudrush.

“I got you guys, don’t you worry,” he grunted.

He was shoving the pegasus, who yelped in surprise, forward with his head, walking with strength and confidence up the slope, even though there still seemed to be some magical strain on his body. Comet watched him with shock. She had read that earth ponies were inherently the strongest of all three of the known pony groups, but it hadn’t really sunken in until this evening.

Even with them weighing him down, Runestone had brought them to the top within a minute or so, helping Cloudrush to clamber over the edge and letting a wobbly-legged Comet down from his back.

“There!” he said proudly, his voice a little taught with strain, even though he was grinning.

The pegasus was breathing heavily and Comet had to take a few deep breaths herself to steady her legs.

“That was... That was amazing, thank you,” she said.

“No worries,” he assured her, ruffling her mane before he turned to Cloudrush and asked, “You okay? Need a minute?”

“I’m fine,” he replied, taking another deep breath and straightening himself out. “Thanks.”

Runestone grinned as he wiped his brow.

“That was tough.”

“Dunno if we could have even done it without you,” the pegasus said.

Comet nodded vigorously and her friend blushed just a little.

All three ponies jumped in surprise when the world around them let out a woosh and a flash of purple. Suddenly, the darkness was whisked away, the normalcy of the old platform and the pedestal of stones revealed themselves before their eyes, and Comet felt a strange tingling of magic permeating the area. It looked much larger than before, and was rimmed with almost two dozen curious creatures, some that Comet recognized from the other groups, and some that she had never seen before. Before them stood Umbra, a purple glow radiating from her horn, a levitating, small clipboard by her side; a slight smile on her face. The three ponies looked at each other in confusion, and Comet looked up at the sky to try to track the moon. Her heart dropped.

“That took us an hour?!” she asked shrilly.

“An hour and fourteen minutes, actually,” Umbra said. “Not bad. Not the best, but not bad. And all three of you made it together, that’s better than expected.”

“What?” Runestone asked, eyes wide. “I thought we were supposed to be a team, why wouldn’t all three of us make it together?”

“Some aren’t quite so cooperative, it seems,” the tall unicorn replied.

She beckoned the three tired ponies towards her and gestured towards the stones placed on the pedestals. Cloudrush seemed to get it: he gulped and headed towards them and began looking them over. Runestone and Comet shared a confused glance with each other and then looked at Umbra.

“So...” Runestone said a bit nervously, his ears drooping, “um... What now?”

Umbra rolled her eyes and tilted her head towards the stones.

“You’re supposed to pick one,” Umbra said. “If you’re drawn to one, that is. If not, you’re probably not cut out to be a Warden.”

Comet gulped and looked at the stones cautiously. They all seemed to be the similar at first: grey orbs of stone with a sort of gemstone pattern cut into each one. They felt a little different, though. She inclined her head and then looked to Umbra curiously. She seemed rather unconcerned and then pointed to Runestone.

“You,” she said. “Go make your pick.”

“Who, me?” he asked, startled.

“No, the Queen,” Umbra replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Runestone gulped and hesitantly approached the pillar, circling it once quite cautiously. Cloudrush was just finishing up; he poked one of the stones with his wing, giving Umbra a nervous look. She nodded and marked something down in her notes.

Comet watched hopefully while the other unicorn seemed half disinterested, like she didn’t think Runestone could actually do it. The stallion circled a second time and then paused, doubled back, and poked one of the stones with his hoof. His ears twitched and then perked up, and his seemed pleased.

“This one,” he decided.

“You’re positive?” Umbra said, narrowing her eyes.

Runestone nodded readily and couldn’t seem to help from touching it again.

“Yeah, this one,” he said. “It feels... It feels right.”

The unicorn stared him down cooly though he didn’t back down. She sighed and made a quick note on her clipboard; Runestone smiled brightly, and then Umbra beckoned to Comet.

“Your turn,” she said.

Comet perked up and she looked around at the orbs. One on the far right drew her attention for some reason; it gave off a sort of ebbing, warm energy. She didn’t even really have to consider it and made a beeline for that one. The others didn’t seem to hold anything for her, but this one... This one was somehow wonderful. Confidently, Comet put her hoof on it, and opened her mouth to say she had made her choice, but a blink of her eyes and she was suddenly elsewhere.

It was dark, late at night, and in the center of a crumbling, stone room, floated six ponies-- Comet recognized them as Twilight Sparkle and her friends from the stained glass windows. Her mouth dried and coloured light spattered her vision. A monstrous, black alicorn stood before them, mane aglitter like the deepest of night. The light blinded the blue unicorn, though, and suddenly, pictures were racing through her mind-- a group of pony friends and a small dragon, a strange creature like a serpentine dragon with parts made up of all different creatures; a monstrous unicorn seemingly made from shadows. The images came so rapidly that Comet could barely tell what they were at all until, with a flash of white, her vision cleared.

There were the ponies again, shining colours through the dark of a deep place, surrounded by specters. There were a few others, too. Younger-- Comet didn’t recognize them-- and a griffon, and young dragon. Words were shouted, something about a spell, something else about Celestia. The yellow pegasus of the group screaming the name Discord. Suddenly, there was magic, a lot of it, and they were gone. So was everything for just a moment, vanished in blackness.

It felt like it had been forever when she managed to open her eyes again, her head all a-tizzy.

Stars...?

She could see stars. So many stars all around her that they formed drifting clouds, glowing blue and purple. Her breath caught in her throat, and, hurriedly, she spun around, trying to see where she was. Her hooves didn’t hit anything, but she moved like she was on solid ground. She squeaked out some alarmed sound, and spun again, pausing in shock as she saw a spec of solid, light purple heading towards her slowly. Comet gulped and squinted through the distance. It took her a moment, but once she made out a shape, her heart dropped. It looked like a pony.

With questions on the tip of her tongue, she took off at a gallop towards the purple point. Coming upon her quickly, she saw a mare, light mulberry purple, with a neat, straight mane of dark blue with a single streak of purple and one of pink. Her dark purple eyes were alight with curiosity and, to Comet’s surprise, it was quite clear that she had both a horn on her brow and wings folded at her sides.

“Hello there!” she called pleasantly, her wings spreading out, feathers brushing through the glow. “Wow, it’s been a while since anypony has been here!”

Comet skidded to a halt, eyes wide, ears back. She recognized this pony.

“I’m Twilight Sparkle! And welcome to my... um...” She tilted her head and smiled, embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I’m not exactly sure where I am. My sense of space and time has been just a teeny bit out of whack since that spell. Oh well. Who are you?”

“C-Comet. I’m... Comet,” the unicorn replied.

Her knees started to shake. She felt like she could collapse and float off into space.

“You... You have wings?!”

The mare looked at her with surprise and cast a glance back and then asked, “Why wouldn’t I have wings?”

Comet didn’t know what to say, but Twilight Sparkle approached her without a sound, her dark eyes roaming her curiously.

“So, since you’re here, you must need to borrow them, then?”

“Borrow what?”

Comet was baffled-- Her wings? What?!-- Twilight tilted her head.

“The Elements. That is why you came here, right? I mean, their magic is all around you. Isn’t that how you got here?”

“Got... here?” Comet repeated, baffled. “I-- What?”

“You don’t know? Well, never mind, that’s fine. You’ll do, anyway,” she assured her.

Comet’s mind pinged to the words and she was about to ask more.

“A few other ponies have come before,” Twilight said, “but I don’t think they actually managed to fix anything.”

She shot her a smile and raised Comet’s hoof up against hers, her ears perking up.

“I have a good feeling about you, though. Hope you can do it! Good luck!”

The word, “Wait!” was stuck on Comet’s tongue; before she could even make a sound, she was wrapped in energy and her vision went white. She felt herself fall-- fall a long, long way.

When Comet came to rest on cool stone, she felt as if she had just run a marathon. Hoofbeats drew her attention and she heard a frantic, “Oh no, oh no, oh no!” before she felt hooves on her shoulders.

“Comet, Comet, Comet, get up, pleeeeeeeeaassee please please?”

The blue unicorn waved a hoof, tired and dismissive, only to have the air abruptly squeezed out of her. Her eyes shot open and she peered squintingly into a small crowd of startled looking ponies and griffons she didn’t recognize as her body bobbed up and down. She sucked in a deep breath of air and strained her eyes to the side to see a familiar tan pelt and she knew where she was immediately. She blinked hard to properly clear her eyes, just in time to see Graham shoulder his way through the onlookers and tower over the two ponies, tenting his wings over them protectively as he leaned forward and asked, “What happened?” His words were short, but concerned nonetheless.

“Comet touched the stone and... annd...”

Comet was held back by her shoulders quickly and hers eyes met with Runestone’s. His expression was utterly worried and he couldn’t seem to help himself from brushing a bit of her mane out of her rather dazed face.

“What happened, Comet, do you know?” he asked gently.

“I... um...” she replied, and she tilted her head and had to lift her forelimbs to steady herself against her friend. “Aw, feathers, I fainted again? ...Twice in one day? Seriously?”

She rubbed her eyelids tiredly, frustrated, but when she opened her eyes she saw her friend looking at her as if still waiting for an answer. She sighed.

“There was a lot of magic. Um... I think I was hallucinating. ”

“What?” Graham pushed. “Comet Strike, what did you see?”

Comet was a bit hesitant to repeat it, but the griffon looked genuinely concerned. She took a deep breath, finding the inside of her mouth surprisingly cold. She sucked her tongue.

“It... looked like the defeat of Nightmare Moon,” she tried to explain. “Then a lot of stuff: a blur, and then... Twilight and her friends fighting something, then vanishing, and... Twilight Sparkle. She was in this strange place made of stars or something, and she had wings! It was... It felt really real, but...”

She shook her head and then made to raise a hoof to rub her forehead, but almost instantly, Runestone grabbed it and stared at the underside intently. Comet’s eyes went wide and before she could ask, the stallion spun her to face Graham and held up her hoof to him.

“What do you make of that?” he asked.

“What? Make of what?” Comet asked quickly.

Without an answer, Graham gently took her forelimb and looked at her with one eye and the other.

“Goodness,” he breathed, and then drew back. “This is not the first, but... Curious. Very curious. Comet, may we discuss this more later?”

Baffled, the young mare nodded and Graham gave her a tired smile before folding his wings in and drawing back to return through the crowd.

“Everything is all right now,” she announced.

The other ponies looked past at Comet, seeming a little concerned. Umbra, in particular, wore a deep, puzzled frown on her face. She looked as if she were about to say something to Comet, but quickly decided against it, turning to the group and announcing, “Nothing to see here. Get going,” quite sharply, her tail flicking back and forth. Cloudrush lingered a little longer behind her until she pushed him back with the rest of the crowd.

“Feel better soon, Comet!” Cloudrush called before scurrying off with the others.

Comet drew a blank as to what just happened and then, curiously, looked at the bottom of her hoof. Her stomach dropped as she saw what they had all been staring at. A six pointed star in grey was stained into the white of her hoof, so smooth and natural, as if she had been born with it. Comet didn’t notice she was making a rather alarmed squealing sound until Runestone scooted in front and grabbed her hoof in both of his.

“Hey, it’s okay, Comet. You’re fine. Right?” he assured her.

She took a in deep breath and blew it out slowly, and then nodded and smiled at him tiredly.

“Yeah. Yeah. Thanks,” she said. “Thanks for picking me up, too.”

He nodded and smiled a bit shyly, and then awkwardly released her hoof and rubbed the back of his head. She, on the other hand, rubbed her forehead tiredly and grumbled, “I wish I didn’t keep getting zapped in the brain.”

“Did it hurt?” the stallion asked, his eyes wide and curious, but his expression otherwise sympathetic.

Comet shook her head.

“No, it didn’t hurt, it was just... weird,” she said.

“It’s happened more than once, has it?”

Comet turned to see Umbra peering over her curiously.

“Not this,” Comet said a bit shyly. “But I... Old magic artifacts seem to affect me in weird ways, I guess.”

The striped unicorn started as her, frowning slightly.

“Well, you must have an affinity for that sort of thing,” she said.

“Affinity?” Runestone repeated, looking between the two, and Umbra rolled her eyes.

“Yes. Affinity. I assume you know what that word means?”

“Um... yes,” the stallion said a bit awkwardly, the the unicorn simply scoffed.

“I suspect you may have felt the power of somepony who used the same stone before you,” Umbra said.

Comet nodded and muttered, “Makes sense.”

“It’s happened before,” Umbra continued. “Let me see your hoof.”

Comet nodded and lifted it so that the other unicorn could see the marking on the bottom.

“Ah,” she said simply. “Yes. About five of the ones before you have experienced something similar picking that particular stone; come away with a marking like that somewhere on their body, too. Usually a shoulder or a hoof, something like that.”

“So... So I’m not totally weird, then?” the unicorn asked with relief.

Umbra laughed and shook her head.

“No. Not at all, really.”

“Good,” Comet sighed.

The other unicorn nodded and then jerked her head at the lingering crowd at the edge of the platform. Comet got to her hooves shakily, while Runestone stood beside her and propped her up carefully. They rushed to join the rest, and Cloudrush hurried towards them as they settled into the group.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

A few other ponies were leaning in a bit curiously, and the blue unicorn tried not to seem outwardly uncomfortable.

“Yeah, just a bit of a magic overload. It’s fine,” Comet assured him.

“Do you know what happens now?” Runestone asked.

“Just wait a little longer for the others to finish,” a brown mare said quietly from behind them.

Runestone nodded and he squished closer to Comet, who in turn went in closer to Cloudrush.

Behind them, a few of the other ponies began to move out, leaving, for the most part, those few that had been placed into groups just a little while before. It wasn’t much longer until two more ponies arrived, seemingly from nowhere, up the ramp and approaching the group of six stones. Comet’s head was still swimming, she didn’t really notice the rest of the picking process, and only managed to pay attention again when Runestone nudged her. Blinking quickly, she looked up, noticing that around her, the other ponies and the few griffons were moving off across the the platform. Umbra lead the herd, the six stones circling her in the glow of her magic. Comet cast a worried glance at Runestone, though he shrugged and edged her on.

They had fallen behind the rest of the group, and by the time they had joined them, they had all crowded around another, short, broken pillar, layered with large goblets, most of them old metal, marked with wings and stars, but a few were a little newer looking, golden, and seemingly cast from the one of the others judging by the degradation of the patterns. Umbra seemed to be halfway through some ritual with the stones and the contents of the goblets, magic in different colours emanating and sparking, lighting up the faces of the onlookers. The shock of energy in the air woke Comet’s brain up a little, and she took a deep breath. After just a moment, Umbra began passing the goblets around, presenting one to each pony. Comet took hers in her magic a bit hesitantly and looked in her old, worn cup. The liquid within was thick and a strange, bright magenta in colour. The unicorn cast her gaze around at the others and saw many of the contents were different. Beside her, Runestone’s was a sharp red, while on her other side, she noticed Cloudrush’s was rich purple. He shrugged and she responded in kind.

“Now,” Umbra announced loudly, “you will probably have heard that the Wardens of Harmony have some ‘special powers’ that allow them to take the power from Nightspawn. If you want that power, you must drink.”

An alarmed murmur passed through the group and Comet stared at the strange liquid in her cup. She looked at it skeptically, and then looked at Runestone. She was shocked to see him chugging down whatever was in his goblet without much of a care. When he was finished, he lowered the goblet and looked a bit confused, stuck his tongue out.

“Well... Not as bad as I thought it would be,” he whispere.

Comet had to stop a laugh and, all around her, others were tentatively starting to drink. A shriek from the front made Comet jump and peer around the crowd her eyes widening as she saw a yellow mare on the ground, blue liquid spilled from her goblet. Comet felt a shock of panic and more ponies began to whinny with fear as a few more dropped. Comet turned her eyes on Umbra immediately, but the tall, striped mare seemed rather unfazed by it.

At Comet’s side, Cloudrush coughed on his drink and the unicorn whirled on him hurriedly.

“You okay?” she demanded.

He looked dazed for a moment and then nodded, and Comet called, “Hey, Umbra, what’s going on, are they okay?!”

“Stay where you are. Drink,” Umbra insisted coolly. “I’ll answer everything once everyone is done.”

Comet frowned deeply and, trying to quell her panic, chugged down the liquid quickly. It didn’t taste like much but carbonation and it made her ears ring and her vision swim for a second. She winced but she didn’t feel very different and, around her, some of the worried creatures downed theirs as well. A couple more fell and Comet’s fur bristled uncomfortably. Runestone’s ears were back and he looked at her with worry and clenched his teeth. A pony in front of them swooned and Comet yelped; Runestone caught her hurriedly and, cautiously, bent an ear to her neck. Comet looked at them worriedly and the stallion said, quietly, “Definitely a heartbeat.” Comet let out a relieved breath and her friend smiled at her tiredly.

After just a few moments, a few more ponies joined them gently taking the collapsed ones away. Runestone held the mare he had caught a little tighter, though, looking at the white unicorn that approached him intently.

“She’s going to be okay?” he asked.

The unicorn nodded and, though hesitating a little, Runestone finally gave in and passed her off to the other mare. By the time all of the fallen had been taken away, there was only six ponies and three griffons left standing, all on edge, some looking a little sick.

“If you’re wondering,” Umbra said loudly, “what you’ve just taken into your bodies is magic that will let you absorb the energy from fallen Nightspawn and will make you immune to their poisons. Those that were taken away will be fine, their bodies simply weren’t compatible with the magic. You are all now, effectively, Wardens of Harmony. From now on, you will join us in our fight to keep the kingdom safe from the Nighspawn. Forget any oaths you may have taken before. The Wardens are your family now, and that is a bond that can’t be broken, by words or otherwise. Welcome.”

Comet was taken aback and her mind jumped to, That’s it?! before she looked around her. Flowerdrop, who had made it through as well, snorted and frowned. The others left were the brown mare with the boyish, cream-coloured mane, that had stood just little behind them, a short, pale red unicorn mostly hidden under his warm, brown robes, and the three griffons: a dark brown, long-eared one with the stripes of a tiger on her flanks, a tawny one with a white head and lion’s tail, and finally, a grey and white one splattered with black leopard spots.

“You couldn’t have told us what was going to happen?” Flowerdrop asked sharply. “I thought you were poisoning us!”

Umbra chuckled and shook her head.

“I said no such thing.”

Flowerdrop frowned and pouted, and the tall, striped unicorn strode back down the ramp, the magic along her horn finally fizzling out.

“I’d suggest you all get some sleep,” the unicorn said.

Umbra strode away gracefully, leaving the tired, shaky group to themselves. Comet took a deep breath and she patted Runestone’s back tiredly. He laughed and rubbed his forehead.

“Should we head back?”

Comet nodded and shot a look towards Cloudrush.

“I’d love to get some rest,” he agreed, fluffing his feathers.

They started towards the ramp, only to hear a scampering of hooves and a timid call for them to wait. The ponies paused and looked back to see the robed unicorn hurrying to catch up. Beneath his hood, his eyes were very light and his mane was a pale pink. He looked a bit unsure of himself, but when Runestone said, “Hi!” brightly, the pony perked up.

Flowerdrop seemed to reluctantly plod after them and the brown mare, a tall and rather powerful-looking earth pony, also moved to join them. The griffons, lagging behind, looked a little unsure; Comet sighed and gave them a wave and turned to move on, reassured by the sound of flapping wings joining them.

“That was scary, huh?” the red unicorn asked.

“Especially when the others started droppin’,” the brown mare added. “I’m not one to get rattled easy, but by Celestia’s tail, that was unnervin’.”

“Yeah,” Comet agreed, shooting the brown griffon a smile and a nod as she landed close by to trot along with the group. “Yeah. That was scary.”

“So, who’re you guys?” the brown griffon asked. “No one else from my group made it. I’m Gwen.”

“Call me ‘Flash’,” the tawny griffon said as he flapped up to land as well, grinning. “Good to meet you guys.”

“Amber Moon,” the brown mare said, putting a hoof to her chest briefly.

“And I’m Pointer,” the small, red unicorn said.

“Gale,” the final griffon announced.

“Comet, Cloudrush and Runestone.”

The tan stallion pointed them all out and Flowerdrop finally poked her head into the group, saying, “Flowerdrop, if anyone cares.”

“Great to meet you,” Gwen assured her.

Returning to camp was somewhat eerie in the darkness, and almost everyone, save for the guards on the walls, seemed to be asleep and all was silent. The dark was really starting to make Comet nervous, but she didn’t say a word to the rest of the group: they seemed on edge enough on their own. The group split up at the Warden tents to sleep. Inside the large tent, the one Comet and Runestone had been in before, some of the ponies from the group who hadn’t quite made it were passed out on their beds. Comet found her bed quickly in the dark and, after bidding Runestone, Gwen, Pointer and Flowerdrop goodnight, she flopped down onto the mattress and forced her eyes closed.

Despite her mind begging for sleep, the unicorn couldn’t get comfortable. She rolled around through the covers, though she was unable to settle down. With a sigh, Comet rolled off the bed and looked around. Runestone was already asleep, but he looked a little sad. She didn’t want to bother him, and so she headed back out into the darkness past the tent. She found herself wanting to pace and she wandered quietly and aimlessly around camp.

The place was huge, more like a small town the more she explored. Away from the tents of the soldiers, generals and Wardens, Comet found, downhill, a river that cut through the fort and a series of vendor’s tents. There was also a paddock containing a plethora of sleeping animals. Comet tracked the running water all the way down to the wall, finding that the surface was flush with a gap in the stone. She frowned to herself and tilted her head, leaning over the water close to the wall.

“I was worried about that, too.”

Comet jumped at the sound of the voice and whirled, eyes wide. Behind her, Pointer stood with an embarrassed smile on his face, unrobed, his short, pink mane a bit tussled with bed-head.

“Sorry,” he said, “I couldn’t sleep either.”

He nodded at the gap in the wall.

“That goes down pretty far and there’s a few sections of tight grating, according to the soldiers. Nothing can get through but a fish. I asked.”

“Oh. Well, that’s good,” Comet said. “I’m just a bit paranoid about them getting under the walls. The Nightspawn, I mean.”

Pointer nodded and he gave her a smile and offered her his hoof.

“Comet, right? I’m Berry Pointer. I just go by ‘Pointer’, though.”

Comet nodded and clopped her hoof against his.

“I remember. Good to meet you.”

Pointer seemed pleased but stood by as Comet paced the river bank for a moment longer and then watched as she dipped her hoof in the water curiously. Tiredly, the blue unicorn took a seat on the grass and tried to quell a yawn. The other unicorn cautiously lowered himself and rested nearby. Comet wasn’t sure what he wanted, but she didn’t mind the company. After a little white, the smaller unicorn asked, “So you’re from the Tower?”

Comet nodded.

“Not you, though, right?”

“Right. I’m a rogue unicorn,” he said with a laugh, “From a farm in Ponyville, actually.”

“Sunwalkers didn’t find you there?” Comet asked, surprised.

Pointer shook his head.

“Nope, Sunwalker patrols usually can’t get into Ponyville. Unicorns from there only go to the Tower if they want to study.”

“Lucky,” Comet joked. “But... how is that possible? Does the barrier do that?”

“As far as I know,” Pointer said. “You’ve been, I take it?”

“Yeah, Graham took me and my friend through on our way here,” Comet said. “Just... well, just yesterday, I guess.”

Pointer nodded and smiled a little to himself, leaning back to look through the shimmering barrier above and into the night sky. Comet was still a little more preoccupied with the water. She ran her hoof through it absently and then, frowning, looked at the bottom. The star mark was still there. She pouted and rubbed her forehead before turning to the other unicorn, who looked like he was starting to nod off.

“Feeling any different?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“I wonder what that weird potion does, anyway,” he said quietly.

“No idea,” the blue unicorn said.

She stretched and looked around, even as Pointer began to fall asleep in the grass. She still didn’t feel quite right. She sighed and stood to readjust herself, spinning in place for a moment before a fleck of silver caught her eye. She paused to take a look, and felt a tingle of fear pass through her when she noticed a unicorn she recognized as Icicle Star staring down from the hill above, eyes locked on them. Comet bit her lip. She prayed to Celestia that he wouldn’t approach, and then hurried back to Pointer. The red unicorn was asleep in the grass, and quickly, Comet lifted him in her magic.

“I’ll take you back to the tent, okay?” she said softly.

He didn’t answer-- Obviously, she thought, trying to quell her racing heart-- and she began to make the trip back along the river and up the hill. She tried not to rush. She didn’t want to draw his attention any more.

It was all she could do to keep from cursing very loudly when the tall, lithe unicorn strode into her path from on the hilltop, looking her up and down with cool eyes.

“Good evening, Miss Comet Strike,” he said pleasantly. “Out for a stroll?”

“Ah, I just... We just couldn’t sleep,” she said, nodding her head at her floating charge.

Icicle tilted his head.

“Good technique,” he commented casually. “Nice form. Very solid. Your Archmage told me as such last time we spoke.”

“Did she?” Comet said, trying to bite her tongue and smile. “That’s very kind of her to say so.”

“Kind? No. True, yes,” Icicle said. “Did she ever tell you her plans for you?”

Comet’s heart sunk.

“P-Plans?” she repeated.

“She wanted you as her personal apprentice,” the stallion replied simply, “but I suppose your induction to the Wardens has stopped that?”

“Well, I... I didn’t have much of a choice,” Comet said, and quickly added, “And I had a friend I couldn’t leave.”

“I see.” He smiled at her. “You will be a grand Warden, from what I’ve heard. Good luck, my dear, try to sleep well.”

He turned and began away, and Comet squeaked out, “Thank you, sir,” before hurrying back into the tent, heart racing.

Comet took a moment to find Pointer’s bed, marked with the same strawberry on a spiral that was on his flank, and placed him down gently before she returned to her own. Trying to quell the unease, she settled down and squished into her pillow.

Comet woke up with the sound of a deep, rhythmic beat in her head, faint and far in the distance. She opened her eyes lethargically and sucked her dry tongue, sitting up in bed to look around for the cause of the sound. The tent was fairly vacant, with beds only still occupied by the new recruits or the ones who couldn’t complete the test. She stretched and got to her hooves. She felt a little awkward, noticing she had fallen asleep in her shoulder plate, but she shook her fur, readjusted it, and when she noticed Runestone was gone, she headed outside.

The sun stained the sky orange as it crept a little higher in the sky, making the clouds around it seem strangely dark. Despite the earliness, the camp was all abustle. The sounds of swords clashing and magic sparking were clear in the air, and so Comet assumed drills were all ready taking place. Trying to stay out of the way, Comet headed back to the place Shatter had taken her to train. She was pleased to see Runestone there and she smiled and began towards him, but before long, his behaviour gave her pause. He was attacking the training dummies viciously, lashing out and slamming the one he was targeting to the ground before ramming himself into the next. Comet gulped: something about it scared her.

A little hesitant now as her friend obliterated a third training dummy, Comet edged closer and awkwardly called out to him as he crushed the head of the dummy under an iron shod hoof. His ears perked and he turned on her and though his expression was uncharacteristically hard and a bit of his face was bruised. She was taken aback, but when his eyes locked on hers, his usual grin was on his face and he trotted up to her quickly.

“Good morning!” he said brightly. “How did you sleep? I went down like a log!”

“Um... I slept... okay,” she said, tilting her head. “Look, are...? Are you okay?”

“What?” He looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s just... You didn’t look... happy,” she said uncertainly, “and your face is bruised.”

“Is it?” he said, letting out a laugh and touching a hoof to his cheek. “Ah! I was training with Graham this morning. I’m fine.”

“Oh. Well... Okay,” Comet replied. “Umm... Did you happen to hear drumming or something this morning?”

“Hmm...”

The stallion scratched his head and looked around.

“Um... A while ago, actually, but I haven’t seen anyone playing anything,” he said, “Oh! But there was something weird going on near the animal paddock. There was a stallion called Bluespruce looking for some help over there, if you’re interested.”

“Oh, okay,” she said.

She shuffled on her hooves for a moment and Runestone looked at her with puzzlement before he gently took one of her hooves up in his and peered at it intently. Comet’s ears drooped and she leaned in to note that he was looking at the strange mark that had appeared.

“Graham told me this happened before,” he said, “just like Umbra said. I hope you haven’t been too worried about it.”

“Nah,” she said, though his words only reminded her of the lingering confusion about what had happened to her. “So... What are you up to?”

“Just training,” he assured her. “I’ve been hearing rumours about... Well... Actually, that’s fine, don’t worry about it. I’ll tell you more when I know for sure.”

“Oh.”

Comet’s ears drooped low despite herself and Runestone immediately looked apologetic.

“Graham’s going to gather all of us new Wardens for a meeting later today anyway, he’ll give all the news. I don’t want you to worry about something that might not be true,” he said quickly.

“Can’t you just tell me?” Comet asked worriedly.

Runestone bit his lip and shuffled on his hooves for a moment before he let out a sigh, his ears perked high, and he leaned in quite close to her.

“I’ve heard that the Nightspawn are only a day away. Graham’s been making plans to fight them with the General and the King and Queen,” he said at a hurried whisper.

Comet’s eyes widened.

“Seriously?!”

He nodded and shushed her quickly, looking around in a sort of paranoid way before he said, “It’s not for sure. We’ll know a bit later. Anyway, try not to panic.”

“Try not to panic,” she repeated, letting out an exhausted laugh. “Yeah. Okay.”

Runestone looked at her sympathetically and, hesitating for just a moment, he put a forelimb around her neck and pulled her into a gentle hug, touching his snout to her brow below her horn. She couldn’t help but relax a little bit, and he assured her, “We’re going to be okay.”

“Right,” she agreed.

He pulled back and gave her a smile; she nodded and sighed, casting her eyes around.

“Is Shatter Spear around?”

“I haven’t seen him,” he replied.

Comet rubbed her forehead and nodded, trying to figure out what to do with herself, and then decided, “Guess I’ll go see what this Bluespruce pony wants.”

“Okay,” Runestone said.

She said a quick, “See you later!” as she turned to head off. Only a few horselengths away and she paused as she heard Runestone call her name. She paused and peered back over her shoulder.

“We... We should train together sometime!” he said.

Comet smiled and nodded, and her friend looked incredibly relieved. He grinned and waved and she snickered in response before going on her way.

She remembered the animal paddock from the previous night and so headed there. On her way, she noticed Flowerdrop strutting about quite proudly with a falcon sitting on her back. She saw another soldier with a dog playfully jumping at his ankles as she approached the paddock. Leaning across the fence was a dark, cornflower blue stallion, wearing light leather armour, with tired green eyes and an unkept, deep azure-coloured mane and tail. Comet stood on the tips of her hooves to peer over his shoulder at some of the creatures in the paddock and the small, barn-like structure with a pile of barrels against its walls, and then cleared her throat. The stallion jumped and then whirled on her.

“You here for a pet?” he asked.

“A... What? No!” Comet fumbled. “I was told to come here, somepony called Bluespruce needed some help? That’s you, right?”

“Yes! Yes, uh... I need some help with these animals,” he said.

He pointed to the paddock and looked rather urgent. Comet leaned over to look and only saw a few birds and a snake in there, all of them looking relatively calm. She was confused.

“What do you need help with?” Comet asked.

“Oh! Sorry, I thought you knew,” the stallion said. “I need you, or anypony really, to take one of these animals.”

“Wh... What?” Comet asked blankly. “Take one? Like--”

“A pet! Yes!” Bluespruce said, eyes wide and bright.

“Oh. No. No, no, no, I can’t take care of a pet,” Comet said quickly. “I mean... I’m a new Warden, and I barely know what I’m doing with that, so--”

“Please, just take a look?” the stallion begged. “These animals are all gathered from the wrecked towns nearby. They don’t have anyone to look after them. They’re refugees, too!”

Comet grimaced and looked back into the paddock and Bluespruce pouted and looked at her pleadingly. She frowned to herself.

Do I even know anything about animals?

She bit her lip for a moment and then took a deep breath.

“Well, I guess I could take a look,” she replied a little hesitantly.

The stallion let out a loud phew and pulled the door to the paddock open and gestured for her to enter.

She did so slowly, looking cautiously at the animals around her. None of them seemed to really pay her much mind, even as she stepped through their space. She felt rather unwelcome, and began to wonder if she should have bothered. Nonetheless, she took another look around, and soon her ears were twitching towards the sound of splashing. Confused, Comet trotted towards the sound, which she quickly noticed was coming from an old rain barrel. Peering over, she could only see a thrashing shape within, and with jolt of alarm, she lifted the creature clear of the water inside a bolt of magic and held it aloft. What she revealed made her jaw drop: she now held a small, spine-covered, mottled teal and grey-blue crocodile with short horns on the back of his head, his tail swishing as he dangled. He stared back at her with bright red eyes that blinked one at a time and seemed to grin at her, but then again, that might have just been his long teeth.

“Um...”

Comet didn’t know what to do with the creature. The teeth made her quite afraid to place him on the ground. Nonetheless, she leaned forward just a smidgen.

“Are you... um... Are you okay?” she asked.

The crocodile simply wagged his tail. Comet wasn’t really sure what to do, but she finally elected to place him on the ground at a reasonable distance from herself.

“Okay, be more careful next time, all right?” she said a little awkwardly.

Again, the reptile wagged his tail. Comet hesitantly backed away and then turned, but as she headed away, she heard the slapping of feet behind her. She cringed and checked from the corner of her eye to see the crocodile following close behind. She bit her lip and wondered in what capacity the sharp-toothed creature was interested in her.

“Is he following you?”

Comet turned to see Bluespruce leaning over the fence curiously. The unicorn cast a glance back but barely even had time to register that the crocodile wasn’t there before she felt his rigid scales brushing up between her forelimbs. The fur on her neck bristled and she looked down at the reptile, who seemed rather oblivious. The stallion across from her smiled, partly amused and partly relieved.

“That’s great, most ponies were too scared of him to do anything with him, and he wasn’t exactly being social,” he explained.

“Oh,” Comet said blankly, and she stared until it occurred to her that this little beast was her new pet.“Oh! Um...”

She looked down at the crocodile again and this time, he looked up, blinking and opening his toothy jaws. Despite that, he wiggled, rubbing against her quite happily. Bluespruce inclined his head at her and leaned farther forward, asking, “You are taking him, aren’t you?”

“Um... Y-Yeah, I guess I am,” she decided, hoping desperately that she wouldn’t regret it. “Does he have a name?”

“Not that I know of,” he replied.

“Okay... What about how big he’ll get? Do you know what species?”

The stallion shrugged and looked apologetic.

“Not sure. The biggest of all crocodiles get about six-and-a-half.... seven meters long?”

Comet’s eyes went wide and all she could do was utter a startled, “Oh!” as the stallion smiled at her. She sighed and looked at the crocodile. He looked back at her with wide eyes and flapped his feet around in the dirt before brushing his snout gently against the fur of her foreleg. She bit her lip and then nodded, resigned.

“Okay, I guess we should go,” she said. “I’ll think of a name for you, I guess.”

Bluespruce opened the pen and Comet left, the crocodile close behind.

It made Comet a little on edge to have such a creature tailing her, but she sucked it up and continued. Despite the strange looks, she headed to the venders and bought some fish from a griffon before settling down for a little rest near the river. The crocodile ate what she gave him quickly, but was in the water fishing for himself within minutes.

That’s good, at least he can get food for himself, she thought.

Sighing tiredly, she rested her head on her front hooves and held back a yawn. She listened to her new pet splashing in the river and let her eyelids droop closed, just until she heard the creature clambering out of the water. She turned to look at him as he proudly gulped down a mouthful of freshly caught fish. Comet thought it was kind of gross, but she understood. She gave him a tired smile.

“Guess you’re quite the hunter,” she said. “You still need a name, right?”

She tapped her chin and her mind wooshed around any name that might suit him, until she settled on a common constellation.

“How about Orion?” she asked. “Orion is the name of a hunter, so...”

She looked questioningly at the crocodile, and though his face didn’t change much, his tail and haunches wiggled and he settled down beside her lazily. Comet snorted a quiet laugh and said, sleepily, “Well... I guess I’ll be taking care of you from now on. Just promise you won’t try to eat me when you’re seven meters long, okay?”

He didn’t answer, of course, but let out a quiet, pleased sound. Comet hoped it was some sort of affirmation, but then again, he was a crocodile; she couldn’t really be sure.

She had only closed her eyes for a moment when she heard the faint drums again. She tried to ignore it, but found herself rather quickly refocussed on the sound of talons through the grass and the faint shifting of feathers. She eyes opened a sliver to see mostly dark and she sat up upon hearing her name in Graham’s familiar, deep voice.

“Graham. Hi,” she said quickly. “Or, um... Commander. Hi...”

She paused awkwardly, not knowing exactly how to address the griffon now that she was officially a Warden. He smiled at her gently and let out a quiet chuckle.

“Don’t worry, my dear,” he assured her.

She nodded and his eyes wandered to the crocodile beside her, whom she noticed had begun to mimic her posture.

“Ah,” he said, “Bluespruce needed more help, I see.”

“So he’s done this before?” Comet asked.

“He’s been giving animals out to anyone who will take one ever since he was put in charge of them, I’m afraid,” Graham said. “But of course, one can’t really blame him. He is most naturally a carpenter, not a caretaker. Will it be a problem for you?”

Comet’s ears went back and she looked at Orion, who in turn looked at her and snapped his jaws once. He seemed happy.

“I think we’ll be okay,” she assured him. “Is there... Is there something you need?”

“I was hoping to take another look at that mark on your hoof, if I’m honest,” the griffon said.

Comet nodded and lifted her hoof, and Graham took it in his talon and inspected it curiously. It took him just a moment, but before long, he nodded and then spread a wing, beckoning her to follow him. She did and the small crocodile bounded to keep up.

Graham took Comet to a smaller tent behind the large one she had slept in: like the others, it was grey and emblazoned with the mythical hippogriff, wings spreadeagled. Inside was not much more than a bed fit for the huge creature that Graham was and a small table with a single book placed carefully in its center. Comet lifted Orion with her magic as she saw him snapping at the hems of the tent and placed him over her back as she followed Graham to the table. He nodded at the book; it looked rather plain, with a tattered, blue-grey cover, worn in the corners from use and age.

“Have you ever seen this book before?”

“Uh...” Comet looked at it in puzzlement and then back to Graham with a frown of confusion. “It, uh... Well, it looks like a lot of books from the library, except it has no title on it.”

Graham tilted his head and then gingerly opened the book and flipped through a few pages, guiding Comet forward with a wing. The unicorn was surprised to see the book contained an old history, discussing mostly the Wardens of Harmony from what she could tell; in this book, Twilight Sparkle, Celestia’s most faithful student and protege, had wings.

“So, she... she did--?” she began, and Graham nodded.

“Even Twilight Sparkle was not immune to the censorship imposed by the early Sunwalkers,” he said.

“Why, though?” Comet asked. “Twilight is revered by everyone else, right? I know at the Tower she was left out, but... I don’t get it.”

“As you, of all ponies, will be well aware of,” Graham said. “With the blame for Celestia’s disappearance placed on unicorns, the stigma was overwhelming. They would not allow the idea that a unicorn could become an alicorn and ascend to the same level as Celestia.”

Comet’s ears drooped and she looked at Graham, gulping deeply.

“But what does this have to do with me?”

“You’ve become one amongst a growing group to have seen a vision of Twilight Sparkle with wings before ever being aware it was possible,” he said. “I simply wished to confirm.”

“Uh... Oh.”

Comet didn’t really know what to say. She felt the little clawed feet grab her back and Orion clambered up to poke his head over hers. Graham eyed her and the horned crocodile up and down and then smiled, patting her on the shoulder gently.

“I’m sorry to single you out,” he said. “I was speaking with Runestone earlier this morning. He and I were both concerned for you.”

“He was? You were?” she asked; her ears drooped.

The griffon nodded.

“There will be a meeting of the Wardens this afternoon. I trust you’ll be there?”

Comet nodded in a hurry and Graham assured her, “You may go. Also, you may take your book back whenever you wish.”

“Oh. Okay. Thanks,” Comet said quickly.

She trotted out, checking the sun for the time, and then took a look around. She had nowhere to go, and nothing to do without Shatter Spear around to give her fighting lessons, so she headed back towards where she had found Runestone before.

Upon arriving at the training dummies, however, she was surprised to see that he wasn’t there, instead replaced by some soldiers she didn’t recognize. Her ears drooped, but she felt the crocodile on her back nuzzle her neck gently. She cast a glance at him in surprise and he merely grinned back at her. Comet sighed and smiled despite herself, saying, “Thanks,” before she continued on and back to their tent.

Her friend wasn’t there either, but some of the others were starting to wake up. She noted Pointer in particular was starting to stretch as he got up. He noticed her.

“Good morning,” he said through a yawn.

The mare gave him a nod and quietly trotted to his bedside, asking, “How did you sleep?”

“Hmm? Oh. Fine, thanks,” he replied quietly, rubbing one of his eyes with a hoof. “I could have slept longer, but this weird drumming sound woke me up?”

“Drumming?” Comet repeated a bit nervously.

Pointer nodded and then blinked, finally focusing properly on the unicorn; his eyes widened.

“What’s that on your back?!” he asked shrilly.

“Oh,” Comet said, pointing over her shoulder, “that’s Orion. I think he’s my new pet. There’s a stallion near the animal paddock sort of pawning them off on anyone who’ll take one to look after, so...”

“Ooh,” Pointer said with a grin. “That actually sounds interesting, I think I’ll check it out. Wanna come?”

“I actually have a few things I have to take care of in here,” she said apologetically.

The red unicorn shrugged and smiled; he hopped out of bed and stretched.

“Guess I’ll see you later then! Good luck with your stuff,” he said.

“Same to you,” Comet said; the other unicorn left quietly, seeming rather excited and Comet hurried on to the planning table at the back of the room.

Sure enough, her book was still there. She didn’t really have anything to carry it with anymore, but she picked it up nonetheless and ferried it back to her bed and chest of belongings. She was about to put it away, but curiosity got the best of her and she quickly flipped through it, looking for any sign that Twilight Sparkle might have had wings. There wasn’t anything, not even a hint; however, there were several places where pages had been torn, or text marked over with black ink, so she supposed it could have been in there at some point. She still had no evidence, though. It put her on edge, as did the separate notion that it seemed like all of the new recruits were being woken up to the sound of drums they couldn’t find. She wasn’t sure what to make of it, but she quietly stashed her book in the chest at the foot of her bed.

Back outside, she could see more of the Warden recruits, having just woken up, scattered outside some of their other tents. She saw Cloudrush and he noticed her at almost the same moment, beckoning her to join him. She trotted over to him.

“Good morning!” he said.

Comet was about to ask how he had slept, but before she could, Orion poked his head around her neck and gave the pegasus a grin.

“Oh! Hi to you too!” Cloudrush said. “Comet, how are you feeling? After last night...”

He frowned worriedly and the unicorn quickly assured him, “I’m fine.” He nodded and cast a glance around.

“Who’s that drumming?” he wondered. “I couldn’t sleep through it anymore, but I’m still tired.”

“There’s no one drumming,” Comet said.

“What? No way, I’m sure I heard it,” the pegasus said a bit shrilly.

“I know. I heard it too. It woke me up a while ago. But there’s no one drumming,” she said, and then edged a bit closer, whispering, “Between us? I talked to Runestone and Pointer and they both said the same thing.”

“No way!” Cloudrush exclaimed. “Amber Moon said she heard it too! How is that possible?”

Comet tilted her head and mused about it for a moment.

“Must have something to do with becoming a Warden, I guess,” she decided.

“That’s what I was thinking. I just can’t believe it,” the pegasus said with a sigh; he rubbed his mane and then looked embarrassed, trying to change the subject. “S-So, what’s going on today? Training?”

“Warden meeting at noon. That’s all I know,” Comet admitted.

Cloudrush frowned to himself and nodded.

“I should go tell the others. Meet up with you later?”

“Of course,” Comet said.

The pegasus smiled and nodded, and then took off quickly in a blur of sky-coloured feathers. Comet did her best to quell a sigh: she couldn’t help but feel like she was running into everyone except the stallion she wanted to see.

Unsure of what to do with herself, Comet meandered down to the river again and rested along its banks whilst Orion played; swimming back and forth quite contentedly. Noon couldn’t come quickly enough for her.

When the sun was high enough, Comet scooped up her crocodile and headed back up the hill towards the Warden tents. When she arrived, she found many of the others gathered in a clearing between the tents-- she saw Cloudrush and, to her relief, Runestone, standing together and made a note that the others that were there were standing in their groups as well. Comet hurried to join the two stallions; Cloudrush nodded at her and Runestone gave her a grin.

“Hi Comet! Have a good morning? What have you got on you?”

“Orion, pet crocodile,” Comet explained for what she felt was the umpteenth time, but she smiled nonetheless, especially as Runestone cooed and patted the reptile on the head affectionately.“Strange morning. You?”

“Rough,” he admitted. “Got into a bit of a scuffle with that group I was supposed to be training with yesterday.”

“What?!” Comet yelped. “Are you okay?!”

His ears drooped, but he nodded nonetheless.

“Maybe you should be asking how those other ponies are doing instead,” Cloudrush muttered as he gave Runestone a nudge in the ribs.

The tan stallion shushed him quickly, but Comet frowned in puzzlement.

“What does he mean?” she asked.

Runestone looked like he wasn’t sure what to say for a moment, but then relief passed over his face when he was able to quickly point to Graham as the griffon entered the camp, followed rather swiftly by General River Rush and King Tornado.

Comet held her tongue but disapprovingly smacked her friend’s leg before she formed into line beside him. He cut his eyes at her and whispered, “Sorry,” as Graham moved to stand before the group quietly.

It wasn’t much longer before another group-- not recruits, but both Shatter Spear and Umbra were among them, so still Wardens, most likely-- moved in to join them.

“Greetings, my friends,” Graham said, drawing the attention of everyone present. “Welcome. I trust you all slept well.”

He spread his wings, his chest feathers puffing out a little as he did.

“I am pleased to welcome our new recruits as official Wardens,” he said, “The timing could not be more critical. Though unfortunate to mar this important occasion, I must make an urgent announcement. Our scouts are reporting back that a Nightspawn attack is imminent. They will likely strike tomorrow evening.”

Comet cringed with fear; Runestone pushed a little closer to her nervously, and though a worried murmur broke out quietly, Graham didn’t seem bothered or stalled by it.

“The King, General River Rush, and I will be meeting today to confer on plans, which you will be informed of your initial part in this evening,” he said. “For now, I will let the General detail what will be happening with the bulk of the army so you all can get a basic idea of what will be going on.”

He beckoned to River Rush, though the General seemed almost to be staring into space for a moment before he cleared his throat and took a position before the group before he began to speak.

He began to talk about numbers and formations, citing the unpredictability of the Nightspawn for his choices, but Comet couldn’t really follow it. She didn’t entirely understand, but she was also a bit distracted by how the General looked this afternoon. His pupils were strangely dilated and he seemed like the light was hurting his eyes. She watched him even as he finished and the King took his place to thank everyone for joining the fight-- River Rush’s right eye had started to twitch a bit as he moved off, rubbing his head as if he had a headache. She couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong with him.

After a little while, Runestone nudged her gently and Comet snapped back into reality, her ears training on Graham, who was repeating the warnings about Nightspawn she had all ready heard.

“-- Now, for our new members, so you are aware: the concoction you ingested last night will have changed you somewhat. You will find yourself a little more able to focus in combat, and you will now be able to siphon energy away from fallen Nightspawn to prevent their resurrections. Sensing them will come with time. There are more effects, though we can discuss at a later date. For now, we will wrap this up; I will be assigning all of our new members a new group and a mentor.”

A few of the older Wardens looked at him questioningly but he paid them no mind and spread into the group.

“Flowerdrop, Flash, and Gwen, you three are designated group Wind.” He nodded into the older Wardens. “Toby, you will be their mentor.”

A diamond dog, one of the few in camp, edged into the open. He was a lanky creature with light brown fur, flopping ears and a pointy snout, and was wearing a green, tribal patterned robe and carrying a staff with a green gem imbedded in it over his back.

“Yes, sir!” Toby said, and darted to join the three that had been pointed out.

Graham nodded approvingly.

“Next is group Night: Runestone, Cloudrush, and Comet Strike. Umbra, you will join them.”

Umbra let out a sharp, “What?!” drawing surprised looks from almost everyone, but the tall, striped unicorn blushed, her ears drooping and hurriedly, sticking her head up, joined them a bit reluctantly.

Runestone hesitantly edged out of her way; she didn’t seem pleased at all.

“And lastly for this section, group Stone will be Amber Moon, Berry Pointer and Gale, lead by Shatter Spear.”

“Stone group rocks, ya’ll!” Amber voiced cheerfully and loudly.

There was a few scattered snickers, and though the General looked at Graham with eyebrows raised, the griffon merely smiled as Shatter trotted over to the small group and readily accepted Amber’s hoofbump.

“Now,” Graham said, “the rest of you should have all ready been assigned. Moving on. Those in previously assigned groups will be participating in the battle at large. You will stay to hear more strategy after this. Those in new groups, your jobs will be primarily reconnaissance, defense and backup.”

Though Toby seemed all right, Umbra frowned and Shatter looked confused. Graham smiled, his wings flaring a little.

“To those more experienced who have been put into new teams, let me emphasize that this is not a punishment. You have my utmost trust in showing our new members the ropes.”

Shatter perked up a bit, but Umbra still seemed unhappy; she shuffled on her hooves uncomfortably. Graham continued to smile nonetheless and ruffled his wings a bit.

“So, Wind, Night and Stone: dismissed. We will all reconvene tonight.”

Comet noticed that, again, the General seemed distracted, even as he seemed to be put in charge of the discussion; wondered what was wrong with him. Comet shook herself free of her musings when Runestone gently nudged her with his head and they moved off with the rest of their group.

As soon as they were down the hill and out of earshot, she turned on Runestone and stood up on the tips of her hooves, whispering, “Did the General seem weird to you today?” in his ear. He looked down at her with surprise as she settled back down and cocked his head slightly.

“Well... Now that you mention it, something seemed a little off,” he admitted.

Cloudrush leaned over to them.

“Like what?” he asked cautiously. “I thought he just looked a bit tired.”

“Well... could be,” Comet admitted a bit quietly.

Ahead of them, Umbra let out a snort and then turned on them, looking them up and down with a harsh stare.

“I hope you don’t plan on snooping around,” she said coldly. “The General and Commander Graham are working very hard to plan our battle against the Nightspawn; without them, we don’t have a chance. And don’t forget, I’m in charge here.”

Comet was a little taken aback and Runestone looked almost offended, but the blue unicorn quickly assured her, “Of course.”

Umbra looked a bit surprised and her ears went back.

“You... You don’t have a problem with that?”

“Why would we? They gave us a more experienced Warden for a reason, right?” Cloudrush said.

“Yeah,” Comet agreed.

Runestone nodded and Umbra seemed genuinely taken aback. Her ears perked after a moment and she tilted her head.

“Seriously?” she asked-- she almost seemed uncertain.

“Of course, you don’t need to be so insecure,” Runestone said with a sympathetic smile.

Umbra’s eyes widened and she snorted again, tossing her mane a little and whirling on a back hoof.

“Fine. Great,” she said a bit sharply. “Cloudrush, come with me. I have a job for you. You other two, do what you want. Just keep your snouts clean.”

“Will do,” Comet assured her.

Cloudrush gave them a wave as he headed off with the tall unicorn, and immediately Runestone leaned in.

“So what do you want to do about it?”

Comet couldn’t help a laugh and tilted her head.

“I’m not sure,” she said. “Keep an eye out, I guess. But I guess he could just be very tired.”

The stallion shrugged though didn’t look entirely convinced. Before he could say another word about it, however, he felt a hoof patting him on the shoulder and Shatter Spear darted around them, greeting them with a jubilant, “Hey!”

“Hi, Shatter,” Comet said. “Didn’t seem like you were expecting to get reassigned.”

“Wasn’t really, but that’s all right,” he said, prancing on his front hooves. “I’m excited. How would your group like to join us for training right now? ...Where’d Umbra go?”

“Doing something with Cloudrush,” Runestone said. “I’m game for training. Comet?”

Comet couldn’t help but think about the inevitable bruising and her fur bristled just a little.

“Yeah, sure. Let’s go,” she said nonetheless.

Shatter grinned and whirled, taking off at a gallop.

“Follow me!" he called over his shoulder. "Oh, and your alligator can come, too!”

Comet whispered, “Crocodile,” and made to follow, but Runestone took her shoulder gently, stalling her in her tracks. She looked at him curiously and Orion copied her posture and expression.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “You aren’t still too sore?”

“Sure, but I’ll never get any better at fighting if I don’t practice.”

She shot him a bashful smile and Runestone seemed a little reassured.

They found Shatter’s Stone group at the training dummies, along with Gwen from the Wind group, and they took to training with their allies quickly. Comet was still a miserable wreck, but her hoofwork was getting a little better despite consistently getting bowled over when she did get hit. Runestone was confident and strong, but most impressive in Comet’s opinion, was the large mare, Amber Moon. A kick from a single one of her hooves could shatter a dummy into pieces, which Pointer would quickly reassemble.

Comet sat tiredly on her rump, watching Amber a bit enviously. Her crocodile cuddled up against her legs and she took a deep breath before forcing herself up.

“Comet! How’re you holding up, kiddo?” Shatter called from down the row.

“Bruised but fine!” she replied.

“Ah, you just need to get hit less,” Gwen told her in a completely sincere tone, flapping over to her side. “Sorry, don’t mean to be rude, but you’re clumsy. Even though you’re pretty fast, which is good. What did you do before this, again?”

“Student at the Tower,” Comet said with a tired laugh as Orion clambered onto her back. “Not a fighter.”

“Hmm...” Gwen tapped the base of her beak and then looked at Shatter. “Hey, can I take Comet off for a bit? I want to show her something.”

Comet was a bit confused, but she followed the griffon a little ways away from the dummies after Shatter agreed.

“Okay,” Gwen said; she placed Comet sturdily in one spot before backing up away from her and facing her. “You need to start looking a little better. Your main problem is just getting hit. I guess your magic is probably pretty good, but you’re gonna have a bad time using it if you’re just getting knocked on your butt! Soooo--”

Gwen hunched her shoulders and the unicorn looked back at her a bit blankly, completely confused up until the moment the griffon’s body collided with hers and they tumbled to the ground together. Comet yelped and Gwen began to laugh, untangling herself from the unicorn.

“See, I was expecting you to dodge that,” she snickered. “Sorry.”

“No, no, I’m sorry, I... Sorry, I’m a bit clueless,” Comet replied.

Gwen ruffled her feathers and backed up, spreading her wings a little and starting to prowl in a circle. Comet quickly backstepped, placing Orion gently on the ground as she went.

Gwen tackled her again before she was even close to being ready. The unicorn hurriedly righted herself and backed away, keeping her eyes on Gwen, her mind rushing to try to come up with a way to do something. Before she could, again, Gwen was on top of her. Comet squished against the ground with a yelp and the griffon snickered and helped her up before retaking a place across from her with a simple wingbeat and crouching into a prowl. Comet’s heart was starting to pound, watching the large griffon stalk around her.

“Gwen, I-I can’t, I-!”

“Comet, I’ve got you down like, three times. Just watch how I move. You’re thinking too much, just watch me instead.”

Comet gulped and did her best, trying to stop her thoughts from intruding to show her the worst possible situations, trying to stop calculating how much time she had before--

It was subtle, but Comet saw it a little this time. A little bracing of Gwen’s back paws. Comet skittered on her back hooves and tried to move; she was almost successful, too, but was clipped by the griffon’s wing and stumbled down again before rushing upright, taking a deep breath.

“Hey! Almost!” Gwen said cheerfully. “You’re watching now?”

“Y-Yeah, trying to,” Comet said.

Gwen grinned widely.

When the griffon lunged this time, Comet was almost prepared: she narrowly ducked around Gwen and, even though a wing still hit her, she managed to keep her hooves under her and whirled a bit awkwardly to face her. When she realized, she felt a quick surge of pride and her ears perked up high. Gwen laughed and straightened up, clapping her talons together quickly.

“Nice one! Let’s go again!”

“What? Oh... Feathers,” Comet said.

Gwen pushed Comet until she was exhausted, plopping down on her rump and raising her hooves in surrender.

“Done?” Gwen asked.

“So done.”

The griffon laughed and took off to glide to Comet’s side. She sat down beside her and patted her shoulder.

“You did okay," she assured her. "Good job. We should practice again soon.”

The notion of it made Comet’s heart drop, but she knew it was a good idea. She nodded, panting.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

Gwen ruffled her wings, pleased, and got up to head back towards the others, some still working on the training dummies while others sparred with each other. Comet took a deep breath and jumped a little as she felt Orion slither across her lap; he curled up against her and she held him up, close and gently. She heard steps behind her and turned, expecting it to be Gwen, but was surprised to see Runestone coming up behind her.

“Hi,” he said brightly. “I was watching a bit. Not too bad.”

“Thanks,” Comet laughed. “Could have been better.

Runestone shrugged and sat beside her. Orion looked at him curiously and the stallion grinned and scratched the reptile under the chin affectionately.

“Who’s a little sweetie pie, huh? What a cute toothy, spiky little monster, aren’t you?” he cooed.

Comet laughed as the crocodile’s back leg and tail began to thump against her.

“Glad you like him,” she said. “I think he’s sticking around.”

“Fine with me. What did you say his name was again?”

“Orion.”

“Like the constellation?”

Comet nodded and Runestone smiled and nudged her shoulder.

“Just like you, eh?” he said.

Comet wasn’t entirely sure what he meant, but when his eyes darted to her Soul Mark, she understood. She suddenly felt a shock of guilt and her ears drooped a bit-- her friend was about to say something to her, but she quickly interjected with, “Runestone, I’m sorry. I lied about my Soul Mark when we first met.”

“What?”

He stared at her blankly.

“I didn’t know you,” she squeaked bashfully. “If I had known you were so nice right off the bat I would have trusted you, but I was just using forbidden magic all over the place and I was scared of getting my horn cut off, and--”

“Whoa, whoa,” the stallion said, raising a hoof to stall her. “Relax! It’s okay, I understand. But then, what is it for if not for... star mapping, you said?”

“Star mapping is part of it indirectly, but mostly it’s about my magic,” she said. “It shows its colours, and that ice and light are sort of what I use most, and also what I was looking for and what I blew up when I first used it.”

She gave him a bashful smile and he tilted his head.

“Oooh. That actually makes much more sense. I was starting to wonder how a pony who mapped stars had such powerful offensive magic.”

“Yeeeah, I guess I’m not a very good liar,” Comet laughed. “Sorry.”

“It okay. I understand,” he repeated, “considering what I was.”

Comet nodded but she had to reflexively stop herself from asking him what his meant. Her ears drooped just a little for a moment but then nudged him in the side.

“Hey, Runestone, once this all relaxes a bit, we should work on helping you get your Soul Mark.”

The stallion’s eyes widened and his ears perked high.

“You think we can do that?” he asked.

“Not sure, but I bet we could try to find something that you really like and are great at,” she said. “I mean, since you’re out of the Sunwalkers now, I’m sure things are bound to look up for you.”

She scratched her chin and Orion mimicked her.

“Hmm... I wonder what it could be? Maybe something to do with fighting, huh? You seem really good at that. Or maybe even something just for being really enthusiastic and a good friend! Or, you never know, it could be something really weird that you’ve never even done yet.”

She gave him a smile and his entire face brightened. He laughed and nodded.

“You never know!” he agreed. “Thanks, Comet. I... I appreciate it.”

He held out a hoof to her and she clopped hers soundly against it. He grinned and then got up, stretching his back, and then looked back at the others. Most were sparring with each other now, and they saw that Gwen was now engaging Pointer much in the same way she had been with Comet. Comet couldn’t help but feel a little sting of jealousy -- Pointer was much more agile that she was.

“I think I’ll get back to it, then,” Runestone said. “How about you?”

“I think I’m done,” she confessed. “Or I’m just going to be one giant bruise.”

The stallion laughed a little and patted her good shoulder reassuringly.

“I’m sure you’ll get into the swing of it soon,” he said.

“Not before the battle,” Comet said a bit reluctantly, but she was surprised to see her friend flash her a smile.

“Don’t worry about it. That’s why we’re in a group.”

The unicorn felt a little reassured and nodded.

“See you later?” he said.

“Yeah, see you.”

Orion watched over her shoulder intently as Runestone trotted off, and she turned to leave; the crocodile spun on her back to keep his eyes on the stallion.

“What is it?” she asked with a chuckle. “C’mon, want to go down to the river a bit?”

Orion spun on her back and clambered to set his front half on the top of her head.

Comet and Orion made their way through camp, dodging around imposing, armoured troops moving in herds, some moving weapons and equipment, others on their way with the steps of creatures with a dire purpose. Nerves were starting to get the better of Comet again as her imagination began to run away with her, taking her straight for the dark beasts with the white eyes.

Trying to keep her mind on the moment, she made her way to the river; Orion jumped from her back and dove in smoothly. Comet leaned over, watching the gentle distortion under the water that was her new friend. His mottled colours camouflaged him well, but the red of his eyes stood out a bit more for her to follow. She trailed him down to a spot where the water was a bit more shallow and the smooth, worn stones of the river bottom were clear. Through flecks of sunlight, Orion swam up, his body flowing back and forth, so natural in the water that it was mesmerizing to watch. He stuck his eyes and nostrils up, floating in place with just a few movements of his tail to keep him steady. Comet laughed and the crocodile swam in a quick circle before he went for the shore, pulling himself out but, to the unicorn’s surprise, he put his forehead against the back of her leg and tried to shove her forward.

“What? You want me to go in there?” she asked.

When Orion bounded back into the water and stared at her expectantly, Comet rolled her eyes, took a quick, suspicious look around her. Noting that there were actually a few ponies washing themselves off a bit upstream, she couldn’t see the harm in it. Her magic pulled her shoulder plate away and she placed it down gently in the grass. She tentatively dipped a hoof down-- the water was cool through her fur, but not unpleasant. Slowly, she edge in until the water reached just below her shoulders. Orion rolled onto his back and then dove down, circling her. She tried to spin to watch him, but he was a bit too quick. She lost sight for a second, but soon felt his little claws pricking her as he climbed up onto her back and lay across her, tail swishing in the water. She smiled a little and then sunk down in the water just a little. She felt a sting on her shoulder and raised up a bit and took a look. She surprised herself with the slightly uneven stitches closing the wound -- Oh right! I completely forgot! -- she bit her lip and stood up a little taller just to keep the water away from it. Nonetheless, she dunked her head to give her mane a rinse and then climbed out the other side of the river, giving her fur a quick shake. Her magic shot across the bank to grab her shoulder plate and she repositioned and refastened it carefully.

“That was better than I thought,” she confessed to the crocodile, turning her head to give him a smile.

He seemed to smile back, but his attention was drawn to something in front of her. A bit puzzled she turned to look in time to see the tail-end of a landing pegasus as a few of the passing soldiers began to gather around him

“Mail call!” he was shouting. “Mail call! Anyone expecting mail, over here!”

He trotted around, shouting names, and a few ponies gladly took letters and parcels, and within moments, a unicorn’s magically projected voice shot out across the ruins, “Mail call! Anyone due to receive mail, please meet up at the end of the vendor tents across the river. Thank you!”

Comet wasn’t expecting anything, but as more ponies arrived, muttering to their friends about the possibility of receiving a letter from family afar, she began to carry the hope that a friend from the tower might have sent a little something. She tried not anticipate too much, but she joined the gathering crowd and was given a small berth due to her dripping fur.

She managed to catch a glance of the pegasus, a tall, broad-winged grey stallion with a white blaze and stockings, carrying a hefty leather mailbag and wearing a padded cap with sideflaps and square goggles on the top of his head. He listed plenty of names, handing out notes and packages all around from his bag until he came to something in there that seemed to confuse him. He all but stuck his head in his bag and when he pulled out, he said, “Is there a Comet Strike here?”

Comet looked a bit puzzled, but she stepped forward, raising her hoof. The pegasus nodded and passed her a brown bag from within his, with two notes stuck to the outside before he continued around to call more names and pass more letters. Comet drew back to give the rest of the hopefuls more space and inspected the bag carefully, twirling it her magic, and was surprised to find a rune carved into the bottom. She quickly turned to the first note, a small, folded square of parchment, and was immediately elated to see that it was in Pinklily’s writing.

Dear Comet, it read, I hope your journey hasn’t been too rough on you! We all miss you back home, but we’re all really proud of you, too. Especially me. Don’t tell the others I wrote that.

Comet couldn’t help a smile and hoped her eyes weren’t welling up visibly.

Anyway, here’s something I like to call the Bottomless Bag! Maybe not the most elegant name, but rather accurate, I think. Basically, I’ve enchanted it for you so that you can stuff anything you want in there and it will neither become nor feel full. It’s pretty ingenious, if I do say so myself! Not so ingenious of me to think of it the day AFTER you left, though! Say a friendly hello to Runestone for us, if you don’t mind, and please, please, PLEASE stay safe. I know I’m not there to hover over you anymore, so please be extra careful!

Love, Pinklily, Twirlwind, Glimmer, Jinx, Arrowburst, and Warmspark

Comet was a little surprised to see Warmspark’s name on there, signed in quickly at the end, but she was pleased nonetheless. She folded the letter lovingly and made it the first deposit into the Bottomless Bag, as her friend had called it. Orion hopped down beside her, looked at her new belongings and then looked at her curiously.

“It was from my friends back home. It hasn’t even been that long, but I miss them a lot,” she told him.

Orion make a high growling sounds and rubbed himself against her foreleg. She grinned and patted his head, and then turned to the second note as she put the bag on over her back. Its seal had come a bit undone. When she read the first line, however, Dearest Icicle Star, she knew the note wasn’t for her. She was about to fold the letter up once more when her eyes pinged on her own name. She cursed inside her head and couldn’t help but start to read, hoping beyond hope that she was just an innocent conversational point.

It was worse than she could ever have imagined.

I trust this letter finds you well. Knowing you, I’m sure your plans are following through. Unfortunately, mine have not. I’m sure you remember my mentioning of a young mare named Comet, don’t you? My impressions of her at first were that she would be perfect: she is very powerful, and had quite a bitter streak towards Sunwalkers, as she should. However, my initial attempts to draw her into my circle were relatively unsuccessful. She did not respond to the notes I left for her. To make matters worse, she befriended a few of the tower guards, and left for Harmonia with one of them and that blasted Warden commander. She must have arrived by now. I regret to place such burden on you, but I must ask you a favour. I need you to permanently remove a blankflank stallion named Runestone from the picture. I need it to seem like he abandoned her. With him gone, and with a little guidance from you, I predict Comet will return to the tower in total disillusionment, which will make her much more pliable. I’m sure it will be no trouble for you, but best of luck anyhow!

Comet knew it would be signed from Springbreeze before she had even reached the end. She felt sick. She was shaking as she folded the letter again, but before she could do a thing, the mailpony had taken the letter back from her.

“Woops! Sorry, miss, that must’ve gotten stuck. Both letters from the tower, yeah?”

“...Y-Yeah,” Comet stammered.

The stallion smiled and nodded before trotting off quickly. Comet dropped onto her haunches, trying so hard not to cry that she felt like she was choking. Orion looked up at her worriedly and curled up against her forelegs. The unicorn lifted him up and held him to her chest, her eyes starting to leak as she wrestled with her tumbling mind.

They... They want to kill him. They want to KILL him.

Her heart dropped and she jumped to her hooves, starting the crocodile. She scooped him onto her back with magic and quickly said, “I need to get that letter back.”

She was moving fast, ducking around other ponies, trying to catch that mailpony in her sights. She spotted him once; twice, but he vanished into a tent marked with a crystalline, cold starburst before she could say a word. She felt like she had been punched in the gut. She stopped, frozen in place with terror for just a moment before she scampered around the tent, ducking low and pressing her ear against the side. She heard the passoff; heard the mailpony leave and the gentle movement of paper. Before long, she heard the pacing of deft hooves, and a voice she knew saying something quietly. She recoiled a bit and looked around quickly, trying to be sure nopony was watching her, but after just a moment, she had to press herself flush to the tent as Icicle Star stuck his head out and ordered somepony she couldn’t see to join him. She heard at least three sets of hooves, but by the time she had worked up the courage to peek around to see who they were, she was left to only see the pale gold tail-end of a mare entering the tent. Comet gulped and shuffled on her hooves nervously, and then doubled back to her listening spot. She couldn’t retake it though, and was left only to scoot around a marching set of ornately armoured soldiers, trotting in a long line of twos inwards towards the King and Queen’s tents. Comet’s ears flopped and she looked, wide eyed and nervous at Orion. The crocodile seemed to register her urgency and clung to her a little more tightly.

She edged herself around the tent, but the sound of hooves were too loud for her to attempt to eavesdrop any longer. She cursed softly to herself before pulling away, but her ears immediately perked to the sound of cloth flapping. She gulped and, quick as she could, went around the tent again to the front, but there were so many ponies walking out and about close by that she couldn’t tell whom had just emerged. Comet bit her lip and her mind rushed through her options.

I have to find Runestone, she decided. But I have to report this! But can I? Graham might believe me, but I definitely don’t have any evidence now.

Her ears pressed back. She made Runestone her priority and hurried from the camp area.

She did her best not to seem in a complete panic, and she hoped to Celestia that Runestone was still somewhere near where she had seen him last.

When Comet found her friend, he was near a water trough, inturupted from cleaning himself up a bit with a bucket and towel, against one of the fortress walls, close to the training dummies they had been working on earlier. There were three ponies talking with him, all unicorns, pale in coat and in eyes; two mares and a stallion. They all wore light armour plating across their bodies that was a pale, ice-blue. Their voices were smooth and sure, and they instantly made Comet completely uncomfortable. She gritted her teeth, took a deep breath and trotted in towards them, unable to keep the frown off her face.

“Hey. Who are you?” Comet asked sharply.

When the ponies turned their attention towards her, only one of the three looked taken aback, but Runestone looked thoroughly startled.

“These are Icicle Star’s personal guard,” Runestone said a bit awkwardly.

The unicorn bristled immediately.

“What are you doing?” she snapped.

Runestone looked a bit confused and the tall, silver stallion smiled smoothly.

“You are his friend, yes? Never fear. We were just talking to Runestone here about the possibility of joining Sir Icicle Star’s guard force,” he said, and though Comet’s eyes narrowed, the stallion turned his gaze on Runestone. “Our Master has been keeping an eye out, and has noticed your potential. He wants you to be aware that, though it is a starting position, advancing in rank through the royal guards would be a breeze for a pony like you.”

He smiled charmingly and, though Runestone’s eyebrows bent apologetically, Comet shoved her way in between them and Orion mimicked her, jumping to the ground and letting out a low hiss.

“He’s not interested,” she said bluntly.

“I think the stallion can speak for himself,” one of the mares laughed.

Her mane and tail were a familiar, pale gold. Comet couldn’t keep the glare off her face. Runestone opened his mouth, but again, Comet talked over him.

“If your Master is so observant, obviously he must know that Runestone is a member of the Wardens of Harmony. He has prior engagements that can’t be broken, so move along.”

The stallion before her’s eyes turned cold and he let out a dry chuckle, though her frown didn’t falter for a second.

“And what if I don’t? Are you going to make me?”

Comet’s magic was blades above him in an instant and she tilted her head as the small group of guards recoiled a bit.

“Yeah. I’m going to make you.”

They scrambled backwards and took off, trying to keep an even pace, while one of the mares called, “You h-haven’t heard the end of this!”

“Yes, we have!” Comet shouted after them.

She snorted and scraped a hoof through the dirt, her magic flickering out. She didn’t realize she was crying until Runestone took her shoulder and turned her.

“Comet! What was that about?” he asked.

His face was concerned and, after just a second, Comet’s knees started trembling and she had to wipe her eyes.

“Don’t ever go with them,” she said quickly.

“I wasn’t going to. Comet, what’s wrong? I’ve never seen you so angry,” he said.

She couldn’t articulate for a while and, worriedly, the stallion put his brow to hers.

“You’re going to be all right. Here.” He pointed her towards the trough. “It’s washing water.”

The unicorn took a deep breath and, with her magic, raised a small glob of water and splashed herself in the face with it, as her friend looked on at her with wide, worried eyes. Before he could say anything more, she turned back to him, her ears pressed back as she quickly dried her face on the back of her forelimb.

“Runestone,” she said, unable to hide the urgency in her voice, “don’t... If Icicle asks you to go anywhere with him, alone or not, don’t go. At all. At all, okay?”

“Um... okay,” he said, confused. “Why?”

Comet looked around cautiously, only seeing Orion mimicking her movements at her hooves, and then leaned in close to her friend.

“I think he’s trying to kill you,” she whispered.

“What?!”

The stallion’s neck sprung back and his eyes were large as full moons, and Comet immediately grabbed him around the neck and pulled him close again, hissing, “Shhhh!” hurriedly.

“S-Sorry, but how-?”

“I got a letter from Pinklily, but there was one to Icicle Star was stuck to it, and I sort of read it by accident and it was... it...” She shifted, insecure in her thoughts, but Runestone seemed eager to hear her out. “Okay, the letter... It was from the Archmage and it told him to get rid of you in a pretty obviously sinister way and make it look like you just up and left... and it... um, it’s because of me. Something about getting me back to the Tower.”

“Wh... What? Oh... Dear Celestia,” the stallion said. “I... Okay. I’ll stay away from him.”

He nodded, still looking shaken, and Comet’s ears drooped low and she sighed deeply.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m not sure what this really has to do with me, but they’re going after you and-”

“Hey,” Runestone said-- he tried to sound reassuring but he still looked startled and a bit afraid, “whatever it is, it’ll be fine. We’ll stick together and I won’t let Icicle get me alone, and it’ll be fine.”

Comet nodded.

“Okay,” she muttered, trying to convince herself that he was right.

She sniffed despite herself and then, laughing a bit weakly,

“Pinklily says hi, by the way.”

Runestone perked up just a little and he smiled a bit.

“You gonna write them back?”

She nodded and wiped her eyes again.

“Thanks for not thinking I’m nuts,” she said, and then grumbled out, “I couldn’t even bring the letter as evidence.”

“Hey, you’re my friend! Of course, I trust you,” he said, and then laughed. “With my life, it turns out.”

He nudged her affectionately.

“Want to get some food?” he asked.

She didn’t really-- her stomach was in knots-- but she nodded nonetheless and followed him as he began to head away towards the fort.

Inside, Comet made herself eat a little, though both her friends were much more ravenous. Orion seemed set on tasting everything he could find, which surprised the unicorn quite a bit. When he and Runestone were done and the three set out again, Comet suggested they take a look around the perimeter of the fort. Neither of them had done so yet, and she was certainly curious, and nervous, too. Runestone agreed.

“Do you think they’ll put us up on the wall?” he said. “I mean, as look-outs. Since we probably won’t actually be in the battle too much.”

“No idea,” Comet said. “I don’t really know too much about battle. That’s one thing I didn’t really read up on in my studies. That and animal care.”

She cut her eyes at Orion and Runestone laughed and and elbowed her playfully.

“And look where you ended up.”

“I’m aware,” she said.

They came upon a small tower in one of the corners of the ruin. It was capped with a conical roof, recently repaired by the looks of it, with the wall closest to them draped in a large, long banner, half dark red with the King’s pelican mark emblazoned upon it whilst the other half was dark blue and marked with the Queen’s songbird. The doors below were guarded by two tired looking, armoured unicorns. It was sort of strange to see them there and instantly made Comet curious about what was inside, but Runestone had already begun to move off, so she followed him closely -- a bit too closely, perhaps, for when he came to a sudden stop, she rammed right into him, knocking herself down in the process.

“Umbra,” he said in surprise; quickly, Comet jumped to her feet and looked around her friend.

Her heart sunk when she saw the tall, striped unicorn trotting towards them with purpose, followed closely by the pale, unicorn stallion of the group Comet had recently chased off. Her fur bristled and her ears went back, but she recoiled involuntarily when Umbra angrily called, “Comet Strike!”

Runestone quickly put his body between the two unicorns, but it wasn’t much help when Umbra swiftly shoved him aside, glowering down at Comet as she couldn’t help but shrink down into her hooves, Orion tumbling unceremoniously off her back.

“You’ve got some explaining to do,” she said. “This stallion reported that you threatened him. What were you thinking?!”

Comet opened her mouth but nothing came out, her heart thumping uncomfortably, and her eyes darted to the two stallions. Runestone seemed aghast, but the other stallion merely tilted his head.

“Yes, as I said, I was speaking with this stallion here and she seemed to just lose it,” he said.

“Hey, wait a second,” Runestone began, but Umbra gave him a hiss and looked at Comet with shining, yellow eyes.

“Well?” she said a bit impatiently.

Behind her, the pale silver unicorn looked at Comet smugly and the anxiety turned to anger.

“You have some nerve.” She straightened up and shouldered past Umbra, stomping forward and lowering her horn a little.“You’re full of it.”

She whirled on Umbra, locking eyes with her as the silver unicorn unwittingly took a step away.

“He works for Icicle Star. He’s trying to get Runestone to leave the Wardens and work for him instead. Bet he didn’t tell you that.”

Umbra turned with a harsh frown on her face towards the pale unicorn, who couldn’t help but recoil, ears folding back as he grinned nervously.

“You what?” Umbra snapped.

“It was Lord Icicle Star’s orders, I’m sure you understand-”

“Trying to poach Wardens, huh?” she said. “No wonder. I don’t blame her for running you off. Get out of my sight.”

The unicorn opened his mouth as if to protest, but when Umbra’s horn lit up with deep purple, he frowned, gulping despite himself.

“You’ll be hearing from my superiors,” he said.

“And you’ll be hearing from mine,” Umbra replied, tossing her mane, “you lying worm.”

The other unicorn, without much of a choice, headed off in a hurry and Umbra sighed and relaxed a little, her magic flickering out before she turned to the other ponies.

“I thought you said you wouldn’t be getting into trouble,” she said a bit tiredly.

“It wasn’t on purpose, I promise,” Comet said, a bit exasperated as she lifted Orion up to hug him nervously.

The taller unicorn frowned for just a moment, and then tilted her head, her bright yellow eyes focusing squarely on Runestone.

“Now what would a force of unicorn battlemages want with you, of all ponies?” she wondered.

Comet had to hold her tongue; she desperately wanted to tell her, but Runestone shrugged a bit nervously and Comet couldn’t hold Umbra’s gaze. The tall unicorn snorted a bit.

“You know exactly what they want, don’t you?” She stepped in a bit closer to Comet and nudged her with a hoof. “You can trust me.”

Runestone looked at Comet worriedly and the blue unicorn rubbed the back of her head awkwardly and bit her lip before forcing herself to meet Umbra’s eyes. It was strange; she barely knew her, but something about Umbra felt very honest. Comet gulped.

“I do,” she said.

“You do?” Runestone asked blankly.

Umbra cut her eyes at him and Comet quickly glanced around to check who was within earshot.

“It has to do with some political garbage from the tower in Canterlot. Can I explain it to you more in private?”

“You two are very strange,” she said. “Meet me back at the Warden tents, and explain to me and Graham, if it really is so important that you had to threaten another pony to send him away.”

“It was actually three ponies,” Runestone said quietly.

Umbra’s eyes widened a little and she rubbed her brow. She spun, flicking her long tail in irritation, and then trotted off.

“You have half an hour,” she said.

Comet took a deep breath and looked at Runestone worriedly. His eyes were wide and when he met her gaze, his ears drooped.

“I’ve got your back, if that helps,” he said.

Comet nodded.

“Right,” she said. “We’ll be truthful, one-hundred percent.”

“We will? Oh. Good. I hope that works.”

Comet grimaced and squeezed Orion a bit closer.

“Me too.”