What Am I?

Chapters

Beginning at the Beginning
A Tracker
A Silent Ghost
A Water Diviner. Yes it's a thing.
Not a Warrior
Not a Negotiator
A Melted Heart
A Friend of an Enemy's Friend
A Fool
An Assassin
A Guarded Guard
I am not an epilogue
The Beginning's End
A Raider of the Lost Narc

Beginning at the Beginning

I speed through the streets of Canterlot, keeping one eye on the courier and the other on passersby so as to not cause anymore undue breaches of etiquette. I may have whined about leaving back in the tower with Princess Luna, but already I could feel the pressures of the city ease away as I put distance between me and my most recent home, and causing delays would interfere with my private little race. I feel the sun beating down on me, as though Celestia herself were spurning me out of her sight. The reality is most thestrals do very poorly in direct sunlight due to our nocturnal nature. Our eyesight especially can be diminished to near dangerous limits. And most thestrals overcome that by simply flying over the things they might run into otherwise. I had to strengthen my other senses because I did not belong in that group. I am a wingless thestral. Silly little bat-less pony. 'Batless' is what they used to call me. The irony was I had wings long before any thestral, any pony for that matter, in the form of a cutie mark at birth.

My mind drifts back to the beginnings of my life quest. I say beginnings because ahem, beginnings because there were at least three different starts to my life, all conveniently mapped out on my rump. The proper term is flank for one's location of the cutie mark that highlights their purpose in life, yet I grew to hate mine, at least in the beginning.

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I was born to loving parents. Mother and Father raised me as all thestral parents raise their foals I suppose. Our dwellings were in caves, very nice communal cave networks kept warm and cheery, not like the cold dank horrible places where monsters dwelt, the ones parents scared us with in late night bedtime stories. I imagine had we been more secluded I could have dealt with my...differences better. As it were, I honestly was unaware I was different. I saw Mother and Father's legs, I had legs. I saw their faces, their ears. I had those. I saw their cutie marks. I had a cutie mark. Me, born with the image of a pair of turqoise wings on my flank. Against my black fur, they practically glowed. When you are born you are spared the horror of witnessing the expressions on your parents if they are unlucky enough to discover you have abnormalities. You are not mentally developed, so you do not process their reaction. Had I been, I would have known it was not the mark that upset them. It was my real wings, or lack thereof.

As I grew and was introduced to the other colts and fillies in the community, that is when I became aware of my abnormality. A rare thing among thestrals, so rare that you might see it once or twice throughout the several generations across many communities. Such a sudden shock might have caused my parents to give me my initial name. I could see Father choking out a question, or my Mother asking him what is wrong and asking him to help her name me something fanciful. In the end, they called me Jen. Short and sweet. And utterly devoid of any purpose since everyone already knew what I would, or wouldn't be doing. I had my mark, who needs the real thing? One day I asked if Jen was the name they had planned for me before I was born. They made such a fuss about some other unrelated topic that I got my answer. I thought I did at the time.

Young ones can be so mean to each other when they are envious or see something different. They envied my early showing of my cutie mark, and mocked me that they were wings to underscore the fact that I had no real ones. There were some instances where some would reach out to me. Call it pity or just plain goodness, a few of the fillies stayed when the group of foals would fly off to play among the night-shrouded clouds. They did not stay long, peer pressured to choose between me or the 'in group.' I bore them no ill will, for I understood their decision. I was different, and hanging out with 'Batless' would make your wings fall off. That was the nasty rumor some of the more vicious foals tossed around, at any rate. Oh, it made me so very bitter. I kept a stiff upper lip when I came home at sunup, told my usual lies to my parents about what a great time I had with the local foals so they would not worry for me, and I cried long into the day before falling asleep. I cannot say how long that went on. I can say the bitterness must have been so potent that something heard me. And spoke to me.

At first it was swirling mists in my dreams. There was something in the dark and I walked alone, seeking it, yet never finding it. Each time I awoke, I felt I had gotten that much closer. It was on one particularly grueling evening when I first heard the voice. I had gone out for Nightmare Night and come across some of the meaner foals who happened to be picking on a younger colt. He had not quite figured out how to fly yet, so the older colts thought it good sport to hover above him with the bag of candy they had stolen from him, hanging it over his head so he could not reach it. I stepped up to them and told them to buzz off, likening them to a pack of changelings sucking off the despair of the poor colt. Thestrals typically have a bad enough time dealing with other races in the land, they didn't need any links to that particular set of creatures. Being called a changeling was NOT a compliment. It certainly pissed off these guys to where they wanted to fight me right then and there. So I ran, out of the nearest tunnel to the surface, past trees and through bushes. While I made my escape, I noticed the leader had dropped the younger colt's bag of candy as he ducked low to avoid the rocky overhang at the entrance. The young flightless colt immediately picked up the bag and hid behind a tree, watching as I tried to escape the ruffians. He looked grateful, which to me was a victory, to be short-lived if I could not lose these knuckleheads.

"Batless! Wingless! Always alone cause you're friend-less!" The pack of thestrals flew high over the trees to avoid clipping branches while I had to dodge tree trunks, roots and underbrush. Our community had made its home on the eastern slopes of the Badlands, up against the Hayseed Swamps and just north of the Forbidden Jungle. The jungle was one of those places nopony dared to venture, and that was where I was headed. As I rounded the last set of bogs, the jungle loomed thick ahead of me. Quick glances behind me showed several of the thestrals had peeled off. Their leader was starting to slow as well, unsure if he should pursue me. I changed his mind.

"Witless and crass. Your stupidity's great and so vast! One look at a jungle, your pursuit you doth bungle, and ultimately you look like a DONKEY'S REAR END!" Yeah, that did it. I could even tell when his brain substituted 'rear end' just so he could make it rhyme correctly because he yelled and swooped low. I lowered my head and sprinted as hard as I ever did in my entire life, aiming for the denser clumps of trees and forcing him to either lose distance as he swung wide or risk running into trunks and branches. It became my focus for several minutes to squeeze every advantage out of the years I spent running while every other pony flew. So focused was I, it was several more minutes before I started to realize I no longer heard his wings flapping or his heavy breathing from exerting too much energy to catch me. I smiled and looked behind me briefly. The tree in front of me bore witness to my prideful mistake and took the force of my entire body slamming into it headfirst. Darkness swept in swiftly. And in that darkness I found the Voice.

A Tracker

I was dreaming again, though this time it was different. It was not completely dark like before, where I would typically wander in a wilderness of black feeling my way along. This time there was a dull light that emanated all around with no source. I looked up half expecting the moon, and instead saw a blue, green, and brown orb covered with white swirling clouds. I looked back at the place I was in and saw the ground itself seemed to glow softly, just bright enough to see shadowy objects, rocks and natural formations. This was the light we played under when we first woke in the evening, and the light we said goodbye to before going to bed in the morning...could this place really be the moon? Deep down I felt I had been navigating to this destination ever since I first heard the whispers, guiding me through the black that separated home from the heavens, all those dreams that muttered things just out of earshot. I had found the thing I was looking for. It was all around me.

"You have found me, little Jen." The voice was strong, authoritative and almost threatening. A portion of the very air in front of me darkened into a void. The voice projected from that abyss, "We can finally speak face to face."

"Who are you? What do you want from me?!" I demanded. If a horrible creature was going to devour me, I wanted it over with as quick as possible. I couldn't have been the only one who hated long waits.

She suddenly appeared up close to my face in all her wicked glory, obscured by shadows as she was. Her eyes large orbs like twin moons, pupils like beams penetrating my soul. The aura surounding her was a miasmic mass of swirling blues, purples and blacks, at once silhouetting a magnificent alicorn, and then hiding it in chaotic maelstrom.

I furrowed my brow and asked "what is that? Is that a thing or something?"

She pulled back a bit, the aura losing some of its energy. "What do you mean...what thing?!?"

I tilted my head to look around her sides at the aura. "That whole 'get in your face when you are not expecting it' thing. Why would you do that? You could get smacked or spit on when you are that close."

The dark mysterious entity turned away slightly and murmured, "I never thought of that. Normally the other goody two-shoe-day ponies cower in their nightmares when I do that." She looks back to me and demands, "Why are you not affected so?"

I straighten up and put one hoof forward, "I have been bullied my entire life, picked on and pestered for what I am. You can haunt my dreams and do your misty mist trick, but you will be just like the rest, whatever you are."

The entity seemed taken aback by my vehemence and watched me for countless seconds. Or hours perhaps, for there was no concept of time here. When she finally spoke, it was a softer tone, yet still imperialistic. "Strong, impetuous, and naive. I can work with that. You are a child of the night, as are the rest of your kind. Of all those that walk the land, your kith and kin appreciate me most, or did a long time ago. The other ponies shall soon learn what it means to worship the night and bend knee to me, for I am the Mare in the Moon!" Her chest thrust out and she held her head high as though crowds were before her.

The Mare in the Moon! I knew this story, as did all young thestrals. Almost 1000 years ago the princess of the night nearly succeeded in a coup to supplant her sister for dominance in the heavens. The stories passed down from parent to foal told of the anguish the younger princess endured as the realm shunned the night, and by extension, her. Countless attempts she made to fix this transgression. There was even a tale about a separate colony she tried to establish. They were called the original Children of the Night, though nopony knew if our race of thestrals were descended from that colony or if it was another set of ponies, if it ever existed at all. And here this legendary force of nature stood before me.

I had started to nurture a certain disdain for leaders and figureheads at my very young age, mostly from dealing with adults that thought they knew best. From my limited experience, all I ever witnessed was whoever was the biggest or the strongest made the rules, benefiting from them. Even the bullies followed the same pattern, so this would have normally been great opportunity to mock yet another high and mighty pony. I...couldn't. In this Mare in the Moon, I saw the potential for wrongs to be righted. There was a rumor spoken of how her return would make all equal under her power, and I believed every bit of it. With reverence I seldom showed for anypony, I bowed my head and extolled, "I am sorry, your Majesty. I did not know who you were. I...I am sorry." I felt so very small. Granted I was still in my filly years, but how often do you meet royalty? Historically, the relations between day and night species had never been great these last several centuries, and it had to be a long time since any thestral dared to approach the great day princess, Celestia. Now I was in the presence of our future queen!

If she won the war.

I kept my head down as I continued, "Your Majesty, if I may ask...does this mean you are returning soon, and you are going to make all ponies equal...all of us?"

I could see her mist enshrouded hooves step closer to me with my head still down and she spoke quietly next to my ear, "I know what you want of me child, yet that is a miracle I cannot perform. Rest assured you are more useful to me than any of the others because of the hardships you suffer, so similar are they to my own."

I lifted my head and stared into those proud eyes to ask, "How is my deformity a boon to you? I cannot fly and nopony will take me seriously."

The regal shadowy form began a slow saunter around me. It felt like she was assessing my value, inspecting a potential tool. "Your pain pierced the veil between this realm and the waking world. Normally I am afforded brief windows into the minds of those with troubled dreams, to remind them I still exist. Your dreams been open to me for a long time...." She paused when she got to my cutie mark. Then she continued her walk. "Prophecies...they can be so tedious. You are meant for so much more, but not as you are, now." The shadowed entity completed her circle in front of me.

I was confused. She needed me or not? Afraid I might lose this being's interest in me, I asked, "Please Great One, what am I meant for, what do I have to change? What am I?"

Her form started to become harder to see, shifting to translucency. "You are untrained. My time to return is years away and approaching. I can sense your impending awakening from this dream. Hear me! When you rise, find the colt that chased you into the jungle. He needs your help or he will die. He and his friends may have taunted you, but they did me a service in sending you to me. I need all my children ready for my return and to lose one diminishes us all." She was pulling away into that void.

I started to follow, attempting to keep up, "How can I find him, where do I begin?"

The Mare of the Moon's voice grew faint as she responded, "You can track him now. Retrace your hoofsteps to where you entered the jungle, then pretend you are flying." The shape was gone, the glow surrounding this place was diminishing into darkness. I could still feel her, all around me and yet distant. The murky feeling of wakefulness was pulling me from her, it seemed.

I still galloped in vain. I needed to know how to accomplish her task and the pain in my head was making it harder to move in this place, "Great Mare! Do not leave me now! I have no idea how to find him for you!" I stopped after a time in the fear my hoofsteps might have covered her response.

Nothing. A dim light was starting to chase the darkness away, pulsing in time to the throbbing in my head. I could hear birds twittering nearby. Were they in the dream or were they real? I could sense I was not standing anymore. I was lying down, with hard lumpy things underneath me. I despaired, thinking I had lost her. And one last whisper drifted back to me.

"I am still here, young one. I have always been here. Ever since you cried yourself to sleep you have heard my call and have sought me, and in that search I taught your subconscious what to look for, how to seek your quarry. Pretend to dream, and you will remember my lessons...pretend...."

The darkness faded as I lifted my head, groggy from the experience of the dream and the tree I had knocked myself out on. I looked around to get my bearings and regretted it as my headache increased. I nearly passed out. In that moment I caught a vestige of the lingering dream, a wisp on the edge of my mind that said, "...to fly."

I gingerly rubbed a hoof on the top of my head and felt a nice sizable lump there. I recalled how I got it and sighed. Never celebrate until you are standing in the winner's circle. Looking around at the jungle I noticed the sun was beginning to rise. That meant the daytime denizens would be up and about. I was nowhere near that circle.

I stood up slowly and checked my limbs. Everything was in working order. I looked around again, slowly, and observed a peculiar mark in the dirt. Something small had scampered up to me, inquisitively got closer, had jumped back from some unexpected event (possibly me mumbling in my sleep), waited for several minutes and then scampered up the tree next to me. I looked up and saw the squirrel on the upper limbs looking down at me before it chittered and ducked inside a hole in the trunk.

That was odd. How did I look at scratches in the dirt and come up with that chain of events? When I looked back, the marks hadn't changed, but it wasn't as straight forward as before. My head was getting clearer as the morning light brightened. The jungle canopy wasn't too thick this far north, which made seeing in the daytime marginal. I was still a thestral and that sun could be bad at the wrong moment. I attempted to find my hoofsteps leading to my spot and came up empty. Great.

What was it she said, pretend to dream? I half-closed my eyes, calmed myself and tried to remember that soft feeling back when I was wandering in my dreams. I remembered the soothing sounds, now that I concentrated. The sounds...whispers maybe? They were saying things. I began to walk, looking at the ground. There, a small clump dug out of the dirt. Definitely my shape, at a heavy gallop. I continued on. I recalled the whispers had spoken of an awareness of things around oneself, how animate and inanimate objects interacted. A lot of it I felt was way over my head where even adults would be lost, but much of it referred to how the environment was disturbed when one moved through it. I took a very long time winding around trees, catching broken twigs with my eyes, finding moss scraped away here and there. I had made a real mess coming through here earlier. I knew I could do a cleaner run next time I was trying to outdistance a flying moron.

I was approaching the edge of the jungle as it transitioned to the swamp's southern border. The bully was flying around here. Since he hadn't been running on the ground, I glanced up into the tree branches and picked my way into the jungle. There, torn leaves on that low hanging branch...and over there, those trees were too dense to fly through so he would have had to go around to the left. Ouch. I stepped up to where the chasing thestral would have likely flown to see a set of broken tree branches, thick ones, and a five foot long furrow in the soft dirt. He had hit his wing on them. At the impact site, there were several confusing hoofprints that eventually continued deeper in the jungle, nowhere near the direction I had fled. From this point on it was easy to follow where he went.

I followed the tracks well past noon, stepping quietly as I heard animals moving around. Getting in bullies' faces was one thing. Getting in predators' stomachs, um, no. I didn't remember any dream instructions on this part, but good old instinct for survival could do wonders. After what seemed like ages creeping along down into small bowls and over vine-covered logs, the canopy opened up and for a brief moment I was blinded. I stopped dead still and squinted until I got used to the glare. Bits of dirt fell away from my hoof out into a deep ravine. An unsteady male voice cried out, "Hey, who is up there!?" I crept back and waited. After a while, I didn't hear anything. Okay. I quietly gathered several small stones, none TOO large, slowly approached the edge again and tossed them down. A loud yelp of pain followed by several swear words came back up, so I poked my head over the edge to take a look.

The bully that had been chasing me was at least fifteen feet down on a small ledge. His right wing was hanging limp with a few tears in the membranes, though no broken bones, it appeared. His fearful expression was replaced with the more usual annoyed one I was used to as he said, "Oh, it's You. Hah hah, you got me." His rebuke just didn't have the ring to it like it once did.

"It's Me. And I wonder if Me is going to help You." I lied down and put my chin on my hooves as I watched him. If I got ate by a dragon right now, still worth it.

My revelry was short lived when he dropped his eyes and his body literally deflated a bit, "I wouldn't blame you if you walked away." I didn't say a word, merely watched him. In all fairness, I wasn't very mean about this sort of thing. I just wanted to see what he would do. After a time he looked up with an unsure look on his face, saw me there...then he started to walk over to the edge and look down.

"Woh, woh! What are you doing? Come on, I was going to help you up." I started pulling down some nearby vines and putting them in a pile. Occasionally I would look over to see what he was doing. He stayed near the edge but didn't appear to be going anywhere. Once I had braided enough vines to make a decent rope, I threw part of the coils down, leaving my end wrapped around my barrel and looped behind my neck. After a minute, he backed away from the edge, grabbed the vines with his forelegs and proceeded to walk slowly up the rocky side. I made more progress with my better trained running legs, so we made quick time of hauling him up.

He collapsed in a heap, breathing, "Thankyou....thankyou..." I waited for him to catch his breath. I know he hadn't had the benefit of sleeping off his pain the way I had. Head still hurt. He eventually said, "You know, we never really meant to hurt you. At least I didn't. Was it Gem...jim..Jum?"

I sighed in disgust, "Jen, you idiot. How is it you control the largest gang of spoiled brats and you can't even remember a three letter name?"

He got up on shaky legs, wincing when he inadvertently used his wing for balance. "I will be honest, calling you other names was more fun."

I glared and turned away, "I should kick you back over that cliff, but I'm not that kind of thestral. We need to get back home. As much as we may not like each other, this jungle hates us both." I began picking up the tracks back toward the cave community. I could hear him following. We moved in quiet solitude, me in my ponderings over the past dreams that now had new meaning for me, and his...whatever stuckup bullies thought about. A good half hour went by before I heard him inhale and I whipped around to beat him to the punch.

"I don't care what you have to say. I did it because somepony told me to, and if I had to do it again....I don't know. I definitely don't need your thanks!" He stopped and blinked at me several times.

"I was going to tell you my name.."

Fine, make me feel like garbage. I turned around and continued walking. He started following me again. After a time I sighed, "I'm sorry...anyway I already know your name. Dork Lance." I heard him stumble and I grinned.

"DARK Lance. And my friends call me Lance. Um, you can, ya know, call me Lance too." He had gotten very down to earth since he was laid low. I could have been gentle. I could have washed my hooves before dinner time too, but as a kid who had time for that?

"I'll call you Dork. Not out of revenge. Just because."

He quickened his pace just enough to get alongside me. "That's called revenge." He was about to say something else, then he let it lie and continued walking as I resumed my path-finding. We made better time heading out of the jungle than I did looking for him, my familiarity with the area increasing. He eventually spoke up again, "How did you find me." I was wondering when he would get around to that.

"I found your crash site, and your sloppy hoofprints all over the topsoil. I simply followed them to the cliff." We began transitioning to the Hayseed Swamp, and soon we would be home. Hopefully he had no more questions.

"Who told you to find me?" Nix that.

I kept silent. After the way this day had turned out following a night of typical juvenile crap, he was dangerously close to finding more reason to treat me like an outcast. "I misspoke. I meant somepony would have wanted me to find you. I'm not heartless, I know your parents would be sad if something had happened to you."

Lance wouldn't back down. "No, don't do that. I know you said 'somepony told me to'. That means you spoke to....who? Did you really leave me out there and go back home, or did you run into somepony in the jungle?" I was getting uncomfortable about all this. I wasn't into lying....and yet, would not being a weirdo be worth it? Well, less weirdo? I gritted my teeth and plodded on, the warm sun having made the swamp very mushy. Lance seemed even more bothered by the mush; he must normally fly over this. Enjoy it, fellow wing-less.

He tried one more time. "Look, I won't tell anypony how far we went into the jungle. The fault is all mine anyway, I chased you, I messed up my wing. You have a big knot on your head so they are going to think I clobbered you. I will get in trouble for something I didn't do, and you will be the hero. I can live with that." Crap, does it look that bad? I reached up and felt it. It was not going down anytime soon. "Anyway, if you are afraid of me thinking you are some kind of freak, I won't. You saved me and got us both out of there, and that's a fact I can never forget." He did have a way of talking thestrals his way. Maybe he was a good leader. Just not a worthy one.

"Alright, if it means that much to you. I knocked myself out once I lost you. Yes, have a laugh." He chuckled a little but waved me to go on. "While I was out, I had a dream. I was on the moon, and something very powerful told me to find you." I didn't look at him. To be honest I was afraid of what I might see. For an instant I was vulnerable, starting off with bravado to prove how I had found him, and ended up bearing a truth even I didn't understand yet. I peeked at him. He was walking along with a somber expression. That got me very curious, "What? You know something." He glanced at me and said nothing. "Dork, speak."

His face wrinkled, "That name is really terrible." I continued staring at him until he relented, "You were on the moon, talking to a powerful thing. You know who that was, don't you?" I nodded, glad he wasn't outright dismissing it. He shook his head, "No, you don't get it. The Mare in the Moon. THE Mare. Nightmare Moon!"

I shrugged, because I never heard of that. "Mother and Father only ever told stories of the Mare in the Moon. You asked who told me to find you. She did." We walked further for a time until we could see the slopes of our home through the trees. Finally we would be back indoors. Most of the thestrals were still asleep since it was still sunup so nopony was around to see us reach the cave mouth.

Before we entered, Lance turned around. "Jen, most of the stories favor thestrals and her inevitable return. A few were told to me from my distant cousins that live north, near Canterlot. They call her Nightmare Moon, if you can find a book that talks about her. And those books say she wishes to harm her sister when she returns. And she might not stop there."

I looked at Lance, at his wing, and thought about how things changed for the better when certain events took place. "Lance, if it made us all equal, would breaking a wing be all that bad?" I had seen his mean face, his haughty face. Today I had seen him angry, weakened, and contrite. I had never seen him horrified. I had never seen anypony horrified at me. I turned and sought the way to my family abode, quickening my pace with every second. Was that the face bullies received during their terrorizing of others? I tried to rid that look from my memory. I couldn't.

I weathered the berating from my parents, the consoling for the lump on my head. I accepted the grounding and the extra chores. I saw them as punishment for leaving Lance at the entrance the way I did. Father thought it very grownup of me to accept the new conditions, temporary as groundings usually were. Mother was concerned. How is it mothers always know something? I avoided her gaze at lunch, and at dinner. I cleaned the dishes and went to bed early. She lingered near my doorway and eventually went to bed too. She saw a difference in me. Not the wing-less difference everypony was used to. Now I really moved differently, spoke differently.

Now I had a mission.

Author's Note

Some of this story can be tedious, forgive me. It's more of a psychological journey than an action-packed spaghetti western.

A Silent Ghost

Part of our community was built into the mountain cave system inside and several buildings outside along the eastern slopes separating Hayseed Swamps from the Badlands. When it was sunup, we slept in the caves, ate our meals there and spent time with our families in our homes dug out in cozy alcoves carved along tunnel walls. When the moon rose, we would go outside to our township where the roads were cut into the slopes and wound their way up several levels. The school was on the uppermost level, naturally. The official story from the adults was the school was one of the first buildings built in the establishment of our community, and as such needed to be near the top to keep it from the more dangerous creatures that wandered the night down below. My fellow classmates felt it was justification for our parents to use the age old story of 'back in our day we had to fly uphill both ways in the snow blah blah blah'. I of course had to WALK uphill both ways blah blah blah. Winter was approaching and there were some flurries even this far south, making the ground cold and muddy. This evening as I was making my way up the road leading out of the cave entrance to the slopes, Lance fell in step next to me. We walked for a few minutes before I looked askance, "...what are you doing?"

Lance clenched his jaw, cleared his throat and said mutely, "Just walking here, same as you." He was so rigid I thought his legs would snap off. I glanced around at some of the other thestrals. Occasionally they would look our way and whisper to each other before flying on ahead.

"Dork, I don't need your sympathy. My head has finally stopped hurting and I absolutely do not need anymore headaches or teasing from you!" I quickened my trot, pulling ahead. Sure enough, he caught up to me wearing an annoyed expression.

He stated, "This is not a pity party. I, uh, I wanted to ask you some things, about the other week." I cringed and plodded on. My dreams had been kind of muddled as of late. I hadn't run into the Mare in the Moon for awhile and I was starting to worry if I had done something wrong. Going into detail might make it worse if I started spreading the news that she was returning soon and her enemies got a chance to prepare.

"There is nothing to talk about. I had some dreams, they helped us both out of the jungle. Cliche' sounding, yes. Also concluded." I slowed to my normal pace. He did as well. Oh for filly's sake, go away!

Lance winced a little and replied, "Well at least you are honest about how you feel." I realized I had spoken out loud. I had to be careful, sometimes I was mean on accident, not knowing the strength of my own emotions and I blurted things. Maybe he deserved it, seeing as how he was been mean to a lot of others in the past....no, I will not be a bully. That I CAN control.

He had started to pull away when I called out, "Wait, Lance..." We both stopped and looked at each other. "I don't know why you are acting differently now. It gives me the willies even more than when you just yelled insults at me. It is easier to see you coming from a long way off than having you right next to me." A moment passed where neither of us said anything. Then we started our climb up the road again. Eventually I spoke broke the silence, "Not too many others have been saying any insults the last few weeks, now that I think about it. Your doing?"

He continued on, a smile creeping onto his face. "Some things don't require me to remember a three-letter name," he murmured. I lowered my head and grunted softly. He nodded once. We rounded one of the bends and continued on. "You haven't had any dreams lately, have you? You haven't had that zoned out look lately. Maybe it has to do with you not being picked on." Ugh! How did he figure that out...I was about to retort when it occurred to me that he might be onto something.

"So what are you saying, I need to be harassed to dream about talking to a mythical mare?" Lance kept walking along with a scary look in his face. It was the spark of inspiration. "Dork, don't you dare!"

I should have kept my mouth shut. With a puff of snow billowing away he launched himself into the air. He looked pained for a few seconds, the shoulder must still be sore. "Hey, all this walking is for the earth ponies, catch you later. Don't trip on anything!" He lifted further up the way, skipping all the winding roads I would have to walk.

I stared after him until he reached the school level and disappeared. That bug-kissing good for nothing jerk! Annoyed, I trudged my lonely way along trying not to be late for classes. The ground wasn't too cold yet for the flurries to freeze, so there was no worry of ice and slipping. That just left mud. Other older thestrals were pulling carts or making their rounds to various businesses, so I wasn't quite alone. Still, it was more of what I had been used to, the inability to fly. Rounding the final turn in the path I finally crested the top to stand at the open gates of the school. It looked like I made it on time.

A ball of mud sailed through the air and exploded on my face, knocking me down. I scrambled up and spent the next few minutes scraping the gunk out of my eyes so I could see who did it. The courtyard was completely empty and the bell was ringing the final call. Sighing I made my way to the restroom to clean myself up. There was crud caked all over my face and flank where I fell. Late bell sounded as I got half my flank cleaned, with just my blue cutie-mark wings covered with crusting mud. Figures. I threw the wash towels in the trash, not bothering to finish, and slowly trotted to class.

As I entered I saw Ms. Bookweather writing on the chalkboard, so I tried my best to get to my desk, my hooves making unavoidable soft tapping noises on the hard floor. Right before I could sit down Ms. Bookweather said, "Jen! What is the punishment for missing late bell?" She continued to write on the blackboard by drawing a circle at eye level with her chalk. Joy.

I straightened up and responded respectfully, "One bell is fine, Two bell is close. Late bell means touching the wall with your nose." I squeezed my eyes shut until I saw white, opened them and made my way to the front of the class and stuck my nose to the circle on the board. The teacher looked me over and said quietly, "At first break you can use the washroom to finish cleaning yourself up. Rolling around in the mud is unladylike, regardless who started it." I seethed. "If you wish to talk about it, which you never choose to do so, I will still be here an hour after school, which you have never taken advantage of."

I muttered a 'Yes Ma'am' to her and stood there for most of the class. At one point I turned my head just enough to spot Lance from the corner of my eye. While the other students whispered and giggled, he maintained a very neutral expression.

Lunch time was no better. I had gotten used to sitting by myself off to the side since I started school. That usually made it easier to see approaching trouble. Not today. Bits of food found their way over to my table more frequently than ever before. Whenever I looked up, nobody was watching me. That meant there was no audience and the culprit was being very sneaky. After the tenth morsel pegged me I got up to turn in my food tray. As I walked to the trash, I spotted Lance literally hiding next to another classmate. When he saw me, he became so focused on eating the rest of his food, I wouldn't have been surprised if he was able to spew forth a comprehensive chemical analysis of his meal in chemistry class, Mister Three-Letter and all. He was in on something.

Chemistry class was no better. Professor Beakersworth would give us a series of instructions to follow, like mixing solutions, heating them up with a candle. No matter what I did, my mixtures would turn out horribly wrong, either smoking, exploding or changing into rock solid messes in the glass containers. The only time they did work was when I kept my eyes on the container the whole time, holding the paper in front of me. I could practically feel Lance fidgeting a table away from me...along with a couple of other students who seemed to be more interested in what I was doing than finishing the assignments. Was he getting help?!? That son of a-

During gym class we got to play dodge ball. That was one of my favorite sports. It didn't matter if you were picked last, and it didn't matter if nobody passed the ball to you. You could go grab a ball and play your own game against the other team.....I forgot to mention gym time was no better. Everyone happened to be more motivated to hold all the balls than they ever were in the past. Some had three or four at a time, causing them to get pegged for no good reason. I would have laughed at their attempts to keep me out of the game if I hadn't had all the previous instances today to stack on top of it. At one point, Lance and two other thestrals deliberately stood right in front of me, blocking my line of sight. Then they dove in separate directions as the other team drilled a ball right through them into my face. I swear I saw stars for a few seconds and discovered I was lying on my back. Lance was standing over me, this time with a hurt expression and lent me a hoof, "Jen, I'm so sorry, they were not supposed to throw it that hard, I swear." Once he helped me stand I held my hoof up, ready to hit him. He squinted his eyes in anticipation.

I lowered my hoof, tears coming to my eyes, "Why are you doing this!?" I already knew why...but this was just mean.

He straightened and said, "I'm trying to make you upset to help with your dreaming. I figured, I could repay you...hey, this is what I am good at, right?" Then he leaned close and poked me in the forehead, "By the way, you are out." He went back to playing dodge ball and I meandered over to the benches. I ignored the staring, the laughing. My face stung from the hit. One of the gym teachers checked on me. Yes I am okay, no I do not need to go to the nurse. Yes I understand, the rules allow for that kind of play, yes it was incredibly cruel, yet well executed. No I did not think Lance was a great player. I started to hate the only sport I ever loved.

After school, I was walking out of the building when my bookbag was snatched out of my grip by none other than Dork Lance. Extra Dork as of today. I shook my hoof up at him, "Yes, Dork, let's repeat what happened when you grabbed that colt's candy and went floppy flop in the jungle! We know how that ended!" To his credit, Lance had a stern look on his face, almost like he was not enjoying this. He hovered just out of reach with my bookbag and was slowly moving backwards in the air toward the edge of the road.

He replied, "Everyone knows how it ended. Did it ever occur to you to find out how it began?" He was now hovering out past the road. If he dropped the bag it would land somewhere on the lower roads, making me spend a long time looking for it. I wasn't concerned about the bag, but his words.

"You took his bag, I stood up to you, exactly what you are doing now!"

He shook his head and floated a little closer to me, lowering his voice, "If you would roll with the punches once in a while instead of taking offense to everything we do, you would eventually get to hang out with us and find out that we do that every Nightmare Night. We follow a few colts or fillies, see which one has the least amount of candy, steal their bag and taunt them for a while. Then when they are about to give up, we toss them all of our candy. Most of us end up throwing it away anyway, we just figured it would be nice to trick AND treat somepony instead of wasting it." I must have looked like a gaping fish. He threw my bag to me and it bounced off my head, I was so stunned. "Not everypony is what you think they are. You aren't that unique either, just muley maybe. With no wings." He stuck out his tongue and zipped over the edge.

I chased after him to the edge and threw my bag at him.

I watched him disappear past some buildings down below. I watched my bag hit a building roof and tumble out of sight.

"Dammit."

It took me a long time to find my bag and get home. Dinner was cold. Mother and Father were hot. I didn't say a word the entire time and went straight to bed. I was too angry to cry, so sleep was long in the coming. When I did drift off, I was in the place between places. Her realm.

"Jen, it has been a while since we last spoke to each other." All around me was black with pinpoints of light. They had to be stars, now that I had visited the moon and had perspective of the blackness in between. I knew if I thought hard enough, I could make things happen or go places, yet this natural state where I willed nothing and let things be as they may, this was the natural order of this place. Such a wondrous domain.

I replied to the voice, "I think I have to be angry or upset to speak to you."

A portion of the darkness coalesced into the shape of a shadowy alicorn. "Indeed you may be correct. It has been when you are upset or deeply frustrated that we connect from our two different realms. A like beacon in the night, it is our suffering that calls us to one another."

I shook my head, "I hate it! I want to be left alone by the other thestrals, especially that one you made me save! He will not leave me alone. I don't like being an outcast!" I slumped and sobbed to myself.

The Mare in the Moon came closer and sat next to me, replying, "Sooner or later we are all outcasts, for what we do, what we stand for. It is the fight that makes us strong, the fires we walk through that teach us how to remain unscathed. On the one hoof, it allows you and I to connect, so I may prepare you for things to come. On the other hoof, frustration builds character."

I looked up, wiping my nose, "That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard."

The dark alicorn sat up and narrowed her eyes, "Then I shall have to find some very frustrating things for you to learn, little thestral." I gulped and looked down, chastised. She watched me and got up fully. "For now we shall discuss how to move." I looked up and must have appeared confused because she explained, "I saw glimpses of your memory as you slipped into slumber, the instances were saturated in negative emotion. They underscored a weakness most other flying thestrals overlook, the ability to move quickly and quietly on the ground." She began to glow a dark blue and became more substantial. I could see pieces of armor on her chest, head and hooves. She was formidable and awe-inspiring.

"You must pay attention to your weight when you step. Slowly pressing your hoof to the ground is not enough. Each step must be an attempt at silence." She demonstrated by taking individual steps, shifting the speed they approached the ground at the last instant. Just watching her was frustrating. "Thinking you are weightless is not enough. From the barrel up you must glide in a direction." She moved without her body going up or down, in combination with the steps she showed, and did not make a sound.

I raised a hoof. "Your Majesty, we are in a dream. There could be as much sound or as little as we want, no?" The alicorn stared at me until I bowed my had and mumbled an apology. She continued.

"Silence is not the only gift we creatures of the night have been granted. Movement is an art, a symphony of thoughts given form." The great mare began to dance and twirl, never making a sound and executed various moves with incredibly deft skill. As she sped up, certain moves began to creep into the sequences. A sharp kick here, a jab with a forehoof there, a vicious whipping of the head, sharp teeth cutting the air itself. This was not just movement of a sly nature. This was combat. Again, I betrayed my uncertainty and she stopped, waiting for me to speak.

"I think I can be silent, and move like you do to sidestep threats.... but those attacks. Will I have to attack others?"

The dark alicorn held her head high and intoned, "Insurrection is a sacred right to you, a duty to myself. It was a dream of a dream long ago, ignored until I had to face it. This one thing I tried to explain to my dear sister in every manner OTHER than fighting. Every plan, every non-violent method I could find. She was unyielding, uncaring to my position, so it is insurrection I march towards. The song I hope you will sing when it is time." I sighed, not feeling good about fighting. To be honest I hadn't really hit anybody in anger before. Her speech also reminded me of a question that was bothering me ever since Lance told me about the being in front of me.

"Great Mare...is your name Nightmare Moon? Do you intend to make night forever."

She was silent for a long time. Or an instant, in this place. She replied, "I am. Does that change how you see me?"

I shook my head and said, "I can see why you took matters into your own hoof...it is the fighting part that I am uncomfortable with."

She nodded. "That lesson will later. Quenching a sword too early can shatter it at a time when you need its strength the most. For now, watch what I do and repeat my movements. Think, and move. Feel the ground before it meets your hoof. Expect danger to come and the air itself will compress, telling you from what direction the threat is approaching."

I took everything she said to heart. Those first lessons were very difficult. My ability did not mature in one day either. Lance would continue to walk to school with me and have me hating him by the time we left to go home. He continued to walk me home as if nothing had happened. It was hard to deal with him, yet I forgave him, knowing why he was doing it. I guess after all I had been through, he seemed to be a decent colt, right up until he would do something horrid to me all over again. As we approached Hearth's Warming it felt like he was getting less pranks in on me, though. Several times I ducked or hesitated turning a corner and was rewarded with another student getting hit with something or one thestral careening into another, mistakenly kicking somepony. The teachers were beside themselves trying to figure out why their students would have spontaneous losses of balance or muscle coordination. Lance would be nearby during those events, or the culprits would be well known associates of his.

One day I had had enough, time to turn the tables.

The week before school let out for the holidays I noticed Lance was following me down a hallway holding a straw and chewing on some paper. I knew what he was planning and sped up to get behind Ms. Bookweather. At the last moment I jumped to the side and said, "Ms. Bookweather!" As she turned to me a large spitwad splattered onto her neck. With wide eyes she turned her head as she wiped the mess off her neck.

"Dark Lance, what do you think you are doing!"

I said absentmindedly to myself, "A lot of impressionable students look up to him, too."
Lance was frozen in place several feet away holding the straw. He stared between me and the teacher.

Ms. Bookweather stormed over to Lance, took the straw from him and grabbed his ear with her hoof. She turned back to me, "I am so sorry, Jen dear, I have to deal with this miscreant. What was it you wanted to tell me?"

I curtsied and ducked my head, "I was going to say your fur looked especially radiant today, before somepony decided to ruin it. Do you need help putting it back in place, Ma'am?" Lance shook his head, mouthing several words I thankfully could not lipread.

"Oh that is quite alright. Nothing a little brushing and detention can't fix. Come along, young colt, we have a few things to discuss." She dragged Lance along as she marched him to her classroom. It was near the end of the day so I was not required to be in any classes.

I glanced inside as I walked by the doorway, noting the teacher was at the board writing instructions for today's detention assignment and her newest charge was about to sit down. I slipped in quietly, pulled the seat back and hustled out of there right before I heard a yelp, a crash, and a stern admonishment regarding a certain thestral's inability to behave himself. Oh, and double detention. Occasionally I would toss paper balls at him for the rest of his detention but I got bored and decided that was enough for one day. I waited outside.

When Lance finally trudged out of the school I fell in step alongside him. He didn't look at me. A couple of minutes passed before he spoke up, "How did you do any of that?"

I grinned and said, "The irony is you helped me, with all of that stuff you did. Getting me upset helps me speak to Nightmare Moon." I gave Lance some time to mull that over.

He wasn't reacting the way I thought he would. "You plan on seeing her more? Knowing her return might start a war?"

I nodded my head, "If it means equality for everypony, yes! You realize our families have been stuck in these caves for generations? What is the point of learning geography when all we see are slopes and swamps?"

Lance laughed and pointed his muzzle toward the swamps, "You can go beyond the swamps to the jungle, and the coastline. Plus, nobody is stopping you from visiting the major cities up north or other countries for that matter."

I shook my head and replied, "That's not the point. Any night species is simply not welcomed in those places. She will change that. Just imagine living on a street in Canterlot or in the countryside. No more caves or mountains or swamps. Real forests that don't try to kill you."

I heard him scoff as he stopped and stared at his reflection in a shop window. "Change for change's sake is not always good. I am not so sure I like the changed you, for instance." I stepped up next to him. He was taller and broader, even without his wings. His nearest wing started to extend towards me in the reflection.

"That the wing you hurt earlier?"

He stopped and said, "Maybe."

"Want it to hurt later?" It retracted back to his side.

"Maybe not. Lately you seem to be a little..." He tapped his chin as we watched the soda jerk mix an icecream float and serve it to a couple sitting at the fountain bar inside the icecream shop.

"Hungry?"

Lance coughs and says, "Not the word I would choose. In any case-" He slapped me on the ribs with his wing and ducked inside the shop. I growled and chased after him. When I entered, he was already climbing onto a stool at the bar. I trotted over and hopped onto a stool as he ordered, "Chocolate float, two scoops, two straws."

I tapped the bar, "Two shakes, one straw each." He made a face at me and shrugged to the young stallion thestral behind the bar. The soda jerk nodded and started mixing up two glasses of floats. "Thankyou, Dork, but no. We are not dating. That means no cooties." Several of the younger thestrals from school stared at us, mostly at Lance.

Lance made an overly dramatic guffaw and clopped the table. "As IF! I just figured we could race to see who got a head-freeze first." I stared deadpan at him until the drinks were slid in front of us. Lance threw a few bits onto the bar, covering both of our drinks. I started sucking on the straw, muttering a thankyou in between breaths. He grinned and started drinking his. After a long moment of quiet listening to the background conversations, Lance exclaimed, "I love chocolate!"

The soda jerk leaned against the bar cleaning a glass with a rag. "Savor it, because we are running low on the stuff lately." Several forlorn faces looked his way, including ours.

I asked, "What do you mean? Are we not getting enough cocoa bean supplies?"

The thestral nodded and pointed to the window, "Something odd going on down in the jungles south of here. Several of the wild trees we normally harvest from have either been ripped out of the ground or burned to a cinder. Local grocers think dragons are to blame, but who knows? I never heard of a dragon roasting a tree for fun. Still, it means low supplies. Hope spring sees some improvement."

Lance and I looked at each other. Lance started to have that look of inspiration again. I was already shaking my head when he spoke up, "You know, with Hearth's Warming coming up, I can ask my parents for something that will help us look into this."

I poked him in his hurt shoulder, receiving a wince, "What is this 'we' business? 'We' are not adults. 'We' have no idea how to fight dragons. 'We' have a somewhat terrible history when it comes to jungle trekking."

He flexed his wing socket joint a bit and replied, "And 'we' seem to know how to TRACK in the jungle, if I remember correctly." I shook my head and went back to drinking the chocolate float. He pressed on, "Oh, come on, just think about it. We don't have to fight anything. You can find out what is destroying those trees. I will fly above as a scout and protect you if things get bad." I looked at him while I finished off the drink, making annoyingly slurpy sounds with the straw. His eyes twitched until I stopped. I started it again and he slapped the straw out of my mouth.

"Hey, I was drinking that!"

"You have a bad habit about finding the right pressure point and poke poke poke..." He demonstrated by jamming his hoof at the bar top. I giggled.

"Yes, one of the delights of being an outcast."

Lance got a sad expression and said, "Look, Jen. You are not that much of an outcast...you just need to let things slide. Look at me. I should have been fuming at you....but I was impressed with what you pulled today. I look forward to the rest of this week."

I gave him a lopsided smirk and said, "It's on. Until Hearth's Warming day, thestral versus thestral, no holds barred. By the end of this week, one of us will be crowned Lady of the Prank."

The cocky thestral slid off the stool and gave a mock bow, "Or Lord of the Prank. We will have to figure out what the prize is, or wait until one of us cries 'Uncle' and the other gives HIS demands." As he walked by he said softly, "Of course, I wouldn't mind doing this little date thing again," and sauntered away before I could swipe at thin air. I knew he was trying to get under my fur.

Or was he?

I walked home by myself, having waited a good half hour to make sure I would not run into Lance again. I did not trust myself to say anything to him without making an idiot of myself. I did not know what I was feeling. The feeling was not quite upset, nor was it anger. Confusion was there, and uncertainty, frustration at not knowing what was going on, perhaps. It was a host of emotions running through my head and I certainly couldn't talk to my parents, not about this. Hello Mother and Father, here is Dark Lance. I call him Dork because he used to tease me. He still does, but now the great Nightmare Moon has taught me to move like a silent ghost of vengeance, so naturally he spends even more time with me trying to one up me in teasing. Lowly me, the outcast of my generation.

As I thought more about it, it occurred to me that he will not stay away, that he will keep trying to do things for me or to me and it creeped me out. I thought it creeped me out.

"It is called love, though it is a thing I have not felt in eons."

A shadowy visage floated before me in the darkness. I must have dozed off in the living room and my parents did not make me get into bed. I could already feel the crick in my neck beginning to settle in. I replied, "All those things he is doing NOW, versus the outright horrible things he used to do, is his way of showing love?"

The dark face nodded, the eyes glowing in the panorama of starlight that made up the backdrop. I could spend eons here. I felt alive among the stars...if only I could fly. And in that instant, I was flying! I willed myself up away from the unseen ground and I knew I was in the sky. As I thought it, both sky and ground came into being and I was very high up. As I hovered there admiring the expanding view, the floating face came up alongside me. "You grow strong in your dreams. This is not a place one visits or travels to. It is a concept your mind creates, indulges in. You are getting older and more confident in yourself, thus it reflects in what you can accomplish in your dreams. Alas when you awake, you will be as you were, yet if you paid attention, a fraction wiser."

As I floated I imagined great wings, not the bat wings of thestrals, but great blue ones like my cutie-mark. As if ink were bled through paper they appeared, light blue and radiant. Nightmare Moon watched quietly, approval in her eyes. I spun around admiring the wings and then floated closer to her saying, "I have been paying attention, your Majesty. When the other students attempt to prank me, not only can I avoid it, I end up pranking them back. I move like wind in the night, a silent ghost among the living."

The floating face's eyes roll briefly, "There are no such things as ghosts. Silly superstitions to scare young foals into doing what they are told."

I got a little snarky and quipped, "Until recently, you were a ghost story, though it was more of a cautionary tale..than a...scare tactic......" As I spoke, the face got alarmingly closer, the eyes flashing with anger.

"There is insurrection, and then there are excruciatingly crushed rebellions, little foal."

I gulped and whispered, "...until recently your majesty...."

Nightmare Moon floated for a while, watching me. I had started to get used to her doing that after I was chastised. Keep quiet, nod, take to heart her words. Sometimes it was hard to hide what I was thinking in this place. Nightmare Moon's eyes sparkled and she chuckled. "It is indeed, yet you are entitled to your thoughts. Just keep them in their proper place. For now I sense you will need to learn something else. Something very old." Two thin lengths of metal appeared in front of me. I looked at them curiously.

"Are these weapons, agile rods to strike my foes down before they ever know I was there, to cut down those that would harm my family and people?" These definitely looked exotic.

"No. You are still not ready for combat yet. These are among the simplest tools to find things in the world. I sense you may be venturing soon, given your discussions with your new friend." Nightmare Moon's face floated around the rods. "They can be any material, which can determine what you find. For now, you will practice with metal. They can find other metal things, but the most important thing they can find, is water!"

I stared at the rods. My wings slowly disappeared and I sunk down to the ground. I asked glumly, "Water? I am going to learn how to find water?"

Nightmare Moon followed me down and stepped into being, fully formed. She did not look pleased. "Please, do not act so excited. The very least you could do is thank me for imparting such an ancient skill upon you. 'Thankyou, your Majesty. It is an honor you bestow upon me, your Majesty! I will gladly learn this so when I am stuck in the wilderness and can only survive a single day without water I will be saved because NIGHTMARE MOON TAUGHT ME SOMETHING USEFUL!!!!' " She was bellowing in my face at that point.

My eyes were pinholes and I crouched on the ground. "Thankyou, your Majesty."

Nightmare Moon nodded her head once, smiling, "Not at all. Now take the rods in your mouth." I took the rods in my mouth. "Good. Now walk slowly in one direction." I did. "Hold them in your mouth so they are very loose and able to swing if they want to. The rods start out far apart. As you approach a source, they start to come closer. When you are directly over that source, the rods will cross." I walked around for a long time. The rods never crossed. I walked longer. Nothing. Finally I spit them out.

"With respect, your Majesty. This is a dream. I am never going to find water unless I imagine it." Nightmare Moon grinned.

"Good girl, you are learning." I blinked and gritted my teeth, keeping my tongue to myself this time. Nightmare Moon chuckled and walked over to the rods, picking them up. "This is a legitimate skill and it has its uses. Practice it when you are awake. I promise you will not regret it." She made the rods disappear. "Practicing awareness in your dreams is also a skill. It will hone your mind for when action matters and solutions need you to arrive to them without thinking. In a few years, I will need you to do that. For now, I leave you to your dreaming." She faded, not just her image but her very presence of will. My dreams were mine to do fanciful things in, and I played among the stars with my great wings of blue.

It truly ended much too soon when it was time to wake up, yet I was eager to get on in the day, evening for us thestrals, for I had a new thing to try out.

Walking around with sticks in my mouth. In public. After being fully awake and thinking this over, I concluded this was going to be humiliating.

A Water Diviner. Yes it's a thing.

The sun has gone down and the moon has risen, time to walk to school. The weekend had gone by without any success of locating water, despite all the hours I invested. While all the other thestrals romped about the slopes and caves on their weekend, I hid from them and searched for water. Nothing. Now I have to walk to school while searching because my mentor told me I needed the practice. I doubt these sticks will find me any dignity on the way.

I had to lie to the local blacksmith about why I needed him to make a pair of rods. Metal, long, thin, bent slightly at the ends. To tie off matches on the ends to light the fireplace, is what I had told him when he asked regarding their purpose. He had suggested using long matches instead and wanted to know why I needed two. After telling him it would be a 'matched' set and it was what they used in Canterlot, he was more than willing to make them. A few other adults wanted 'matched' sets for their fireplace, too, to show they were high society. Sometimes I truly hate society. They never even got the matched set joke.

So I looked up the sloping roadway, pulled the rods out of my backpack that was strapped to me, stuck the rods in my mouth and started walking. In theory they are held loosely and allowed to swing with the slightest stimuli. Presumably the corpuscles rise from minerals entering the rod, or Virgula, in order to render it parallel to the vertical...screw it, I won't even attempt to remember all the refuse Nightmare Night spewed, regardless how big her eyes got when angry. There was simply no way this would work, not like it was magic or anything.

I clopped along with these two thin rods sticking out of my mouth in a slightly V shape...and nobody treated me any different. Sure I got the occasional look or whisper that I normally did, but no acute losses of demeanor, no outbursts or guffaws. They treated me as the normal I was used to. Figures. At least Lance was not around to mess with me. I hadn't seen him all weekend and this was supposed to be the start of our private little prank war. He had an easy opportunity to insult me and he was missing it....

My eyes snapped to the front as the rods started to move on their own. No way this was actually working! I stopped and they continued to get closer together, and just like that they formed an X with a nice little metallic clack as they touched each other. I dropped the rods and exclaimed, "It worked! I found water! I fou-" At the last instant I felt the air above me change and I looked up to see a large colored sphere hit me in the face from above, exploding water all over my head.

Lance flapped down from higher up, laughing as hard as he could and yelled, "I can't believe that worked! You were dodging that stuff the other day, but I thought 'hey, she looked extra thoughtful today, maybe I can sneak one in.' What do you know, water balloon to the faccccccce!" I stared at him, pieces of water balloon dropping off my face one at a time as he hoof-pumped the air. He looked down and poked the rods with his forehoof. "Hey, why were you putting matchstick holders in your mouth? You can singe your nose sticking your head in the fireplace."

I mumbled some choice words and bent down to pick up the sticks. When I finished putting them in my backpack a large towel landed on my head. I pulled it aside to see Lance closing up his bag. I asked, "You douse me, and then you give me a towel?"

Lance laughed and shrugged, "Can't have you catching a cold for the rest of the week. While the cold itself would be icing on the cake of pranks, I would also be cheated several more days to prank you before Hearth's Warming." I vigorously rub my hair and fur dry, then I chuck the wet towel back at him, muffling his response.

"Whatever. Don't do me no favors, Dork. I have not even begun to fight. And these are not matchsticks. I-" Lance puts his hoof on my muzzle, effectively silencing me more out of surprise than anything else. Before I can slap his hoof away, I notice his eyes are staring at something over my shoulder. I turn around and see several adult thestrals lined up along the road looking out over the swamps. Lance wanders over to them. Excusing his audacity for the moment I follow him over to the line and push through to see what is going on. Far to the south where the swamp has changed over to jungle, there are several lines of fire, though they look more like dotted lines than any continuous advancing wildfire. My father steps up next to me, staring at the jungle as well. I look up and ask, "Father, are those the chocolate trees?"

He blinks and looks at me, as do several other adults. "Why yes, Jen, those fires are located right around the harvest area of the cocoa trees. How did you know about that?"

Lance puffed out his chest and said, "The local rumor is dragons are setting fire to them, driving up the price of chocolate floats." Several of the adults laughed nervously while others shook their heads and started talking among themselves. I groaned at the pompous ass and kicked him in the hindleg softly. Lance exclaimed, "Ow, what was that for?"

"Oh hush. I could have kicked you harder but I can't have you crawling around on three legs to school," and then I lowered my voice, "OR out there, no?" My eyebrows twitched in the direction of the jungle."
Lance got the message and we pulled away from the crowd. He asked, "You are thinking about going out there? Why the change?" We were largely ignored while the adults were discussing getting weapons together and fly down their to see how bad the crop was once the fires died down, chief among them my father.

I had this weird feeling, as though it were on purpose that this was happening. "Something Nightmare Moon said. I would be venturing soon, or some nonsense. She talks about prophecy as though we have no choice, and yet I choose to learn from her instead of running away. A month ago I would not have felt this way. Now, I think I can do something. Or must do something."

I could tell that Lance did not believe me. He sat back and tilted his head, "That is the most wishy-washy answer you have come up with yet. Did that water get into your ears?"

I clenched my jaw and glowered at him, "Fine. I like chocolate. Especially chocolate cake. If those trees get wiped out completely, that means no more chocolate cake and one of the few things left in this world that I can honestly enjoy without anybody else having to be on my team or throw me a ball or move a game piece because my mother can make it and I can enjoy the only worthwhile thing in this world and that's CHOCOLATE CAKE!!!!"

The word cake rang off the slopes and out into the swamps. The adults looked at me for a few moments and nodded their agreement, replying to each other, "She's got a point, can't have Hearth's Warming without chocolate cake." I sighed and resumed my walk up the road walking past Lance.

He caught up with me after a moment and said, "Sorry, didn't know you felt that way about chocolate cake. Maybe next time I'll just hit you with that." I snorted and continued walking. In all honestly that could have been a win for both of us had he done so. He continued, "I was thinking we should probably wait until the fires die down, maybe a few days? Like right after Hearth's Warming would be ideal. Everyone is home, nobody out there to tell on us for going into the jungle unsupervised. It'll be fun!"

I looked at him with a surprised expression, "Dork, thinking. I am impressed. Can your brain do other tricks, too? Roll over, play smart?" He growled and was about to retort when I poked him in the side, "Easy boy, easy. You need to roll with those punches, remember? Anyway, that is actually a good assessment of the situation. I am impressed, honest." He gave me a miffed look and nodded.

Then he said, "Have you asked your parents for anything? Hopefully I will get something that helps. It will take several hours to walk out to that area. We will have to pack well." I looked back to the fires and thought about what we would need. Food, water, rope for starters. I honestly hadn't thought about what gift to ask for. I never really needed anything, so the gifts were simply that, gifts. Usually in the form of sweets or some nice item to use in school or a toy. I still couldn't think of anything useful, which meant leaving it to chance. Chance usually favors the foolish. We were very large fools with dreams of taking on the jungle. A fiery dragonish jungle.

I wondered if it was too late to start learning combat.

Author's Note

Initially the water divining, or water dousing, was meant as a joke. It adds a little something to the character I think.

Not a Warrior

The rest of the week progressed without any incidents to speak of. The fires had died down in the distance, which meant the scouting party would be flying that way to investigate what was happening to the cocoa trees this evening. Hearth's Warming Eve was the next day and Lance had begun to get ahead in successful of pranks. Any other time that would have caused me to become devious in my retaliation, or the very least more wary, yet I had other things on my mind. It got to the point where he was sitting next to me during lunch flicking peas at me and I was not responding. A nice pile had started to form on the table where they would hit my cheek and drop. When Lance ran out of peas he waved his hoof in front of me. I looked at him briefly, then went back to staring out the window.

"Okay, Trots, you always seem to one up me but this is ridiculous. You are going to literally bore me to the finish line. If you are trying to make me throw in the towel, it won't work. I have staying power, you know." This time I looked at him, glanced down and stifled a laugh, then looked back outside. Lance sat back in his seat and grimaced, "Oh real mature. I don't need to prove anything to you, I have plenty of fillies that look my way. Let's see if you like some carrots..." He started picking through the rest of his vegetables.

I put a pea in my mouth while he was not looking and leaned really close to him. He sensed my nearness and looked up with surprise as my muzzle got really close to his, my lips barely hovering near him. I waited until he just started to push his lips forward, then I lifted my head slightly and propelled the pea into his nostril. His head whipped up and he held his breath for the briefest moment before sneezing mucous, and a pea, all over himself, falling off his chair. The rest of the lunch room which had been watching in stunned silence erupted in laughter as they were finally laughing at him and not me for a change. I went back to looking out the window, toward the smoky section of jungle in the distance.

Lance managed to pick himself up, the insides of his ears turning bright red since everywhere else his black fur covered his embarrassment. Once he had finished cleaning himself up with the white napkin he threw it down in front of me with a revolting splat. "You win, there is the stupid towel. That was sneaky, and dirty, and disgusting...and rather genius, and still disgusting..." He noticed I had not moved since he got back up. He made some off-color hoof gestures to some of the other stallions still gossiping about him and slid closer to me. Not dating closer, just close enough. "If you intend on going out there, then we need to do some more talking than this silent garbage."

I sighed and turned to him, "Sorry about the prank war, you can take the win if you want." Lance glared at me and waited. I took a deep breath and let it out. "Yesterday several of the adults went out to that area that was on fire. My father went with them. They should have been back by now and nobody has seen any of them return yet. Father said it would only take a few hours to go out there, look around, and then come right back." Lance turned away from me and started scanning the lunch room. Then he got up.

"Sit tight, Trots, I need to check on someponies." He made his way among the other students eating lunch and leaned in here and there to speak to them. He called me Trots, a reference to my inability to fly. Snarky jerk. That was something I would have thought of. He's been getting better at name calling since I saved his sorry rump. That'll teach me to do anypony any favors. Lance walked back to my table and sat down, looking perturbed. "Some of the others' parents went on that trip too. I thought they were acting strange today, that's why."

I slowly tapped a hoof on the table, pondering. Lance watched me in silence. I finally spoke up, "We need to go out there. I have at least been in the jungle so I know what it's like. You can choose to go if you want."

Lance laughed and waved his hoof, "Hello, I was out there too. And that whole saving me doesn't make you a one-thestral army. Anyway, it was my idea in the first place, remember? Let's get through the rest of today, spend time with our family tomorrow during the first part of Hearth's Warming Eve. We will meet up just outside the cave entrance a few hours past dusk and begin heading out to the location we saw those fires." He noticed my hurt expression and grimaced, "Damn, Jen I'm sorry....look, I think with what you can do and my exceedingly robust leadership skills, we can find your father." I smiled slightly and we finished up our lunches in silence.

The next evening was very difficult. Not a small part because Mother and I exchanged presents without Father there. His we left under the tree as though he would walk through the front entrance of our abode at any minute. I got Mother some cookbook that specialized in chocolate cakes. I purchased it several weeks before all the talk began about the trees. Now it was some sick irony, or coincidence. Mother had given me a small box and I told her I would open it when Father was there. I think that gave her hope that things would be alright. I wanted to think it did.

The other part that made this evening hard was Nightmare Moon's answer to my request. No matter how much of my character frustration was supposed to build, I didn't have to agree with it. She certainly didn't seem to agree with anything I said.

"No. You are not ready, Jen." I was surrounded by stars strewn across blackness. I could feel her everywhere. With how I felt right now, I honestly thought she would be here in such detail I could count every hair on her fur coat. There was nothing, only her voice. "I can sense from their dreams that they have been in danger this past day, yet you would be more so if I were to give you any lessons now."

I blinked away tears and stamped my front hoof defiantly, "How can I not be ready? I've done everything you've ever asked! This is as good a time as any for me to learn how to fight and protect others. Sneaking around following hoofprints in the dirt won't save my father if I have to fight whatever is destroying the jungle!" My words rang out into the darkness. The heat that had risen in me slowly seeped away, leaving me cold. I looked around apprehensively, waiting for her rage. It never came.

"You are going out into the jungle, not knowing where you will end up, not knowing what you will face. Truth, are you afraid?"

I stood there, thinking about when Lance and I discussed going out to the jungle. I thought about the first time I ran from him. I thought about my father. "Yes, I am afraid."

"Instilling fear in others can give you power and control over them. Fear in yourself will cause you to lose control, make you weak. Any fight you get into will already be decided based on that fear. This is why you are not ready. You have what you need for now. We will both know when it is time for you to learn more." And just like that, her presence was gone.

The first few hours of Hearth's Warming Eve with Mother were spent holding each other, talking about idle things like school, hanging out with Lance, anything not involving Father. She held up well, all things considered. As I stepped out of our home with my travel bag on my back, Mother's gift safely tucked into a sidepocket of the bag, I knew she would be crying later in the home where nopony could see her. I couldn't spend all evening consoling her, I had to actually do something, and if Nightmare Moon was unwilling to help, then damn her. I would do it myself.

As I stepped out of the community cave entrance, Lance and several other thestrals walked over from the shadows outside. Two of the colts were named Swift Shade and Gheist. Swift was a leaner thestral with blue highlights in his wings and eyes. Gheist had gray tones with ice blue eyes. The filly was named Sanguine Silence. She had red eyes, long flowing dark red hair and she hardly spoke in class. The three of them were not too pleased I was there. Lance seemed to actively ignore their demeanor. "So, any luck with the extra.....lessons?" It was plain that he hadn't told the others very much and was keeping it that way.

I took my pack off and shook my head, "My 'mentor' says I am not ready, whatever that means. What we have with us right now is what we are bringing to the fight. I packed extra food and water, along with some other small items, nothing fancy. How about you?" The others responded with similar lists of items. Lance added he was bringing a weapon, just in case. He pulled a long dagger out of his pack. It was made of a dark metal with polished highlights and a silver wire wrapped handle, the cross-guard similar to a slim crescent moon with the tips curving toward the blade. The blade itself had several grooves that ran from the hilt to the tip. The weapon was at least three hooves long, the blade two-thirds of the length.

"My uncle from up north gave this to me. He said it was forged from a shooting star that fell out of the skies a long time ago. According to legend, Princess Celestia was not quite herself one night and let one through. They found pieces of it and were able to melt the rocks down to make this." It was impressive, keenly reflecting the moon's light as Lance turned it over. The others inspected the contents of their packs and must have been used to Lance showing off, but I was drawn to it. I had danced the stars in my dreams and here was a piece of one fallen to earth. He smiled and put it away, obviously enjoying the spotlight. I glanced to the others and tilted my head at Lance. He said quietly, "I know, the two of us would have been less conspicuous. Their family members were in the scouting group as well, I couldn't just ask them about it yesterday without letting them in on our plan. Besides, strength in numbers, in case one of us gets hurt or runs into trouble."

I sighed and replied, "They don't like me that much. We may have trouble before we get anywhere useful."

Lance called the others over, making my discomfort more acute than I thought possible. "Guys, this is Jen. Jen, guys." The two colts groaned, relaxing a little. Swift Shade flicked Lance on the shoulder for being a dufus. It didn't break the ice so much as lowered some of the tension. Sanguine frowned a little. Lance looked at her and asked, "SaSi, you two are not going to be pulling each other's hair in an hour, are you?"

She shook her head and said, "I am here to find my older sister. If she can do that, I will gladly give her my hair."

I self-consciously brushed my short hair off my ear and said, "That's ok, hair is not my thing. If any of them has touched the ground or foliage, I will find them."

Sanguine eyed me up and down, then nodded, "That is good enough for me. Darky, we should get going." Lance nodded and we secured our packs, making ready to leave. I sidled up next to Lance.

"Darky?"

Lance's movements became very jerky. "We were playmates when I was younger. We don't hang out together that much. Not lately." I could see his ears reddening. Uh huh. He made a face and closed up his pack.

I made sure the straps on my pack were cinched up correctly and murmured, "Darky."

Lance brushed by rather abruptly and coughed, "Okay guys...ah, let's head that way," and proceeded to walk straight out into the swamps. I caught up to him and had a nice discussion about following the easier terrain south along the base of the mountain ridge before turning east into the jungle, to make better time. He redirected us south. The others alternated between flying and walking to conserve their strength while Lance made it a point to walk the entire way with me, despite my assertions that I could keep up with them.

I was concerned about what we would find, our limited ability to fight off any dangers and the one weapon between the five of us. I didn't care if I wasn't ready, I had to do this.

Not a Negotiator

Lance and I competed for leadership as we made our way along the base of the mountains south, the swamps on our left had given way to jungle terrain a while ago. I did it out of guilt for having the group to gallop on foot rather than fly, despite my protests. I felt it was my responsibility because of the handicap I imposed on them. I think he did it out of some duty of leadership, or male bravado. It was all the same to me. As thoughts of my father weighed on me, I found I had time for none of it, which furthered my grumpiness with Lance. So we were nearly out of breath after a couple of hours travel, the moon high in the sky when I came to an abrupt halt, looking due east. Lance had pulled ahead a few minutes earlier and eventually circled around back to us, the others starting to catch up from the other direction. "You feel we should head in from here?" he said.

I looked at Lance and nodded slightly. I was unsure though, the fires had been widespread. This was literally a shot in the dark, our night vision notwithstanding. "If you could hop up there and eyeball it, that would help."

Lance grinned and shot up into the sky. The other thestrals took a moment to catch their breath. It occurred to me that they were not used to running on all fours versus their normal mode of travel. Even with them alternating between running and flying, this was new to them. They were not as quick to look at me with disdain as when we first met. Once or twice I caught a look of grudging respect.

Flapping wings signaled Lance's return as he alighted onto the hard cold ground. "This looks good. In fact, we are just south of the fire line. There doesn't seem to be any activity right now, which makes sense. Dragons are daytime creatures." I huffed my dissent.

"They are NOT dragons, they live across the sea. There is no reason for them to be on this part of the continent." Lance frowned and turned towards the jungle. The rest of us followed. The jungle was very dark under the canopy, the moon almost completely obscured. There was a host of different sounds, other animals. Normally the night was our time to move about, the darkness a boon to us. In the jungle, all bets were off.

I whispered, "Just because there is fire does not mean there is a dragon. It could have been started by anything, cracks in the earth erupting lava, terrible camping habits, lightning." It was a balance to whisper loud enough for him to hear and not too loud to attract unwanted predators. The others could fly, I was grounded.

He flicked an ear and glanced sidelong at me, "What is your thing about dragon denial? It's as though you would have an Ursa Major on your tail rather than a fire-breathing lizard." My eyes met his and I could see that tell-tale jolt of intelligence flash through his brain. "Woh, are you afraid of dragons?"

"I am absolutely not afraid of dragons. They can go spit acid for all I care about dragons!" The local fauna in the area had quieted down, either from fear or the need to listen in on our loud conversation. Both reactions did not bode well. "Dammit, could we not have this discussion right now, when we have to keep quiet," I whispered harshly. Lance refrained from pointing out who was loud and we picked our way through the jungle, trying to keep the moon at the same bearing whenever it peeked through the trees. After a while I spoke up, "My parents used to tell me bedtime stories about dragons wandering around in the caves that ate little thestrals who did not go to sleep and were playing outside past bedtime during the day. If little thestrals ran and hid, they would breathe fire in the nooks and crannies, cooking us alive. That kind of stuff wears on a foal after a while."

Gheist came up from behind and muttered, "They do live in caves."

Swift Shade followed up on the other side of me, "And they breathe fire, apparently." I shuddered and picked up my pace. They matched it.

Sanguine shouldered Swift out of the way and said quietly, "Give over, you two. My parents told the same stories, along with other disturbing things that supposedly haunt the world. Now we will find them to be true or false and each of us will have to face our enemies sooner or later." She nodded at me and caught up to speak with Lance softly. The other two males grumbled about being told what to do by somepony with the word 'Silence' in her name. I was inwardly grateful for the intervention, though I was still concerned about what we would find.

It was another few hours of moving through the jungle undergrowth before we began to smell burned foliage and see ash deposits. We were getting close. I took the lead as Lance stepped aside and I began looking more intensely at the dirt, the tree trunks and branches. Even the lay of the vines could tell me if something or somepony came through here. It was awhile before I found tracks. A lot of tracks. I sat on my haunches and stared at them as the others gathered around. After a while, Lance looked up at me, "For the record, I was hoping it would be something else. That settles it."

On the ground was a nice paw print for all to see, similar to a chicken's. But vastly larger, definitely reptilian. I furrowed my brow and looked around. "I had a feeling they would be here, whatever I said. I'm seeing a lot of other prints, too. Over there are more dragons, different sizes, and there, looks to be thestrals. That has to be the scouting party." The others looked at the markings, tilting their heads. All they saw were scuffs in the ground.

Lance was the first to admit he had no idea what he was looking at. "Alright, since you have the skills, which way did they go." I pointed with a hoof eastward. I told him that if we kept in that direction, we would eventually reach the coastline. He nodded, "They could have a coastal cave there...still doesn't make sense why they would come inland to burn trees. Jen, you have the lead. The rest of you let's give her some space on either side and keep a lookout for anything moving." As we formed up I continued outlining one print with the tip of my hoof. Lance came over and looked at what I was doing. "Um, what are you doing?"

I raised my head and shook it slowly, "This shouldn't be here. These prints are bipedal." I pointed them out to him, but it was no use. He shrugged, waiting for me to explain. "While we've been out tonight I glanced around from time to time, just curious to see what left tracks. Occasionally I would see some animal prints here and there. A few times I saw cat prints." I pointed at the markings. "These are cat prints."

Lance nodded and started to walk away, "So they are cat prints. We will keep a look out for large jungle cats while you follow the thestral tracks." I followed and bumped Lance on the shoulder.

"You are not listening. Bipedal. Jungle cats do not walk on their hind legs. These prints indicate cats that do." Lance stopped and looked at me. The others also had confused expressions, except for Swift Shade, who spoke up.

"Ridge cats? From the Badlands?"

We looked at him and he lifted his eyebrow. "What?"

Gheist voiced our thoughts, "We haven't seen ridge cats in a century, Swift. They either stay west of the mountains or further south. They don't like water or moist areas."

Swift shrugged and pointed southwest, "The mountains dip down to low lying hills not too far that way. It wouldn't be a stretch for them to come out here. I have no idea why, was just a thought."

Lance stepped up and clopped a hoof against the ground, "Okay, we have established there are dragons, thestrals, and ridge cats in here with us. Let's avoid pissing off the first, find the second, and not get scratched or eaten by the third. Or the first for that matter. Jen, you ready?" I nodded and wandered the area for a time until I got a good bead on which way way we had to travel. The rest set up a circle around me as I moved.

We passed several trees that had been burned earlier in the week, or some more recently. While this was a dense area where the cocoa trees grew, they were not the only ones ravaged by fire. It looked like whole swaths of trees were destroyed. It made no sense, unless a dragon was trying to flush out prey hiding in the bushes. I shuddered and continued searching for more prints. Occasionally dragon and cat prints crossed paths, but I stayed on the thestral trail. At one point we got to a clearing where several dragon and thestral prints mingled, some violently. I expressed my concerns to the others. Sanguine was visibly shaken, as was Swift Shade. Lance and Gheist remained calm and had a brief discussion before Lance pulled out his blade from his pack and slipped the handle into his mouth. When I looked at him questioningly he spoke around the handle, "Better to have it and not need it." He must have been practicing doing that ever since he got it because he enunciated perfectly.

We continued on, Lance close by my side with the others noticeably in a tighter circle than before. The jungle ground started showing signs of sand and shells, as though washed by the ocean a long time ago. I could smell the sea air and knew we were getting close to the coast. There were some rocky formations just on the edge of the jungle before the sand took over, and from here I could see a dark entrance among those rocks. We crouched down in the bushes. Lance looked to us and said, "Go ahead and get out some food and water. We should watch the entrance for a bit to make sure they are sleeping." He looked up at the moon. It was getting late, though it was still an hour or two before midnight. He got close to me and whispered, "You saw something else in those tracks, didn't you?"

Listening to the soft crashing of the waves had a soothing effect on me, the opposite of what the jungle had been doing to my nerves. Aside from the jungle itself, the tracks had been bothering me, a detail Lance had picked up on. Yes, I had spotted something in the tracks. He had waited until the others were preoccupied before asking me. I replied, "You and I should not spend so much time together. You are getting to know me too well and I like my solitude."

He smirked and replied, "Garbage. You're just used to being alone. Nopony likes solitude. And don't try to change the subject, by the way. Care to talk about the tracks?"

I sighed and picked through a fish sandwich before speaking. "Back where it looked like there was fighting, there were scorch marks on the ground. Afterward, it looked like one or two thestrals were being dragged by the others. They were forced to come this way, else they would have retreated back toward the mountains where we would have found them." Lance listened and sat back. He put his dagger down and drank some water from a canteen as he pondered what I had said. Also what I had not said. The thestrals had not scattered, even though they could fly. They had stayed together and helped some of the injured toward what appeared to be the dragon's lair. Whether by threat or choice, they had stayed long past when they were supposed to return home.

After a while the others put away their food and canteens and appeared ready to move again. Lance leaned in close and said, "They were alive when they came this way. If the dragons had wanted to eat them, they would have been carried off. This feels like something else." After thinking over his words, they made sense and I nodded silently. Lance touched my shoulder and got up. "This next part is the tricky one. Assuming we get to the cave and we are not attacked, we will go in and try to find our family members. If anything happens, fly out as fast as possible and make your way back to the mountains. That spot where we had turned east I saw a large fissure going right up to the peaks. The closer you go west from here the easier it is to see, so meet at the base of it. Stay as long as you can and then head home to at least tell the others what happened. So far, we know the scouting party is alive. Beyond that...well we will get to that shortly. Let's get going."

The trek to the rock formations was straight forward. The local wildlife had vacated the area a while ago, most likely from the dragons moving in. As we approached the cave entrance, I could smell something slithery, as if scent and sound could mingle into a single sensation. My childhood nightmares of dragons lurking in dark corners of the tunnel networks back home came back to haunt my logical thinking. The tunnel led down underground and spiraled back into the mainland as we crept forward into the lair. The bore of the cave was smooth as though lava had once flowed through it. Gheist whispered about dragon fire capable of melting rock and carving deep into the earth, possibly winding its way under our home as well. We told him to shut up. The tunnel was also large enough to accommodate several full size dragons. Nobody commented on that detail as we stared in awe of the vast space.

Swift Shade occasionally made small clicking sounds and paused to listen before moving on. Gheist finally sidled up next to him and whispered, "By the time you hear a good return, they will have heard it too." Swift gave him a muted glare but refrained from clicking further.

The tunnel finally opened up to a vast cavern, its ceiling lost in darkness. There were small pools dotting the cavern floor, some of which were on fire with blue flames. Sanguine stepped over to an unlit pool and dipped her hoof tip in it. A thin clear oily liquid dripped from her hoof and she shook it off in disgust. "Fire water. Bubbles up from below ground. Very flammable."

As she rejoined us, Lance sat back and squinted at the other end of the cavern. "The fires are messing with my night vision. I can just make out another tunnel over there. Dragons are day creatures, so hopefully they are sleeping in some side cave." Some of us were
more hopeful than he was.

We resumed finding a path through the pools and reached the other end of the cavern. Upon entering this new tunnel we could hear soft rumbling echo from its depths. Knowing that they were asleep did not assuage my fears. As we cautiously crept forward, my heart leapt every time the long snores would end and felt relief when the snores began again.

The tunnel terminated into a u-turn, with a cylindrical throne room just around the corner. There was a circular raised dais in the center of the room. Several medium sized dragons of varying color lounged around the dais while a particularly large red drake lay curled at the top of the dais. Its body was wrapped around a gilded cage that held a group of thestrals. A quiet tsk sound from Lance drew us away from the entrance and back into the tunnel. Each of us stared at each other trying to think of what to do. Gheist spoke up first, whispering, "There are a few more than I thought would be here." We gave him irritated looks. He continued, "This is not some wandering dragon that settled in. It looks like the beginning of a colony."

The others were visibly unsettled. Having a dragon several hours from your home was not a good thing, let alone several dragons that already showed open hostility like burning forests and taking prisoners. I voiced my thoughts and Lance countered, "The important thing is they are alive. First we get them out of here. Then they can go back home and deal with this later." He glanced back inside and sat, thinking. "Our options are limited. Sneak in and avoid waking up the lizards, open the cage, sneak out and run. Or create a diversion. There is plenty of that fire water back up the tunnel. We could pour it down here, maybe douse the dragons with it." Gheist shook his head.

"They are immune to fire. More likely they swim in those pools to help regulate their body heat"

Lance eyed him and said, "You don't know the difference between mitosis and my toes in Biology. Where is all this coming from?"

Gheist snorted softly and replied, "I read other books that are more interesting."

Lance flicked his hoof and said, "Fine, ye drakonus artifex. Any other wisps of information we should know?" We stared at him until he replied, "Yeah I know some things, too."

Gheist looked down and furrowed his brow, "The larger ones eat meat and sometimes fish, hence the coastal adaptation. Fire you know about...they are very partial to treasure, valuables and gifts...and they are immune to earthly forged weapons."

Lance nearly did a dance as he pulled out his blade and held it up, "Sweet! This was made from ore not found on this world. This could hurt them." I glanced back into the chamber, at the cage, the dragons and their size. That dagger would only piss them off. Like I was getting now.

"No." The other thestrals looked at me. Lance's dagger dipped down as he sat back. "They are just bullies."

Lance said, "Come again?"

Swift Shade raised his hoof, "I would say they are massive bullies. They outnumber us and are far stronger." Gheist stayed quiet and nodded.

Sanguine watched me with a knowing expression. She was thinking of her sister in that cage and felt my ire at the situation.

I shook my head, "So what? So were all of you not that long ago."

The other thestrals looked embarrassed. Swift spoke up, "About that, we were just having a go at you because it got to you so much. We didn't mean anything by it at the time."

Lance waved his hoof at them, "She knows that, I told her a while back not to get so offended. She has been coming along nicely-"

I put my hoof on his muzzle which earned a surprised look from him. "That part I knew about and coped with in my own time and way. This part I just figured out." I thought back to what Nighmare Moon had said. About fear. "A bully can hurt you, break your things. He can even kill you." Sanguine and Gheist were somber as I spoke. Swift looked embarrassed still, along with Lance as they must have been remembering all the 'good' times they had at my expense. "For all his strengths, he has no power over you. He cannot make you feel unless you want him to, make you fear unless you let it into your heart. I have run from bullies and monsters, real and imagined since I was little." I stared at each of them. "No more."

There was a minute of silence. Lance stepped forward and handed me his dagger. "Okay, what do you propose?" I held the blade in my hoof, turned it to admire the detailed lines and grooves in the blade. Straight, resolute, unearthly.

"Hold here, wait until all of us come out, or not. Either way, fly back home and if things went bad, gather an army. Hire a bunch of unicorns and bury this place." They were a little taken aback. It occurred to me they had no clue how far I was willing to go to spit in a bully's eye. Lance may have known, he seemed the least fazed of the four. I slid the blade into a side pocket of my pack and walked to the entrance. I glanced at them and said, "Sit tight. Time to go talk to some bullies."

I walked past the sleeping wyrms, not bothering to cover my steps. The kestrals in the cage stirred from hearing the steady taps of my hooves and stood up to see. A couple of them whispered my name and looked at somepony out of sight. Some of the dragons started to wake and sat up slowly, watching me in surprise as though morsels of food did not simply enter a dragon's abode. I reached the dais and looked up. Some of the thestrals helped another to stand. It was my father. He appeared burned down one flank, his right wing ruined. He saw me and tried to speak but shuddered from pain. I had to look away lest I lost the nerve I had just built up. I waited.

The loud snoring had ceased the moment I entered the chamber. I only just noticed its absence. The red dragon was still curled up around the cage, its head to the side. It inhaled and spoke in an ominous rumbling, "I can hear you, little night crawler, pretentious and persnickety in approach." The head lifted up, its eyelids opening to reveal large golden orbs. The sinuous neck unwound in coils around the cage until it moved the head next to me, vast near my small form. "And now I see you....you are different than the others."

I flicked my head and replied, "My hair perhaps. I should brush it more, maybe grow it out."

The dragon lifted its head and gave a hearty laugh, nearly deafening my sensitive thestral ears. "And has wit! To ignore the obvious while we both know what the subject is, a true delight! Much more entertaining than these others." It lowered its head and voice, the rank heat of its breath flowing over me, "Much more treasured, indeed."

I stared back at the dragon and replied, "This treasure is flawed and short-lived, like those you caged. Why not release them, let us all go so we leave each other alone."

The dragon thrummed and shifted its body, holding onto the cage tighter. "The fragile nature of a treasure makes it more valuable, its lifespan an inverse to its rarity. I find their cowering delightful, a treasure that reflects my greatness as a silver mirror might." The head slipped closer to me, "Why do you not so reflect my aura?"

I stiffened and replied, "My father used to tell me stories of dragons and I cowered from shadows back then. Now I see you are larger than I had imagined, more terrible than any fable can describe. But you do not rule my heart. Burn me where I stand, I will not cower."

The dragon turned its head and gazed at me with its other eye, then inhaled the scent of my hair, nearly pulling me over with gale force winds. "It does indeed smell that way. Were your father here to see you now, he might be proud."

I pointed my hoof at the cage, "He does see me now. And I want him back, along with the others."

The dragon's head whipped around to look at the cage, then back at me and laughed, exclaiming, "Truly you are pure bravery stuffed in a morsel of night creature skin. Or pure foolishness. You foul things persist in disturbing that which can destroy you. I wonder if you are truly addled by the moonlight."

I slowly started walking up the dais steps while maintaining my gaze. "I have no idea what you are talking about. I only came to get my fellow thestrals back. They came to investigate why the cocoa trees were burning."

As I reached the cage, I recognized several of the adults, including those that held up my father. I could see fear for me in his eyes. The dragon's head hovered on the other side of the cage from me, watching us through the bars. It spoke, "They came armed to fight, like the other creatures before them. I did not start this conflict, this cocoa war."

As best I could I ignored the dragon and spoke to the prisoners. The local baker, Pumpernickel Pastryllious was nearest to me. Back home we called him Nick. "What is he talking about, Nick?"

The gruff thestral growled, "Those blasted ridge cats have been harassing these dragons ever since they moved into this cave system. All the tree burning was because of their feud."

I blinked and asked, "A feud caused the tree burning? Wait, did the dragons not make these tunnels?"

Nick shook his head, "Not the whole system, just the main entrance. Apparently the cats were collecting fire water on a regular basis over the years, accessing the cavern from a small side tunnel that comes up in the jungles and then running it back to the Badlands. The dragons sniffed out the cavern and bore in. Since then, the cats have been attacking the dragons."

The dragon stayed still, watching our exchange with interest, so I decided to ask, "But why burn the trees, or bother capturing you?" I must have hit a nerve because the dragon rumbled and slowly lifted its head. Nick and the others watched it in terror. Nick continued, "Those crafty cats were taking cocoa beans, hardening them through some chemical and firing process to use as arrow heads."

I frowned and watched the dragon, "Arrow heads. Why use cocoa beans?"

The dragon moved its head down to me, washing me in its breath, "Because we are allergic to them, so we remove the threat when we can."

I stepped back and pointed my hoof at the cage and yelled, "Do they look like cats to you? Do I? We are not a threat"

By now all the dragons had encircled the dais completely, and I was losing this verbal fight. I had to come up with something. The dragon replied, "Night creatures are all the same. They sneak around and take, never giving, never letting go what they treasure." The red drake started to curl around the cage, "So why should I?"

Then I had a flash of brilliance, a very slim chance. I tore off my pack and dug through it. The dragon looked on in mild interest. I found what I was looking for and drew it out with both hooves. The present my parents gave me. I held it up and said, "We are not the same. Some of us are very very different. I offer you this gift. My parents gave it to me and now I give it to you, to buy their release." I motioned to the cage.

My father became very agitated and tried to speak but the others hushed him, worried he might ruin the exchange. The dragon uncoiled completely, the cage ignored. He eyed the box covetously. "Intriguing. What is in the box?"

I pull it back, causing the dragon to nearly chase after it, "I don't know. Had you not taken my father hostage, I would have opened it tonight for Hearth's Warming in front of him. Now I might never know."

I had to dodge several coils of dragon as it undulated with excitement, "Truly a vexing decision, a gift on top of that, plus a Hearth's Warming gift of unknown contents, unknown portents. Truly-" He cut off as I began putting the box back into my pack. The dragon roared, "Wait! Desist! Hold that tittilatingly tiny triop of treasure before you while I pontificate this perilously precarious predicament ..." He droned on into feats of vaulted vocabulary even I was unable to follow. I waited until he calmed down and became silent.

Placing the present on the stonework, I toed it with a hoof and said, "Somepony has to open it come midnight. I guess it will have to be-" The dragon snarled and twisted a bar near the top of the cage with its claw and the side bars opened up like a clamshell. I thanked the heavens we didn't choose the sneak approach, it would have been impossible to open otherwise.

The thestrals swiftly left the cage, some helping to carry my father along as the dragon drew in the present and placed it in its palm, preparing to open it. I raised my hoof and said, "It's not midnight yet. You will spoil the surprise." I began backing my way down the dais, putting my pack on.

The great wyrm snarled and spoke to one of the smaller dragons, "What time is it now?"

The smaller dragon presented an elaborate water clock and replied, "Twenty minutes until midnight, Great One." The larger dragon chortled and remained focused on the tiny thing in its palm. I hurried to the exit and met up with the others.

Everypony took several minutes to congratulate me for my success. My father's agitation caught my attention and I asked, "How bad is he, can he walk?"

The others gave various answers to include possible recovery of his wing, burns that were not so deep. He could not fly, though. None of the adults were strong enough to carry him past the jungle, either. Lance stepped forward and said, "Jen, that rope you packed might work. We can strap two packs together as an undersling, slip each of his legs through a shoulder strap and tie rope to each one of us." He indicated to Gheist, Swift and Sanguine. They had reunited with their relatives and stepped over to Lance, nodding approval. I nodded as well and began measuring out lengths of rope while Lance set his pack down. Swift donated his and they started tying them together.

My father insisted on speaking to me, according to Nick. I bent down close to hear him, his speech barely a whisper, "You have to hurry, Jen. Before they open your gift." I began to get a bad feeling, pleading inwardly he was wrong.

"Father, tell me the most favorite thing I love is not in that box." He did not say anything, did not have to. I saw it in his eyes. I moved back to the work in progress with fanatical speed, catching the others off guard. "Dammit! Dammit dammit dammit..."

I kept repeating swear words over and over until Lance touched my shoulder, "Jen, not that sitting in a dragon nest is scary enough...but you are scaring us. What gives?"

I slapped his hoof away and started throwing rope ends to each of my fellow school mates, "We have to get out of here NOW! I just found out I gave that ill-tempered lizard chocolate cake, and he is going to find out real soon, too!"

All the thestrals nearly went white with terror. Lance quickly recovered and spun around to the adults, "Fly, now! We'll take care of her father. All of you head west to the mountain slopes below the double peak fissure. Meet up there, hide if you see any non-thestrals. Go!" They swiftly took to the air and flew up the tunnel as my group settled the sling under my father. He winced from his burns, yet was silent. Once the ropes and sling were all attached to their respective thestrals and the sling was snug under him, his legs protruding through the shoulder straps, the four kestrals spread out to take up the slack. Lance looked back to me with concern.

I gritted my teeth and ran past him, "I can outrun you on a bad day or night. Just get him out of here!" The group lifted off as one and hovered up the tunnel, moving faster as they got used to the restrained flight. I easily kept up and found myself winding my way through the pools in no time. It was when I was making my way up the entrance tunnel to the surface when I heard a blood curdling roar echo up from the depths of the lair, bits of rock and grit floating down from above. I ran harder than I ever had before, outpacing the flight of thestrals with my father. We made the surface in no time and bee-lined it for the trees. Sanguine yelled to the group to stay below the tree tops or the dragon would see them and merely outfly them. I pulled the dagger out of my pack and ran in a different direction away from the group, posting up near the tree line as I watched the five disappear into the jungle. I looked at the cave. If I had to, I would fight this thing by myself.

A sharpened cocoa bean tipped arrow slowly moved up next to my head, pointing at the cave mouth. It was so close to my ear I froze, afraid that whatever had drawn it might angle it into my head instead. My attention drew back to the cave as fire exploded from it, followed by a very angry red dragon. The arrow leapt forward, the head slicing a few hairs from my ear. It flew like a nightingale and slammed into the belly of the dragon, causing it to twist around roaring while protecting its soft underbelly. The head snapped about independently, a snake seeking to strike back.

I spun around to encounter a tan and white mottled male feline standing on hind legs and shouldering his ebon wood bow. He spoke with a lilting baritone, "That should distract him from your friends. That also means run, you slow bat pony." With that he bolted like nothing I had ever seen before. Our movements gave away our position and the dragon roared. I ran.

It felt like ages as I crashed through the jungle in panic. The feline rejoined me from his hiding place in the trees and ran alongside me, mewling, "You are leading him right to you with all that noise and debris you are leaving behind." I endeavored to get a hold of my emotions and remembered my training. As my steps became silent without slowing or disturbing the undergrowth, the cat's visage took on an approving look.

After a minute I shot the cat a glare and demanded, "Why did you cats start this fight with the dragons?!"

The cat scoffed and jumped over me to the other side, looking back, "You ponies always pick the wrong moments to air out your tails." I wrinkled my nose in disgust and was about to reply when the cat did an odd stagger step to slow down, grabbed me by the neck and yanked me to the side behind a large tree trunk.

A wall of red scales plowed through the underbrush where I was a moment ago, large teeth like swords snapping in different directions. The ridge cat pulled me slowly around the trunk, keeping us always on the opposite side of the tree as the large dragon lumbered about, knocking over trees and snarling.

The cat quietly pointed straight up and covered his eyes, indicating the overhead canopy was limiting the dragon's eyesight in the night with an otherwise full moon. He pointed to his nose and tilted his head. Great, the dragon will smell us out. I silently drew Lance's dagger. The cat placed a paw on my hoof, made a split motion with his paw and drew another arrow back. I nodded and readied the dagger.

In a split second he leaned out, let loose and hid back behind the tree. The arrow clacked against hardened top scales and shattered. The dragon roared and dove for the direction the arrow came from. The cat hissed and ran up the tree we were behind. As the dragon's neck snaked up following the cat, I ran around the opposite direction of the large tree trunk and came up to the dragon's hind quarter. I aimed for the largest muscle group and jumped up, thrusting the blade deep. The dragon's body jerked as it roared and the head came around the tree to bite me. I used the motion of the dragon's flinch and the dagger handle to vault up and over the spiked lower back, yanking the dagger out as I fell to the other side and landed on all four hooves in a dead run, the dagger handle in my mouth. The cat jumped off the tree in the opposite direction, firing off a series of arrows to distract the dragon as I made my escape. The dragon was so wrapped up on the tree and in pain it could not choose which way to go. It began to inhale.

The woods in front of me stood out as if in broad daylight with stark shadows as the hell fire put off a horribly red light, threatening to singe me. I ran with the dagger clenched in my teeth, dragon's blood flying off the blade. I could feel a tingly, almost burning sensation on my flanks as I twisted around to see if I was being followed, blood drops going everywhere. I didn't have time to see if it was the blood or fire that caused the sensations. I was alive and I was going to stay that way.

The sensations passed and soon I slowed down to listen. It wasn't long before a shadowy form resolved into a cat loping up to me...and passing me. He turned his head and said, "That isn't the only dragon hunting tonight." I gasped and followed.

After several minutes of running together, he yanked me behind another tree and clamped a paw over my muzzle. Not again! I held my breath this time. I could hear several large forms move quickly through the underbrush, snapping saplings and low hanging vines and branches. The younger dragons slowed several paces away and began to mill about. I gripped the dagger in my hooves and made ready to fight again when I noticed the cat shake his head no. He stepped back and tapped his ear with an arrow, then knocked it. In one fluid motion he leaned out, shot the arrow and stepped close to me, listening.

The arrow flew a few seconds before making a resounding crack against a tree deep in the jungle, the sound echoing. The dragons whipped their heads around at the sound, several rumbling in their gut, then slowly made their way in that direction, apparently to stalk us as prey. The cat waited a few minutes before motioning in a right angle direction to the arrow's path.

After a time of silent walking we eventually turned west. We stepped lightly for at least an hour before the cat started relaxing, though his two ears kept swiveling independently of each other. He shifted from his four legged quiet gate to the more relaxed and noisier two legged stance. It felt like we could talk now. "Alright. Who started it?"

The cat chuckled and shook his head. "The age-old question of righteousness? You might be young, but you should know by now it is never that simple." He glanced at me to see my reaction, nodding as I kept my mouth shut. "It started off as a territorial dispute. The liquids we were farming fueled our economy in the Badlands. It was already a long trip, so any hindrance in our supply line would have been disastrous. We tried to talk to them, negotiate a trade. The dragons would have none of it. They insisted their superiority as sun children gave them divine right to it all, so we resorted to raiding the cavern when we could. You were lucky tonight. I suspect having your fellow thestrals taken prisoner caused the dragons to be complacent. Usually the cavern is guarded. It will be more so now." I shuddered at his words. I was glad the others made it out. Had i known all of this, I'm not sure if i would have done it all over again.

"What I don't understand is the chocolate allergy. Where did you learn that from?"

The cat's face took on a regretful look. "That is the simple part. It is also the worst because it was accidental. One of our sisters had successfully siphoned a few gallons of fire water and was on her way back when she came across some cocoa trees. We had set up small refining camps here and there to process the beans in order to avoid carrying the whole pods back. Each trip had to maximize its return given the shortages. Cocoa beans and powder worked well for you thestrals on the east side, why not for us western neighbors? She had just processed some pods for the next raiders and was collecting the powder form of cocoa from a previous group of tribal warriors when one of the cavern guards found her. It must have been searching all night for her, so it was very aggressive when it made contact. She threw a handful of powder into its face to distract it so she could escape. It choked and died." I felt horrified. All of this from day and night not getting along, both making mistakes. I already knew how the rest of the story played out, listening half-heartedly. The dragons retaliated out of fear and outrage, going on the offensive. The cats trying to protect their livelihood and developing better means to drive off the dragons. The tree burning was the dragons attempting to eliminate the weapon supply and the alternative resource to make trips out into the jungle more costly for the ridge cats.

When the cat fell silent, I spoke up, "We had no idea this was going on. It only got noticed when we saw the fires from a distance and investigated. When the scouting party did not return, some friends and I came to find them."

The cat nodded and smiled, "They should be grateful you did. I doubt the big red would have allowed them to live for very long. It likes to toy with its prey." He glanced at the handle of the blade poking out of the side pocket on my pack. "A very nice weapon you have. As young as you are, your tribe chose well their guardian, slicer of dragons."

I gave him a confused look, "What are you talking about? I only borrowed that blade tonight and I intend to give it back. I felt horrible stabbing that creature, no matter what its intentions were."

He looked further back at my flank, then at my face with a confused expression, "You are not a weapon master? It is tattooed on your pelt."

I stopped and twisted around to look at my rump. There in the moonlight, bold as could be, was the image of a silver dagger, the wired handle nestled between my cutie-mark blue wings with the blade pointed down. The same blade in my pack. There was still some dragon blood streaked along my sides, starting to flake off. I stood there in shock, staring at the mark. I had felt that prior to tonight there had always been a hole where my cutie-mark resided. Now it was filled with a weapon that felt very natural in my hooves, thinking back to how I used it. The cat patiently waited until I started walking again before saying to me, "I noticed it was just wings before. Is it a sign you can turn off and on to indicate when you are fleeing and when you are fighting?"

The absurdity of the question went amiss as I walked numbly. "The cutie-mark defines our destiny, helps us to find who we are. Until now I thought it was some cosmic joke, wings without wings."

The cat nodded and replied, "Our shaman taught us this. That is why I was surprised to see the change and thought there were things in the world we were misinformed of. There probably are, but this is not one of them. Congratulations in finding your way, young one." I stumbled a step and stayed quiet. I could not argue with him. Several of the other students had begun to get theirs, Lance included. His was a streak of silver striking down from a group of smaller silver streaks near a gray cloud. He felt it was him leading the way, hence why he kept taking charge. When I had first seen it, I told him some errant Canterlot pony had parked a storm cloud on his butt. That week had been a vicious series of pranks and name calling because of that. I was not anticipating meeting up with him now. We continued on until we finally left the jungle and approached the base of the mountain slope and the meeting place.

Lance and Sanguine stepped out from behind some rocks. Sanguine was the first to trot up and hug me, quietly thanking me for helping to get her older sister back home. I told her she didn't have to give me her hair and she laughed, promising we would get to do something with mine. I took it as friendly help and not an insult for how I wore it. Lance was visibly more impressed, staring at the blood on me. "You look like you kicked serious tail out there!"

The cat stepped by lightly, saying, "Your slicer of dragons fought the big red and held her own. I would gladly invite her to my lands where she can learn more of her craft from my people, assuming her elders deem her of age to do so. As it is, she is aware of her destiny now. " With that he unshouldered his bow and pointed it at my cutie-mark. Lance's eyes widened. Sanguine inhaled sharply as they both looked at it.

"Jen, that's incredible! It looks just like my dagger!" That reminded me that I still had it. I reached around and slipped it out of the pocket, flipped it over so I was holding it by the blade and offered it to him. He stepped back, waving his hoof, "Heh, actually, it suits you better than it does me. Granted it is an amazing piece, I'd just as soon not break the set. Happy Hearth's Warming, Jen." For a moment I did not understand him, until I looked between the weapon and the mark. A matched set. "Slicer of dragons. Did you really slice up dragons?"

I shook my head and said, "I stabbed one dragon. This cat has decided to call me slicer of dragons. I don't intend to do any more dragon slicing...wait, what is your name?"

The cat looked at me and Lance. Then he replied, "Jen.....nothing else, just Jen? Well met, Jen, Slicer of Dragons. That sounds better, does it not? It is time I head back and inform my tribe what has transpired. I suspect we may be sending envoys to your settlement before too long. We have hurt the flying lizards. The have long memories and you will need allies." He went back to all fours, the bow settled on his back and started his way south toward the mountain gap in the distance which led to the Badlands.

I yelled after him, "You know my name, what about yours!?"

He responded without losing his stride, "My name is Velvet, of the Low Steppes clan."

With a spark of mischief I yelled back, "Velvet? Velvet what? Paws, fur, jones?" I heard a chuff as he rounded some rocks and disappeared. Well met indeed. I suspected I would be sparring with him again and he was well armed. I placed the dagger back into my pocket and looked to the other two. They waited, seeing me in a new light. I wasn't sure I was used to this. There were a lot of things that had changed tonight. As we began to walk north Lance repeated the title Velvet had bestowed upon me. He even tried different combinations like Jen of the Slicer. Slice-o-matic. It's time for the slice. I told Lance, "You know what, you can stuff it, none of that is going to stick...and...um, thankyou for the gift. I'm sorry I didn't give you one. I will try to find something when we get back."

He waved a hoof and said, "That's quite alright. Less likely to have something blow up in my face, hit me, make me fall, get me dirty, stab my hoof with a needle, make me smell for a month, stain my fur, stain my skin, stain my hair...." As he rattled on the list of things I had done, Sanguine looked askance.

"You two are messed up."

I defended myself, "Lance has done just as much. He's just less creative. Too busy trying to play town leader." I ducked as he went to tap me on the head. The movement was second nature to me. I felt it was time to add to it, glancing back at the dagger in my cutie-mark. It wouldn't be that difficult to find the dream mare now. Without bringing it up to the others, I already knew I had inadvertently dragged our community into a war between species, between the children of night and day. I dreaded what the true costs would be, chocolate and fire water be damned. Along the way home, Lance mentioned two of the adults were able to take his and Sanguine's place in the flying litter so they could stay behind for me. The others wanted to stay but that wasn't possible with the state the adults were in, weak and thirsty from their captivity.

As we journeyed north, I recounted what happened in the jungle. Lance listened and occasionally muttered 'Slicer Jen' which caused me to say something mean to him and Sanguine to giggle softly. I hadn't deciphered what exactly my cutie-mark meant, but there was no way I was going to be tagged as a serial killer knife pony, I was different enough without that.

No way.

Author's Note

If you notice any references from other movies or stories, sometimes they are intentional, other times they are accidental. House of Flying Daggers was very accidental, in reference to her cutie-mark, as it hit me last minute. If fits though, from my perspective. I think the beauty of writing is that there could be any number of discoveries for the reader to find, without it being a straight up easter egg hunt or pokemon race where you gotta catch em all. You may even see stuff that I have not. I wouldn't dwell on the references. In the end, they are there for seasoning and are not the main ingredient.

A Melted Heart

Despite my misgivings for how events turned out, the community was very supportive back home. Everypony was in agreement that I couldn't have known what was in the gift, that it was pure luck and genius to have brought it and bartered for the search party's release. They practically regarded me as the town hero after hearing I stayed behind and took on an entire dragon colony to buy time for the rescue, remarking that my changed cutie-mark underscored what I was meant to do in the first place. I couldn't help still feeling dread over what might come, the ridge cat's words speaking of war. I also couldn't help thinking a war with dragons was very one-sided, given their penchant for fire.

I was so tired after our ordeal it took me a few days before I found myself in the dream world again. This time we were in a traditional martial arts studio, complete with rice paper walls and bamboo matted floor. Nightmare Moon stood before me wearing a black pajama-like garment and a wide cloth belt tied around her waist, also in black. I was wearing white pajamas with a white belt. I had heard in class this was the attire of those that practiced hoof-to-hoof combat in a far off empire. It must have been Nightmare Moon's direct manipulation of the dream that fixed the clothing and room in place.

"It would appear that you are ready to learn how to fight."

I reflexively looked back at my flank, though it was covered by the outfit. I responded, "It changed...how can I get a cutie-mark on top of a cutie-mark?" Nightmare Moon stepped forward and walked around me, similar to when we first met.

"It is indeed a mystery. You were born with the first mark, making it a further mystery as all other ponies must find their way through life. Something still nags my curiosity, an incompleteness one might call it, yet I cannot see it and I doubt we will discern it anytime soon. For now we shall get to the matter at hoof." She completed her circle and was before me again. "You have speed and you have agility. However, you lack discipline and technique. These I will teach you. Before I was imprisoned, I was in charge of the warriors of Equestria, a position that demanded absolute skill in combat. Combined with magic, I was unstoppable...until I faced Celestia, my rival. You may very well face her too, or her subordinates. They will have magic at their disposal. You will not, so you will need other means to get your point across." With that a dagger appeared in the air, which Nightmare Moon grasped with a hoof and spun around, planting the point just a hair from puncturing my throat. I kept still as she slowly pressed forward. I could feel the pressure, but no pain. The dagger disappeared. "In this place we may practice without the fear of hurting you. I will teach you how to move, how to add attacks, how to eventually add weapons to your attacks. In the real world you should practice to train your body. Here, I have your mind. Here, you will BE a weapon."

And so my days progressed during the sleeping hours. It started with little more than moving through motions I could only describe as types of dancing. She called them forms. They had other names, but she was in no mood to teach foreign languages. They started off as slow and flowing, directing moves into continuous movement instead of ending abruptly. Spins and strikes became reversals, followed up by multiple strikes. This went on the entire dream until I woke up drenched in sweat.

Over the weeks I became very adept in how I moved. I didn't know if it was from my interactions with the other thestrals that prepared me for this or a natural ability, yet it was a joy knowing what my capabilities were. Eventually during one session Nightmare Moon demanded I choose a weapon. Naturally I picked the dagger and held it before me. She sneered and two daggers appeared before her. She reared up on her hind legs, grasped them both in her hooves and lunged forward, incorporating the daggers into the same forms we had been practicing. I found myself backing up as I fended off the attacks. When I was able to get a thought together I made a second dagger appear before me and held one in each hoof, the same as her and pushed back. What concerned me was she had a bored look when I glanced up at her face.

Another dagger appeared and she gripped it in her mouth, slipping into a very aggressive stance and pressed again, this time whipping her head in close. I had to duck several times or risk losing an eye, which in hindsight I knew that would not have happened in this place. I also knew I had to think ahead of her in order to beat her, rather than answering each new level of threat as an equal. I willed a double bladed knife to appear and grasped it with my teeth, a blade sticking out of each side, then I charged and dove for her legs. She hopped over me and laughed haughtily. "Very good, little one. It is not enough to meet force with force. One must overcome it, surpass it to win the fight, lest you are tired before the OTHER opponents are defeated." Her daggers disappeared and five swords appeared, floating in a circle around her. Without pause they began to fly around and twist amongst each other, forming a bladed barrier before her as she walked forward. I backed up, wracking my brain on how to overcome....that! Occasionally a sword would leave the blob of death and fly at me, which I slapped away. I circled backwards, glancing around quickly to see what options I had. I noticed the martial arts room was lit by four lantern stands, one at each corner. They appeared to be oil pots placed in water, so if they were knocked over they would douse themselves out. A very inventive design, but I didn't have time to admire them.

The wall of swords swirled closer and closer, I purposefully backed to one of the corners, mindful of where the lantern stand was. As one of the blades floated close I extended and slapped the blade into the corner, knocking over the stand as I spun away. The stand crashed to the floor, spilling water and knocking out the flame. I jumped and rolled, acting like I was dodging the stand while moving to the next corner. I paused to 'fight back' before continuing on away from her. Nightmare Moon shook her head and followed, "All actions have consequences. You need to plan ahead, think about what you are doing." At the next stand I bumped into it and desperately grabbed it, flinging the stand at the black alicorn's direction. She laughed and knocked it away with her swords. "What absurdity is this? You can create better weapons in this place. Do not lose yourself in the fight to the point you cannot think clearly!" Several of the blades came at me at once. I held both of my daggers up and swept aside some of them. One got through and hit my left foreleg. The dagger in my hoof disappeared and I could not will it back into existence. She continued her auditory lesson, "You will find you are stripped of power, brought down by circumstances outside your control. Adapt, or die." With her swords momentarily out of the way I ran in her direction, the double blade in my mouth and one dagger in my right hoof. She snorted and stepped out of the way, expecting me to wheel around for an attack. I galloped to the far corner and kicked the stand over, dousing the third flame.

The alicorn's swords surrounded her instead of following me. Her eyes narrowed, "What are you doing?" I stood up, flipped the dagger in my hoof and tossed it at the final lantern. It tumbled end over end before it crashed into the lantern housing, spilling the pot and water. The last source of light vanished, aside from the soft blue glow of Nightmare Moon's horn. She hissed softly, her blades tightening up. "Clever filly....very clever. Now I am at the disadvantage, with all my magic, in the dream realm where I have complete control. I could play this out, allow you your chance. Then again, we do not care how we win, so long as we are the victor." Her horn blazed blue and the floor itself glowed, shedding light everywhere. She whipped her head around, looking for me, but she could not see me. I crept along slowly, knowing that sudden movement would draw her attention. "I can feel you are still here...you are a tricky one. Show yourself so we may end this lesson. I believe the term is coup de gras, as spoken by your ancestors so many generations before you." She slowly made her way from one side of the room to the other. Just a few more paces and she would be directly under me. I don't know if she read my mind or heard my breathing, but she chose then to look up, her whirling blades slowing to a crawl in surprise. I was clinging to the rafters high above her head. I chose that moment to let go. I dropped, the double blade still in my mouth. As I fell I grabbed two of the blades on the way down and swung them both in for her neck.

She hunched down and caused her three remaining blades to catch each of mine in opposition. The ordeal ended with me held up above her, blade for blade with my tail in the air while I was suspended above her mere inches from her face. My muscles quivered while I held the handstand, balanced on each other's swords. A blue glow wrapped around me and all the weapons disappeared while I was deposited in front of her. She stood up and threw her head back in laughter. "Such nerve! Dream or not, your mind is far sharper than any blade that can be forged. I underestimated you and it is something I rarely allow. That is all for this lesson. I believe we have both learned something, the folly of underestimation. From this point on I shall continue training you in your blade work and testing your progress." The room faded into darkness and we floated in space. "Just remember, a long fight is a losing fight."

-----------------ooooooooooooo---------------------

My dreams were not the only place my skills were challenged in. Lance and I had grown closer, spending more time together than I can remember us doing before. I knew he wanted to kiss me on several occasions, getting that dreamy look of his before I would turn away with some excuse to head somewhere. If I were to be truly honest with myself, I was afraid. The other thestrals my age had stopped teasing me since our return from the jungle and the way was paved for Lance and I to explore our feelings, and yet I was hesitant. Was he the only one that showed interest in me? Were we meant to be together? How does one kiss? Is it like using a straw or do you have to lick everything you can? I hadn't even ventured out into the world beyond the swamps and jungle, or met any other thestral communities, let alone thought of dating other species. Dating. Just the word brought a whole different level of conflicting feelings and questions. I spoke to Mother and asked her for advice. She spoke very pragmatically, asked me how I felt, what kind of colt Lance was, whether we had been intimate. My answers were guarded and I was embarrassed to even think about intimacy. Father told me not get pregnant, which is why I stuck to Mother for advice.

Father was recovering from his burns. Four unicorns were able to travel from the north and tend to the adults' injuries, including my father's. They said he would fly again eventually, but his muscles were damaged and it would take a lot of therapy to get his wing working right. His attitude was more like, "As long as I am alive, I don't care about flying. Seeing my wife and daughter are all I need to defy gravity." As blunt as he might be in affairs of the heart, he did know how to melt mine and Mother's. Mother took that occasion to point out that is what I should look for in a colt, that special charm. Now if Lance could be as deft in courtship, I could dare say I'd finally be happy.

Hearts and Hooves day was fast approaching and Lance was fit to burst over plans he had made for us.

We sat high up on Heartmelt Cliff overlooking the town on the slopes. It was a little chilly late into the early morning hours and Lance had brought a blanket for us to wrap ourselves in. It also allowed us to be very close together under that blanket. While most of the community was preparing to go to sleep by sunup, Lance's romantic vision was to stay up to watch the sun rise. Even now the horizon was starting to glow. Normally the light would hurt our eyes to stare at but he had this notion that it equated to his burning love for me. I told him he should get that checked by a dermatologist.

He scoffed. "And here I was going to give you this very hard to find and expensive present. Huh, I guess my mother will enjoy it."

I playfully punched him in his foreleg, "Oh come on, don't be like that! I'm sure whatever it is can be cured, by either a topical steroid or a good brillo pad..." I broke down into giggling fits.

Lance grinned and growled softly, "You are positively evil, you know that? Well so am I!" He launched into a series of tickle attacks which made me jump up, causing him to grab me by the waist and we fell over, entangled in the blanket. I yelled, laughing and out of breath.

"Stop it! Knock it off! I am going to knee you!" As I struggled to knock away his hooves, we rolled very close to the edge with my head dropping off, looking at the town upside down, Lance on top and breathing heavily. I yelled, "Stop! If I fall, who will catch me?!"

He calmed down, staring into my eyes, the whole town dropping away behind me while he slowed his breath, "I will of course."

"Then who will catch you?"

He got a pinched look, "Anypony ever tell you you talk too much?" I poked him in the ribs for good measure, earning a grunt.

"Yes, you on several occasions." He chuckled and reached up to caress my cheek. I shivered at his touch, though I felt we were going a little fast. I murmured softly, "I am sure this is not the present you had in mind for me..." I glanced at his backpack.

With a wistful look he replied, "I was kinda thinking about my present- OOF!" That time I really did punch him and he got off. We sat up.

I shook my head and smirked, "You are such a pig. You're lucky I put up with you." He grumbled with an overly dramatic hurt look. To make amends I rewrapped the blanket around us and gently rubbed the lower rib I had hit. He stretched gently to make sure there was only bruising to that and his ego, then he reached over to open his pack on the ground and pulled out a red metallic paper wrapped box, shaped in a large heart. As he opened it I was stunned at what lay inside. It was a massive flat slab of chocolate in the shape of a heart, easily several hooves across. Blue colored chocolate wings were at the center with a silver icing dagger. I exclaimed, "Lance, where...HOW did you get this?! The chocolate shortage...." My voice trailed off, I couldn't fathom the cost. Since our return from the jungle, our community had to rely on the dwindling reserves of the cocoa powder that was left in the storehouse. No thestrals would venture out to harvest the pods for fear of being attacked. That caused the prices of all chocolate products made locally to go up as the supply and demand paradigm shifted. Imports were few and far between, which made what I was looking at a fortune.

Lance regained his suave composure and shrugged, "My mother once told me, 'A thing has reached its true value when it is most cherished.' Besides, I had already put in the request before Hearth's Warming Day. Chaw Ko runs his candy store fairly and he wasn't about to run up the price on a desperate lovesick thestrel." I moved closer and lightly placed my hooves around his sides.

"Desperate? Desperate enough to chase me into a jungle and get stuck in a ravine?" The sun was starting to peek over the horizon. I stared into his eyes to avoid the sun's rays, his face getting brighter from the sun, and also my closeness.

Lance nodded, moving his muzzle closer to mine as I felt his hooves caressing my back, "Desperate enough to follow you into a den of fire-breathing reptiles." I could feel his hot breath on me, see the reflection of the sun in his eyes as it rose. It was a blazing orb even if only mirrored. His eyes watered to keep me in focus.

I started to reply, "Desperate enough to-" I cut off as I noticed curious moving objects, like birds black across the face of the sun's image in the reflection in his eyes and I turned to look, shielding my eyesight with a hoof.

Lance leaned closer, blinded by the sun, "Desperate enough to mmmffff." He found his muzzle buried in the side of my head and pulled back. "Great. My first non-mommy kiss, The Ear Kiss. That will go down in the history books of memory lane." His annoyance dissipated when he raised his foreleg and used his fur to filter some of the light, squinting. He gasped and grabbed my shoulder, "Jen, run!"

I turned to look at him, blinking aware the glare spots, "What are they? The sun is too bright, I can't tell."

He yelled quickly as he pulled both of us up. "RUN! Those are dragons approaching!" The heart box slipped from our laps and fell over the edge. I made to grab it but Lance pulled me back, "Leave it! We need to warn the town, we still have a few minutes before they get there. You make your way down to the cave entrance and warn anypony you see on the way. I will try to alert the outlying businesses still open this late. The farmers, damn, they will be in the fields already. Go!" I nodded and began to gallop before skidding to a halt.

"Lance! The unicorn healers, they are staying at the town hall, not in the tunnels!"

He nodded as he took to the sky, "I didn't forget them, they might even be able to shield us. Now run those pretty legs off!" He dove down below the cliff edge heading for town. I ran.

It was a few minutes before I reached the first building, the school, but I passed it without pause. Obviously with our night schedule it would be closed at this morning hour, so I continued on. Rounding the corner I headed down the road that cut it's way into the slope. Before I could reach any of the other scattered buildings at this level, a sizzling sound crackled overhead. I glanced up to see a fireball rip by and a resultant explosion followed, debris from the school building showering from above. As bad as my school life was up to this point, it didn't have to get blown up like that. The dragons had to know nopony would be in there now. Torching it was just vindictiveness and I burned with rage, but I couldn't do anything about that just yet. I had to reach the few thestrals still up and about.

I ducked into the nearest pub, which had a couple patrons in it. The barkeep Jammy Spirits was wiping down the countertop and never looked up, "You know you kids are not supposed to be in here. I don't care what special love day it is or how far along in puberty you are and yes I am aware mares mature quicker than stallions, I was in high school too once upon a-"

I cut him off by yelling, "Mr. Spirits, dragons are attacking us!"

There was a crash in the back room and one of the waitresses poked her head out, wide-eyed. Jammy looked up at me, did a once over and nodded. He yelled, "Bar's closed! Wife Alert, get to the cave now!" The normally lethargic customers were on their hooves and out the door before I could get out of the way, jostling me aside as they passed. Jammy waved the waitress to go as he ran into the kitchen. A cook and another server came out, followed by Jammy. He dragged me with him as we left the building without locking up. He said, "I told them to pass the word as they make their way down to the caves, that should help move things along." There was a wooshing sound as a younger dragon flew overhead, a stream of fire torching some buildings lower on the slopes. "If there are any buildings left by then. At least they are daytime creatures." Jammy had an entirely calm exterior considering the danger surrounding us, which I commented on. He nodded his head and replied, "The town council was expecting this ever since you helped get our folks back. Most of 'em should be heading to the cave as soon as they see what is happening."

Some of the other thestrals were flying in different directions to spread the word. A thought occurred to me and I asked as I slowed, "Wait, why are you not flying?"

He trotted to a halt and grinned sheepishly, "In the bar I'm a jerk. Outside, I am polite. Figured you might need an escort." I snorted and he nodded, "Yeah, what do I know, you youngins fight dragons every other night. Just make sure you reach the cave." He turned and galloped to the road edge and launched off the cliff edge to glide to the lower levels, zigzagging to avoid dragon strafes.

As I wound my way down the twisting roads and found most of the buildings empty or on fire, I noticed the younger dragons were readily avoiding contact with thestrals, holding their fire until the way was clear to spew flames. Only the large red dragon was flying about recklessly.

I had nearly reached the ground level when I came across the flower shop which was on fire. I started to move past it when the burning structure fell forward, timbers splintering under the compromised roof. I tried to dodge most of it, but much of the debris blew outward, one brick shard cutting across my hind quarter muscle. I nearly collapsed from the pain and damaged muscle. I knelt down to inspect the injury and noticed some tracks in the dirt, clearly a juvenile dragon's prints. They wound their way behind the wreckage of the burning flower shop. Against my better judgement I followed them, limping slightly. Quietly creeping forward I turned the corner and met up with a dark blue dragon's head sitting directly in front of me. Several pots lay scattered about, their soil dumped out and petals from flowers were everywhere. The male dragon's ice blue eyes stared at me, unwavering. I was so shaken by the surprise encounter, I blurted out, "Alright, spits or swallows?" As the dragon's eyes widened I groaned and covered my muzzle with my hoof, looking away.

The dragon clacked his jaws and pulled away from me with disgust, "You night ponies are sick."

I blushed with embarrassment and the insides of my ears turned red. "I meant...ah... are you using fire on me or teeth? Not that those are the only options!"

Growling softly, the blue turned its head using one eye to watch me, "Perhaps I was eating and the fire throws off my palette."

I slowly turn around as I said, "Then I will leave you to your flowers and torching our town." Before I could move, a scaly leg descended in front of me as the dragon shifted to sit in my path.

It growled, "I did not torch any part of your town. The others only do it out of fear for the Great One."

That got me to reviewing what I saw earlier, how the younger ones were not very enthusiastic. I pleaded, "If they do not like it then you can get them to stop. You all can stop your Great One!" The dragon laughed, wet petals flinging everywhere, including my face.

"They will not listen to me. I eat flowers. I do not sue for leadership and neither will the others. The Great One would have to be challenged by a worthy opponent of strength. That is why the brood are all young, to solidify his rule and ensure no challenge."

I tried to think through this. I wasn't fighting at the moment, but it felt like when I sparred Nightmare Moon. Except there were no lanterns of fire to douse in water, no rafters in darkness to hide and spring a counterattack from.

Douse the fire.

It was the pools of burning water that kept bubbling up in my mind, the fire water. I asked the dragon, "What would your Great One do if something happened to the fire water. Let's say, if they were emptied or destroyed?"

The dragon curled its maw in amusement and chortled, "The prickly kitties wish to take the pools, the batty ponies wish to take leave of their senses and destroy the pools?"

I got closer and stamped my hoof, looking straight up at it and demanded, "Yes! So? What would happen?" The dragon sobered and lowered its head to my eye level.

It replied, "After much rage and revenge, the Great One would take us back across the sea." It eyed me thoughtfully, then added, "You already know how to do this, don't you?" Under that gaze I nodded truthfully, biting my lip. The dragon tilted its head, waiting. I gave my proposal. The scheme involved digging a hole directly from under the seabed off the coast to have it empty directly into the large cavern, thereby filling the cavern and mixing with the pools, not to mention filling up the lower tunnels. The dragon sat back and rumbled, "No tiny bat pony could accomplish this."

I nodded and said, "Of course it requires dragon fire to melt a tunnel. Willing dragon fire." The dragon growled in irritation and moved past me to rummage through some more planters.

"It is not enough to say 'because it is the right thing to do' for me to risk the Great One's wrath and destroy our new home."

I followed behind it and said, "But I didn't say it was the right thing to do. You did." The dragon turned its head and growled at me dangerously. I raised my hoof and ducked my head, "Fine, fine. Last time I played at words with you dragons I nearly got killed. What is it you want?"

The dragon regarded me before answering, "Power. Wealth. Support of the other drakes."

I shook my head, "Why can't you get that now? You seem independent, more like a leader than a follower."

The dragon chuckled and looked away, as if listening, then focused back to me. "I eat flowers. The others see me as weak if I do not eat flesh. My dark blue scales also invite ridicule. A nightflyer, I have been called." Its...HIS words rang true with the years of similar treatment I had endured.

I stepped close to him and put my hoof on his leg, stating, "I know what you are talking about all too well. I got through it by standing up to my bullies...now I am in love with the worst one."

The dragon regarded my hoof and snorted, "We have heard of the strange ways of the ponies in these lands. I will not mate with the Great One."

I exhaled with exasperation and retorted, "That's not what I meant! Let's say you destroy the pools. The red makes all of you leave. Later on you whisper to the others it was you who manipulated 'the Great One' proving you have power. And as the others become convinced of removing the red as leader, they will support you and you all can share the leadership. A group's greatest power is to rule as a group."

The dragon appeared to consider my words before he suddenly became alert. "The firing of your buildings has slowed. The others will consider the task done, but I fear the Great One will attack your underground tunnel before leaving." He proceeded to exit the yard before he paused and added, "I shall consider your words. Though they are meant to manipulate me as well, the end result is beneficial to us both. These conflicts expend too much energy, regardless of what celestial body we sleep under. It is difficult enough to find good flowers without having to replenish a bellyful."

Once the dragon had left, I made my way to the cave mouth as best I could given my hurt leg. Everypony was there except Lance and the farmers. One of the unicorns, a teal mare, was chanting quietly while the other three were arguing. I drew near them and overheard what they were saying, "...was never our fight to begin with. We had strict edicts in place. 'Peace through Parlay'. Given this area's history, they can appreciate the irony of the word 'parlay'." That was the white unicorn. I asked why the shield was not up yet. He scowled and replied, "This is not just some personal force field we can pop out. It has to repel dragonfire, AND cover the splash radius which includes the rocks. Does no good to protect the cave hole while the whole cave melts around you. The spell requires time to set up." He walked over to the teal unicorn, grumbling about night ponies and their ignorance of magic. I let it slide since they were trying to protect us and stepped over to the entrance, searching for any sign of Lance.

Before long a stream of thestrals from the fields came galloping in. I asked about Lance and they said he was supposed to be right behind them. A minute later Lance swooped in and alighted in front of me, holding a slightly charred heart shaped box. I shook my head at his daring as he offered it to me. I told him, "You bonehead, only you would risk your life to find a box of chocolate." I opened it to find it was mushy. It must have landed near a burning building. Still, it was thoughtful, even if it was stupid and risky.

The thestral grinned and said, "Hey, I couldn't let all that chocolate go to waste, it was expensive even before the shortage." I went to playfully hit him when we heard a loud roar from outside. We could see movement among the rocks and boulders a few hundred yards from the entrance, a glimpse of red scales. I looked to the unicorns and alerted them to the dragon's proximity.

The white unicorn shook his head, "We need a few more minutes. She's almost complete but we can't hurry it or it could drop the ceiling on our heads." Lance stepped over and asked me to open the box, which I did. He stuck his front hooves in the soft chocolate and smeared it on his chest in the shape of a heart.

I frowned and asked him, "What are you doing? Nothing stupid I hope." He gave me a lopsided smile and cautiously stepped back to the entrance. I hurried after him and grabbed his shoulder, "No, no no don't even think about it! I'll go."

He turned to me and said, "Don't think I didn't notice the cut on your leg. You'd never be able to keep. Somepony else has to divert its attention long enough to save us, it's already too close as it is." He started to edge out and I grabbed him by the mane, twisting his head back to me. As he opened his mouth to argue I mashed my muzzle against his, giving him the angriest, most forceful, passionate, and terrible kiss any thestral had known in generations. When I finally released him, he had to breathe quickly to catch his breath.

I told him, "How is that for the history books?" All he could do was nod. Looking past him, I could see the dragon emerging into the open and spotting the cavern opening. A few more workers from the fields were also headed to the entrance and the dragon started moving towards them. The other thestrals in the cave started to yell and point. I looked to the white unicorn who shook his head, indicating at least a minute to go. Without a word Lance became steely-eyed and flew out, a Dark Lance heading straight for the dragon.

Lance stopped to within several yards in front of the dragon. The red growled and opened its mouth, tongue quivering with anticipation. Lance yelled at it, "Nuh uh, big boy! This will be the last chocolate covered thestral you ever chow down on." He made a show of his covered hooves and chest. "Eat my heart out!" The dragon roared and swiped at the thestral with its claws. Lance ducked low and swooped around behind the dragon, redirecting it as the farmers ran full speed to the rest of us.

The last of the farmers ran into the cave mouth as Lance flew around the dragon, dodging swipes from its claws and tail. The teal unicorn's chanting started to resonate and her horn began to glow. It was a hundred yards out from the cave mouth where the air shimmered, well past the dragon and Lance, placing them between us and the shield. I yelled that the shield was too far away to do any good. Lance noticed and started heading back, flying as fast as he could to us with the large red dragon in pursuit. The dragon began inhaling.

The white unicorn yelled, "We haven't had time to acclimate this geopositional locale! Flowerflux, minus eighty yards to you. Reposition it, now!" There was a delay as the teal's chanting tweaked the air itself. Finally the entrance glowed a brilliant rainbow hue, along with the surrounding rock and ground. Lance skidded to a halt just before running into the shield on the other side from me. He hovered there, staring at me. I screamed and threw myself against the shield, beating against it with my hooves. We heard the dragon approaching, the ground shaking from the behemoth's quick strides, the pitch in the air getting higher as it inhaled. In Lance's eyes I saw no fear, no dread of his impending mortality. I only saw his love, and it did burn for me like a rising sun. I yelled at the unicorns to let him through. I turned my head to spit epithets at them, anything to get him on the other side with me. Alongside the teal unicorn, the lime green and light blue unicorns had also joined in powering the shield, their horns glowing brightly as all three colors of their fur poured into one stream of light linking to the shield. The white unicorn replied harshly, "There's not enough time to move it again. He chose his fight, as did all of you when you angered that dragon's nest. Pray to the heavens that the shield holds!"

I turned back to watch Lance, placing my hoof where the chocolate heart was smeared. He pressed his chest to the shield as though I were touching him. Then everything became bright red and then white. The heat emanating from the shield forced me to pull back and turn away. A dark shape of a thestral surrounded by white burned into an afterimage floated in my eyes. The shield pulsed and lessened. The teal unicorn screamed, "I can't hold it! It's faltering!"

The white unicorn stepped up, muttering, "I'll be damned if anypony else dies today." His horn flared, easily lending twice as much power as the other three were providing. The stream of fire poured into the shield and surrounding rock. I could see the edges of the rock not protected starting to turn red. The white unicorn yelled incoherently and pointed his horn, pouring pure white energy directly at the point where the fire was splashing the shield. The coverage of the shield widened out past where we could see the rock cooking from the fire. There was a flicker and when I looked back, the white unicorn's horn was giving off sparks, starting to smoke. A few seconds later, the horn exploded. The shield sent out a pulse of energy, knocking everyone back, including the dragon. The unicorns still powering the shield were able to maintain their positions as the white unicorn fell over, a charred stump which used to be his horn trailing wisps of smoke as he hit the ground.

The dragon circled away from us, its fire expended for now. As it eyed the entrance, the teal unicorn whispered, "If it hits us again, the shield will fail." One of the adult thestrals overheard and began ushering the other thestrals deeper into the tunnel. Lance's parents were slow to move, still in shock at the loss of their son. I went back to the shield and saw a pile of ash on the other side. I slumped against the shield and started crying. After a few minutes I noticed movement. A large eye moved just near me on the other side, not a hoof's distance from me.

It noticed me watching it and it spoke quietly, "Now you know what it is to lose one of your own. A war is won when the weak has willfully withered. Continuance of this conflict will culminate in your community's calamity. Day and Night will never see eye to eye."

I picked up my head and leveled my gaze, eye to eye with the red. "We never killed any of you. But you have taken from us, now. Our town, our livelihood, and a loved one." I stood up, anger building in me, "And I will see you, an eye FOR an eye." The dragon's gaze narrowed into slits, grunted and moved away slowly. Several of the other young dragons watched with neutral expressions, following the big red as it passed. The dark blue dragon lingered. It must have witnessed the heroic act of Lance because it scratched a thin red line in the shape of a heart on its soft underside and nodded to me before catching up with the others. As much as I hated the red dragon, it was correct. We would never see each other as equals unless it was under one sky.

The unicorns held the shield long after the dragons left before letting it drop. I could not bring myself to go near where Lance had been. One of the exhausted unicorns tended to the white one, making sure he was still alive. I asked if the destruction of his horn was permanent and they said no. The teal mare answered, "It will eventually grow back and he will have to relearn spell casting. He was the strongest of us, as healers go." I was still numb from witnessing Lance's death, but I harbored a small dash of gratefulness that the white unicorn was not permanently injured. Despite his clinical position on our predicament, he and his friends had risked their lives to save us. Most of us. The selfish side of me said it was not enough, over and over.

Once it was clear the dragons were not returning, the adult thestrals made their way back to the town and put out what flames were still there. More buildings had survived than were destroyed or even damaged. I knew that the younger dragons had done that on purpose. My war was not with them. It was the one red terror, a terror to them and to my community. It had burned away a part of my life before I could even explore my new feelings with him, burned away a part of me inside.

There was a ceremony as Lance's parents collected his ashes. The community erected a small shrine in his honor, a box with his ashes sealed inside it exactly on the spot where he gave his life so that all who entered our cave home would see the life that was given to preserve it.

The school was rebuilt in the following months, but I refused to attend. There was nothing left for me to learn, and very little to live for, except the smoldering anger I stoked inside myself. I was ready to continue in that state until my parents were talking over dinner one night and mentioned a traveling group of ridge cats had just arrived to stay at the town hall and speak with the council. I jumped out of my chair and quickly ran, my parents calling after me. I did not stop until I reached the building, still showing signs of damage from the attacks earlier in the year. As I made my way in I heard a low purr from the shadows as Velvet stepped out from near a corner window where he had been watching my approach. He murred in a velvety voice, "I had wondered when you would be dropping by. Word is you have a fish to fry with some lizards that fly."

I stepped up to him with my eyes flashing in anger, "Drop the word games, that is what THAT thing does! I am here to get revenge. Can you help me or not?"

The cat looked over where several others were setting up their sleeping rolls on the floor. The town mayor who had been trying to talk the leader of the group into using beds instead of the floor stopped talking and looked at me, sympathy in his eyes. The leader of the cats patted his forehead with a furry paw and said, "We are a hard people. It is the floor that you should make accommodations for." The leader than padded softly over to me on all fours before standing up, offering a paw, "Velvet has told us much about the Slicer of Dragons. I am Hangnail, the leader of this rag tattered bunch of furballs." The other ridge cats chuckled and went about their sleeping arrangements. They did not look ragged, or tattered. I took Hangnail's paw and shook it, wrinkling my face as I looked at the paw. He huffed and replied, "That is not why I got the name. Another story for the road perhaps. Velvet has made a case to bring you back with us and train you in our ways. Can you survive the trip, or our training? Is you heart strong?"

I looked at Velvet, then back at Hangnail. "That vile beast melted three hearts when it came here. I swear to you one has been reforged into a weapon not of this earth. I will take all you can give me, and I will have that beast's heart, strong or not." Hangnail looked at Velvet in surprise.

Velvet glanced back at me and said, "She was a spirit of the jungle when we first met. Now she is a fury on fire, furry, ferocious and furious." My face heated in anger and he grinned, "Good. You will need that when we fight the serpent brood. Words may stay a blade or move a heart, but a blade stays a heart every time."

I nodded and said, "That is word play I can appreciate." The two cats nodded and welcomed me as if I were one of them. My parents eventually came to the town hall after I did not return to our abode. They became upset when I told them I was leaving for the Badlands, so it was not the best of goodbyes. Even the mayor had misgivings about it and was afraid I would enrage the dragons further. Hangnail told him that the dragons saw all night creatures, including thestrals and ridge cats, as the same, so our town was likely to be attacked no matter who went. I did speak to my parents before leaving, telling them I loved them. They said there was a good possibility my community would have to abandon the area altogether and move somewhere else to escape retaliation. As it was, we had lost the agriculture fields and most of the food stores. If I returned and they had indeed left, I was to find them to the north, possibly one of the other thestral communities. I wasn't just leaving for a while. I had an idea that it was permanent. Velvet offered for me to visit the Badlands at a later time when we were settled into a new home. I said no, that I was ready for this. I needed this. Hangnail, the more grizzled of the two warned about needing something too much, but I had no idea what he was talking about. He said it was a malady of the young.

After a few days, the cats were ready to journey back after having delivered their condolences and warning for our thestrals to seek a new home. I stood at the mouth of the tunnel, in front of the shrine. I had placed the heart box on the stone pedestal, my final gift to Lance. I hadn't had the strength to eat the chocolate, so the most costly thing prior to that day was the most trivial thing today. I held up the dagger he had given me, staring at my reflection in its blade. I stabbed it down on the heart box and pulled it back out. It was warm early in the night after the sun had gone down and some of the chocolate had stuck to the blade. I whispered, "Now that I know what is worth fighting for, this dagger also knows. It knows revenge. You will be avenged, Dark Lance. All those of the night will." The cats waited solemnly until I slipped the blade back into my pack, unclean.

Velvet padded softly up to me and said, "Welcome to the war."

Author's Note

Slicer Jen was originally introduced with a bit of a French accent in Burning Embers. Since then, both bobbybrony and I have not really played up that angle, assuming that the reader can hear her words in that accent. I'll go ahead and admit it is hard to do any accent in writing unless you sub in coloquial touristy words and I feel like it is too cliche or stereotypical to resort to that. Bobbybrony has used actual language and background to supply those elements of culture. I am not a language expert and I would assume the timeline of cultures differs greatly than present day Earth, so my approach is to similarly dash the story with background to explain the accent. In this case, she has an accent from living in a community that is self sufficient and it does not mix with other communities that much. There was a French-like language spoken by early thestrals a long time ago in the community I have created, however over the years the language has died out, much like bobbybrony's Imperial Griffonian. In the case of the thestral community, the smaller population concentration caused it to disappear, leaving behind only a few terms, such as mon ami, coup de gras, oui and so forth. Fragments of an older society is more believable than a heavy handed approach like, 'they speak French and I call it Local Thestral'. I leave it to the reader to use their imagination.

A Friend of an Enemy's Friend

It was over a year since I had left my home to come here to the Badlands. I had gone back to my home in the mountains on Hearts and Hooves Day to pay respects to Lance's shrine at the mouth of the cave. It was true, the community really had left the cave network and the town further up the slopes. Partially built shells of fondly remembered stores and blackened husks of burnt buildings were all that remained. The caves were equally as cold, with small animals starting to move in. I knew my parents had moved to a safe place, along with the rest of the townsfolk. It was the memories that haunted me now. The shrine remained unaffected by the weather, though. There was an air of magic about it, a preservation spell possibly from one of the unicorns before they left. As much as they held disdain for the mess we inadvertently became mired in, the unicorns did do a lot for us when we needed them most. If only they could have done a little more...if only I could have. In any case, it did not feel like home anymore. Nowhere did, aside from the attic at Hangnail's abode. I was glad to start back to the Badlands that same day, my bitter memories as travel mates to keep me cozy. We did not part ways once I reached my destination back.

That first year and the following one I felt most free, and most volatile. I did not have much responsibility aside from running the shaman's errands, which gave me plenty of time to practice my talents. Conversely, it had become harder and harder to reach Nightmare Moon and I couldn't explain why. My frustration with the dragons and my loss clearly should have bridged space and time, yet I heard not a whisper of Her. With the passing of the second Hearts and Hooves Day I didn't even bother visiting my old home, plus with recurring nightmares of Lance dying, still no sign of my mentor, not in my dreams, and no solace when I awoke. The shaman did his best to keep my mind off the past, and off dragons too, I suspected. For the last several months he had me take up sewing in between sessions practicing with the other warriors of the tribe.

The males would try to show their superiority in movement and martial prowess while the females were downright nasty when sparring with me. One of the friendlier ones admitted it was jealousy of my relationship with Velvet. I told them he was only teaching me how to fight and that was it, but they wouldn't listen. In the end I had to push myself to beat them all. Some things never changed.

The sewing did have a soothing effect to my moods. I honestly had not noticed how angry I was until Velvet approached me one day and asked if I would ever be happy with what I had. I snapped at him with something to the effect that he should stay away from me if he didn't want to get hurt. What I meant was to keep him safe, though if I were truthful with myself, I did not know if the danger was from others, or from me. It was the hurt I saw in his eyes that I knew how he felt about me, and how I felt about everything. I went to the shaman for advice, anger and pain roiling in me. I was never disappointed when it came to the shaman bringing out the best in me.

"Bump fuzzies with him and make bat-pony-kittens. I would live another lifetime to see that." I gawked at his audacity to suggest such a thing, and so bluntly to my face! He blinked and raised an eyebrow, "Beast with two backs? No? How about cat-scratch fever, desert style, quite unlike the jungle fever you may be used to, wait, no. You lived near the swamplands in a cave. Do the swamp thang!" I charged at him with blind rage while he leaned against his alchemy table. At the last instant, he kicked the gnarled wooden staff leaning next to him, the heavy top end flipping over to hit me on the forehead as he stepped out of my way. I barely glimpsed him grabbing the staff out of midair before slamming it into my back, propelling me even faster into a nearby bookcase. Several books of plants I had already read slid off the shifting shelves, pummeling me. Before I could get up, the bookcase fell over on me. The combined weight of it all kept me from barely moving, until the shaman hopped up on the bookcase and sat on it, trapping me completely. My tail twitched like an enraged cat as I waited for him to give me his lecture.

"I do so enjoy a bit of heavy reading first thing in the morning. Gets the blood pumping. Did you know there are different types of blood, even among the same species? There is an entire volume dedicated to blood studies in there, if you are interested. It WAS on the third shelf there." He tapped his staff on the bookcase, eliciting a groan from me. "Mm, perhaps another time I would venture. First Rule of Fighting?"

My muffled voice drifted up angrily, "Self Control!"

He replied, "The Second Rule of Fighting?"

I responded in a softer tone, "Self Control."

The shaman breathed in slowly, as though drinking in the very energy in the air. "And of course, the Third Rule of Fighting is...?" I could do nothing else but breathe similarly, yet I remained silent. I tested my limbs to see if there was any budge to the material piled atop me. The shaman smiled and nodded. "Yes, with an unclouded mind formulate a plan while in the eye of the storm. Many great warriors have failed because they could not focus after their first inevitable failure, either a failed attack or initial plan falling apart. You control nothing but yourself, in the end." With his always insightful speech out of the way he began lifting the bookcase and shoving books off of me. I lay there and stared at an open book in front of me. It was a book on sewing, from basic functional articles of clothing to exotic bags and other cloth patterns. One picture showed what looked like a pegasus in a dress, the cutie mark covered up by the flowing fabric. The shaman sat down next to me and grinned, "I remember when that was in fashion up north. They so love their dresses and suits up there. It never really caught on in the southern regions."

I muttered more to myself than to him, "I could have used that growing up, to cover my birth mark. Let them laugh at my exotic outfit, and not at me, or the lack of me." I traced the wings that were partially hidden under the dress of the pegasus. The shaman scratched his chin and leaned closer.

"Naw, I can't see you wearing one of those. As good as you can hide, your hide is too bold to be worth hiding." He chuckled at himself while I suffered his humor. He got up quickly and went over to an old trunk and rummaged inside it. He pulled out a small wooden box and set it down in front of me, opening the lid. Inside was an assortment of thread spools, needles and measuring tape. He held up one of the needles and said quietly, "In peace, this can save one's reputation. In war, this saves many. You have a conflict inside you, and I think this can save you from yourself. Take the book and box, start with small things. I shall find other things for you to work on, but I have a feeling this is the best advice I can give you. Fuzzies aside, of course." I glowered, yet I held myself in check. I needed something else to take my mind off things or I was going to drive myself mad.

---------ooooooooooo------------

The summer and winter were a bit peculiar in the arid country where the cats lived, in that those were the only two seasons here versus the broader four seasons I grew up with on the base slopes of the mountains further north. The plants and animals here were evolved specifically to conserve and appreciate water. Being a creature of the night, I was grateful when I did not have to look for the shaman's specific plants under the hot thirst-provoking sun. No, today held another kind of thirst. A thirst for knowledge, and training, and blood, and-

"Ouch! Dammit, why am I doing this again? This doesn't kill dragons!" I sucked on the tip of my hoof where the needle had stuck me. The shaman and I were in his hut. He was toiling away at grinding in his mortar while I sat in the middle of the floor sewing. I knew this was to calm me during times of internal turmoil...however, I was sewing his stupid loin cloth! At least he had the decency to wash it before making me patch it. "Which reminds me, how does a mangy old cat like you get patches in your loin cloth anyway?!"

The shaman stopped grinding and glanced at me with a deadpan look. "You are not the only one that goes out looking for plants and trouble. Besides, do you wish me to walk around naked?" He turned around in a hideous display, posing as though he were on some fancy modeling stage. He was wearing a spare loincloth, thank the Heavens.

I shook my head and went back to work, pushing the needle through the cloth and pulling out the slack from the glass thistle thread. "You are covered in fur. Nakedness only comes into play when you are shaved." I glanced at my pack with the dagger handle sticking out of a side pocket. "That I can help you with." The shaman cackled and went back to his mortar.

"I am too old for such whimsical foreplay, but thankyou for offering." My needle slipped again, earning another outcry of pain. The shaman merely grinned and hummed a catchy tune to himself. He paused as I went back to work and smiled, "You have come a long way. You even got through this past Cuddles and Kittens Day without threatening to kill any feline that smiled at you."

I continued working, determined not to be provoked THIS time. "It's Hearts and Hooves, you wiley whiskermouth...and I wasn't quite so bad then. I just needed some space."

The shaman guffawed and shook his paw at me, "Too much space can drive away those that care too much. Besides, sooner or later you do need to get back into the loving mood." I was about to respond with a scathing destination he could stick his advice when Velvet chose that moment to step in unannounced and chuckled as he took in the scene.

"There are easier ways to get into a ridgecat's loincloth. Suffering the antics of an old crazy feline is not one of them." As he walked by I swiped at him with the needle, which he deflty hopped over. He stood next to the shaman and nodded his head, "You wished to see me, Great old One?" The older cat laughed and slid a jar over to Velvet. There were several rocks and bits of metal in the jar.

"I need you to find more of that during your wanderings. You may have to push aside some dirt now and again, or look under a ledge or two." The levity went out of Velvet as he began to realize all the scratching in the dirt he would have to do. He let out a small growl. The shaman waved dismissively, "Oh put away your velvet paws, this is actually important for the survival of our tribe." Velvet reluctantly picked up the jar and slipped it into a pouch on his quiver. I noticed he was geared up as though ready for war. Even his bow was strung and in his paw. I inquired about where the war was going to take place and he smirked. It was the shaman that answered, "Just outside in the practice field, with you in the center of it. You had mentioned your inability to commune with your mentor as of late. I have some thoughts on that, but for now, Velvet has volunteered to step up your training. In addition to sewing and learning about plants and the world around you, it is time you learned how to face death." With that, Velvet nodded once and stepped to the door quickly, subtly taking a wide path to avoid another swipe from me. I ignored him, set aside the loincloth and needle and hopped up, approaching the shaman.

"What about my mentor? What is it you think you know?"

With a sigh, the shaman turned around without any sign of humor. He looked so very old at that moment. "The young have little patience, and you most of all leap headfirst when you should study the tracks, think through the processes and pathways needed to achieve your goals." I gritted my teeth and remained silent just so he could get on with it. I knew he was right but now I was more interested in Nightmare Moon than his rules of combat. He recognized my posture as it underscored what he just said, then shrugged. "Perhaps you will eventually learn these lessons. As to your mentor, I fear things are quickening to an unseen conclusion. The stars have begun to shift, an event not witnessed for generations. I await the other tribal shamans and their observations, but so far there is an acceleration of celestial movement toward the middle of summer."

I looked away to process everything he was saying. It always came back to the stars watching over the moon like guardians, or wards. Not a permanent guard. Nothing was ever permanent. I looked up and asked, "The peak of their movement, when will that be?"

He watched me and stated, "Our summer solstice. The longest hour of the longest day. Only two months from now. What will be will be. In the meantime, Velvet wishes to make you face death." I wrinkled my nose and turned away. I walked slowly to my pack and pulled out my dagger and leg sheath before moving to the doorway. As I secured the sheath to my foreleg, the shaman said, "If you survive, be sure to stitch up the tail hole on my garment, definitely gets worn out in the field. You know, with having just scrub brush out there...." I had to practically run out of the hut to avoid hearing anymore of his twisted mind.

I stepped out to the large courtyard nearby where we normally did our sparring. It was early in the morning hours around late supper time for most of the nocturnal cats, yet there were no other cats around in sight. Velvet stood on the other end of the sparring ring, holding his bow in one paw and an arrow in the other. A glint shone off the arrowhead from a nearby hooded torchlight. I chuckled and called out while pointing to the left, "The target dummies are that way, V." I never could say his name without giggling or turning away to cover up a smile. I tried other nicknames and they always made his hackles stand up. V was the best I could do. Velvet stood silently, watching me. His eyes flickered to my self-stitched dagger sheath and the blade inside it, then back up to my eyes, as if trying to read me. I started to feel uncomfortable because this was not his usual approach to sparring, certainly not with a bow. As if he really did read my mind, he raised the bow and nocked the arrow. I immediately shifted my stance from casual to completely defensive. None of our sparring ever incorporated dodging arrows! I tensed, waiting for him to shift his aim or at least lower the bow. His fingers released the arrow and I threw myself into the dirt as it tore through the air over me. I got up choking from grit and spat, "Are you actually trying to kill me?!"

He had already pulled another arrow from his quiver and was drawing a bead on me. His response was almost monotone, "I am forcing you to face death. You will either learn this lesson, or learn nothing ever again." He let loose. This time I dodged to the side and kept running. I hadn't gone five steps before he was aiming again. There was no way for me to approach and bring the fight to him before he could skewer me. I stutter-stepped just in time to see a blur zip in front of my eyes, a window shattering as it plowed through it. Screw this crap, I'm out. I started for the nearest boundary of the village, galloping down an alleyway. It wasn't but a few seconds before I heard steady pattering above me and I looked up. Velvet was loping over the rooftops of the buildings and semi-permanent tents, briefly stopping to aim at me. I blindly turned a corner, the arrow shattering against the wall where my head would have been. I threw myself through a window, crashed through the kitchen of several cats eating a meal, exited an open back doorway, randomly turned down another alley, jumped into another building and slid under a table, bumping against one of the table legs. I started to get a little dizzy as I slowed my breath to listen. I became aware that I was awkwardly close to a female cat's legs as she was sitting at the table I was under. Her tailtip twitched in slight annoyance. When I peeked out from under the table, I saw Ringtail staring down at me.

"I do not know where you are planning to have your meal, but on the table is easier than under it." I sat up indignantly and bumped my head. At that moment a shadow fell across a nearby window and I hid quickly. After a few seconds, the shadow moved on. Ringtail said quietly, "Facing your death, I see. Under the table is not the place for that, either."

I came out from under the table and whispered harshly, "I've faced death a few times already, I don't need Velvet teaching me how to die with an arrow through my skull!" My ears twitched as I thought I heard something nearby, but I didn't see anything. My senses were jumping at shadows, even cat-shaped ones.

Ringtail put her fork down and gave me a level gaze. She said, "You have run from it all your life. All the other warriors here see it. Why do you think they keep coming at you?"

The straightforward insight stunned me for a moment. "No, no, that's not why. One of them said it was because of my relationship with Velvet."

Ringtail chuckled and resumed eating. After she swallowed she replied, "That one was jealous...as were a few others. Everycat else sees you as prey, a liability, and have tested you constantly to find your breaking point. A true warrior does not break. A true warrior..." She had closed her eyes, possibly remembering something. When she opened them, she resumed softly, "A true warrior faces death not for herself, but for others. It is your acceptance of the inevitable that forges you to be unbreakable. And yet you run, and hide under my table."

Her words stirred anger in me, yet this time it was a distant echo. I had not lived their lives in the Badlands, testing myself from birth. I stood up and asked, "So I should stand there and die to show I can face death? There are too many things left to do for me to give up. I am not a coward!"

The female cat smiled slightly and said, "No, I did not think you were, but neither can you run from this either...DUCK!!!" I slammed my chin on the table as I went down, a whistling sound tearing overhead and some pottery on the opposite wall shattered into pieces. Ringtail stood up and threw the table in the direction the arrow came from. As I made my way to the doorway on the other end of the kitchen, I saw the table being thrown to the side by Velvet as he dove in through the window. Ringtail chided him, "You are not being very fair with her." He stood up and looked at her as he drew back his bow, somehow lining up his shot on me while turned sideways.

"Death is never fair." He continued to walk towards me, his fingers loosening. Ringtail stuck out her leg and tripped him, his shot going wide.

She winked at me as she replied to him, "I suppose you are right." I nodded my thanks and ran, putting as much distance between me and the doorway as I could. I heard more clattering of furniture and pottery before Velvet leaped out of the abode and I turned a corner, then another and another to throw him off. Ringtail must have caused him a few more delays, but she wouldn't have fought him fully. This was my ordeal. At this point I knew if I made it outside the village, his bow would take me down long before I outran his him, if I could outrun him. Another option was to ambush him. He had spent his life in combat and stealth. He would notice me creeping up on him, so that was out.

Without knowing it, I found myself coming upon the center of the village again, near the practice ring where this all started. The worst option, and thus the only one left, was to confront him directly. At range I barely had time to dodge his shots, yet I would have to in order to bring my dagger to bear. I had been running from what I knew I had to do all this time. It was as Ringtail had said. Do not run, but do not surrender. The only question was what would my life or death gain?

I slowly walked out to the center of the practice field, eyeing the small hut off to the side. The shaman was there just inside, watching me. An odd memory came to the forefront. I knew I should be focused on how to handle Velvet, but I couldn't help it. It was of me and the shaman discussing the future of the ridgecats in general. He was talking about harvesting minerals from the Badlands rather than relying on dangerous treks to the cavern. He said it was his attempt to lessen confrontations between his people and the dragons while improving their economy. At the time I thought it was just idle conversation because he had nopony else to speak to. Now as I reviewed that conversation, I recalled minor details, glances at me when he spoke of confrontations, his face when he spoke of the dragons as though he pitied them, how he lit up when speaking about economics. He even spoke of me one day meeting my mentor. He did not want me to endanger myself and he was looking to the future. In so many conversations with the ridgecats, they have all been looking to my future, and not a sudden end facing dragons. I had too much to live for, to help Nightmare Moon in her crusade for the night races. Would it be enough to face Velvet and survive?

The fur on the back of my neck stood up and I turned around. Velvet was standing at the mouth of the alley I had come from, bow at the ready. He walked forward a few paces and stopped. He yelled, "Jen, Slicer of Dragons, do you finally accept your fate, or do you run and hide?" I drew my dagger and clenched it in my teeth. If I had to confront him, I needed all four hooves churning dirt until the very end. I growled and lowered my head. He was far enough that I could dodge the first one cold, the second one if I got lucky. There would be just enough time for him to let off a third shot. I supposed that is when I would face the death these insane felines revered so much. What would be would be.

Velvet heard my growl and nodded. I lurched forward, digging up gravel as I pushed forward. The first arrow came in straight for my chest. I dipped low, barely feeling the fletching scrape past my shoulder. I dug in my hooves harder, trying to get as much speed as I could out of my legs. He shot a second time but it was low, possibly thinking I would stay low as well, which I had not. The third arrow was already coming up and I was too far to reach him. I continued on, knowing he could place his shot anywhere he wanted in me. I felt a moment of pure bliss, a singular form of purpose as I closed the distance to him. I could take it. As long as I reached him, I could take an arrow. Then I will either live, or die. And I was not afraid. Ten paces, five, three. I felt at peace as I saw nothing but the arrow, still held on the bow. Velvet's eyes watched my face...and he hesitated.

I plowed into his stomach as only a young adult threstral traveling at top speed without brakes could. We tumbled as I grappled to keep him near me. I ended up sitting on top of him and I grabbed the dagger from my mouth and put it against his throat, yelling at him, "Is THIS the death you want to face!?!" In retrospect it was a stupid question, but at the time I wasn't thinking straight, given the circumstances. I breathed heavily, my muscles aching. When I could finally think, I remembered he hadn't fired that last shot. Feeling insulted I said, "You had me, you knew you could take me down at that range. Why didn't you?" He coughed several times to get the air back in him and finally smiled.

I could feel something poking at the side of my head. When I turned to look, it was the arrow he was still holding in his paw. The shiny tip was bending each time he pushed it against my temple. It appeared to be made out of silver painted rubber. "I have faced many deaths before today, little thestral, and I have helped others face theirs. To be honest, at that last moment when you realized what you were truly facing and had accepted it, your face was the most beautiful thing I had ever witnessed in my life. Shooting would have ruined it, even if the shot was never going to be fatal." With that, he licked my nose.

I lay there on him for some time, stunned. Several other cats had begun to come out and witness us, including Ringtail. They had definitely seen him lick me. I narrowed my eyes and said, "Just for that, see how you like my challenge now." I placed my dagger on the top of his head and got up.

Several cats gasped. Ringtail's cheeks turned red, even through her fur. The shaman walked up and wheezed in laughter before saying, "Now that I did not see coming." Velvet slowly got up, keeping the blade balanced on his head. "I suppose that's one way to turn the tables on you, young blood." I looked around in confusion. Why were they all shocked?

Hangnail came loping up and stopped short when he spied the dagger, "Woh, boy, who just proposed to you? And without my blessing?"

I choked and whipped around at him, "What are you talking about? I did the challenge thing, on the head, like you did." All of the cats started laughing. That is, except Velvet and Ringtail. She stepped up next to me and placed a paw on my shoulder.

She said softly, "Placing a beloved weapon upon an opponent's head, especially one after combat, is one of our most purest forms ceremonial marriage proposal." I felt a complete void inside, only my eyes and ears existed. I couldn't even work my mouth to make words.

Hangnail chuckled and walked over to Velvet, "Boy, you know she isn't aware of our customs. Give me that." He went to grab the dagger but Velvet ducked and stepped away, the blade perfectly balanced. Hangnail raised an eyebrow, then looked at me, "Can't say I didn't try. Your best bet is to snatch it back. Do that, and the marriage is off. A full day, remember?" Velvet was already starting to slink away.

I threw off Ringtail's paw and chased after Velvet into one of the alleys, the roar of the crowd's laughter receding behind me. I chased him long into the night and into the morning.

-------------oooooooooooo---------------

It was the middle of the day where I found myself eyeing a patch of yellow flowers, deep in the low steppes of the Badlands and the heartland Velvet said his clan belonged to. He and I had roamed cross-country far and wide the last couple of months searching for watering holes, minerals and plants. His priorities were the water supply in case the river dried up as it was known to do now and then, and to a lesser extant the minerals available in the wilderness. It was the shaman's belief that the feud with the dragons for the fire water was unsustainable and the tribes needed a new commodity to trade with, otherwise they'd have to leave their homeland. I was more partial to a moister climate, but there was a raw beauty to the landscape, as long as you knew what not to step on, pick, eat, or get near, which brought me to my own task. Picking flowers and weeds.

Today was very thirst-provoking. Not the thirst for knowledge, or training, or even blood. This time I was looking for a yellow flower bloom conveniently called a golden sunburst in the middle of the day. Damn that shaman. The flower only bloomed at high noon and it had to be picked right then or you missed out on harvesting its seed pods, which the shaman said were special. At any other time, the seed pods would appear shriveled and useless. I swear I saw several jars of sunburst seeds in his hut. Once or twice I caught him hiding more as I walked in unannounced. At the time I pointed them out to the shaman and he gave a peculiar response, stating they were useless if picked by the wrong cat. I told him I was a thestral and he said 'exactly.' That mangy feline had to be snacking on his own mushrooms.

I looked up and saw the sun still had a good half hour until it was time to harvest the sunbursts. Velvet had gone off to find a watering hole since we were quite a ways southeast of the river. I had just started thinking about how far dragons might venture into the Badlands to continue their vendetta against the ridge cats when a shadow crossed the sun. I looked up with a sinking feeling and heard leathery wings flapping, a large form coming closer. I pulled out my dagger and ground my hooves into the hot dirt. I wasn't about to die without a fight.

The dragon landed a lot lighter than I expected. It was the dark blue I spoke to back in my town, when it was digging through flowers while other dragons roasted my school and several businesses. He regarded the blade I held in my teeth before he chuffed dismissively and looked past me to a hill in the distance. After a moment he turned back to me and said, "You may not see well under this sun, yet my scales should remind you of our conversation."

I slipped the blade into the sheath on my leg and replied, "Yes, I remember. I can only assume you have made progress to our mutual goal of moving the brood east over the ocean?"

The dragon nodded and said, "A tunnel has been bored through to directly under the sea bed. Unfortunately the bedrock keeping the water at bay is too dense to pierce with fire." It flicked its head back in the direction of the hill it was looking at earlier. I turned to look but saw nothing. The dragon's odd mannerism couldn't derail my train of thought. From all the tales I had heard regarding dragonfire, it could melt through anything. In essence, he should have been able to finish the job himself without my intervention...unless....

I stated, "If you were to push through the seabed, the sudden flood would likely drown you. You need a method of breaching without endangering yourself, then?" The dragon's eyes narrowed and it slowly nodded. I got the feeling that the dragon had something else on his mind, or I might just be paranoid given the history between our species.

With a grumble he turned away and rustled his wings, preparing to fly. "It does not matter how it is done, only that the seabed is the last barrier to this conflict. I have positioned myself as the lowly guard of the fire pools, to safeguard your arrival should you come up with a plan and arrive unannounced. High Summer approaches and that is the time the brood will celebrate in the pools nonstop for a fortnight. I will be unable to hide the tunnel then, and they may well seal it and kill me for my complicity." He stopped and sniffed the air, almost smiling. "Your loved one approaches. Be grateful for what you have, for all things come to an end sooner or later." He then leapt into the air, forcing his wings down in a buffet of wind as he ascended.

Movement from the side caught my eye as the terrain began to shift, resolving itself as Velvet as he came closer. His fur allowed him to blend almost perfectly with the local surroundings. The dragon must have had superior eyesight, and smell? I sniffed at Velvet, who in turn gave me a queer look and said, "Problem?"

"He called you my loved one. Wasn't sure if he was poking fun at me or if he honestly smelled something I didn't."

My statements earned a chuckle as he walked past me, his eyes still on the dragon. "You got your dagger back in time, what do you think?" I brushed past him, purposefully elbowing him and went back to the flowers, thinking back almost two months to that time.

"You let me take it after you proved I couldn't catch you!" I raised a hoof to my eyes to make sure the dragon was gone, partially obscured by the sun. I looked at the flowers, then back up at the sun. It was well past noon and certainly past time I could pick them. Velvet sidled up next to me and looked over my shoulder as I said, "Dammit."

"Truer words were never spoken. For the flowers, anyway. I got tired of you trying to prove you didn't want me." He flicked the back of my head and had already moved off as I turned around to retaliate.

"That's not true! Well, the marriage thing, but...ARGH! I don't know what I want right now!" I stared at the smirking feline as he started to pull out the tent parts from his backpack. "Um, what are you doing?"

He glanced up at the sun, then looked east. "The shaman's strict orders were to bring back material with every trip out. I got mine. You did not. We can't go back until you harvest those pods and we can't stand around out here with the sun up and dragons flying about. And I'm tired, thankyou for not asking. Isn't it past your bedtime?" He continued putting up the tent. I pursed my lips, refusing to respond. He was right, and as much as I loved his practical approach to things, it also infuriated me when he was right all the time! I sighed and walked over to help.

I said in a lower voice, "Your bedtime too, you know. And it wasn't that I didn't want you...it's...I have things, to do...I don't even know why I'm explaining this to you, it's your stupid custom!" He grinned as he put up the spars to drape the gossamer material over. In a huff I threw the material up on the frame and it slid to the other side, accomplishing nothing. I held up a hoof before he could say anything and stomped around to the other side. He waited patiently for me to put it up properly this time.

Once the tent was up and pegged down against any wind gusts, we went inside. He set up his bedroll and I set up mine, on the opposite side of the tent from him. He had an amused look on his face the entire time. As he settled down he muttered, "Don't put any weapons on my head while I'm sleeping, I might just tie you up for a day just to make it official." I threw an entire hoof of pebbles at him.

The following day was uneventful. I was able to harvest the pods and we made our way back to the village and to the shaman's hut. As usual he was rummaging through things. By this time I knew he was covering up whatever secret things he was doing just prior to my arrival. I didn't care anymore, it was his business. I walked over to the storage jars and emptied the pods into them. I had been doing this for so long it was second nature to me. Bringing nature 'home'. My mind wandered as I contemplated what I was supposed to be doing these days. I needed to figure out how to breach bedrock. What skills did I have that could do that? In the past I used to track, to divine water, to stand up to bullies, to run fast. I faced dragons. I learned how to hone my skills in the Badlands. I learned to sew, identify plants. I even faced death, the cat version. What was I supposed to do now?

"I pick flowers now."

"Eh?" The shaman turned around and gazed at me.

"What am i..." I tried to formulate a question out of my thoughts. I must have been so worn out mentally that I couldn't think straight. My sleep schedule had been thrown off since I had started harvesting in the middle of my normal sleep cycle at high noon.

He responded, "What am i doing here?"

"That's not what i was asking."

"It should be." There was a twinkle in the shaman's eye. He was jerking me around again. I sat and crossed my forelegs.

"I should be finding out a way to get rid of those dragons from their cave, and don't give me that 'destroying their home won't bring back mine' crap. You agreed with me that finding a way to stop interaction between the dragons and everypony else is a good thing!"

The shaman nodded, then tilted his head, "A good priority. So you are getting back at the big red one, yes?"

I knew where he was going with this but I blurted it out anyway, "Because he is a bully!"

"Even bullies have priorities. What is important to them can be completely unseen by you, unless you take the time to understand them." Okay, maybe I didn't know where he was going with this. I was prepared to listen so I kept my mouth shut. He took the invitation and continued, taking a pair of tongs and pulling out a seed pod from a boiling cauldron sitting on the table, "For instance, take this seed pod, harvested from perfectly picked sunbursts. Step on it, crush it, nothing. Completely unimportant to you." He placed it on a plate and picked up a fork, moving it near the pod as he turned away, continuing, "Boil it, poke it...." As soon as one of the fork tines pierced the pod there was a small explosion, ripping the plate apart. Once my ears stopped ringing, I could hear him saying, "BAM...now possibilities open up, windows of opportunity picked at the right time can make great changes. Don't you think?"

I stammered out, "I...I need those."

He grinned, "You need a lot of those. But I must warn you, they are dangerous to carry after they are boiled. Far more dangerous after they are boiled for several days." He rolled out two medium-sized barrels from the corner of his hut. "Far far more dangerous when tightly packed in barrels, say these for instance, with a special crush plate at the bottom loaded with metal nails, if one were to secure them to a rope from a tunnel ceiling and light the ropes. Well as you say...you need THESE," and thumped the barrels for emphasis.

I ground my teeth as it started to dawn on me. After a minute of us staring at each other I finally said, "You knew about the tunnel. You knew since the first day you had me picking those pods! Every time I came in and you were hiding them, it was for those barrels! How did you...no, the dragon..." I got cold chills. No, he wouldn't have told the dragon where I was.

"I did."

I stood up and started pacing, anger building. "Stop that! I wasn't thinking that just now! And we're not discussing my ability to lie, neither!" The shaman waited for me to calm down.

When I stopped pacing and sat again, he nodded and spoke, "I was on my own excursion when I came across the blue dragon. He felt different than the others, plus he was alone, and not breathing fire on me. I figured he might need something. He did...you. More that he needed to speak to you. He told me what was done so far and I knew I could help but you were not ready mentally and we needed a lot more seed pods to accomplish the task." He walked up to me and crouched down, looking into my eyes. "I have no doubts you would have gone forth and accomplished what you needed to, and died all the same. After these past months, you now have a chance to live, to become more than you are, become what you were meant to be." I opened my mouth to speak but he covered it with his paw, "Shush, no more of this 'what am I' nonsense. Accept what is and look to the future. All other things will fall into place." He pulled away his paw and I nodded.

He stood up and gave me a gossamer pouch from his belt. When i looked inside, it was filled to bursting with cocoa beans. "Never forget where you came from. A home filled with love, trials and perseverance. All things have a purpose and meaning, even dragons." I started to object and he put his paw on my mouth again. Him and that damn paw. "I can't step in the path of a warrior on a mission. I can however ask you at least try to give them a chance to leave their den before drowning them?"

I stepped back away from his paw so I could finally get a word in. Before I could say anything, Velvet strode in, fully packed and ready to go. "Eight-Legged Express ready to pull out for Dragonsville." I groaned and shook my head.

I said, "Love has made you dumb, V." He cackled, scarily enough not unlike the shaman. I had a scary notion the two might be related. I dismissed the thought with several mental stabs and a burning at the stake. "Now if I can finally say something. Wait, are we going now? I can barely think straight." I looked at the shaman, "And you are acting like I'm never going to see you again, giving me gifts and..." I noticed that Velvet was also holding my backpack which I had left at his home prior to coming to the hut. "We really are leaving now, aren't we?"

The shaman moved over to a book and opened it to a page he had a bookmark on. "The summer solstice is in a few days. The dragon did not give us much time. And I believe on that day...your mentor will make a showing." My eyes widened.

"How do you know this?"

Velvet cleared his throat and said, "The other shamans in the outlying tribes observed the stars moving as well, an orientation in the skies unlike any seen in a thousand years. Your Mare in the Moon, it would seem." He eyed me warily, knowing I was obsessed with that legend. "If they say it is happening, so be it."

A thumping drew my attention as the shaman tapped the book, "A roundabout tale written and rewritten almost into obscurity, but it has the essence of what we have discussed so far. The stars aligning, unlocking, the moon seal undone, and then Her return. I am hoping you survive your endeavor to the east so you can meet your mentor, and perhaps assuage her anger. Only conflict and wars can come of the hatred of such a long imprisonment."

I looked to Velvet and only saw concern in his eyes. I spoke tentatively as I picked up my backpack at Velvet's side, "I can't promise anything. With how we've been treated over the years, the dragons assaulting us and no help from the north, the disdain most of the night races have felt from the other side...maybe a little conflict is a good thing." The shaman did not look convinced.

There was little more to be said, other than strained goodbyes and small attempts at humor. Hangnail and Ringtail saw us to the edge of the village, hugging us both. Ringtail stated, "Yours was the best death facing I've seen in a long time."

I groaned and replied, "You could have told me...something!"

She shook her head and said, "I told you what you needed to hear, and threw Velvet around enough so you could figure it out." Velvet snorted and Hangnail laughed, though all knew Velvet most likely allowed it to happen in the first place. I thanked her again and hugged her.

Before we left the shaman made one last showing, slipping a small vial into my hoof. It held a swirling iridescent blue liquid inside. "Haste potion," he remarked. "Only when you absolutely need it. You will know. Your speed is enough for most things local. This can get you cross country in moments." He eyed me. I started thinking about the dragons when he said, "Not that. Perhaps after."

I barely got out a smile and a thankyou before storming off, with Velvet finishing his goodbyes and catching up. As he finally came up alongside me, I asked, "Can he read minds or does he actually know magic?"

Velvet chuckled. "The way he goes on now and again, one would suspect he does. He observes and draws conclusions like no other I have ever met. Maybe no other." He glanced sidelong at me.

I shook my head and trudged onward, trying to forget how weary I felt, one barrel on my back while Velvet shouldered the other one. "You can forget me running around in a loincloth and poking other's butts with my hoof. I'm not that patient to be a shaman." Velvet laughed and agreed. The sun was descending behind us and we had a long way to go. So many things left to do. The dragons, Nightmare Moon...dealing with Princess Celestia possibly. My goals were clear. They were ahead of me. They were so far ahead of me, yet approaching ominously. I thought about using that vial many times on our trip to the den to shorten our journey, my impatience almost getting the best of me. But I didn't. Something told me that crafty old cat could read the future, could read me. Despite his admonishment of me questioning what I was, I still felt I had not found my place in the world.

And I had to wonder if in the next few days, the world would know what I was before I did.

Author's Note

This chapter took a while to put together due to lots of things iRL and in the story. In any case, there should be four more chapters before this arc is concluded, but everything I want to have happen is outlined and ready to go. Hope you enjoy.

A Fool

"How did Hangnail get his name? He never got around to telling me." The trek across the badlands and over the lower hills was uneventful. Sticking to our travel by night and sleep by day plan, we were able to avoid any daytime creatures that would want to do us harm, including dragons. As we entered the jungles I started to get some flashbacks of my previous trip and needed some light conversation to take my mind off of them. Velvet chuckled at my topic of choice.

"His would-be wife came across him hanging from a cliff while they were out in the west. A sinkhole had opened up as he was initially traveling alone and left him, well, hanging. She had miraculously come across him and thought he was so cute. Personally, I think she was stalking him long before he fell in the hole. In any case, she put her favorite bow on his head and refused to help him up, lest the bow would fall. "

"That's horrible!"

Velvet pushed aside a vine and glanced up into the canopy of the trees. It was harder to measure what time of the night it was now with the thicker foliage. "Not so much as the part where he thought he heard water below and let go. He landed in an underground lake. The bow landed on the embankment and cracked in two. When he finally found a way out and made it back to the village, she took the broken bow back and never spoke to him again. "

"Probably why he decided to adopt. Less dangerous."

Velvet laughed louder than I ever heard him before. "I need to remember that and tell him."

A few more hours and the air took on a briny scent. Our idle chat had gotten less and less wordy. Now we were very quiet, and very tense. The jungle thinned and the dirt gave way to bits of shell and sand in between tufts of long grasses. Crashing waves could be heard in the distance. We stepped out of the trees and saw it. There it was, the mount of rock out in the open with its dark portal yawning into the night. Not a wisp of smoke coming out of it, belying the danger inside. I eyed the mound, remembering the last time I saw it, the red scales so vivid as the massive red exploded out of the tunnel in a rage a few years ago. Tonight was to be chaotic and deadly. I hoped I was up to the task.

Cautiously we both left the tree line and crept our way across the terrain until we were pressed up against the rock face a short distance to the side of the opening. I had considered our entire journey lucky until a massive gust of steam spewed down on us from above. I rolled to the side and came up with my blade in hoof as Velvet drew his bow taught and aimed up. When the cloud of steam cleared, the shadowed silhouette of a dark blue dragon's head and neck hovered above us.

"You are lucky I volunteered to watch the cave mouth and patrol the skies so I could anticipate your arrival. A very last minute arrival, for this is the eve of High Summer. My fellow drakes will soon begin their revelry, the window will close soon."

The blue dragon moved slowly down the side of the rocks as it descended to us. I put my blade away, recognizing the dragon, but Velvet still held his weapon at the ready. Moving to his side, I whispered, "That is the one we were supposed to meet. You saw him back in the Badlands." A low growl thrummed from Velvet's chest, yet he relented and lowered his bow. The dragon stopped in front of the cave mouth and waited for us.

"The path is clear all the way down. Once you reach the pools of fire, turn left and follow the wall until it dips into the shadows. There is a tunnel that extends out towards the sea." The blue then extended his neck, indicating for us to go down the spiraling ramp. Despite the fact that this was our ally, we still moved forward tentatively. The blue dragon lingered behind, swishing the cave floor with his long tail as we progressed down. I eyed his behavior until he whispered in a dull rumble, "You scents linger on the stones. This should mask your passage so as not to distract them when it is time to flee." We continued down the winding tunnel until we entered the large cavern, the eerie fires burning on the pools of liquid. A few seconds of waiting showed no other occupants in the cavern. I picked my way around to the left while Velvet scanned the center of the area for any unexpected greeting parties. Occasionally sounds of celebration wafted up from the far side of the cavern, most likely coming from lower chambers.

As we reached the alcove, there was indeed a recently melted tunnel cleverly hidden in the lay of the shadows. The blue dragon reached the bottom of the ramp and continued along our path covering up all traces of passage. I stuck my head into the side tunnel, my eyes adjusting very well in the dark. I clicked once and listened for the return sound, then stepped quietly over to Velvet as he watched the other side. "V, this tunnel goes very deep towards the ocean."

He squinted into the darkness. After a minute he thrummed softly and answered, "It can't be helped. The bones are cast, so let's see what we are dealing with." Thus we began a light jog down the long tunnel, the dragon easily keeping up with us. Without pushing very hard it took us a little over fifteen minutes to reach the end. The ceiling was still high enough for the dragon to stand upright. There was a definite change in temperature, a drop by several degrees from the cavern at the starting end. I could literally feel the weight of the ocean pressing down from above, making me want to get this over with as quickly as possible. We unshouldered our cargo and tied the barrels together with rope provided by the shaman, rigging a line to hang the ensemble from the ceiling. With help from the dragon, the barrels were held by him while Velvet was hoisted up on the dragon's head to tap the spike and rope into the rock above. Once the line was secure, the barrels were let go while I stood underneath to catch them in case they slipped. They held. Velvet was let down and we surveyed our work.

I tapped my chin with my hoof and stared at the barrels hanging by the thin rope. Velvet stood next to me, eyeing the setup, then looked down the tunnel to the very distant glow of the fire pools. It was at least a good mile or more. The dragon loomed over us. At length it finally rumbled, "I take it there is a problem."

All I could do was mutter irritably to myself. Velvet was the one willing to answer while I kept running alternate plans in my head. "The rope our shaman provided looks to be a bit thin. Ten minutes to burn through, tops. That is just enough time to get back to the main cavern at a dead run." The dragon twisted his neck around to gauge the distance to the cavern and reluctantly nodded. Crossing the cavern would take another five minutes, then the trek up to the surface, all while the ocean was rapidly filling every crevice behind us.

"Not enough time to coax the others to escape. They are good swimmers, but they can only harbor fire in their gullets, not water," the dragon concluded.

I sat down, a mental feud going on in my head. I had to risk my life to ensure those horrid dragons made it out alive. Well, I wanted most of them alive, since they were little more than slaves, according to the blue's word. Why was I doing this? For revenge? Did I want to kill the big red over Lance's death? The time spent with the cats had done much to heal me inside, and yet I wavered now between what was right. When all was said and done, Lance was arguably just a casualty in a blood feud we accidentally got dragged into. And all of it because we happened to worship the night, so we were lumped into the same crowd as the cats. I was so sick of the day versus night struggle, I wanted it to end, one way or another. It still hurt to remember those last moments of Lance, the red dragon juxtaposing its loss next to mine. As I healed these last few years, I had to shun the light of day for fear of being hunted down by these creatures. Velvet and his kin had to endure it even longer before that. And yet, the shaman had implored me to do what I could to minimize casualties. There was always an aftermath to my decisions, it seemed. Not just to others' circumstances, but to my own mental health. I knew that. I just didn't like it. Once again the whole purpose of this venture was brought into question.

At length, I was on the verge of just walking out. "My home is already no more. You cats have your alternative trade good. Why are we even bothering with this?"

The dragon shifted his bulk uncomfortably. Whether from guilt in helping us, or some other unfathomable notion in his head, he chose to remain silent. I looked to Velvet, hoping he could help me with the warring emotions I held inside. Was this selfish or was I dealing with bullies that needed to be vacated? Anger, grief and uncertainty threatened to unhinge my moral compass. I needed assurance that I wasn't going to make another horrible decision. I needed guidance in a way that only Velvet, and in the past, Lance, could provide. Not the imperialistic decrees of my lunar mentor, nor the earthly wisdom the shaman provided in his perverted way. What I needed was more fundamental, more intimate. I needed a partner.

The cat, occasionally aloof or stoic when times were serious, had an air of pontification about him now. If he kept his humorous side, I could see him being the next shaman. He sensed my weakness beyond just my thin excuses to halt the deed. His paw squeezed the back of my neck reassuringly and he leaned his head near mine, responding with his warrior side. "Neither of our peoples have had a direct conflict with them since your loss, yet they continue to patrol the Badlands. I suspect they will never change. Sooner or later they will detect one of our settlements and torch it." He left the rest unsaid.

The dragon rumbled the word 'territoriality' and left it at that. I imagined Velvet's words into reality and saw this war continuing, trading deaths into mutual annihilation. I felt a warmth radiate in my chest I had thought doused permanently these past two years, a warmth Velvet helped nurture. I looked at Velvet and then the dragon, "You are right, it has to be done. Damn the mistakes made, damn whatever caused your dragons to come here, this has to end or it never will." I was now focused. I nudged Velvet with my hip in thanks.

The dragon clacked his jaws in agreement. He started walking back toward the direction of the main cavern and paused to state without looking back, "Once I clear the mouth of this tunnel, start the fire. As you reach the mouth, my brethren should be past you and headed up the ramp to the outside. If you go ahead of them they will smell you and realize something is amiss." He looked at me and said, "Then they will search for you and be caught when this cave system floods. There is already enough that can go wrong without risking more, and I owe them much." The last few words were very low, as though said to himself. He proceeded down the tunnel again. Velvet sat down and started lashing some arrows end to end with sinew to create a long firebrand in order to light the rope.

It would take a while for the dragon to get to the other end, so I spoke idly, "Once we are done with this whole dragon business, I have no other obligations. I imagine my parents have found another thestral settlement, would be good to see them again. After that...you could show me what lies west of the Badlands."

The cat slowed his work and raised his head. His look was a forlorn one, "Were it so simple to let go. Your Mare in the Moon may demand more than what you may allow for yourself."

I scowled. He knew just what to derail a perfectly good dream. "I haven't heard from Her in a long time. I know the shaman has discussed my dreams with you, he had my permission. But She can't expect me to go on a crusade if She isn't even here. Besides, if She did finally return...maybe She won't need me."

The cat let out a soft chuckle. "You learn all these skills and suffer plants galore to find you are finally tired of fighting."

I shook my head, "That's not it at all. I am tired of the injustices I see, how some races have been favored over others. And then to find good and evil are determined not by intent, but a lack of understanding or bad luck? This war started on a misunderstanding, instinctual territoriality on one side and misplaced fear on the other. There was no mediation from our supposed ruler, and death had to occur for problems to get resolved. Where is the justice in that? I just..." My words faltered and I tried to frame what I was saying. "I will fight, and on my own terms...but I can fight only so many bullies before getting tired of it all."

"That is life, oh great crusader." Velvet had an infuriating way of being correct. I grumbled and sat down next to him.

"Whatever. On my way to find my parents, the first thing I am doing is stopping by Canterlot and demanding why Celestia felt only a few unicorns were needed to help us instead of coming herself. The shaman mentioned she used to talk to dragons a long time ago, before my ancestors settled in the mountains. As for Nightmare Moon...if She returns, She can handle Celestia. They can wage their day/night war without me. I'm tired of fighting bullies"

There was a grunt in response. My stare prompted him to speak with little enthusiasm, "I know you, even if you refuse to know yourself. Perhaps you are tired of climbing mountains. Go back to molehills." I stared at him. A smile crept onto his lips until I elbowed him. He coughed out, "Case in point."

"Quit being a fool and tell me!"

"You fight the big fights, I admire that about you. Yet often I feel you bite off more than you can chew. Not all wars are fought with whole scale battles, going after the largest opponent. Some conflicts are fought with the smallest of weapons," he spoke as he held up a pebble and touched it to his head, "paired with the most powerful weapon. You buck authority and challenge those you have issues with directly. Try fighting indirectly, from the side. Use your stealth and your wit. Try not to outright kill them so much as...prank them." I leaned back from my sitting position, my forelegs supporting me.

"Hm. Sounds like what I used to do back home. I always chalked that up to a childhood thing. You make it sound like a valid battlefield tactic."

Velvet chuckled and nodded, "Why not? All things in life are a conflict, a fight to better oneself or position. You can maintain your crusade for justice in the world and not feel quite so worn out. You might even enjoy it." His smile became neutral, "As to Celestia and your mentor, we cats have learned to fend for ourselves in the Badlands. Whichever of them wins, we will still fend for ourselves, despite your day versus night conflict." Velvet glanced at me and added, "But it would be nice to know what that hair-blowing-in-the-wind pony has to say to your FORMAL request for an apology. Do not forget, she IS powerful, if seemingly insensitive to our plights." He glanced down the tunnel in time to see the dragon moving out of the mouth and to the side, disappearing. "It is time."

The cat took some flint and steel to light the end of his make-shift firebrand and touched the small flame to the cord. As the flame began to engulf the rope, we started running toward the opening in the distance. It was several minutes before we saw lots of movement ahead, a multitude of young dragons stampeding by the opening, presumably to escape whatever fate the blue dragon had concocted. We had made impressive time so we slowed down, just to make sure all the dragons had left before we could emerge into the large cavern. I almost stepped out into the open before Velvet grabbed my tail and yanked me back. I was about to give him an earful when he clamped my muzzle shut and pointed.

The red dragon lumbered into view at a reluctant pace. Had I taken a few more steps I would have been directly in its path. I mouthed a word of thanks as the cat and I merged with the shadows to the side of the smaller tunnel, dips in the rock partially obscuring us from view. Velvet made a dismissive wave with is paw and nodded to the dragon, so we resumed watching. A sense of urgency was starting to make my back itch. Unlike the younger drakes in their panicked exodus, the giant red dragon moved with annoyance, growling about the inconveniences of dealing with lesser species. It was in the middle of a particularly scathing epithet of night dwellers when it stopped, the head and neck snapping around like a snake to stare into our tunnel from several feet away. My blood ran cold and my breath caught in my throat.

Its eyes seemed to look above and past us, peering down the tunnel at the distant flame. No no no no, please keep going. Dragons were not very cooperative in most audible conversations, why would they in mental ones? It took a step closer. I pulled back further into the recesses of the tunnel and turned to Velvet, whispering, "Great, it sees the fire. That thing is going to blow any minute now and we're all going to drown."

Velvet moved his paws in opposite directions, "Then we change the plan. When the barrels explode, we will have a few minutes. You run for the exit ramp, I will head in the other direction and distract him with my bow." I started shaking my head but he was already grinning, patting me in reassurance. "Don't worry, my little night terror, I am good at hide and seek. The pools of flame will wash out his ability to see me in the dark. And I am faster than you, so I'll be right behind you with that big goliath not so right behind me-"

Several drops of heated spittle fell between us, splattering on the stone floor. Along with a small gust of fetid air, a guttural voice intoned, "Ignorance is a common quality among you callous counter-quintessential creatures. This big goliath's ability to see you in the dark is not based on light. It is based on heat." To emphasize the point, hot breath washed over us. We slowly looked up and saw two eyes glowing a malevolent red in the dark. The dragon's teeth were very close and I had to move my head to look between them and the eyes. "Or shall I kill you now and skip the zoology lesson?" This close, at this kind of disadvantage, I froze with dragonfear. I had faced this dragon before, when there were options. I saw none now. Velvet held still, though I felt no fear from him, only his warrior resolve. In that moment of sickening terror, he was my center of peace.

A distant thump followed by a shockwave distracted all three of us. The dragon clacked its jaws shut and looked up, searching for the flame that was no longer there, only cold darkness. The rock rumbled and vibrated as the dragon's eyes flitted back and forth. With the revelation of how dragon eyes worked, it occurred to me that it was searching for heat that was no longer there, or possibly it now saw a growing blackness of cold that was approaching. The air in the tunnel started to whip by us, thick from pressure. The dragon uttered words in a voice I thought I would never hear from it. Fear. "What have you done...?" A shove from Velvet broke my dragonfear and we both split off in opposite directions, running for our lives. The dragon spun around, whipping its tail and screamed, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?!"

Velvet was unlucky enough to catch the tail's tip and he went soaring over one of the fire pools. I screamed his name and altered course, heading for him, the plan be damned. My hooves clattering and scrambling across the stone floor alerted the dragon and it turned to me, inhaling deeply. An arrow streaked out from behind the fire pool flames and glanced off the side of the dragon's head, interrupting its inhalation. It must have still been afraid of those specially made arrows the cats employed against dragons, otherwise I would have been smoldering by now. Remembering my training, I moved more quietly, giving the dragon a wide berth and approached the area where Velvet had landed. A paw whipped out and covered my muzzle, yanking me behind a natural stone pillar that reached to the ceiling. I ripped his paw away and exclaimed, "Arg, would you quit pulling me behind stuff?!"

"You were supposed to follow the plan, Smudge." His fur looked a little singed, but he showed no signs of pain.

"Well you didn't say anything about the tail tip, did you?"

He peeked out around the rock formation, muttering, "Figured I would mention that on our third date."

For a moment I forgot about the raging dragon about to spit fire in our direction and the raging ocean about to crush us. "You idiot! Now is not the time to be joking like that pervy shaman of yours." The cat turned his head to me and grinned.

"It got you to forget about a certain raging dragon, didn't it?" I blinked and was stunned into silence. He nodded and looked around the column again in search of our adversary. "And no, I cannot read minds. We simply have two major obstacles to deal with and I need you loose in the caboose, not stiff with fear." He glanced at me and I nodded in acquiescence.

"Point taken. What now?"

Velvet studied the side of the cavern where there was now a gale force of wind spewing from it. "Any minute there is going to be a waterspout of ocean coming in. The fire pools are static heat sources. If our big red sees heat, he will notice our moving blobs of heat, like any predator focusing on motion. Far enough apart, he will only stay on me and be blind to you." He turned and stared at me intently, "Follow these orders. Stay behind me twenty seconds when we start moving. I will line him up with the tunnel and hopefully he gets hit. The tunnel mouth is a good stride off the cavern floor, you should be able to crawl underneath the water. Do NOT let any of it hit you." I nodded, swearing to do as he said. The wind had reached a high enough pitch that I wondered if we were not too late. Velvet must have felt the same way because he tore off quicker than I expected. It was excruciating to wait those final seconds before moving. Just as well I had waited. A gout of flame seared between me and Velvet up ahead between two of the fire pools, followed by a roar of frustration when the dragon realized he had missed. I kept the spacing per Velvet's orders.

The cat slowed when he reached the tunnel mouth and sprinted through the column of wind. He nearly lost his footing due to the hurricane speed of the air. The dragon was a short distance away and could clearly see Velvet now. It inhaled and spit a stream of fire. As soon as the fire reached the torrent of air, it deflected! Velvet chuckled and started to do some silent dance! The dragon roared and charged, plunging through the air with better control since it was larger. Then the water came.

The roar of the air was nothing compared to the blanketing noise of the water, like a thousand pages of parchment tearing at the same time. The spear of water clipped the dragon as it almost made it to the other side of the air column in its effort to reach the taunting cat. The water barely hit the shoulder, but the force was enough to throw the dragon a good distance, nearly to the far wall. It landed with a sickening crunch, breaking several stalagmites. That gave me enough pause to respect what was spewing from the tunnel mouth. Already water was starting to build up on the floor, drowning out some of the shallower fire pools. Despite the fact that the water had to go down and fill up the lower chambers, there was enough to warrant haste. I got on my belly and crawled, inching my way forward as the sheer force of the water whipped my mane and tail about. I nearly jumped when I felt something grab my front hooves and sighed when I saw Velvet pulling me forward and up. He yelled over the noise, "I thought you were going to crawl all the way to the top!" I looked back and realized I had been crawling for several hoofsteps past the rush of water, so scared was I of not getting touched by the water. Which reminded me, the dragon! I saw it was charging again and pointed, screaming. Velvet's calm composure dropped as he pulled out his bow, grasping for an arrow, but there wasn't enough time. This was it.

A blur of blue flashed by us and crashed into the red dragon. It was the blue dragon! He grappled with the red, growling in the dragon tongue trying to convince the red to give up its vendetta. The red was not having it and threw off the blue like he was a feather. It gurgled out, "I shall have them, for they have doomed my kin!" It inhaled and spit.

Steam and ocean water was vomited at us. At length the dragon choked and nearly collapsed. The blue, despite his need to unseat the red's authority, got up under one of the red's wings and helped it up. "Go, now! This cave is filling up fast!" He was right, the water had been filling up the cavern. It was up to our knees. The cat and I trudged to the ramp and began climbing up, pulling ourselves up from the waist-deep water level, the dragons slowly trudging behind us. The trek up the spiraling tunnel to the top was harrowing. The much more powerful dragons with their longer strides started passing us, the water threatening to over take the smaller Velvet and I. After an eternity of running, we made it out of the cave mouth at the top. The water washed out of the mouth across the sands and grasses, the force of it not so much now that it was equalizing with the sea level. The blue dragon dropped the red and staggered away, his muscles likely burning as much as ours. The red dragon wheezed, still trying to spit up whatever water it had swallowed when the column had slammed into it. The younger dragons stood at a farther distance, unsure of what was happening. Now was my chance. I strode forward and with the last bit of strength in my legs I jumped up onto the red dragon's head, drawing my blade.

I stood there on the dragon's head, my knife, Lance's knife, hovered just above the red's eye. The fierce haughtiness was gone from his gaze. There was no fear either, though it stared at its own impending death. I wanted some kind of reaction, an acknowledgement that its actions brought this upon itself. I got nothing and it only fueled my anger. "Say something you insolent lizard! Before you die I want to hear the word 'sorry' pass your lips before my blade enters your brain!"

"Indeed. I am sorry for accepting Celestia's promise that we could ever live in peace here, her 'Treaty of Friendship.' "

My hoof almost dropped the blade as I mentally recoiled from his words. "I don't believe you...."

The dragon stared off in the distance, unconcerned. It was as if the meaning of life meant nothing to it. I was so wrong, as I would be on so many things to come. "Kill me or get off me, but do not bore me with your pitiful ignorance. My species was wrought from the very rocks you mammalian maggots mingle amongst. The very same rocks that provide substances with healing properties that would rejuvenate my dying race, if not for you frustratingly fanatical furry felines pilfering the life water." His glare shifted to Velvet, who had also started to lower his bow. "You know nothing. We of longevity have long lived alongside you little lemmings as you dithered day to day, wheezing the whisper of life from your lifeless corpses after you so recently were born. To what purpose? You do more harm in your short lives than we ever could. Yes we have swarmed, yes we have expanded from time to time. It was to find the rejuvenating life blood of the earth. Without it, we are forced to fight for survival in the few volcanoes on this world. And my siblings and children grow fewer for it."

Something felt out of place, missing meaning. Lance's death, the rage the dragons had shown. Was this all some bizarre mixup? "I know Princess Celestia doesn't care about us, but even she is not evil enough to just let you move in and terrorize the area!"

The dragon laughed quietly, a rumbling like an earthquake under me as I kept my balance. "When we made the treaty, you did not exist to her. 'Open terrain to stretch our wings. Regularly scheduled visits by dignitaries to make sure our accommodations were satisfactory and beneficial to the region so that ALL could live in peace.' I spat on your peace after our first encounter with you cats, the death of our drakeling, and then you bat ponies with your paltry attempt to push us back into our cave or the sea. Then the willful use of biological weapons for which we have no defense." I shook my head in disbelief. All of this was some skewed interpretation of events that had unfolded, and yet I had no argument. From his point of view he was the victim. He had suffered more by our mistakes, the cats and thestrals combined. As much as I did not want to blame any given individual, my mind kept going back to the treaty the dragon mentioned. Had Celestia truly allowed this? I looked around, the other dragons watching me, accusing me. The blue stood nearby, watching mournfully. What was his part in all this? Surely he knew his actions would hurt his species. I looked at Velvet. His normal stalwart posture was slightly slumped. He had already slung his bow and stood without any semblance of readiness. He knew the score and was ready to accept his fate. I sheathed my dagger.

A large red wing swept up and knocked me off the dragon's head. I landed next to Velvet and he helped me up as the dragon raised its...his long neck and stood shakily. As I saw from the dragon's eyes, I understood him. And he loathed me with good cause. He choked and spat out more seawater and coughed for another minute. He gave us one more baleful glare before growling a series of syllables to the other dragons. As one they turned to the ocean and jumped into the sky, flying toward the smokey isles in the east. All except the great red dragon and the dark blue who was sitting on his hind legs. The red dragon made note of the blue's reluctance, then turned back to me and said in a low threatening voice, "Even in hate I prove superior. You live at my grace and you do not deserve it. That is a dragon's wisdom. When you see Her, tell that color confused alicorn the next time we swarm it will be out of pure survival, and we will take what we wish, then." With that he ran towards the ocean and pushed off, causing a small crater to be left in the sand as he pumped his wings to lift himself after his brood.

I walked up next to the dark blue who was watching them leave and said, "You are not going with them?"

He shook his head and twisted his neck around to me, replying, "Not this time. The one I convinced to dig that tunnel will be spreading the word that it was at my behest. And my interference down below...my living arrangements have been sorely compromised."

I blinked and asked, "Your behest? But I thought you were the one that had dug the tunnel, the only one that knew about it in the first place. You said you wanted them to return to the east and usurp the red dragon's authority."

The blue dragon turned and faced us fully and came down onto all fours. "Originally there was a possibility I could return and resume my lifestyle. The tunnel and seawater were the only way to accomplish my mission, which superseded all other considerations." His mission? I was about to ask what mission he spoke of when a green curtain of energy enveloped the dragon. In his place stood a creature that almost looked like a thestral, but with insect wings, holes in its limbs and blank insect eyes. Light reflected off a dark carapace covering its body. Velvet hissed behind me and drew an arrow, the shaft sliding up beside my head as he aimed at the creature.

I raised my hoof and slowly pressed the bow away while I stayed focused on the thing before me. "What are you?"

Before the creature could speak, Velvet answered curtly and pushed his bow back, keeping aim on the creature, "That is a changeling! Vile creatures that suck the love out of you. It has tricked us this entire time!"

Too many mistakes were already made these past years. I was not about to make another and prejudge, even if it looked evil and had admitted deceiving us. "Did you arrive here with the dragons and honestly wanted them to return, or were you sent to destroy their home. Did you use both of our races to start this whole war?"

It regarded us quietly, then addressed me, "I was living across the pond with them in the beginning. It is true we feed on love, something freely given away all the time. In a dragon brood where all are one family, the love shared is immense! The big red sought to come here, seeking the underground waters to rejuvenate his species. They are in fact a dwindling race. I had no part in the move here nor the interactions with both your species. My queen had other interests, however." The changeling glanced at the cave mouth and then east, a look of longing on its face. If it were telling the truth, it had lost a lot in vacating the dragons. It turned back to me and said, "She could not have a fledgling brood take foothold in these lands, they would have challenged our hives as they expanded, and their fire is indiscriminate, as you have found. She ordered me to act, and in so doing I sacrificed a fruitful line of sustenance to protect MY race. Now I must return and share with the hive what I have absorbed since my last visit there. Hopefully we can find another means of survival just as plentiful. Yours is not the only ones to have suffered these past few years." It looked up in the sky sharply. Despite our wariness of this creature, we followed its gaze.

The stars were rapidly shifting around the moon, and the face of the moon itself had changed. Its horse's head shadow was no longer there. The changeling beat its insect wings in nervousness, then hopped up, hovering. Velvet went back to aiming at it, but the changeling ignored him. "Bad tidings. Very bad. I must inform my queen. The heavens mark this as a time of great change." It started to fly away and then paused, turning back to me, its large glowing eyes shimmering, "For what it is worth, I am truly sorry for your friend and your home. There will always be forces far greater than us, moving about us. If we cannot learn to work with them, we become the grease used to work for them." With that it flew west.

We stood there for several minutes, listening to the distant crashing of the waves on the beach. The water had started to recede back to the cave, now a giant water hole. As we each thought about what had transpired and what truly was, we both spoke at the same time and stopped, chuckling at each other. Velvet raised his paw and said, "You first."

"You disapprove of my quest to help Her, I could tell in the cave. You must think me a fool after all that has happened, the deception of the changeling, my need to avenge my friend and township, my desire to go fight in the north now that She has surely returned." I gestured up at the moon. "At least you can roam the Badlands day or night now without having to worry about dragons attacking you. I still have the daytime races to face alongside Nightmare Moon."

"I would endure a thousand dragons were you to stay."

His words shook me to my core. I did not doubt he would thumb his nose at that many dragons just for me. My resolve was in question. For a minute I was unsure of what to do. I took a chance and said, "Ask it. I will shove everything I have endured into the deepest well of my soul if you ask me to stay, if you want me to stay."

He squeezed his eyes shut and breathed deeply. I didn't know which impending answer I was more afraid of. With calm certainty, his reply was able to set me on a course for the rest of my life. "I did let you get your dagger back, but not because of how you or even I felt about each other. I fight for my people. You fight for a concept that must be resolved or it will burn you inside out as surely as any dragonfire can. Your path was always aimed north. Your connection with Nightmare Moon heralded it, the stars have just made it clear. Until you resolve your place in the world, either by Nightmare Moon's side or on your own terms, we can never be together. The shaman warned me there was a darkness in you, an abyss you are close to falling into. I sensed it these last two years we traveled together, and I saw that darkness clearly as you held the red dragon's life in your hooves. A warrior must face it or be consumed. That is your true path...I hope it leaves you in peace and we meet again."

I mulled over his words and found it oddly heartening that a warrior wanted for peace. "Damn you for being so selfless." He laughed and hugged me, which I returned. I did not know how I could love or hate the same aspect about him. Maybe it was all the same.

A thought occurred to me and I looked up in the sky. It was past time that the moon and sun should have traded places, yet night persisted, not unlike the darkness Velvet spoke of. If the legend was to be believed and Nightmare Moon had indeed been released, then She had to already be on the move, preoccupying Celestia to the point that even the heavenly bodies were interrupted. It was time to meet my mentor in the flesh. I stood back from Velvet and placed my hoof on his chest, thanking him for everything he had done for me, and to pass on my thanks to his father and the shaman.

We were warriors, no more words were needed. I pulled out the vial of blue liquid, and with a final tearful glance at Velvet, I quaffed it and began to run.

An Assassin

I flew through the countryside. Despite a lack of wings, I was no more than a blur, and yet each second felt precious to me, lifeblood dripping away at a measured count. The world was in motion, a thousand years coalescing into the greatest struggle ever, and I was missing it! I needed to locate the Mare in the Moon...out of the Moon, now. Celestia's castle in Canterlot was the obvious destination. If the sun had not risen yet, then Nightmare Moon must have taken the fight to her already.

The jungle gave way to swamps, then forests and tan grasslands. I passed a place called Dodge City on the rolling plains. I found a set of railroad tracks, figuring all roads and trains led to Canterlot. This one weaved its way over the land, past a gorge and through another village, this one within sight of the castle at Canterlot. I read the sign 'Ponyville' briefly and was almost out the other side when the name of Nightmare Moon caught my attention. It took me valuable seconds to locate who had said it, but I was able to narrow it down to a group of young ponies hiding in a clothing boutique.

Using the night to my advantage I eavesdropped on their conversation from the shadows of the doorway. It was still hard to follow what they said, a few of them insisting on talking quickly and all at once. I did make out 'elements,' 'sister's castle ruins,' and 'everfree.' The rest was mostly juvenile ramblings. I held my patience, crept as close as I could and in my sweetest high-pitched voice sped up by the potion I asked, "Yeahbut whereisthe castle howdoyougettoit???"

One filly pointed off to the southeast, "I saw my sister and her friends heading for the Everfree Forest that way, I already told you Sweety Belle!" Damn, I had just come from that direction. But these were scared little fillies. I needed more information.

Another filly shook her mane, "I didn't ask that...did you?" The others started staring at each other with wide eyes.

I was gone before I could see how that conversation ended. I so wanted to stay and zip around them like a ghost, whispering dire warnings and omens while this potion was active. Maybe next time. For confirmation, as if I would trust a daytime pony, I headed for Canterlot and the castle nestled so conceitedly above it. On the way there I took time to listen in on other hushed conversations. Whispers from frightened ponies that spoke of Nightmare Moon's debut, and that Celestia had disappeared were all I got, but no real tidbits on their location. I sped through Canterlot where the residents looked up in the dark sky in bewilderment. The castle was no better. I had nearly given up hope when I overheard the head of the guard, Shining Armor speaking to his troops. As steady as he was, he was shaken. Celestia was to visit Ponyville and usher in the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration, but has gone missing. They feared a permanent darkness. Good, there might not have to be a war. Now if I could just find Nightmare Moon...I was nearly at my wit's end. Then I caught a lucky break. An old guard was regaling the younger ponies with a story about a ruined castle located in the Everfree forest where Celestia used to rule. The fillies were telling the truth! I had already passed that patch of forest to get here, damn! I left so quickly the wind stirred, and some of the ponies looked at the older stallion, wrinkling their noses. I pushed as hard as I could go, ignoring all else now. Trees, large creatures, and a river went by in a blink. I blurred past a gorge, paralleling a bridge as I crossed...wait, did I just leap a chasm at this speed?.....then I saw the ruins!

That was when I could feel the effects of the potion wearing off. No! The old castle was in sight now. There was movement in the ruins, was I in time to help Her? As I got closer I spotted glowing light coming from what looked to be the main throne room. Rays of all colors were pouring out of the windows, the light scintillating from broken window shards still in their frames. The potion must not have protected my stamina because my legs felt sluggish all of a sudden, not to mention the earlier ordeal with the dragons had taxed me greatly. Gritting my teeth I pushed with every ounce of energy I had left. I refused to give up now. My limbs nearly dead of feeling, I jumped through the nearest window, just clearing the sharp edges.

An explosion of white light and sound knocked me out. When I came to, there was daylight outside and the great white alicorn Celestia stood before what could only be Luna, a lesser version of what Nightmare Moon had been. I just started to hear what Celestia was saying, "...you accept my friendship?"

Luna looked down for a few seconds. Then she ran to Celestia, exclaiming, "I'm so sorry, I missed you so much big sister!" A pink pony cried and blew her nose. I gasped loudly, then I realized my mistake and moved quickly.

Luna glanced in my direction and only saw empty shadows. I hid behind a broken column several feet away from where I first gasped. It was all I could do to keep from breaking down completely, thus giving away my position. I had been so close to reuniting with my divine guardian angel. Now she was reduced to an earthly form, soft, humble, and deferential to her older sister. It was a betrayal to everything I had built up to, the sacrifices I had been forced to endure. My dreams of a universe made fair dissolved in a single moment.

After the pink pony declared cause for celebration to herald Luna's return into Celestia's grace, they all began to file out, chattering about preparations and their newly acquired jewelry. Luna lingered a few steps, searching in the shadows. I had moved off far enough to avoid detection. I could not face her now, or anybody for that matter. It wasn't that Nightmare Moon was my absolute goddess to hold me enraptured. I was well aware of the darkness her hatred had encapsulated herself with.

It was the avalanche of rejection I would receive from her new form, for who I was, why I was there and what I was meant to do. With Nightmare Moon I had been a fine artisan's instrument brought forth to help perform an intricate task, noble in the crusade to unify, to sculpt the future for all our nocturnal and daytime races. With Luna, I already knew I was to be left out in the rain, to rust.

As all these thoughts threatened to engulf me, Luna's hesitation caught Celestia's attention. Her colored mane waving in its own wind, she turned to Luna and asked, "Remembering better times here, Luna?"

The younger alicorn sighed and shook her head in reply, "We may have wrought something horrible, dear sister. A deed nurtured under the auspices of Our darker self, yet its ramifications art mine most to bear post my parole."

Celestia draped her elegantly pure white wing over Luna's neck and spoke softly, "We BOTH shall bear them together, as we were meant to all along." Luna gave her sister an appreciative smile and reluctantly followed after her down the dusty hallway, occasionally looking back. I waited until the echoes of their hoofsteps faded before I finally gave in to the crush of emotions I had been holding at bay. I cried for hours until the slowly shifting sunbeams coming in through the window found my hiding place. Their warmth heated the tears on my face, burned my eyes. It almost felt as if I would burst into flame, so used to the cold stone floor where I lied. When I thought I could no longer take the cruel joke of the sun any longer, it slipped behind the hills in the distance, vanquishing its light and finally giving me solace.

Along with the return of cool darkness, a new purpose formed in my mind. The vanquishing of the light meant peace, to all creatures of the night and to my soul. More than likely Luna would destroy me if I were successful, but she would have her evernight, her victory. I would do this to finish my story, not curry favor from my former mentor. I looked at my cutie-mark, the deadly knife borne on wings of justice. I would do this one last thing to fulfill my purpose in life, my reason for death. What am I now but death on swift wings? I was Celestia's assassin.

---------oooooooo--------

The room was dark, the fireplace the only light source as it made the shadows dance. Good, if my shadow was unlucky enough to be seen, it would be dismissed even as it danced to its own music. It always had. I had returned to the castle overlooking Canterlot, my earlier foray having given me a good knowledge of its floor plan and thus I had easily found Celestia's chambers again. I had to be cautious and thoughtful now, for no potion was in me to help rush past the guards. They were still easy to slip by, for it was night, lamps drawn low. I was the night. Strangely enough, no guards were posted outside her door, so I had moved in quietly. As I slowly moved along the wall inside the sitting room with its fireplace ablaze, I got a glimpse into the sleeping chamber. Celestia was sitting on her bed, facing me with her eyes closed. Any moment she would open her eyes and see me. Placing my blade in my mouth I knew I had to act. With her out of the way, Luna would be unstoppable and all would be made as it was promised. Filled with the need to fulfill my quest I rushed forward, not noticing an odd slant to the princess. I entered the sleeping chamber at a silent gallop and pushed one last time off the floor, spearing towards the princess with my knife blade out the side of my mouth. As time slowed down and I approached the still princess, I imagined the knife cutting along the side of the throat as I went by, cutting the ties that held the paltry trappings of the day cycle and forever making it night, our night. I imagined looking in her eyes as I cut her, those eyes that saw me flying toward another princess Celestia projected in a mirror...what? I was actually looking into her eyes in that instant, and they were reflecting the image of me flying headlong into a mirror!

The dagger ripped out of my mouth as i plowed through a magical mirror, shattering it. I could feel the shards cut me as i rolled and skidded to a stop. Spherical shields leapt up all around me in the trap I should have seen but was too blind to suspect. There was no way she could have known I was coming unless somepony knew specifically it was me. Somepony did know.

I ran desperately, continuing to dodge beams of light from unicorn guards. They were stationed up in the rafters in a circle all along the walls, firing down. Desperately dodging, I made it back into the sitting room when the door to the hallway burst open, Shining Armor standing there bellowing for me to stop in the name of the princess. I ran full tilt toward him and slammed my belly to the floor with my legs spread eagled out. As I slid under knocking out his legs, he dropped to the floor behind me, momentarily stunned with surprise. I scrambled to get back up and misstepped several times, slipping on my own blood before I got my footing and continued down the hallway. Guards were everywhere as I rounded corners or sprinted past surprised servants. They were making the halls brighter on purpose, dimming others. I was being corralled, and I was to have none of it. One window happened to be open and unguarded. I jumped through it and sprinted along the outer ledge, the whole of Canterlot's nightlit scene spread out below me. I calmed myself and began inspecting the windows on my level. One area was heavily guarded, more so than it should have been normally. If I remembered correctly, that was a barely used library, at least barely used when I zipped through earlier in the evening. I moved back to a window farther down the other end of the hallway and yelled through it, "She is nearing the princess, we need more guards to block this end of the hall. You down there, reinforce this area now, Shining's orders!"

It was so sudden the guards barely thought before they ran down the hall, leaving one nervous guard behind. Either he was really smart or really stupid. No matter, he was really alone. I swooped in through the window closest to him, double punched him in the gut and waited for his head to dip down before spinning away, connecting both of my rear hooves under his lower jawbone. He reeled back and crumpled. I stepped to the side and caught his spear as I watched him hit the ground. My blood was smeared on him, looking like I had assassinated him. When they found him they would think he was killed but it would all be over by then. Let them make one last error in judging me. I flipped the spear over and kicked it, snapping it close to the spearhead and making a clumsy knife. I picked up the makeshift weapon, gathering my courage as I turned the blade over in my hooves. This won't be a drawn out fight. Putting the short haft in my mouth I kicked the door in and entered the room.

It was a large circular study, one of the smaller libraries. It was dimly lit with candles, and several mirrors lined the outer circumference where the bookshelves stood. A podium holding an open book stood in the center directly ahead of me several paces. On one side of the room stood Princess Celestia. She was not surprised to see me. I found that odd since she should have been worried for her life. On the other side stood Princess Luna. She was not surprised either. In fact, they both wore the same expression. Sadness. For me? I continued to walk forward, processing the revelation that Luna had warned her sister, had betrayed everything I was led to believe in. To me she was the Mare in the Moon, Nightmare Moon, savior of all creatures of the night, and now Princess Luna. They were all the same, no matter the trappings or show of power. I twitched my gaze from Luna to Celestia, and back to Luna as both watched me. I was so focused on who I was to hate more I bumped into the podium. The spearhead clattered onto the stone floor tiles in my surprise, yet the tension in the air kept me from reaching for it. They were ready for me. And still neither princess moved or cast a spell. Celestia spoke first.

"You have traveled far and have made a valiant effort to make our first meeting a striking one." I heard Luna groan in disapproval. It was always customary for Celestia to see the lighter side of things, Luna the darker side. Though in this case Luna had a point, this was not the time for levity.

I thought so as well. "You joke when this is your last night? I was given a purpose, our people were promised to be brought out of the shadows to know the world we were born in rather than cower under your sun. I do not know you personally, and you probably are a decent ruler. But I do know your absence will bring about a great beginning, for those of us that are different!"

Celestia bore all this with the regalness of a true ruler. I knew at first glance she was. And yet all the things in my past bubbled up. All the things I experienced in the dream world and the real. The sacrifice Lance made and all the promises broken and yet to be fulfilled. Celestia stepped along the wall until she was straight ahead of me. Luna had done the same. Then Celestia stepped forward, Luna hesitating in surprise before following and whispering, "Sister, tis not what was planned. We know what she is capable of, We trained her! Thou art dark and exposing thyself thusly-" Celestia patted Luna with her wing and continued forward until she was directly on the other side of the podium. Luna hung back, unsure of Celestia's intent.

"If I am to sleep one final time, I would like a bed time story before you tuck me in. The book in front of you is very old. I should know, because I began its first passages a thousand years ago."

Luna spoke up, "And a day." Celestia wrinkled her nose. Someone was obviously counting age. Celestia continued.

"It is like a diary of sorts. Very compelling entries, mind you. Of noble deeds, tragic mistakes. Things that should have been said but got lost behind slammed doors, and perhaps closed minds." Celestia and Luna shared a knowing look. Celestia turned back to me, "This acount is rarely spoken of in its entirety, yet ironically parts of it survive in a multitude of legends. Now legends come true, even those that were doubted." I narrowed my eyes, looking between the two princesses, refusing to be distracted. Celestia nodded in understanding and her horn glowed gold.

A golden bubble encapsulated me, Celestia, the podium, and the spear blade that was floating next to me. For an instant I was ready to fight, and yet Celestia was doing nothing else. Luna, on the other hand, panicked and rammed the shield, but to no effect. Even her glowing horn did nothing to her bigger sister's shield. "No, Tia! What art thou doing?!? DROP YON SHIELD!!!" I was buffeted by Luna's booming voice, yet I held fast.

Celestia shook her head and kept her eyes on me as she spoke aside, "This is the better way. As you shall have responsibility for the past and the future, I shall shoulder this moment in its infinite existence. While we are different and are burdened differently, as I said before, we BOTH shall bear this together." Different. Similar. Together. Tones in the universe of my soul whose notes were muted, but the echoes rang loud and clear. To me she spoke, "You may read the pages before you, without deception. Should you choose to continue your course, I will not stay your hoof." Luna protested, saying a few things even I had not heard before. Celestia tweaked the shield and there was silence in the bubble, aside from our breathing, and a flat tap occasionally sounded, droplets of blood hitting the stone. I looked down and began to read out loud. I would be defiant to the last, even in this attempt to sway me.

Dear Diary,
Today I banished my sister to a cold, desolate place. A place of dust and echoes. In my heart I knew it was the right thing to do. Now my heart is a cold, desolate place. The food I eat is dust. The duties I perform, echoes of my life and my sister's life. I meant what I told Luna, that there must be balance. She had to have assumed I only meant the celestial bodies. I never had the strength to tell her she balanced my soul, my existence.

I looked up and saw Luna had stopped throwing herself at the shield. She was leaning against it, turned away so I could not see her face, she barely moved at all, aside from the occasional shudder. I thought Celestia might attend to her sister yet she stared at me with an intensity, an eagerness. "Continue, it gets better." A gold glow skipped several pages ahead.

Dear Diary,
It has been one year since the banishment. The new castle is well under way to being completed. Opposite the sun, I have raised and lowered the moon, the prison where my sister resides. Each night I raise it. Each morning I lower it. Each time I look at it, my heart is ripped out anew. She was already consumed by her jealousy and pain when I imprisoned her. Since then I have slowly been consumed by pain. Every day for one thousand years, minus one year, I will continue to subject myself to remembering her twice an evening. I have conscripted the very stars as keepers, for they will release her at the appointed time of her parole. My anguish will not be enough to defeat the evil she has allowed inside her, so I will have to entrust that duty to future generations. For now, I must prepare the world for one eventuality or the other. I shall spread stories to all corners of the land, describing what happened, as fairy tales. They shall endure longer than any factual recount ever will. And I shall seed them with warnings.

I skipped ahead 100 years of entries and came across a short one:

I sent envoys to the night races to strengthen their worship for her legend. I might have started a fad celebrating a foal's night out to beg for candy. Subterfuge was never my strong suit, it was hers. Subtlety was not her strong suit, but mine. Reminders of the balance that we lost.

The writing on the next several pages was sloppy, misspellings everywhere to the point of illegibility, red smears as if wine were spilled on the page. On the back of one of the pages was scrawled this in a better hoof:

drank a lot of wine last night, i was very tipsy. accidental solar eclipse for at least a day and a half. this #### is getting difficult

Celestia whispered with embarrassment for me to hurry up and skip those pages. Another entry read:

We used to eat cake together, a morning tradition for me, a dinner tradition for her. Now I eat it by myself. Will she remember the cake when she returns? Will she remember anything good we used to do together? I smile to the masses and try so hard to show everyone that I am the embodiment of the sun that warms their faces, that brings life to their crops. Inside I am hollow. Inside I am a lie.

the cake is a lie

I skipped ahead a few hundred years worth of entries and one caught my eye, mentioning dragons.

I used to handle issues inside the borders while Luna handled outside influences and situations. She was always deft with the night races or foreign nations, navigating the pitfalls of cultures not widely understood. Case in point, dragons.

To prevent another deadly swarming of dragons, I had to broker a treaty of settlement when a group of dragons visited my court requesting land. They had discovered a cavern that was rich in a rare liquid. This seems to have quelled their desire for expansion. We completed a lengthy Treaty of Friendship. It was so arduous that when we finished, I rushed the celebratory events without properly doing my research. During the celebration I offered them cake with chocolate frosting. They nearly burned the castle down in their outrage. Only the youngest would confide in me of their allergy to the cocoa bean. The oldest one stormed out in anger, vowing to only make good on the treaty in 300 years, vowing to slaughter the next pony that offered him chocolate. Luna would have handled this better.

Luna sobbed. The shield must have been letting in sound again. Celestia did not turn her head, but she said quietly, "i cannot fight her again, and i will not. we are in a delicate balance now. look at her. killing me will destroy her and all in the land will suffer. these pages already speak of it."

The image of Luna brought down so low haunted me, and I steeled myself by continuing to read. The writing became more erratic. Hundreds of pages were smeared with ink, some even torn through with the pressure that was used to write on them. One page had a hastily sketched comet in the sky, the colors of red and green ink with jagged lines as though drawn by a crazed hoof. On the back of the page was a brief entry.

In my anger and grief, I raged at the skies and swore off my duties. Later that night a comet got through and struck a village far to the south. Only a few of the noble ridge cats survived, some just kittens. I cannot let myself be so consumed again, there is enough damning mistakes on my soul as it is.

I reread the entry and stared at Celestia. There was an infinite well of pain behind her eyes. She murmured, "I knew then I never had a choice in my duty. I was the prisoner, as much as Luna ever was. A single mistake can have far reaching consequences." Her horn's glow intensified and the diary pages flipped forward several years to the following entry:

I did not think much of the report that some thestrals far to the south were injured by dragons. I knew with the treaty coming into effect after so many generations, there were bound to be friction between new communities that had formed since the initial signing. There weren't any settlers there at the time the treaty was signed, but with the dragons finally moving into the cave, that put them dangerously close to the community of thestrals that prospered there now, north of the cave in the mountains. I sent a group of unicorn healers to the thestral community to help. They returned with news that the community was devastated, with one casualty. Thank the heavens there were not more. After researching the details of the strife in that area of the land, I can't help but think I set all this into motion. I did not go personally because I was afraid I would enrage the dragons again if they saw me, such touchy beings. They are difficult creatures to deal with, their memories so vast and precise and twisting with purpose even beyond my understanding. Again I miss my sister's presence. She has seen into countless sleeping minds, she would have known how to handle them. The treaty, the delayed arrival of the dragons to their cavern due to my ignorance of dragon culture, the village destroyed by that damnable comet. That same village used to draw fire water from a well, fire water which supported the entire Badlands economy. A tunnel that was connected to an underground stream had collapsed when the comet struck, a stream that ran all the way to the cavern the dragons moved into. Hence the inevitable clash between the ridge cats and the dragons that followed over the limited resource. And then the poor threstrals...what more disaster could my failures have caused? I have so much power, and so little.

My head hurt. Just thinking through all the events spanning the centuries, one innocuous thing leading to many events, all of them coming together or rippling off in directions beyond my ability to think straight. I looked at Celestia in dismay. Where I saw the pain in her eyes from earlier, there lurked behind that pain an inner core of strength that had been tested for over a millennia, and refused to buckle. Hers was a strength that could stop comets if properly applied. I realized if I was successful at killing her, it would only be because she had allowed it. This book was a testament to the trials she had faced. Mine paled in comparison. Velvet's losses, my fate, so many influenced by a single lapse of her protection, a protection I was not even aware was in place until tonight. My road was literally paved with her good intentions, a road that found me here on the verge of killing her. I looked down and skipped to the last few pages.

Twilight Sparkle sent a scroll to me today. Remarkably she has come across one of my planted stories detailing the time lock I placed on my sister's prison, set to open today of all days. I sent her to gather the next generation of this realm's protectors, unbeknownst to her. Had I told her the full truth, she would have approached it with the same laboratory method she uses in her studies. That is no way to engender friendship, the very essence of love that holds the elements together. I broke that mortar when I sealed away Luna, the elements no longer respond to me. No less than I deserve, thus today I go forth and accept what will come. It has been a millennia, minus a few hours. I am ready for whatever happens. I have been ready for far too long. This may be my last entry, so I leave destiny to determine my salvation.

Day 1

Luna has returned to me! My dear sister was purged of her long held hate by my very special student Twilight Sparkle and her newfound friends. Luna has agreed to rule alongside me as my equal! She mentioned having done something bad, a measure of her hatred she passed onto a vulnerable student she dreamwalked with near the end of her purgatory. It does not matter, we will help this one any way we can. We owe it to her, and it is time for all to begin the healing process.

The spear blade hovered closer to me wrapped in a golden glow, waiting. Celestia said, "It is time to let go of the pain."

A random thought crossed my mind when I glanced up and noticed Luna had not moved for a while. She looked exactly like I must have when the changeling was watching me in my grief, leaning against a similar shield only a few years ago, a similar rendezvous with mortality. Lance, the red dragon, so many mistakes when a single right decision could have done so much. I felt sick. All my life I tried to avoid being a bully, had stood up to bullies, fought for the weak. Yet here I was, driven to murder so I could...what? Be treated differently? Make her pay because of pain that caused her to err? This was not justice of any kind. It was suffering I was causing others, and I had become the ultimate bully.

Fine, I would fight one last bully.

I let myself slump to the ground and stared straight ahead. "This hate I feel, it is misplaced. I thought my quest to forward Nightmare Moon's cause for equality meant removing you, I thought it was righteous. I see now it can only harm those that need the help most. All that I fought for, it has come to nothing. I am nothing."

Celestia dropped the shield and the spearhead clattered to the floor next to me. Luna, who was leaning against the shield, barely caught herself from hitting the tiles. I could see tears running down her cheeks as she looked to me, possibly wondering what I would do next. Not much, I thought to myself, and I looked down at the spearhead. Not much left to do....

Shining Armor burst in and several guards followed, forming a half-circle around us armed with spears. "There she is! Take her into custody and protect the princesses!" They started to move in.

Princess Celestia stepped around me and blocked them, "My loyal guards, that will not be necessary. We have the situation well in hoof. Many things have changed today, and while change can be terrifying-" She glanced back to Luna who was picking herself up, "-I can promise you your rulers will see you all safely through. Shining Armor, please wait outside with your retinue. We will require an escort to the guest living quarters. I am sure we can all use some sleep, regardless what sky we walk under."

As the guards reluctantly filed out and the attention was off me, I reached for the spearhead. A golden-shod hoof slammed down on it before I could touch it, shattering the metal into smoking bits. Celestia looked down at me, not with the fire of anger, but with the warmth of love, "That will not be necessary. Many great deeds have been done these last few days, some misguided. Let us keep those later ones to a minimum for now." She held out her hoof to me. Luna stood on the other side of me and did the same.

I slowly reached out to both and they helped me stand. The cuts on me had stopped bleeding, merely stinging when I moved. I avoided their eyes, the keepers of my bleak future. I said quietly, "Misguided means I only lacked proper direction...at this chapter, only the closing of the book remains. There is nothing left." I sighed and let go of their hooves.

Luna snorted and stepped closer, "We shalt be thy judge of that. Forsooth, tis My mess, so fixing thee tis my responsibility. Indeed, thou hast shown stalwart courage fighting thine own beliefs and seeing to the grander good thy lack of action wouldst result in." Celestia attempted to settle Luna down, not wanting to relive the tense moments just past, however the smaller alicorn was on a roll and could not be stopped, "No matter how nor why thou hast attained thy skills, thou readily smited an entire castle guard-"

Celestia leaned in, "And floored Shining Armor."

"AND floored Shining Armor. Ah, yes. Tia...?"

Celestia nodded and turned to the doorway, "I shall check on him and anypony else our deft thestral came near. The door guard, I believe? We shall discuss what comes next at breakfast, wayward thestral. Luna will get you settled in...." She cantered out momentarily, then stuck her head back in, "....and dear Slicer, could you refrain from picking up any sharp objects tonight?" Resolved to my fate, I nodded. Celestia beamed a bright sunny smile and left us.

Luna placed a wing over me. "Fret not, for thou commeth against incredible odds, including thyself. Tis not the end of thy story, butan it beginneth anew. Tis much to discuss...for she is right, sleep weighs heavily on Us, though this will ruin Our sleep schedule for a time." We started to walk out into the hallway. As ordered, Shining Armor and several guards escorted us a ways before we stopped at a spiraling staircase that continued up one of the castle towers. Shining Armor looked askance at me, then at Luna. I couldn't help but glance down at the bottom part of his armor and noted the scuffs and dirt that were still there from his earlier 'spill.' I was pretty sure he was well aware of them and wore it like a badge of honor. If he only knew he was alive because I had lost my dagger...damn, they must have still had it. That was a gift I was unwilling to part with.

"Princess Luna, all the guest quarters have been taken by dignitaries for the upcoming formal celebration of your return. Only the auxiliary observatory is available. A bed should already be there for late night stargazers." The princess nodded and proceeded up the stairs, along with me and our escort in tow.

Upon reaching the top of the flight of stairs, Luna and I entered the room while the guards stayed outside, Shining Armor standing in the doorway ready for action. The room was not that small, circular and had a balcony you could walk out onto. A telescope was just inside with a protective cover, waiting to be used. Luna stepped out onto the balcony and looked up. The sky was clear with the moon high in the sky. She looked radiant in the moonlight. I knew her proper place was to rule the night and I had to fight down urges to continue my quest to make it the only celestial phase the realm would see. She must have noticed my difficulty and stepped over to me, "Jen, a long journey lies before thee, butan after tonight's ordeal, We also know thou hast the strength and tenacity to see it through. Thou hast always, and thou shalt never fail."

I looked at Shining Armor before I mentioned, "I have failed at a lot of things. Failed to realize where I fit in, failed to keep the ones I love safe. I even failed at putting you into power."

The princess snorted and stepped over to a tall mirror near the wall. She rubbed some smudges out of it with her hoof. "Thou succeeded at things that were possible, and some that were naught. All lose loved ones over the course of their lives not because of failure, that is entwined with life. Thou must understand, My sister and We have lived a very long time, as alicorns do. We have thus seen Our share of loss over the years. If We fail to show the ones We love Our appreciation for the time We spend with them, then We have truly failed them. As We have known thee We have never seen that failing. As for putting Us into power..." She looked up at me in the mirror, "Twas not to be. Either as an assassin or losing Celestia. My sister can have a faith in destiny that We find bewildering, yet it is a very real thing We can attest to, after living so long. Tonight happened for a reason, twere no failures." I pointedly glanced over at Shining Armor and he stiffened, clenching his jaw. My fun list was going to grow before long.

Luna walked over to the doorway and looked back at me, "In the morning we are to break bread with My sister. Normally thou and We would be awake until sunup. We recommend taking a nap for slight hours. We art most tired. If thou needest anything, hail thy guard, butan nay try and leave til better accomodations hast been procured, more for thy guard's safety than thine. They are a tad skittish tonight." I muttered something regarding the obviousness of that. Luna half-smiled and stepped out, with Shining Armor following her and closing the door. I waited a few seconds, but they did not lock the door. Hm, that was very trusting of them.

I made my way to the bed and flopped down on it, sinking in slightly more than I liked. I stayed there just long enough to realize I was not comfortable. Then I got up and walked over to the balcony and looked up behind me. The eave of the roof was not that far above me. With a hop and a twist I jumped at the balcony railing and pushed off, grabbing the edge of the roof and hoisted myself up, made sure of my footing on the tiles and slowly stepped along the roof toward the apex. It wasn't that I was trying to escape, just that I wanted to roam a little. Afterall, it was the middle of the night, when I was most active. I searched the surrounding structures and saw a possible covered crosswalk that was within jumping distance, very tricky if I slipped just prior to the jump or just after the landing. I didn't get any more time to contemplate where I could go when I heard groaning and snapping under me. The tiles shifted and the roof gave way, plunging me through to the room below. I landed back on the bed, pieces of the roof dropping on me, the bed, and most everywhere else.

The door burst open and the guard stood there, spear at the ready. In front of him was the image of me lying on the bed in the middle of being asleep, with debris on me or strewn about, a brand new large hole in the roof. He took all this in before galvanizing the courage to ask, "Wh..what just happened in here?!"

I opened my eyes and said, "I was feeling a bit restless and decided to gaze at the sky. You seem fairly capable...is that a spear in your hooves or are you just happy to-" The door slammed shut and I could hear the butt of the spear hit the floor outside as he resumed his post as quickly as he could. I sighed and looked up through the new skylight, watching the moon and stars. That more than anything did relax me. I brushed off the debris and found I was a fair bit tired so I lied there, the sky above me slowly danced until I found the oblivion of sleep.

A Guarded Guard

Sure enough, the next morning found the guards escorting me to the dining hall. They appeared nervous and watched me like hawks. Another time I might have messed with them by making furtive gestures. Not this morning, there was a feel of 'you move, you die' to it. I was willing to wait and see what happened. When we arrived, princess Luna was seated at one end of the long table with a place setting to her right. Another, meant for Celestia I supposed, was set at the other end of the table. With a gesture of her hoof, Luna had the guards stand watch at the doorway while she waved me over to sit. I took my time as I glanced around, noting the lack of any other guards in the room. I made mental notes of the windows, other doors as escape exits, sounds drifting in from hallways as staff rushed here and there to run various errands so I would know which hallway had the least living obstacles, even the angle of the sun and the shadows it created. By the time I sat down I had several plans in place, any one of them to implement in a moment's notice. Luna's look was of slight amusement. "Thine actions be bootless. Thou shant be afeared, for thou hast been invited to partake in victuals wit We princesses. Tis nay a visit to yon nubbing-cheat, despite the suffering We endured this forby night, rapscallion."

Given Luna's thick vintage dialect, I was still able to understand what she was getting at. I recalled how Luna had been brought down by the thought of what I might do to her sister. I had caused her real pain and it was something I would have to live with for a long time. I looked down and said softly, "I am sorry for that. I was so angry and I felt betrayed. You were protecting your family, and me as well it seems. I only wanted what was right. It didn't matter what happened to me afterward. I know it's a poor excuse."

Before Luna could reply, we heard a clear voice exclaim, "Now now, this is a bright and wonderful morning. Not a time for mourning!" Princess Celestia walked in with all the regal grace of her station, mane and tail waving with their own breeze. She sat at the other end of the table. Several servants came out of nowhere and placed several more items on the table to include carafes of freshly squeezed orange juice, apple juice, and several other items like jars of different jams and butter. "Last night was trying for all of us. I think we did very well, considering. I prefer to not dwell on the past but to embrace the here and now. In this case, breakfast!" I raised an eyebrow to Luna and she smiled weakly. Celestia continued, "Jen, I must ask about your accent, it is most peculiar, though I came across a version of it in the Prench province some time ago. I accede my sister has much to catch up on in the noble art of lip service, though I do pride myself in knowing regional dialects in these modern times. Is your accent passed down through family or only localized to your area?" I had never thought about it, but then again I had come across different accents in my own journeys. Luna quirked a brow at Celestia but remained silent.

I responded, "I believe it is unique to my home town...or it was before it was wiped out." It seemed this would be a breakfast with harsh subject matter for garnish. "Until that happened, we had kept to ourselves and seldom had any mixing with other thestral communities, so I could not say if it was unique to our location. An old shaman told me it was more prevalent a long time ago. But with my community in that area scattered, I suspect the accent will disappear in another generation or so."

Celestia's face grew concerned. "How daft of me, I apologize for bringing up bad memories as I subvert my own decree for a pleasant morning. Sometime after, I would like to discuss the events that took place there, when you are ready." I nodded my thanks and tried to forget those memories for now. A waiter came by to take our orders. I waited for Luna to request hers, a hay and egg omelette. I requested if they had some kind of fish and eggs dish and they did. After the waiter got Celetia's order he told us a special cake would follow our meal and left.

I asked Luna about the cake. Before she could respond, Celestia made a sound in her throat, to which Luna sighed and nodded. Then Luna said to me in a slow and deliberate fashion, "Tis be the second morn of Our return, the first victual...breakfast...Our sweostor Celestia has realized not in solitude, thus the kitchen doth break backs to break bread. Forsooth...mm, 'indeed', tis be an historic moment. Thou art lucky nobody died last night, lest cake would most definitely not be on the menu." She tended to talk with less stress when using the older dialect but got caught up with terms she was not familiar with.

Celestia was smiling pleasantly until Luna's last comment, then made a tsk sound and stated, "Really Luna, your morbid humor can be a bit...morbid sometimes. I have already forgiven Jen of her transgressions and no permanent damage was done. I for one consider the matter closed, lest we insist on ruining this first of firsts, as you say. Shall we?" With formal deference, Luna bowed her head. I nodded too, very eager to not be lectured anymore. "Excellent! By the way, it has come to my attention that our guest is into remodeling." I got a confused expression on my face and Luna tilted her head. "Her room now has a lovely view of the sky above her bed. Whether by accident or design, it could prove problematic with our regularly scheduled rainstorms over the course of the summer. Shall I have it patched up?" Luna worked her mouth out of exasperation, knowing that she told me to stay put last night. I elected for a different course of action.

"If it is not too much bother, I would like to keep it. In a way it reminds me of what must be in the skies, be it the moon or the sun. I can deal with the rain." I noticed Luna calmed down a little and shook her head, amused at my ability to smooth things over when I wanted to.

Celestia nodded slowly and replied, "I can appreciate your attempt to accept these changes. I shall have one of my students place a permanent repelling spell over the hole to block acclimate weather. Do be kind enough to inform the castle architect beforehoof when you decide to alter any local structures. They get agitated over those things. And no more rappelling, for the same reason." I smiled sheepishly. Celestia brightened and said, "Dear sister, let us continue discussing the subject we ended with last night."

Luna's horn glowed blue and a poster floated down to the table in front of me. It showed several thestrals in a version of the typical guard armor. The caption read:

'The Worst Monsters Come Out At Night.

So Do The Best Heroes.

Join the elite. Join the Night Guard.'

While a bit campy and pretentious as most advertisements were, I couldn't help but feel invigorated by the look of those thestrals in their royal garb. The captions certainly spoke to me. It was something I had always felt and was never quite able to put into words. I asked, "Did you come up with the words?"

Luna shook her head and replied, "We did not. A muse most talented hailing as Uberalles doth lives in Canterlot. His works deserve micel lof for their worth. We personally beseeched him to scieppan a work of inspiration. Tis a radiant creation." Celestia coughed politely into her hoof. I thought she might be coming down with something until Luna clicked her teeth with her tongue in exasperation.

The older alicorn said softly, "You did promise to try. Please indulge me?" Luna muttered something about it being too early in the morning and waved absently.

I stared at the poster, the boldness of the thestrals displayed, the fireworks and starbursts in the sky above them on a backdrop of stars and moon. I nodded and said, "It speaks to those who hear the call." Luna grinned and agreed. Before too long, servants returned with our dishes and placed them in front of us. It smelled very good and I had forgotten I hadn't eaten in a long time, so I was very quick to begin.

Luna spoke slowly while she ate her hay and eggs omelette, "We art instating the Lunar Guard, most comprised of thestrals and other night races, though nay exclusive to such. Our sister has seen much...upheaval over these longs years. Wit thy personal experiences, tis clear that not everypony can be up at the same time of day, thus ye need protection around the clock, as well as the enforcement of law. Forming a night specialized guard would be seen as a fair approach to the somewhat neglected ministrations of night duty, the late watch currently at its limited numbers." Celestia listened on, clearly having heard it before but still paying interest to it, and acting most pleased over Luna's attempt to speak in a manner I could understand. For her part, Luna spoke very well when she wasn't excited or otherwise emotionally stressed. Both sisters were also watching for my reaction.

I mentioned, "It would also be a political move to relieve stress between the day and night races, showing fairness."

Luna glanced at Celestia, who in turn took special interest in a bit of flowers to munch on. Luna got a little irritated, "Tis not solely for that, knave. Our sweostor and We smeaganed much on this to the resolve it would benefit many and for many other reasons."

I snorted and resumed eating my eggs and fish, speaking between mouthfuls. "It doesn't matter to me...I never had the temperament to take part in politics. Understand it? Of course I do...your chef is good by the way. Navigate it? Bleck! Just the thought of having to fake a smile and act polite while some high and mighty what's-their-face decides my future..." Celestia's soft laughter interrupted my train of thought and I looked up to find her laughing while Luna was practically fuming. I swallowed quickly and said, "Present company accepted of course." In a paltry effort to change the subject, I asked, "Princess, while we met in the dreamworld, I could easily understand you. Now..."

Luna's eyes narrowed. "We speak with Mine authority of the ruling class. Tis ruth We hold for thee to be dark on thy deep history-" Celestia's small cough gave Luna pause. She then continued in a more somber tone. "In short...Nightmare Moon spoke to thee via thy mind, wherefore thou hark with thy ears,-" This time Celestia's cough was louder. Luna tapped the table with her hoof in irritation. "We.....art.....trying to speak...modern."

Celestia's beaming smile helped dispell some of her sister's ire. "And a valiant effort you are making. In essence, Jen, the mind communicates pure thought in the dream. In the waking world we are weighed down by having to transpose our thoughts into audible sound, further hindered by the need for our audience to understand those sounds. Sometimes I envy Luna's dreamwalking...what beauty must she be witness to, experiencing others' thoughts uncompromised by misinterpretation or bias." Luna took on an expression of endearing love for the older sister's very well worded explanation.

Several servants chose that moment to come in and replace our plates with dessert dishes and the previous courses with a large white cake topped with a ornately sculpted chocolate rose made of icing. I hadn't had cake or specifically chocolate since that time on Heartbreak Cliff, five years at least. I had been through a lot since then. While this cake looked amazing, especially with the rose on the side of the cake, I never liked white cake. The chocolate definitely made it look worthwhile, though. I owed it to all that had sacrificed for this seemingly innocent confectionary to enjoy this cake, the cocoa bean that had such an impact in my life. I reached out to cut the rose slice when it magically cut itself and floated onto Celestia's plate. I stared at it while Luna responded to my earlier statements.

"For one who dislikes politics, thou art quick to recover when thou...steppest into it. In sooth, the guard WILL matter to thee since We shalt enroll thee in it." That got my attention as I looked at Luna, Celestia lost in cake bliss. Luna continued, "Tia and We art nay bullies, Jen. Forsooth, in Our own ways We have fought for everything you fought for your entire life. It is our perspectives that found Us at odds, with each other or Ourselves."

Celestia tapped her hooves together after swallowing and nodded, "Well said dear sister. You might see us as overbearing, Jen, yet it is an obligation to keep order. You were not alive when Luna and I faced Discord. Or the times before then." She closed her eyes and shivered. When she opened them, there was determination and a sense of conviction in them. I saw nothing of a power hungry dictator in her. "We do what we must." She resumed eating.

I looked longingly at the chocolate as it disappeared into the white alicorn's mouth, then I reached over to the flyer and pulled it to me, saying, "So must I, it seems. After all that has happened, you are willing to have me join your personal guard?" Luna nodded and pulled the poster over to her.

She stated, "Regarding the politics thou dislike, this move accomplishes several things. We loathe to bring up last night's events against my sweostor's wishes, but most of Canterlot is aware that something did happen. Accepting thee in the guard shows trust and reconciliation. That thou art a thestral cast aside doubt there bias between Us and Our sister regarding thee specifically, or the thestrals as a whole as We introduce them back into the everyday affairs of Equestria. Tis high time they returned to society and not be set aside merely because of their association with My night. It also affords Us the opportunity of keeping an eye on thee." There was a mischievous twinkle in her eye, as if saying it took one to know one.

I grumbled sullenly, "I don't have to like it, though." Luna waved a hoof and made two cake slices float to our respective plates. Not a trace of chocolate, of course.

"Peace and harmony can be difficult to maintain, and exacts a heavy tool. Tis a sacrifice that We must make more often than...well...We care to like." Luna almost sounded as if she were talking to herself as she picked at her cake slice.

The chef stepped in to see if the meal was to our satisfaction, which Celestia exclaimed it was and turned to speak to the chef at length regarding the cake. I turned to Luna and asked, "Does she always hog the chocolate?"

Luna's right eye twitched and she shoved a forkful of cake into her mouth, muffling her response to a low volume, "Despite what she wrote in that book, I doth remember a variety of things, including how she always got the cake decoration first. Verily if it was chocolate icing."

I traced the starbursts on the flyer as I watched Celestia finish her cake. She even wiped the chocolate smudges off the plate with her hoof. I left mine untouched as I asked, "Always?"

Luna was about to eat another portion when she stopped and replied tentatively, "Aefre." She then took a keen interest in me, waiting for me to continue this line of conversation. I said nothing. I thought about my blue cutie-mark wings, the need to right wrongs and injustice coming to the forefront.

I tapped my hoof on the poster, right on the starburst and said, "As wise rulers you are correct, this is a good future for me and it is right that you should direct me in the right direction." Luna became immediately suspicious and stared at me intensely. I admit I did not try very hard to sound contrite or grateful and she obviously knew it. I avoided her gaze like the plague.

Celestia on the other hoof seemed completely convinced. "See? She would be excellent in the court environment if she controlled her speech and tailored it to her audience."

Luna muttered under her breath, "We verily doubt yon speech tis what needs controlling." My sensitive ears were able to pick up the words. She sat up and said louder, "in abidance wit thine induction into the new Lunar Guard, thou must abide by new rules and tenets thou may not be used to. Aside from having more responsibility than the average subject, thou will be upholding the values and the honor of the Guard. Thou wilt also be directly under OUR command, which means what thou do negatively tarnishes My reputation." I must have had the typical juvenile rejection-of-authority look on my face. She gave me a small smile and spoke softer, "We understand it sounds like We only care about My name, but it is the coin in which We rulers use to negotiate between nations and with Our citizens. If they see We cannot control Our own guards, why should they follow the rule of law? We will be seen as weak by our neighbors and could potentially be invaded. The one pebble thou playfully throw in a pond can set off waves that ripple far into the future."

I nodded. Everytime I had a singular purpose, it was dashed aside by a multitude of far reaching implications. These princesses clearly thought through things far beyond what I was used to. I scooped up a forkful of white cake, glancing at Luna, "I can appreciate the hidden undercurrents of subtlety and I will be mindful of the consequences of my actions. It will be a challenge I take on with a smile." I ate the forkful of cake, my mouth wrinkling slightly at the taste. Luna stared at me with a steady gaze. I knew I would not be able to fool her, I was fine with that. She was not my target. Again, Celestia was on a different page and clapped her hooves together. What I took for simple appreciation was actually a command for a servant to bring out a tray. On the tray was the diary from the previous night. A golden glow seized the book and floated it over to me. I picked up the book and looked at it, then shook my head. "Your Highness, I can't take this. This is a lifetime of pain, your very soul laid down on parchment. I understand why you showed it to me last night. It belongs to you." I placed the book down on the table.

Celestia shook her head, "Nonsense. I give it to you as a gift, a reminder of things that have been, what could have been, and what could be should you make a poor decision. If you do, refer to the book. I daresay you would be hard pressed to find at least one entry that would not help you on any given day, or night. There are three hundred and sixty five thousand entries." My eyes went wide with surprise. How could one book have that many pages?!

Luna spoke up between mouthfuls of cake, "And one."

The white alicorn at the other end of the table smiled ruefully. "Indeed." She clapped her hooves together again. Several servants brought over more books. There were stacks of books, which they piled up next to me.

I looked at them in bewilderment as I read the titles on their spines. An Introduction to Biology. The Knife And You, And Them. Complete Medical Encyclopedia. Practical Approach to Particular Pony Parts. Drugs, A Pharmaceutical Approach. The Pyramidal Tracts, Not Just For Tourism. The books went on and on with different subjects, all carrying one overall theme. Medicine. I looked at Celestia and was truly stumped. "Princess, I have no idea about any of these things. I only know how to...that is..."

Celestia slowly dipped her head and said, "And in that venue we must find balance. All these years you have been tailored for a very specific purpose. This will begin the healing process, to help you see yourself as not just a weapon, but perhaps something more." Luna sat up and looked at Celestia in surprise. Celestia smiled and said, "Simply placing her in the guard felt like putting her on the back burner. She needed something more fulfilling. This felt right."

I pulled out the book titled 'Complete Medical Encyclopedia.' As I turned the pages I found myself reading the paragraphs, looking at the pictures, applying what I had learned about the body in a new way. I was fascinated. Instead of simply cutting flesh to let it bleed, I saw where those same cuts could be applied to facilitate surgery, amputation, or a hold and twist can reset bones or dislocated shoulder. Even the sewing seemed a perfect match. It was no different than the many things I patched up in the Badlands. I have had to use my hooves and teeth all my life to do the simplest tasks to such a degree, sewing up wounds looked like fun! Even my eyesight, attuned to spot the tiniest details in tracking, could be applied to line up the stitching so tightly as to make it nearly invisible. All of this I inherently understood as if it were second nature, the pieces of all my life lining up perfectly with this new puzzle piece. In my mind I saw a crusade against pain and suffering, against death itself if I chose the right action. The gravity of it shot tingling sensations throughout my body.

Gradually I heard voices again and I realized I had tuned out the princesses. Luna appeared very excitable, literally hopping up and down in her seat and exclaiming, "Yoicks!" It was almost cute, if you didn't mind your teeth rotting from the sugary goodness of the spectacle.

"What?"

Luna blinked at me. "Hast thou been dark these forby minutes?" I shook my head in bewilderment. I looked at Celestia who was overwhelmed with joy. I shrugged as she put her hooves to her face, beaming. Was it so hard to just tell me what had everypony in stitches? Turning back to Luna, she finally pointed a hoof at my flank. I looked down and saw my cutie-mark had changed again. This time there were two black snakes intertwining the silver dagger, their bodies disappearing in my black fur and reappearing as they crossed the blade, their heads facing each other on the handle, blue eyes glowing like the wings. I was speechless, practically in stitches.

When I found my voice I asked, "What does this mean?"

Celestia was the first to respond by getting up and walking closer. She examined the image and spoke, "Most ponies are straight forward in finding what makes them unique, their special something." Her eyes glanced up to mine, "Most ponies do not have to go through what you did." There was sympathy there, before she went back to examining my cutie-mark. "I have never seen this before. Luna mentioned this aspect of you during her dreamwalks as Nightmare Moon...I had thought the addition of the dagger might be a corruption of her hate." Luna fidgeted a little. She was not happy with being reminded of her past quite so soon after her release or that she may have caused my spiral into a similar hateful crusade. Celestia noticed and smiled, "Rest easy dear sister, this was not your doing, but the natural order of things...if a bit unorthodox in revealing itself." She looked closer and said, "The other symbols you know about. The twin snakes, entwined and facing each other, has sometimes been the symbol for medicine. Traditionally combined with the wings and a staff, they also symbolize trade and negotiation, a balance of ideals. In ancient times there was a staff that could make the dying receive a gentle death and return the dead back to life, represented by twisting snakes. Yours is a dagger, not a staff." She paused, her eyes switching to the books piled up, then to me. "Your negotiations will be a balance of life and death."

I averted my eyes, lost in the revelations she told me. I looked to Luna after a time. "You've known me most of my life. I still hardly know myself it seems." I ran a hoof across the cutie-mark to make sure it was real, covering the parts in reverse sequential order of how it used to look before today, before the dragons, before life got so complicated. Until only the blue wings were visible on either side of my hoof. "What am I?"

Luna smiled and reached over, pulling my hoof away to reveal the mark in its fullness. Then she galvanized all the energies in her to speak as clearly to me as she could. "You...are what any of...us...can hope for at the end of this...day." She sat back and looked at me in a new light.

She whispered, "Complete."

Author's Note

The recruitment poster is made by http://texasuberalles.deviantart.com/ which inspired part of this chapter. Permission from the artist was given for use in my story. It had a very appealing message, given my RL job. I have always been one to stand up to a bully, though the longer I have lived, I have found there are better ways to do it than getting right in their face. Sometimes I still get in their face.

The next chapter will be more of an epilogue, tying into bobbybrony's Dying Embers story. Fell free to post any questions about why I wrote things a certain way. If it needs fixing, that is the best approach. And thankyou for reading this origin story.

I am not an epilogue

So much to endure and live through, and yet the mind can quickly sift through it all if the mind is not too horribly fractured. I pass the last few shops before nearing the edge of Canterlot, the courier still winging their way toward that village far in the distance. Once I get out into open country I can really get in my stride. Too many foals running around in this area of the city for my comfort...though if I were truthful to myself, it is because they remind me of my childhood. A scent of a local bakery wafts by with traces of chocolate. My mouth waters at the thought, yet I push on. A more recent memory drifts into my head as I reach the edge of the city.

While I had started my new training in the medical field under the tutelage of the very best physicians, I was still required to dine with the princesses...and still miss out on the very best of the cakes that were served. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have done it. She had done much in the way to help me, but I was very rebellious and sullen in those first several weeks. One particular evening I spent all night boiling a very special seed pod, one of several I had saved for myself when I originally collected them. You know, ‘just in case.’ This was a ‘just in case’ kind of evening.

The kitchens were always about making sure everything was just right. They worked in shifts, from what I found during my evening wanderings in the castle. The head chef always made sure he stayed up just long enough to find out if Celestia had enjoyed her breakfast, the most important meal of her day he had once told me. Toward the end of this special night I had taken the pod down to the kitchens with me, wrapped in a cloth to protect me from the heat, though by the time I got to the cake, the pod had cooled down. A nice fat chocolate bow bedecked the cake, with chocolate cookie wafers to either side of it. And that entire slice would go down HER gullet. It had just been decorated and was set aside away from everypony else so it would not be damaged in any way. As I pretended to admire its beauty, I took the pod and slipped it right into the side at mid-level, sure to be missed by any knife or magic cutting. A fork, on the other hoof....

The next morning saw a bright and sunny sky, the princesses performing their heavenly dance of exchange on their respective tower balconies. I waited outside the dining hall as Luna approached from her part of the castle. “A long and arduous evening it has been, Our nightly court duties weigheth heavily so.”

I quirked my eyebrow and asked, “Forgive me, Princess. ‘Weigheth?’ ”

In a quite un-princess-like manner, Luna snorted and pushed open the dining hall doors, ushering us both in. “Tis a joke, young one. There is no ‘-eth’ ending on the first person singular verb in my old tongue. Despite weeks of grueling effort, We HAVE managed to convey Our message in a few conversations, no?” We sat down at our normal places. Celestia had not arrived yet. “Really, thou wouldst think thou had lightened up these many weeks. Word has it thou poured valiant effort into your studies...and valiant amounts of honey into Shining Armor’s...mm, armor.” I craned my neck looking away to admire the windows and the bright, almost painful sunbeams coming into the room. The silence was as thick as honey.

“It’s not like I told the ants to go looking for THAT food supply.”

Luna wanted to say more, but Celestia clip-clopped into the hall with a radiant bounce in her step. She was way too happy at sunup for my tastes. Her smaller sister looked on with similar thoughts. “MORNING fellow mares! Can you feel the energy in the air?! Oh would I give up cake for the summer to last forever!”

The hair on my neck stood up as I contemplated what would happen if she did that, today of all days, until Luna muttered darkly, “Not bucking likely...” My head whipped around to stare at her. Remembering she was in the presence of one of her citizens, Luna sat up and smiled forcibly to address her sister, “And a pleasant morning to you, too, Tia. We wish We had such an evening, yet We can only take minor complaints for so long before We lose Our mind.” With that, the servants set out the breakfast as usual. Celestia and Luna discussed the evening court and what repercussions to expect in the coming day court. I phased them out for a while, slowly eating my meal. I had nearly forgotten the cake until it was announced and brought out. While Luna sat back and waited for the usual drama to unfold, I sat up, wondering if I had boiled the pod long enough. I had never seen just one pod and I knew the length of time determined the outcome once the husk was pierced.

As usual, the large slice containing all the special decoration, chocolate of course, floated over to Celestia’s plate. Luna retrieved her own slice and began picking at it. Celestia picked up a fork with her hoof, feeling that if one were to partake in such a delectable event as eating cake, it must be accomplished with a steady hoof and a steady resolve to personally enjoy this greatest moment of each day. She has no idea how great this moment was going to be, I thought ruefully. Luna glanced up at my empty dessert dish and muttered, “No cake today?”

I whispered the words, “The cake is a lie.” Luna frowned slightly and opened her mouth when there was a loud bang. A good portion of chocolate icing slammed into Luna’s mouth as cake was blown all over the hall! The dessert dish that was holding Celestia’s slice simply did not exist anymore, and the fork she was holding not a few seconds ago was still vibrating way up above our heads, stuck in the ceiling. Luna spent the next minute coughing out the food that had violently assaulted her mouth...which was the only pony moving at that moment.

I dared not move an inch of my body, only forcing my head to slowly look at the white alicorn. It was as though she had been in a mud fight, and lost. The only white I could see were her eyes, which were the size of saucers. When Luna finally recovered, she was too stunned for words and merely stared at her older sister, too. As for Celestia...her tongue slowly came out of her muzzle and started to eat the chocolate off her own face.

Luna slammed the table with her hooves and yelled in her royal voice, “THOU ART STILL EATING???” To her credit, Celestia continued scraping the chocolate and bits of cake off her, only to deposit them in her mouth. I didn’t know if it was because she had to have experienced worse or her brain had reverted to its more primal form of basic needs. Luna did not care either way, it seemed. It was when she wheeled around on me that I knew I had screwed up, “.....thy room.................now.......” The look in her eyes was enough to make me move faster than possibly the shaman’s haste potion. I only remember a blur of scenery before I was standing in my room. Several minutes later, a Lunar Guard thestral poked her head in and said quietly, “By order of the princess Luna, you are hereby locked in here...until you can behave yourself. And Slicer, from one thestral to another, stay in here. You bucked up this time.” She had a slight expression of sympathy for me before she shut and locked the door. Only slight. But still, I did take her off my fun list.

For a good while I putzed around with my medical books, some other odds and ends I had run across and bought during my visits into the city. I hated being locked up, which is why Luna made it a frequent punishment for me. I was about to go stir crazy when I heard a soft ‘psst’ from the balcony. When I stepped out, Luna was standing outside, watching me. She must have flown up to it from outside. How I envied wings so. I couldn’t hold her gaze and lowered mine.

“A day of solitude and reflection is in order. That We can hold to today’s dialect is a measure of control We art exerting this very moment.” Then the oddest sound came forth. Soft giggling. I looked up and found Luna was wearing a small smile, guarded as it was. “And to some degree, comedy helps with Our speech as well.” I clenched my jaw and looked down again, not sure what to say or think. Luna tut-tutted me and draped a wing over me, directing us both inside. “Perhaps Our reaction was strong for thine antics. Tis the first time We have tasted chocolate at breakfast in a long time, if the cake were true. This truth We must impress upon thee. NEVER do that again.” I stiffened, but Luna patted me on the head, “At least...to Our sister. We have studied thy dreams, We know where for thou art coming from. Suffice to say, there art ‘more worthy’ adversaries to take down. Agreed?”

I smiled wanly and nodded, “Agreed.”

Luna sighed and glanced at the door. “The punishment must still stand, unfortunately. Thou art Mine to command and obey thou must. Thy next meal tis off limits as well, though small price to pay for such a spectacle.” She chuckled softly again at the thought, then shook out her mane. “Spend thy time wisely in here, it will strengthen thy character.” With that she left me to my own device as she walked out onto the balcony and took flight to her part of the castle where she was to sleep.

While a meal might have been off limits just once, it was several dessert sessions later before the Solar Guard stopped escorting me out of the hall mid-meal. I never found out if it was under Celestia’s orders or just a general consensus with Shining Armor leading the charge, so to speak. He was certainly there during every meal for months after that incident.

The memory floats away as I begin to concentrate in gaining speed on the courier, traveling at breakneck speed down the road and across the countryside while getting closer and closer to the pegasus. Before long, we are upon the village and I circle around on purpose to avoid running into the locals. I spot the barracks and angle toward it.

In my approach I notice the barracks sit on the outskirts of the village...ironically the same village I passed a while back on my suicide mission so long ago, yet it is at most only two years and a few months. How provincial and de ja vu at the same time. I also notice the barracks has guards near the front door and most likely some interspersed throughout the building. I hate lengthy introductions and red tape, so I deviate and make my way to the side of the multi-storied building. The courier just alights at the front door so I beat the delivery by a minute, and I wasn't going to waste it.

Taking my bag off my back I pull out some rope and secure it to a grappling hook. Then I attach the hook to the bag. I also pull out and unravel a medium size poncho made out of the Badlands thistle thread and drape the poncho over my bag. It immediately blends in with the surrounding grass so I slip a rear hoof underneath just to mark where it is. I look around and find a small stone and eye the row of windows on the second level. I deduce that the long building would utilize its length to house the guards along an internal hallway, thus placing its administrative offices to the far end, away from the front entrance. While this gives supervisors a buffer, it made them easier targets to flank and rear attacks...precisely Luna's concern with this human. I look to the last open window and throw the stone through it. Nothing. I threw a handful of stones up through there. Still nothing. Okay.

I eye the next window and throw another stone. "Ouch! Who did that!?!" I lift the edge of my poncho and wrap it over me, getting low against my bag. I hear a pair of hooves scrape against the window sill above me and a very angry voice shouts, "I know you are down there. I'm going to kick your tail when I get down there. When I find you, I'm going to beat you harder and longer than you beat your own..." His voice drifted off as he marched his way back inside and presumably down the hallway to come out and look for me.

Throwing off the poncho I pick up my bag and spin around, heaving it up above me. The bag sails through the window. When I pull on the rope to take in the slack, the hook on the bag snags on the inside of the window sill. I fold up my poncho and begin climbing my way up the side of the building. Glancing over the sill to make sure the room is clear, I pull myself up and over, rolling into the room very quietly. I whip around and pull up the rope hoof over hoof just as I hear the guard clopping around the corner, yelling and swearing. Good, that should keep him busy for a bit. I put everything back in my bag, noting there are four beds in the room, not just one. I had lucked out and not run into more guards.

At this point I must make something clear. From his perspective that was mean, I get that. Naturally one would think the first window was the better option. I felt that actively clearing the room and drawing attention outside was preferable to climbing up into a supposedly empty room and getting caught by a bored off-duty guard dozing in his bed inside. And yes, I got to throw rocks at somepony. Keep in mind that pranks by themselves are mean and repugnant. Pranks with purpose are noble and accomplish many things. And yes that does help me sleep at day.

I am about to poke my head out when a unicorn mare marches by. I stay just inside the doorway and take a quick glance out into the hallway. There is a guard stationed at the far end beside one of three office doors. I recognize Luna's coat of arms on the one door and figure with her back in Canterlot, the guard is there for this human I am supposed to protect. While the guard salutes to the mare unicorn, I use the distraction to quietly move down the hallway, slipping back into the first vacant room I threw rocks into.

I briefly take notice of some of the beds while I wait out the guard's window of attention. One bed has a deeper indentation with slight cuts in the blanket. Must be a pony from the north. Another has corners pleated to keep cave spiders out, a thestral? Another bed was done in the traditional royal guard style. Typical stuck-up guards. I am mindful of a tidy room, so I pick up the rocks and hide them under the nicely made bed mattresses. An old foalhoid story of ‘The Princess Celestia and the Pea’ comes to mind and I smile nostalgically. I sidle up against the doorway again as it sounds like the mare addresses the human inside the office and makes her way inside, holding a scroll by magic. That must be the communique. She could use a trim on her long bangs, I ponder idly. The guard seems to be half watching and half listening. Just a bit longer.

The eavesdropping guard shuffles from a comment made by the mare. Perfect. With his attention fully on them, now was my chance. I toss a cocoa bean off to the side away from his guarded door. The soft tap causes him to glance over, but keeps him complacent. A sharp sound from a rock would have put him on full alert, but subtlety and deft of hoof is key here, like working very close to a patient’s nerve strands. I move by him as the human captain starts reading the scroll, the mare looking over his shoulder.

Sigh. I guess Luna was right. With sentries like these and this human's propensity to tunnel vision, I really did need to watch his back.

The mare makes a comment as I lower my duffel bag. Joint accommodations? I don't think so. She definitely needs that trim. I prop myself up on the desk. Let's see if Nightmare Moon's in-your-face move drives home the point that they need me more than Luna says I need this socialization. She wants me to play nice so I will try to play nice, as long as this human doesn't act like a bully and insult my training. I've come too far and paid too much to be taken for anything less than what I am now. I have been many things, but now I am a sly surgeon...

...I am Slicer Jen.

Author's Note

This of course rolls right into bobbybrony’s story Dying Embers - Ch 40 A Place of My Own

I had thought about making it exactly 1000 words just to spite the 1000 min word rule, but I could not in good conscience prank my own story. Even I have limits.

Ultimately this is a transitional chapter, a new beginning for the character, but for everything leading up to this point, I wanted to keep it light, a dessert so to speak. I dare say, icing on the cake? I know, bad slicer, bad slicer.

The Beginning's End

"What am I...?"

I stare in the mirror, hoping my copy would answer that familiar childhood question. It had been years since I had spoken it out loud, and many more years to have the courage to find out. I still did not have the answer. I must have been a little more introspective than I allowed myself to be, because I could see one of the shadows in the back part of my attic room was moving. It steps forward into the light, and as I watch from the reflection in the mirror it takes the form of Princess Luna.

"You are many things, Jen. Ultimately, you will decide, though the journey is far more fulfilling if you let others help you." The princess steps slowly until she is alongside me, looking down slightly. I continue to stare in the mirror. The princess continues to stand alongside me. I stare. She stands. Princess Luna raises a hoof to scratch her other foreleg nonchalantly and says, "Your loyalty is not in question, but I would like to know what you are thinking." I had tried to remain calm and composed knowing this visit would come, and as a spoiled brat I completely lose it.

I wheel around and blurt, "How can you ask me a question such as this? You who have looked in my dreams, my nightmares since I was a child and shaped me into a weapon of revenge!" The princess shows no sign of anger or surprise. If anything, there is sadness. Not pity or the dismissive sadness one shows to something that is a lost cause. No, the honest sadness of guilt that was long ago accepted. Even worse, I know why she accepts it because it is part of what she has been trying to do these last few years, to make up for what was done to me during my youth. And in my selfish maelstrom of emotions I ride that storm, knowing I have no right to act this way. I do it anyway.

"You sent the others away. I knew it was a matter of time before you sent me away, to that strange creature running around in the countryside! I was happy here. I did what I was supposed to do, followed your rules, minded my own business..." And like that my storm of emotions dissipates. With each statement I spout it had become more obvious that I was grasping at straws. The princess is no longer somber. In fact, she is barely holding on to her laughter! I look back at the mirror, and despite my flash of anger, I too am starting to smile. "Fine...I suppose I broke some of your rules....and poked my nose in other pony's business."

The princess clears her throat and whispers conspiratorially, "And so happy were you that it literally buzzed all over your fur like static electricity, making you restless to the point of playing a practical joke on every noble you could find in Canterlot. My sister still pokes at her cake slices and is relieved when they do not explode." She raises her voice, "No, you are not happy, certainly not here."

I sigh and walk over to the bed where my duffel bag is packed and ready to go. I look up through the skylight in the roof. The sun is still up. It will be a while before the princess is required to raise the moon. I look back to the princess as she watches me. "Why ARE you sending me there?" I can tell this is the easy part of the meeting for her because she visibly relaxes.

She responds, "I have many reasons, and all of them beneficial for everypony involved. Officially, Captain Davies needs a medic. Unofficially, he needs someone who can watch his back, and worse case scenario, heal it..." For a brief moment I see her regal facade slip. I see genuine concern there. Not for me as one of her thestrals, that concern has always been a given. Many a time she would pull me aside or meet with me during my patrols and postings. Those I had to ponder another time. No, this is for him, that...human? A bipedal, mostly furless creature with exotic devices and a penchant for getting hurt. I had secretly read all the reports sent to the princesses and was well aware of much that happened in the land. They had also promoted him directly under Princess Luna and were funneling thestrals to reinforce his night operations, though that might have changed since his appointment directly under the princess. She surely knew of my spying, and not just from dream-walking. She had just written the communique to be sent to Ponyville regarding my transfer and I had admitted it in my juvenile tirade. I must be telegraphing what I witnessed on her face because the princess tries to divert my attention, to me of all ponies, "And personally, you are ready to move on in your education. Princess Celestia may have her academy, but all must learn to progress in life. Even you." I look away and vow not to remember all the educating Princess Luna had done for me years ago. Well, I will remember it another time. For now, I need to know my true assignment.

I reply, "There are doctors all over Canterlot that can go. Or nurses that can continue their training in the field. Would they not be more effective at that position?"

Princess Luna steps up to me and nods her head, "That is true. It is also true that while they are good at what they do, they can only ever be good at medicine. I once regretted shaping you into a weapon during my banishment. I had hoped to make up for that with having you trained as the best medical expert Equestria has ever known so you could have a new life. I no longer regret what I did to your youth, for this mission will encompass all your skills and natural talents. I need your speed, your stealth, your ability to survive and overcome your enemies. I also need your skills as a medic, both as a primary position for John's unit and as the bridge to heal the hole in yourself."

I scoff at that. "Hole? What hole? The only holes are those I make with my knives and the ones I have to bandage up...." I look through the skylight and notice a courier pegasus flying away, most likely the one carrying the communique to Ponyville. I mutter, "...sometimes they are the same."

Luna's eyes narrow and she says softly, "Healthy pranking notwithstanding, not everypony is used to your antics or your intentions. At the very least, you could try to develop your bedside manner." Muttering about bedside manners, I pick up my duffel bag and step silently to the door. Out of habit I walk silently to unnerve those around me. This time it only brings a grin to Princess Luna's face, possibly from pride. I feel obligated to wait for my princess to draw near so I hold the door for her with my head down. After a few seconds I look up. She is standing right in front of me. I blink in surprise and she chuckles.

"You did learn to do that from me, remember? The night is my realm, as are the children that walk it." She touches her forehead to mine and despite the chagrin I feel for trying to poke at her sensibilities, she does make me feel warm. I regain my dignity and push down that warm feeling as the princess steps out of my attic room in one of the castle towers. I step out as well, possibly for the last time...or for a very brief time. I'm usually good at pissing ponies off. I follow her down the tower stairs until they land at a hallway with several passages going off in different directions. With a sparkle of mischief in her eye, the princess says, "You should be able to keep up with that courier if you start now." Clearly she is challenging me, and for all I know, she spent all that time up there just to give the courier a head start. I nod and get ready to sprint out the nearest exit to the gardens when she says, "And Jen, please go easy on them. Your job is to protect-"

I nod again and I'm gone before my princess can finish what she is saying, "...him."

Author's Note

Keep in mind the first chapter is transitional to bobbybrony's Dying Embers in chapter 40. What Am I? is only meant to describe Slicer Jen's background story and is not meant to take away from or direct where he chooses Dying Embers to go.

A Raider of the Lost Narc

The journey south along the base of the mountains was more clandestine this time. Before, my group with Lance was running against time looking for the other thestrals. This group of felines was looking to avoid detection, so we took our time in measured stride. We moved during the night at a steady pace, not too fast so as to conserve energy since our trek was going to go well past where my earlier venture turned east into the jungle. We passed that point and continued a few more hours before stopping just shy of dawn breaking to set up our sleeping arrangements.

In order to not be spotted from an overflying dragon, I moved behind a large boulder and started to unroll my sleeping bag, only to hear several of the cats chuckling at me. When I poked my head around to see what they were preparing to sleep in, I was amazed to see they were setting up very peculiar tents. The slender staves I understood to be the framework to hold up the fabric, but it was the fabric itself that caught my attention. It was a very filmy thin gossamer material, woven in such a way as to appear textured like the surrounding rock and dirt. As I stepped closer to examine one completed structure that was just higher than eye level, the material took on a darker tone, almost black. Part of the dark area on the tent even had a light blue splotch to mirror my appearance, only diffused by the fabric's texturing.

Hangnail walked up next to me as he was chewing a piece of jerky. I was partial to fish, yet my nose told me it wasn't going to be an aquatic animal that jerky was made from. "Never seen shimmer thread?" I shook my head no. As I moved, the dark coloration moved as well.

I reached out and touched it with my hoof and felt it give as though it were the thinnest silk made. "This is incredible. Is it magical?"

The older cat chuffed and ran a paw over it as well, his fur coloration mimicked in the material, "Hardly. It is harvested from a plant in the Badlands called glass thistle. Normally the plant and its thread shatter like glass when you touch it, but with just the right liquid doused on it, the stuff becomes permanently pliable. It can be woven into very strong rope, fabric, thread. Our healers use it to sew up our wounds when we are injured."

I wrinkled my nose and waved a hoof, "Not interested in that stuff." Hangnail blinked at me and glanced at my cutie-mark. I sighed and explained, "I know, I use a dagger. I have stabbed a dragon and been bled on. It's not the same thing." I sat back on my haunches and raised a foreleg. "I have been cut on the leg, no problem. Knocked on the head, nothing. I have seen my father horribly burned and I have been doused in dragon blood. The blood itself does not make me feel queasy. It is when I, or somepony else is getting stuck with a needle, or watching stitches get put in or taken out, or I imagine a bandage being peeled off a cut that is not healed yet..." I had to stop and shudder from just thinking about it.

Hangnail's visage took on a more introspective look. He asked, "Which makes you more uncomfortable, watching another get a needle, or you getting a needle?" I was about to answer the obvious 'myself' when I hesitated and gave it honest thought.

"When another does. That's odd, I never thought about it until now."

He chuckled and waved me to follow, replying, "An empathic warrior. That will make you really good at what you do, or really dead." I stopped in surprise. Still smiling, he lifted a flap that was nearly impossible to see and slipped in, saying, "These work better when you are inside them."

I gathered my belongings and followed after him. I found myself in a dimly lit, pleasantly cool domed tent. Velvet was just setting up his sleeping pallet. The rest of the cats must have been split up in the other tents as we were the only three in this one. The inside fabric appeared to be a mix of colors reflecting the three of us and the ground, along with our packs and bedding. I extolled, "These tents are something. The dragons see them as rocks from above?" Both cats nodded. As if reminded of the dragon threat, Velvet began inspecting his bow and quiver, checking that the feathers were not split and the string in its small pouch was properly waxed. "How does it reflect the surroundings and let so little light through if it's like glass?"

The older cat paused from setting up his bedroll and said, "I know that when woven as a fabric, each side works separately. There is some kind of crystalline refraction based on the lattice structure...our shaman can explain it better. I just keep the rabble in check."

"Us rabble can still hear you!" The voice was muffled coming from one of the two other tents outside.

Hangnail looked up and yelled, "And such loyal rabble you are!" Several short laughs were returned.

Once I was settled in, I asked him, "Are you a pack leader or chief?" He shook his head and pointed to Velvet.

"He leads raiding parties into hostile lands. In matters of diplomacy and relations between tribes, I lead. I also direct the internal day to day duties required to maintain order in the tribe. Others are specialists and assume leadership when their skill is most important. All of our tribe may choose to follow or not. The young freely roam when their parents do not have chores for them, but they are quick to learn it is wise to follow those who may know more than them."

Velvet yawned and reclined back on his bedding. He glanced at us and said, "Oh Wise One, it is wise to sleep after your lectures." Hangnail flicked a pebble at Velvet, who caught it out of the air and placed it on his forehead, closed his eyes and steadied his breathing.

I quirked my brow at the older cat, who was also lying down. He responded to my look, "It is a game he plays. If the pebble falls without any cat touching him, he loses." I asked about the penalty for losing. Hangnail shrugged, saying, "To lose is enough. Though back in the day the loser was stripped of all status, property, females, and made to live outside the tribe." My look of horror caused him to laugh. Wait, females as in plural?

Velvet answered up while keeping still, "To lose is enough. That other stuff is nonsense, made up to scare kittens into going to bed."

The other cat stopped laughing and mused, "It worked on you, didn't it?" Velvet grunted and went back to breathing slowly. Hangnail watched Velvet for a time, then rolled over.

I sat there and looked at both the cats, listening to their breathing as they started to synchronize. Finally I exclaimed, "You raised him, didn't you?"

The older cat grinned sleepily and nodded as Velvet growled, "Do ponies always ask so many questions?" I took that as my cue to get some sleep.

As I drifted off, I whispered to Hangnail, "Before we get to your land, you need to tell me if Velvet got his name because of his fur...or his prowess." I heard the pebble hit the ground followed by a series of swearing. Hangnail never laughed so hard since I met him. I smiled and fell asleep.

When the sun was low on the horizon we broke camp and traveled on. The lush green of the lower slopes started to give way to a drier environment, indicating we were approaching the Badlands. The normal green bushes became more like scrub brush. Cactus plants began to appear, and the absence of grasses made for a landscape of light browns, tans and reds. At one point in the trek, we deviated due west, moving directly into the Badlands.

As we traveled, the other cats would occasionally throw pebbles at Velvet, who seemed to ignore them. The throws were not particularly hard and he could have easily dodged them. I inquired about it to Hangnail and his only response was 'To lose is enough'. There was a culture of status at work that I was just now becoming aware of. Since I had caused this little change in Velvet's situation, I asked Hangnail about Velvet's name. Velvet growled and quickened his pace to catch up to the other cats, who then had an easier time pelting him with pebbles.

"They have been waiting to do that for a long time. I won't speculate where your river with him will end up, but I daresay it will have its rapids and culdesacs along the way."

I blinked at his term usage and asked, "You can speak our ancient language?"

He shook his head and pointed north, "Just bits of it. We used to live further north, closer to your caves. At least that is what our shaman tells us. Many eons ago we shared your language. Some of us even spoke to griffons and dragons in their native tongue. A few could speak to the stars, if you believe everything the shaman says. Over time a more common tongue swept through the different lands and all the sentience races started to speak as one. I believe they began to lose their identities by supplanting their own languages, but that's just me. Words can be very powerful." We continued walking for a time before he spoke again, "Velvet's name. Yes, well it does have to do with his fur AND his prowess." I stumbled and my cheeks heated up.

Velvet had stopped completely until we were caught up and began walking with us. "Tell it correctly, old cat, or do not tell it." Hangnail blew off the idle threat by waving his paw, briefly rolling a pebble between his digits. Velvet growled, but kept walking with us.

Hangnail continued, "The average strapping young ridge cat, also known as a kitten, is not named when they are born. Nor do they have a destiny-seeking patch of butt to follow in life." I caught myself glancing at my flank before forcing myself to look straight ahead. "They are generically called 'kittens' from the time they are born until they show their spots. Not actual spots, mind you. In this case, it is a matter of words and actions that define who they are, as it is in all things."

The younger cat groaned and said, "You are going to drag this out, aren't you?" Hangnail chuckled and spread his paws out in abject innocence.

"A good story needs a good beginning. In Velvet's case, the beginning was very arduous. Many of the other kittens had shown their personalities early on in how they played and spoke, thus they were named. Velvet here, he was very quiet, which invited many of the older and younger kittens to pick on him. We nearly named him Pillow for all the abuse he got." Velvet snorted sarcastically, muttering about bald face lies. It occurred to me that Velvet never mentioned or pointed out the fact that I was a wingless thestral, even though he had to know it was an abnormality if he was familiar with my community. Sensing he had gone through similar growing pains, there was no wonder I felt a kinship with him.

As Hangnail spoke, the other cats slowed until we were a single group, avidly listening to the orator. "Even the most patient of us can take that kind of punishment for only so long. He began to fight back, with fists and feet. The odd thing was, his claws never came out. He didn't always win, either. A fair number of times he got several cuts from the other kittens who did use claws. Not Velvet. His moves became quicker, craftier and stronger. Imagine being pummeled by furry rocks from every direction but the front. Velvet covered rocks." Hangnail moved over and playfully grappled with Velvet, who halfheartedly tried to twist out of it. To underscore the story, Velvet even batted at Hangnail with clawless paws. Hangnail let up and chuckled, adding, "Thus we named him Velvet. That really angered him, to the point that he tried to fight every cat in the tribe whether they challenged him or not. It wasn't long before a much older, much nastier cat challenged him to prove who was top cat and who was just a spoiled brat because he thought he could fight the world without a single claw. The older cat went all out trying to kill Velvet here." Hangnail pulled out a long knife and swung his arm at Velvet's chest. Velvet stopped the attack by catching the blade with the claws of a single paw, slowly twisting it until Hangnail relaxed and sheathed the knife. "That day the claws came out. The name still stuck, but few challenged him after that. And Velvet stopped getting angry at his name."

Despite Velvet's earlier annoyance, he showed a modicum of respect for Hangnail's rendition of his life story. Velvet said quietly, "I also had to spend a few weeks nursing you back to health after the shaman sewed up your wounds. 'Punishment for nearly killing my adopted father,' he said." I looked at the two in bewilderment as Hangnail chuckled and lovingly patted Velvet's shoulder.

"Wait a minute. You tried to kill your son....and then he gets punished for defending himself? That's insane!" The other cats agreed, and with equal insanity their opinions were Hangnail should have had to suffer alone for picking the fight in the first place. I shook my head in dismay. "Why fight at all?"

This time it was Velvet who spoke as if from a mantra, "First, to defend yourself. Second, to defend others. Third, to define yourself."

Hangnail said quietly, "And finally, to discover you cannot defeat everyone. Sooner or later, you will lose. A good fighter can wage the battle in his mind and know the outcome long before the first attack is made. A great fighter never fights the fight he just lost in his mind." While the other cats nodded, Velvet wrinkled his small nose, whiskers twitching. Hangnail added, "Since that day, I have never fought him again physically, yet we wage war every day to try and teach him. Endless fights, countless encounters...."

Velvet groaned and retorted, "Endless droning. Countless lectures. Rest assured, Great One, I will avoid the fight I cannot fight." One of the other cats flicked a pebble at him, which he caught in midair and put on the top of his head, then jogged ahead while keeping his upper body steady. The cats refrained from throwing more pebbles, but followed after him to make sure the pebble stayed put.

I glanced at Hangnail and said, "Again with the pebble thing?"

He grinned and nodded, replying, "To lose is enough. Oh how he hates to lose." I shook my head and agreed silently.

The pebble stayed atop his head, all throughout the night until he purposefully bowed to drop the pebble before entering the tent the next time we had set up camp. The other cats made their lighthearted jeers but left him alone, a few dropping pawfuls of pebbles in disappointment. Hangnail would still toss one to Velvet every night. I finally figured out that in the simplest way he was challenging Velvet, who by some strict sense of honor had to accept. In the following nights of travel I found out from one of the other cats that while it was a kittenhood game to play for fun, it was practiced by the adults as a means to teach self-humility, honor and skill of emotional and bodily control. While most chafed at the humility part of it, the game as a whole was meant to be a reflection of one's life. Ringtail, one of the female cats that, not surprisingly, had a single white ringed stripe on the tip of her auburn tail, explained the meaning in detail. She stated solemnly, "It is similar across the clan. From tribe to tribe the method may differ; placing a twig or a drop of water on the head. That sets the difficulty, but the rest is the same. Balance of the physical can only be achieved as one balances the mind. The mind is buoyed by the spirit, and the spirit is given existence and anchored by the soul. While all things are connected, and a single thing can cause it all to collapse." She had a pleasant way about her, aloof like the other cats, though when she spoke she became serious. When she mentioned water, I had forgotten how thirsty I was and took a long swig from my canteen. It was nearly empty.

"I don't suppose we are near a water source?" If their society was all about challenges and contests, I was going to lose before I ever reached it if I didn't stay hydrated. Velvet sidled up next to me and handed me his water bag. Embarrassed, I took it and poured some into mine, then handed it back. "Thankyou."

He nodded and replied, "We are not far now. Past a few hills we will see the river, then north an hour to where it starts to turn. That is the settlement." Ringtail eyed him seriously and chittered. Velvet flicked an ear and moved on ahead.

I watched him depart and asked, "What was that between you?"

Ringtail's mouth quirked and she absentmindedly brushed off some dust from her leather skirt. When she finally spoke, she was hesitant. "He shared water with you. Normally he is very stingy about sharing anything, especially water. Like most of us growing up, he had to fight for his food and water. While we are supposed to learn to be communal with our spoils as we grow up, he...retained his kittenhood ways. It makes him a great raid leader in the outlying territories when trying to surive, just not a good neighbor at home." She looked after him wistfully before walking on. I hurried after her.

"Don't expect me to fight you over him. He's a bit stuck up on his honor for my tastes."

The female cat laughed and replied, "Honor is a great thing among my tribe. Besides, it is not me you would fight." She left it at that and I refused to ask who I would have to fight. Not interested. I watched Velvet as he loped along ahead of our group, a deadly grace about him tugging at my natural instincts to keep an eye on him. Ringtail noticed me watching him and nodded. I mentally kicked myself and attempted to look for the river instead.

True to his word, we crested no more than three hills before we saw the river. It was like a dark snake winding its way through the Badlands. On either side of the river grasses and foliage grew, as though this land were fertile and waiting to spring to life if only water was available. We turned north and made for the large bend we could see in the distance. It wasn't far into the evening when the group of cats slowed and began taking off their packs and weapons. There were several small hills between us and the river. I asked Hangnail why we were making camp again so early when the sun would not be up for a few more hours.

He held up a paw to the hills and announced, "We have arrived. Sirscha, jewel of the Low Steppes clan, home of our tribe." My bewilderment caused him to wave me on. "You will see. Come, the shaman is most likely gnawing through his lotus root supply waiting to see you." I followed them to the hills. As we approached, my eyes started to play tricks on me. It appeared the land itself was moving slightly in the breeze. It also appeared the hills were propped up on poles. Before long it dawned on me that what was in front of me were not hills. They were massive tents made to look like hills, housing a town-sized collection of huts and small buildings made of earth. Much of the settlement was set up like a bazaar, offering foods, wares and other services specific to the region. I looked up in wonderment as I stepped inside the first massive tent. The poles curved up and toward the center, supporting the same gossamer fabric our camping tents were made of. Wisps of smoke drifted up from several cooking fires and a forge, only to coalesce and dissipate through the fabric at the top. If I had not witnessed it from outside, I would not have believed all of this could be so well hidden.

The rest of our group moved on ahead. Velvet and Hangnail lingered, waiting for me. I remembered to close my mouth and followed them. While the other cats dispersed to different areas of the settlement, we moved directly to the center where a small nondescript hut was built out of scrub brush and mud. Given some of the more sophisticated structures, this was more like a hovel. The two cats stopped at the entrance and Hangnail intoned, "Watcher of the Skies, Scryer of the Why's, we have returned from the ancestral thestral home." I cringed at the word play.

An old scratchy voice replied, "Did you kill anything this time?" Hangnail wrinkled his nose and replied in the negative. "Good! Perhaps there is hope for you yet. Wars disrupt the natural order." Hangnail rolled his eyes and walked away, muttering about where the shaman could go stick his natural order. Velvet, who had wisely kept silent, finally laughed and followed Hangnail. I moved after them as well until the shaman called out, "Not you, Dirt Seeker. I wish to speak to you. Come inside." I sighed and stepped through the dark doorway.

The inside of the hut was decorated as I expected with herbs hanging from the ceiling beams, along with various furry bits of other things I really did not wish to recognize. Other than the collection of odd items about the place, it was kept rather clean. A small wooden table was covered with various glass bottles, tubes, a crucible and a burning candle. The shaman himself was a black and white thin cat in a simple leather loin cloth. He had some ear piercings of metal rings, a few more rings on his digits and a single small bone through the bridge of his nose. He seemed to have very little status with how he was dressed, and given the hut's appearance, he could pass for a simple villager.

He watched me take in his appearance and smiled. "Expecting an elaborate headdress, a grotesque mask or a staff of power to complete my venerable ensemble?" I shrugged and dropped my stare. He chuckled and moved about the hut, poking at different plants hanging from the ceiling. "It is enough to know what you know and do what you need to do. Let the world decide what it sees, Dirt Seeker."

I scowled. "Why do you keep calling me Dirt Seeker? I'm here to get better at fighting dragons."

He smiled knowingly and moved to the table, picking up a coconut. I thought it was peculiar for a coconut to be here in this blasted land, unless they had good trade relations with some of the other tropical nations. "You are not what you are. Not yet. For now you read the signs in the dirt at their face value. Better than others, I have been told, but your sight is still short." He placed the coconut next to me and moved alongside my side to look at my flank. I started to feel uncomfortable. He glanced at me and said, "You may improve your ability to fight dragons while you are here, but you are not here for that." He gestured to my flank, "Your blue wings signify freedom and justice, at odds with your knife symbol of death. Death is the ultimate foe to life as it takes it away, shackles the living to the afterlife. Some believe being released to death is freedom. I pity their ignorance. One cannot escape oblivion. Life is the true wellspring of free will and freedom."

He stepped behind me and placed a paw on my rump! I wound up my hind leg to kick him when he used a claw to acupuncture a specific nerve, freezing me where i stood. I could only move my chest to breathe. He continued, "You are incomplete as you are. I can see the pieces to a promising picture. Here," he poked the wings and then the dagger, "and here, yet they are disconnected." His digits started to trace a wavy line over the dagger's blade from the hilt to the tip. I couldn't help thinking this is all an excuse to rub my hind end without getting kicked. He spoke to himself, "I wonder...were they meant to stay disconnected, as two sides of a juvenile argument? Or are they interwoven, the complexities of our very existence to tie them together like so many threads of knowledge. The implications of the future are as sinuous as serpents, no?" He used one foot to slide the coconut near my rear hoof and stepped to the side, pulling his claw out of my muscle. My leg resumed its motion, kicking the coconut and splitting it. My legs shuddered, suddenly giving out and I collapsed. The shaman retrieved the pieces of coconut and started mixing things on his table. He hopped back over and shoved a small piece of coconut into my mouth and told me to chew.

"The fates have brought you here, so I shall teach you according to your needs." As i chewed, whatever he dashed onto the piece gave me a jolt of energy so I could get back up. He nodded and continued with his alchemy. "The warriors can teach you their styles and weapon use, how to condition the body for endurance. I will work with the mush you call your head. I have studied many species and their biology. I will instruct you on where to locate organs, arteries, muscles, bones. Understanding the body will help you to understand yourself and your enemy. Who knows, you might grow to love your enemy if you know him well enough, inside and out."

If he was willing to help me seek my revenge, I was not about to argue. I definitely needed help if I was to take on the large red dragon. Even with good knowledge of the dragon's anatomy, I needed something else to give me an advantage. Eyeing the table of concoctions, I inquired about his ability to mix chemicals and use plants to create poisons. He looked at me askance, the hair on his back started to stand. "Despite what you bear on your backside, there is a darkness in you that threatens to eclipse your heart. You did not conceive it, yet even now you voluntarily nurture it. I will not teach you my medicine until you have defeated yourself and are an empty cup to be filled. For now I will teach you only what i said earlier." He saw my disappointment and walked over to me, giving me a small orange flower. "There are far greater concerns in the world than your revenge with the flying reptiles. For instance, this is the last blossom I have in my supply. Desert shade, it is called. it will give you horrible cramps if not boiled properly, but can be a very soothing tea when mixed with Crimson Stems. The last grove I came across was two miles up the river. Mind fetching me some?"

I groaned inwardly, already knowing where this was going. To make matters worse, he retrieved a stack of old books from a trunk and handed them to me. Really? I had nearly completed my grade schooling when I had left my home. Now I was being forced to do more studying. I cracked open one book, just to show him I wasn't going to quit. Inside were pictures of an assortment of plants, most of them desert varieties. He added, "Come to think of it, nearly all my supplies are empty. There are some I will ask for specifically. The tribe requests various elixirs, potions...poisons. At times I forget which plants can do what, old age being what it is these days." I stared at him, a dreadful feeling settling in. I knew a make-work task when I heard one and this was a mountain of one. I was about to drop the books when he raised a paw, "I can remember anatomy very well, for some reason. With each new plant you find and can tell me what it does, Dirt Seeker, I shall impart my knowledge of a new topic regarding your ability to stick your dagger into something living. In this exchange, I refill my stock and you learn how to respect life and the plants you have been stepping on since birth." The seemingly simple old cat went back to humming to himself and picking at bits of plants from the ceiling, tossing them into the crucible to grind up. There was no doubt in my mind he knew exactly what every plant in the world could do. I respected what he was attempting to do, to educate me in things other than killing. I didn't have the time for it though.

As if he could read my mind he looked up and said, "While Hangnail can poke fun at my abilities, he is right in that I do watch the skies. If the world is quiet enough, you can even hear the stars. They tell me she will be released soon." He went back to crushing the items in front of him and I stared for a time before moving out of the hut. How could he know about my connection?

Velvet was waiting outside. Despite having recovered from my collapse, I still had a slight limp in my hind quarter. Velvet raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did he do the claw in the muscle trick on you?" I nodded glumly and started putting the books in my backpack. The cat shook his head, "When I was a kitten he would give me frequent health inspections. After a few times of his claw, I stopped trying to bite him."

After putting away the books I straightened up and said, "He thinks when you die, there is only 'oblivion' that awaits us. I refuse to believe we simply go into nothingness." For some reason those statements from the shaman had really hit a nerve. I thought it might have to do with Lance and did not want to think there was nothing of him left, just memories.

Velvet gently pulled me along toward the living accomodations of the settlement. "He says that all the time to stress the importance of what we do while we are alive. I suspect he knows better. Even he cannot divine what is beyond this life, yet to look forward to death spits upon all our accomplishments in life. Besides, the shaman is getting old. He has to be thinking about the beyond by now.

Despite being a good distance away from the hut, the shaman's voice rang out, "Us shaman can still hear you!" Velvet laughed.

We wound our way through the streets until we came to a two-story building. Velvet showed me inside. It appeared to be a house of sorts. Hangnail was in the kitchen preparing dinner. I put my backpack down and asked, "This is where you live?" Hangnail looked around as if seeing it for the first time.

"Yes, at least this is where we sleep when not raiding."

Velvet brushed past him and set his bow and quiver against the far wall. "You make it sound like I roam the countryside raiding hapless villages and townships." He turned to me and added, "Most of our time is spent procuring water sources away from the river." Hangnail grinned ruefully and went back to cooking.

"As long as you remember the important things." Velvet sat down with a bowl of rose water and began cleaning his paws, then the rest of himself. Distractedly watching him perform his odd cleaning behavior, I wandered over to the fire stove and glanced in the pot Hangnail was working over. It appeared to be some kind of stew. I asked what was for dinner. "As you are our guest, it is our obligation to provide a meal worthy of your approval. Fish Surprise." While it smelled good, I was hesitant to ask what the surprise was.

A chuff from the table drew my attention. Velvet was finishing up cleaning himself and said, "The surprise is he can actually cook. And catch the fish, too." Hangnail chuckled, but didn't challenge the accusation. I glanced around at the decor and noticed there was something missing.

"Is your mother upstairs?" That statement caused them both to stop what they were doing and look at each other. Velvet put away the bowl and went outside. Hangnail continued stirring. I got the hint and apologized. Hangnail shook his head.

"Not your fault. It rarely comes up and he finds it better to avoid talking about it. He was one of only a few survivors of a neighboring tribe that was completely wiped out by something that fell from the heavens. It would be easy for him to blame someone like Princess Celestia, but the shaman was able to convince him of a grander design. 'Parts moving beyond our sight, yet so intimately in touch with us that we would be nothing without them.' That old cat could make a mushroom seem mystical."

"Just don't eat the magic ones or you will become a true believer." The voice came from the shaman who stepped in through the front door, with Velvet following him. Hangnail turned and grinned, nodding his head.

"Back for more Fish Surprise?"

The shaman nodded and said, "I am surprised you did not burn it this time, from the smell." Hangnail gave an exasperated sigh and went back to stirring the pot. The shaman chuckled and sat down at the table. "Ah, Dirt Seeker, have you learned anything yet?"

I stared at him and responded, "I just got here. When was I supposed to read about flowers?" That got Velvet's attention.

"Why would you read about flowers?" I shrugged and pulled out a book from my backpack. It was titled 'Flowers.' How appropriate. I slid it over to Velvet and he looked at it. He muttered, "Cute."

I grumbled, "We made a deal. He teaches me how to kill better and I go looking for flowers and plants so he can make his drugs." I wouldn't have minded learning how to make some of them. It was the time consuming work involved that put me off.

The shaman nodded. "Velvet frequents the neighboring lands often enough. Use those opportunities to follow him in his raids, learn our ways, and collect my plants. And who knows, one day we might get to eat this Fish Surprise before some of us shrivel up into the beyond."

Hangnail filled four bowls and moved them to the table. "I got it, you are hungry, you old codger. Need me to blow on it for you?" The shaman gave him such a look that it cooled the room, stew included. "I suppose not. Enjoy." The shaman smiled and began to eat. I tried it and it turned out to be very good. The meal was mostly quiet after that.

The shaman later thanked Hangnail for the meal without a lick of sarcasm and left. I asked Hangnail if he came over often. "Not really. I think he was more interested in watching you hold that bowl with your hooves." I must have had an odd look on my face. He patted my shoulder and said, "He is a bit odd. Age does that to a cat." He cleaned up the table and began washing out the bowls in the sink. "There is a room upstairs if you wish, with an extra bed." I thought about how this would be my home for the foreseeable future. Living downstairs or in a basement would make me think about my cave home and I wanted to avoid nostalgia. The higher from the ground, the better. I asked if there was an attic. He answered, "Yes, actually. We haven't had to move in a long time so we recently put one up there to begin storing our long term food supplies. You are welcome up there if you really want it." I nodded and put the flower book back in my backpack.

As I made my way upstairs I thought about Nightmare Moon. It had been a while since I had seen her. Some of the last lessons I had with here were months ago and she had been acting erratic, talking to herself. She must have sensed her impending release and was becoming impatient. I still didn't know exactly when that was to occur. I made it a point to ask the next time I saw her. I also needed to quickly learn what I needed to out here in the Badlands if I was to be ready when she returned. If whole nations of day and night were at odds, things could get very bloody. And raiding the desert for narcotic ingredients was not my idea of a good time.

Author's Note

Sorry this took a while. Very busy work schedule and home life. A few chapters left to finish the story.