My Little Pony: Shards of Hope

by Bed Head

Rating: everyone
Tags: Dark, Adventure
Length: 22818

Set three-hundred years in the future, a new group of ponies strive to save Equestria.

Equestria lies corrupted under the rule of The Smooze, and has so for three-hundred years.

The Elements of Harmony are lost.

Nature is out of control.

The races of Equestria are scattered.

And a small group of unlikely heroes might be able to change all of that.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-08-20 03:10:41 UTC

Shards of Hope

Once upon a time, the magical land of Equestria was ruled over by two princesses.

Each day Princess Celestia brought forth the life-giving sun so the ponies could work and play.

And at night, when the ponies rested, they were protected by the watchful moon and stars of Princess Luna.

If ever a threat arose in the land that was too great for even the Princesses to handle, there was always the greatest power of all to protect it: the Elements of Harmony, the very guiding principle of the peace that Equestria knew.

But in that peace the ponies grew complacent.  A new danger arose in the land, corrupting all that it touched.  The plants, the animals, even the weather itself was ripped from their control.  The world was becoming wild and dangerous.

The Princesses could do nothing to stem the chaos that flooded into Equestria.  With no options left, they sent forth the Elements of Harmony to bring an end to the threat...

Purple.

Nothing but an endless expanse of purple sludge all around her.  Twilight Sparkle squinted, struggling to see the outline of her own violet hoof in the strange gel that now held her and her friends.  All around her the young unicorn could hear nothing but the strange, garbled mutterings of the mass of chaos.

That and the screams and cries of her five closest friends.

The lilac unicorn bowed her head, feeling the weight of the crown she wore bump against her horn as she did.  She could feel energy coming from the jewel situated in the crown.  The only thing that was protecting her from whatever madness this thing was inflicting on the others.

The tears fell, absorbing into the monster around her.  A spark appeared at the tip of her horn, magical energy rushing through her body.  The purple around her seemed to try and pull away from her.

"I'm sorry girls..." She said, unsure whether any of them could even hear her.

No!

Can not!

Must not!

The voices around her lifted together, but Twilight felt her power stretch out from the crown she wore.  Beams of magic sliced through the gel-like flesh of the creature around her.  For a moment five other ponies were visible, surrounded by bubbles of amethyst magic that forced the ooze away.  None of them were conscious, but the gem hanging around each of their necks seemed to be sparking as though trying to reach toward Twilight.  As though sensing what she was about to do.

"If nothing else, I can at least save you," she whispered, five orbs of light flying upward even as the cacophony of voices rose to a scream.

Amidst the screams though, five voices seemed to be calling out to her.

"Twilight!"

"Twi!"

"Twilight don't - !"

"Nooo!  Twilight!"

"Twilight you can't!"

The world around her was burning away into a shimmering mass of silver and purple.  One voice seemed to be gaining volume though as the others faded away.

"Moonbeam!  Moonbeam, wake up!"

**My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Shards of Hope

Prologue

Once Upon a Time**

The purple eyes of a teenage pony shot open, dazzled for a moment by the silvery light that was filling the room.  Moonbeam began to blink frantically against the spots now dancing in her vision as she looked around the room.

The first thing she noticed was the fact that her horn was dangerously close to scraping the ceiling.  The dark blue filly gasped, feeling a crackle of magical energy over her scrawny body that was both lifting the bed and causing her short, aqua-blue mane to stand on end.

"Oh-no!  Not again!" she muttered, pressing her fore-hooves to the sides of her head, concentrating for all she was worth.

"Sounds like she's awake now," the voice that had stirred her from slumber spoke up.

"Moonbeam?  You're not hurt are you?" asked a second voice.

The teenage mare could see a gentle yellow glow peeking over the edge of her bed, slowly overpowering the silver light her own horn was emitting.  The bed trembled a bit before she could answer, shaking her covers off and revealing the full-moon mark on her flank.

"Woah!" she gasped, bracing herself as the golden light worked its way around the bed.

"Alright!  I'm bringing it down now," the second voice said.

Moonbeam tried to keep her breathing calm as the bed slowly lowered to floor level.  Her freckled face turned toward the source of the magic: A yellow unicorn stallion.  His orange mane and tail were freshly trimmed and a cutie mark showing a cloud being pierced by three sunbeams sat on his flank.  Strong and confident looking, his solid build suggested a lot of physical training.

Moonbeam smiled nervously, before gasping as her horn sparked more.  Bits of silver and purple magic, now unable to touch the bed, reached out and grabbed other things.  The sheets being closest, they flew off toward the stallion's face.  He quickly ducked, the rogue linen only sticking for a moment before he shook it off.  A yelp of surprise from the doorway and heavy thud indicated that the sheets had found someone else to wrap around.

"Sorry Talon!" Moonbeam shouted more magic peeling from her and landing on various other objects around her room.  "Oh no - Ray, watch out!"

As the figure in the doorway struggled to get loose of the semi-sentient sheet, several books and a small lantern picked themselves up from the floor.  The stallion didn't seem worried though, deftly bowing his head and tapping his horn against hers.  In a burst of purple and yellow light the silver glow covering the room sputtered out.

"Well, glad we've got that out of the way for the day," Ray said, the glow of his horn extinguishing.

There was a sudden noise from the doorway of the bedroom, like cloth tearing.  Both unicorns looked over with a start and were greeted by the sight of a gangly, two legged reptile a smidgen taller than Ray with bits of Moonbeam's bed sheets hanging from his claws.

His body was covered in blue scales, except for the purple over his chest and stomach.  A ridge of purple spines ran from his head down his back, shortening as they went until they were barely more than bumps at the tip of his whip-like tail.  His half-raised wings shook off the halves of the sheets to reveal violet membranes.  He turned to the unicorns, a sheepish grin on his pointed muzzle revealing his fangs.

"Heh...Oops," the young dragon grunted, Ray shaking his head as he levitated the shreds of cloth off to the side.

"It's not your fault Talon," Moonbeam sighed, sliding out of bed onto all fours, feeling even skinnier than she looked standing next to her more solid-looking older brother.

"Maybe if you didn't read so many of these old fairy-tales right before bed, you wouldn't be sleep-spelling so often," Ray commented, scooping up the formerly flying books but never taking his blue eyes off his younger sister.

The younger unicorn lowered her head, her shame apparent until Ray gently rustled her tangled mane.

"On the other hoof, now I don't need to worry about waking up in time for the knighting ceremony," he said with a grin.

Moonbeam's eyes went wide as a huge grin came to her face.

"Oh my gosh that's right!  The Day Guard's initiation is today!" she cheered.

"Were you even asleep in the first place, little bro?" Talon asked, his smile revealing the tips of his fangs.

The sun-colored stallion found himself with Moonbeam's front hooves wrapped around his neck in a hug before he could answer.  He chuckled in response, Talon moving forward to pry their sister off him.  As the two separated a knocking of hoof on wood echoed through their small home.

"Solar Ray?  You awake yet?" the voice of a mare called out from the front door.

Ray raised an eyebrow at the sound of the voice, but made his way toward it.  Opening the door revealed a pure-white unicorn about his age with a cutie mark shaped like a balance scale and an immaculately groomed black mane and tail.  Her gray eyes were bright and alert, driving Ray to try and rub away the bags under his.

"Justy?  You're here early...Well, earlier than usual," Ray said, noticing the stars still visible in the sky outside beyond a shimmering shield of gold and silver.

"Well someone has to make sure that we're not late to our own knighting ceremony," the white mare responded as Talon and Moonbeam entered the room.

"Ray, you said that wasn't until noon," Moonbeam pointed out.

"The ceremony itself isn't - " Ray started to explain.

"But all the preparations, final armor and readiness inspections and last words from the commanders get handled way before then," Justy finished.  "Which means your brother and I need to be heading up to the castle."

"I could cook up some breakfast before you guys go," Talon offered.

Justy shook her head in response, "We really aren't gonna have the time if we don't want to miss the inspection."

"Right.  Thanks for coming to get me then," Ray said, giving her a smile.  "You go on ahead?  I'll be right behind you."

Justy smirked as she headed out the door again.

"Don't think I'm covering for you if you're late, partner," she warned, starting out into the moonlit streets.

Ray breathed a sigh of relief as she wandered out of earshot and turned to his siblings.  Moonbeam had her hooves around him before he could say anything causing him to chuckle.

"Guess I'll have to trust you two to finish cleaning up in there," Ray said, nodding toward moonbeam's room.  "And Moonbeam, when you show up at the ceremony - "

"I know," the younger pony sighed.  "Stay close to Talon, stay calm so I don't spin out and try to find you if something bad happens."

"Relax, Ray.  You know she's in good claws with me," Talon spoke up.  "There won't be any accidents today.  I promise."

"Well, more importantly, you two have fun and I'll see you there," Ray said with a grin, nuzzling his sister.

With that Ray was out the door cantering after Justy.  Moonbeam looked back to her bedroom, noting the shredded sheets and the books and such still scattered around inside.

"So since we're up anyway how about I take care of breakfast while you put all that away?" Talon asked, putting a clawed hand on Moonbeam's shoulder.

"Sounds good," Moonbeam answered with a small smile.

"So what sort of dream were you having this time?" Talon asked as he crossed behind a small counter and began rummaging around for plates and such.  "Must have been something.  You haven't lifted the whole bed for almost a year!"

Moonbeam's forehead creased as she concentrated.  A blur of amethyst passed through her mind, voices calling out a name that wasn't hers...

"I can't really remember," she admitted, scooping up the story book from its resting place on the ground.

The book had landed open to a familiar image.  A drawing of a massive wave of purple liquid bearing down on a village of fleeing ponies.  Moonbeam traced a hoof over the words under the picture.

With its victory assured the terrible will behind the chaos made itself known.  It simply called itself Smooze, a name that had no meaning for a creature that spread chaos for no reason.  With nothing to bind it and no way to stop its advance, the ponies of Equestria fled in droves to Canterlot, begging the Princesses for aid.

Moonbeam continued to the next page, its picture showing a beautiful white castle with a sparkling circle drawn around it.  Two regal ponies, one a deep midnight-blue and the other pure white, both with wings and horns hovered over the castle.  The purple wave seemed unable to cross the circle, and gathered at the foot of the mountain that the castle stood on instead.

Celestia and Luna did all they could, using their mighty magic to erect a barrier around Canterlot.  No matter how hard Smooze or its wild beasts tried they could do nothing to the city.  So the ponies of Canterlot remained safe, guarded once more under the watchful eye of the princesses.

Moonbeam closed the book, laying it down on her bed absentmindedly.  Even though she was as familiar with the story as any school-foal something felt odd as she read it this time.  Like there was more to what had happened.

"Whole-grain pancakes for you, a bowl of sapphires for me?" Talon's voice called from their home's kitchen area.

"Yeah," Moonbeam called back, shaking herself from her daydream.

The filly hurriedly put the rest of the books away and straightened out her pillows before leaving her bed room.  This wasn't a day to worry about strange dreams or old fairytales.

This day was going to be perfect.

It Takes a Spark (Part 1)

For over three-hundred years the barrier had stood around Canterlot.  A reassuring symbol of protection and the Princess's love of their citizens, but it wasn't all that stood between Canterlot and the world outside.

Even before the barrier brave ponies devoted themselves to the protection of Canterlot and the ponies within.  Three-hundred years locked inside a magical dome hadn't changed that, and the Royal Guard of Canterlot still stood proud.  Each year a handful of new recruits would rise from among the citizens.

Every year, on the day of the knighting ceremony, a huge festival would be held in the gardens of Canterlot.  A day for everypony to forget their troubles and celebrate the young ponies that would take on the responsibilities of defenders of peace in Canterlot.

"Moonbeam?" a voice interrupted the young pony's thoughts.

Moonbeam put her book away, smiling at the silvery-blue stallion standing on the other side of the counter.

"Still getting caught up in those old stories, huh?" he asked with a bemused smile.

"I can't help it, Talon's been reading these to me since I was a foal," Moonbeam said with a slight blush.

"Oh I'm not complaining, I just thought you'd be more interested in this." the stallion responded, levitating a gift-wrapped box from behind the counter.  "Made exactly to your orders of course."

Moonbeam scurried up to the counter, a huge grin on her face as she shoved her book into one of her saddlebags and pulled out a bag of coins.  With a bit of concentration she managed to pull the drawstring open with her mouth before a light blue aura sank into the bag.

"That should cover the final payment," the shop keep confirmed, floating a few bits from the bag.  "You say congratulations to that brother of yours for me."

"You've got it, and thanks Mr. Silversmith!" Moonbeam responded as she lowered the box and bit purse into her saddlebag.

In just a second she was out the door, Talon giving chase as she started toward the castle.  Barely noticing the dragon, she squinted up at the sky.  The sun wasn't too high yet, but the castle was still far off.

"Moonbeam, slow down!" Talon shouted from behind her, his wings pressed flat against his back.

The unicorn filly couldn't contain her excitement though, racing through the streets of Canterlot.  As the sun shone down on the marble buildings of the city the castle ahead seemed to shine like a jewel, just waiting for the ponies coming to join in the celebration.

**Chapter 1

It Takes a Spark (Part 1)**

The castle was just as beautiful inside as it appeared on the outside.  Of course it had been for well over a millennium.  The throne room was especially so, with its pristine white floors and expertly crafted stained glass windows.  The centerpiece of the whole room was, of course, the occupant of the golden throne.

The pure white equine was seated on the throne, her tri-colored mane and tail floating in an ethereal breeze.  Her wings were half-folded across her back and her horn shimmered pale-yellow as she levitated the last of a small pile of scrolls in front of her.  She nodded, smiling at the gray unicorn that had delivered them to her as she passed them back.

"Well Captain Rook, it seems you've trained quite a promising batch of recruits this year," Celestia said as the other pony caught the scrolls.

"Just doing my best for Canterlot, your majesty," Rook declared, swelling with pride in his ceremonial golden armor.  "And this has to be the most eager group I've seen in ages, especially Initiate Justice."

"Well then you'd best go finish preparations for the ceremony.  No point keeping them waiting," Celestia answered.  "I'll be looking forward to seeing them in person."

The guard captain bowed deeply before turning back toward the door.  As he left a musical tone sounded, something passing overhead through the gap.  A regal red and orange bird soared overhead, alighting upon the perch next to the throne.  Rook just smiled at the bird before continuing on his way.

"Ah, Philomena," Celestia said with a smile, gently stroking the bird's feathers with one hoof.  "You have a message I see?"

The phoenix chirped, dropping a scroll from its beak which the princess caught with her magic.  She let out a sigh as she found the scroll contained only two words: 'Any luck?'

"I'm afraid not, Luna," she dictated as she used her own magic to write out a return letter.  "But Canterlot is at least gaining several capable young ponies."

Celestia's gaze was drawn to another set of doors nearby, ones that led to a hallway she hadn't passed down in ages.  She cast her gaze down, levitating the scroll over to Philomena as she did.  The fire-bird chirruped and tilted her head curiously at the solar princess before taking the scroll.

"We'll find somepony eventually," Celestia said, as much for herself as the bird.  "I know it."

The barrier of Canterlot was actually quite beautiful up close.  Not just for the pattern of silver and gold magic that it was made from but also thanks to the city sealed within it.  Amongst the tangled greenery and jagged rocks of the mountains outside the great marble city was like a beacon of order and stability.

If it weren't for the noises of the savage beasts that hunted the chaotic woods more ponies in the city probably wouldn't mind getting closer to the barrier.  As it stood, there was only one pony there now and he was standing outside the shimmering force field.  He gently reached forward, prodding the shield and watching as it rippled under his touch.

"Almost there," he coached himself.

There was a growl behind him drawing a sigh of frustration from his muzzle.  Turning around the brown-cloaked barrier watcher was not surprised to find a monstrous lion behind him.  The creature was prowling closer, fangs bared as it spread a pair of leathery wings and brought up a barbed scorpion tail in preparation to strike.

"Oh please," the cloak-wearer sighed, sounding more amused than anything as he locked eyes with the creature.  "You don't know who you're dealing with, do you?"

The manticore stopped growling and lowered its tail as it began to back away with a whimper of fear.  The cloaked figure casually waved it off, sending the beast scurrying back into the forest in terror.

"Just how anyone is supposed to manage this with all these distractions..." he said with a sigh, turning back to the barrier.  "Ah-ha, what have we here?"

A moment's concentration and the cloaked figure pressed against the barrier again.  This time his limb slid through as though the defensive magic wasn't even there.  A smile crossed his muzzle as the rest of his body pushed through as well.

Smiling at his accomplishment he started toward the rest of the city.  Most of the area around him seemed to be abandoned streets and buildings.  Most likely a result of those that didn't want to put up with manticores and who-knows-what-else prowling just outside.  He stopped in his tracks though, wincing as something slithered along his back and pushed its way up to his ear

Inside

Find it

"I know, I know!" grumbled the cloak wearer as he passed down a narrow alley.  "This is a big  place, it's not going to happen - "

"Moonbeam, slow down!" a voice shouted.

The cloaked figure froze, watching as a navy-blue unicorn filly charged past followed closely behind by a frantic dragon.  He gasped as he felt the slimy thing suddenly tighten around his neck.

There!

Her!

Don't let her escape!

"I saw her too, you know!" he managed to admonish, the tentacle loosening its grip.  "The whole, 'cloaked stranger' look is going to draw some attention though.  I'm gonna need a loan if you want me getting close."

A myriad of confusing voices poured into his mind but the cloak wearer chuckled and waved them off.

"Oh you know I'm good for it.  Now do you want this done or what?" he challenged.

There was silence for a moment before a surge of energy poured through his body.

"Perfect," he said with a grin.

As guests were approaching the castle outside several ponies were lining up inside the white marble halls of the palace itself.  Almost two-dozen ponies, mares and stallions of all tribes and colors, were decked out in steel armor polished to a mirror-like shine.  There was nervous chatter filling the room, chatter that Solar Ray wasn't taking part in.

The yellow stallion was, at that moment, reminding himself to breathe as deeply as possible.  Even though he cut a dashing figure in his armor, built very much like one would expect from a fairytale knight, there was no hiding the slight tremble to his hooves.  A giggle from behind him caused his to turn around with a start only to find Justy standing there.

"What's wrong, partner?  Nervous?" she asked.

"Excited," Ray corrected, trying to look the part.  "How about you, Justy?"

"That's 'Knight Initiate Justice' soon," the mare corrected posturing a bit in her armor.  "And of course I'm excited!  I'm only living up to my life's dream here."

Ray wasn't about to say it out loud but Justice certainly looked more guard-like than he did.  Even with her slimmer build she still held herself with an air of authority in her armor.

"Top initiate at that," Ray pointed out, holding out a hoof.  "I don't think I remembered to congratulate you on that."

Justy pressed her own hoof against his, a smug grin on her face.

"Thanks.  It really helped having a good training partner," she commented.

Ray smiled back but before he could say anything the echo of armored hooves filled the hall.  The other recruits were all forming up into two lines, Justy and Ray catching on just in time to get to the front of them.

Soon only the sound of one armored pony could be heard, each of the new recruits bringing a front hoof up in a salute as Captain Rook made his way between the two lines.  He reached the front and nodded to Ray and Justice with a smile on his muzzle.

"At ease!" He called out, the young knights dropping their salutes.  "Well my little ponies you've come quite a long way in your training.  Soon you'll be making your official oath of service to Princess Celestia."

Somepony let out a whoop excitement causing all eyes to turn to him.  The earth stallion responsible blushed a bit and regained his composure, eliciting a chuckle from Rook.

"Before you go out there I just want you all to know how proud I am of each of you," the golden-armored unicorn stated.  "It wasn't easy, and it certainly wasn't fun, but you made it.  Now make sure you do Canterlot proud!"

"Sir, yes sir!" All the new initiates chorused.

Rook turned toward the doors before the group.  Thanks to the open windows the recruits could all hear the sound of the crowds gathering outside.  Justy somehow held herself taller, her face beaming like the sun.

The grounds outside Canterlot castle were always well-groomed and even in troubled times the gardens were a sight to behold.  It was no surprise that these gardens, more specifically the entrance to the hedge maze behind the castle, were the site of the ceremony.  Already there were colorful tents and stalls set up as ponies prepared to sell their wares to the celebrating guests.

Moonbeam was tearing her way past all of them, her violet eyes locked firmly on the path to the hedge maze.  Occasionally she glanced up to the sun again mentally gauging how close it was getting to its zenith.

"Moonbeam, watch out!" Talon's voice suddenly grabbed her attention.

Moonbeam's gaze snapped forward again and she gasped as she skidded to a halt right before crashing into another pony.  A veritable wall of ponies in fact, chattering excitedly and through which the filly could see glimpses of a regal stage set up in front of the hedge maze.

"Oh-no," Moonbeam moaned as Talon stumbled up next to her, trying to catch his breath.

"Alright...Maybe we did spend too much time preparing for Ray's party..." he admitted between gasps.

Moonbeam jumped as high as she could, craning her neck to see over the gathered ponies.  She let out a grunt of frustration as she failed to even glimpse anything more than the tips of the other ponies' manes.

"We're gonna miss the whole ceremony like this," Moonbeam muttered, her tail drooping.

Talon's wings slumped in response as trumpets began to play to indicate the beginning of the ceremony.  The crowd was cheering, hooves clopping against the ground as the dragon dropped down to all fours and jerked his head to Moonbeam.

"Hurry, climb on," he said.

Moonbeam gave her brother a confused look.  In this quadrupedal stance he was actually quite a bit shorter than most of the ponies around.

"But you won't be able to see," she realized, looking back at the crowd.

"No sense in both of us missing it, right?" Talon asked with a smile.  "Come on, up you get."

"Thanks, Talon!" Moonbeam cheered, hopping onto his scaly back and carefully positioning her hooves around the purple spines.  "You're the best!"

Talon chuckled in response, pushing himself up as tall as his arms and legs would allow.  Moonbeam shifted her weight excitedly as Talon spread out his wings to give her a little more space.  The few ponies near the duo moved away to give the dragon space, losing themselves in the crowd.

"I can see them!"  Moonbeam cheered over the other voices.

Talon winced a bit as Moonbeam pushed herself onto her hind legs, her front hooves waving over her head as she tried to get Ray's attention.  In spite of the discomfort the dragon's smile hurried back as his sister joined in the cheering.

Solar Ray found it a struggle not to laugh as he began his march toward the stage.  Standing on Talon's back and waving her hooves Moonbeam was impossible to miss even at the back of the crowd.  Ray heard a soft chuckle as Justice nudged him as they passed by.

Ray just smiled and nodded to Moonbeam as they walked past.  The excitable filly's face lit up as her brother reached the stage.  Captain Rook brought the procession to a halt, the sun just approaching the height of its climb overhead.  The trumpets and crowd fell silent as a pure, white light shone from above onto the stage.

Many ponies had to shield their eyes as the pure majesty of the sun covered the area, only to slowly begin fading.  As his vision cleared Ray felt his breath catch in his throat.  The glorious form of Princess Celestia stood on the stage now, dressed in her royal golden regalia.  A smile reflecting infinite kindness and wisdom of the ages graced her face as everypony present instinctively fell into a respectful bow.

"Princess Celestia," Rook declared, lifting his head.  "Today it's my honor to present these brave young souls that seek to join the ranks of the Day Guard."

The princess gazed over the young knights and Ray could hear Justy's armor rattling slightly as she trembled next to him.  Or maybe it was his own, it was a little hard to tell with the rush of his own heartbeat flooding his ears.

"My little ponies, are you certain that you are ready to take on the responsibilities of a soldier of Canterlot?" Celestia asked, her voice high and clear like a summer day.

"Yes, Princess Celestia!" Ray called out along with the other recruits.

There was a moment's silence as Celestia looked over the ponies before her.

"Then I would hear your oath of service," she requested.

Justy pulled herself to her full height, Ray quickly following suit.  The white mare's eyes were locked firmly on the princess as she took a deep breath, leading the rest of the recruits in the words that would bind them to their service.

"Come sun's next rising we'll stand for Canterlot and all its citizens.  From this day forward our every action will be to protect the ponies of Equestria.  Whatever may come, so long as the sun shines in the sky, we will never back down!"

Ray had his eyes on the Princess the whole time as they spoke the oath.  He was sure he saw the briefest look of sorrow in her eyes before a warm smile crossed her face.  The whole world suddenly seemed a little brighter with that smile.

"Welcome to the Day Guard, young knights," Celestia congratulated.  "I encourage you enjoy this day with your family and friends before your official duties begin with tomorrow's sunrise.  Starting then the defense of Canterlot will rely on you!"

The crowd burst into cheers again as did many of the other knights.  Even Justy seemed to be barely containing her joy as she let out a loud whoop of excitement.  Ray just turned back to smile at Moonbeam.

A look of worry crossed his face.  He couldn't see his sister over the heads of the crowd anymore.  The freshly knighted unicorn started toward the crowd, which was already beginning to break up as ponies either headed over to the stands or to congratulate the new graduates.

"Ray?" Justy's voice cut through the chatter of the other ponies around him as he moved.  "Hey, something wrong?"

Ray glanced back, seeing the white mare following right behind him with concern in her eyes.

"I'm just trying to find Moonbeam and Talon  They probably got lost in the crowd," he said, trying to smile past his nagging worry.

"Heh, you know you worry too much about that sister of yours?" Justy asked, continuing to tag along.  "I mean seriously, what sort of trouble could she get into here?"

Ray was about to answer when something tangled around his hoof.  He stumbled, his armor clanking as he managed to keep his balance.  Justy's horn flared white as she grabbed the object and lifted it up.

A well-worn pair of saddlebags with a tarnished clip shaped like a full moon hovered between the two.  Ray's eyes went wide, his worry expanding into cold dread as both the knights recognized the bags.

"Those are Moonbeam's..." Ray gasped out, looking around for any sign of the blue filly.

Moonbeam's chest was burning as she tried to catch her breath.  Tears were stinging her eyes, as was the fresh bruise on her side she'd been trying to ignore.  She bit down on her lower lip, her mind trying to process just what had happened.

Celestia had been speaking to the new recruits and Talon had been shifting slightly under her hooves trying to get more comfortable.  Suddenly there had been an impact sending the both of them tumbling to the ground and sending the contents of her saddlebag spilling across the ground.

Everypony else had been engrossed in Princess Celestia and the ceremony.  Nobody seemed to have noticed the strange beige unicorn with a tangled gray mane when he crashed into Talon.  Even as the dragon had helped her up he was glaring at the new pony.

"Maybe you should be more careful.  You could hurt somepony like that," Talon had scolded.

"Excuse me?  I'm not the one doing circus tricks in the middle of a crowd," the stranger had replied.

Talon growled in response but Moonbeam had tugged his arm with her front hooves.

"Talon it's okay.  I'm not hurt or anything," she insisted.  "Let's just get this all cleaned up."

Her book, a few (now bruised) apples, her bits pouch.  The two had gathered everything back into her saddlebags except for -

"My present!" Moonbeam gasped, seeing no sign of the box from Silversmith.

"Hang on, maybe it's still in here," Talon assured her, rummaging through the bags to no avail.

"Oh, you mean this?" the stranger had asked, a light violet glow drawing their attention.

Hovering next to the mushroom-colored pony, wrapped in his purple aura of magic, was indeed the box in question.  Moonbeam breathed a sigh of relief, reaching her front hooves to claim it only for the gift to be jerked out of reach.

The new knights were finishing their oath.  The ponies of the audience were beginning to cheer and stamp the ground in celebration.  All of them but Talon, Moonbeam and the stranger.  As the ponies around them roared the new unicorn took off toward the stalls on the other side of the garden, giving the bewildered Moonbeam only the briefest glimpse of the confusing spiral of colors on his flank.

The ponies back at the ceremony stage were starting to wander off in various directions, no doubt to enjoy the rest of the day.  Moonbeam seemed to be the only pony trying not to cry as she leaned against the side of one of the food stalls to catch her breath.  She sniffled, wiping at her eyes and feeling the sparking of her horn as the theft played again and again in her mind as she tried to understand how it could have happened so fast.

A pair of scaly arms pulled her close, causing Moonbeam to gasp in shock before she realized that Talon was still next to her.

"You alright, Moonbeam?" He asked, minding his claws so as not to scratch the filly.

"I - No, no I'm not," Moonbeam whimpered in response, trying and failing to hold her tears back.  "He took the present and I-I-"

The unicorn could feel sparks drifting from her horn only for Talon's wings to wrap around her also.  The dragon winced a bit as the motes of energy dissolved on his scales, Moonbeam crying against his shoulder as he just held her.

"Come on, it's just a gift right?" Talon tried to assure her.  "It stinks that he'd take it after you paid so much but - "

"It's not just that!" Moonbeam sobbed, a heavier pulse of magic causing Talon's wings to flutter.  "You and Ray and Justy are always watching out for me.  That present - It wasn't just for Ray.  I wanted to do something for you all for once and I couldn't even hang on to it long enough to give it to you guys!"

Moonbeam's crying continued, Talon bracing his wings as he managed to hold back another pulse of magic.

"Please Moonbeam, I promise it'll be alright," Talon whispered.  "Besides you know - "

"That - That I shouldn't get upset.  I know," Moonbeam grumbled, wiping at her eyes.

The magic seemed to take on a different feel, still apathetically splashing against Talon's scales as though it didn't care whether it held together but jabbing out more sharply as though annoyed.  Talon put one claw over his sister's lips and smiled as he shook his head.

"You know that we love you," the dragon whispered, finishing his earlier statement.  "You don't have to pay us back for that."

"Oh..." Moonbeam gasped, sniffling a bit more as she realized her mistake.  "Well...I mean it was more than just that and the ceremony."

The magic seemed to be fading, Talon lowering his aching wings as his sister calmed down.

"Really?" Talon asked, genuine confusion on his face.

"You really don't remember," Moonbeam realized with a frown.  "Today's - "

"Moonbeam!  There you are!" a voice interrupted.

Both siblings looked up to see Solar Ray breaking away from the rest of the crowd, Justy hot on his fetlocks.  Moonbeam quickly wiped away the last of her tears and got back to her hooves just as the duo reached them.

"Do you know how worried I was?!  I found your saddlebags in the crowd and had no idea where you'd gone too!" Ray scolded, lifting up the bags in question for emphasis.

"Yeah, did something happen?  After all the excitement you two are the last ones I'd expect to miss the ceremony," Justy spoke up.

"There was a little complication," Talon admitted, getting back to his feet.

Ray was about to open his mouth again when he noticed Moonbeam.  The filly's eyes were cast down and tearing up again.  The stallion took a deep breath, feeling his sense of dread and frustration fade.

"As long as no pony got hurt," Ray said, lifting Moonbeam's chin with one hoof.  "Now why don't you tell us what happened?"

The thief had his ears covered, not that it did much to block out the rush of voices in his head.  He choked as he felt the slimy tendril tighten around his neck, briefly wondering why he thought making it invisible had been a good idea.

"Alright - gack!" He coughed, rolling onto his back.  "Alright!  How was I supposed to realize she'd have such a hard time keeping up?  You saw her running all the way here!"

Failure.

Won't tolerate again.

Get her!

The living noose slackened and the mushroom-colored unicorn rolled back onto his hooves gasping for air.  He glared at the unseen tendril before sweeping up the gift box.

"I did want to do this with some finesse," he huffed, only to feel the uncomfortable tightening around his neck.  "Okay, okay!  She won't get away that easily, don't worry."

With a grumble the thief started back toward the rest of the gardens only to freeze in mid-step.  He smiled as he heard a pair of voices heading toward him.  One of the voices clearly belonged to a filly he was becoming increasingly familiar with.  The tendril slackened further obviously sensing the same approach as him.

"Well, she is coming...And bringing another friend," the thief muttered.  "That wasn't part of the plan.  I'll need something new."

His gaze wandered to the box still clutched in his magical aura and a smile came to his muzzle.

"Honestly, who steals from a filly?" Ray asked, his voice edged with anger.

The quartet had moved away from the rest of the crowd  and split into pairs in order to search for the thief. Ray and Moonbeam had followed a simple trail toward what seemed to be a private fruit orchard.  In spite of the variety of lovely fruit trees, most in early to mid-stages of growth, Moonbeam still had her head low.

"At least he didn't hurt you," Ray said, sky-colored eyes scanning back and forth for the thief.  "If he had..Well Talon would probably have got him first but I'd have - "

"I'm sorry.  I missed you guys taking your oath and lost the present for all of you." Moonbeam whimpered, cutting off her brother's rant.  "Then you got all worried about me again, Ray!"

Ray went silent for a moment as Moonbeam sniffled.  The stallion mentally kicked himself as he noticed a few tears fall to the ground.  He leaned over and gently nuzzled his sister, giving her a little smile as she looked up at him.

"You've got nothing to apologize for, Moonbeam."  The sunny-yellow stallion said.  "Now chin up, everything is going to be fine."

Moonbeam wiped at her eyes but nodded to Ray as her smile slowly returned.  Brother and sister picked up the pace, the trail through the gardens passing into a grove of apple trees.  The fruits of the tree were still in their ripening stag, but were already filling the little orchard with a sweet smell.

Sitting at the base of one of the trees was the gift box.  Moonbeam's eyes lit up the second she saw it.  Ray however looked around, his brow creasing.

"Well that seems a little too easy," he commented, his horn shimmering as he started to search behind the trees.  "What kind of thief just drops what he stole?"

"Maybe he heard us coming and tried to ditch it?" His sister guessed.

Ray turned to Moonbeam to respond but his breath caught in his throat before he could.  Moonbeam was standing near the box, reaching for it with one hoof.  Ray could feel something around the box though.  Some dark aura flashing about it for a moment.

"Moonbeam don't!"  Ray shouted.

Too late.  The filly had her hooves on the box just as Ray's warning reached her.  The top flipped open, bursting off in a colorful blast of confetti and firework-like blasts of color.  The younger unicorn howled in shock, falling backward covered in bits of paper and batting away at the magical explosions as they went off right in her face.

"Moonbeam!"  Ray shouted, his magic quickly slamming the lid of the gift box closed.

The filly rolled back into a sitting position as the fireworks stopped.  She took a deep breath, quickly squashing down the rising magic before her horn began to spark.  Ray breathed a sigh of relief but jumped in shock as mocking laughter began to echo around the grove.

"It might not have been easy hiding that spell around the box but it was totally worth it!" the laughter mocked.

"That voice!" Moonbeam gasped.  "That's the thief!"

"Strange though, I didn't think anypony would be able to pick up on the trigger spell around the present," the thief's voice chuckled, seeming to echo from everywhere.

Ray's horn continued to shine, his eyes scanning the grove as quickly as possible.  His gaze stopped turning as he locked onto something up in a tree branch behind Moonbeam.

"Looks like you deserve some congratulations for spotting it in the first place, even if it was too late." The voice continued, not noticing as the light around Ray's horn focused into a single point.  "Is that something they teach everypony these days?"

"Not really.  I'm just really good at sensing and controlling extra magic," Ray explained.  "Like what's coming off your echo spell every time you talk."

"Wait, what?!" The invisible unicorn gasped.

Ray's horn unleashed a piercing bolt of light, landing a direct hit on the thief.  In a flash of yellow the invisibility spell ended, revealing the stranger's surprised face to the world.  In another instant an orb of Ray's magic popped into existence around him and rolled from the branch onto the ground with him stuck inside.

"Huh, touché my little pony."  The stranger said flatly, glowering at Ray.

"You've got nothing to blame but your own big mouth," Ray pointed out, looking back to his sibling.  "This the guy?"

"Y-yeah...That's him," Moonbeam answered, getting unsteadily back to her hooves.

Ray moved toward his sister, worry etched across his face.

"Hey are you alright?  You weren't hurt by that spell, were you?" Ray asked, reaching a hoof to his sister.

"I think - I - " Moonbeam gasped in pain, one hoof pressing against her head in pain.

The filly collapsed to the ground, clutching at her head.  Energy began to spark from her horn, a purple aura surrounding her entire body.  Ray dove toward her, his horn already lighting up to try and stop whatever was happening only for a pulse of silver magic to fly from Moonbeam and knock him off his hooves.

Ray hit the ground, his own magic faltering.  The stranger chuckled as the bubble around him burst into saffron shards.

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that spell.  It was just a little something to help this little sweetheart realize her full potential," he taunted.  "If you thought my fireworks were impressive just wait until you see what happens next."

Ray managed to get back up just as the beige unicorn collapsed, his body replaced by a ragged brown cloak.  Before he could move the fabric had flattened against the ground and slithered away like a snake.  Ray growled but pushed any thoughts of chasing out of his mind.

He instead turned back toward his sister, his magic already lighting up to try and help.  His eyes went wide at the sight that greeted him though.

A sphere of silver and amethyst magic was forming around filly, her eyes changing into blinding white orbs as the energy sealed around her.  In less than a second Moonbeam couldn't be seen for the mass of magic around her.

"RaaAYyy..."  Moonbeam's voice fluctuated from within the sphere.  "heLP Meeee!"

TO BE CONTINUED...

New Faces

To Princesses Celestia and Luna,

Talon nibbled at the end of the quill at a loss for words.  He'd never had to write a letter to royalty before and the formalities were intimidating to say the least.  The blue dragon fiddled a bit with the feather clutched between his claws, determined to find a way to lower it to the parchment again and start writing.

It's only been three days since we set out from Canterlot but we've travelled far.  So far nothing to report.  Somehow we've avoided any of the beasts in the forests out here.

Talon looked around as that sentence gave him a pang of fear.  The woodlands around him seemed peaceful with foliage growing thick all around.  Descending the mountain that Canterlot rested on had been a surprisingly easy task for the trio.  At the base the trees were more thick, tangled vines drooping from the branches.  The canopy above gave the sunlight a filter of green and cast shadows on the forest floor.  The only other light came from a blue campfire crackling in front of Talon.

"Just stay focused, alright?"  Ray's voice encouraged from nearby.

"I'm...Trying..." Moonbeam responded in a strained voice.

Ray is trying to help Moonbeam get a handle on her magic.  Whatever that strange pony did her to had some weird effect.  Before the worst she'd ever managed was levitating her bed but now

Talon suddenly became aware of the silver light that was overpowering even the sun's rays.  He looked over his shoulder, eyes widening at the sight of a sizable boulder (easily double the size of a pony) shaking in the grip of Moonbeam's magic.  Cracks splayed across its surface, giving the dragon just enough warning to duck for cover.

BOOM!

Talon raised his head cautiously.  Moonbeam stood behind where the boulder had been with a dejected look on her face as Ray's shield dropped from around them.

"Well, power isn't a problem at least," he admitted.

Moonbeam let out a frustrated sigh and lowered her head.

her power goes off in fits.  Nothing like the barrier-destroying spell, but certainly more than she's managed before.  I know they'll find a way to get a handle on it but I can't help but worry.  Moonbeam keeps looking so distressed about it.

Will keep you updated,

Talon

Chapter 3

New Faces

Talon rolled up the message scroll, taking a few practice puffs as he did.  With forceful blow the adolescent dragon released a burst of cerulean fire on the scroll.  The paper quickly curled into a small pile of ash that blew away with a magical chime on its way back to Canterlot.

"At least your magic is working," Moonbeam said glumly as she sank down next to her scaly brother.

The filly's coat and mane had a fine layer of dust and a few stone chips scattered over them.  Ray was in a similar state, looking more frustrated than anything as he followed her over.

"Moonbeam, come on.  We just started today's practice!" the stallion scolded.

"But we've been trying for three days!" Moonbeam countered.  "It just feels like it's getting worse and worse!"

Moonbeam trailed off as her body began to spark and shimmer with magic.  Ray quickly brushed against her, his own yellow light struggling for a bit before it overpowered hers.

"See?" Moonbeam whimpered.

Talon gently draped a wing across the filly's back as Ray knelt next to her.  Moonbeam sniffled, turning her head away from Ray as he tried to meet her eye.  The stallion stood back up and shook his head with a sigh.

"Alright.  We'll break for lunch or something," he relented.

"How's some soup sound?" Talon suggested, pulling Moonbeam closer.

"Fine," she muttered.

"You work on that, Talon, I'll..." Ray trailed off, glancing back at the fire.  "I'll get some more firewood.  Shouldn't take me too long."

The adolescent dragon nodded while Moonbeam just grunted some sort of confirmation.  Ray turned away, heading off among the trees while Talon got up to stoke the sapphire flames a bit.

Ray's horn wasn't glowing as brightly as it usually did when he used his magic.  His thoughts were elsewhere even as he levitated a few fallen sticks and dead branches.  One word in particular kept rolling over his thoughts.

Banishment

The Princesses hadn't said it of course but the idea was there.  Moonbeam being sent out on some impossible quest that even the royal alicorns wouldn't undertake?  Talon had the spell to send messages to the Princesses but who knew where that might actually go?  Ray sighed heavily, looking back the way he had come.

"How am I supposed to tell them that?" he muttered to himself as he picked up a few more branches.

The bundle of wood offered no answers as Ray's mind and hooves continued to wander.

A breeze lifted through the woods, stirring up the smoke coming from the campfire.  Talon looked up from the simmering pot he'd been stirring and nervously glanced at the trees around them.  He'd have sworn he'd heard something rustling around.

A heavy sigh from Moonbeam distracted the young dragon.

"What's gonna happen to us?" she asked, her voice making it clear she was straining not to cry.

Talon went back to her side and carefully smoothed down her mane.  Whatever spell Ray had cast seemed to still be holding back her magic for now in spite of the tears starting to come to her eyes.

"You heard the Princesses," Talon whispered, wings enclosing the two just to be safe.  "We'll find the Elements of Harmony and then - "

"I can't even control my magic!" Moonbeam sniffled, her body trembling as she started to cry.  "How-how am I-"

She couldn't continue as the tears fell in earnest.  No magic started to spark but her body shook with sobs as Talon's wings folded back in surprise.  He reached for her again to dry her eyes but the filly pulled back.

"Just leave me alone!" she managed to shout before burying her face in her hooves.

Talon's claws quickly wiped away some tears starting to form in his own eyes as he tried to hide his troubled expression.  He just turned and lumbered back to the soup pot as Moonbeam cried behind him.  He turned to look back at her, his voice catching in his throat as he tried to figure out just what to say...

CRACK

"YE-OWCH!" Talon screamed as he stumbled to the side, a hefty stone bouncing off his skull.

Moonbeam's crying immediately stopped as Talon clutched the side of his head.  The dragon seemed to biting back a string of curses as a brown blur barreled from the nearby bushes.  With a resounding crash of breaking foliage and the splashing of the soup pot hitting the ground, Talon was sent tumbling to the side.

The unicorn filly was on her hooves in an instant but couldn't take a step before the new figure placed himself in front of her.  She leaned back to take in the full size of the huge earth pony before her.  Noticeably taller than Talon, his body thick with muscle, his chocolate-brown coat criss-crossed with light scars.  Trimmed fetlocks revealed black hooves matching his shaggy mane and tail.  His cutie mark depicted the simple image of two lightning bolts crossed behind a horseshoe.

The earth pony looked back at her, his brown eyes causing the filly to freeze under his glare.

"What are you waiting for?  Get out of here!" he ordered.

"W-what are - " Moonbeam started to ask.

There was a thrashing of claw ripping brush as Talon fought his way back to his feet.  The dragon's purple eyes narrowed as he spotted the stranger standing near his younger sister.

"Get away from her!" Talon shouted.

The earth pony snorted, turning back toward Moonbeam and quickly ducking as low as he could.  Surprisingly he was able to get his head under her, swiftly pulling up and rolling the shocked unicorn onto his back.

Moonbeam screamed as the stallion took off, carrying her away with Talon in hot pursuit.

An all-to-familiar scream echoed from behind Ray.  The yellow unicorn gasped, his bundle of sticks falling to the ground.

"Moonbeam!" he shouted, suddenly realizing just how far he'd let himself walk.

Ray broke into a gallop, charging back toward the campfire.  He didn't notice the cave he had wandered close too or hear the growl of something inside waking up from the racket now echoing from further in the forest.

The earth stallion continued his charge, seemingly able to ignore the screaming filly on his back.  He trampled his own path through the thick growth of the forest, crashing through bushes and narrowly dodging around trees.

"Put me down!"  Moonbeam shouted, beating her front hooves against the stranger's side.

"Did you not notice the dragon chasing us?" he chastised in response.

A rush of heat drew both their attentions upward.  A blue fireball arched over them, falling into a patch of bushes straight ahead.  The earth pony skidded to a halt as the flames caught surprisingly fast, turning the plants into crackling barriers.  He spun around only to find a rather perturbed dragon glaring straight at him.

"Put her down," Talon growled, wings unfurled in anger.

Moonbeam let out a sigh of relief as her captor crouched, letting her slide back to the ground.

"Good, now..." Talon began.

He didn't have time to finish before the stallion charged again.  Talon barely had time to brace himself against another impact, the large pony bull-rushing him toward a nearby tree.

"That does it!" Talon shouted, digging his foot claws into the ground as he managed to stop his slide and push back.

A clatter of hooves against dirt could be heard approaching as Talon and the stranger struggled in place.

"Moonbeam!  Talon!"  Ray's voice called out, getting closer with each moment.

Talon glanced toward the voice and in that second the stranger drew back.  The dragon stumbled forward, almost falling on his face as his opponent stopped pushing back.

Ray came charging into sight just was the earth pony slammed down with his front hooves, pinning Talon to the ground.

"Talon!"  Ray shouted, his horn shimmering with magic.

The light glow around his horn suddenly flared like a bonfire as wisps of purple and silver floated past.  Ray gasped as he turned toward Moonbeam.  The filly's eyes were sparking with energy as she glared at the brown-furred dragon fighter.

"You!"  She gasped out.

"What in Equestria?"  The earth pony grunted.

"Moonbeam don't!"  Ray shouted, charging toward his sister.

"Leave.  Us.  ALONE!"  Her voice exploded out along with a wave of force.

Ray had a half-formed barrier around himself as the wave struck.  Everything seemed to vanish into blinding light.

An older, pale-pink pegasus mare was humming gently to herself as she carefully brushed a paint-dipped feather over the canvas in front of her.  She peeked from behind the easel, looking up to the almost-clear sky visible above the wall watching a few clouds drifting off into the distance.

"Mother!" a voice scolded from nearby.

The mare's vision was drawn to the cabin nearby, a pure-white pegasus that shared her blue-green eyes walking toward her.  She had a tray with mug of steaming liquid balanced on one wing while the other draped over the older mare.

"What are you doing outside, mother?" the younger pony asked, her eyes filled with worry.  "Especially after how bad you were feeling this morning?"

"I just felt so much better I thought a little fresh air was in order," the rosy mare answered, fluttering her own wings a bit.  "And I wasn't doing that poorly this morning."

"You can't be too careful, especially with your health," the younger pony responded, leading her mother toward the cabin.  "Come on.  It's time for your medicine and for lunch."

A light growl sounded from the mare's stomach and her cheeks flushed a darker shade.

"I suppose I had lost track of time," she admitted.

A distant shriek brought mother and daughter to a halt as a powerful wind tore over the top of the wall.  Both pegasi stared up in awe as a burst of silver rose into the sky before dispersing into a cloud of purple sparkles.

"Oh dear," the older of the two whispered.

"My medical bag," the younger one said, leading her mother with a much quicker step now.

"What?" asked the rose-colored mare as her daughter reached the cabin with a worried look.

"Thunder Hooves is on scouting duty today, remember?" the white filly declared, dashing for a bag hanging from the wall.  "Oh, I hope he's alright!"

A huge burst of wind tore through the forest as the light shot skyward, the sound of Moonbeam's scream echoing along with it.  The impromptu gale ripped at the wings of a young pegasus who shouted in surprise as his silvery-gray body spun head over hooves.

"Whoa!  Hang in there CT!" a filly below shouted as she jumped toward him.

The red earth pony managed to snag the flying pony's tail in her teeth, dragging him down as he managed to straighten out.  The wind had died back to normal, his wings flapping as he hovered in place.

"Close one.  You almost got smeared across that tree," the filly chuckled.

"What're you talking about?  I was totally in control," the colt responded, setting himself on the ground.  "What do you think that was all about?"

"Dunno..." was the response.  "We aren't near any villages with barriers."

"Well somepony needs help from the sound of that scream," the pegasus pointed out as he jumped back into the air.

"Right you are.  Let's get movin'," his companion said with a nod.

The duo took off, winding through the trees in the direction of the strange wind and light.

With a low growl the thing from the cave stalked closer.  The light and wind had gone but the scent of ponies was still heavy in the air.

It could smell its meal up ahead where all the noise had come from.  It stalked closer, able to make out several ponies just laying about in the clearing.

It was lucky.  It wasn't often so many would be so helpless.  It paused at the sight of scales and wings though.  A dragon, but a young one and also unconscious.  No threat.  It moved forward.

"I see something!  This way!" a voice shouted.

More ponies coming.  The thing stopped and growled.  It hungered but ponies tended to move in large groups.  If more were coming then it wouldn't be safe to feed.  It couldn't even risk taking one.  It would be sighted long before escaping.

The thing turned and moved back into the woods with the scent of its meal still teasing its nose.  It would find these ones again, these ones foolish enough to tell the forest where they were before resting.

Voices echoed from somewhere, muffled as though being heard through cotton.  Ray struggled to open his eyes in defiance of the pounding in his head trying to push him under again.  A blur of red with green eyes greeted him, pulling back a bit in surprise.

"Mornin' there, stranger," the blur said.

She sounded female, her voice carrying an odd accent Ray couldn't quite place as he blinked to clear his vision.  An earth pony filly, about his age by the looks of things, with a cherry-red coat and a blond mane pulled into a messy ponytail came into focus.  Even from the ground he could see her cutie mark was a trio of hoof prints racing up her flank.

He let out a groan as he struggled to his hooves.  The cherry filly ducked by his side, looping one of his forelegs over her back and slowly raising him back up.

"Th-thanks," Ray stammered out, his other legs trembling weakly.

"No problem, name's Trailblazer," the filly said, taking the brunt of the stallion's weight.

"Ray.  Solar Ray." the young knight responded, wiping his other fore-hoof quickly across his aching forehead.

It came away with a smear of red across it and a blinding stab of pain racing through his skull.  Ray slumped awkwardly against the filly next to him as she staggered in surprise and barely avoided dumping him back on the ground.

"Careful!  That's a nasty lump you got there," she cautioned.

As his vision faded back to normal Ray was able to take in the clearing.  Or rather what was left of it.  Most of the grass had been scorched away by Moonbeam's wild spell, as were the leaves on the trees nearby.  A muffled grunt and the sound of something frantically smacking against the ground pulled Ray's eyes to the other side of the clearing.

The huge stallion from before was still there with Moonbeam slumped over his back.  The filly's eyes were closed, her breathing slow and deep as though sleeping.  Barely registering as slightly more important than that was Talon's predicament.  The dragon was tied to one of the singed trees, his mouth held shut with rope as well and his tail slamming the ground as hard as he could.

"Sorry about that, didn't think to tie up his tail," a voice from above admitted.  "Kinda surprised me.  I thought he'd be out longer than that!"

A silver pegasus swooped from above, his spiky white mane and tail bouncing with each flap.  As he settled on the ground his wings half-covered the blue comet that made up his cutie mark.  Ray also noted how much shorter the pegasus was than himself, barely taller than Moonbeam from the looks of him.

"Dammit Comet Tail, I told you to be careful!" Moonbeam's carrier chastised as he moved away from the bound dragon.

"You also told me to hurry up so I could make sure no other dragons were coming," the pegasus countered.

"Untie him," Ray muttered.

"That doesn't mean that - Wait, what?" the earth pony asked, looking toward Ray.

The unicorn's horn was shimmering gold, as were the ropes around Talon.  The larger stallion snorted, quickly putting himself between Ray and his target.

"What do you think you're doing?!" both of them shouted at each other.

Ray cringed as his head throbbed again from the combination of effort and stress.  Comet jumped in between the duo, his wings raised defensively.

"Ease up, Thunder Hooves." the gray colt spoke up.  "This guy - "

"Solar Ray," Trailblazer interrupted.

"Right.  Solar Ray got knocked on the head remember?" Comet Tail pointed out.  "Probably doesn't even know where he is right now."

Something shimmered around Ray's neck.  A golden locket wrapped in his magic aura opened with a gentle click.  The unicorn panted, his head feeling like it was going to split open as his support filly leaned closer for a look.

"Hold that thought, CT!" she spoke up, carefully lifting the locket away from Ray with her mouth.

The other two boys looked to their crimson companion and the locket she held.  Eyes widened at the picture inside and the young unicorns and dragon on it that looked a little too familiar to be coincidence.

"Ah'm starting to think we might have been a touch hasty," Trailblazer said.

Ray was breathing heavily as he was half-carried along by Trailblazer.  The group of now five ponies was moving in rather awkward silence.  Mostly owing to the very grumpy dragon near the back of the group.

Talon plodded along on all fours, his wings half extended to let Moonbeam rest on them.  The filly had yet to awaken and, after being untied, Talon had been rather adamant about carrying her himself.  Ray and Trailblazer weren't far ahead of him mostly due to the unicorn stallion's slow pace.

"Look, I'm sure Thunder Hooves is really sorry about the mix-up," Comet Tail commented from above, finally breaking the quiet.

Talon just huffed in reply, and unsurprisingly so did Thunder Hooves.

"Yeah, the first thing I should have thought when I saw a crying filly and a dragon was that they're related," the huge pony responded sarcastically.

"Least we got this settled 'fore things got any worse," Trailblazer spoke up.  "Lookin' back it's kinda funny, don't ya think?"

"You try waking up tied to a tree," Talon grumbled in response.

"Aha!  So you can talk!" the filly cheered.

Talon just rolled his eyes in response, trying to look at Ray while ignoring the cheerful female helping him along.

"How are you feeling, bro?" the dragon asked.

"I've been better to be honest," Ray said as he hobbled along.  "Think I can hang on until we get - Wherever it is we're going."

"Hoofsdale," Comet Tail spoke up again, landing with a grin as he trotted alongside the unicorn.  "No need to thank us either.  It's the least we could do for ponies in peril."

Talon looked like he was about to say something when Thunder Hooves' voice cut in.

"Hey Stone Stomper!  You still up there?" the large stallion called out.

Their attention drawn ahead again the others saw they'd reached an end to the forest.  A large wall of wood and stone at least five pony-heights tall stood before them now with a heavy set of doors built into it.  The sounds of several ponies chattering could be heard from the other side, two voices raising over the others only to stop at Thunder Hooves' shout.  A dusky-orange head with a brown mane peeked over the top as Thunder Hooves walked out of the tree cover up to the gate.

"You sure took your time getting back!" the stallion at the top of the gate called down.  "Cloud Dancer been making a scene since that light and - "

Stone Stomper was cut off as a white pegasus suddenly popped up next to him.  The curls of her sky-blue mane bounced a bit as she gasped at the sight of the chocolate pony below.  Before the orange guard could stop her she sprang from the wall, her feathered wings spreading as she gently glided toward the ground.  Thunder Hooves grunted in surprise as she wrapped her forelegs around him as she landed, her wings still up revealing a cutie mark shaped like a cloud with two bandages crossed over it.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was?!" the pegasus filly scolded, releasing the giant from her hug and giving him an incredulous look.  "Everypony saw that weird flash but they wouldn't let me go look for you!"

For once Thunder Hooves' expression softened as he nodded to the others.  Trailblazer and Comet Tail were quick to break cover, Ray being dragged along by the red filly.

"Thanks for worrying about me, Cloud Dancer," Thunder said as they emerged.

"Aww, sweet as ever ain't ya CD?" Trailblazer chuckled.

"Got some other ponies here that need your help before things get too sappy though," Comet Tail cut in.

Cloud Dancer gasped and hurried to Ray, her hoof gently lifting his bangs out of the way.  The unicorn winced, trying to pull back as she shook her head at the damage.

"Oh dear, I need to bandage that quickly," she muttered, one wing folding over her bare side and drawing her attention.  "And I left my bag inside the gate, didn't I?"

"He's not the only one you need to look at," Talon commented as he made his way from the trees.

Cloud Dancer gasped, backing away a few steps at the sight of Talon.  Silence held for a second except for the still chattering ponies across the gate, soon accompanied by the clunk of hoof meeting face.

"Aww shoot, Ah fergot about this," Trailblazer muttered around her own hoof.

"DRAGON!" Stone Stomper shouted from the top of the wall.

Talon cringed as the sound of ponies screaming could be heard on the other side of the gate, hooves clattering against the ground as they ran.  Comet Tail took off in a blur of silver toward the sky, letting loose a shrill whistle as he went.  Every conscious creature present covered their ears in pain as the shrill noise echoed around the forest.

"Hey now everypony, you've got nothing to worry about!" the colt shouted.  "Talon out here's a nice dragon."

"Are you kidding me?" Stone Stomper responded, other voices of protest rising to join his.

Cloud Dancer was still trembling as Talon looked back to her.  The teen dragon seemed to be doing his best to ignore the shouting match over head as he turned to the side and lowered to the ground.

"Please?  Moonbeam won't wake up and we don't know what's wrong," Talon muttered, giving the white filly a pleading look.

Cloud Dancer steeled herself, hovering carefully over Talon to get a closer look at the unicorn stretched across his wings.  Comet and Stone's argument was escalating though, Thunder Hooves' scowl becoming more and more pronounced with each passing second.

"Stone Stomper I kicked this guy's scaly flank myself!  Do you really think I'd let him follow me if I thought he was dangerous?!" the giant stallion roared.

The orange pony atop the gate flinched at the admonishment, allowing Cloud Dancer an opening to fly back up to him.  She could see the other ponies still near the gate, at least half a dozen earth ponies of various colors that hadn't run and were all looking from the guard to the gate.

"Please Stone.  I need to get those two inside so I can treat them," she pleaded.

"Don't do it, Stomper!" one of the bystanders yelled

"It must be a trick!  If that thing gets in the village - " another called out before cutting off with a shudder.

Cloud Dancer cast a disapproving glare down at the detractors, Stone letting out a frustrated sigh.

"CD, you know I can't let a dragon into the village.  Even if he's not dangerous everypony will panic!" the guard apologized.  "What about them, huh?  What about your mom?"

"Then I'll wait out here!" Talon's voice shouted from below.

All eyes flew to Talon, a few of the ponies behind the gate even rushed up to the watch post to look down at him.  Ray especially seemed shocked at the declaration.

"Talon, no," Ray protested, only for a gentle claw to silence him.

"You and Moonbeam need help and we don't have time to argue," the dragon said, casting a glare at the ponies on the wall.  "I'm not letting you guys get worse because of me."

"You shouldn't need to do th-this," Ray stammered, his vision blurring again.

Cloud Dancer slowly drifted down, a gentle smile on her face as she gestured to Moonbeam.

"I can carry her in," she offered.

Talon nodded, carefully transferring his sister to the medic's back.  He gave his brother one more smile before backing up to the trees, the six ponies moving closer to the gate.  Stone Stomper cast one last nervous glance to the blue reptile before disappearing behind the edge of the wall.  With a steady creak the doors slowly swung out.

Talon curled up against a nearby tree, watching as his family was lead inside.  He craned his neck, trying to keep an eye on them for as long as he could before the doors swung shut again.  Soon he was alone but for the small group of ponies watching him from the wall.

Cloud Dancer allowed herself a small smile as she gently applied a damp cloth to the unicorn filly's forehead.  Moonbeam muttered something in her sleep, but didn't awaken as the pegasus blew out the lantern and slipped away toward the sitting room.

Much to her surprise there were five other ponies in the main room of her little cabin rather than four.  Thunder Hooves had his head ducked to avoid some of the herbs that were hanging from the wall to dry whilst Comet Tail and Trailblazer helped themselves to some tea.  Ray, stretched out on the floor nearby with a bandage wrapped around his head, was being served a cup as well by a pink feathered wing.

"Thank you very much ma'am," Ray said appreciatively, wincing a bit as he lifted his bandaged head from the ground.

"Think nothing of it Ray.  And please, call me Pastel," the mare requested, her artist palette cutie mark visible until she folded her wing back into place.

"Mother,"  Cloud Dancer sighed.  "Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Nonsense, young filly, we have guests!"  Pastel responded.  "And it's been so long since our two favorite travelers have stopped by."

"Aww go on," Comet Tail chuckled, flicking a hoof nonchalantly.

"Actually Ah'm a bit more interested in Ray here," Trailblazer spoke up.  "Ain't everyday you see a couple of ponies travelling with a dragon!"

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing," Thunder Hooves said, his sharp gaze not leaving the unicorn.

Ray chuckled nervously, looking at his hooves as he did.  Pastel, however, gave Trailblazer a frightened look.  Her body trembled a bit as her coloring seemed a touch paler.

"Dr-dragon?" the elder mare asked quietly.

"Trailblazer!" Cloud Dancer scolded in a harsh whisper.

"Sorry, sorry!" the earth filly apologized.

Cloud Dancer jumped to her mother's side, gently supporting her as her knees went weak.

"It's okay, mother.  He's outside the village and he's not big enough to hurt anypony." the white pegasus spoke softly, brushing a wing along the pink-furred back.

Pastel looked at her daughter, her aqua eyes watering as she gulped for breath.  A fine line of sweat was forming along her brow.  Cloud Dancer smiled gently as she turned her mother toward the next room.

"Come on, let's get you settled into bed." she said.

"But our guests..." Pastel protested.

"For my sake, please?"  Cloud Dancer asked.

The rosy mare nodded, allowing herself to be ushered from the room, Ray watching silently the whole time.  Cloud Dancer moved back to Ray a moment later, kneeling next to him to check his bandages.

"Just what is with the anti-dragon sentiment around here?" Ray asked, giving the other four a confused look.

Only silence answered him for a moment before Thunder Hooves let out a heavy sigh.

"There was a dragon attack on the village years ago.  When I was still a colt," the large pony explained.  "Since then the whole place just locks right down if there's any chance of danger, not just dragons."

"I wasn't even born at the time it happened, but most around here are...understandably nervous," Cloud Dancer added.

"Besides that...Well it's a dragon!" Comet Tail spoke up.  "I mean everypony knows the stories.  They breathe fire, waste villages, eat pon-"

The colt cut himself off at the sight of the glare Ray was giving him.

"Um, Talon's cool though.  Guess you can't believe everything you read, huh?" the young pegasus tried to backtrack.

"Speaking of, you still didn't answer my question," Trailblazer spoke up.  "Just what're all three of you doin' wanderin' around the forest?"

Ray sighed and looked back to the room Moonbeam was resting in.  Cloud Dancer gently brushed his back with one wing.

"If you can't tell us then - " She started.

"No.  No I guess you deserve to know.  You've been trying to help us," Ray said, glancing at Thunder Hooves.  "Or at least trying to make up for things."

The larger stallion hmphed but stayed silent.

"It all started a few days ago," Ray began.

Voices again.  The cave thing stopped.

The noisy ponies had moved on, but their trail was fresh.  In the dying light of the sun the forest's shadows were perfect for hiding as it followed the scent.  It had been following, learning where they'd been taken.

Now it could see the blue and purple wings of the dragon from before.  Beyond the dragon though, past the edge of the trees, was The Wall.  Pony voices carried from the top on the evening breeze, the dragon cringing with each word spoken.

"What will we do if it decides to attack the gate?"

"You heard what it said.  It just wants to wait - "

"For those two unicorns, we know Stone.  It's still a dragon!  We don't know what might come afterward!"

"Guys, it has wings.  What if it just flies over?"

Silence.  The dragon released a shuddering breath and wrapped his wings around his body as though trying to keep out the voices.

The cave thing began to circle the village.  The dragon would be tough and scrawny, not worth the effort to hunt.  Ponies were in that wall but scared to use the exit near the reptile.

It would stalk.  It would watch.  They would come out somewhere else.  It would strike then.

"So we're effectively banished, stuck out here looking for some magic trinkets that might not even exist."

The room was quiet again as Ray finished his story.

"That's - um - Wow," Cloud Dancer broke the silence.

"Gotta say Ah never expected to actually meet a pony from Canterlot," Trailblazer spoke up before jabbing at Comet Tail.  "Which means you gotta carry the packages for the next whole week!  I told you it exists!"

"Joke's on you, it was my week to carry anyway," Comet chuckled before looking back to Ray.  "So does that mean Moonbeam's magic caused that light show earlier?"

"Yeah," Ray admitted with a tired nod.

"No wonder Big T didn't wanna talk about what happened," Trailblazer snickered.

Thunder Hooves shot the giggling pony a glare, his stormy face speaking volumes.  A white hoof mussed his mane though, his face softening again at Cloud Dancer's touch.

"You still brought her back here though," she said, a smile on her face.

"Well yeah.  I'm supposed to just leave a filly stranded in the woods?" he asked with a shrug.  "How much damage can she do when she's asleep anyway?"

"You really don't want me to answer that," Ray cut in.

"I wouldn't worry, I've seen Moonbeam's condition before in some of the local unicorns," Cloud Dancer assured the saffron stallion.  "She's just burned through too much magic in one go.  Her body sort of shut down in order to keep it from happening again."

Trailblazer gave Ray a playful shove to the shoulder, almost knocking him over in the process.

"So ya can quit worryin', Ray.  CD didn't get a medical cutie mark for nothin'," she encouraged.

"Once she's rested for a while she'll be right back on her hooves," Cloud Dancer confirmed.  "Speaking of rest you should get some too.  It's already getting dark."

A look out the window confirmed that.  The sun was setting, the shadow of the protective wall falling over the little cabin with a few streaks of light filtering through the gaps.  Rather than relaxing though Ray jumped to his hooves.

"Oh gosh, Talon!  He must be worried sick!" Ray gasped before almost collapsing as his head started swimming.

"Cool your hooves.  I'll go let him know you're fine," Comet Tail offered, stretching his wings.

"My shift on the wall is coming up too," Thunder Hooves grumbled, his back popping as he stretched his own massive body a bit.  "Some pony has to keep an eye on your 'big brother.'"

There was no joy in the large stallion's statement.  Ray grunted a bit in surprise as a white wing rested across his back, gently guiding him away from the front door.

"Trailblazer - " Cloud Dancer started to ask.

"Don't gotta say anymore, Ah'm here for ya," the earth filly responded, helping Ray along.  "Come on, let's get you set up.  This won't seem nearly as bad after a good night's sleep."

"I hope you're right," Ray sighed as he relented to the pair of females.

Moonbeam looked up at the trees surrounding her.  Her entire body shimmered with a gentle silver light as she took a few steps through the dark forest around her.

"Hello?"  She called out.

Nothing answered, at least not verbally.  There was a blink though.  Something in the distance sparkled through the trees.  The filly started toward it cautiously.

"I can't believe that!"

Moonbeam yelped and came to a halt, spinning around searching for the source of the voice.

"She couldn't have!  Not for us..." the voice went on in a heavy accent.

"Who's there?"  Moonbeam called out.

The voice was silent, but the sound of somepony crying was echoing from off in the distance.  Off in the distance she could see a group of houses, a small village surrounded by a strange glow.  Taking a deep breath the filly started toward it, her own magic illuminating a path.

Ray winced as his mind somehow dragged itself back to the waking world once more.  Somepony was coughing in another room, rather violently from the sound of things.  Cloud Dancer's soft voice was somehow carrying over the noise.

"There you go mother, just drink up," she encouraged.

The coughing came to a halt and Ray let out a grumpy sigh as he cast his gaze around the room.  According to the pegasus it was her own bedroom, and with Moonbeam in the bed there had been no options for Ray other than to sleep on the floor.  The soft glow of moonlight was playing off the walls and bed, lulling the tired stallion back to sleep.

Ray bolted upright as his eyes drifted to the source of the light.  Rather than the window it was Moonbeam.  The filly was standing at the far side of the room, her body shimmering with magic as she stared at the wall.

"Oh-no.  Not now," Ray whispered as he got up and headed for his sister, horn already glowing.  "Moonbeam?  Are you okay?"

His sister looked up to him and Ray stopped in his tracks.  Her eyes weren't filled with silver light but they didn't seem to be focusing on him.  It was as though she were seeing something else far away.  The magic glow around her intensified as she turned back to the wall.

"Moonbeam what are you - " Ray's jaw dropped, cutting himself off in mid-sentence.

The navy-blue filly stepped toward the wall and went right through it.  She simply phased through like the house itself wasn't real.  In less than a second she was gone, the room falling to darkness again as Ray frantically pressed a hoof against the very solid wood.

Something shimmered outside through the window.  Ray dashed to the opening, sticking his head out and craning his neck as far as he could.  He could barely see his sister moving toward the wall of the village only to pass through it as easily as the house wall.

"Moonbeam!"  Ray shouted, trying to struggle out the window.

"Am Ah interrupting somethin' here?" a familiar accent spoke up.

Ray popped back inside, spinning around to find Trailblazer behind him.  Cloud Dancer was in the hall just outside, a worried look on her face.

Talon let out a heavy sigh, twin streams of smoke spiraling from his nostrils as he looked up to the starry sky.  The ponies that had been watching him up on the wall had finally left and everything was quiet at last.

"So, you like trick flying?"

Or rather it would have been if Comet Tail ever stopped asking questions.  The pegasus colt was trotting back and forth along the lip of the wall, his coat shining under the moonlight as he used his wings to balance.  Talon simply grunted, not even looking up at the energetic pony.

"Aw come on, I'm trying to be nice here!"  Comet Tail chastised.

"Face facts Comet, I don't think he wants to be friends," Thunder Hooves pointed out as he marched by.

"Neither do you.  That doesn't stop me," the smaller pony pointed out.

Thunder Hooves just turned in place and began marching to the other end of his post, eyes scanning the forest.  Comet Tail sighed, flapping his wings and hovering down to the dragon's side.

"I get it, it was those other ponies wasn't it?"  The pegasus guessed.  "Talking about you when you hadn't even done anything - "

"Foal-napping my sister, tying me to a tree - "  Talon cut in, glaring at the pegasus.

Comet cringed a bit and gave his companion a sheepish smile.

"Hey, let's be fair.  I was working off Big T's word when I did that," the colt said, landing in front of Talon.  "How was I supposed to know better?"

Talon responded by lifting his own locket on one claw.  The golden jewelry still sat around his neck in spite of everything else that had happened.  With a twitch of a claw the tiny flame cover opened to reveal the same picture as Ray's locket.

"Point taken, we jumped in too fast," Comet admitted.  "But everypony makes a bad first impression or two.  Come on, give a guy another chance?"

'Big T' seemed to be doing his best to ignore the chat going on below.  Talon gave the pegasus a confused look, crossing his arms as he did.

"You're really not scared of me?" he asked.

"Little tough to be scared of a dragon that gives his unconscious sister a pony-ride," Comet Tail chuckled.  "So come on: Trick flying.  Wings that big you've gotta be awesome!"

Talon extended one of the leathery membranes with a sheepish look.

"Well actually - " the dragon started to answer.

"Who's there!" Thunder Hooves' voice suddenly cut in.

Talon and Comet both jumped at the shout, looking back up to the top of the wall.  Thunder Hooves wasn't visible but his voice was hard to ignore, as were the other ponies speaking.

"Open the gate!" Ray's voice called out.

"Cloud, I thought you kept a tighter rein on your patients than this," Thunder Hooves grunted.

"That was before a teenage filly sleep-spelled her way out of my cabin!" the medic's voice answered.

"Wait, Moonbeam's out here?!" Talon shouted, eyes widening in panic.

"Come on Thunder!  No way you're gonna let some poor filly wander in the forest alone, right?" Trailblazer pointed out.

There was an audible click as the gate began to open.  Ray and Trailblazer both dashed through, followed closely by Thunder Hooves.  With another click the gate shut again, Cloud Dancer sailing down from the top of the wall.

"Dammit, if anypony finds out about this - " The giant stallion muttered.

"Alright, she went through the wall near Cloud Dancer's," Ray explained to the others.

"I'll give it a fly over!" Comet Tail volunteered.

"We'll be right behind ya, pardner!" Trailblazer answered.

With that the sextet took off.  The gate stood silent behind them, nopony being around to hear their departure.

Something, however, stalked from under the trees and into the moonlight.  It licked its chops before silently darting after the noisy ponies and dragon.

Moonbeam stared up at the strange tree she'd reached, set in the middle of the un-sheltered village.  She'd certainly never seen one like it before, seeing as the massive plant was carved from solid gold.  The yellow metal glinted oddly under the moonlight, strange orange fruits dangling from its branches, its leaves rustling in the otherwise silent wind.

"Ah need ya'll to help keep it safe," the voice spoke again.

Moonbeam looked around, there was still no sign of the speaker, or indeed anypony else, and it was beginning to scare her again.  This time the voice seemed to be coming from right in front of her.

Purple eyes shot upward as something glinted at the top of the tree.  An apple, larger and riper looking than any of the other crystal fruits, shone with a light that overpowered the moon.  The filly squinted at the strange fruit, a new voice speaking up.

"Brave the trail before you,

though monsters howl and bark.

Find honest eyes and seek the truth

from a guardian in the dark."

"Moonbeam!"

The filly's eyes opened before she'd even realized she'd closed them.  The silver light shining around her faded, letting her body drop toward the forest floor into a waiting pair of arms.

"I've got her!" Talon cheered, holding his sister close.  "Oh man, she's burning up!"

"Talon?  Ray?" Moonbeam panted, her head swimming as the last of the dream faded from her vision.

The golden tree was gone but the forest wasn't.  Ray had a look of relief spreading across his face as he looked

down at her, the bandages around his head coming loose.

"Thank Celestia," Ray sighed, nuzzling his sister before his gaze went stern.  "You scared the living daylights out of me!  What were you doing!?"

"S-sorry,"  Moonbeam stammered, before gasping.  "Ray, you're not gonna believe it!  I was dreaming about this forest and there was this huge tree - "

She was cut off by an unfamiliar white hoof connected to an equally unfamiliar white pegasus.  The unicorn gasped and tried to pull away only for Talon to run a reassuring claw through her mane.

"It's alright, this is Cloud Dancer.  She was helping take care of you after you passed out," the dragon assured her.

"Her temperature is probably from overexerting herself," Cloud Dancer fretted.  "I don't understand though, her body shouldn't have let her use anymore magic.  She was completely exhausted..."

"I did mention the part about the Canterlot barrier earlier, right?" Ray asked.

"Ray listen!  I think - I think one of the Elements of Harmony might have spoken to me!" Moonbeam shouted.

"Would you tell her to keep it down?" Thunder Hooves' voice admonished.

Moonbeam, however, squirmed her way out of Talon's grip and darted the few steps to Ray.  She pressed her fore-hoofs against his chest, staring pleadingly into his eyes.

"I'm not making this up, Ray!  Something was talking to me!  It told me some weird rhyme and - " Moonbeam was silenced by her brother's hoof on her muzzle.

"Whaddya think, Ray?"  Trailblazer asked, Moonbeam looking in confusion at the scarlet filly.

"Well we heard her saying something on the way over," Ray pointed out.  "Plus I can honestly say I've never seen her do anything like that before."

His blue eyes wandered back to Moonbeam, a slight smile daring to come to his face.

"Maybe the Princesses were onto something here," he said.

"Yeah, uh-huh, great.  Now that we've found her let's get back to the village before - " Thunder Hooves cut in, stomping the ground in frustration.

Something roared behind them.  Everyone spun around, Talon's wings flaring up as a massive lion bounded into the moonlight.  Easily three or four times the size of anypony with a pair of leathery, red wings sprouting from the tawny-yellow fur of its back.  A vicious tail with a barbed stinger rose up behind it was it charged at the group.

"Move!"  Talon shouted.

Moonbeam gasped as both she and Cloud Dancer were shoved aside by the dragon, rolling to a stop with the medic's wings wrapped around her.  Trailblazer yanked Ray to the other side, his tail gripped in her mouth, Thunder Hooves alongside her.

The monster's charge wasn't fruitless though.  Talon attempted to jump aside too only for the beast to slam into him, knocking him to the ground and pinning him there with one paw.  The dragon gasped in pain, the wind driven from his lungs, struggling to break free.

"Banzai!"  A silver blur shouted as it barreled from above, slamming into the small of the monster's back as it slid to a halt.

Comet Tail flipped backward as he bounced off the beast, a smug grin on his face as it glared up at him.

"A manticore, huh?  Pretty big one too, what's he been eating?" the rambunctious colt asked.

"Not us if I can help it!" Thunder Hooves responded, charging ahead.

The manticore swiped with one massive paw at the approaching pony only for him to leap over it.  Though he stumbled a bit on the landing, the chocolate-colored stallion managed to spin around and planted a solid kick on the monster's side with his back hooves.  The winged lion roared in pain as it stumbled a few steps, leaving Talon sprawled on the ground.

"You guys get back to the village!" Thunder Hooves commanded.

"Big T, behind you!" Comet Tail shouted.

The earth stallion shouted in surprise as the manticore's paw slammed down trapping him to the ground in Talon's place.  Comet Tail shot down at the beast only for its tail to snap out and send him flying toward the others.  He skidded to a halt on the ground in front of the others.

The manticore snarled at the pony it had pinned only for an unfamiliar weight to bounce up onto its shoulder, then to the back of its neck.  It twisted, trying to find the source only for a sharp tug on its mane to make it reel back onto its hind legs.

"Yee haw!  Git along there, critter!" Trailblazer cheered through a mouthful of lion mane.

Thunder Hooves scrambled back up as their opponent stretched its forepaws toward the filly riding it.  Another solid buck to the stomach caused the beast to double over, pitching Trailblazer back to the ground.  She rolled to a stop before bounding back to her hooves with a chuckle.

"And you told us to run?" she challenged.

"Fine, I owe you one," Thunder Hooves responded, the pair dodging just in time to avoid another paw swipe.

Ray, in the meantime, had darted to Talon.  The dragon was groaning as he managed to pull himself back up.

"Are you okay?" Ray asked, frantically.

"I'll be fine, thick scales remember?" Talon groaned.  "How're the others?"

Ray looked over.  Moonbeam was trembling like a leaf but, surprisingly, her magic wasn't fluxing.  The filly's horn seemed to spark once or twice but whatever magic had lead her out there seemed to have drained whatever power was left.

Cloud Dancer was tending to Comet Tail, her hooves deftly wrapping a length of bandage around his stomach.  Talon snaked past Ray, getting to Moonbeam's side in a sapphire blur and gently wrapping his wings around her as the stallion ran to join them.

"How's Comet?" Ray asked, keeping a weather eye on his sister just to be sure.

"Well he's - " Cloud Dancer started answering only for the colt to spring back up.

"Fine, never better!  We got a plan for putting that cat out?" he asked, loose ends of the bandage trailing as the medic struggled to fasten them.

Ray's eyes darted around, silently wishing he'd thought to grab something before leaving the village.  There was nothing around except for Cloud Dancer's medical supplies and the plants growing around them.  The unicorn's gaze stopped however as he looked up at the vines dangling from the trees.

"How strong do you think those are?" he asked, golden light surrounding the fibrous plants.

Trailblazer stuck her tongue out at the massive cat, blowing a harsh raspberry right in its face before rolling out of the way of its tail.  The manticore roared in frustration, lashing out with claws and barb at the pair of earth ponies darting about it, its body bruised in several places where Thunder Hooves had struck it.  The pain only seemed to anger it though as one of its paws slammed against the nearest tree and tore a huge chunk from it.

With a buzz of oscillating wings Comet Tail darted between the combatants.  Vines dangled from his mouth as he flew circles around the manticore, the beast rearing back on its hind legs trying to swat him from the air.  The colt just chuckled as he managed to duck and weave around the flailing paws, releasing the plants as they began to shimmer with yellow light.

"OUTTA THE WAY EVERYPONY!" he shouted.

Trailblazer and Thunder Hooves dove to the side in the nick of time.  With a startled yowl the vicious feline was yanked toward another tree, the vines tightening around its body and lashing it into place.  Ray grit his teeth, magical energy blazing as he managed to knot the vines before releasing the spell with a sigh of exhaustion.

The manticore snarled and thrashed, the vines straining to hold it in place as the ponies and dragon regrouped.  Moonbeam was quick to jump on her older brother, forelegs locked around him in a tight embrace.

"That was great!" she cheered.  "And the way the rest of you just went after that thing - "

"Can we talk about it when it's not standing right there?" Thunder Hooves asked, pointing one hoof stubbornly back toward Hoofsdale.

"He's right.  And you need to tell us more about that dream you were having," Ray said, gently pushing his sister off.  "Come on, everypony."

The manticore roared one final time at its escaping meal as the group headed back through the forest.

Pastel coughed once more as she made her way into the sitting room of her and her daughter's cabin.  There had been a loud BANG like the door slamming open and now the sounds of ponies chattering was carrying through the house.

The rose-colored mare stopped in the doorway, surprised to see all six of the ponies from that afternoon gathered.  Ray's magic was levitating a set of saddlebags as he affixed another pair to his sister as the filly bounced excitedly in place.

"Cloud Dancer?"  Pastel asked, spotting her daughter closing the front door.  "Is something wrong dear?"

"Oh!  I'm sorry we didn't mean to wake you, mother."  The blanche filly apologized.  "Just a little - Well - There was a little incident you see and - "

"Miss Pastel!" Ray spoke up, almost making a salute before stopping himself halfway.  "I wanted to thank you as well as Cloud Dancer for the help you gave us earlier.  I'd hoped we wouldn't be leaving without saying goodbye."

"You're going already?" Pastel asked, sounding confused.

"Not if he'd listen to me," Cloud Dancer insisted, spreading her wings in front of the door.

"Yeah, in case you forgot there's still a hungry manticore out there," Thunder Hooves pointed out.

"Not to mention it's the middle of the night," Trailblazer added.

"And you guys only have some freaky riddle to use for directions," Comet Tail spoke up.

Moonbeam had stopped bouncing, looking worried at Ray.  The stallion also seemed unsure, his saddlebags hovering in the air behind him.

"They've gotta point, maybe we should at least wait until morning," a new voice spoke up from the nearby window.

Thunder Hooves face-hoofed before glaring at the speaker.  Pastel's eyes turned to the scaly muzzle sticking in through her sitting room window and she immediately turned a shade paler.  Cloud Dancer hurried to her side, shaking her head frantically.

"Mother, just calm down.  There's a manticore in the forest, we couldn't just leave him out there!" the medic explained.  "Plus he tried to protect us from it - "

"A manticore...And you were outside the wall,"  Pastel put a hoof to her head, looking quite faint.

"Maybe it'd be easier to start from the beginning," Ray offered.

Pastel sipped some more water as the nights events were laid out before her.  The saddlebags sat to the side, thoughts of leaving forgotten in the recounting of the tale.  Talon was crouched near the door, looking a little sheepish with his long arms wrapped around his legs.

"So you think that rhyme will show you where one of these Elements is?" Pastel asked.

"Maybe.  It's more than I ever expected to get out here," Ray admitted, scuffing the ground with one hoof.

"Which is exactly why you oughta wait 'till mornin'!" Trailblazer spoke up.  "Look, CT and Ah are gonna be headin' out ourselves.  We can at least take ya'll to the next village so you can start searching."

"Maybe that's a good idea, I don't even know what the village in my dream was," Moonbeam spoke up.

"Alright, point taken," Ray sighed, looking to Trailblazer.  "I don't want to put you guys out though."

"Aw it doesn't bother us!  We've gotta run messages to Coltenberg next anyway," Comet Tail chimed in.

Ray nodded in thanks, before a yawn forced its way from his muzzle.  Cloud Dancer got to her hooves, carefully helping her two patients up.

"Alright then, that's enough.  It's been a very exciting night but if anypony is going anywhere in the morning - " she started to order.

"Relax, CD, we get it," Trailblazer chuckled, leading Ray and Moonbeam back towards their rooms.

Pastel took another gulp of water as her daughter watched the brother and sister hobble off with the delivery ponies and Talon.  There was worry etched on the medic's face as the frailer pony set her glass down.

"Maybe you should go with them dear," Pastel advised.

"What?  I-I couldn't!  What about you, mother?" Cloud Dancer gasped.

"Just look at you, dear!  I know when you're fretting over a patient, I've seen you give Thunder Hooves that same look every time he goes on patrol," Pastel pointed out.  "If that lot are going out into danger and you're worried then maybe you should be with them."

The filly lowered her head, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Perhaps you're right.  It would just be to the next village," she admitted.  "But you'd be all alone."

"I'll be fine, dear.  There are plenty of other ponies to keep an eye on me," Pastel said with a smile.

"Now wait a minute, I'm not about to let you go off with that gang on your own," Thunder Hooves protested.  "I mean really?  Trailblazer and Comet Tail?  Plus you just met those other three a few hours ago!"

"True, but they clearly need help.  I'm a medic, Thunder Hooves.  I can't just ignore a pony in need," Cloud Dancer pointed out.

The large stallion sighed and nodded to the filly.

"Then I guess somepony will need to keep you all out of trouble," he said simply.  "It's just to the next village after all.  We can tell them in the morning, I'll meet you at the gate."

Pastel and Cloud Dancer both nodded before a huge yawn emanated from the pink mare as well.  Cloud Dancer helped her mother up, leading her toward her bedroom as Thunder Hooves headed for the door.

Outside the earth pony looked up to the stars, taking a deep breath of cool night air.  With a heavy sigh, he started back for his post to wait for the next day and the new journey it would bring.

It Takes a Spark (Part 2)

Moonbeam's head was spinning as the dizzying spirals of sparkling gray and purple clashed and twisted around her.

How could everything have gone so wrong in just a few hours?

She'd been so excited for Solar Ray's knighting ceremony.  She could even see the present she had bought earlier laying near the base of the tree.  Not that she could move to retrieve it.

The filly pressed her head between her fore-hooves, struggling to pull back the power rushing from her horn.  It was as though someone had jammed on a faucet though as the magic just kept coming out in torrents.

Outside the chaotic mass Solar Ray's eyes went wide in shock.  The magic around his sister was coalescing into a solid sphere of silver and amethyst.  In just an instant it was as though the poor filly had been sealed in shining marble.

But the stallion could still hear her voice echo from within.

"RaaAYyy...heLP Meeee!"

"Hang on Moonbeam!" Ray shouted, horn blazing like a torch.

The yellow magic reached out and wrapped around the orb.  Ray smiled as he felt his power sink in and began to pull the sphere apart.

As the orb split light gushed from the cracks forming along the surface and slammed into Ray.  The guard was almost knocked off his hooves, the corona of magic around his horn expanding as it gathered the excess energy.  He gasped in shock, his magic faltering for a moment.  Ray pushed his concentration to the limits and his horn's glow wrapped tighter around the sphere.  The part trembled as they were forced back together.

The entire magical construct began to pulse, energy seeping from the lines among its surface.  Ray could feel his head beginning to throb as beads of sweat formed across his brow.

"Just what did that guy do?" Ray wondered frantically.

**Chapter 2

It Takes a Spark (Part 2)**

Princess Celestia would be the first to admit that the ponies of Canterlot seemed to go too far for her.  The elaborate shaded picnic area, complete with a fully decorated banquet table, was just one example she could cite and nopony other than her sister was confident enough to join her under it.

At the very least it gave her and Luna some privacy.  The dark-blue alicorn next to her was just staring down at her tea as she added another scoop of sugar to it.  The mass of starry night sky that made up her mane and tail seemed flat.  Three-hundred years had been generous to the Night Princess, she was nearly as tall as Celestia now and no less beautiful than she had ever been.

"Come Luna, this is supposed to be a happy occasion," Celestia reminded her sister.

"Of course sister," Luna responded, rolling her eyes as she lifted her tea.  "To another year of captivity."

"Luna..." the Sun Princess sighed.

Luna sighed and lowered her cup.

"My apologies...But honestly Celestia just how long are we to bear this?" the younger immortal asked.  "We pacify the public with parties while outside Moon only knows how many ponies might be in need."

"I know Luna, believe me I know." Celestia whispered, placing a wing across Luna's back.  "But without the Elements all we can do is make sure the ponies here don't lose themselves to despair."

Luna's eyes focused back on her teacup rather than her sister's reassuring smile.  For the past three centuries Celestia had had that smile whenever the subject came up and for the past two Luna had only just been able to bear it.  The younger alicorn stood up, gently pushing off her sister's wing with her own.

"Luna?" Celestia asked.

"I'll be fine, Tia," Luna said, trying to return her sister's smile.  "You're right this is supposed to be a happy occasion.  I'm simply going to...Enjoy the fine weather."

Celestia pursed her lips, her gentle eyes looking over Luna before she simply nodded her head.

"Very well," she said as Luna departed from the tent.

There was muttering amongst some of the ponies in the garden.  Many were bowing out of respect and the two guards that had been posted outside the tent stood at full attention.  Luna paid no attention as she spread her wings, taking off into the cloudless sky with a single stroke.

Luna closed her eyes and breathed deeply as she flew higher, for a brief moment trying not to feel the pressure of the past three-hundred years.  Forgetting about the barrier and just feeling the air moving under her feathers.  As she opened her eyes though a spot of silver caught her attention.

The Night Princess slowly began to glide toward the strange light which seemed to be settled in a grove of apple trees on the far side of the garden.  It was beautiful, but Luna could feel a sense of foreboding the longer she looked at it.  Nopony was supposed to be in that part of the gardens.

Taking too long

"You can't rush genius.  Especially since I have no intention of being caught in the blast when this does go off," the thief responded to his ever-present partner.  "The spell will work.  It just needs a little time."

The cloak wearer had donned his unicorn disguise again, just another pony wandering the gardens.  Granted he was keeping a fair distance away from the stalls and the other ponies.  That was mostly so nobody could hear him talking to the disembodied voice.  Although with nothing but the tendril's voice to accompany him it seemed boredom was setting in quickly.

Taking too long...

"Oh fine, I'll go back and see what's keeping them!" the beige pony sighed.  "Sheesh!  Bossy, bossy, bossy."

The stranger scuffled back to his hooves, muttering darkly under his breath.  A pang of worry had hit him as much as he loathed admitting it.  Something should have happened with that spell a while ago.

"There he is!" a new voice cut in.

The stranger's concentration snapped back to the world around him.  He looked with a start toward the voice and the one it belonged to.

"Huh.  I forgot all about him," the thief muttered.

Talon was charging straight at him, apparently not noticing or caring about the ponies that had heard his outburst.  Right on his heels was Justy, her armor clattering as she pulled ahead of the reptile.  The tan thief turned to run but stumbled as soon as he started.  Looking down he found a miniature white barrier around each hoof was rather effectively anchoring him to the ground.

Idiot

"Who asked you?" he muttered in response.

Justice had a smug smile on her face as she trotted up to her prisoner, her horn blazing like a star.  The four bubbles around his hooves quickly expanded and fused into one that encompassed his entire body.  Talon skidded to a halt next to her just as she finished forming the barrier.

"Heh, first day on the job and I bag a thief.  Not too bad," the young guardmare said.

"First day?  I thought your duties didn't start until tomorrow," Talon pointed out.

"Details, details."  Justy dismissed with a wave of her hoof.  "Let's hand this guy over to the boys at the castle then find Ray and Moonbeam."

Talon looked at the ground around the thief though and shook his head.

"Wait, where's the present?" he asked, turning a purple-eyed glare on the bubbled unicorn.

"Present?" the stranger asked, trying to look innocent.  "I wonder.  Wherever could I have left it?"

"Don't try and be cute, buddy.  I don't have to keep you in the roomy bubble," Justice warned, her barrier shimmering threateningly.  "The gift.  What did you do with it?"

"Oh relax, I gave it back to that poor little filly already," he prisoner chuckled.  "I felt so awful about the whole thing I even tossed in an extra surprise!"

Though he was laughing there was something sinister about the way he had said 'surprise.'  Talon felt a shiver pass up his spine as his eyes narrowed further on the thief.

"You'd better not have done something to my family." the dragon growled, clenching his claws into fists.

There was a far off rumble as if in response.  Ponies across the gardens stopped in their tracks, looking toward the noise and gasping in shock and amazement.  A rocket of silver light was rising high into the sky, exploding in a burst of violet and yellow.  A massive BOOM like some great firework echoed from explosion.

"If I were you, I'd be more worried about what that cute little sister of yours is about to do," the stranger answered with a mocking smile to his captors.

Ray felt his knees buckle as he struggled to hold his spell.  The fireworks might have looked impressive from a distance but the grove itself was in chaos.  More and more cracks and bulges were forming along the surface of the orb as Ray struggled to suppress the tide within.

He was failing and he knew it.  All around him the escaping magic was lashing against the trees, knocking loose chunks of bark and entire branches as it left scorch marks wherever it touched.  The loose debris were whirling around the orb as though caught in a tornado, colliding with pulses of magic and occasionally one another and careening wildly in new directions.

Ray pushed himself up, struggling to regain control of the insane amounts of magic saturating the air around him.  There was a sickening CRACK as another branch was blasted off a nearby tree.  Ray barely had time to register that it was flying right toward his face.

With a loud FWOOSH a blast of blue flames struck the incoming projectile.  In seconds it was reduced to harmless ashes that dusted along his helmet and armor.  A welcoming white dome formed around him as he managed to turn his head enough to see his rescuers.

"Talon...Justy..." The exhausted stallion panted.

The pale mare managed to smile at her partner before turning her concentration back to the shield.  The occupant of her other barrier giggled a bit as he applauded his front hooves together.

"So you're the one that's been holding this back!  All by yourself at that, I'm honestly impressed," the stranger spoke up.

"What did you bring him along for?" Talon asked, glaring at the thief.

"Like letting him run loose is a better idea?" Justy grunted in response.

Ray was breathing heavily as he turned toward the prisoner.  What of his fur could be seen under the armor was matted with sweat.  His eyes seemed to be having trouble focusing even as he glared at the beige blob before him.

"What...did you...do to her?"  He gasped out.

"I told you already, it's just a little something to help her reach her full potential," Justy's prisoner explained.

"Ray, by her you don't mean - " Talon asked, fear filling his eyes as his brother cut him off.

"Moonbeam...She's in there..." Ray panted, his knees wobbling like jelly.

The stallion's eyes rolled back as his legs buckled again.  Talon dove forward and caught the sun-colored unicorn as he toppled over, the glow around his horn extinguishing.  The yellow magic around the sphere quickly vanished, the pulsing of energy around it growing stronger.

"No!"  Ray shouted, his horn sparking pitifully as Talon cradled him.

"I wouldn't do that!  Try to channel too much more and you won't like the consequences," the stranger cautioned.

"You..." Talon growled, smoke pouring from his nostrils as he turned his glare at the mushroom-colored pony.

"Incoming!" Justy screamed.

A massive wave of energy slammed against the barrier.  Justy howled in pain as huge cracks appeared along the surface of her protective spell.  The smaller barrier holding the prisoner shattered into fragments as her concentration on it broke, setting the smirking pony free.

"Well now.  Seems somepony might need a little bit of direction." He commented, his horn shimmering.

The strange unicorn gasped as he suddenly felt a set of clawed hands grab him from behind.  A few scratches were left along his shoulders as he suddenly found himself face-to-face with Talon.  The dragon's face was a mask of righteous fury as he tightened his grip.

"Forget it!  You're not getting close to her!" Talon growled, tightening his grip.

Another blast of silver slammed into Justy's barrier.  The white mare screamed again, the spell shattering to fragments under the force.  She and Talon were both bowled to the ground while the thief wormed his way free of the dragon's claws.

"You were saying?" the stranger said, turning toward the mass of chaos.

The orb was expanding, charges of amethyst lightning passing over its surface.  The beige unicorn didn't seem to notice or care as he simply melted right into the magic.  Ray struggled back to an upright position, shaking his helmet off as he did so and letting his sweat-soaked mane flop free.

"Moonbeam!"  The stallion shouted.

"No no no no..." Moonbeam was chanting to herself as she struggled with her magic.

All around her the intensity of the storm had been increasing.  There was nothing visible but a cloud of silver with arcs of purple lightning dancing through it in strange patterns.  The filly was squeezing her temples as she desperately tried to do something.

"Ray, Talon, Justy, somepony," Moonbeam whimpered, tears falling from her glowing eyes.  "I can't...I can't stop it!"

"Poor little thing," a voice cut in.

Moonbeam gasped, looking around for who had spoken.  She didn't have to look far to spot the orb of shimmering lavender floating through the strange ether toward her.  Her eyes widened in recognition of the pony inside.

"You!  Why are you doing this?"  Moonbeam asked as The Stranger's shield floated around her.

The tan unicorn looked over her trembling form.  The tears still rolling from her eyes and leaving dark trails down her face all while more magic emanated from her into the storm around her.  He drifted closer, gently laying one beige hoof on her horn.

"Aww, poor dear.  You don't even realize what an important gift you have here," the strange stallion pointed out.

Moonbeam winced and struggled to pull away but a familiar feeling of magic wrapping around her brought an end to that.

"More magic than anypony has seen in over three-hundred years," he said with a smirk.  "Oooh all the things I could..."

He stopped as something tightened around his neck.  Frowning deeply he turned a sickly purple glow on the filly before him.

"Fine.  We'll do this your way."  He grumbled, face scrunching like a spoiled child.  "One barrier, going down."

Moonbeam gasped in horror as the magic around her suddenly began to rush upward.  Her horn released another pulse of magic into the storm as her paralyzed body struggled to scream.

Ray screamed as the orb shattered, a crushing blast of silver magic sending him flying.  The stallion could see more branches being ripped from the grove, even an entire tree being hoisted into the air by the force.  He grunted as he felt himself collide with something scaly and lanky, something that managed to spin around and set him on the ground next to Justy.

"Talon!" Ray shouted, staring at the dragon in horror.

The sapphire-scaled reptile had his wings spread, face contorted in pain as the magic tearing into the trees and ground around them slammed into his back.  The dragon staggered but managed to stay standing as his body prevented the rampaging energy from reaching either of the unicorns.

"Thank the heavens for magic resistant scales, huh?" Talon managed to gasp out.

Talon fell to his knees as another burst struck home.  The magic infusing the grove seemed to be swirling faster and faster as tendrils of violet energy laced through it.  With a howl of wind the flow of the magic reversed, drawing the debris toward the center like a massive cycle.  Talon hurriedly dug his claws into the loamy soil as Ray and Justy braced against his spread wings.

"What's happening?!"  Justy shouted, struggling to avoid being pulled in.

"I'm not sure!"  Ray answered, peeking from around his brother's wing.

The tree, branches, fallen apples and a variety of other detritus were gathering above the sphere, where a single point of light at the top shone brighter than the rest.  Ray gasped as he realized what was about to happen.

The stallion didn't have time to say anything as a beam of silver light shot straight upward toward the barrier.  The sheer force of the blast sent the fallen foliage soaring directly toward the three helpless bystanders.

A wall of gray light suddenly sprang up, the debris smashing to pieces against it.

"Captain Rook!"  Justy shouted.

The graying guard captain breathed a sigh of relief, his shield dropping as the last of the apples splattered against it.  Up above the rogue blast smashed into a shimmering shell of yellow and blue light.  Luna and Celestia orbited around the newly formed barrier, their own magic concentrated on it.

"The Princesses!?"  Ray gasped out.

"You three are lucky Luna spotted what was happening," Rook declared, marching toward the trio.  "Now does somepony want to tell me what exactly is going on around here?"

Ray swallowed hard and stepped forward, feeling more sweat starting to bead on his face.

"It's Moonbeam, sir,"  Ray answered, his eyes locked on Rook.

"Your little sister?"  The guard captain asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Help me understand this, Ray.  How in the hay can Moonbeam be causing that?" Justy asked, her steel-colored eyes narrowing on the saffron stallion.

"Moonbeam - she can't control her magic," Ray admitted, bowing his head.  "Sometimes it just spins out and - "

"Causes stuff like this to happen?" Justy queried, pushing closer to Ray.

"The worst she's done before is rearrange the furniture at home!" Ray responded, falling back a couple steps.  "That weird thief put some spell on her!"

"But it's still all her magic, right?" Justy asked.

Ray simply nodded, Justy stepping closer again with her gaze hardening.

"Justy, stand down," Rook ordered, putting himself between the two unicorns.  "Ray, we'll discuss this matter later.  Right now we - "

A loud CRACK cut him off.  The light pouring from Moonbeam hadn't stopped.  Celestia and Luna's barrier was still shimmering as energy poured into it but a fracture was forming along the surface of it.

"Your majesties!" Rook shouted.

"Captain Rook!  I'm not certain how much longer the shield will hold!" Celestia called down.  "Fall back and begin evacuating the citizens!"

"What about Moonbeam?  We can't just leave her!" Talon exclaimed.

"You can bet that spell is gonna do some serious damage to the barrier at the very least."  Rook responded.  "We don't have time to worry about one pony."

"Sir, if I can get to Moonbeam I can cut the spell!"  Ray protested.  "The magic is directed away from us I should be able to get in now..."

"And then what?  Ray, that much magic is still gonna need to go somewhere!" Justy pointed out.

"I'm sorry Ray but we have our orders," Rook pointed out, brow furrowed.

The yellow stallion took another step back, glancing toward the column of silver light that held his sister.

"Yeah but I'm not on duty until tomorrow," he pointed out.

The steel-armored pony broke into a gallop, charging right at the light.  Rook's horn flared as his magic reached for Ray only for Talon to raise a wing in its path.  Before anypony else could react the young stallion leapt into the column of chaotic magic.

"I know this shouldn't be taking so long.  What do you expect me to do about it?"  the stranger argued with his invisible companion.

Moonbeam was trembling as more of her magic poured from her.  No matter how much joined the storm it never seemed to stop.  She could still feel reserves of energy driving to join the flood, like a never ending layer of static drowning out all other sensations.

"Moonbeam!" a familiar voice broke through the static.

The filly opened her glowing eyes, gasping at the sight of her brother charging toward her.  A thin layer of golden light shimmered around him, the barest minimum of a shield holding back the chaotic magic.  The Stranger turned a glare on Ray and his eyes flashed red for a moment.

"You again?" he commented.  "Talk about not knowing when to quit."

Ray stumbled to a halt, panting as he glared at the thief.  His horn was releasing a few sparks and wisps of smoke, the flimsy shield around him flickering out in several spots.

"First you steal from her, now you try and - I don't even know what you're doing to her but it stops - " Ray shouted.

He let out a strangle gasp as a tendril of purple energy suddenly wrapped around him, lifting his hooves from the ground.  The aura around him shimmered, focusing around his neck trying to break the grip.

"Ray!" Moonbeam screamed.

"Ugh, you heroic types just love to hear yourselves talk," the stranger commented.  "Just shut up and stay - "

The silver magic and purple lighting in the air around the thief began to shift.  Its chaotic patterns twisting toward the beige unicorn as they formed a swirling ring around him.

"Out of...the...what the hay is going on?" he gasped as the magical energy began to crack and spark harder.

Both Ray and his captor's eyes flew toward Moonbeam.  The silver pools that were her eyes were narrowed at the one that held her brother captive.

"Let.  Him.  GO!"  She shouted, her voice booming like a thunderstorm.

A flash of lighting danced over the strange pony.  He had time to begin to gasp in shock before vanishing in a clap of thunder.

Ray grunted as he was dropped back to the ground, his knees shaking for a moment before he was able to run toward his sister.  The filly was taking deep breaths, her face screwed up in concentration.

"Ray," she squeaked out as her brother reached her.

"That was some light show," the armored pony said with a grin as he gently nuzzled his sister.

"You - You need to get out of here!" Moonbeam gasped weakly.  "I still can't stop this and he's not controlling it anymore!"

"I'm not leaving without you," Ray said, his horn flickering as he tried to focus his magic.

"No!  You're too tired!  You might get hurt," Moonbeam gasped.

"Moonbeam, what did I say earlier?" Ray asked, leaning over the filly.

Moonbeam stared at him, then closed her shining eyes and sniffled a bit.  Ray gently tapped his horn against hers with practiced ease.

"Everything is going to be fine," he whispered.

Outside the column of silver was crackling threateningly.  Rook and Justy had formed a shield of gray and white magic between them and the stray bolts of magic peeling from it.  Talon's amethyst eyes were wide with fear as the magic arced out of control.  The shield Celestia and Luna held in place overhead was a spider web of cracks and pits in spite of all the power being poured into it.

"I don't like the looks of this!" Justy shouted.

"Ray's done this before!  He has a plan!" Talon responded before quietly adding.  "I hope."

The column wobbled unstably, as though its glow were suddenly being filtered through water.  A point of yellow appeared on the surface of it, slowly breaking off into a fragment of light that burst apart into harmless sparkles.

"I don't believe it."  Rook gasped out.

More points of yellow broke away from the column, shattering into sparkling dust that was swept away with the wind.  Celestia and Luna nodded to one another, their magic swirling around the column as well.  Soon whole chunks of the construct were peeling off and collapsing into stardust and flecks of light.

The swirling winds in the grove were dying out.  Rook and Justy's shield fell as the last layers of silver light were stripped away.  Moonbeam lay in the center of the grove, her hooves covering her eyes as she trembled in place.  Ray stood over her with wisps of steam rising from his body.  Slowly the filly uncovered her eyes and looked around as they faded back to their normal purple.

"What did I tell you?"  Ray asked, panting for breath.

Both unicorns gasped as they suddenly found themselves pulled into a very scaly hug complete with dragon wings wrapped around them.

"You're okay!" Talon practically sobbed.

"Little tight!" Ray gasped out, his brother releasing his hold.

The yellow stallion stumbled a bit, wincing in pain.  The pain and a quick glance around the grove was enough to wipe whatever good feelings had been starting.  Celestia stood behind his siblings, her eyes no long as gentle as they had been at the ceremony.

"I don't think we're out of trouble just yet either."  Ray said.

As the three siblings faced the Princess of the Sun none of them looked up.  None of them saw Luna with a thoughtful expression on her face as she landed next to Rook and Justy.

"My sister and I can handle matters from here," the darker alicorn said with a nod.  "Captain, you and Initiate Justice should make sure no others were harmed."

Rook gave the Princess a curious look but didn't argue.  He and Justy snapped a quick salute, the two slowly leaving the grove back toward the castle ground.  As she prepared to leave herself Luna felt her hoof bump something.  Something other than a torn branch or splattered apple.

"So, for the last five years you've hidden Moonbeam's lack of control from everypony?"  Celestia asked.

Ray flinched but nodded in confirmation to the alicorn.  He was rather hoping that wouldn't have been the part she'd focused on, having just related the entire afternoon's events to her.

Visiting the throne room should have been a great honor for anypony but Ray simply felt exposed without his armor.  Though she had looked stern Celestia had ordered that all three siblings have their injuries treated.  Ray knew he'd gotten the worst of it, bandaged burns along his torso where his armor had heated were proof of that.  There was a small pang of regret for not listening to the warning about over-channeling.

Talon's scales had lived up to the reputation set in fairy-tales.  In spite of taking such heavy impacts from the wild magic he'd only been left physically exhausted.  One wouldn't guess that by the way he stood over Moonbeam though.  The filly was (shockingly enough) uninjured but Talon still shielded her as he looked from her to Ray and then to the princesses, his eyes filled with worry and the vaguest hint of a threat.

Celestia and Luna themselves were in their place of authority.  Celestia seated in her throne, her face a mixture of sympathy and disappointment.  Luna occupied a smaller cushion next to her, her gaze unreadable as she seemed to be contemplating something.  Moonbeam peeked from behind Talon's wings her eyes wide in awe at her first (and probably only) chance to stand so close to Equestrian royalty, barely noticing the pair of phoenixes perched to the side.

"I don't know what else I can say, your majesties," Ray admitted.  "We came to Canterlot when she was barely more than a foal.  I always thought she'd just grow into her powers."

"He was just trying to protect me," Moonbeam spoke up.

"Moonbeam, wait," Talon tried to quiet the filly.

Moonbeam slid from behind the dragon, ignoring his warning.

"I was embarrassed about it," she insisted, moving to Ray's side.  "Ray and Talon promised to keep it a secret for me - "

"Unfortunately that doesn't change the fact that somepony else knew about it," Celestia stated.  "What's more, this supposed thief realized you had a great deal of power.  Our options for dealing with this are limited."

Moonbeam whimpered a bit and Talon was back at her side, pulling her close.  Ray looked up at the Sun Princess, unblinking as he waited for the hammer to fall.

"Even if the thief were caught others might seek out Moonbeam to misuse her power," Celestia explained, sadly.  "The only course of action is to - seal her away.  Somewhere nopony would be able to find her."

Moonbeam cringed in fear, tears starting to fall.  Ray closed his eyes, his head falling in despair while Talon held his sister close.

"Let's not be hasty, sister," Luna spoke up.

All eyes were on the Princess of the Moon as she stood, looking down at the crying filly.

"My little ponies, are you familiar with the legend of the Elements of Harmony?" Luna asked.

Silence reigned in the throne room as the siblings looked to one another in confusion.

"We all know it.  Everybody in Canterlot does I think," Ray spoke up.

"I used to read it to Moonbeam as a bedtime story," Talon admitted.

"Luna you can't be thinking - " Celestia responded, horror crossing her face.

"The Elements are not simply a story.  Three-hundred years ago they were the last hope of Equestria against The Smooze," Luna explained, ignoring her sister.  "My sister and I were there when the magic of the Elements failed to stop the chaos."

Moonbeam gasped, her mind recalling something.  Five ponies floating in a sea of purple.  Five jeweled necklaces shining with power.

"The Smooze tried to steal them, didn't it?" Moonbeam guessed.

Celestia's surprised gaze moved from her sister to Moonbeam.  Luna seemed a bit taken back as well but nodded in confirmation.

"It was not successful, thankfully.  In their final moment the Elements of Harmony released some new kind of power," Luna went on.  "Somehow they broke free from The Smooze, scattering to the far corners of Equestria."

"Luna and I couldn't try to trace them down.  Not without completely abandoning the country to the forces of chaos," Celestia chimed in, finding her voice again.  "And so the Elements have remained lost to this day."

The three siblings were silent, Moonbeam being the first to speak up.

"What does that have to do with me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Celestia gave Luna a desperate look, but the younger Princess stepped closer to the trio.

"The Elements of Harmony were - are the greatest magical artifacts in all of Equestria," Luna explained.  "With their power we could reinforce the barrier and make sure this incident can't repeat itself.  It's possible that they might call out to a pony with enough magical power - "

"That's enough, Luna!"  Celestia butted in.  "She's just a child!"

"A child with more magical power than we've seen in three centuries," Luna pointed out.  "A child who's only other hope for the future is to be sealed away for her own and other's safety."

Celestia pursed her lips, her eyes locked with Luna's.  Neither Princess was backing down.

"I'll do it..." a small voice spoke up.

"Moonbeam are you serious?" Talon asked, staring at the filly.

Ray seemed shocked into silence along with both of the alicorns.  Moonbeam nodded her head, wiping the tears from her eyes as she looked up.

"That thief found me somehow.  Even if you lock me up he might come back right?"  Moonbeam asked, shaking a bit at the thought.  "Maybe if I'm at least away from Canterlot..."

The filly didn't finish her thought, just trailing off and bowing her head.  Ray took a deep breath and turned toward the Princesses.

"I'm going with her then," he announced.

"Yeah, me too!" Talon exclaimed.

"Guys, no!"  Moonbeam gasped in shock, only for Ray to put a hoof under her chin.

"Hey, we promised right?  When we first left for Canterlot?" Ray reminded her.

"All three of us together, no matter what,"  Talon said as he gave the filly an affectionate squeeze.

Moonbeam smiled at her brothers, her body slumping in relief at those words.

"You realize what you're volunteering for?" Celestia asked, staring in amazement at the three.  "Beyond the barrier itself, there's no telling what you might find."

"We managed to handle that when we came to Canterlot five years ago," Ray said.  "We'll be okay.  Somehow."

Celestia lowered her gaze for a moment but then turned and nodded to Luna.

"In that case, there's two things we should give you," Luna stated.

The two Princesses focused as a swirl of midnight blue and sunrise yellow magic flew away from them.  Talon yelped in surprise as the magic wrapped around him, twisting over his body and working its way into his nostrils and mouth.  The magic faded quickly, leaving the dragon looking over himself with a very confused expression as Celestia picked up a sheet of parchment in her telekinesis.

"What was that?" Ray asked, looking worried.

"A simple enchantment, one that works with a dragon's natural magic," Celestia explained, focusing on the parchment sheet.

The paper vanished in a flash of light.  Talon grunted and suddenly released a belch of cerulean fire which spun overhead.  In less than a second the flame coalesced into the blank parchment which floated to the ground.

"That was different," Talon admitted.

"Talon can get messages from you two now?" Moonbeam asked.

"As well as send back reports of your progress.  The magic creates a connection and from there it's a matter of practice," Luna explained.  "The spell we cast should help most of it come naturally.  As for the second gift..."

Something levitated from behind Luna's cushion.  A gift box, the wrapping paper stained and torn, the box itself dented and smudged.

"My present!" Moonbeam exclaimed as it landed on the ground in front of her.

"I had a feeling this was yours," Luna said with a smile.

Moonbeam looked at the box with a sad little smile on her face as she peeled back the last of the paper with her hooves and flipped open the top.  Inside sat three golden lockets each inscribed with a different symbol: a pair of scales, a cloud with sunbeams poking through and a tiny flame.  Ray's magic wrapped around the one that matched his cutie mark, lifting it to eye-level as he gently opened it.  A single picture was inside, one with three young ponies (two fillies and colt) and a little dragon smiling at the viewer.

"I thought you and Justy would be busy with guard duty, so with these we could see each other whenever we wanted," Moonbeam explained as Talon picked up the flame one and looked at the picture inside.  "I thought that since it had been five years since we got here - Since we met Justy - I got one for each of you guys."

The filly looked at the last locket in the box, then up to Luna.

"Could you make sure she gets hers?" she asked, her voice cracking a little.  "I don't think I wanna pull her into all this.  She was really looking forward to being in the Day Guard."

"I'm sure we can manage that," Celestia said with a gentle smile.

"Peewee?" Luna asked.

One of the phoenixes chirruped, swooping down and scooping the final locket up in its beak.  It flapped a few times and soared out the window, heading out toward the castle grounds.

"I guess we'll have some packing to do," Ray said, putting a hoof on Moonbeam's back.

"Guys?" Moonbeam asked, still looking at the window the phoenix had left through.

"Yeah, Moonbeam?" Talon asked, fastening his locket around his neck.

"Thanks."

No one in the room notice a shadow slinking just under the window outside.  The cloaked stranger winced at the chorus of whispers in his ears but nodded.  He darted away from the castle, heading away from the grounds and toward the city proper below.

Justy sighed heavily, her armor levitating to its stand in the corner of her room.  Her small apartment was perfect for just one pony, everything neat and in its place.  Desk and floor polished with the window open to let a late-afternoon breeze in that failed to lift her spirits.

"Too close to all this," Justy grumbled, recalling what Rook had said.  "Only my friends getting banished or worse...Ugh.  All that attitude I gave Ray, too..."

The white mare slumped onto the couch that also served as her bed.

"Awful negative aren't you?" a voice asked from the window.

Justy sat up with a start, eyes glaring at the cloaked figure.  His face may have been hidden but his voice was all too familiar.

"You!" she snapped, her magic reaching for the stranger.

He slid under the spell, his body and cloak suddenly flattening against the floor.  In an instant Justy found herself face-to-cloak hood with the thieving pony.

"You should relax, I'm here to deliver some good news about your friends," he said, the grin apparent in his voice.  "It seems banishment isn't quite in the cards for them."

"Really?!" Justy gasped, before recalling who she was speaking to.  "Wait, why are you telling me this?"

"Oh I thought you might need some cheering up.  I couldn't help but notice how many secrets your 'friends' were keeping from you," the stranger answered.  "And now they're heading out into the wilderness without so much as a word to you."

"You just said they weren't banished!" Justy shouted.

"Maybe you'd like the whole story?"  her guest asked, tilting his head curiously.

With a chirp Peewee the phoenix alighted on the windowsill for Justy's apartment.  It had taken sometime before Rook understood what the fire-bird had been searching for and even longer for him to find the proper window in the housing complex.

He tilted his head curiously with the locket still clutched in his beak.  Rook had been very clear that he had sent Justy home until her shift started next morning.

However the apartment was utterly devoid of life.  Even the armor stand in the corner was empty, though knocked askew as though somepony had left in a hurry.