Beyond Imagination

Chapters

Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 1

Chapter 2

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Chapter 3

“Wanderlust, wake up.” The unicorn wearily blinked his eyes open. Morning looked to be only a few minutes away and Dawnfire was standing over him. “We need to get moving. Wake Allegro while I check the perimeter and stretch my wings.” With that, the pegasus launched herself into the sky with a rush of air and left Wanderlust to desperately cling to consciousness with all four hooves. Dawnfire had insisted that they sleep in shifts, always leaving somepony on watch, and Wanderlust had yet to acclimate to the change.

With a groan he rose and walked over to Allegro. “Wake up, it’s time to go.” Wanderlust said, nudging the sleeping pony with a hoof. Apparently he was adjusting to their new schedule better than the unicorn was, because he was almost instantly awake and climbing to his hooves.

The two stallions glanced at the pegasus as she hovered above the treetops just outside the clearing in which they had spent the night. She looked much more at home in the barding than Wanderlust or Allegro, almost as if she’d been meant to wear it. The same was true of the weapons mounted under her wings: much bulkier than the unicorn’s, but much more powerful. The guns took up space that could have otherwise been used for carrying equipment, but that hadn’t been much of a trade-off by her standards.

“Are you sure giving her all that equipment was a good idea?” Allegro asked as they packed their things.

“Well, this way we won’t have to worry about her killing us in our sleep for ours.” Wanderlust said as he rolled his sleeping bag and fastened it to his pack. “Not to mention that she’ll be a lot more use in the fight.” He let his eyes linger a split-second too long on their new companion as she flitted about above the treetops. Allegro, of course, noticed instantly.

“It looks like somepony has a thing for the crazed warrior-mare.” The earth pony deftly skipped away from Wanderlust’s halfhearted attempt to strike him. “You should try talking to her.”

“Yeah, go flirt with the bloodthirsty, gun-toting pegasus. Nothing could possibly go wrong with that plan.”

“Is the guy who tried to kill a manticore with a stone spear the first time we met afraid of the mare with the pretty green eyes?” Allegro batted his eyelashes a few times before starting to giggle uncontrollably, but he still proved able to dodge a kick.

“I wouldn’t have had to listen to the manticore mock me for Celestia knows how long before it got around to killing me.” That only made Allegro laugh harder.

He was still at it when Dawnfire returned. She gave the earth pony a stern look but didn’t comment. “We’re about an hour from the edge of the forest. After that we start hitting patrols. The good news is that I know a back way in that should bypass most of the defenses. With luck, we’ll reach his inner sanctum without raising any alarms.”

“Isn’t it a bad idea to fight him on his own turf?” Wanderlust asked nervously.

“He doesn’t normally allow bodyguards inside; the bastard’s confident in his own ability to defend himself.”

“And is he right to feel that way?”

“Definitely. Surprise and numbers will be on our side, though.” Wanderlust gulped.

Their progress through the forest was slow as the three ponies, Dawnfire leading the way with Wanderlust at the back and Allegro between, picked their way through the brush and debris. It was only a few minutes before the earth pony broke the silence. “So, Dawn, is it okay if I call you Dawn?”

The pegasus sighed. “There’s not really anything I can do to stop you.”

“Great.” Allegro replied cheerfully. “So I was thinking, you really haven’t said all that much about yourself.”

“That was intentional.” She replied, deadpan, still sweeping her eyes back and forth over the trees.

“Well don’t you think we deserve to know a little more about you?”

“No.”

“Allegro, it might be a good idea to back off.” Wanderlust hissed at his friend. He had caught the edge in the pegasus’ voice, but he couldn’t be sure that the other pony had.

The blue pony ignored him. “Come on, Dawn. We’re putting a lot of trust in you. Can you really blame me for wanting to know more about you?”

There were a few seconds of silence followed by another sigh. “No.” She admitted reluctantly.

“So where do you live out here?”

“Wherever I can find somewhere dry and flat. Even those are optional sometimes.” Dawnfire said without breaking stride.

“But you must have some kind of home out here.” Allegro protested.

“Being tied to a static location makes you vulnerable. The only home I’ve ever had has been ashes for years.”

“So you’ve just spent your life wandering around these woods?”

“Not only these woods. I’ve traveled from the Spinward Seas to the Kingdom of Ghosts to Starboard.”

“Doing what?”

“Whatever I can to undermine Flamerage’s rule. I’ve rallied others against him, burnt his outposts to the ground, raided his supply lines, killed his minions.”

“So that’s really how you’ve spent your life?” Allegro asked in disbelief.

“The life I would have had died with my family.” Dawnfire snarled. “I’ll settle down and make a new one once I can mount the bastard’s head above my mantel.”

The conversation died after that, but it wasn’t long before they reached a low, circular stone structure that led them down into a cramped tunnel filled to their knees with foul-smelling water. Dawnfire took a few moments to get her bearings, then chose a direction. “This should take us to the edge of Flamerage’s lair. Stay close, these tunnels connect what’s left of the settlements in this region: lots of chances to get lost.”

“What exactly are these tunnels used for?” Wanderlust asked. The smell was almost enough to make him gag.

“They’re the remains of a regional sewer system.”

“You mean we’re standing in-”

“Yes.” The pegasus replied, cutting him off. “It may not be pleasant, but it’s better than fighting an army.”

The sloshing sounds echoing off the walls as the trio pushed forward were suddenly making the unicorn feel sick to his stomach and the feeling of the muck clinging to his legs wasn’t helping matters. Wanderlust took a sip of water from the tube next to his mouth and then hurriedly began talking to keep his mind from making that particular connection. “What’s our plan once we get there?”

“I scouted these tunnels years ago: we should come out within sight of his lair. With luck, he’ll be there and if he is, he’ll most likely be sleeping. Even so, we’ll have to move quickly: his senses are too keen for us to avoid notice for long. Our first move needs to be to take out his wings.”

“So Flamerage is a pegasus?”

“Flamerage is a dragon.” Dawnfire replied.

“A dragon?” Wanderlust was suddenly regretting their partnership.

“A large one.” The mare confirmed.

“You don’t think this is something that you should have mentioned earlier?”

“I didn’t think anyone would hear the name ‘Flamerage’ and not make the connection.” The pegasus was starting to sound more and more exasperated.

“She has a point, Wands. I figured you knew.” Allegro added.

“Great.” The unicorn muttered.
“Is this going to be a problem?” Dawnfire asked, stopping and turning to face him.

“No. I’ve just never fought a dragon before.” Wanderlust hoped she didn’t notice how his voice shook.

“Neither have I, but I’m looking forward to it. Flamerage dies today, no matter what it takes.” With that, she turned and continued down the tunnel.

“Completely insane.” Allegro whispered. “No idea what you see in her.” Wanderlust glared at him and followed after the pegasus. The earth pony raised his voice. “Anyway, a dragon can’t be all that much scarier than a manticore. What are you so worried about?”

“Manticore’s a tough kill.” The pegasus said. Wanderlust blinked; she sounded almost impressed. “How did you manage that?”

“Oh, he didn’t.” Allegro said cheerfully, ignoring another glare from the unicorn. “It killed him.”

“Excuse me?”

“It was an illusion.” Wanderlust explained with a sigh. “If the pony controlling it hadn’t ended the spell, the manticore would’ve killed me. I did manage to half-blind it with a spear, though.”

“Let’s hope your luck is better this time. Still, you really took on a manticore with only a spear?” The pegasus’ asked, sounding almost as if she didn’t believe him. “You’ve really got a pair of-”

She stopped mid-sentence and cocked her head, her ears twitching. “Voices, right side passage.” Dawnfire whispered. Wanderlust looked ahead, surprised to see that they had reached an intersection. The pegasus flattened herself against the wall and readied her combat knife. “I’ll take the first one, you take the second. I only hear two, but if there are more we’ll have to improvise.” She flipped on her barding and her voice came through the speakers in Wanderlust’s ears. “Allegro, stay back: they won’t have any qualms about killing an unarmed pony.” Wanderlust readied his own knife and flipped his barding on. He took a deep breath as his vision narrowed. “Go for the neck or the back of the skull if you can.” Dawnfire ordered.

After that, the only break in the silence came from two hushed voices approaching from their right. After what seemed like an eternity, the first guard rounded the corner. Dawnfire was on him in a flash, driving him down into the muck. There was a scream from her victim as the second guard rounded the corner, moving to help and with some sort of weapon at the ready. Wanderlust lunged at the newcomer, taking him by surprise and knocking him to the floor. The two of them struggled as Wanderlust tried to push the knife towards his opponent’s throat and the other tried with all his might to force it away. Finally, Wanderlust won out and plunged the blade into its throat.

The unicorn stared into his victim’s eyes, frozen in horror, as blood poured from the wound and the spark of life fled from the other pony’s gaze. “I just killed a pony.” He whispered, staring into its lifeless eyes.

“Wands!” Allegro’s shout brought him back to reality. “Snap out of it, we need to move!”

“I just killed a pony.” Wanderlust repeated, still not quite able to drag his eyes away from what had until seconds before been another living being.

“One that served the dragon. His death is no great loss.” Dawnfire said with disdain. No great loss...

“Deal with it later.” Allegro ordered. “We need to get to Flamerage before somepony misses these two. I know it can’t be easy for you right now, but there are bigger things at stake here, remember?”

“Right.” Wanderlust agreed uncertainly. “For Equestria.” The unicorn shook his head and followed in a daze. His mind was starting to clear as they reached the surface.

The ponies emerged in the midst of a ruin. The tunnel let out in the middle of a narrow street that ran between two massive, crumbling buildings of concrete and steel. There were others across a wide open field that looked to have once been paved. After untold years of neglect, the entire area was overgrown with weeds and grass that poked up through the barest remnants of tarmac and concrete. Vines grew up the sides of the concrete buildings, pulling at the weakening walls and hastening their slow return to nature.

In stark contrast to the decay stood three buildings across the field: the same design as those close to them, but constructed of silver metal that shone so brightly that they might have been constructed the day before. Compared to those perfect structures, the others seemed shoddy and rushed.

Wanderlust’s eyes finally settled on the dragon. It had to be at least a hundred feet long from the tip of its nose to the end of its spiked tail. The beast was covered in thick, maroon scales with soot-black edges. Puffs of smoke rose from its nostrils: Dawnfire had been right, it seemed he was asleep.

“Oh, Celestia.” Allegro gasped in horror. Wanderlust wasn’t sure if it was due to the fact that he was so frightened of the dragon or because the sight was so horrifically alien, but until that point he hadn’t registered the bodies. There must have been hundreds; hanging in cages, nailed to boards, every last one displayed in some horrible manner, all in various stages of decay, and nearly all of them ponies.

“This is what he does to those who defy him.” Dawnfire said, her voice cold as ice. “He likes to call it his ‘gallery’. If the gods have any mercy at all, there won’t be any left alive right now.” Wanderlust felt a chill as he stared at the bodies and Allegro started to gag. “Allegro, find a place to hide and don’t come out until we give the all-clear. This isn’t a place for someone without a weapon.” The earth pony wasted no time running off behind the buildings.

“That was kind of you.” Wanderlust said, drawing his weapons and maxing out the barding’s protective fields.

“It was the truth.” The mare replied. “Someone who can’t fight just gets in the way. Now come on, we’re wasting time.” The two of them started off into the field. “Still have any moral qualms about all this?”

Wanderlust cast a quick glance at one of the nearby bodies. A forest green mare, she couldn’t have been dead more than a day or two. He could barely make out her features beneath the flies. She must have been beautiful once. She deserved more than this; they all did. “Rapidly fading.” The unicorn replied, his fear turning to steel as he returned to the task at hoof.

“Remember, hit the wings first. After that, try to lead him into the buildings: we may be able to collapse a wall or two onto him and trap him. I’ll try to keep hitting him from above.”

“What if that doesn’t work?” Wanderlust asked, checking his weapons one last time.

“Then we improvise. On my mark.” Dawnfire hurled herself into the air with a powerful beat of her wings. She circled once, taking in the entire scene below. Wanderlust couldn’t hear a thing through the barding, but he could almost feel a tense silence descend over the ruins. His heart thumped in his ears, his breathing sounded almost deafening, his muscles felt like coiled springs. Isn’t this what I always wanted? I’m in an entirely different world, seeing things nopony back home could dream of, doing things few of them would ever even consider. I never wanted it like this, though.

Luna was right: if I ever go back, there’s no way I’ll be the same. How could they understand what I’ve seen? How could they condone what I’ve done? The lifeless eyes of that pony in the sewer flashed back into his mind and he shook his head to clear the memory. Oh, Princess. I want to go home. The unicorn took a deep breath. Focus, Wands. If you want to get through this, you need to focus.

“This is for my parents you slimey son of a whore.” The whisper was so quiet that Wanderlust nearly missed it through his earphones. “Now!” Dawnfire’s scream rang in his ears and made him jump as the pegasus began her assault. Wanderlust followed suit a heartbeat later. Firing their weapons for the first time, neither one knew quite what to expect. There was a stunning flash of light and a kick like a mule. It did little to affect the unicorn’s magically-stabilized weapons, but he caught a glimpse of Dawnfire as she nearly tumbled from the sky and sent her first shots wild.

Flamerage woke instantly and reared up on his back legs, roaring and unfurling his wings in an obvious attempt to intimidate his attackers. The move had the opposite effect as waves of plasma tore his right wing to shreds. The dragon crashed down on all fours as Dawnfire guided her weapons into the bone at the base of the wounded wing, burning clean through.

As the useless wing dragged on the ground, the enraged dragon bounded towards Wanderlust, who took off with every ounce of speed he could muster towards the derelict buildings. In the end, the dragon’s macabre display probably saved his attacker’s life: the tattered wing caught on every obstruction, forcing the dragon to slowly pick his way through his lair. Still, Flamerage was on Wanderlust’s heels as the unicorn reached the buildings with Dawnfire still raining shots from above, if the shouted obscenities streaming through his earpiece were any indication. She seemed to be doing little beyond fueling the tyrant’s rage.

Wanderlust dodged through a crumbled opening in the wall, almost diving into the dubious safety of the roofless building. Seconds later, the entire wall crashed down behind him, demolished by the enraged dragon. The unicorn just barely reached safety behind a pile of rubble as his pursuer let loose a torrent of flame. Wanderlust felt the air around him roil as he picked his path through the rubble. The instant the flames stopped, he shot to his hooves, fired a burst of plasma at the dragon’s face to distract it and bolted for the exit. The ground shook as the dragon launched into pursuit, only heartbeats behind.

Breaking into the open, the hunted unicorn found himself facing an unbroken wall of concrete. Without hesitation, he fired at the wall, trying to burn open a hole. It wasn’t enough. It’ll have to do. The pony thought, gritting his teeth. He flung himself into the wall, curling into a ball and trying to take the heat and impact on the protective fields.

It worked but he mistimed, jarring his head badly as he crashed through the wall. More troubling, he saw an almost imperceptible flicker as the remaining plasma splashed across the field that covered his face; not a good time to find out that it didn’t cope well with heat. The unicorn landed hard but unhurt as far as he could tell.

Before he could get to his hooves, the dragon came hurtling through the wall, still running flat-out. Wanderlust rolled onto his back and fired both his weapons up into the dragon’s soft belly, trusting its body to block the worst of the debris that rained down all around him. Flamerage roared: it was obvious that the two ponies were doing damage, but it wasn’t enough. The dragon reared and rounded, catching Dawnfire with a clawed foot and swatting the pegasus into a wall. As Wanderlust saw her fall to the ground, he hoped the barding would take the worst of the punishment.

The unicorn was on his hooves, guns blazing and running for cover until he slipped on a bit of stone. It was only a second’s lapse, but the pony knew it would be his last. Oh, Celestia. To come all this way and die from a slip... Wanderlust’s heart froze when he saw the dragon’s cold smile. The flames hit him like a freight train, knocking his weapons clear. He dug in his hooves, focused his mind, trying to deflect the flames with his magic, but he couldn’t muster the strength. The field covering his face, already weakened by plasma, failed first. There was a voice in his ear saying something about overheating and an almost immeasurably small moment of unspeakable agony on his right cheek, and then the world went black.

“You’re going to die, Wanderlust.” A soft voice told him gleefully.

“I know.” The unicorn sighed. “I’ve made peace with that.” His eyes were closed and he was desperately holding onto his composure. If this is death, I’ll at least meet it with dignity.

He could feel the warmth of the sun kiss his fur, a cool breeze nipping at his cheek. Every breath felt crisp and clean. Wanderlust slowly eased his eyes open and found himself standing on a mountain, high above the clouds. He looked down and saw Equestria laid out before him in all its glory. With a sweep of his gaze, he could take in everything from the stark towers of Manehatten to the shining glory of Canterlot. In the distance he could make out Cloudsdale, perched high above the ground, and the tiny collection of cottages that made up Ponyville.

The sight of his home brought a tear to his eye. His mind flashed back to his parents, his friends, his brother. The faces of every pony he had ever cared for raced through his mind in a heartbeat. He was suddenly hit by a rush of guilt. I failed them. I tried. Oh, princesses, believe me, I tried.

“They’ll all die, too.” The voice whispered in his ear, sounding even more gleeful than before. Wanderlust spun in alarm and saw nothing. He was alone on top of the mountain. When he turned his gaze back to Equestria, the view had changed.

The kingdom burned from one end to the other: a funeral pyre for an entire way of life. He watched in horror as Cloudsdale plummeted from the sky and shattered upon the ground, as the spires of Canterlot were pulled down one by one. The ponies that escaped outright slaughter were rounded up, corralled and led away in chains under the watchful gaze of black-winged dragons high above. The fires died, leaving behind blackened fields that would never again bear fruit and empty husks of buildings that would stand their watch, the shattered windows like gazing eyes, forever reminding passers-by what had befallen this kingdom: an eternal monument to the magnitude of Wanderlust’s failure.

“There’s nothing more I can do; I just wasn’t up to the task. Stop showing me this and let me have my peace.”

“Imagine what will happen to your companions. Allegro won’t fight: they’ll find him, butcher him like an animal and string him up in the gallery, just another ornament. And Dawnfire...well, I’m sure my Lord will find a particularly creative punishment for the one who robbed him of his wing. You have no idea the horror that waits in store for your little winged friend: her life will become pain. They will break her body, they will break her mind, they will break her very soul until she begs to join the others in the gallery.” Wanderlust closed his eyes as tightly as he could, blocking out the horrid visions before him, but he could do nothing to stop the sounds. “It may be years before she is allowed to die, such amazing things can be done with magic, and it is all because of you.”

The sounds hadn’t stopped. Wanderlust broke as his mind filled in the pictures that went with them. When he spoke, it was through tears. “Why? Why are you doing this to me? I don’t even know you!”

“Yes, you do. Open your eyes.” The voice commanded. Wanderlust resisted; he didn’t want to know what awaited him on the other side of his eyelids. “I said open your eyes!” The voice screamed at him, twisted into something dark. The unicorn’s eyes snapped open against his will and a chill ran down his spine. He was staring into the mud-caked face of a grey earth pony. Its blue eyes were clouded with death and blood frothed from a ghastly wound on its neck when it spoke. “Yes, now you know me. I’m your greatest sin, Wanderlust: you killed somepony who could do you no harm. What use would my sword have been against your wonders? This is my revenge for the life you stole from me: your friends’ pain will end, death will reach out its merciful hand for them, but for your crimes there can be no forgiveness, no mercy. Your torment will be eternal.” The ghoulish pony laughed as Wanderlust sank to his knees. “Your soul is mine, murderer. You’ll pay in blood for what you took from me, even if it takes until the very end of time.” Wanderlust covered his head with his hooves as his tormentor cackled madly.

Abruptly, there was silence. “Wanderlust, stand up.” This was a new voice, one that spoke with a quiet confidence that couldn’t be ignored. The young unicorn complied, rising slowly to his hooves and warily easing his eyes open. The mountain was gone, replaced by the vast emptiness of space. Behind his new companion, a small ball of light flickered in the distance.

The other pony was a tall, silver unicorn with eyes the color of polished sapphire. The newcomer wore an immaculate black uniform of a style foreign to Wanderlust and a matching black hat with a small insignia sewn to the front: a silver shield adorned with a ring of blue stars. The pony looked little older than Wanderlust, but something about his eyes gave off a sense of wisdom and determination far beyond his years. “Who are you?” Wanderlust asked, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

“A friend. That’s all that matters for now.”

“What do you want?”

“I’m here to remind you of something.”

Wanderlust’s confusion deepened. “Of what, exactly?”

“In a moment. First, though, you need to understand that your death is not an acceptable end to this.”

It seemed almost comical in a way, this new pony ordering him not to die. “I think you’re a little late on that.”

“Not at all.” The silver unicorn replied sternly. “You’re still very much alive, at least for the moment. Whether you remain that way is entirely up to what you decide to do next.”

“I’m not sure I have a choice. What can I do against a dragon?”

“That ignorant, clanless brute doesn’t deserve the title.” The silver pony growled. “It wasn’t so long ago that that overgrown lizard would rather have thrown itself into the sun, begging your forgiveness the entire way, rather than risk the ire of a pony.

“Your captors chained you physically when they threw you behind those mountains, but the mental chains were far more crippling: they robbed you of your history, of what we were. The Overseers did their best to keep that alive, they even named your prison after our ancient home, but they couldn’t act overtly enough, not with their own shackles weighing them down.

“I’m not here to give you support, I’m not here to build you up, I’m here to remind you of what some part deep inside you already knows: we were mighty once. You can either choose to remind that sorry excuse for a dragon of that fact, or you can roll over and die, condemning your home to destruction in the process.” There was a brief pause as the silver pony turned to leave, revealing a cutie mark of crossed lances. “I trust that you’ll make the correct choice.”

Wanderlust watched the other pony leave, struggling to understand. “Oh, and Wanderlust?” The silver unicorn called over his shoulder. “They’re trusting you to do whatever proves necessary. The shackles of morality nearly cost us all our lives once before; don’t let the same folly cost them theirs.”

The heat was back. It was an excruciating, crippling, killing heat. Wanderlust mustered one last attempt at resistance: he focused every ounce of anger, every iota of defiance, every trace of his will to live into one last effort to turn aside the flames. Magic coursed through him, he could feel the power pulsing in his horn as he tried to push aside the inferno. Time seemed to slow, the pain faded, the sound stopped. He reached out to the magic, shaped it to his desires, forced it to bend to his will. It wasn’t enough. The dragon’s flame was far too much for his efforts alone.

Visions of the fates of Dawnfire and Allegro flashed through his mind, and he shoved them roughly aside as he grasped for any possible escape. He felt something tugging at him, and he reached out to meet it: the crystals Luna had given him. The ancient vessels seethed with magic. He could feel the power inside of them, desperate to escape. More power than a dozen unicorns could call upon unaided and it was reaching out to him, beckoning him, begging to be set free. Wanderlust’s mind touched the crystals, felt the soothing warmth of their magic and carefully, gently, coaxed out the strength within and gathered it together. He set to work, lovingly weaving the tapestry of the spell to suit his needs. The heat ceased completely; the pain remained, but the unicorn was too far lost in his task to care.

Wanderlust caught the dragon’s fire and tamed it, harnessed it, shaped it, amplified it, turned it back upon its source. Even dragons could be burnt by a bright enough flame, and Flamerage had earned his name.

Time snapped back to normal and it was over in an instant. The flames stopped an inch in front of the unicorn’s face. The inferno swirled, coalesced, formed and shot forth like an angry sea, enveloping the dragon that had given it birth. The beast was dust before he could scream. Wanderlust stood for a moment in a daze, his fur still burning, before collapsing onto the ground, as broken as the building around him.

“Come on, Wands, time to get up.” Allegro’s voice seemed very faint, as if the other pony was speaking to him through a wall. There was a note of concern evident in his tone. “The kit says you’re well enough to be up and moving around. That’s all we have time for right now. Get up, Wands. Please, we need you.”

“Are you sure he’s well enough?” Another voice: Dawnfire. She’d survived. “He took one hell of a beating.”

“The kit says what’s left will heal on its own. At least I think that’s what it says. Celestia, I hope I’m reading this thing right. Either way, we don’t have a choice: if we found a way in, the other ones will, too. You can hear things outside getting worse.”

“If any follow us, I’ll deal with them.”

“I appreciate your confidence, Miss Bloodlust, but I’d prefer to get out of here without any more killing, if at all possible. Not to mention that your power source is out cold.”

Wanderlust was finally able to pry himself close to something resembling consciousness. “Not quite.” He said quietly, still unable to open his eyes.

“Wands!” Allegro clattered over and gave him a hug, making the unicorn wince; apparently his wounds weren’t completely healed. “Sorry.” The earth pony said sheepishly, backing away. His hooves were making a strange noise as he moved.

With some effort, Wanderlust was finally able to force his eyes open. He was lying on his back looking up at a metal ceiling high above. He tried to move, but it felt like there was something heavy weighing him down. The feeling was slowly fading, but it was still disconcerting, to say the least. “What happened?”

“You killed a dragon.” Dawnfire again, from somewhere he couldn’t see. “Thank you for that, by the way. Allegro hooked you to the medical kit and carried you here while I made sure we didn’t have any uninvited guests.”

“We’re in some sort of vehicle storage room.” Allegro said excitedly, poking his head back into Wanderlust’s field of view. “That’s what those big, silver buildings were. Dawnfire knew a way inside. She’s actually really clever. I was surprised, you know what they say about pegasi, after all.”

“Thank you, Allegro.” Dawnfire said dryly from Wanderlust’s left.

“Anyway, we’ve been waiting for you to wake up for two days now. You need more time, but I’m afraid we’re out.”

“Two days?” Wanderlust asked in shock.

“You took a stream of dragon’s breath to the face: there was quite a bit of damage. In fact, you might be the first pony to ever survive to make that claim.” Dawnfire again. The disdain that had always hung in her voice before was gone, replaced by something that might have been respect. And all I had to do to earn it was kill a dragon. She’s really easy to please.

“How bad, exactly?” Wanderlust eased himself upright and looked around. Ahead of him and to his right he could see the curved walls of the building in the distance. Celestia, this place is massive. To his left, Dawnfire was leaning against a gracefully sculpted dome of silver metal, trying to keep her weapons from pinching her wings.

“Your right eye was almost useless, but the kit repaired it as far as we can tell. How well can you see out of it?”

Wanderlust looked around a little. The floor seemed to curve away behind the dome ahead of him and there was a knee-high wall to his right that seemed to mark the end of whatever they were standing on. “I can’t even notice a difference.”

Allegro took over, his normally cheerful voice sounding oddly awkward. “There was also quite a bit of um...cosmetic damage that it couldn’t fix.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re going to have one hell of a scar.” Dawnfire said with a slight smile. “I doubt you’ll have to worry about getting into any bar fights anytime soon.”

“Bar fights?” Wanderlust asked, cocking his head.
The pegasus just sighed. “Nevermind, I keep forgetting where you’re from.”

“And hey,” Allegro interjected, his voice back to normal again. “with a pick-up line like ‘I killed a dragon with my mind’ who needs looks to make the fillies swoon?”

Wanderlust couldn’t help but smile a little at that. “Dawnfire, why are you here? I thought you were leaving after we killed Flamerage.”

“Where would I go? I never made any plans beyond killing Flamerage. Now that he’s dead I might as well tag along with you until I find something better.”

A crash echoed through the building, making Wanderlust jump. Dawnfire cast a nervous glance at one of the walls and started speaking again. “Right, that. When you killed Flamerage his entire army fell apart. They’re all fighting for whatever pieces of the empire they can get their grubby little hooves, hands and claws on. There’s only so much time before they find a way in and loot the place.”

When Allegro spoke, he had the look of a foal plotting mischief. “But we’re going to beat them to it.”

“What’s worth stealing in here?” Wanderlust asked. Allegro just stomped his hoof on the metallic floor. The unicorn cocked an eyebrow. “What are we standing on?”

“Walk to the edge and take a look.” Dawnfire replied with a grin. Wanderlust did as she said and peered over the knee-high wall to his right. They must have been twenty feet off the ground.

“We’re on some kind of ship, Wands!” Allegro exclaimed, so excited that he was almost jumping up and down.

“So why haven’t we left yet, if it’s growing so urgent?”

“It requires a unicorn to fly it.” Dawnfire explained.

“A unicorn specifically? Not just any pony?”

“Come on, we’ll show you.” Wanderlust followed the other two ponies to the front of the ship. There was a teardrop-shaped room with open sides that was separated from the dome by a section of open deck. There was a passage in the back wall that seemed to lead below into the ship, and across from it was a pedestal with a circular impression at the top, almost certainly intended to receive a hoof.

“We both tried it and nothing happened.” Allegro explained.

Wanderlust approached the pedestal and placed his hoof into the proper place. A flood of sensations hit his mind at once; the best way he could describe it was static. He was suddenly disoriented, he couldn’t focus, thoughts seemed to slide away as he grasped for them. His vision grew blurry and his legs went rubbery; just as he worried that he would faint, the feeling stopped instantly. When it cleared, he could feel the ship all around him, an extension of his body. This is going to take some getting used to.

He closed his eyes and found that he could still feel the building around him. The excited hum of the ship flowed through him as long-dormant systems came to life. He could feel the landing struts keeping him held firmly to the ground, and the pent-up energy building inside him as the engines roared to life. For every new sensation, his mind somehow supplied the words; it never occurred to him to wonder how he knew the alien terms. He reached out to the ceiling of the hangar and knew instinctively that it would part for him.

The sounds of battle intensified outside, but Wanderlust barely noticed through the exhilaration that flooded his mind as the sky opened to him. Dawnfire shouted a warning, but he didn’t catch the words, only the urgency. Unprompted, emergency procedures sprang into his mind and he urged the engines to action. He could barely hold back the rush of energy as the engines strained against his control, anxious to soar. The unicorn retracted the landing struts and felt suddenly like he was floating.

“Hang on.” He finally found his voice, if only for a moment. Then he was the ship again, and with a thought he let the engines run free. As they hurtled into the sky, Wanderlust could feel the wind flowing around him, tugging at his fur and blowing his mane. This must be what being a pegasus is like. It was intoxicating.

With a thought, he found he could access airspeed, heading, altitude, even a map of the ring. He effortlessly adjusted their course and slowed their speed to conserve energy. That task finished, he pulled his hoof away from the pedestal; it took more effort than he had expected. As a test, he thought of the vessel’s heading and a number popped into his mind. He switched it a few degrees and felt the ship sway back and forth under him before settling. I can control it remotely. The thought made the unicorn smile. “That was amazing.” He finally gasped, the adrenaline still flowing through him. He turned to his companions, who were staring at him as if he had sprouted a second head.

“What just happened, Wands?” Allegro asked.

“There’s some sort of magical interface with the ship. It lets me control everything directly.” The others just stared at him. The unicorn sighed. “Nevermind. The point is that I can fly this thing.” Trying to explain magic to a non-unicorn would be like a pegasus explaining what it feels like to fly. Of course, I just found out what that was like, too. The thought brought out another smile.

“If you say so.” Dawnfire said dubiously. “I’m going to make sure that we’re not being followed. I’ll be back soon.”

Wanderlust called after the pegasus. “There’s a safety field that blocks the wind and should keep you from falling out, but you should still be careful.” Dawnfire just waved a wing at him and kept walking. The unicorn turned back to the front and watched the clouds stream by, Allegro standing next to him in silence.

“So,” Wanderlust said after a few long minutes. “exactly how bad is the scarring?”

“Like I said, work the dragon-slaying angle.” Allegro replied cheerfully. “The fillies love that kind of thing; it’s certainly working on our feathered friend. Speaking of which, when’s the wedding? I need time to find a dress, after all: you wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find one in my size.” Wanderlust cuffed the earth pony on the shoulder. “Right, sorry, ceremonies are too formal, you’ll probably just go hunt down a hydra together to mark the occasion.” Allegro started laughing. “In any case, you weren’t exactly pretty to begin with. With the story, I’d even call it a net gain!” The unicorn hit him again for good measure.

“Keep running that joke into the ground all you want; it’s never going to happen.” He replied with a smile that gradually faded. “Seriously. I haven’t seen a mirror this entire time: how bad?”

Allegro had stopped laughing. “The fur on the right side of your face probably won't grow back. The skin is red and raw, that'll probably clear up with some more time hooked up to the kit, you should grab it in a minute. Even after the redness goes away the skin is going to look wrong: that entire side of your face is going to be covered in scar tissue. A lot of your mane got caught in it, too. It probably won’t grow back, either, though the scarring on your neck won’t be as bad. If anything, it'll just make you look rugged: the mighty hero arriving just in time to save the day.” He was smiling again.

Wanderlust laughed, he had trouble thinking of himself as a hero. “Thanks. If you want to go, you can. I need some time to think.”

“Not yet. There’s still something we need to talk about, Wands.”

“What would that be?”

“The pony in the sewer.” Allegro was completely serious again. Amazing that he can bounce back and forth so quickly.

“I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Whatever you’re feeling about him, it can’t be healthy to just hold it in.”

Wanderlust sighed. “You’re not going to stop asking until I talk about it, are you?”

“No, I’m not.”

“I have mixed feelings.” The unicorn admitted reluctantly. “I mean, he was a pony, just like me, and I jammed a knife through his throat. I stood there and watched him die; have you ever heard of somepony doing something like that? At the same time, he was working for that dragon. From what Dawn’s said, who knows what kind of horrible things that pony did. There’s a part of me that can’t help but wonder if she’s right? What if I did the world a service by killing him?”

“You can’t start thinking like that, Wanderlust.” The earth pony urged. “You can’t judge who deserves to live or die, because you won’t come out the other side as yourself. Luna warned you: the stakes are too high to let yourself fall to that path. I don’t think it’s a good idea to put too much stock in what Dawnfire says, either.”

“Why is that? She seems to know what she’s doing.”

“Because you don’t want to become what she is, Wands. Can’t you see it? She’s spent her whole life consumed by this need for revenge. Violence is all she knows, it’s all she sees, in the end, it’s all she really is: she’s let it define her. What will happen to Equestria if you do the same?”

“You’ve seen what we’re up against here, Allegro. We’ve barely even started and I’m not sure I can ever forget what I’ve seen. I don’t think things will get any better, so what are we supposed to do when they get worse? What if Dawn’s right? What if we have to buy Equestria’s safety in blood?”

“There are always other options, Wands, you can’t afford to forget that. What have you become if the path to Equestria’s salvation is paved with bodies?”

“Sensible, most likely.” The cold voice made both ponies jump. The black pegasus was approaching them, her armor and weapons gone. “You don’t know enough of what it’s like here to understand, Allegro. That’ll change soon.”

“I know that there must be better ways to do this than by murdering our way to our destination.” The earth pony replied with a glare.

“Mercy and restraint will get you killed out here. Once you’ve seen the bodies, smelled the smoke, stared into the eyes of the ones who lived, I hope you’ll see that force is the only lifeline we have, because otherwise you’ll join them.” Dawnfire replied.

“Would you two stop?” Wanderlust interrupted angrily. “I doubt being at each other’s throats is going to help.”

“Right. Sorry, Wands.” Allegro said. He shot another quick glare at the pegasus before turning back to his friend. “Just think about what I said, okay? Please?” He asked quietly.

“I will.” Wanderlust said with a nod.

“I’m going to go take a look around, then. I’ll see you in the morning, Wands.” He turned to leave. “Dawn.” He said coldly as he passed the pegasus, she just nodded in response.

Dawnfire waited until his hoofsteps had faded. “He doesn’t really like me all that much, does he?” She asked, finally coming into the room.

“Where we’re from, violence isn’t something that’s commonplace, or even something that’s often discussed; it’s just not in our nature.” Wanderlust explained, looking at the clouds rolling past outside. “The fact that you’re so casual about it doesn’t sit right with him.”

Dawnfire snorted. “You’re just as much a pony as I am, or any of the others on the ring. Trust me, we’re capable of quite a bit of violence. Some seem to have quite the natural aptitude, actually.”

“Not back home.” The unicorn said sadly.

There were a few long moments of silence. “Tell me about it. Your home, I mean.”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Well, if I’m going to be helping you save it, I might as well know something about it.”

“You mean you’re really coming along?” Wanderlust asked in surprise. He’d expected the pegasus to get bored and jump ship within a few days.

“Killing Flamerage is something I can never repay you for. It’s only the barest fraction of what I owe, but my help is all I can offer: I’m here for as long as you want me.” The pegasus replied, staring out the window.

“Thank you, Dawn.”

“Your home. Equestria, right?” She prompted.

“Right. It’s completely different from out here. There’s always plenty to eat, it’s almost completely safe in the settled areas, everypony has a job, the weather is all controlled by pegasi, so there’s never anything too unexpected. The only real downside is that it can get pretty dull sometimes.”

“Dull can be nice, compared to the alternative.” Dawnfire pointed out.

“I thought you liked the alternative.”

“To some extent. I think I’d prefer peace and quiet, though.” The pegasus said wistfully. Wanderlust blinked: wistful wasn’t something he’d come to expect from the pegasus. “There are really no wars? No dragons?”

“There haven’t been any wars that I’ve heard of, at least not since the princesses showed up. As for dragons, there are quite a few nearby, but the big ones rarely get close to the settled regions.”

Wanderlust was still staring out the front window when he felt the pegasus rest her head on his shoulder. The shock of it almost seemed to stop his heart for a moment, and when it started again, he feared it would burst from his chest. “So what’s it like to have a normal life?” She asked.

“Like I said, it gets kind of dull.” The unicorn was having trouble thinking clearly, but he managed to keep his mouth moving. “Get up, go to work, have dinner with my family, read for a while, go back to bed. There were some things that would break the routine: big parties and celebrations when the whole town would get together, catch up on what everypony else was doing. Other times I’d just go off by myself. My house was right on the edge of town, so all I had to do was hop a fence and I could lose myself for a couple days in the wilderness.”

“Sounds like an amazing life.”

“It really was. Still, I wanted something more. I wanted to get out and see something new.” he chuckled. “I guess I’m getting more than my share of that now.” Oh, Celestia. I’m in so far over my head that I can’t even see daylight anymore.
After a few minutes of silence, Dawnfire lifted her head and took a step back. “We should both get some rest; it’s been a rough week, especially for you.” With a warm smile, the pegasus left the room. “Seriously, Wands, get some sleep! You look like hell!” She called over her shoulder.
“At least I have an excuse, Dawn!” The unicorn called back with a smile. He turned to descend into the ship and froze. He had missed it upon entering the room, but it jumped out at him now. Above the passage into the ship was a crest: a circle of blue stars on a silver shield. Whatever I saw while I was fighting Flamerage, it wasn’t my imagination.

Just a quick note from the author, I wanted to take a second to give a quick thanks to Roller, dking and Darktan, all of the Battlelog forums, for all they've done. Without their editing help, this would not be half as good as it is. In addition, I wanted to also thank Darktan for repeatedly convincing me to continue working when I felt like giving up. Without him, this story never would have seen the light of day.

Chapter 4

There was a soft knock on the door. “Wands, are you in there? I think you should come see this.” Wanderlust was lying in one of the ship’s small bedrooms, staring at the ceiling. What he’d seen while fighting Flamerage had been playing over and over again inside his head all night, plaguing his thoughts and keeping him from sleep.

“What is it, Allegro?” He asked without rising.

“It’ll make more sense if I show you.”

The unicorn sighed. I need more time to think. “Just a second.” He dragged himself off the bed and pushed the door open. The other pony was standing in the common room at the center of the ship. It was round and sparsely furnished: only a table, a few pillows on the floor for sitting and a small kitchen along one wall. There were a few doors set into the walls that led to other bedrooms.

“Celestia, Wands, couldn’t you have at least taken a minute to fix your mane or something?” There was something about Allegro’s smile that made the unicorn want to hit him.

“I haven’t gotten much sleep. You said this was important?”

“Yeah, Dawn found something up front.”

“What exactly?”

“It’s a map.”

“You woke me up for a map? I have one of those in my pack, wherever you and Dawn put it.”

“You are grumpy today. Trust me, it’s worth a look.” Wanderlust sighed and followed. A minute or two later, they were wedged into a small room near the front of the ship with Dawnfire, clustered around a circular projector next to a small control panel.

“Look at this.” Dawnfire touched a control and an image of the ring appeared floating in the air in front of them.

“I’m not seeing what’s so special about this.” Wanderlust replied after a quick examination.

“What’s wrong with you today?”

“He didn’t get his beauty sleep. Celestia knows he needs it.” Allegro chimed in.

Wanderlust pressed a hoof to his face. “I’m sorry, I’m a little on-edge right now. I just don’t see what has you two so excited. We already have a map.”

“Not like this one. I was messing around with it a little and found a switch that does this.” Dawnfire pressed another button and the image zoomed in tremendously. Wanderlust’s neck straightened and his ears perked up. “Are you glad we woke you up now?”

“Is that...no, there’s no way.” He was staring at a silver, teardrop-shaped ship gliding over the ring.

“I checked: there’s some sort of delay, but that’s definitely us. We think there might be cameras mounted on the shadow squares.”

“There’s no possible way that a camera could see something that far away in this much detail.” Wanderlust objected. “It must be some sort of trick.”

“Ponies couldn’t build a camera that could do that.” Allegro said, “We couldn’t build this ring, either. I’m starting to question whether there’s anything that’s beyond the capabilities of whoever built all this.”

“Now you’re just being silly. It’s not like this ring was built by gods or something.”

“Is it so hard to believe? I know that you’re having as difficult a time wrapping your head around the scale of it as I am. It would take two or three lifetimes to walk across Equestria and it’s so small an area that it just gets lost in the ring.”

“I’ve had my fill of false gods lately, Allegro.”

“Both of you stop it.” Dawnfire snapped. “That’s not the issue here. This is what’s important.” She spent a few seconds finicking with the controls and the view changed to a floating city. “This is just a few degrees to port of our course.”

“You’re thinking it would probably be a good place to stop and resupply? Maybe see if we can get any information on what’s up ahead?”

“Glad to see your mood hasn’t damaged your common sense at all, Wanderlust. What do you think?”

Wanderlust thought for a moment and the ship gently tipped to the left. “I agree. Any idea who built it?” He craned his neck to try and get a better look. “Wouldn’t be pegasi: that all looks like stone and pegasi would build on clouds.”

“My money would be on griffons: nobody else could live there with the dragons around, it’s too exposed. They almost certainly didn’t build it, though, they just moved in.” She paused for a moment, “What do you mean that pegasi would build on clouds? How is that even possible?”

The other two ponies exchanged a glance. “Dawn, have you ever tried walking on a cloud?”

“Of course not! I’d fall right through. How stupid do you think I am?”

Allegro and Wanderlust exchanged another glance. The unicorn spoke as his companion began to snicker, “That can wait until later. Dawnfire, we should grab our gear and talk things over: we only have an hour or so until we reach the city. Allegro, you should probably stay and keep an eye on the ship.” He started out of the map room with the pegasus in tow, leaving the giggling earth pony behind.

Dawnfire shot him a glare on their way out, “I agree, you should probably stay here. For your own safety.”

The armory was a small room filled with lockers near the back of the ship’s lowest level. Dawnfire and Wanderlust could just barely use the room at the same time without constantly bumping into each other. “How in the world is this thing still in one piece?” Wanderlust exclaimed, pulling his barding out of one of the lockers.

“Apparently it’s more resistant to dragon’s breath than your face.” Wanderlust was not amused. “Sorry, low blow. Honestly, would you believe that it fixed itself?”

“You’re kidding.” He replied as his barding snapped shut.

“Says the one who was trying to convince me that I could walk on a cloud.”

“We really need to talk about that later. Are you serious that it fixed itself?”

“If it has earpieces and they work, it fixed itself because it sure as hell didn’t when we dragged you here.”

“Maybe Allegro isn’t as crazy as I thought. Any insights on what we’re walking into? You’re the expert out here, after all.”

“A few. Give me some help with these guns while I talk.” Wanderlust complied, lifting the harness onto her back and starting on the straps. “Assuming they are griffons, they’re not going to be very friendly. Especially not towards ponies. Just stay close, let me do all the talking and keep your eyes open: I wouldn’t be surprised if they jumped us. Cruel, stupid, arrogant beasts the whole lot of- feathers; watch the feathers!” She exclaimed, hitting Wanderlust in the face with one of her wings.

The unicorn apologized and quickly fixed the offending strap. “Are you that certain they’ll be like that? I mean, all griffons can’t be horrible.”

“I’ll revise my opinion when I meet an exception. In any case, we don’t need to bring much: just your weapons, some spare power crystals and something to barter with should be enough. I just hope we actually can find something to eat there. I suppose we can always land and find grass if we can’t, though.”

“What do you mean? They must have food for sale. I mean, they have to eat, don’t they?”

“Wanderlust, griffons tend to primarily be carnivores.”

“I’m not familiar with the term.”

“They eat meat.” Wanderlust dropped the bag he was holding, spilling gems all over the floor. “What?”

“Meat? As in they eat other living things?”

“You didn’t know?” The pegasus seemed surprised.

“Of course I didn’t know! I’ve never met a griffon before. Do you think I would’ve agreed to walk into a den of the things if I’d known they’d try to eat me?”

“To the best of my knowledge, most of them don’t eat ponies.”

“Most?” Wanderlust’s voice was nearing a shriek by this point. “That’s not good enough, Dawn. I’m not going in there. Nopony’s going to eat me.”

“You’re right. Nobody’s going to eat you because last time I checked, guns beat claws and beaks.” Dawnfire reminded him, exasperated. “Now get a hold of yourself and help me with this combat knife.

“Right. Right, I have weapons.” The unicorn said, trying to reassure himself. “I still don’t like it.” He muttered as he strapped the knife to Dawnfire’s leg.

“I never said you had to, Wands. Let’s get up top.”

“One practical consideration,” Wanderlust said as they passed through the door. He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Allegro blocking their path.

“I’m coming with you.” The earth pony stated.

“No you’re not. We’re walking into an unknown city, probably filled with griffons who hate our guts just for being ponies and you’re not armed.” Dawnfire objected.

“I don’t care. I’m coming with you.”

The two stared at each other for a few seconds before Wanderlust spoke up. “Grab your gear. We’ll meet you up top.”

“Thanks, Wands.” The earth pony said as he stepped around the other two and into the armory.

“This is a horrible idea.” Dawnfire hissed as soon as they were out of earshot.

“What do you have against Allegro?”

“Nothing. To be honest, I like the guy.” The pegasus admitted. “But taking an unarmed pony into a nest full of griffons is one of the quickest ways I can think of to get him killed. It would be better to just leave him here, for his own safety and ours.”

“I’m not leaving him cooped up here for the next six months.” Wanderlust replied. “Without his help, I would have died after I killed Flamerage.”

“I could have helped you just as well as he did.” Dawnfire objected.

“And who would have watched your back while you pulled me out of there?” Dawnfire sighed but didn’t reply. As close to an admission of defeat as I’m likely to get. “He saved my life. For that, I’m willing to let him do most anything he wants. Besides, he could always find other ways of helping.”

“Fine.” The pegasus grudgingly admitted, stopping and pointing a hoof at Wanderlust. “But his safety is your responsibility. I’m not having his blood on my hooves.”

“Gladly.” The unicorn replied immediately.

That seemed to satisfy the pegasus, who started walking again. “So what were you going to ask back there?” She inquired as they emerged into the sunlight.

“Right.” It had completely slipped the unicorn’s mind. “How do you know they’ll speak our language?”

“Dragons.” Dawnfire replied simply. Wanderlust cocked his head quizzically and she elaborated. “Dragons have magic that allows them to send messages instantly over almost any distance, right?” Wanderlust nodded. “So no matter how far apart they are, they’re all communicating in the same language. The dragons own most of the ring, and as a result, to trade you have to work through them, or their servants. Anyone who serves the dragons learns to speak their language. As a result, anyone who wants to do any sort of trade learns, too.”

“I suppose that makes sense.”

“Right. What doesn’t make sense is why you speak it.” The pegasus said, giving her companion a strange look.

“Why not?” Wanderlust asked before he had a chance to think. The realization hit him as soon as the words escaped his mouth. “Because we’ve never had any contact with the outside world. There’s no reason we would ever have learned their language.” I can almost see the strings, but I can’t tell who’s pulling them. What in Celestia’s name is going on here?

“Exactly. Still, that’s a mystery that can wait, at least for the moment. How far out are we?”

Wanderlust had to think about that for a few seconds. Too much on my mind today. “About five minutes. I’ll slow us down long enough to hop off, and then set the ship to circle.” The unicorn took a quick moment to check his weapons. “Any last-minute advice?”

“Don’t make eye contact, let me do all the talking and if shit hits the fan, remember two things: griffons kill with their beaks, not their claws, and they respond to a show of force.”

Wanderlust pawed the ship’s hull nervously. “You don’t think it’ll come to that, do you?”

“I told you, I really hate griffons.” For some reason, she had her eyes closed. Wanderlust took that as a sign to keep his mouth shut.

Soon enough, their destination came into sight and the unicorn cut their speed to get a better look. The city was indeed floating several hundred feet above the ring’s surface. Most of the buildings were carved from some sort of white stone and a waterfall cascaded off the side of the structure towards the ground far below. In a way, it reminded Wanderlust of Canterlot.

“Beautiful.” Wanderlust started at the sound of Allegro’s voice. He hadn’t realized that the earth pony had joined them. “I’ve heard some nasty things about griffons, but if they can build something like this, I can’t believe that they’re too bad.”

“Just wait until we get closer. Besides,” Dawnfire muttered, “I already told you that there’s no chance in hell that they built it themselves: they’re scavengers, not architects.”

As they approached something that could have been a dock, Wanderlust couldn’t help but feel that something was amiss, but he couldn’t put a hoof on what it was. Slowing the ship to a stop, the unicorn dropped the safety field and stepped across to a stone platform protruding from the edge of the city. After turning to make sure that his companions had both followed, he sent their ship speeding away and returned his focus to the city.

As the wind shifted, it finally struck him what was off about the settlement: it was filthy. Where Canterlot was lovingly, immaculately maintained, the griffon city was covered in dirt and grime. Black streaks from the smoke of countless cooking fires marred the stonework. As the three ponies approached the archway that marked the entrance to the city-proper they had to pick their way around piles of refuse and waste. Worst of all, the air was thick with the scents of unwashed bodies, open sewers and decaying food.

“Stay close.” Dawnfire ordered the other two as they passed under the archway. Wanderlust certainly had no intention of doing otherwise. As soon as they entered the confines of the city walls there were griffons everywhere. They’re bigger than I expected. Glancing down an alley he saw two young griffons playing inside the rotting carcass of something that might have at one point been a cow and started retching. “And keep your eyes straight ahead.” Dawnfire snapped. “We already stick out like a sore hoof, we don’t want any more attention, dammit.”

“Sorry.” Wanderlust muttered when he could finally talk again.

“Have you ever seen somewhere like this, Wands?” Allegro asked quietly only a few minutes later as they wound their way through the streets.

“Never.” The filth that blanketed the city and the smell that accompanied it were simply overwhelming the unicorn. Dawn was right, they didn’t build this city. If anything this amazing really belonged to somepony, they’d bother to take better care of it. “How can anypony live like this?” He thought outloud, earning a glare from a passing griffon.

“Are you trying to get us killed, you idiot?” Dawnfire hissed at him. “AnyONE, Wanderlust. Ponies may be the majority in some places out here, but we sure as hell aren’t in charge. If you act like we are, there are going to be problems. Don’t insult their home, either. In fact, just keep your mouth shut until we get out of here; I’d like to get back to the ship alive.”

“But-”

“Keep. Your. Mouth. Shut. You have no idea what you’re doing out here, and that goes double for you, Allegro.” Wanderlust opened his mouth to protest but Dawnfire glared at him until he closed it again. The pegasus led them down a narrow alley and the three ponies silently wound their way through the filthy, labyrinthine streets until Dawnfire apparently found what she was looking for and ducked into a tiny shop, the two stallions in tow.

At the chime of the bell above the door, an elderly griffon behind a high counter looked up with a smile that quickly turned to a sneer. “Ponies.” He spat the word like a curse. “Haven’t seen any of your kind around here for a long while. Go home before you end up as somebody’s dinner.”

“We’re looking for food and information.” Dawnfire said, ignoring the griffon’s less-than-friendly greeting.

“I don’t see how that’s my concern.”

“Wanderlust, pouch, please.” The unicorn dutifully floated over the pouch of trading supplies Luna had given him and Dawnfire stuck her head in, emerging with a small gold bar between her teeth that she tossed onto the counter. “That should make it your concern.”

The griffon barely gave it a glance. “I wouldn’t get out of bed for a trinket like that.”

“Take a closer look.” The pegasus ordered. “That’s pure, not some slag a drunken minotaur smelted behind his hut.”

The griffon picked up the bar, looked at it closely, bit it and finally spoke again. “So it is. That buys you service, at least. What do you need?”

“Food and information.”

“I can guarantee the first, money up-front for the second.” Dawnfire tossed two more gold bars onto the counter. “I have some salt-pork in the back if you’re interested.” Wanderlust nearly gagged.

“Not the right kind of food. Do you have any garnishes? Apples? Carrots?”

“Right, of course, your kind only eat the trash parts of the meal.” He stepped into the back room and emerged a minute later with a large sack that he handed to Dawnfire.

“Wanderlust, take this and check it over,” She mumbled around the bag, “while I talk information.” The unicorn gave her a glare, but complied and magicked the sack away from her. “We need information on the ring’s control center: who’s there, how it’s defended, if there are any back ways in.”

“I’m afraid you’re barking up the wrong tree. I don’t even know where the damned thing is.”

“Who would?”

“There’s a city called Archive about a week’s flight starboard and spinward. If anyone would know, they’d be there. Of course, it’s across the Dead Lands. Nobody’s made that trip in years.”

“We’ll manage, thanks. Wanderlust, does everything seem to be in order?” He nodded: the sack was mostly full of apples. “Good doing business with you.” Wanderlust followed as she moved quickly out the door. “Allegro, come on!” Dawnfire snapped. The earth pony, who had been curiously examining a display case full of what appeared to be various tools designed to care for talons, scampered quickly after them. “I swear, it’s like looking after a foal.” She muttered, making Wanderlust smile for the first time since he’d gotten up.

“He seemed eager to help.” Allegro noted as they moved back through the crowded streets.

“He should have been: I paid him enough to buy that shop and everything in it five times over.”

“What?” Wanderlust exclaimed. He was fairly certain that his mother had more gold in her jewelry than had been in those three tiny bars, and his parents weren’t exactly wealthy.

“Gold is always in high demand. The dragons love it for some reason.”

“Was it really necessary to pay him that much?” The unicorn asked.

“You don’t lie to someone who throws that kind of money around casually. Wealth normally implies power.”

“Dawn, do you have any idea where we’re going?” Allegro interrupted. He had a good point: Wanderlust found it impossible to tell one narrow, grimey street from another. If Dawn didn’t know where they were, it could take them days to find their way out.

“Ask Wands. His cutie mark is a compass, I’d imagine he’s good at direction-finding.”

“They’re not always literal, you know.” Wanderlust replied crossly. “Yours is a flame, are you good at being combustible?”

“No, but I have been known to set fires from time to time.” The pegasus replied with a wicked smile.

“Mapmaking or exploration, depending on who you ask.” Wanderlust said with a sigh. “I couldn’t navigate my way out of a paper bag, at least not without a map, so I really hope you weren’t counting on me to get us back.”

“I grew up in a forest hiding from dragons and griffons, Wands. I either had to develop a good sense of direction or die. I’ll get us there.” The rounded a corner and found themselves facing the entrance arch. “See, I told you. Now get the ship ready to meet us.” A pause. “Be ready for trouble.”

“What do you mean?” Allegro asked, confused.

“It’s empty.” It had taken Wanderlust a moment to make the connection, but the square, which had been teeming with griffons when they had arrived, was now deserted. “That’s not a good sign.”

“Not at all. Fight first, ask questions later. If all else fails, make a break for the exit.”

“Shouldn’t we at least try to talk our way out of this?” Allegro pleaded. “We don’t even know for sure if anything’s going to happen.”

Dawnfire cast an exasperated glance back at the earth pony. “Fine, we’ll do it your way. Just stay close to Wands and if things hit the fan, be ready for a fight.”

They made it halfway across the square before griffons started coming out of the side alleys. “One to the right.” Wanderlust glanced over his shoulder. “Two more behind us.”

“One more to the left. Leader and two escorts up front. Don’t talk.”

“It’s been a long time since I last saw a pegasus around here.” The speaker was the apparent leader of the gang. He was a massive brute, standing half a head taller than the others, letting him tower over the ponies. Covered in golden brown feathers and wearing a suit of crude armor that Wanderlust realized, with barely-concealed horror, was made out of animal hide, he cut an impressive figure. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen an earth pony up this high, or a unicorn, for that matter. At least not one with a face like yours. God damn, you are one ugly son of a bitch.” Wanderlust tensed and gritted his teeth, fighting a sudden surge of rage.

“You should see the other guy.” Dawnfire said, her voice cold and steady, keeping a leg raised in front of the unicorn. “If you’ll step aside, we were just on our way out.”

“That’s not happening. You see, there’s a price on your heads, a big one. We intend to collect, so put down your weapons and we won’t have to rough you up first.”

“You don’t want to do this.” Dawnfire warned.

“I definitely do. You’re worth more than this whole city to somebody. If you resist, things will get ugly: they want you alive, they didn’t specify unharmed.”

“Take the three up front, I’ve got the others.” Before Wanderlust could react, Dawnfire shot to the left in a flurry of feathers.

The unicorn leapt forward a second later, trying to close the short distance to the leader. His weapons out and his barding engaged, he threw himself at the massive griffon in an attempt to knock it to the ground. His opponent side-stepped and raked at the pony’s face with talons that skidded off the protective field.

Wanderlust sailed past the griffon, hit the ground and rolled to his hooves. Focused on the leader’s two companions, he was just barely aware of the staccato crack of plasma fire echoing across the square: Dawn wasn’t holding back at all. One of the two griffons was in the air, propelling itself towards Allegro, who was frozen in the middle of the square. Wanderlust fired a careful shot, tearing through the griffon’s wing and sending it headfirst into the paving stones, screaming in pain. He sidestepped the second as it charged him, kicking it with his hind legs as it passed and sending it sprawling.

That just left the leader. “Allegro, come here.” Wanderlust commanded as he advanced on the massive griffon. “Call them off.” The unicorn ordered when he was close enough. Seconds after Allegro joined him, there were two claps of thunder from outside his field of vision, Dawnfire’s weapons again. He had no idea what she was doing behind him, but he couldn’t afford to take his eyes off the last griffon. “I said, call them off. Either do it or die.”

“That won’t be necessary, Wanderlust. The problem’s been resolved.” Dawnfire reported calmly from somewhere to his right, just outside his field of vision.

“Celestia, Dawn!” Allegro gasped.

Wanderlust couldn’t help but look, hazarding a quick glance at the mare, who was half-covered in blood. “Dawn, are you okay?”

“None of it’s my own. One was too close for guns: I’ll need your help cleaning my knife after we get out of here.”

“You killed them?” Allegro asked, horrified.

“I’m not in the habit of giving my enemies second chances. Wands, keep him covered and take his head off if he tries to fly away.” Wanderlust reluctantly turned back towards the griffon as Dawnfire approached it.

“Who put the price on our heads?” The pegasus demanded, standing only a foot or so away from the massive griffon.

“I don’t know.” Wanderlust was far from an expert on reading the emotions of griffons, but this one was obviously on the verge of panic.

“I don’t believe you.” She was circling the griffon now, still dripping blood. “Tell me or I kill you.”

“I thought ponies were supposed to be peaceful.”

Dawnfire lunged into the air and hovered level with his face, her combat knife held to the griffon’s throat. “Do I look peaceful to you? Now tell me where you heard about this bounty, or I gut you like a pig.”

“It’s just word of mouth! I heard it from a friend, he heard it from a friend, whoever was going to pay would supposedly show up after somebody caught a brown unicorn traveling with a black pegasus and a blue earth pony. I don’t know any any more than that, I swear!”

The pegasus withdrew the knife just an inch. “So the bounty was just for the unicorn?”

“There was a bonus for the others, but yeah, most of it was for him.”

Dawnfire landed and walked back towards Wanderlust. “Well, Wands, looks like you pissed off somebody in a big way. Too bad he can’t tell us more.” She said with a shake of her head towards the griffon. “Finish him off so we can leave.”

“What? No!” Allegro shouted. “Are you insane? He’s no threat to us anymore.”

“Mercy will get us killed out here. Leaving him alive sends the wrong message to anyone watching and trust me, there are others watching.”

“What kind of monsters do you think we are, Dawn?” Allegro asked. He took a few steps closer to Wanderlust. “You don’t have to do this, Wands. He’s not a threat, you can just put down your guns, walk away and we can get out of here.”

The unicorn stood for a second, staring into the griffon’s eyes before he holstered his weapons. “I don’t kill anyone who’s helpless.” He retrieved the sack of food from where he had dropped it at the beginning of the fight and started to walk away.

“Thanks, Wands.” Allegro said, falling in beside him. “I was worried there for a sec-” The sharp crack of a discharging plasma weapon interrupted him. The earth pony rounded immediately. “What did you do?” He yelled. “You had no right! What would he have done to hurt us? What justification could you possibly have for gunning him down in the middle of the street?”

“He attacked me. Noone gets to just walk away from that.” Dawnfire replied simply. Allegro stood in the street staring at her, shaking, for a few seconds before he turned around and walked away without a word. “Come on, Wands, time to go home.” The pegasus said as she walked past.

Wanderlust stood there for another minute, alone, staring at the body of the massive griffon as it lay in the street, smoldering. Finally, with a sigh, he turned to leave. And I hadn’t thought my day could get any worse.

“I’d forgotten how high a griffon’s blood pressure was. I nick one artery...”

“Please, Dawn, don’t bring it up. I’m having enough trouble with all this blood without you talking about it.” The two were in the ship’s armory. Dawnfire was stripping off equipment and Wanderlust was doing his best to scrub the blood off of it. The pegasus, only having hooves available for the task, was unable to do so herself. Allegro was locked in another room, seething. They hadn’t seen him since he had angrily thrown his barding into the armory and stormed off.

“Sorry. Aww, it’s all over my wings, too. I’ll need to take a shower after this or it’ll start to stink.” Wanderlust gagged. “Again, sorry. I just haven’t had a rush like that in ages.” She stretched, hitting Wanderlust in the face with a wing.

Brushing away the offending appendage he said, “You call killing seven griffons a rush? What do you have against them, anyway? It has to be more than a general dislike. More to the point, how can you be so casual about all of this?”

“It was either that, or be wracked with guilt every single time, and I wouldn’t have lasted long if I’d had to deal with that. As for griffons, that’s personal.”

“Care to elaborate?” Wanderlust asked as he scrubbed one of the plasma weapons. “It’s not like I’m going anywhere for a while.” Oh, Celestia, it’s everywhere, he thought in dismay, fighting another wave of nausea.

Dawnfire took a deep breath. “I told you that Flamerage destroyed my home. What I left out was that I watched as his soldiers, mostly griffons, killed my parents, only feet in front of me. They died helping me to safety.” She paused and closed her eyes. “At least my father’s end was quick. They didn’t grant my mother even that small mercy.”

“Celestia, Dawn. I’m so sorry, I had no idea.” He reached out and set a hoof on her shoulder. “If there’s any way I could help...”

“It’s in the past. It’s nice to have someone to talk to occasionally, though.” They sat in silence as Wanderlust continued cleaning her equipment.

When the last piece was finally in its proper place, Wanderlust spoke again. “After you’re done cleaning up, meet me on the deck. There’s something I want to show you.”

“Hey, Wands.” Wanderlust jumped a little at that: he hadn’t heard Allegro approach. Standing and watching shadows slide across the ring, he had let himself drift off.

“How are you feeling?” The unicorn asked cautiously. He hadn’t seen the earth pony in hours.

“I just saw Dawn murder seven griffons in the street. How do you think I feel?” Allegro sounded miserable. “My first instinct was to convince you to leave her behind.”

“Absolutely not.” Wanderlust replied instantly.

“I know, I know.” The earth pony sighed. “We need her: we’d be wandering around lost without her help. But we still need to do something. You saw her today: that was murder, pure and simple. We can’t just sit back and accept that.”

“Right.” Wanderlust replied uncertainly. “But what?”

“I don’t know. It’s not as if we can control what she does. She seems a little less crazy than she did when we met her though, maybe we should just give her more time, keep trying to nudge her in the right direction? I mean, it won’t change what she’s done.” The pony sighed. “Then again, there’s nothing we can do to change what she’s already done. The best we can hope for it to try and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“This is the first time in her life she’s not on the run.” Wanderlust conceded. “I suppose she might just need some time to adjust.”

“I’ve noticed she seems the most normal when she’s spending time around you, actually.” The earth pony said tentatively.

“Very funny. I’m amazed you can even make those jokes now: I thought you were about ready to kill Dawn earlier.” Wanderlust remarked, baffled.

Allegro looked away guiltily. “My temper did get the best of me there for a minute. In the end, though, I just want to help her, if there’s any way I can. Just like I want to help you.” He paused for a moment. “That wasn’t a joke, though, and I’ve noticed you seem a little happier when the two of you are together, too.”

“Just your imagination.”

“If you say so. I’m not going to stop pushing you towards the idea, though.”

“You realize that one of these times she’s going to hear you and there won’t be a thing I can do to save your life?”

“Totally worth the risk.”
“What’s worth the risk?” Dawnfire asked, emerging from the control room.
“Nothing important. Don’t worry about it.” Allegro responded with an innocent smile.

The pegasus raised an eyebrow. “Right.” She replied dubiously. “About earlier, are you...”

“I don’t like it,” The earth pony replied, the humor gone from his voice. “and I still say that it wasn’t necessary, but there’s no point in us killing each other over it. Could you at least try to get out of the next trouble spot without killing anypony, though?” He asked hopefully.

“I won’t make any promises. Our survival comes first.” Dawnfire replied, making the earth pony’s ears droop. “You said you had something to show me, Wands?”

“Right, give me a minute.” Wanderlust scanned the sky, picked out the biggest, fluffiest cloud he could find and brought their ship to a stop next to it.

“It still freaks me out that you can do that.” Allegro muttered.

“Not half as much as it does me.” The unicorn replied before turning to Dawnfire and motioned to the cloud. “Go ahead, hop on.”

The pegasus cocked her head and looked at him like he was insane. “You’re joking, right? You know I’m not that stupid.”

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

“I fall straight through and make a complete fool out of myself.”

“Then you fly back up here and kill me with your bare hooves, and then probably kill Allegro, too, since he saw the whole thing.” That made her smile. “Trust me on this one.”

She took a few tentative steps towards the edge as Allegro leaned over towards his friend and whispered, “Are you sure this will work?”

“Of course it will. I’ve seen pegasi do it a thousand times back home.”

“What if things work differently out here? I really don’t want to die.”

“I’m pretty sure that clouds work the same way everywhere, Allegro.” Still, both of them held their breath as she set her first hoof on the cloud and didn’t relax until the pegasus bounded up to stand completely on top of it. With a rapidly growing smile she bounced around until, giggling like a filly, she dove in head-first, scattering a puff of cloud into the air.

“We’ll leave you two alone for a minute.” Allegro said with a grin. “Wanderlust, could I talk to you?” The sound of giggling faded as the two of them entered the control cabin. “You’ll certainly be on her good side for a while. I’ve never seen her look that happy.”

“Me neither. Maybe it’ll take the edge off her bloodthirsty side.”

“I doubt that.” Allegro’s grin faded. “There’s something else bothering you, isn’t there?”

“It’s nothing.” The earth pony just looked at him until he relented. “I saw something while I was fighting Flamerage.” It only took him a minute to recount the story.

“The mind does strange things under stress, Wanderlust. It wasn’t real.”

The unicorn pointed to the symbol hanging above the door. “He was wearing that. I don’t know what happened, but I didn’t imagine it. There’s something strange going on here, Allegro. I feel like I’m being led around by the nose, and it scares me that I can’t see who’s doing the leading.”

“You’re being paranoid, Wands. Nopony’s leading you anywhere. I almost wish they were, we’re dangerously on our own out here.”

“If you say so.” Wanderlust replied, not believing it for an instant. “Come on, let’s go make sure Dawn hasn’t completely forgotten about us.”

“Wait.” Allegro said, stopping his friend at the door. “You were right to walk away earlier, but I’m sure Dawn will be trying to convince you otherwise every chance she gets. Promise me you won’t let her get inside your head.”

“Allegro, this is sill-”

“Promise me.” The earth pony interrupted.

“Fine, I promise.”

“Thanks, Wands.”

“Have you heard about the headmaster’s new project?” Wanderlust was standing on a cliff, a tower of stone that stretched into the distance to both sides. Spread below him he could see a patchwork of farmland dotted with clean, white buildings; a pattern repeated as far as the eye could see. Turning, he saw that he was standing in a square rimmed with towering buildings of smooth, black stone. He blinked and the area was suddenly full of ponies, almost all unicorns, bustling to and fro, lost in conversation.

“They’re on the other continent right now. Over three thousand casters working in concert. It’s the most intricate project ever attempted here.” He still couldn’t place the voice. Wanderlust walked tentatively through the plaza, seemingly unnoticed by the other unicorns. He was shocked when one actually walked through him.

There was suddenly a bright, white light shining from behind him over the walls. He turned to see a wall of roiling light cresting the horizon, rolling towards him with terrifying speed. He tried to run, but his hooves wouldn’t respond to his commands. In seconds, the light reached him and there was only darkness.

“An entire planet lost,” There was a new voice, now. Authoritative, demanding, it cut through the darkness, “upwards of five billion dead so quickly that there was no time for a warning. Not a single soul made it out alive and the planet is now but a dead husk. That, Members of the Council, Your Majesty, is why Triumph is necessary.”

Wanderlust bolted straight up in his bed, covered in sweat. Instantly he could sense something was wrong with the ship. Through the door he heard Dawnfire shout, “Wake up, Wanderlust! We’re under attack!”

Chapter 5

Wanderlust was out the door in a flash. “How long do we have?” He asked as he met Dawnfire on the stairs.

“I’m not sure. We’re still outrunning them, but we’re slowing down fast.” She responded as the two bounded towards the armory. “Is there anything you can do?”

The unicorn had to concentrate for a few seconds, desperately searching the ship’s systems. “We’re losing power, but I can’t tell why. There’s nothing I can do.”

“Shit. Help me with these weapons.” The two frantically donned their gear as quickly as they could before rushing to the upper deck of the ship.

It was still the middle of the night, as dark as it ever was on the ring, and in the ghostly half-light Wanderlust could see the black-on-black flutter of wings all around them. “What are they?”

“I have no idea, but there are a lot of them. If we keep slowing down, they’re all going to catch up.”

“How many?”

“How the hell should I know? I can barely see the damned things!” Dawnfire walked to the edge of the ship and looked down. “Oh Gods, I hope they don’t force us down. Wands, come take a look at this.” The unicorn walked over, nervously glancing over his shoulder at the barely-visible wings flashing past. “I thought that griffon was being dramatic when he talked about ‘Dead Lands’.”

“Celestia, what is this place?” As far as he could see the ground was gray and barren. Strewn about seemingly at random were massive hulks made of stone or metal, interspersed with broken spires that jutted towards the sky like the splintered bones of the world itself. “What happened here?”

“Not important right now.” The pegasus snapped. “Is our speed still dropping?”

“Half the speed of sound and plummeting.” Wanderlust replied instantly. “I’m not sure there’s anything I can do to stop it.” That thought scared him. It’s almost like a part of me just stopped working. Why can’t I tell what’s going on?

Dawnfire pulled him back into the moment. “It’s a fight, then. Are there any guns on this thing?”

The unicorn had to think for a moment, he was still too preoccupied with the power loss. Focus on it later. As long as we’re still flying, there are bigger concerns. Wanderlust took a deep breath to order his thoughts. “There are a dozen telescopes and observation devices I can’t even name, but I can’t find any weapons.”

“Damn” She swore. “We’ll do this the old-fashioned way, then. We hold them on the deck and retreat inside if things go bad. Try to keep the control room to your back. Until then, I guess we wait.”

“Do you know anything at all about what we might be up against?”

“This is farther than anyone I’ve ever met has traveled before. We’re in uncharted territory.”

“Shit. This is not the way I wanted this day to go.” The unicorn lamented. Can’t I just get one day to think?

“Such language, Wanderlust.” His companion observed, raising a hoof to her mouth to cover a mocking grin. “I’m shocked.”

“What can I say? You’re rubbing off on me.”

“About time.” She growled, only half joking this time.

About that time Allegro poked his head out of the control room. “What’s going on? Is there any way I can help?”

Dawnfire looked at Wanderlust and shrugged. The unicorn said, “Go below and stay safe: there’s probably going to be a fight. Be ready to move, though, just in case we have to land” The other pony retreated back into the ship.

“He’d be a lot more useful if he had a weapon.” Dawnfire muttered as she started to pace around the deck.

“We’ve had this conversation before, Dawn.” Wanderlust replied with a sigh. “He’s not changing and I’m not going to let you force him.”

The pegasus had just opened her mouth to reply when her eyes went wide and she started moving. “Incoming!” Dawnfire screamed as she bowled into Wanderlust, knocking him off his hooves. A black cloud of feathers sailed over them as they hit the deck, accompanied by an otherworldly shriek.

“What is that thing?” Wanderlust yelled.

Dawnfire was already on her hooves. “Who cares, kill it!”

Wanderlust rolled to his hooves in time to see the creature struggling to stand. At first, he thought it was a pegasus, but it looked wrong. It was out of proportion: long spindly limbs and a tiny head that ended in a bony, almost beak-like protrusion. Its feathers were patchy and ragged, its eyes were a dull black and its mane and fur were mangy and sparse. The sight paralyzed him until it opened its mouth and shrieked, a sound so loud that it was physically painful. The screech was drowned out by a thunderclap as burning plasma splashed across its body, leaving the beast smoldering and thrashing about on the deck.

“Get up! There’ll be more.” Wanderlust jumped to his hooves and drew his weapons in time to see another of the creatures come screaming towards them. A heartbeat later it was met by Dawnfire’s weapons and sent, in flames, off the other side of the ship. “Behind us!” She yelled. Wanderlust whirled to see three more of the creatures careening towards them from in front of the ship. As they tore through the ship’s safety fields, the system finally failed and Wanderlust was assailed by the onrushing wind.

He screamed a warning to Dawnfire and cut the ship’s speed as quickly as he could, sending himself sliding roughly into the back of the control room and the hostile creatures flying past them.

“What are you doing? We need to outrun them!”

“We can’t! Either I slow us down or we get blown over the side!” Wanderlust yelled back as he fired at one of the attackers that tried climbing over the control room. Its body fell forward, forcing him to scramble to avoid it. “How many more are there?” One hit him from behind, knocking him down before he blew it away.

“Just keep shooting!” The other pony screamed back. Wanderlust had no intention of doing otherwise. His perception shrunk to a blur of black feathers, snapping beaks, reaching hooves and burning fire. The only breaks in the thunder of weapons-fire were the frantic seconds required to switch power crystals. Wanderlust lost all perception of time: it could have been seconds or hours before a deafening crash split the air and the ship bucked, sending him sprawling to the deck. “Get below!” Dawnfire yelled as the ship pitched forwards and started falling towards the ground.

With a herculean effort, Wanderlust heaved himself across the deck and into the control room as the ship tilted further and further forward. As it neared vertical, Allegro’s hoof snaked around the corner and pulled him inside the body of the ship. The ponies fell upwards as Wanderlust tumbled inside, slamming into a wall near Dawnfire.

Pinned against the cold metal of the ship, he could feel it plummeting towards the ground, could feel systems fading away as the ship died piece by piece. He almost felt like a part of him was dying with it. As their altitude spun down to zero, Wanderlust felt the ship expend one last massive surge of energy and for a split-second he felt as if he were floating: a safety system to cushion the impact, some small section of his mind filled in, and then he settled gently onto the ceiling.

“What happened?” Allegro asked groggily, a hoof on his head: he’d apparently hit it against something during the fall.

“I’m not sure,” Wanderlust replied, rising to his hooves. Half-active systems were still trying to maintain a connection, making it was difficult to concentrate. “but I think some sort of weapon hit us from the ground.”

Dawnfire jumped upright at that. “Then they’re going to be here, and soon. We need to leave right now.”

As she and Allegro hurried towards the stairs, something was nagging at Wanderlust’s mind. He realized he still had access to the ship’s map. He frantically tore the portable map out of his pack and manipulated the controls as gunfire erupted outside and Allegro’s voice called to him.

The fighting seemed to intensify outside until Dawnfire’s voice broke over his radio. “Either you get your useless ass out here right now or we’re leaving you!”

“I’m coming! What am I walking into?” He responded, shoving the map back into a pouch and running towards the stairs.

“Minotaurs, lots of them.” She barked in response, her voice clipped and the gaps filled with the staccato crack of gunfire. “They’re heavily armed. Stay low.”

Wanderlust bounded out of the control room to where the other two ponies were taking cover behind a pile of debris kicked up in the crash. Allegro was curled into a ball with his legs over his head and Dawnfire was crouched low, rising every few seconds to fire a burst of plasma at the unseen enemies.

“What’s the plan?” Wanderlust gasped, rising to a crouch and firing his weapons blindly over the rise. Something cracked past his head and he dropped to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

“Lay down covering fire while Allegro and I move into whatever the hell that is. We’ll cut through there.” She pointed with a hoof at an opening in a metal wall behind them. “When we reach it, I’ll signal you and you’ll move back while I cover you. Sound good?”

“Ready when you are. Allegro, did you catch that?” The earth pony nodded and whimpered. “Good. Tell me when, Dawn.”

There were a few tense breaths as the staccato reports of the minotaur’s weapons went unchallenged. “Now.” She barked. As Wanderlust started firing, the other two ponies jumped to their hooves and ran. A few seconds later, Dawn started firing and Wanderlust rose, catching a glimpse of a number of massive figures lit in the ghastly glow left behind by the plasma as it burned through the dust. He could hear the projectiles around him like a swarm of gnats as he sprinted through the open. As he reached the opening in the wall of metal, one slapped him on the back of the head. His barding saved him, but the impact sent him rolling across the blackened ground.

Dawnfire scooped him back to his hooves. “Move!” She didn’t have to tell him twice. Wanderlust could hear the shouts behind them as he and his friends took off into the maze of metal passages. As they neared the first corner, a dozen projectiles caromed off the wall next to Wanderlust’s head and he responded with a burst of plasma without turning.

The pegasus was leading them at random, making twists and turns, doubling back, anything to confuse their pursuers. It seemed to be working: the shouts and the echoing sound of hooves seemed to be fading until one of them burst from a side passage with a roar, backhanding Dawnfire across the face as she passed.

As the mare went sprawling from the force of the blow, Wanderlust shoved Allegro out of the way, lunging with his knife for fear that a stray shot might hit one of his friends. The unicorn leapt onto the minotaur’s back and plunged the knife between its shoulder blades. The beast roared and slammed him into one of the metal walls.

Wanderlust’s head rang as he held on for dear life, plunging the knife in again and again, gritting his teeth and trying to block out the sounds that escaped the minotaur as it fought for its hold on life. Finally, it fell backwards with a groan, nearly crushing Wanderlust before he had a chance to dive out of the way.

As he caught his breath, he looked down at the minotaur. It was wearing black armor over its torso, and a pair of crossed red lances were embroidered on its right breast. Some sort of netting held an array of pouches. Wanderlust started to open one, but Dawnfire cut him off. “No time. They’ll have heard the struggle.” With one last glance at the red lances, Wanderlust followed the others deeper into the structure.

Three turns later, Dawnfire led them up a narrow metal staircase that creaked ominously as they climbed. A few levels up, she led them down a side passage at random. Upon rounding a corner, she stopped in her tracks. “What the hell?” She muttered.

Wanderlust edged past Allegro for a better look. “I have no idea.” He responded. The next room was massive. They were near the ceiling, and the ground was clearly visible far below. Filling the space between was a network of walkways and gantries arrayed in evenly-spaced cubes.

The three of them stood staring for a moment before Dawnfire took the first step forward. “Are you insane?” Allegro asked. “We need to find another way: half those walkways are more rust than metal.”

“This one isn’t.” Argued Dawnfire. “And this is the last way they’ll expect us to go.”

“Not to mention that there’s no way a minotaur is getting across this room alive.” Wanderlust added.

“There’s no way we’re getting across that room alive!”

“Look, Allegro,” Dawnfire said impatiently, “if it makes you feel any better, I’ll test out the walkway first.”

“What will that prove? You’re a pegasus: you must weigh about half of what I do.”

“Allegro, it’s either this or we fight our way through Celestia knows how many minotaurs.” Wanderlust snapped. Allegro looked like he was about to argue for a moment, then sighed in resignation.

“I don’t like heights.” The earth pony muttered as they started across.

“Then don’t look down.” Dawnfire suggested.

Walking the length of the room seemed to take them ages, but they made it across safely. Dawnfire led them through four more random turns before she finally stopped. Wanderlust’s legs felt like they were on fire: the three had run most of the way. Allegro sank to the floor and lay there in the dust. Dawnfire wasn’t even breathing heavily.

“Don’t get too comfortable. They’re going to keep looking.”

“So,” Wanderlust gasped. “this is your area of expertise. What do we do now?”

“We keep moving until morning, then we find a place to hide. We only move at night, and we don’t stop until we’re out of this hellhole. I don’t suppose either of you thought to grab food on the way out?”

“A little.” Allegro said. “I brought the survival rations, and all the water I could carry.”

“Okay, that gives us food for maybe two weeks? So we either get out of here fast or starve.”

The earth pony opened his pack and tossed a pouch to Wanderlust with his teeth. “I managed to grab the trading supplies, too.”

“Thanks, Allegro.” The unicorn replied as he tucked the pouch away. At least I remembered the power cells.

“Great, now we can buy food if we meet any wandering grocers in the middle of this deserted wasteland.” Dawnfire said, prompting a glare from the earth pony. “I just wish we knew what direction to head. There’s no telling how turned around we got in the crash.”

“What did you think took me so long when the shooting started?” Wanderlust asked with a tired smile and produced the map. “I managed to mark Archive before I had to leave.” Consulting the ghostly image of the ring floating between them, he finally pointed to his left. “That’s the way we need to go.”

“Let’s get moving, then. Allegro, get up.”

The earth pony clambered to his hooves with a groan. “The next time a princess asks me to go on a quest, remind me to just say no.”

“I’ll do my best to remember that.” Dawnfire said dryly as she began walking down the corridor.

She set a slower pace this time, giving Wanderlust a chance to actually examine their surroundings, though there wasn’t much to see. Anything that wasn’t metal had long since rotted away. There looked to have been something, possibly signs or labels, painted on the walls but they were too worn to read. Whatever the structure was, it was a honeycomb of metal compartments. There were heavy doors at the end of each corridor, and at the entrance to each room, as if the designers had wanted the ability to seal it section by section. The walls seemed to grow closer the longer they spent inside, the narrow passages shrinking around him.

“I never got a good look at them.” Allegro said suddenly. “The things that attacked us in the air. What were they?”

“I don’t know.” Dawnfire snapped.

“They looked like pegasi.” Wanderlust said.

“I know.” The mare snapped again.

“Have you ever seen anything like that before?” Allegro asked, sounding a little uneasy.

“Yes, thousands of times. I just never thought to mention it.” Dawnfire replied, sarcasm dripping from every word.

“What’s wrong with you?” Allegro said. Wanderlust thought he had an idea, but the earth pony had spoken before the unicorn could tell him to drop it.

“How would you feel if it had been earth ponies twisted into whatever the hell those things were?” There was a touch of fear in her voice. Well, if they’d been unicorns I’m sure I’d feel about the same. “I hope I never find out what those things were. I hope I never find where they came from. I hope I never see one of the damned things again.”

Allegro opened his mouth again, but this time Wanderlust was quick enough to stop him. “Any idea why the minotaurs are after us?”

“The bounty on our heads.” Dawn sighed. “Whoever’s employing them is after it. I’ve never seen minotaurs this well-equipped, though.” She paused for a moment. “I’ve heard rumors for years about kingdoms to spinward that still have the old knowledge.”

“Old knowledge?” Allegro asked.

“Magic, technology, all the things we’ve lost. Things like this.” She explained, lifting a wing to highlight the weapon at her side. “They’re said to be immensely powerful, and all paying fealty to something. Some ruler nobody’s ever seen. It’s said that even the dragons kneel to him.”

“Do you believe it?” Said the earth pony.

“The day I see a dragon bend a knee to anyone is the day I eat my mane.” She said with a snort. “It’s all just stories. Chances are whoever hired these minotaurs stumbled across some old storage cache somewhere and decided that better-equipped underlings were more useful.”

“What if it’s true?”

“Then they catch us, and we die.” She responded coldly. “You can’t fight that kind of power.”

“What happened here?” Wanderlust whispered, his voice filled with awe. It had taken them hours, but they had finally emerged at ground-level in the middle of what appeared to be a wide avenue. To their right a canyon of towering buildings, reduced by unknown forces to little more than skeletons of structural supports, stretched to the horizon. To their left the buildings were fewer and farther between, interspersed with, and sometimes half-buried under, mounds of rubble larger than any building he had ever seen in Equestria.

Everything was charred black, as if some kind of titanic blaze had swept through the entire area and every flat surface was covered with a thin gray dust that clung to their hooves and fur. Most unsettling was the feeling that they weren’t wanted, that this wasn’t a place for the living: nothing grew, nothing moved, there was no sound. Not even a breeze broke the unnatural stillness.

“Chances are we don’t want to know.” Dawnfire had spoken quietly, but her voice still echoed in the stillness. “Which way?” Wanderlust consulted the map and pointed across the street towards a tall tower. “It’ll be dawn soon, we should wait out the day when we reach that building.”

They had long since switched off their barding to conserve energy, meaning that Wanderlust could feel the ground crunch at every step as they crossed the vast open area. He cringed with every sound that echoed off the shattered husks of the city. There was something deeply unsettling about seeing destruction on this scale: one could have dropped the whole of Ponyville into this city and lost it in the clutter and yet whoever had built it couldn’t stop its utter devastation.

Between the street and building was a wide plaza. The space was dotted with benches, stone planters for trees and the entire space was centered on what must have been a magnificent fountain. Now, it was just a blackened stone bowl surrounding a centerpiece of shapeless metal, melted in whatever cataclysm had befallen the city.

As their hooves clicked on the broken tiles that covered the square, Wanderlust’s ears perked up. There was a gentle humming noise in the distance, nothing that would normally cause alarm, but in the deathly silence of the broken city any sound was out of place.

“Into the fountain!” He hissed at the other two. “Right now!” They scrambled across the uneven paving stones and jumped into the lower section of the fountain, hiding behind a stone wall. As the hum drew closer Wanderlust risked a peek over the rim. A dart-shaped vessel the size of a small cottage was drifting slowly past, twenty or thirty feet above the street, two bright beams of light sweeping the path in front of it. Dawnfire pulled him back down to the ground and silently glared at him.

They stayed pressed to the ground, faces in the dust until the humming of the search vessel faded into the distance. Motioning for them to stay down, Dawnfire slowly lifted her head over the wall and watched for several seconds before rising. “Come on, we need to move before something else shows up.” The three sprinted across the rest of the plaza, their hooves clicking on the tiles as the area was abruptly bathed in sunlight. A few minutes later they were huddled together in a small room on the third floor of the building.

“That was close.” Wanderlust whispered. Dawnfire nodded, glancing towards the door.

“Like I said, we’ll have to move at night: less chance of them finding us. We have the advantage now, though. Their search area keeps expanding the longer it’s been since they’ve seen us.”

“What do we do until then?”

“Get some sleep.” She whispered with a smile and a nod towards Allegro, who was already snoring. “I’ll take first watch.” With a nod, Wanderlust settled his head onto his hooves and was asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

Wanderlust stood in the plaza, looking at the street. He was surrounded by trees and flowers. Birds flitted through the air and filled the world with music. The unicorn paused to admire the fountain. Water flowed down steps of white stone, atop which stood a winged unicorn of gleaming platinum. For a moment, Wanderlust thought it was Princess Celestia, but the eyes were wrong, as was the cutie mark. The few rare times he had seen the monarch, she had looked kind and caring. This one had steel in her eyes, and there was a set of scales on her side.

Kneeling before her were three smaller statues: a unicorn, a pegasus and an earth pony, all cast from iron. The three statues were presenting her with what appeared to be large knives.

“They’re called swords.” Wanderlust started and whirled. The voice had been right next to him, but he was completely alone. “Not our creation, but a symbol we adopted, nonetheless.” The voice added solemnly from his other side.

“Who’s there?” He asked, his voice shaking. The question echoed off that walls of the plaza, but that was the only answer he received. “Hello?” He called again, his hooves clicking off the dark green tiles that paved the plaza as he moved towards the street. Again, his own echo was the only response.

The glare off the spotless alabaster buildings nearly blinded him as he looked down the canyon they formed, towering over the wide boulevard. Trees were planted in an orderly row down the center, stretching off into the distance for as far as the unicorn could see. The other direction was much the same. There wasn’t another pony, nor even a hint of one, in any direction. As far as he could tell, this city might have been empty since the day of its creation.

“Sir, there’s a problem.” Wanderlust jumped at the sound of the voice. It was faint, slightly garbled; he couldn’t tell where it was coming from or who was speaking. He spun around, but he was still alone. Whoever was speaking, he couldn’t see them.

“Report.” A second voice barked.

“Multiple unknown contacts just broke the solar perimeter.” The first voice again. This time, there was more than a hint of fear in its tone.

“Hit the panic button: we have a plan for this.” The second voice again. They seemed to have a different source every time they spoke. “Start evacuations, signal Fleetcom to intercept, spin up ground defenses and switch relays to standby.” The orders came rapid-fire as Wanderlust stared into the sky, trying to make sense of what he was hearing. “This is nothing we haven’t faced before.”

“Hostile Formation Five has broken past the rimwall defenses, sir. Estimate casualties in excess of five hundred vessels.” A third voice, this one was more urgent.

“Remaining strength?” The second voice again. It sounded tired, as if the speaker had been awake for days.

“Three hundred warships, sir. They’re approaching Iniba now, sir.”

A long pause, broken by the barely-audible click of hoofsteps on metal. “Authorize strikecom to fire on inhabited territory.”

“Sir?”

“You heard me.” The authoritative voice sounded angry.

“Evacuations are still ongoing, sir.” The third voice objected.

“I’m aware. Authorize them to fire.”

“There are civilians within-”

“And we all know what happens to them if we’re overrun.” The one in charge snapped. “Give the order.”

Silence followed as Wanderlust walked slowly down the wide street. A shadow slid slowly across him, and he looked up to see a swarm of massive, metal objects cutting silently through the sky above him. There must have been dozens, if not hundreds, so large that the one above him entirely blocked out the sun. Suddenly there was a blinding flash of light, followed by nothing.

“May the gods have mercy upon our souls.”

“Wanderlust, wake up.” Dawnfire’s voice and an accompanying prod from a hoof woke him.

“What’s going on?” He asked, bolting upright.

“Keep your voice down.” Dawnfire whispered. “You were having a nightmare, talking in your sleep.”

“Sorry,” Wanderlust replied in a whisper. He looked up at the sunlight streaming through cracks in the wall. “How much longer until we can move?”

“It’s only been a couple of hours. Get comfortable, we have a lot of waiting to do.”

“Lovely. I don’t suppose you have a deck of cards?”

“Cards?” Dawnfire asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Wanderlust sighed. “Nevermind.” He shivered a little. “When did it get so cold?”

“It’s a little harder to ignore when we’re not moving around.” She took a few steps and lay next to him. “I wish we’d had warmer clothing with us but I suppose this is the best we can manage.”

“Just don’t let Allegro see, he’d have a field day.” Wanderlust muttered. The earth pony was still sound asleep in the other corner.

“You don’t realize I’ve heard those conversations, do you?” The look on the unicorn’s face made her laugh. “You don’t survive for as long in the wilderness as I have by not listening to what’s going on around you, Wands.”

“So why haven’t you said anything? I was expecting you to murder him or something.”

“I don’t go around killing for the fun of it. Well, not usually, at least.” She amended with a wicked gleam in her eye. “I thought I’d let him have his fun for now. Just don’t get any funny ideas.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” He promised with a smile. A cry from above them made him start. “What was that?”

“Those creatures we saw earlier are nesting in the tops of the buildings. I think they’re mostly nocturnal.” Dawnfire replied, growing more serious. “We’ll have to be careful tonight.”

“Is there anything that’s actually going to go our way today?” Wanderlust lamented.

“We’re still alive, Wands, that’s something.” She reminded him. “Now keep an eye on things while I get some sleep.” She closed her eyes and leaned against the unicorn, leaving him with nothing to do but stare at the wall and think until nightfall, with only the occasional glance at the pegasus nestled against him.

“They’re still searching for us.” Wanderlust was looking out over the wasteland that lay beyond the building that had served as their temporary refuge. Shattered structures were strewn about the vast plain haphazardly and the ground was thick with rubble. In the distance, dozens of dart-shaped ships were drifting through the sky, searchlights combing the ground.

“Luna never said it would be easy.” Allegro muttered groggily from behind him.

“We just need to stay low, stay quiet and keep to the debris. Come on, let’s go.” Dawnfire led them across the plain, sticking close to the remains of the decaying structures.

“How far do we still need to go?” Allegro asked a few hours into the journey.

“We’re maybe four weeks away from Archive on foot.” Wanderlust replied. “Let’s hope we can make our food last until then.”

“How long has it been since you missed a meal?” Dawnfire asked from the front.

“It’s been awhile.”

“We have food for two weeks, more if we stretch it. Going a week or two without won’t be at all comfortable, but it’ll be survivable. You’ll adapt.” She spoke again after a minute of silence. “Gods, would you look at the size of that thing?” Wanderlust blinked and his jaw dropped. They were approaching a structure so large that he had assumed at first that it was part of the landscape. It was broken into several pieces, but it was obviously rectangular, metallic, several hundred feet high and at least a mile in length.

He was about to comment when his ears caught something. “Coming this way, into cover now.” The three of them scrambled through the open and took cover in the crumbling remnants of a low stone structure. They stayed as still as possible as the gray ship drifted past above them, a spotlight missing them by feet. The unicorn watched as the light played across the structure in front of them, revealing some writing near the top that he couldn’t make out.

As it drifted into the distance, the three kept watching, concerned that it might turn around until suddenly a beam of white light lanced from the ground and impaled it. The three ponies jumped to their feet as the ship, engulfed in flames, tumbled out of view behind the rubble.

“Shit. We need to move.” Dawnfire yelled as she started running. “That’ll draw them all this way.” They sprinted through the dark, not stopping until they had reached the interior of the mammoth structure.

Wanderlust watched through a crack in the wall as the ships searching for them sped past. “What was that?”

“No idea.” Allegro replied. “Maybe somepony out here is on our side for a change.”

“Some ally. Pointed them straight towards us. Not to mention that now they’re not going to let up anytime soon.” Dawnfire growled.

“With any luck, whoever did that is now priority one. We may be able to slip out unnoticed.” Wanderlust said hopefully. Dawnfire just grunted. “Come on, let’s keep moving.”

With that the three ponies, cold, tired and alone, walked silently into the night.

Chapter 6

“I shouldn’t have eaten so much.” Allegro groaned from the shore. They had spent twenty-three nights traversing the Dead Lands and twenty-three days huddled together inside whatever shelter they could find, ears straining for any warning of their hunters. They had stretched their food supply as far as they could, but the last of it had run out on the eighteenth day.

Wanderlust had been relieved beyond words a few hours before as the featureless plains of dust had slowly given way to tree-covered hills. Upon stumbling across a small, lazy river the ponies had stopped to rest and wash off the clinging dust.

“I warned you. You can’t just gorge yourself after not eating at all for a few days.” Dawnfire called, still swimming.

“If I die,” Allegro moaned pitifully, sprawled across the grass as he clutched at his stomach, “Tell my wife I always loved her.”

“You’ll be fine, you big foal,” Dawnfire called, propelling herself into the air and splashing back into the water.

“You don’t even have a wife,” Wanderlust pointed out with a sigh. Allegro just groaned again and rolled onto his side.

The unicorn was laying on the shore enjoying the feeling of soft grass against his fur again. It feels so good to be away from all that damned dust. “I’ve never met a pegasus who enjoyed the water quite as much as you do,” He called to Dawn.

The pegasus swam towards the shore and pulled herself out of the water before fanning her wings, spraying the other two ponies with water. “I grew up next to a lake,” She explained, “The skies were dangerous, nothing like a bunch of pegasi flying around to attract attention, but I could always go swimming.” She lay down between the others and began fussing over her soaked feathers. “So what now?”

Wanderlust retrieved the map from his pack and spent a few minutes studying it. “Archive looks like it’s in that direction.” He nodded towards the far side of the river. “It should be an easy trip unless Allegro drops dead first.”

“I want a mausoleum,” The earth pony groaned. “With statues, and fountains, and stained glass. You should be able to put aside your grief long enough to build it. I have faith in you.”

“Please. If you die from eating too much grass, I’m leaving your sorry flank for the vultures.” Wanderlust replied as he reluctantly pulled himself off the ground.

“Very funny.” The other pony moaned as he rose to his hooves.

“Better than most of your jokes.” The unicorn replied, helping the earth pony don his pack.

“Speaking of which, Allegro,” Dawnfire said coldly as they walked away, “We need to have a little talk.”

“Celestia.” Wanderlust whispered as they approached. Archive was built into a column of rock that rose alone from the surrounding plain. Vines grew up the side of the monolith, creeping across terraces carved from white marble and massive panes of curved glass.

“Any plans on how to get in?” Dawnfire asked, seemingly unimpressed.

“I thought we’d find the front door and ask politely.”

“No, seriously,” Dawnfire said, laughing, “what’s the plan?” She stopped laughing abruptly. “Gods, you’re serious. You realize how stupid that is, don’t you?”

“Why? They must trade, right?” The unicorn replied, trying to reason with her. “They can’t just kill everyone who shows up on sight.”

“You’re too trusting, Wanderlust.”

“And you’re too paranoid, Dawnfire.”

“Would both of you shut up for a minute!” Allegro shoved his way between the two. “Bickering doesn’t get us anywhere. I say we do it Wanderlust’s way. Even if they aren’t exactly happy to see us, we have less of a chance of getting shot by approaching them as traders than we do trying to sneak in.”

“I suppose that’s true.” Dawnfire admitted reluctantly. “I have an idea that might work. Just play along and let me do all the talking.”

There were two unicorn guards holding spears outside the main entrance. Ignoring their challenge, Dawnfire walked straight up to one. “I’m here on business,” She told him. “Don’t waste my time on underlings: bring me a pony who can actually make decisions.” The guard gaped at her. “What are you waiting for, you idiot? Go!”

“Who are you to order us around?” The other one asked gruffly, shifting his spear slightly.

“Are you really sure you want to do that?” Dawnfire asked with a pointed glance at the spear as she moved her wing to highlight the weapon hanging at her side. “I’m someone who is interested in trading with whoever runs this sorry excuse for a settlement. You’re unicorns, you know what I’m carrying. My home could wipe this place off the ring with less effort than it takes you to swat a fly, and they will not be happy if you snub their envoy.” The spear abruptly returned to its original position. “Now I suggest you get someone I can negotiate with, and quickly. I am not known for my patience.” The guard scurried away as Dawnfire turned back towards her companions.

“Impressive.” Wanderlust whispered, careful to make sure that the guard didn’t hear. “Even I believed you there for a second.”

“It’s all a matter of knowing what buttons to push.” She whispered back with a small, carefully concealed smile. After a few minutes’ wait a gray unicorn wearing some sort of ceremonial robe that was obviously askew came hurrying out the door.

“My apologies, envoy. We were not expecting you.” He hurriedly stated as Dawnfire turned to meet him.

“It’s of no concern. I should have sent one of my servants ahead with word.” She gave him a short bow that he respectfully returned.

“My name is Moonlight, Foreign Minister of the Sovereign State of Archive.”

“I am Dawnfire, representing the Kingdom of Equestria.” Wanderlust nearly laughed. She’d fit in in Equestria about as well as I’d fit in with a family of dragons. “May we speak in private? I wish to propose a mutually-beneficial arrangement.”

“Certainly, certainly.” He waved the three forward and fell in beside the pegasus. “Of course, first we need to prepare a welcome appropriate for a foreign dignitary such as yourself.”

“Of course,” The pegasus agreed, “I assume you have guest accommodations ready?”

“Yes, milady. Will you be requiring separate rooms for your companions?”

“That won’t be necessary. The unicorn is my bodyguard, the blue one is my personal servant. I would prefer both of them remain close at hoof.”

“Certainly. Please, right this way.” The unicorn led them through the entry corridor and into a bustling central concourse. “Impressive, isn’t it?”

The city of Archive occupied the outer portions of the spire. The center was hollow, taking advantage of the perpetual noon to fill the entire structure with sunlight. Looking across the open space, Wanderlust could just make out the other side of the ring-shaped settlement.

“It’s novel.” Dawnfire said disdainfully as she moved past their crestfallen guide. The unicorn rapidly caught up and led them through the thick crowds towards the central shaft. He almost didn’t have to bother: the ponies parted around them, casting curious glances at the strangers in their unfamiliar garb. For the first time, Wanderlust was conscious of exactly how different he was. These ponies look like they could be from home. Half my face is a ruin, I’m carrying instruments of death and I haven’t had a proper bath in a month. What must they think of me?

The eyes upon them made his skin crawl as they moved inwards. The other ponies seemed courteous enough, and he couldn’t blame them for the stares, but there was still something unnerving about the entire experience. Their guide finally herded them into a large glass capsule that rose upwards on command.

“The first four levels are largely residential, the next two comprise our market district while the government offices, embassies, etcetera are housed on the uppermost tier.” Moonlight explained. “Your accommodations are located in the embassy district.”

“Embassy district? Are there that many emissaries arriving here?” Dawnfire asked.

“Archive trades in information, milady: it’s a commodity in high demand. We have envoys from as far away as the Free States and from most of the dragon clans, as well.”

As the lift rose, Wanderlust tried to take in as much as he could. On each level around the central shaft there was a broad walkway filled with ponies, beyond which numerous passages were carved into the rock leading deeper into the heart of each tier. Glancing upwards, Wanderlust was surprised to see a number of ponies seemingly standing in mid-air at the top of the shaft.

“The Grand Ballroom,” Their guide said with a smug smile. “It’s located at the very top of the city, spanning the central shaft. Preparations are underway for the feast as we speak.”

“Excellent. I look forward to it.” Dawnfire paused, as if wondering whether she should say more. “Moonlight. That’s an unusual name.”

“We have a tradition in Archive of passing names down through families.” Moonlight explained. “It helps us remember that we trade in secrets that others have forgotten, and remind us of what we’ve lost.”

“What does it mean?” The pegasus asked. Wanderlust blinked. Of course, she’s never seen the moon: the ring doesn’t have one. She’s never experienced a winter, or seen a sunrise, either. To her, even her namesake is just something sliding out from in front of the sun.

Neither have I. It should have been obvious, but the thought struck him like a bolt of lightning. The only moon I’ve ever seen was an illusion, the only sunrises, the only sunsets. I can point out all the thing’s she’s missed, but at least she was seeing the truth. Sometimes I can’t help but miss the lie, though, he thought, remembering long nights lying under the stars and watching the moon make its rounds.

“As I said,” Their guide responded sadly, “A reminder of what we’ve lost.” The lift slid smoothly to a halt at the top level and Moonlight ushered them out and led them through a winding series of corridors. On the way they passed a number of ponies, several griffons that were huddled together in deep conversation and even an adolescent dragon that stared daggers at them.

Wanderlust cringed inwardly as their eyes met, the cold smile on Flamerage’s face as the dragon closed for the kill suddenly flashing into his mind. He knows, the unicorn thought as he looked into the dragon’s eyes. I don’t know how, but he knows. He shook his head to clear the thought as the dragon passed. Don’t be stupid. There’s no possible way. Still, the thought wouldn’t quite leave.

Finally, they arrived at the rooms that had been set aside for their use. “Would you like beds brought for your servants, milady?” Their guide asked politely from the door as they entered.

“That won’t be necessary,” Dawnfire responded, carefully concealing her smile from the other pony, “They can sleep on the floor.” Wanderlust shot her a glare but didn’t speak: something about their guide’s manner made him feel as if he was expected to remain silent.

“Very well. There will be someone along shortly with clothing more suitable for tonight’s occasion. Your bodyguard will, of course, be welcome to accompany you if you believe it necessary.”

“Thank you. That will be all for now.” Dawnfire said imperiously and the unicorn bowed and backed out of the room, leaving the door to slide shut silently behind him. Wanderlust opened his mouth but the pegasus motioned for him to stop. “Wanderlust, focus for a moment. Am I right in assuming that there’s some sort of enchantment active on this room?”

The unicorn sat and concentrated for a few minutes before finally detecting a weak spell hanging in the air. He nodded at Dawnfire.

“Break it.” She ordered. Wanderlust closed his eyes and pulled the spell apart, like unraveling a ball of yarn.

“How did you know?” Wanderlust asked when he opened his eyes again.

“I felt it when we came in. You didn’t?” The unicorn shook his head. Dawnfire looked puzzled. “That’s odd, a unicorn should be more sensitive to it than I am.”

“I don’t use magic all that often,” The unicorn explained, more than a little embarrassed. “Thank you for allowing me the privilege of sleeping on the floor, by the way.” Wanderlust had noted that the floor under his hooves was cold stone. I’m not going to get a minute of sleep tonight.

“You two could always sh-” Allegro began with a massive grin.

“Finish that sentence and I’ll pull your spleen out through your nose.” Her voice had a deadly edge, but Wanderlust thought he saw her eyes twinkling as the earth pony took several steps backwards. “Sorry, Wands but it’s important to keep up the act: I need to convince them that I’m used to the kind of absolute authority we’re claiming.”

“I still don’t see what that has to do with treating us like dirt.” The unicorn objected.

“That’s just how most ponies expect an envoy from some powerful state to behave. They’re generally spoiled children of nobility who are used to having others jump at their whims.”

“The royalty in Equestria are generally very kind.” They were also grown in tubes, but that isn’t really relevant now.

“You’ve obviously never met Prince Blueblood.” Muttered Allegro. “I bumped into him once when I went to see the Manehatten Symphony Orchestra. He’d change your opinion.”

“Anyway, we can talk politics later: tonight we go to the party, play along and eventually negotiate with whoever’s in charge for access to information in exchange for a non-existent trade agreement with our non-existent home.” By this point she was smiling broadly.

“It sounds like a plan to me. You seem to be enjoying this.” Wanderlust noted.

“Lies, deceit, trickery and now a party? If I end up killing something before the night is over this’ll be the best day ever.”

“Are you sure it’s right to be cheating them like this?” Allegro asked timidly. “I mean, we practically threatened them in order to get in here, and now we’re taking advantage of their hospitality.”

Dawnfire looked at Wanderlust for a long moment before responding. “Whatever it takes to survive. As I’ve told Wanderlust before: a conscience is a liability one can’t afford out here. This is my world, I suggest you two start following my example.” There was a knock on the door. “With any luck that will be our clothes. Would you believe I’ve never actually attended a party before?”

“I wonder why.” Allegro muttered.

“Let us welcome our guest of honor, Lady Dawnfire.” The grand ballroom was a dome at the very top of the city’s central shaft. The floor and the ceiling were both made of glass, giving the illusion that one was standing in mid-air. A flock of silver chandeliers drifted lazily through the air, casting a warm, yellow light across the room. On the near half of the room forty ponies were seated on cushions around a long, rectangular table.

Wanderlust followed Dawnfire as she crossed the room towards the spot at the table clearly meant for her. A dozen servants had arrived that afternoon and fitted her for a dress: a flowing, dark red gown that she had spent an hour fidgeting over, complaining that it made her look ridiculous. Allegro had spent that hour laughing into his hoof every time he’d caught Wanderlust sneaking a glance at her.

The unicorn had been given a plain black suit, functional but nothing that would draw attention. He had nearly murdered one of the servants when she suggested he wear a mask. He almost wished he’d taken her advice as he crossed the room: he was suddenly very conscious of the fact that there were eyes upon him. As Dawnfire gingerly sat at the table he took up station behind her and to her right, having noticed several other ponies doing the same around the table.

“Thank you for your hospitality. I hope this marks the beginning of a long, prosperous relationship between our two nations.” Dawnfire pronounced, straining herself to sound regal and proper. She feels as out of place as I do. I just hope the others don’t see it.

“It is the least we could do for a foreign emissary.” The speaker at the head of the table was an elderly blue unicorn with a greying mane. “As Chief Archivist, leader of the Sovereign State of Archive, I would like to extend our official greetings to you and our friendship towards your home.” The unicorn raised his glass in a toast which Dawnfire returned as well as she was able, clutching the glass between her hooves. The night progressed slowly: scattered conversations were occasionally interrupted by speeches, trays of exotic foods were brought by servants, a string quartet played softly across the room.

Wanderlust spent the time observing the others at the table. They’re all unicorns. He wasn’t sure what it meant, if anything, but Dawn was the only pegasus in the room, and there wasn’t an earth pony in sight. Probably just a coincidence. Still, there was something unnerving about the observation.

After dinner, the table was moved to open the ballroom floor for dancing. Wanderlust waited impatiently at the edge of the room, trying to play the part of the faithful servant.

As the songs dragged on though, Wanderlust started to grow restless, fidgeting with his ill-fitting suit and trying to find a way to fight boredom. He watched curiously as the servants made their rounds with polished silver trays piled high with food. Each one had something tattooed above their left forehoof. “Excuse me,” He asked as one finally passed close to him, “What is that tattoo?”

The other pony shot him a glance, but kept walking. Not exactly polite. The unicorn thought to himself. He followed the other pony, a pink unicorn, trying to get a closer look. “A chain? What does that mean?” The servant blushed, but stayed silent.

“He’s not going to answer you.” A gruff voice said from behind wanderlust. A tan unicorn darted past him to grab something off the servant’s tray. “Sorry about my friend here, he’s new.” The servant moved off as the other pony cleaned his hors d'oeuvres off a toothpick and tossed it aside. “Food at these things is always shit,” He said with disgust. “Yours is the pegasus, right?”

“Excuse me?” Wanderlust asked.

“The only ones who show up at this sort of thing are the entitled aristocrats, the kiss-ass assistants and the bodyguards. You’re sure as hell not in the first two categories, and you’re obviously not from around here, which means you’re here watching the new one’s ass, right?”

“Right.” Wanderlust admitted reluctantly.

“Good luck with that. I don’t know how things work wherever the hell you’re from, but when you edge in on somebody else’s territory like she’s doing it doesn’t exactly win you a ton of friends.” He leaned in close and lowered his voice before continuing, “You’d better be on your guard, or you may need to go back for a new envoy.”

Wanderlust’s eyes narrowed as he finally connected what the other unicorn was suggesting. “I think we’ll be okay,” He growled.

The other pony laughed. “Right, because you definitely know what you’re doing. ‘What’s that tattoo?’” Wanderlust’s cheeks burned as the tan pony laughed harder. “Go home before you get yourselves killed.” The unicorn was still laughing as he moved off. He has a point, we’re out of our element. The faster we’re gone, the better.

When a dozen songs had been played and the affair showed no sign of slowing down Wanderlust finally lost the last of his patience. He waited until Dawnfire had drifted towards the outer edge of the dancers and then approached her, whispering in her ear, “Could I please speak to you, Ma’am?”

Dawnfire turned to her dance partner. “Please excuse me for a moment.” She bowed and the two strode towards an empty corner of the room. “What is it, Wands, were you starting to get jealous?”

Wanderlust’s face turned red; There was more than a little truth to that. Dawnfire was still grinning wickedly as he replied, “We still have business to attend to, Dawn. I have a feeling that if you don’t press the issue we could be here for weeks before they sit down and negotiate.”

“Aw, but I was having so much fun.” Wanderlust glared at her. “Fine. Give me a moment.” She walked back towards her dance partner and after a few brief words waved Wanderlust forward as she and her companion started towards the door.

“Cigar?” They were in the Archivist’s office. Bookshelves lined the walls and a large desk dominated the center of the room. The wall behind the desk was glass, giving anyone visiting Archive’s leader an incredible view of the surrounding countryside.

“Thank you, but no.” Dawnfire said politely from her seat in front of the desk.

“Your loss. We import the tobacco from a settlement to starboard. Finest cigars our traders have yet encountered. They’re in high demand among the functionaries of the dragon clans.” The blue unicorn replied. Without a sign of effort he conjured a small flame to light the end and took a long pull, staring at his two visitors all the while. “Let’s start off by dropping your act.”

Dawnfire bolted upright. “I’m afraid I have no idea-”

“Save it.” Archive’s leader snapped, his eyes narrowing. “Young lady, I am not an idiot. ‘Equestria’? You could have at least put more effort into your cover story than just naming your fictitious kingdom after the home we lost.” What the hell does that mean, Wanderlust thought. “We deal in information, after all. It’s our lifeblood: keeps us fed, clothed, keeps the trinkets flowing in and the dragons off our backs. We’ve stayed independent for as long as we have by knowing more than anyone else.” He took another pull off the cigar. When he spoke again his voice was softer, almost pensive. “The rest of the ring may have forgotten our history, but we haven’t.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Dawnfire insisted forcefully.

He let the cigar rest on his desk and leaned forward. “Fine. Let’s say for a moment that you’re from another Equestria. I was informed about you when you arrived, the nature of what you carried. That kind of magic doesn’t stay quiet long. Young lady, if there were a major player on this section of the ring that had that kind of power, I’d know. Which means that if you’re envoys from somewhere closer than Tryn I will eat this desk. Do us both a favor and drop the act.”

Dawnfire stared at him for a few seconds, weighing her options. Her muscles tensed as she made her decision, as if she was expecting a fight. “So what happens now?”

The other pony sat back and retrieved his cigar, a look of satisfaction on his face. “You came here to deal, so we deal.”

“What?”

“You heard me. I have access to something you want, and want badly, otherwise why go to the trouble? It can be bought, and I think you can afford it: You see, I have something that needs doing. Specifically, something that needs to be done quietly. The resources at my disposal aren’t sufficient, and I can’t risk showing weakness in front of the other regional powers.”

“And that’s where we come in.”

“Exactly. You don’t have ties to anyone else in the region, and when you help me, you get what you want.”

“What’s the job?”

The unicorn opened a drawer and set a foot-long piece of cylindrical crystal on the desk. “Do you know what this is?” Dawnfire looked at him blankly. “Didn’t expect you to. The ring is powered by solar energy collected on the shadow squares and transferred ring-side by laser. Most facilities are supplied with power from a web of superconducting cables in the ring floor that connect to receivers in the rimwall. Some facilities, such as this one, that are too remote or too important, however, have their own receivers.

“This is a part from one of ours. It,” He explained, flipping the part over to reveal a massive crack. “was sabotaged. That wouldn’t be an issue, except that these simply don’t break: our two receivers have been ticking away perfectly since the day they were installed and we have the maintenance records to prove it.”

“So you don’t have any spares.” Wanderlust supplied.

“So you’re not actually a mute. Good, I was starting to worry. We’re running at half power right now: fine for day-to-day use but our defenses and more importantly, the entire archive computer network, are offline. In an emergency, we might be able to power our defenses. The archives account for about sixty percent of our power usage, though: until we’ve repaired the receiver, they’re offline.”

“What’s to stop us from going to one of your enemies and telling them this?” Dawnfire asked.

“Absolutely nothing, except for the dozen guards outside that door, and the hundred others scattered around the city.”

Dawnfire just smiled at him. “Spears and swords don’t scare me.”

“I wouldn’t be scared either if I were wearing body armor and carrying plasma weapons,” Their host replied calmly. “Just a tip, but attempting to conceal magical weapons from a unicorn is generally not a wise course of action. You should also be aware that there are ways to counter both that are well within our means, otherwise I never would have allowed you inside the city.”

“If you’re interested, I’d be happy to help you test that.”

“I hope it won’t come to that, I’d very much hate to clean your blood out of the carpet: it’s an antique, you see. I simply wanted you to understand that the only way you’ll ever get what you want is by helping me.”

Dawnfire was silent for long enough that Wanderlust started to wonder if he should say something. “I see,” She finally said, relaxing back into her seat. Thank Celestia. I didn’t want to have to fight our way out of here. “I assume you know where we could find a replacement.”

“As a matter of fact, there’s a small settlement about a week’s walk to port and spinward that happens to have another working receiver. It seems rather wasteful to me actually, that much power going to so few ponies. They mostly use it to run a water condenser. Another waste, seeing as we, being in possession of the region’s largest condenser, would be more than happy to sell to them from our surplus.”

“So you get your part and a new customer.” Dawnfire finished. The unicorn smiled around his cigar. “And if we do this for you, we get access to the information we need?”

“Full, unrestricted, unsupervised access to all the data you care to see.” He replied with an expansive gesture.

Dawnfire stood and extended a hoof over the desk. “Deal.”

“Shit. That did not go as planned.” Dawnfire snarled as their room’s door slid shut behind her.

“What happened?” Allegro asked anxiously, coming to meet them.

“We cut a deal, but not the one I wanted. I’ll explain in a minute.” The pegasus replied, furiously trying to remove her dress. “Wands, I was concentrating on maintaining the act; I couldn’t pay much attention to anything else. Did you see anything strange? Anything at all? I’m worried this may be some sort of trap. It seems too simple.”

“Every pony there was a unicorn. That seemed a little odd.”

“Actually, that’s fairly normal.” Dawnfire’s voice replied from somewhere in the pile of fabric. With a sigh Wanderlust undid the ties and lifted the dress off of her. “Thank you.” The pegasus said as she attacked her barding. As soon as they had ushered the servants out that afternoon, the ponies had removed their borrowed clothing, donned their equipment and re-dressed. It hadn’t been easy trying to conceal the body armor and, in Wanderlust’s case, a weapon, but Dawnfire had insisted. “Is that not normal where you’re from?” The unicorn shook his head as he carefully placed the dress on the mannequin the servants had left in the room. “Odd, but probably not relevant. Anything else?”

“It’s probably nothing, but the servants all had strange tattoos on their legs, and they wouldn’t talk.”

“Slaves.” Dawnfire said in disgust as she finally wrestled her barding off and kicked it across the room.

“I’ve never heard the term,” Wanderlust replied, removing his borrowed suit.

“Right, you wouldn’t have.” The pegasus had to think for a minute. “A thinking creature owned by another, would be the best way I could explain it.”

“That’s disgusting!” Allegro exclaimed. Wanderlust couldn’t help but agree. “And we’re doing business with these monsters?”

“Only for as long as they have something we need. After that we can walk away and forget about it.”

“We should walk away now,” Allegro insisted. “They can’t be the only ones who have what we need.”

“And how long will it take us to find someone else?” It wouldn’t bother me half as much if he didn’t have a point, Wanderlust thought. “I don’t like it any more than you do, but we don’t have a choice. I’m sorry, Allegro, we’re doing this.”

“How can we even be sure we can trust them?”

“Because if they betray us,” Dawnfire interjected, “I’ll tear this place down with my bare hooves.”

The earth pony ignored her. “Wands,” He pleaded, “Whatever you decide, you know I’ll follow, but please don’t go through with this. Working with ponies like these starts us down a dark road, and I have a bad feeling about where it ends.”

‘Morality nearly cost us all our lives once before.’ The words came to his mind unbidden, the memory of the silver pony who had appeared to him when he was on the brink of death. I don’t want to do this, it isn’t right. He thought back to the Dead Lands, the titanic scale of the destruction he’d witnessed. It wasn’t difficult to make the leap required to imagine the same cataclysm brought down upon Equestria. But I don’t have a choice, he thought, blinking away the vision of his home in ruins. There’s too much at stake.

“I’m sorry, Allegro,” He finally managed. The look on his friend’s face nearly made him reconsider. If I balk now, what happens to them? “Equestria comes first.”

Dawnfire gave him an approving glance. “Wands, get some sleep. We’ll be starting early and you need the rest. I’ll fill Allegro in on what he missed.”

“One last thing.” Wanderlust said, telling them about what the other bodyguard had said. “I don’t think we’re safe here. He seemed to think that if we stayed long, we wouldn’t be leaving.”

“It’s a good thing that we won’t be staying long, then.” The pegasus replied with a grin. “In any case, I doubt we’re in any more danger than usual.”

“Gods. There’s nothing left.” Wanderlust was standing in the midst of something that had once been a city. The street around him was littered with vehicles, all of which were charred black, melted, contorted and scattered haphazardly like a child’s toys. The buildings around him were in even worse condition than those he’d seen in the Dead Lands: there was nothing but rubble and twisted metal for as far as the eye could see. The horizon glowed a sinister red, the sky was full of clouds and the ground was burnt black. Ash was falling like snow and a harsh wind blew sand that stung his face.

“Do we call for rescue units?” There were two distinct voices, both distant and quiet. Wanderlust had to strain to hear them.

“No way. Look at the radiation levels: there’s nothing alive down there anymore.”

“How many does that make?” Wanderlust was walking down the street, climbing his way over the broken vehicles and listening to the ground crunch under his hooves.

“Five confirmed, twenty-three probable. All within a three-day window.”

“What’s going on?” Wanderlust slipped on something and fell to the ground.

“That should be obvious by now.”

“What are we going to do?” The voice was trembling. Wanderlust was face to face with a pile of charred, broken bones: the remains of several creatures that had huddled together beneath a vehicle, trying to escape the oncoming tide of death. The sight filled him with terror. He tried to rise, but there were more bones beneath him, denying him any sort of solid footing.

“That’s up to someone way above my paygrade.”

“Wands.” The voice in his ear made Wanderlust start. “It’s okay, you were having a nightmare.” He was vaguely aware of Dawnfire standing next to him in the dark room. “That seems to happen to you a lot.”

“It’s gotten bad recently. I’m not sure why.” He whispered back as the pegasus curled up on the floor next to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Just go back to sleep, Wands.” The unicorn laid his head on his legs and drifted off to sleep, a smile on his face.

Chapter 7

“Ahem.” Wanderlust blinked his eyes open. Their room was still dark save a few scattered rays of sunlight sneaking their way between the curtains, one of which fell across Allegro’s hooves a few feet in front of him.

The unicorn, still mostly asleep, lifted his head to look at his friend. The earth pony was looking almost giddy for some reason. “Is there something wrong?” He asked groggily.

“Not at all.” Allegro smiled broadly. “In fact, you two seem quite comfortable.” Wanderlust stared blankly for a moment before he was suddenly aware of the fact that Dawnfire was still very much asleep and still very much curled up against him.

“Dawn,” He squeaked, blushing furiously, “now might be a good time to wake up.” The pegasus mumbled something unintelligible and wedged herself closer to Wanderlust. Celestia, why did she pick today to sleep in? He glanced back at Allegro, whose smile was only getting larger. “You would be enjoying this,” The unicorn muttered. “Dawn, wake up.” He gently nudged the pegasus.

“Is it morning already?” She asked, lifting her head. When she saw the grinning earth pony her eyes grew wide and her ears drooped. She glanced once at Wanderlust, then back to Allegro, then jumped to her hooves so quickly that she nearly ended up stepping on the unicorn. “I need a shower.” She blurted hurriedly, retreating to the other room and trying to conceal her beet-red face.

As the door slammed shut Wanderlust rose. His friend was still grinning from ear to ear. “Go ahead, get it out of your system,” He groaned.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve been pushing for this since day one. In fact, I’m very happy for you.”

“You’re enjoying this too much.” Wanderlust replied as he walked across the room to unmask the windows.

“Oh, you have no idea. I’d like to rub it in, but I’m afraid your marefriend would murder me.” As Wanderlust pulled open the curtains and squinted against the light he could hear the other pony struggling not to laugh. “I guess we know who wears the pants in this relationship.” He started cackling as Wanderlust drooped his head and sighed.

“If you keep this up, I might just murder you.” The other pony just laughed harder.

“Come on, Wands.” Allegro gasped between giggles as Wanderlust turned to face him again. “Could you really hurt somepony who looks like this?” He was doing his best to try and look innocent until he burst into laughter again. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He gasped. “It’s just that you spent so long denying it, and getting angry whenever I brought it up, then I wake up to-” He broke down again. Wanderlust glared at him until he finally regained most of his composure. “I mean Celestia, Wands, you two were just so adorable curled up like that.” The smirk re-appeared. “Promise to name the first kid after me, okay?”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” Wanderlust ordered. “You’ve had your fun, just let it go.”

“Not until you admit I was right.”

“How about I wipe that grin off your face instead?”

“Wands, so violent.” Allegro replied with a mock gasp. “Dawnfire really has been rubbing off on you.” Wanderlust glared at him. “This grin isn’t disappearing. I want you to think of it every time you look at her so you remember that I was right the entire time.”

Three minutes later, Dawnfire finally returned. “What the hell are you two doing?” The two ponies were on the floor and Wanderlust had his forelegs wrapped around Allegro’s throat. They instantly froze and looked at the pegasus. Allegro tried to speak but only managed a gurgle. With a sigh, Dawnfire glared at Wanderlust. “Let him go, Wands. It’s not his fault that he has the sense of humor of a two-year-old.”

The unicorn reluctantly released his grasp. “See, Wands? It’s not my fault,” Allegro said as he sat up, the smile instantly returning to his face.

“Now if you two would stop acting like children, we have things to do.” Dawnfire walked to the corner of the room where they had left their equipment. “With any luck, the shops will be open so we can buy food on our way out.”

They’d been walking for three hours when Dawnfire spotted smoke on the horizon. “It’s a good ways anti-spinward of us. We should just ignore it and go around: whoever that is could be hostile.” They were stopped in the middle of the open plains that surrounded Archive. So far the three ponies were alone save for the birds and the wind that blew through the tall grass.

“Or they could be friendly. We could use some information on what we’re walking into.” Wanderlust replied.

“That’s true,” The pegasus conceded reluctantly. “It could be a trap of some sort, though.”

Wanderlust cocked an eyebrow. “Just randomly set for anyone who might be walking by?”

“There are bandits who work that way. If we approach, they could attack us.”

“And accomplish what, exactly?” Wanderlust asked with a gesture towards her weapons. “I think we’re prepared to deal with a few bandits.”

“Still, I’d rather not approach unless we had some way of knowing what we were walking into.” She looked around. “I doubt we’ll find anywhere we could see it without being observed.”

“Dawn,” Allegro had stayed quiet up to this point and when Wanderlust turned at the sound of his voice he saw that the other pony had a hoof to his face. “You have wings. Couldn’t you just fly up and get a better view?”

“Right.” Dawnfire said, looking embarrassed. “I’ll be back in a minute.” With that, she launched into the air.

“I swear she likes flying less than any pegasus I’ve ever met.” Allegro said in amazement as they watched her fly upwards.

“She told us that it attracts too much attention, remember? She kind of has a point, too: you can spot a flying pegasus from a lot farther off than you can spot one on the ground.”

“She’s too paranoid.” The earth pony said disapprovingly. “Try not to let that rub off on you, Wanderlust. It’s not healthy.”

“I’m beginning to think that out here it actually might be. This isn’t Equestria: we don’t have any friends out here, there’s no help coming if we make a mistake, and there are more than a few out here who would kill us just for the fun of it.” Like the unicorn from last night. He suppressed a shudder at the memory of the look in the tan pony’s cold, blue eyes. Almost like he was just looking for an excuse. “Paranoia might be what keeps us alive.”

The earth pony sighed, admitting defeat for the moment. “Remember that we’re trying to mellow her out a little bit, though. Don’t do anything stupid just because it’s what she wants.”
“What makes you think I’d do that?”
“Wands, I’m down here.” The earth pony said dryly.

Wanderlust pulled his eyes off the sky to look at Allegro, blushing furiously. “Sorry. In any case I’m not going to be falling all over myself trying to impress her.”
“Good. The last thing I need is two murderous lunatics on my hooves.”
“She is not a lunatic.” The unicorn growled.

“You don’t deny the murderous part, though; not a good sign.” The two waited in silence until Dawnfire settled roughly to the ground a few feet in front of them. She looked worried.

“You two should see this.”

“I don’t know who did this,” Allegro said, “but I’d like a chance to thank them at some point.” The three of them were standing at the edge of a small crater at the bottom of which, crumpled and nearly sheared in half from the impact, was a large dart-shaped aircraft identical to those that had pursued them a few days before with smoke drifting lazily from a circular hole in the top.

“I didn’t think you approved of killing, Allegro.” Dawnfire replied, her eyes on the sky.

“I’m willing to compromise a little when one party is trying to murder us.”

“Don’t get too excited: for all we know they could just be fighting over who gets to claim us.”

“Thanks, Dawn, you always know how to lighten the mood. There’s such a thing as being too paranoid.”

“More from personal experience than paranoia, Allegro.” She replied. “Wands, what are you doing?” The unicorn was gingerly navigating his way down the side of the crater.

“I’m going to see if I can find a way inside.”

“That’s not a good idea,” Dawnfire called after him. “We have no idea what’s in there.”

“We need to know what we’re up against. Just make sure nothing sneaks up behind me and I’ll be fine,” He responded over his shoulder. Just for good measure he drew his weapons, though. Nothing wrong with being careful. The hull of the ship was scratched and pitted beyond the damage caused from the crash, like it had been worn down over a tremendous period of time. He could almost feel the weight of ages on the ship as he advanced.

Wanderlust finally found some sort of hatch near the front of the hull that had been ripped nearly off its hinges. Lying face-down across the threshold was a massive minotaur with a hole burnt clean through its chest. From the smell it had been dead a few days. Inside, the damage was even worse: the floor had been bent severely in many places and was carpeted with shattered glass.

The entire rear section of the ship was inaccessible, blocked by crumpled walls and fallen equipment, so he slowly worked his way forward. In the front of the ship he found what he could only assume was the control room. Cockpit, his mind supplied for him, a relic of his time attached to the ship. Not sure I’ll ever get used to that.

The vast majority of the space inside the room was taken up by two massive metal chairs sloppily bolted to the floor. Slumped across each was the body of a minotaur clad in black body armor adorned with red lances over the right breast. One of them had obviously been killed in the crash: its head had been smashed against the side wall, leaving a spray of blood to mark its passing. The other, however, was pinned in its seat by what looked to be a makeshift control device that had been driven into its chest by the crash.That one’s throat had been torn open by some sort of blade so savagely that its head had nearly been cut off.

Wanderlust took a few minutes to search the bodies, trying to ignore the smell, but whoever had killed them had emptied every last pouch on the armor, leaving nothing of use behind. Wanderlust started to leave, glass crunching under his hooves with every step, but he stopped in the door of the cockpit and looked back to utter a silent prayer that whoever had done this wasn’t his enemy.

By the time the ponies approached their destination the flat plains had given way to dry, rolling hills. Finding water had become a challenge, but they had probably brought enough to last. It was early afternoon as the three of them lay in the dust, taking in the distant village. “Dawn, you’re the expert here. What do you think?” Wanderlust asked, not taking his eyes off of the cluster of white domes.

“We can’t go in during the day: they’ll tear us apart, barding or not. We’ll have to do it tonight.”

“What are you talking about?” Allegro asked. The earth pony was clearly baffled, and it took Wanderlust a moment before he figured out why. As he put the pieces together his eyes reflexively flicked to Dawnfire, and his friend made the connection instantly. “You told me,” Allegro said slowly as he rose to his hooves and turned to the pegasus, “That we were sent here to trade with them. That we were going to make a deal for what we needed.”

Oh, no. She didn’t, Wanderlust thought, but the pegasus didn’t try to deny it. “You never would have come with us if you’d known the truth,” Dawnfire replied without so much as a blink, “And we didn’t have time to argue. I’m sorry, but this was the best way.”

“You bitch.” Allegro snarled. Wanderlust watched in shock as the blue pony hit her across the face with his hoof.

It was almost as if Dawnfire’s eyes were burning, but when she spoke her voice was frighteningly calm. “Because I consider you a friend, I’m going to forget that that just happened. But if you ever hit me again-”

“Don’t you dare threaten me,” The earth pony spat before turning to his friend. “Wands, this is wrong. You know it’s wrong. We’ve come close to the line before, but you can’t deny that this crosses it. We need to just walk away.” The look on his face grew almost desperate as the unicorn remained silent. “Wands, these ponies are living in the middle of a desert and you’re planning on stealing their only source of water: you might as well just shoot them, because that’ll be quicker than what you’re thinking.”

“Archive is planning on selling them wa-” Dawnfire began, but Allegro cut her off.

“Stay out of this,” The earth pony snapped at her. “These ponies have lives, they have families. They’re just like you and me. You can’t possibly be serious about going through with this. There are foals down there, Wands. Foals!” He pleaded, “They’ll die if you do this, Wands. They’ll die slow, horrible deaths, and for what? Because we’re too lazy to find another way to get what we need? I know you, Wands. You know this isn’t right. Just walk away. Please.”

There was a long silence as Wanderlust worked up his nerve. “I made up my mind a long time ago, Allegro. I’m sorry, but Equestria comes first, no matter what the cost.”

“No,” Allegro protested, his eyes starting to glisten with tears, “I won’t let you go through with this. I’ll go down there and tell them what you’re planning.”

“Then it’ll come to a fight.” Dawnfire pointed out calmly. “It’ll be us or them, and we’ll take a lot of them with us, but I don’t think that’s a fight we can walk away from. You’d be condemning us to die instead.”

The earth pony’s gazed at the village, and then back at his friend. “Please, Wands.” Was all he could muster.

“I’m sorry, Allegro, but we’re going.”

“Then you’re going without me.” The earth pony replied. “You can do whatever you want, but I’m not going to be a part of this.”

“Fine.” Dawnfire said, turning to leave. “Wands, I think that building at the center of the plaza is the condenser. Our best chance of approaching unseen is between those two buildings at the far side. We should move now if we want to make it before nightfall.”

Wanderlust stayed back for a moment, the helpless, pleading look in his friend’s eyes tearing at him. Finally, he turned to follow the pegasus. When he looked over his shoulder, Allegro was lying in the dust, his face buried in his hooves.

“Are you sure that’s it?” Having crept under cover of darkness through the outer sections of the village, the two ponies crouched in the shadow of a small building. Before them, at the center of a plaza paved with white stone, stood their destination.

“How the hell should I know?” Dawnfire hissed back at her companion. He could barely make her out in the darkness: black on black, only her bright mane gave her away. “Do you see any other buildings that look like likely candidates?”

She had a point. The building in the center of the plaza was windowless and square. It had a utilitarian feel to it that clashed with the rounded, flowing architecture of the rest of the village. “No.” The unicorn whispered back.

“Then wait here while I check to see if things are clear. You’ll have to move slowly or your hooves hitting those stones will wake the whole village.” As the pegasus slowly flew into the square, Wanderlust cast a glance to where they had left Allegro. Celestia, I hope he’s okay. Unarmed, alone, at night, in the middle of nowhere. We shouldn’t have left him. The thought was still eating at him when Dawnfire silently motioned for him to follow.

Wanderlust scarcely dared to breathe as he crossed the plaza, gingerly setting his hooves down with every step and wincing at the quiet click they made every time they struck the stone. He didn’t relax until they’d entered the central building and gently eased the door closed behind them.

“So,” Wanderlust whispered, looking at the tower of machinery that occupied the center of the building, “where do we start?”

“You’re the unicorn.” Dawnfire whispered back. “I thought you’d know.” Wanderlust sighed and started to look around.

“I think this is all part of the water condenser,” He said after a minute of searching. “I’ll have to check the top to find what we need. Stay here and make sure nobody bothers us.” He quietly crept up the spiraling stairs until he reached the top. Sitting in the center of the room, stretching from the floor to the ceiling was a strange, pyramidal device made of smooth metal and covered with access hatches.

He started carefully opening hatches one by one, peering through jumbles of wires looking for the part they needed. After a few minutes, Dawnfire’s voice crackled through his earpiece. “Pick it up, Wands. We’ve got trouble.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Just hurry! Shit.” The report of a plasma weapon echoed through the building and Wanderlust started tearing off the hatches. She fired three more times before Wanderlust finally found what they needed. He carefully removed it from its mountings and shoved it into a pouch as he ran for the stairs.

Skidding breathlessly to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, he saw Dawnfire standing in the doorway, shrouded in her barding’s protective fields. “What’s going on?” The unicorn gasped, switching on his own.

“They found out that we’re here, and they’re angry. I’ve been firing shots over their heads, but it won’t keep them back forever.” The pegasus paused to fire again. “We need to get out of here before they work up their courage: if they all charge us I doubt even the barding will save us. I’m going to fire a few more shots, order them out of the way and then we walk out.”

Wanderlust sighed and eased his weapons into the air. A half dozen plasma shots echoed through the village. “We have what we came for. Just let us leave and nobody gets hurt.” She yelled.

“Where are we supposed to get water?” A pony shouted back. There was a rumble of agreement from the rest of the crowd.

“Not my problem. We’re leaving. If anyone gets in our way, they die.” Without turning, she spoke over the radio, “Wands, stay right behind me. You know what to do if things turn ugly.” With that she started walking slowly, her head swiveling constantly from side to side. Wanderlust followed and got his first view of the crowd. Dozens of ponies packed the square and filled the air with an angry buzz.

The crowd parted around them as they moved, but they were becoming more agitated. Wanderlust cringed as the shouts seemed to hit him like physical blows.

“Where are we supposed to find water? You’re killing us!”

“Thieves!”

“You monsters! I have children to think of!”

They were almost out of the village when things finally boiled over. A green unicorn charged them brandishing a pitchfork. Without thinking, Wanderlust gunned him down, sending the pony sprawling face-down in the dust, his fur blackened and smoldering. There were a few scattered screams and the crowd recoiled as a young filly ran forward and knelt next to the body, nuzzling it.

“Don’t look, Wands. Just keep walking and watch the crowd.” Dawnfire ordered through the radio. “I don’t think they’re a threat anymore.” Wanderlust tried to do what she said, but his eyes kept returning to the filly standing in the street next to the dead body of her father, her eyes slowly filling with tears as the realization dawned on her that he would never be getting up. He hoped that Dawnfire couldn’t see him shaking as he walked away.

After rejoining Allegro, the three ponies walked silently through the night and made camp in a cluster of rocks at daybreak. Dawnfire fell asleep almost instantly, but the earth pony tossed and turned while Wanderlust lay on his back and stared at the clouds.

“What’s happened to us, Wanderlust?” Allegro’s voice was so quiet that he barely heard it.

“Mostly a lot of walking interspersed with short moments of utter terror. It all kind of runs together.”

“This isn’t a joke. I was watching, Wands. I saw you murder a pony whose only crime was anger at seeing his livelihood stolen. You didn’t even hesitate.”

Wanderlust rolled over to face the other pony. His friend’s back was turned, staring into the distance. “You know what would’ve happened. If I hadn’t done what I did, the rest of them would have rushed us. We’d be dead right now, and what would happen to Equestria then? There are ponies counting on us.” Tell that to his daughter. It took some effort to push that out of his mind.

“What hope does Equestria have if its salvation comes at the hooves of monsters? Look at yourself, Wands. Look at what you’re becoming. Maybe it would have been better if we’d died today: our home doesn’t need heroes like us.”

“You can’t really mean that.” Wanderlust responded. That one had hurt. The filly nuzzling her father’s corpse leapt back into his mind. Maybe he’s right.

“I do. You crossed a line today, Wands.” The earth pony said sorrowfully, rolling to face him. “There’s no going back.”

“What line? This isn’t Equestria. Nobody’s going to save us, nobody’s going to hold our hooves, there is no right or wrong, there’s only what it takes to succeed.” The words were more for himself than for his friend. I’m not a monster. The look in the filly’s bright blue eyes disagreed. “Nobody’s dying because I wasn’t willing to go far enough.”

“Listen to yourself!” His friend cried, “You’re turning into her,” He said with a nod at Dawnfire, still sleeping a few feet away, “and that’s not a good thing. You can argue, you can object, you can rationalize all you want, but wrong is still wrong, Wands.

“I tried. Princesses help me, I tried, but you’ve lost your soul out here. My mistake was letting you bring her along.” Another nod at the pegasus. “I thought it was for the best, that you two might be happy, that we could save her, but she’s past saving. She’s been whispering into your ear this entire time, turning you into whatever the hell you are now. I should’ve seen it sooner.”

“If I’ve made any mistakes, they’re my own,” The unicorn objected, “Leave Dawn out of this.”

“Everything you’ve done, she’s been there urging you on, and I’m just as guilty for not stopping it.” Allegro sighed. “I need to clear my head. I’ll be back by morning. I hope it was worth it, Wands.”

Wanderlust watched his friend walk slowly into the night before settling his head onto his forelegs and staring blankly at one of the rocks. It was a few minutes before he heard Dawnfire’s hoofsteps behind him. “How long were you listening?” He asked without turning.

“I think I managed about five minutes of sleep before he started talking.” She said as she settled to the ground in front of him. “I thought it best to keep quiet until he left. He doesn’t have a very high opinion of me, does he?”

“You lied to him. I honestly can’t say I blame him.”

“It was the only way to get him to come along.”

“That’s not true and you know it,” He objected. “We could’ve won him over.”

“And how long would that have taken, Wands?”

“Too long,” The unicorn admitted. “What if he’s right, though? ”

“You did the right thing today, Wanderlust,” Dawnfire said quietly. “I’m not exactly proud of what we did either, but like you said, there are lives at stake. Get some sleep, Wands.” She stood and gently nuzzled the side of his head as she walked by. “I’ll keep an eye on things.”

Allegro rejoined them the next morning as they were breaking camp. Bedraggled and bleary-eyed, he obviously hadn’t gotten a minute of sleep.

“I was worried you weren’t coming back,” Wanderlust said cautiously.

“I almost didn’t,” The earth pony admitted, “but I think there’s still hope for you. As long as I’m still breathing, I’m not giving up.” The rest of their return to Archive passed in silence.

“I’m assuming that you have what I asked for, because your stay will be short, otherwise.” The view from the Chief Archivist’s office in daylight was spectacular. However, with Wanderlust, Allegro and Dawnfire packed in with the Archivist, two guards and a technician of some sort, the elbow room left much to be desired.

With a glance at Dawnfire, Wanderlust removed the part from his pack and started to set it on the Archivist’s desk. “No, give it to him.” The older unicorn snapped, gesturing at the technician. “Why the hell do you think he’s here?” Wanderlust complied and after a moment’s examination the technician withdrew.

“Excellent. While we wait, please have a seat.”

“I trust you haven’t forgotten your half of our agreement?” Dawnfire asked warily as she sat on one of the cushions.

“Of course. You’ll have full access to the archives as soon as we’re certain that the part you’ve returned with is actually functional. I’d rather you stayed here until we’re certain. Trust but verify. I’m sure you understand.”

“Perfectly. How long do you think it will take?”

“Not long. Would you like me to have a servant bring drinks? Maybe some food?” Dawnfire shook her head. “Your loss. Out of curiosity, did you have any trouble obtaining it?”

“None worth speaking of. What will happen to those villagers, by the way?”

“We were planning to make a deal to sell them water, but we’ve decided that it wouldn’t be profitable enough. They’ll probably just move somewhere else.” He said with a dismissive wave of his hoof. “It’s none of our concern, anyway.”

“Monsters.” Allegro muttered.

The Chief Archivist was instantly on his hooves. “I would kindly ask you to keep your servant quiet.”

“He’s not my servant.” Dawnfire responded, then turned to face Allegro. “However, I would recommend that he keep his mouth shut.”

As the older unicorn returned to his seat, something on his desk beeped. After a cursory glance he motioned at the guards. “Everything seems to be working. Please escort them to the archives.” The unicorn spun his chair away to face the window. “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you.”

The archive complex was located just below ground level. Their guards left them without explanation in a massive rectangular room lined with bookshelves. With a shrug, Wanderlust walked towards one and attempted to pull a book off. It wouldn’t move. “They’re fake.” He said. “Just for show, I guess.”

“Try this.” Dawnfire said, pointing at an odd rectangular podium sitting at the end of a shelf running down the center of the room. Upon closer inspection, Wanderlust could see a depression for a hoof on the top. With a deep breath he set his hoof in the appropriate spot and his mind was filled with the all-too-familiar static feeling from the ship as the machines tried to establish a connection.

His vision went black and everything was silent until a calm female voice greeted him. “Hello, welcome to the Triumph facility central archives complex.” The voice seemed to be echoing from every direction at once. “Please state your query.”

Wanderlust hesitated for a moment. “I need information on the command center.” He finally blurted.

“Searching. Please wait.” A brief pause. “Unauthorized intrusion from a foreign entity has been detected. Automated defenses have been overpowered. Collateral damage to databases has corrupted some archive functions: We apologize for any disorientation.”

Wanderlust was suddenly assaulted with a flurry of disjointed images and voices. Bits of events flashed through his mind, seconds in length, without any context.

A grand throne room with two ponies, one wearing a crown and flowing robes and the other wearing a white coat. The white-coated one was speaking. “Of course it’s overkill for the stated use, your majesty: that’s not the point. The point is that we’re faced with a problem, one that will require unconventional measures to solve. Triumph is the first step.”

Suddenly the view shifted to a narrow corridor with walls of silver metal. Two ponies wearing matching black uniforms walked side by side. “Is there any particular reason why they look like our gods?” The silver pony on the right asked. With a start, Wanderlust realized it was the same pony he had seen weeks before in his vision.

“Doctor Moon has an odd sense of humor, sir,” The purple pony next to him responded. “Do you disapprove? I wasn’t aware that you were religious.”

“There are those involved in the project who are. Those things are objectionable enough without any added complications.”

“Their existence is necessary for the facility to function efficiently.”

“Unfortunately. They’ve been tested, I assume?”

“Yes, sir. They’ll follow orders absolutely, and they can’t be turned against us.”

Everything went black and the sounds came more frequently. Disjointed, frantic voices assaulted him, one after another.

“Contact on scopes, extreme range. Make that four contacts. Ten. One hundred...oh, gods. Get the Administrator in here now!”

“Three leviathans making a rush on the ring, moving to intercept.”

“Re-target the heavies, we can’t let any slip through.”

“Hostiles are making another push!”

“You don’t understand, sir, we’re already being pushed to the breaking point. If I reassign ships to cover civilian transports, we lose the entire facility!”

“Shit, shit, shit! Echoes just took a hit to the nose. There’s nothing left.”

“Hostiles on the ground! Gods, there are thousands of them!”

“Tinx is overrun, Iniba’s gone, Arrival’s getting pounded with fusion warheads. I’m pulling the defensive line back to Tryn.”

“Admiral, there are too many of them. Most of my ships are dead, half the ones I have left have lost engines, weapons, it’s a miracle that Archon’s still in one piece. I’m down to maybe two hundred fighters and a dozen battle-ready capital ships: the rest might just distract them for a few minutes. I’m sorry, sir, but the next time they push your cover is gone.”

“There are shapeshifters all over the rear areas, dragons are hitting us in force and we’ve got a few million minotaurs coming straight at us. This position is untenable, retreat is cut off. Requesting orbital strike at my position. As many batteries as you can spare.”

“Our last prepared defensive line just collapsed. It’s over, sir.”

Without warning, Wanderlust was looking at a massive, circular, silver-walled room. There were easily two dozen ponies seated at screens set against the walls while the silver pony in his black uniform paced through the middle of the room. Every few seconds a deep crashing noise echoed through the structure. A few of the ponies shuddered at their stations each time, but most seemed to ignore it.

“Emergency command center data recording located. Thank you for your patience.” The sourceless feminine voice chimed in his ear.

“Sir!” One of the ponies along the wall barked. “Tertiary strikecom facility just went dark.”

“Transfer control here.” The silver pony ordered without missing a stride. “Target the compromised facility and fire. Inform groundcom of the hot zone.” A few more steps and another crash. “Shield strength?”

“Still outpacing incoming fire, sir.” Another of the ponies responded.

“Where’s our counter-battery fire?”

“They’re taking a beating from enemy aircraft, sir. Extreme casualties reported.”

“Our own aircraft?”

“Wiped out.” The silver pony just nodded solemnly and continued his pacing.

To Wanderlust’s surprise, Princess Celestia drifted silently from behind a pillar and approached the silver pony. “Administrator, third division reports that they’re being overrun. I estimate that enemy ground forces will reach this facility inside of one hour. Our defenses are not designed to defend against a full-scale ground assault.”

The silver pony sighed deeply and pressed his face into one of his hooves. “That’s it. It’s over,” He said, speaking to himself. He raised his voice and addressed the others, “Initiate the contingency plan: hit the kill switches for the orbital batteries and transfer anything you can to Groundcom: Don’t leave the bastards anything if you can help it. All of you should be proud of what we’ve done here and the example we’ve set.”

He turned to Celestia as the other ponies filed out of the room and retrieved a small metal sphere from his pocket. “It normally chooses its own bearers, but I think that it will follow my wishes this time, given the circumstances. Your sister should already have the counterpart.” He handed over the sphere. “You know what to do, and what I need to do now.”

“Goodbye, Administrator.” She replied, taking the trinket. “If it’s any consolation, I’ll do my best to see that you are remembered as you deserve to be.” With that, she turned and left.

The silver pony walked back to a small pedestal in the center of the room and a small screen appeared in midair in front of him, displaying the face of a yellow mare. “There’s not much time. I’m so sorry, but I’ve done all I can.” His voice was sorrowful and quiet; Wanderlust had to strain to hear. “Take the children and hide as well as you can. Help is coming. I’m not sure how long it will take, but it is coming. I’m so sorry.” His voice cracked. “I love you.” He pressed a hoof to the ghostly screen and it disappeared.

His head drooped and he stood still for several long seconds. “Okay, I’m ready.” He announced to the empty room. Instants later, his horn began to glow brilliantly with a light that soon engulfed his body like flame. The unicorn’s back arched and he screamed. Abruptly, Wanderlust’s view snapped to his face. The sadness and agony had been replaced by anger. “Wanderlust!” The silver unicorn barked. “Break the connection!” He hesitated. “Break the connection!”

Wanderlust pulled his hoof away from the archive machine so forcefully that he staggered backwards. His head was still fuzzy with the aftereffects of the connection but he was just barely aware enough to hear Dawnfire scream his name before something hit him in the back of the head and his world went dark.

When he awoke, Wanderlust could feel restraints binding his legs. He was being dragged roughly into a building, the interior of which was lit so brightly that he was nearly blinded. From somewhere within that light a voice reached his ears. “Why hello there, my little ponies. It’s been a very, very long time.”

Quick note from the author: I’m not dead! I’m extremely sorry that this chapter took so long. My editor and I were both extremely busy and we just couldn’t find the time for it. I’ll do my very best to make sure that there’s never another update that takes quite this long. I also would like to promise that as long as one person is interesting in reading, I’m going to continue writing. Even if an update does take a while, I promise that I am still working on it and that it will be up as soon as it's ready.

Chapter 8

Wanderlust blinked as he was dragged into the blinding light, trying to make out his surroundings. The floor beneath him was smooth as his unseen captors dragged him roughly inside. The air was thick with the heavy, bovine odor of minotaurs and something else, an almost floral scent. Abruptly, the massive hands dragging him propped him into a sitting position before withdrawing with a grunt and the click of hooves on concrete. Wanderlust’s head was still ringing from the blow he had suffered, but his eyes were slowly adjusting to the light.

“It’s so fascinating to see the products of my work after all this time.” The voice, deep and smooth, was coming from a grayish blur in front of Wanderlust. Whatever it was stooped down to the pony’s eye level. “When I first decided to isolate your ancestors in their little corner of the ring, to begin my little pet project, I never imagined that the experiment would run this long. If only I could have supervised things more closely: there’s so much I simply don’t know. I suppose that makes the experiment a failure, at least in a scientific sense: I learned next to nothing. Still, the fact that out of all the subjects I could have examined, I come across one of you? I’d say that makes it all worth it in the end, even though I suppose it was always the most probable outcome.” It spoke again, obviously to another. “You didn’t find the others?”

“They were alone, your Grace.” The new speaker was directly behind Wanderlust. His voice was deep, confident, a voice that commanded instant respect and somehow assured the listener that it had been earned.

“Double the perimeter guard,” The first voice ordered. The second barked something in a harsh, gutteral language, presumably directed at the minotaurs, and several sets of hoofsteps retreated, shortly followed by a slamming door.
“Even with the guards, I would greatly recommend that we keep our stay here short.”
“Are you truly so worried about them? There can’t be more than half a dozen.”

“Half a dozen who have killed hundreds of our own,” The second voice objected, “and have been slowly bleeding us of supplies. I do not think they should be underestimated, your Grace.”

“Noted,” The first voice replied curtly. “Rest assured that this will not take long.”

Wanderlust could just barely make out the first speaker as his vision cleared. A long grey face with yellow eyes that held red pupils. Two large fangs jutted from its mouth and its head was crowned with mismatched horns and a bushy black mane. He wore a white robe that hid his serpentine body and two wings were barely visible behind him. Wanderlust had never seen him directly, but a name came instantly to his mind. “Discord?” He asked groggily, his head still foggy from his injury.

“Close, but no. My protege would be the one of our kind that you were most familiar with, but certainly it occurred to you that he wasn’t the only one?” Their captor raised an eyebrow, gauging the unicorn’s reaction. “Or maybe not.” The draconequus straightened and took a few steps back. “A pity that you didn’t inherit his intelligence. It’s true that there are not nearly as many of us as there were.” As he spoke, the owner of the other voice stepped past Wanderlust. The second draconequus had the grace of a dancer, silently and fluidly moving across the room. His mane was cut close to his head, his horns filed to short, sharp points, his wings were missing and he wore a massive sword down the center of his back over black body armor. “I assure you, however, that we are far from gone.” The first draconequus finished.

“Who are you?” Wanderlust finally asked, trying to wrap his mind around what was going on. He glanced to his right and saw his two friends next to him, both bound and gagged. For whatever reason, his captor wanted him able to speak.

“They didn’t tell you?” The first draconequus gave him a knowing smile. “Hmmm...curious. Tell me, did they give you a reason why you were selected? Why they picked you specifically for the task of murdering me?”

“How-” Wanderlust began, but the draconequus cut him off.

“How did I know your intentions?” He had a cold, predatory smile that reminded Wanderlust more than he liked of Flamerage. “There are very few things that happen on this ring without my knowledge. Nothing the Overseers do escapes my attention, and certainly not anything your little friend has been up to. That pony who has been running about inside your head as if it is his personal playground likes to nurse delusions that he still owns this ring, but I assure you, it is very much mine. I do believe, however, that we have strayed off topic. Why did they tell you that you were selected?”

Wanderlust remained silent and his captor sighed. “Really, now? What do you have to lose by telling me? I assure you that I could force the information from you, but I do so hate having to resort to torture this early on, especially over something so trivial.”

Wanderlust considered for a moment and relented. “I volunteered.”

“You really believe that.” The draconequus chuckled. “Cute. There was nothing to suggest otherwise? No strange coincidences? No small, overlooked details that might have pushed you towards volunteering?” The map was in Snow’s pack. Why wouldn’t they have taken it out before they returned it if it were secret? And Luna was waiting there.... His thoughts must have been plainly written on his face because the draconequus smiled and slowly approached him. “I thought as much. All the insults they threw at me, the disparaging titles, the moral condemnations, and what are they? Hypocrites,” The draconequus hissed, “every last one of them.

“They lie, they cheat, they manipulate and even worse, they do it to their own kind. I, at least, had the common decency to use it as a weapon to wield against my enemies” He crouched down to look Wanderlust in the eye. “Would you like to know the real reason? The one they were afraid to tell you?” Wanderlust stared back. I’m not giving you a thing, you bastard. “I’m sure you’ve run over it in your head, built yourself up, told yourself that you’re the right one for this task because you’re strong, or brave, or smart, but I have news for you.”

The draconequus leaned in and whispered in Wanderlust’s ear, “You’re not.” He drew back and smiled his thin, mirthless, cruel smile again. “You’re not some hero, you’re not a champion, you’re not a savior, and you know why? Because they didn’t want a hero. They couldn’t have used a hero.” His captor’s voice became a quiet hiss. “They couldn’t have controlled a hero. What they wanted was a puppet, and you’ve been dutifully dancing on your strings this entire time, playing your part perfectly. You’re exactly what they wanted: no goals, no aspirations, no thoughts, no abilities.”

Wanderlust spit into the draconequus’ face. His captor scowled and wiped it away with the back of his paw. “Impolite,” He growled. “Think back to how you got this.” The draconequus ran a talon across Wanderlust’s scar and the unicorn winced as his mind was flooded with pain. He could feel the heat of dragonfire on his face again for an instant and he almost screamed before it abruptly ended. The unicorn gasped as his captor smiled. “I’m sorry, did that hurt? Trust me, that’s only a taste of what a true master of the arcane can accomplish, whelp. Do you really think that one such as yourself could have killed a dragon with magic alone?” The draconequus stood and turned his back, spreading his arms to his sides in an inviting gesture. “If you’re so powerful, kill me now. None of the others will lift a finger to stop you.” The other draconequus cast a glance at his master, but said nothing.

Wanderlust closed his eyes and concentrated, summoning all his strength to try and free himself, try to take advantage of what might be his only chance to escape, and found that he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t come close to conjuring the kind of spell that would be necessary to so much as scratch the draconequus. He strained, trying to do anything at all before finally giving up and slumping against his bonds.

“That’s what I thought,” The draconequus said disdainfully, clasping his hands behind his back. “You owe everything you’ve accomplished, even your continued survival, to a simple quirk of probability; a joke of genetics that drifted down to you through eons. You see, this ring is one of the most complex artifacts ever crafted by any race. Magic is its essence, the webs of enchantments carry power through it like blood through veins. Layers upon layers of the most powerful spells ever laid upon a construct were intertwined and enmeshed, each enhancing the others until, by some definitions, the ring became very much a living thing.

“Its creators poured their efforts, their minds, their blood, sweat, tears, even their very souls into this ring, becoming as much a part of it as those pathetic monuments to your arrogance scheming from behind their walls. You happen to be, by some trick of probability, a direct descendant of those who built this ring, and the ring recognizes its own.” The draconequus tapped Wanderlust’s nose with the tip of a talon to punctuate the statement. “It’s been protecting you every step of the way, lending you some small piece of its power. Unfortunately for you, your kind lost your claim to this ring quite some time ago. It obeys me now, and now that I’ve found you, I can cut you off. You have to rely on your own abilities now, or lack thereof. Before we move on, I’m curious: did they tell you anything about the pony pulling your strings?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Is that so? They didn’t tell you anything? Well in that case, I’m going to do you a favor. I’m going to do something for you that your masters never did: I’m going to tell you about the pony playing about inside your head.”

“What?” Wanderlust asked, completely lost.

“I’m sure you’ve seen him, at least once or twice. A silver pony, blue mane, overwhelming sense of arrogance?” Wanderlust’s eyes went wide and the draconequus nodded. “So you do know him. I’m sure you don’t know much about him, though. He went by many titles when he was still alive: Admiral, Administrator, Guardian, all very respectable. My favorite is the one his own kind gave him near the end of his life, though.

“You ponies have such a way with titles: my protege enjoyed the one they gave him so much that he took it as his name. I was never quite that taken with mine, but I am still rather fond of it. Oathbreaker, they called me. Rather poetic ring to it. My bodyguard,” Oathbreaker gestured at the other draconequus, still standing silently at his side, “They called ‘The Reaper’s Right Hand’.” He chuckled. “I suppose that makes me the Reaper. In any case, do you know what they called your little silver friend?” He paused for several seconds, staring into Wanderlust’s eyes before he continued, letting the words roll softly out of his mouth, savoring them like a fine wine. “The Butcher of Draconis IV.” The draconequus’ tone became almost giddy as he continued. “Were you aware that the pony you’ve been following, the pony who has been pulling your strings, killed over five billion innocents within a matter of minutes? Not personally, of course, but they died at his command. More living beings than you will ever meet in your life, than you could meet in a dozen lifetimes, and he murdered them without a second thought.”

Wanderlust suddenly felt that he was going to be sick as his captor continued. “I think that brings us to your part in all of this. I’ve always abhorred pointless cruelty: it’s sloppy and wasteful. For that reason, I’m going to make it clear to you who I am and why I’m doing this. My name is Idkar Rafaldin: Emperor of the draconequui, King of the changelings, Lord Protector of the Griffon Dominion, War Chief of the dragon clans. I spent much longer than you could ever hope to live accruing subjects and titles. I was able to accomplish all of this in part because my species lives an extraordinarily long time. In fact, I don’t think there has ever been a draconequus to die of old age. The oldest living member of my species was nearly twenty thousand years old when I put his head on a pike. As a consequence, we tend to see the long-term: We plan over generations, build alliances to last ages. Similarly, we also tend to hold grudges for quite some time and therein lies the rub.

“You see, your ancestors were an unbelievable inconvenience to me. They played a key role in losing me the war. I lost thousands of ships taking this facility alone, including those carrying three of my children. I was denied my revenge over and over again. I thought I’d lost my final chance when the Butcher killed himself, transferring his mind into the ring’s computers, but with you here, I finally have the opportunity to exact some sort of vengeance.

“Your ancestors took our culture, they took our language, they took the essence of who and what we were and forced us into their mold of what civilization should be. When we fought back, they demonized us, called us representations of chaos.” Idkar looked down at his hands, one taloned and the other like the paw of a lion. “Do you know what we really are? We are unity. We are a symbol of what can be accomplished when the downtrodden stand together as one and rise against their oppressors.

“For those sins of your ancestors, you’ll suffer. Every horror I can devise, every trial of mind and body, every torture I can inflict upon you, you will feel it all until I decide that your atonement is complete. Make peace with your gods, pony, because this is the last they’ll hear of you: you belong to me now.” The draconequus turned to leave. “Drast, I’ll leave this part to you. You know how much I hate the sight of blood, after all.”

“As you wish, your Grace.” The emperor turned to go as the other draconequus, Drast, stepped forward. The Reaper’s Right Hand waited until the door had closed behind his master before he slowly began to unsheathe his sword. “I am not averse to bloodshed. However, I share Emperor Rafaldin’s dislike of pointless cruelty. As a result, I’ll make this quick.” He gestured to one of the minotaurs. “Bring the blue one forward.”

Drast stood waiting, holding the long, black sword in one taloned hand, bearing its weight without any visible effort as two minotaurs dragged Allegro forward and roughly propped him up in front of the draconequus. Drast snapped his fingers and the gag disappeared from Allegro’s mouth. “Say goodbye to your friends.”

Allegro stared desperately at Wanderlust. “Goodbye, Wands.” He said, a slight crack in his voice. “I’m so sorry a-” The sentence ended in a strangled gasp as the draconequus jammed the blade into his chest without warning. The blue pony made a piteous mewling sound as his body slowly went limp, blood foaming from his mouth as his breathing slowed, his eyes still locked on his friend’s face. Wanderlust just stared in horror, too shocked to react, too shocked for tears, feeling nothing but a growing tightness in his chest.

Drast pulled the sword out of Allegro’s chest and let the pony’s body flop to the floor. The draconequus kicked the body once then, content that he was dead, knelt to wipe the blade of his sword on Allegro’s fur. “That one was quick. I assure you that your winged friend’s fate will not be. She will suffer until she begs for death, until you beg for her to die.” He straightened and put his sword away. “We’ll make you kill her. It may take time, but you’ll break: they always do. We will force you to stare into her eyes as you end her life, to see the fear, the betrayal. Finally, you will suffer alone, knowing that there is no hope of escape, that your friends are gone, that there is no hope of an end until my master has tired of your screams.”

“You monster.” The words escaped Wanderlust’s throat as a whisper, his eyes still locked on the body of his friend.

“Many have called me such. In the end, though, I am simply what your kind made me: the logical end product of your policy of meddling in affairs which are not your own.” The draconequus straightened and looked to one of the minotaurs. “Bring them, we’re leaving.”

Wanderlust tore his gaze away from Allegro’s body and turned to look at Dawnfire. She was looking back at him and he could see the sorrow in her eyes. Suddenly, her ear twitched and she cocked her head. Wanderlust strained, but couldn’t hear anything. An instant later, an ear-splitting explosion rocked the room and he was knocked to the floor.

Wanderlust couldn’t hear anything over the ringing in his ears. Blinding white light strobed overhead, silhouetting the minotaurs as they fought. Lying on his back, the unicorn caught a brief glimpse of Drast, firing a weapon with one hand and deflecting a beam of light with the other, backing out a doorway as a minotaur next to him was impaled on a beam of blinding flame. The smell of ozone tickled Wanderlust’s nose as something started dragging him across the floor.

Craning his neck, Wanderlust found himself looking through a thin haze of smoke at the bare skull of a unicorn. He screamed by pure reflex and the skeletal unicorn slapped him across the face. Wanderlust silenced instantly: the hoof had been cold metal, not bone. It took him a moment to realize that the skeleton was paint: it was just a pony in some sort of suit. He relaxed, deciding that whoever this was, they couldn’t be worse than who they were saving him from.

The masked figure dragged him outside. The bodies of minotaurs littered the field surrounding the small building and the smell of charred flesh spoiled the sweet smell of night. Their strange savior slashed Wanderlust’s bindings with a knife and the dazed unicorn struggled to his feet. Casting a glance behind him, he saw two unicorns, backlit by weapons-fire, standing between themselves and the structure, slowly giving ground before dozens of minotaurs.

“This way!” The pony who had freed him screamed. Wanderlust started to look over his shoulder for Dawnfire. “She’s right behind you, come on!” The other pony barked with a tone that Wanderlust couldn’t help but obey and darted off into the night. Wanderlust followed as the mysterious pony bounded effortlessly over the unseen terrain, his strange metallic hoofsteps carrying through the semi-darkness.

Wanderlust wasn’t sure how far they had come when the strange unicorn led them into a small cave concealed in a copse of trees but he couldn’t have gone much farther. He slumped against a wall as soon as they were inside and gasped for breath.

“Name and rank.” Looking around, he couldn’t see the other pony: their savior was hidden in the shadows deeper in the cave. Wanderlust just stared blankly back. “Name and rank,” The unseen voice repeated, more forcefully this time. When it didn’t receive a response, there was a tired sigh. “Fine. It can wait for the moment, but when the others get back, you’re giving me an answer. I didn’t have time to remove your friend’s gag. You should probably help her with it.”

The three stood in silence until, with the soft metallic sound of hoofsteps, another unicorn entered the cave carrying Wanderlust and Dawnfire’s equipment. “Shadowstrike?” The voice from the darkness asked.

The newcomer shook his head. “A half-dozen Crimsons grabbed him and beat through his shields before I could react,” He said sadly. “I’m sorry.”

“Damn.” Was the unseen unicorn’s only response. His voice sounded completely empty of emotion, the tone another would use for ordering breakfast or commenting on the weather. There was a brief silence. “Any reason to think that they’ll search for us?”

“Last time they lost maybe a hundred soldiers and a dozen shuttles. They have more than enough minotaurs to go around, but they can’t replace that equipment. They won’t risk it again.”

“I agree. I think our guests will be more comfortable with some light. Cover up the entrance.”

“On it, Ell-Tee,” The other unicorn replied. He withdrew a thick square of folded cloth from a pouch and moved towards the entrance as a rustling sound drifted out of the depths of the cave.

Light flooded the cave from a small dome that the first stranger stuck to the ceiling. As Wanderlust blinked away spots, the strange unicorn looked to the cave entrance. “You’re sure about him?”

“You’ve seen what a minotaur can do up close, Val. I’m absolutely sure, and it wasn’t pretty.” The other replied, securing the cloth over the cave entrance.

The first unicorn, by this time it was obvious to Wanderlust that he was some sort of leader, drew a knife from a sheath on his shoulder and slowly scratched a line through the paint on his front left leg, leaving a thin line of silver across the black. There were over a dozen others already there. He re-sheathed the knife and approached Wanderlust.

“You’ve had enough time to recover. After all this time, somepony contacts us over the command channel with orders to divert to your location. We’ve been chasing a moving target for weeks, following directions verified by ancient codes, trying to secure ‘high-value personnel’.” The unicorn was in Wanderlust’s face now. In the light, he could see that the pony was clad almost head-to-hoof in black metal armor, adorned with the likeness of a pony skeleton. The gaps in the metal around joints and the neck were covered in thickly woven black fibers and his chest and back were covered in an assortment of pouches and an alarming array of knives. Attached to the unicorn’s back by metal joints were two irregular cylindrical devices; weapons of some sort. Wanderlust noted with unease that the flared guards for the joints of the pony’s front legs were sharpened like razors, as was the section of armor covering the horn. There wasn’t a single aspect of this pony that didn’t scream danger. “Now that I’ve lost a friend saving you, I want an answer. Who the fuck are you and why the fuck does somepony think you’re important enough to risk our lives for?”

Wanderlust sputtered something in response. The shock was starting to wear off and the reality of what had happened was slowly catching up with him. Staring into the hollow eyes of a skull, painted or not, was more than he could handle.

“Val,” The other unicorn said, “You have to have noticed that they don’t have IFF tags, right? I think they’re civvies.”

“That can’t be possible. We’ve been trying to reach what’s left of the Triumph garrison all this time. It doesn’t make any sense that they’d contact us out of the blue now and order us after a bunch of civilians.”

“If half of what that draconequus said is true, we’re all being played here.” Dawnfire said slowly as she pushed herself between Wanderlust and the armored unicorn.

“I wouldn’t trust a syllable that rolls off his forked tongue.” The leader, Wanderlust had heard the other unicorn call him Val, snarled.

“Then contact your superiors. Ask them what’s going on.”

“The mare makes a lot of sense, Val.” The second stranger agreed. Val looked between them once, sighed and stalked further back into the cave.

“My friend took a rather serious blow to the head. Do you have any medical equipment?” Dawnfire asked the nameless unicorn.

“Of course. Hold still a second.” The stranger pulled something out of a pouch and waved it next to Wanderlust’s head.

“How are you holding up, Wands?” Dawnfire asked softly, moving to stand closer to him.

“They killed him, Dawn. It was my job to protect him, and I let those monsters cut him down like he was nothing.”

“There was nothing you could’ve done, Wands. It wasn’t your fault.”

“He’s still just lying out there.” Tears were starting to fill the unicorn’s eyes as he thought of his friend lying alone in the cold. The sight of the earth pony’s eyes staring at him, full of pain and fear, haunted him. The sound as the sword entered his friend’s chest played through his mind over and over again. “We have to go back for him. We can’t just leave him out there. He deserves more than that.”

“Absolutely not,” Said the unicorn tending to Wanderlust. “They may not be coming after us, but you can be sure that they’ve set an ambush: it’s how the bastard thinks. We’ve all lost friends out here-”

“He hasn’t.” Dawnfire interrupted with a glare. “Can I have a minute to talk to him?”

“Sure. He’s perfectly fine. For what it’s worth, I’m very sorry about your friend.” With that, the stranger walked towards the back of the cave.

“We have to go back for him, Dawn. He deserves that much, at least.” Wanderlust whispered.

“We can’t, Wands. You have to let go.”

“Please, Dawn?” Wanderlust pleaded, his voice cracking.

“I’m so sorry, Wands.” Dawnfire rested a hoof on his shoulder. “Would Allegro really want you throwing your-”

“You were right,” A gruff voice interrupted. Wanderlust looked up and saw Val standing in front of them. “I couldn’t get an answer. Whoever was talking to us before, they’re not interested in talking to us now. I’m guessing that you can enlighten me on that, but introductions are probably in order first.”

There was a soft hiss and the unicorn removed the top half of his helmet, revealing blood-red fur, bright orange eyes and a mane shaved completely away. “Lieutenant Valiance, His Majesty’s Sixth Special Operations Group: The Blades of Dexis. This is corporal Autumn’s Splendor. Our scout, Northwind, is still out but she should be back soon.”

“I’m Dawnfire, this is Wanderlust. I haven’t had a chance to thank you for saving us yet.”

“You can pay us back by telling us what’s going on.”

Wanderlust had passed the point of caring. Hanging his head, he slowly walked to a far corner of the cave and lay on the cold ground. “Can it wait until morning?” He heard Dawnfire ask.

“Probably. Just be ready to leave in a hurry.” With that, Wanderlust heard two sets of metallic hoofsteps retreat further into the cave while softer steps approached him.

A soft rustling accompanied Dawnfire lowering herself to the ground next to him and gently covering him with a wing. “Dawn...” He tried to speak, but it just ended in a sputter.

“I know, Wands. I know.” She replied softly as the unicorn slowly cried himself to sleep.

“So you’re telling me that the Administrator is somewhere inside the facility’s computer network communicating with us?” Valiance asked incredulously.

“Assuming that that draconequus was being truthful.” Dawn replied.

“I suppose it always was one of the contingency plans. I’d always hoped to serve under him. The Admiral of the Fleets, The Hero of Endeavour-”

“The Butcher of Draconis IV?” Wanderlust asked dryly from his position near the wall.

Valiance shot him a glare. “That one fell out of favor after it became clear that Draconis IV had won us the war.”

“What is this war you keep talking about?” Dawnfire asked in exasperation.

Valiance stared at her like she’d just grown a second head. “You don’t know? Has that much really been forgotten?” The unicorn awkwardly scratched the back of his head with an armored hoof. “It started with the discovery of the draconequui. They were primitive, and we thought it was our duty to help them. We gave them everything we had, turned them into a spacefaring civilization almost overnight. They repaid us with fire. We had no concept of war, of violence. They burned our planets from orbit and moved on, killing us off in droves. By the time we could fight back, three trillion lives had been lost. I’m not sure how many we’ve lost since.

“We built this ring as the balance of power was shifting. The dragons had been all but forced out of the war, our technology had gained us an edge and we were learning how to use it. The draconequui took the ring from us less than a year later, though. It took us a long time to find it again after that.”

“You mean that there’s more help coming?” Oh, Celestia. I can let them handle it. I can just go home and pretend that this is all a bad dream. “There are others like you?”

Valiance took a deep breath. “The Emperor took the ring and ran. To him, it was the universe’s largest lifeboat. It was lost for close to two hundred years before we stumbled across it by accident. Forty-three warships carrying us and two divisions of Sentinels against the forces that the Emperor had squirreled away on the ring. Thirty-second division’s transport was taken out on approach. Third division’s transport was forced down by the rimwall defenses. We made it as far as the command center, but we were too badly outnumbered to-” His voice trailed off and his eyes went wide. “Mist...” He whispered, his eyes tearing up. “No, Mist, you can’t leave. You’re all I have left...”

Instantly a pegasus sprang from the other side of the cave and wrapped a wing around him. Wanderlust jumped: he hadn’t realized she was there. “Come on, Val. It’s okay. Just come with me.” She kept whispering to him quietly as she led him deeper into the cave.

Autumn coughed, trying to act like nothing had happened. He was a golden yellow that reminded Wanderlust of the yearly running of the leaves. “That was roughly three thousand, seven hundred years ago, local time. The ring has been moving close to the speed of light all this time: on the outside, it’s been almost twice that long. I’m afraid there’s no hope of help at this point.”

“Almost four thousand years? How is that possible?” Dawnfire asked, staring wide-eyed at the unicorn.

“We have ways of prolonging life. Injection of a colony of tiny AI-controlled robots that repair cellular damage can effectively protect against aging and most disease. One treatment is good for about five thousand years. The same sort of technology allows for our equipment to maintain itself in the field for Millennia.”

“Could I step outside for a few minutes?” Both Dawn and Autumn jumped at Wanderlust’s voice.

“I suppose. Just stay close.” The soldier ordered. Wanderlust was halfway outside the cave by the time Dawnfire caught up.

“What is this about, Wands?” She hissed at him as they passed through the cloth covering the cave entrance.

“I need to try something.”

“What exactly?” Wanderlust stayed silent. “You’re scaring me, Wands. What is this all about?”

“I’ll explain in a few minutes.” The pegasus glared at him but followed along. Wanderlust stopped in the shadow of a large tree and closed his eyes, concentrating on reaching out to the ring, feeling the magic pulsing through it. Come on you bastard. You’ve been poking around inside my head for weeks. For once I’m inviting you in. With alarm, Wanderlust sensed a tendril of magical energy reach out to him from the ring and it took all his willpower not to fight it as it snaked into his mind.

“The Butcher of Draconis IV, I presume?” Wanderlust was too angry to be phased by the fact that he was suddenly standing in the midst of a featureless, endless nothingness, alone save for a silver unicorn backlit by a flickering ball of light.

“Not the accolade I prefer, but not one I shy away from,” The other unicorn replied stoically. “What I did saved countless lives, turned the war in our favor. It could be said that that one act saved the Kingdom, and our entire race. I would do it again a thousand times without the slightest hesitation.”

“How could you do it? How could you kill so many of them and not feel anything?”

“They were dragons,” The silver unicorn replied, calmly adjusting the collar of his spotless, black jacket.

“They were innocent!” Wanderlust objected.

“Innocent?” The silver pony glared at him, his eyes smoldering as if Wanderlust’s words had been a personal insult. “My ship took a hit over Redemption and we had to abandon it. I spent three weeks on the ground fighting with the Sentinels before they were forced back.”

Wanderlust’s vision swam and he was suddenly bathed in horrific sounds and images. He was running through the rubble-choked streets of a dying city. Entire districts were ablaze, filling the sky with clouds of smoke, blocking the sun and replacing it with the hellish light of the growing inferno. Dark shapes flitted between the clouds and the sound of his own gasps for breath competed with the reports of weapons and the gut-wrenching screams of the dying.

Rounding a corner, he was just in time to see a massive black dragon settle roughly into the median of a wide boulevard, snapping a half-dozen dead, dry trees beneath it. Only a few feet ahead of it was a mare clutching a tiny foal to her chest. Wanderlust watched in horror as the dragon opened its jaws and spewed forth a torrent of flame towards the mare, who was desperately trying to shield her child from their onrushing death.

Time stopped as the flames were bare inches from them. Wanderlust was just an observer as he walked across the street and approached them. The silver unicorn appeared at his shoulder. “This is what I think of every time I feel the barest hint of remorse. Look into their eyes and then talk to me about innocence.” Against his will, Wanderlust gazed into the mare’s eyes and saw terror. She knew that she was going to die, that there was nothing she could do for her child. The unicorn had to fight the urge to retch.

“Get out of my head, you bastard,” Wanderlust growled.

“I came at your invitation. You’re stuck with me until I’ve said what I came to say.” The other pony replied. Wanderlust blinked and he was once again standing in blackness.

“The dreams I’ve been having. Your doing?” It was more a statement than a question: Wanderlust had ceased having any doubts moments before.

“Yes. Events pulled from my own experiences and the archived records within the ring’s systems. I was trying to help you understand just what you were about to stumble into.”

“Why not just tell me?”

“My abilities are limited and remotely accessing the mind of a sentient creature is a tricky thing. Even when you’re asleep, the mind resists. Unless your guard is completely down, the best I can do is implant a few thoughts here and there.” There was a short silence as the silver pony stared him down. “Go ahead, ask.”

“You were the one communicating with Valiance’s team? Guiding him towards me?” Wanderlust asked coldly.

“Yes.”

“You disabled the engines in our ship?”

“Over the ruins of Iniba, yes.”

“Why?” Anger was slowly creeping into Wanderlust’s voice.

“I needed to get you to Valiance as quickly as possible. I was unaware that Rafaldin’s forces were already so close to you.”

“So you’ve been pulling my strings this entire time?”

“I’ve been trying to give you a chance at success.”

“Semantics.” Wanderlust stomped a few steps away. “Why Valiance?” He asked, not looking back.

“He and his team are the only true allies you can count on. They have Millennia of experience, unparalleled training and equipment that puts anything else on the ring to shame. Without his help, you would have no chance of doing what needs to be done. You should be happy: he also gives you the opportunity to obtain something you desperately want at the moment.”

“Do you really think you know what I want?”

“It’s the same thing I want: revenge. I can help you achieve it, and so can the lieutenant.”

Wanderlust had to admit that the unicorn had struck a chord there. There’s still one more question to be asked, though. “Why was I chosen for this?”

“I don’t know why the Overseers picked you. All I know is that you’re the first pony I’ve been able to contact in all this time other than the Lieutenant’s team. I have a plan. It’s taken over three thousand years of planning, three thousand years of subtle manipulation, three thousand years of whittling away at the Oathbreaker’s resources, but I’ve finally put all the pieces into place. Everything is set to retake this ring, but I can’t do it alone. What I can do is guide you to the right place, at the right time.”

“So he was telling you the truth. All I am to you is a puppet.”

“Not the term I would use.”

“I am nopony’s puppet,” Wanderlust snarled, stalking back towards the silver pony. “He knows you’re communicating with me. He’s using you to track me. I think I’m better off without your help.”

“He is not as powerful as he believes, Wanderlust, and he sees only what I want him to,” The silver pony said, seemingly not caring that the younger unicorn was inches from his face. “For example, he doesn’t know that two thousand years ago, I found a way to reactivate the orbital batteries. I can turn any section of this ring to dust within minutes. I have other abilities that I’ve kept hidden from him, and now that things are in motion, I can hide you from him. I’ve had to play this close to my chest, but by now I think he’s confident enough that losing you won’t worry him.”

“I don’t want your help.”

“Either you take my help, or you fail. I can’t risk that. Do you know why he cares so much about your little corner of the ring? Because behind those walls are a few million ponies who have never been under his control, who aren’t under the control of any of the other factions fighting for control. We have the makings of an army hidden behind those mountains: the kind of force that can retake this ring, and he knows it. He also knows that he can turn them. He’s done it before. Legions of our own fought for him in the war. Lost, tortured souls. He’s perfected the art of corrupting us.

“I’ve cut his resources down to almost nothing. He can feel his hold on the ring slipping through his fingers. With your home, he can reclaim control, and if you fail, that’s what will happen. I’ve come too far to allow that. I’ll burn your home to the ground before I let that happen: every city, every village, every last pony, all dust.”

Wanderlust stared at him, aghast. “You monster. You’d murder them all?”

“More of a mercy killing, really.” The silver pony replied without batting an eyelash.

“So you’re saying that I don’t have a choice?”

“There’s always a choice. In this case, though, there’s only one option that gives you a happy ending.”

Wanderlust glared at him for a few long moments before dropping his head and taking a deep breath. “What’s our next move?”

“There’s a city some distance to spinward of you. Take the Lieutenant and head there. I’ll give you more information when you get closer.”

“How exactly will I get Valiance to believe all this?”

“Tell him about your home, what you’re trying to do, what I’ve told you to do. Then, tell him, ‘And so the gods gazed down upon the world and saw their temples razed. Their tempers flared, and their teeth were bared as they did respond in kind.’”

Wanderlust cocked an eyebrow. “What does that mean, exactly?”

“The Lieutenant will know.”

Wanderlust took another deep breath, resigned to his fate, before speaking again, his voice filled with acid. “May I ask the name of my puppeteer?”

“Silver Star. My name is Admiral Silver Star.” The other pony said, then Wanderlust’s vision went black and he felt as if he were falling.

“Wanderlust.” The unicorn’s eyes snapped open at the sound of Dawn’s voice. He was back in the grove of trees with the pegasus standing next to him, an odd look of concern on her face. “Are you alright? You were shaking.”

“I’ll be fine. Come on, I need to talk to Valiance.”

Once back inside the cave, they found the red pony back to his normal glowering self. He listened in silence as Wanderlust explained about Equestria, about what he was going to do, about what Silver Star had said. When he was finished, Valiance stared at him for several long seconds. “Why exactly should I believe a word of that?”

Wanderlust took a deep breath and repeated what the admiral had told him to, speaking slowly, making sure to get every word right.

Valiance’s eyes grew wider with each word, and he had a faraway look by the time Wanderlust finished. “How? Bu-bu...” His sputtering trailed off and he stared in shock at the younger unicorn.

“You can’t seriously believe this, can you Val?” Autumn asked. “He could’ve heard that anywhere.”

“That particular line, Autumn? Where would he have heard it, from one of the other veterans of Juggernaut just wandering around the ring?” Valiance snapped as he moved towards the side of the cave. He rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. “No, we were sworn to secrecy, and there’s only one other pony on the ring who might possibly know the meaning behind those words. Our computers would’ve synced with Triumph as we approached, correct?”

“Right.” Autumn confirmed, sounding uneasy.

“Then that leaves only one possibility. He’s telling the truth.”

“I have to go with Val on this one, Autumn.” The new voice startled Wanderlust. Somehow he’d managed to forget about the pegasus, Northwind, again. She had a playful voice, a coat the color of gathering storm clouds, deep blue eyes and a mane that was shaved completely away, just like the other two. “As weird as it seems, I think the colt’s telling the truth.”

“So where does that leave us?” Valiance asked quietly, almost to himself.

“I’m not sure how this changes anything, Val.” Autumn replied. “Why is this our problem?”

“This is business, corporal. Right now it’s ‘Sir’ or ‘Lieutenant’.”

“You can’t be serious, V-” The red pony silenced him with a glare. Autumn coughed and continued. “Sir, my point is that the chain of command’s been shot to hell for a long time. As far as Equestria is concerned, we’ve been KIA for a few thousand years. Let the kid save his own home: we should be trying to get back to ours.”

“Not a side of you I’ve seen before, Autumn.” Northwind noted quietly.

“I don’t know about you, North, but I miss my home. I’d like to see it again someday.”

“My home is ash, Autumn.” The pegasus said sadly.

The yellow unicorn turned bright red. “Right, I’m sorry. Things slip the mind sometimes...” He trailed off.

“I know,” Northwind replied softly. “I get it, too.”

“Autumn, what’s our first standing order?” Valiance asked abruptly from the far side of the cave.

“Civilian lives take priority, no matter what.”

“Was that order ever rescinded?”

“Sir, it’s been-”

Valiance cut him off. “Was that order ever rescinded?”

“No, sir.” Autumn admitted reluctantly.

“Then it’s decided.” Valiance pulled away from the wall. “We have an unknown number of civilians in danger. It’s our responsibility to do whatever we can for them.” He looked back to Wanderlust. “I think the city the Admiral was referring to is Tinx. We’ll leave at nightfall. Welcome to the War of Broken Souls, Wanderlust.”

Quick note from the author: Two quick things: first, I’m sorry to say that my update schedule will probably slow down a bit from now on, just because things have gotten a bit busy for me. I do know exactly where I’m taking the story, though, and I’ll keep working to update as often as I can. Secondly, I just wanted to let you know that I’d love to hear what you think about the story so far: what I’m doing right, what I can improve, that sort of thing. My editor and I do our best to get each chapter as close to perfect as we can before release, but every bit of feedback helps.

Chapter 9

“How in the world can you even walk in all of that?” Dawn’s voice broke the silence that had hung over their little procession all evening. It was their third night in the forest with the soldier ponies and while Dawnfire seemed to fit right in, Wanderlust was having trouble adapting and it didn’t help that Valiance seemed determined to walk the younger unicorn into the ground. Each morning, Wanderlust had collapsed onto the nearest flat surface and slept until one of the other ponies woke him, always before nightfall. He had no idea how far they’d come, or how far they had left to travel, and there was a not-insignificant part of him that didn’t really care.

“Well, I normally just put one hoof in front of the other and repeat until I’m finished,” Autumn replied, the note of levity in his voice apparent even through the harsh, metallic filtering of his helmet. The unicorn was stationed about half a step behind them at the rear of the group and seemed much more talkative than his commander.

“Pretty sure she’s wondering about the weight, Autumn,” Northwind chided. The pegasus alternated between flying patrols ahead of them and walking next to Dawn, enjoying the company of a fellow pegasus: Apparently she’d been the only one left in the squad for over two thousand years.

“Gee, really, North? I never would’ve guessed,” The other pony replied before turning back to Dawnfire. “Yeah, this kit weighs quite a bit: I wouldn’t be able to move without help. Luckily, there’s a system of gravity generators built in. Completely cancels out the weight.” The unicorn hopped deftly on one hoof for several steps to demonstrate before returning to his previous gait. “Like it’s not even there.”

“Plus,” Northwind added, a tinny giggle slipping through her helmet, “you can do all sorts of crazy things if you turn the safeties off. Like that time over Pride. I’m sure you remember that one, right, Autumn?”

The unicorn chuckled. “How could I forget that?” He turned his head to face Dawnfire and his voice took on the tone of one relating an oft-told, favorite story. “So here we are, dropping into contested territory on Pride colony. We’re in the first wave, plummeting gods-know how fast through the upper atmosphere, and we take a hit from some ground-based AA gun. Pilots are gone, engines are out, and we’re dropping like a brick from a couple miles up.

“Obviously, this isn’t a problem for the scouts, the feathered bastards don’t even need the dropship once we’re inside the atmosphere.” Autumn cast a quick glare at Northwind, and the others could almost sense her sticking her tongue out in response, hidden somewhere behind the macabre helmet. “Anyway, my point is that it’s a bit of an issue for the fifteen unicorns inside.

“So here I am making peace with my maker, the others are in various states of panic, I’m pretty sure Val pissed himself, and you know what the captain does?” He waited for Dawn to give a weak shrug before continuing. “She just yells,” The pony did what was presumably an imitation of his commanding officer as he continued, “‘If they think they can keep us out of the fight that easy, they don’t know who they’re fucking messing with!’” Autumn and North both started laughing wildly as Dawnfire turned to Wanderlust and cocked an eyebrow, clearly lost. “I mean, who even talks like that? It’s like something out of a bad movie,” Autumn gasped between laughs.

After a few seconds he finally regained most of his composure. “So anyway, she just starts grabbing ponies and shoving them out the side door! I didn’t even really realize what was going on until she shoved me out, too. Now, I thought I’d known just how crazy the captain wa-”

“Autumn!” Valiance barked from his station several strides ahead. “Keep the talk to a minimum. I’d prefer not to announce to the whole ring that we were coming. North, fly ahead and try to find us a place to set up for the night.”

“He doesn’t like when we talk about her,” North explained in a whisper. “They were close.”

“Especially after-” Autumn started before the pegasus cut him off.

“That’s definitely not something that’s ours to talk about,” She hissed, giving the unicorn a glare. “If he wants them to know, he’ll tell them.”

“I meant now, sergeant!” Valiance barked.

“On it, boss,” North responded quickly. The pegasus tensed and threw herself into the air, leaving a scattering of grey feathers in her wake.

“And I don’t think my personal history is a good topic of discussion, corporal.” The red pony continued, still not breaking stride.

“Right. Sorry, sir,” Autumn replied sheepishly. “Ears like a freaking bat,” He added under his breath.

“It helps that you never shut your radio off.”

“Right. That would help.” The yellow pony backed off a few steps, leaving Wanderlust and Dawnfire relatively alone in the center of the sparse procession.

“How are you doing, Wands?” Dawnfire asked him quietly.

“I’m fine,” The unicorn said curtly.

“Somehow I’m not sure I believe that.”

“Really, I’m fine,” Wanderlust shot back, a trace of heat in his voice.

“Which is why you’ve been so talkative lately,” She replied dryly, giving her companion a glare.

“I haven’t had anything to talk about.”

“We both know that’s not true, Wands. I’ve lost friends before,” The pegasus said softly. “I know that your first reflex is just to sit on it, hold it inside, but that’s not going to work, and I think you know it.” She looked at him hopefully and just sighed when the unicorn stared blankly back at her. “Listen, if you change your mind and you want to talk, I’m here.” Wanderlust grunted an acknowledgement and their journey continued in silence, Dawnfire casting a concerned glance towards him every few minutes.

It was nearing daybreak when Valiance abruptly turned to his left, leading them deep into the underbrush of the forest. “North’s found us a campsite,” He explained over his shoulder as the others followed, picking their way between the trees. “Autumn, think you can patch them into our radios?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem, Val,” The other pony responded. “Hardware’s about the same, it’s just a matter of making the encryptions play nice. If we’re lucky, it’ll be done by morning.”

Valiance nodded and led them deeper into the trees. It only took them a few minutes to reach a dense patch of the forest where the branches of the trees intertwined above their heads so tightly that they couldn’t see the sky.

“Took you long enough.” Wanderlust started at the unseen voice above him. Valiance seemed unshaken as, with a soft rustle, Northwind dropped from her perch among the treetops.

“Water?” The unicorn asked.

“There’s a creek a few minutes’ walk that way,” North replied, gesturing with her head.

“Good.” Valiance retrieved a canteen from one of his pouches and transferred it to one of North’s. “Top us off. Take the new girl with you.”

“On it,” The pegasus acknowledged, collecting canteens from the others as Dawn stripped off her barding.

Autumn settled down to fiddle with her radio as the two pegasi moved into the forest. “Thank the gods there’s another pegasus around,” The unicorn muttered to himself. “If I’d had to have one more conversation about feathers I would’ve thrown myself off a cliff.”

Valiance gave their surroundings a slow, careful look before removing the top half of his helmet. The stallion’s ears twitched as he sighed. “Wish they could’ve found a better way to cover our ears. Having them flattened against my head like that still drives me nuts.”

“Beats having one shot off,” Autumn pointed out, not looking up from his work.

Valiance titled his head to one side, considering. “Yeah, I suppose there’s that. Wanderlust,” The unicorn continued, looking at the younger pony, “give your barding to Autumn. I’d like to be able to talk to you if we get separated.”

As Wanderlust removed his barding and set it down next to the other unicorn, Valiance began to do the same. He watched in curiosity as the older unicorn used some sort of tool to loosen each plate and carefully set it aside with his magic. In the three days since their meeting, none of the soldiers had removed more than the helmet of their barding: North had explained that it simply took too long to take off and put back on to be practical while they were in danger. It took close to ten minutes before Valiance had nothing left to remove but the tight suit of thickly-woven, black fibers that lay beneath his armor. The unicorn undid the zipper down the back and slowly stepped out as Wanderlust’s eyes went wide.

Underneath the trappings of death, underneath the layers of metal and who knew what else, underneath the frightening visage painted atop his armor, the pony was a wreck. Too many missed meals had sapped him of every spare ounce, leaving only dry, matted fur and wiry muscle; Wanderlust swore he could even see one or two of the other pony’s ribs. The old soldier’s chest was pockmarked with patches of puckered skin, cleared of fur, that marked ages-old wounds. On his left shoulder there was a ghastly crater where an entire chunk of flesh had been ripped away. All of that paled in comparison to what Wanderlust saw as the red unicorn pulled his forelegs out of the black suit.

Valiance’s legs were a delicate latticework of silver metal and taut, black artificial muscle. The younger unicorn gasped, staring at the exposed workings of the mechanical limbs as they silently ticked along, moving in response to the unicorn’s effortless commands as he stretched. The older pony caught Wanderlust’s gaze and frowned.

“Land mine. On Dusk.” The brown unicorn stared back blankly. “Nevermind. Hopefully you never have to learn. Anyway, I’ve been dealing with a conundrum. You see, I’m stuck with you and your friend for the foreseeable future. Now, she’s useful: Pegasi make good scouts, and she definitely has a skillset I can make use of. You, however, have no applicable talents that I’ve seen yet, other than serving as the mouthpiece for one of the greatest military minds ever born to ponykind.” Autumn snorted behind him, but the red pony silenced him with a glare before turning back to Wanderlust. “There’s no room for dead weight here: Everypony needs to be able to hold their own in a fight.”

“I’m a quick learner,” Wanderlust replied tersely. I’m not useless.

“We’ll see. First lesson: Unarmed combat. I need to see what you already know. Try to take me down; No magic, no breaking bones.” Wanderlust gulped and stared at the dour soldier for a moment before charging. He flung himself through the air, trying to tackle his opponent. It was over so quickly that the unicorn wasn’t sure exactly what had happened, but he found himself on his back, seeing stars, out of breath, with Valiance’s back hoof planted on his chest.

The older unicorn used his magic to place Wanderlust shakily back on his hooves. “Okay. I’m going to show you what you did wrong, how to counter it, and then you’re going to try again,” Valiance commanded. Oh Celestia, it’s going to be a long day.

Whispers in the damp morning air woke him. It was dark beneath the trees and otherwise almost silent save the quiet sighs of the wind passing through the leaves. There was a barely-audible tapping every second or so; the sound of something softly striking metal. With every tap came a few whispered words.

“Cerul Skies: KIA, assault on Leviathan Ascendant.” Tap. “Stargazer: KIA, assault on Leviathan Ascendant.” Tap. “Obsidian: Missing during initial assault on ring. Presumed dead.” Tap.

Wanderlust cracked an eyelid and took in his surroundings. Dawn was curled up on the ground beside him, still asleep judging by her breathing. Northwind was sprawled across the ground a few feet away on her back, her wings twitching gently every few breaths. Autumn was propped against a tree, his forelegs crossed and his head leaning on his chest.

“Rosewater: KIA, initial assault on ring.” Tap. Wanderlust turned his head. Valiance was lying a few feet away, illuminated by the orange glow of his horn. The unicorn was tapping a knife against the marks on the front left leg of his barding, whispering a few words every time. “Mist: KIA...” His voice stopped mid-sentence. “Go back to sleep, Wanderlust. It’s going to be a long walk tonight.”

The young unicorn dutifully lowered his head to his hooves.

“Mist: KIA, initial assault on ring.” Tap.

“Magic is arguably the most powerful force available to a soldier on the battlefield.” Valiance’s voice rang loudly through the earpieces of Wanderlust’s radio as they entered the second hour of the night’s trek. Every muscle in his body ached as he struggled through the dense brush, just barely keeping pace with the older unicorn. Their training session the previous morning had dragged on for several hours, leaving Wanderlust bruised, battered and sore, a condition which had not improved after several hours spent asleep on the hard ground. He groaned and turned down the volume as the other pony continued to speak, apparently determined to turn today’s march into a lesson.

“It can function as a tool, a weapon, healing magic can save lives, teleportation and invisibility allow for soldiers to bypass enemy defenses and strike from within. It’s a force multiplier that cannot be matched except by units fielded by the draconequui and it gives Sentinel ground forces a crucial advantage in combat.”

“So how do earth ponies and pegasi fit into this?” Wanderlust inquired, glancing to check if Autumn was still in his trailing position. Dawn and North were off somewhere ahead of them, leaving the three unicorns alone.

“They don’t,” Valiance responded. “Sentinel Corps combat units are entirely unicorns, with units of pegasus scouts attached.”

“And earth ponies?”

“There are quite a few in Fleet and Logistics, but they aren’t allowed into the Sentinels.”

“Why not? They seem like they’d fit in well: They’re certainly strong and tough enough to be soldiers.”

“You’ve seen our equipment. Without all this armor, a pony in combat won’t last more than a few seconds, and it’s all powered by magic. Do you see the problem now?”

“Earth ponies couldn’t recharge their own equipment.”

“Exactly.” Valiance was silent for a moment as he reached a narrow ravine, stopping to pick the safest route across. After a moment, he deftly hopped across, resuming his swift pace on the far side. Wanderlust took a deep breath and followed.

“It takes a long time to travel between stars. It would take over a year to travel from one end of the Kingdom to another, traveling faster than light itself. Our equipment needs to last potentially years without resupply; There have actually been units cut off behind enemy lines for over a decade before they could be rescued. Do you know what happens to an earth pony when they’re cut off from resupply, from any unicorns in their unit?” He waited for a moment until he was certain that Wanderlust wouldn’t answer. “There were occasional field tests using earth ponies in heavy weapons units. When one was cut off, their weapons would fail, followed by their barding. They’d be stuck in one spot, unable to move, unable to see, unable to hear, just barely able to breathe.

“We saw it ourselves once, I can’t remember what the planet was called. We were pinned down in what was left of a city, only about a hundred yards from a trapped earth pony, but we couldn’t get to him. We had to listen as the griffons found him that night, dragged him back to their lines. I heard every scream as they pulled him out of his armor and ate him alive.” There were several long seconds of silence as Wanderlust fought to keep his breakfast down, his body cold as his mind was filled with visions of such a ghastly fate. “How did we get here?” Val asked in confusion.

“Magic,” Autumn prompted.

“Right, magic. How much do you know?”

“Not much. Mostly just telekinesis.”

“Mostly telekinesis as in ‘other things besides telekinesis’, or mostly telekinesis as in ‘only telekinesis’.”

Wanderlust glared at the other pony for a moment. “Only telekinesis.”

“Okay. Not ideal, but I can work with that. Telekinesis is the most valuable skill, anyway. It can serve as an offensive weapon, a defense against attack, and a general-purpose tool. As such, it’s a skill you need to master, and that will require constant practice.”

“How will I do that?”

Before Wanderlust could react, Valiance snatched a pinecone from the forest floor with his magic and flung it over his shoulder without looking. The younger unicorn yelped as it hit him square between the eyes.

“Catch,” The soldier ordered. “Next one’s a rock, by the way.”

“Val, we might have a problem.” It had taken them three weeks of walking to get this close to their destination, though it had seemed like much longer to Wanderlust. The young unicorn had spent every day and some nights training with the dour lieutenant leading the group. The training sessions had made the journey seem to drag on forever as he dealt with the aches and pains caused by Valiance’s choice of teaching methods and struggled to remember the wealth of strange information being thrown at him. When North’s voice came in through his earpieces, he had to stifle a groan. Oh, Celestia. Please don’t let this last any longer.

Valiance cocked his head to one side before replying. “We’re still about an hour away from a visual. What’s the issue?”

“City’s surrounded. Looks almost like siege lines.”

“Siege lines? Tinx was evacuated during the assault; None of ours should be inside. Who are they fighting?”

“Beats me, boss, but they’re fighting somepony. Looks like intermittent plasma fire in the mid-levels of the complex, scattered plasma and kinetics along the lines. I’m not sure what’s going on, but we’re going to have to fight our way through it.”

“Understood. I’ll take a look myself soon.” There was a brief pause in the conversation. “You said plasma fire?”

“Yes, sir.”

Valiance sighed. “Well, enough of it was stockpiled here; We were bound to come up against it sooner or later. Brief in the pegasus, I’ll tell Wanderlust what he needs to know.” The line clicked dead and Wanderlust waited for the other unicorn to continue for a few seconds before losing patience.

“She has a name, you know,” Wanderlust growled. “Is there a reason that you don’t seem to like Dawn much?”

Valiance ignored him and kept walking. There was a soft click in the younger unicorn’s left ear, marking someone else opening a private channel. “She reminds him of his wife,” Autumn explained quietly. “They could almost be sisters.”
“I take it they weren’t on good terms?”

Valiance interrupted before the other pony could respond. “You heard the sergeant: There’s a strong chance that we’re going to have to fight our way through to the city, and whoever we’re up against has access to plasma weaponry. Your barding won’t stop more than a few shots before it starts to collapse, and magical barriers won’t hold long, either. Just stay behind Autumn and I and make sure they don’t get around us. Understood?”

Wanderlust nodded and took a deep breath. Valiance didn’t seem like he was in much of a talking mood, and Autumn had gone silent again. Nothing to do but wait.

Close to an hour later, the trio of unicorns crested a hill and the sight before them took Wanderlust’s breath away. They were at the very edge of the forest, the trees growing sparse and fading away as they flowed onto the plain that stretched out in front of the ponies. Across the miles of open plains stood a cluster of monoliths, standing like tired gods, towering above their domain. There were five rounded, flowing buildings visible in the ghostly half-light of the ring’s night, each as large as any city Wanderlust had ever seen; They had to be miles across at the base. The towers were connected by bridges to a titanic spire that lay between them, a slender, delicate structure that soared into the sky, stretching above the clouds.

“What is that?” Wanderlust asked in awe. It was a feeling that had become almost familiar to him since he’d started his journey, but somehow it kept taking him off-guard.

“Tinx, the largest settlement on the ring. It was an experiment into arcology construction,” Valiance explained. The soldier seemed to be surveying the path ahead of them critically, trying to assess the situation.

“An experiment into what construction?” Wanderlust asked, his eyes still glued to the massive buildings in the distance.

Valiance sighed. “Autumn, do you want to take this one? I need a few minutes to think.”

“Arcologies are massive, self-contained settlements. They’re designed to be nearly self-sufficient and house massive populations of ponies in as small an area as possible.”

“But why? You have more space on the ring than you could ever need.” Wanderlust still couldn’t pull his eyes away from the city. How many ponies could live in there?

Several million, theoretically. We never reached peak capacity, though. Wanderlust started and his blood ran cold. There was a voice in his head that wasn’t his own. His gaze darted to Autumn, who was still talking, acting as if nothing had happened.

“Did we ever tell you why the ring was built?” Autumn waited for a moment, then took Wanderlust’s confused silence as a response. “Triumph was a joint project between the Equestrian Military, the Equestrian Ministry of Science and the Royal Academy for Magic. The ring was used as a test site for dozens of different projects. The idea behind Tinx was that if you could condense a population down to a relatively small physical area, it would allow for more efficient use of defensive forces. It was an idea that gained quite a following in some circles.” The yellow unicorn’s voice trailed off awkwardly, as if he were lost in memories.

It finally clicked in Wanderlust’s mind exactly what was going on. Get out of my head, Admiral.

Come now, Wanderlust. You invited me in: It’s not nice to force a guest to leave.
Did you come here for a reason?
Fine, we’ll skip the pleasantries. I told you I’d let you know what came next when you reached Tinx.

There was a long pause as Wanderlust ground his teeth. And?

Sorry, there are so many things that require my attention; I occasionally get distracted. There’s a connection to the ring’s transit system in the lower levels of the central spire. There will be a tram waiting for you.

And where will it take us?

One step at a time, Wanderlust. One step at a time.

Why not just tell me?

If you’re captured, you can’t reveal what you don’t know.

Wanderlust’s face went red. Am I really that expendable to you? There was no answer. The admiral had come to say what he had to say, and then he’d left. Typical. Slimy bastard.

I’m still listening, you know. Rather impolite.

“Wands!” The voice shook Wanderlust back to reality. He found that he was looking into a pair of concerned green eyes. Dawn was standing in front of him while the other three ponies conferred in whispers a few feet away. “Are you okay? You were just standing there, staring into space.”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” The unicorn shook his head, trying to clear the disconcerting feeling of not being alone inside his own skull. “Sorry, just thinking about something. What did I miss?”

“North is going over what we’ve seen from the air. It’s not going to be fun getting in there.”

“Speaking of which,” Valiance added, leading the other two ponies towards them, “Is that what we’ll actually be doing? You’re our pipeline to the admiral. Can you contact him?”

“The transit system. There’s a connection underneath the central tower.”

“Okay, that’s our target. North, what’s the easiest way in?”

The pegasus lay down on the grass and started sketching a diagram, carving it into the sod with an armored hoof. “Siege lines completely encircle the city. Still no idea who’s sieging whom, by the way.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Valiance interrupted. “We just get through and keep moving.”

“Right, Val. I’d forgotten that they surgically removed your curiosity when you enlisted.” The unicorn gave her a glare and she quickly continued. “In any case, they have Fleet tech: Type A Barding and some light plasma weapons. Mostly kinetics, though. Shouldn’t be a problem for our weapons. No idea how the ones inside the city are equipped. Easiest way through the lines would probably be here.” The pegasus pointed towards a section of the diagram on the right side of the city. “I can’t be entirely sure, but it looks like there’s a weakness in their patrol patterns.

“We should be able to approach unseen by following this ridgeline here. Set up for the day, make the crossing tomorrow night, then get into this tower here. Access to the central spire is near the top.”

“How did you get all that while we were flying around?” Dawn asked, astonished.

“Filly, I was doing this before your great, great, great grandfather was a gleam in his daddy’s eye,” North replied lightly. “I’ve had some practice.”

“How long will it take to get to the staging area?” Val asked, still studying the crude diagram.

“We should leave now if we want to make it tonight.”

“No point in wasting time. Let’s go.”

The sentries were looking the wrong way. It wasn’t much of a mistake, but it was the last either of them ever made. North took one, Dawn took the other. The sound of their wings was swallowed by the night as they cut through the darkness, the soft gurgles from the sentries as their throats were slit was the loudest sign of their passage.

“Clear right,” North whispered through her microphone.

“Clear left,” Dawnfire added.

“Move,” Valiance barked through his radio. The three unicorns galloped towards the low wall that encircled the city, their hooves padding softly across the damp grass. A swift kick to the chained gate and they were inside, the pegasi silently drifting above them, black on black, scouring the terrain ahead.

It was about a mile from the siege lines to the nearest section of the city and the run seemed to drag on for hours. Scattered windows in the tower ahead of them sparked with flashes of ghoulish red light every few seconds, entrancing Wanderlust as he struggled to keep up with the other unicorns.

“Val, there’s movement ahead of you.” The unicorns skidded to a stop in the shadow of the monolith. Wanderlust gasped for breath as the others tensed, preparing for a fight.

“What is it?”

“Not sure. Light amp is on the fritz and I can’t seem to clear it up.”

“And why didn’t you tell me this before?”

“Just started. I’m getting all sorts of static in just the last couple minutes.”

Valiance swore under his breath. “Keep working on it: I don’t like stumbling around blind out here. In the meantime, you have the better view. What do you think?”

“Whatever it is, there’s only one for the moment. I’d recommend a cautious advance.”

“Understood. Keep me updated.” He turned to the others. “We’re taking it slow from here on out. Be ready for a fight, and stick together. Wanderlust, you have the rear.” The younger unicorn gulped and nodded, his heart racing as he eased his weapons out of their holsters and flicked the safeties off.

The unicorns began to slink forward, edging closer and closer to the nearest of the massive towers. The first few hundred feet were dull, grey metal before windows started to break the monotony of its appearance. They were close enough now that Wanderlust might’ve fallen over had he tried to look at anything farther up in the structure.

“Oh dear gods. Val!” The note of panic in North’s shout nearly stopped Wanderlust’s heart. What in Celestia’s name could scare her like that? The unicorn slammed up against the metal of the tower alongside the others, making themselves as small and inconspicuous as possible. “Corrupted, Val. I can see corrupted. Those weren’t siege lines, they’re a quarantine; Whole place is infested.”

Valiance’s head jumped upwards. “Earth, pegasus or-”

“Unicorns.”

“Shit,” The unicorn snarled.

Autumn’s hoof nervously pawed at the ground. “Val, we need to turn back. This is a deathtrap.”

“No.” Valiance barked the word almost in unison with the voice in Wanderlust’s head. “We have a mission. We’re not leaving until it’s finished. We’ve survived worse than corrupted”

“What are corrupted?” Wanderlust asked with a hitch in his voice.

“Later. Just stay close and don’t shoot unless we do. We’re going to try to get past the ones outside without them noticing us, and fight our way up the tower. Understood?” He didn’t wait for the murmurs of assent before cautiously starting forward.

Wanderlust followed along behind the two soldiers, casting frequent glances over his shoulder, warily searching for anything following them. His pulse quickened as they drew ever closer to their goal.

“There should be an entrance just a few hundred yards ahead. We’re almost there.” Valiance froze. “Don’t move a muscle,” The red pony hissed.

It was only a few dozen feet in front of them, illuminated by the reflected light of the ring. It looked like some mad artist’s vision of a unicorn: Long, statuesque legs and a wickedly-pointed horn that jutted like a lance from its forehead. Its entire body was covered in a thick, jagged-edged carapace that bore the same sickly off-white tint as sun-bleached bone.

The creature moved with an almost otherworldly grace, silently gliding through the night with a thin, bony tail that swayed gently behind it. Beneath the curved, chitinous plate covering its face, its eyes were visible more by their absence than their presence: Two pits of darkness, almost seeming to drain the light out of their surroundings.

It stopped suddenly and cocked its head, sniffing the air. Without warning, the creature turned towards the three unicorns and its horn began to glow a wan yellow as it opened its mouth and let forth an unholy, earsplitting screech.

Note from the author:

Sorry this one took so long. Just a perfect storm of technical difficulties, schedule conflicts and me being driven slightly insane by end-of-semester exams. Thanks for your patience.

Chapter 10

“Take it down!” Valiance yelled. The night exploded in brilliant light as the ponies fired their weapons, the red strobes from Wanderlust’s plasma weapons joining the blinding white streams of the others. Their target was gone before the onrushing wave of death reached it, though, vanishing in a muted flash of wan yellow light to reappear fifteen feet above them, clinging effortlessly to the side of the mammoth structure beside them. It let out another otherworldly cry and vanished once more, narrowly avoiding a torrent of energy that charred a black smear across the wall where it had been.

An instant later, it reappeared, barreling into Wanderlust’s chest and knocking the pony to the ground. The protective layer of the unicorn’s barding flickered madly as the creature pinned him down, its hooves planted on his chest. He stared in horror as it growled at him, revealing jagged, crooked, crystalline teeth that jutted at bizarre angles from torn, bloody gums. He fired into its face, splashing plasma across its chitinous armor again and again to no effect. Its jaws snapped shut an inch from his snout and the beast vanished again, replaced by a blinding flash of white light, sizzling past Wanderlust’s face, so near that it singed his fur.

“Get up, it’ll be b-“ Valiance’s order turned to a grunt as their assailant blinked back into existence, driving its horn violently into the soldier’s chest. There was a screech like a horseshoe across a chalkboard as it skidded across the lieutenant’s chestplate. The red pony brought a forehoof up into the creature’s face, knocking it back a step. It screeched again, lunging forward with its fangs bared before it was lost in light. When Wanderlust’s vision cleared their attacker was lying on the ground, its neck ending abruptly in a smoldering ruin where its head should have been.

“We need to get inside,” Valiance said, his heavy breathing obvious even over the radio. “We’re too exposed out here.”

“Are you insane? Val,” Autumn pleaded, “there’s no telling how many of them are in there. Thousands, tens of thousands? It’s suicide.”

“This isn’t a debate, corporal. We’re going in,” The other unicorn growled as Wanderlust looked on. For a moment, it looked like Autumn would protest again, but he withered under his commander’s stare. Valiance turned away as the corporal’s head drooped. “Sergeant, I need a report.”

“Like a nest of angry hornets, Val. We need to get inside now or we won’t make it at all.” North’s tone suggested that she was holding on to her professionalism with all four hooves; More than a tinge of panic was apparent behind her calm tone.

“You heard her,” The lieutenant barked at the other unicorns. “Move!” He didn’t have to say it twice. In an instant, Wanderlust and Autumn were running as if the hordes of Hell were on their heels. “North, move on ahead. I need a report on our entry point.”

“On it.” There were a few seconds of tense silence that seemed to drag into an eternity, broken only by the desperate heaves of Wanderlust’s breath as he pushed himself to run faster and the pounding of blood in his ears. “Maintenance access door, about a hundred yards ahead of you. It’s open, looks clear for the moment, but they’re coming. I can see at least a dozen creeping up on us.” Wanderlust gulped.

“Can you hold it long enough for us to get there?”

“I-I…”

“Sergeant!” Valiance’s voice had steel in it this time, cutting through the air despite the growing static on the radio.

“Yes, we can hold it if you’re quick,” North replied with a slight crack in her voice.

“We’re going to lose comms any second now,” Valiance said, his voice losing most of its edge. “Just hold on. We’re coming.” Any reply North made was lost in static. “I’m not losing her, too,” Valiance whispered, either forgetting or not caring that his radio was still transmitting. Wanderlust just barely caught it through the flood of ear-splitting static pouring through his earpieces.

An instant later, his radio went dead and the protective field from his barding fell away with it, leaving him exposed to the world, assaulted by the cold night air and the sound of armor-clad hooves pounding against the hard ground. His sense of time was lost in the darkness, the seconds melting into an indistinct blur set to the metronome of his beating heart. Ahead of them, light rent the night: Brilliant white and staccato red played over the dull grey of the titanic structure that towered above them, giving brief, surreal glimpses of the landscape. Screams echoed off the metal mountains like Hell’s very own chorus: A million banshees singing infernal hymns to death and despair. Flashes of sickly yellow joined the symphony of light ahead of them, signaling that their foes had truly joined the battle.

Celestia, Dawn’s up there. What have I gotten her into?

Nothing she didn’t volunteer for, Silver Star’s voice responded in his head, harsh and determined. She knew the risks. Keep running.

The clash of arms continued ahead of them, hidden from view by a low hill, leaving them to guess at what was happening, watching the ghastly lightshow reflected off the arcology’s walls. Some small part if Wanderlust’s mind noted that the flashes of red had come to an abrupt end, but he didn’t realize the significance until he crested the hill, inches behind the other unicorns. North was standing with her back to the wall of city, feet away from the narrow access door, holding a dozen corrupted at bay with shots from a small, shoulder-mounted cannon as the the bodies of three others smoldered at her hooves. Wanderlust’s eyes went wide as he realized that the armored Pegasus was standing above Dawn, who was lying on the ground, unmoving.

No, no, no, not her, too. Please, Celestia, not her, too.

Stop praying to your false god and get down there, the admiral growled in his head. Wanderlust only hesitated a heartbeat before charging down the hill, hot on the heels of Valiance and Autumn, both of whom were volleying their weapons into the beasts below, taking them from behind. The pair dropped three more before the beasts vanished in a cascade of light to reappear instants later a hundred yards away, dark spectres prowling the shadows, waiting and watching. By the time the unicorns reached their companions, others had started arriving. Dozens. Hundreds. Appearing in droves from thin air.

“What now, Val?” Autumn asked, shouting to make himself heard over the rising crescendo of blood-chilling screams filling the air as Wanderlust rushed to Dawn’s side.

The lieutenant didn’t hesitate an instant, his voice calm and steady. “Autumn, you and I will provide cover for the others. Wanderlust, get your friend inside, do what you can for her wounds.” Wanderlust was already doing so, orders or no. He pressed a hoof to Dawn’s neck. Oh, thank Celestia. A pulse. “North, keep an eye on them.”

One of their assailants had stabbed Dawnfire with its horn, leaving a gaping hole in her chest that matted her dark fur with blood. Wanderlust tore open the medical kit at his side and retrieved a bandage, slapping it over the wound, only dimly aware of the battle raging around him. The unicorn focused his magic to lift his friend but couldn’t muster enough strength. Silently cursing himself, his mind raced to find a solution. Her weapons. Wanderlust flicked open his knife and set to work slicing the straps that held Dawn’s plasma weapons to her barding. In seconds, she was free and Wanderlust began to drag her towards the door, weapons at the ready as he gently attached the leads from the automated medical kit, sliding the tiny needles beneath Dawn’s skin so it could do its job.

“It’s clear!” Wanderlust heard North scream from somewhere behind him as he approached the door. Never taking his eyes off the pitched battle raging ahead of him, Wanderlust dragged the injured Pegasus through the narrow access door into the darkness beyond. Setting her next to the wall, he checked the readouts on the kit and cursed; The machine was dim and lifeless. A wave of panic shot through Wanderlust as he looked back at his friend, easing only slightly as he saw her chest still rising and falling.

An instant later, Autumn came darting through the door in a clatter of hooves, followed by Valiance who was slowly giving ground before their attackers, volleying his weapons in short bursts. “Autumn,” The soldier barked as he entered the room with the others, “seal the door!” A dull, blue glow enveloped Autumn’s horn and the wall surrounding the access door as the metal of the wall seemed to take on a life of its own: It distorted and flowed like water, filling in the door before settling, leaving only another wall, distinguishable from the others only by the slight ripples in its surface. When his magic faded, the room descended into featureless, unbroken darkness.

For a few seconds that seemed to drag into an eternity, the world was nothing but the cold, hard floor beneath Wanderlust’s hooves and the heavy breathing of winded ponies. In an instant, the room was illuminated in a ghostly red glow as the emergency lighting clicked on. Valiance sighed in relief. “They’re leaving.” The soldier nearly collapsed to the ground, completely spent. The others joined him seconds later, leaving only Wanderlust still on his hooves, standing above Dawn’s almost motionless form.

The unicorn returned his attention to the medical device hooked to his friend, still showing no signs of activity. “The medkit’s not working.”

“Give it a minute,” Valiance replied breathlessly. “There are still some prowling around.”

“Why should that matter?” Before the soldier could reply, Wanderlust heard a quiet beep and the display sputtered to life. What he saw was mixed: She wasn’t doing well, but she’d live. Probably. A few more minutes…

“They disrupt nearby enchantments. Some of our equipment is shielded against it, some of it isn’t. I don’t know enough about magic theory to explain why.”

“Are we safe in here?” Wanderlust asked, settling lightly to the ground next to Dawn so he could keep one eye on the blinking medical display.

North laughed tiredly. “Safe’s a relative term, kid.”

“They’ll have to take the long way around. If they try to teleport in, they risk coming out halfway through a wall.” Valiance paused for a moment. “They’ll keep coming, though. Once they have the scent of their prey, they won’t give up while they’re alive.”

“What are those things?”

“In the morning,” Val responded.

“They’re the least of our problems, Val,” Autumn said quietly. “You know he’s tied to them. You know what that means.”

“Yeah,” The lieutenant said, his tone growing bleak, “I know. He knows we’re here. Rafaldin’s coming, with all the force he can muster.”

“They’re terror weapons, would be the simplest way to put it.” Valiance was speaking quietly over the radio as the ponies crept through the dark, narrow corridors in the depths of the arcology, guided only by the dim red glow of emergency lighting. “As our resistance grew early in the war, the draconequui were forced to switch tactics: They had to conquer planets rather than just destroying them. It left them with trillions of captives. Some were parceled out as slaves, some were left on the planets to work the fields and factories in support of the war effort, others were turned: Brainwashed and pressed into military service. The rest were,” Valiance sighed deeply, “used as test subjects.”

“What do you mean?”

“Genetic experimentation, mostly,” Autumn replied from his position in the middle of the group, Dawnfire slung across his back. “Their scientists wanted to find out how we ticked, how to fight us, how to turn our nature against us. They tested plagues, they altered genes to see what they did, they would test things at a whim, just to see what would happen.”

“From what we can tell,” Val said, taking over again, “one of those experiments involved testing powerful enchantments on ponies before birth. We don’t know what they intended to do, but the result was the corrupted. The earth ponies and pegasi became wretched creatures, little better than vermin: Almost mindless carnivores, driven by base instinct. The unicorns, though, the theory is that hitting them with that much magic while their own was developing altered the spells somehow, that it caused wild, unpredictable changes to their biology. They became monsters, their origin barely recognizable, but unlike the others, they’re sentient, at least on some level.”

Valiance ducked to avoid a cobweb before he continued, “They’re also tied to the one who cast the original spell. Not true telepathy but any sort of strong feelings or images are passed along to the caster. Rafaldin had the ones that were created by others culled, then he started seeding the ones descended from his own batch into contested areas.

“Draconequui forces would drop millions of them into combat zones, population centers, anywhere that would cause panic or deny an area to us and at the same time, they’d be gathering information. They died in droves, but since when has that stopped him?”

“You’re sure he’s coming?” Wanderlust asked nervously.

“He wants you dead. Partially out of some mad need for revenge, but mostly because you were sent to kill him. The bastard’s beyond paranoid when it comes to his own safety: He will hunt even the slightest threat to his safety to the ends of this ring.” Valiance snorted quietly. “At least because of that we only have to worry about tw-“ He stopped speaking mid-sentence and halted so quickly that Wanderlust nearly walked into him. “Whoa…”

The unicorn was standing halfway through a door, blocking the way of the others and preventing Wanderlust from seeing what lay on the other side. “What’s wrong, Val?” North asked with a note of concern in her voice.

The lieutenant shook his head. “Nothing, sorry. Just stay close.” He started moving again and as soon as Wanderlust crossed into the room, he could see exactly why the lieutenant had stopped. The far end of the room was lost in the haze of distance, the ceiling was so high that the unicorn felt almost as if he were outside, and filling almost every available inch of space, barely leaving room for narrow catwalks, were odd, half-cylindrical troughs surrounded by machinery, each one overgrown by strange plants that fluoresced weakly, filling the dark room with a faint, blue glow.

“We must be in food production,” Autumn said, his voice soft and airy. “Hydroponic facilities designed to feed millions of ponies and process waste at the same time. The engineering that went into this place is incredible.”

“I don’t recognize the plants,” North interrupted. “They’re not native to Equestria, are they?”

“I don’t think so. Of course, with all the different species that came here, some spores probably hitched a ride. I’d guess these are Draconic; I suppose they just like the dark.”

“I wish she were here to see this.” The non-sequitor took a moment to register in Wanderlust’s mind. While the other ponies had been talking and the younger unicorn had been gawking, Valiance had slowly wandered over to one of the nearby troughs. He had picked one of the blue flowers and was holding it in front of his helmet, enraptured. “She always loved her flowers.”

The others went deathly silent and Autumn shot a glance at North. The Pegasus crept forward slowly and spoke, her voice soft and even, “Val, this isn’t the time. You know that. We need to keep moving.” The red unicorn just stared at the flower, twirling it slowly in the air as its soft, blue light played across his helmet. “Come on, Val, snap out of it. We need you.”

Valiance stared for a moment longer, then let the flower fall to the floor. “Sorry, it’s just-“ His voice cracked and he fell silent.

“I get it too, Val,” The Pegasus replied softly. “We can’t let it stop us, though.”

“Right.” When the unicorn spoke again, his voice had regained most of its normal stoicism. “We’re moving out. Wanderlust, stay behind me. North, take the rear. Autumn, you’re in the middle. Keep your eyes up and out; I don’t like this, too many places for an ambush.”

Wanderlust opened a private channel to Autumn as the ponies resumed their advance. “What in the world was that?”

“It’s a long story. Probably better just not to ask,” The soldier replied.

He hesitated a moment before asking another question. “How’s she doing?”

“Better, no thanks to our fearless leader.” Wanderlust sighed in relief, ignoring the other pony’s bitter tone. “Crazy bastard’s going to get us all killed.”

The ponies spent the night in the kitchen of what seemed to be a small cafeteria. Autumn sealed the exits, leaving them relatively safe, but the unbroken metal walls and the dim emergency lighting left Wanderlust feeling claustrophobic.

“Power’s been out for a while by the smell,” North called, pulling her head out of a cooler, her nose wrinkled in disgust. “Nothing in here we can eat.”

“We should’ve grabbed food when we passed through hydroponics,” Autumn grumbled, lying on top of a metal table.

“You’d really eat glowing blue flowers?” The pegasus asked skeptically as she crossed the room and settled against a tiled wall. “I mean, we don’t even know what planet they were from.”

“Better than going hungry,” The unicorn mumbled.

“Get used to it.” Valiance was sitting apart from the others, staring pensively at a blank wall. “The first thing they would have done when they attacked was cut the power; They’re smart enough for that, at least. As soon as the power went out, the emergency procedures would have opened the ground-level doors. This was designed as a city, not a fortress; Fire was always considered a greater threat than invasion. After that, it was all but over” Wanderlust’s heart sank a little as the old soldier continued, his melancholy words sinking into the others. “You can bar the doors, throw up barricades, but you saw how many there were. There’s no way to hold those numbers for long. They would have broken through and the gaps would have widened. Soon they would have worked their way up the towers, stripping them bare.” Wanderlust looked away to check on Dawn, laying on the floor next to him, still attached to the medical equipment, looking almost peaceful. “Any food we find will likely be what they couldn’t or wouldn’t eat. We’ll just have to push through.”

Valiance’s words left a cloud hanging over the others, filling the room with a silence that none of them seemed willing to break.

“I wanted to be an engineer,” Autumn said suddenly in an oddly reminiscent tone. “When I was growing up on Aspara I always had a talent for making things, tinkering with whatever I could find. When I found out what direction my magical talents leaned, everything seemed to click together.” Wanderlust watched as the unicorn effortlessly pulled a ball of metal away from the table beneath him and molded it into a set of intricate gears, staring as they twirled and spun in midair, the teeth meshing perfectly. “I mean, I can manipulate metal. What else would I be doing than working with machines? Then Sapphire got hit. Only three lightyears away, practically next door. I ended up enlisting instead, assigned to combat engineers, then loaned out to this little den of psychopaths. Guess I kind of ended up where I wanted to be.”

“I worked weather patrol on Prospect,” North said, her voice taking on the same reminiscent tone as Autumn’s. “My family had been there since the colony was founded. We’d been working weather patrol for the capital city for generations. It’s all I ever wanted to do, for as long as I can remember, doing what my parents did before me, and my grandparents before them: Working the skies above Homestead, helping our friends and neighbors lead a better life. I took a lot of pride in that.” The pegasus closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall. “The bastards burned it to the ground. Three fleet groups responding in orbit, millions of Sentinels on the ground, and they still couldn’t do anything to hold the planet. Less than a quarter of us were evacuated before they were forced out and the bombs fell.” Her voice cracked. “I was the only one of my family who made it out. I got to watch from a million miles away as they died. The largest funeral pyre I’d ever seen. It took days for the spots to fade.” The pegasus suppressed a sob and took a deep breath. “I signed up before we’d even made it to the refugee center.”

“I had just assumed that all of you wanted to be soldiers, that you’d seen it as your calling,” Wanderlust said awkwardly.

“There weren’t many of us whose special talents led us to war,” Valiance added in from his place in the corner. “Those of us born into that life were the exceptions, even after the war took hold. Most joined because they were afraid, because they wanted to protect their families, because they wanted revenge. Mist and I were the only ones in our unit who had actually wanted to be soldiers. I remember knowing from when I was a foal what I wanted to do. I always liked the thought of protecting other ponies.” His voice trailed away, returning the room to a heavy silence.

“I wanted to be a farmer. They’re so in touch with the land, they bring life out of the soil and give its gifts to others. It seems like such a peaceful, satisfying life, but I was always afraid to admit it to everyone else. It never seemed like the kind of thing a pegasus was supposed to do with her life.” It took Wanderlust a moment to register the new voice, but an instant later he flung his forelegs around Dawn and buried his face against her neck.

“I thought I’d lost you,” He whispered.

“Wands, please let go,” The pegasus begged, her body rigid and her cheeks burning. The unicorn reluctantly released the pegasus from his hug and glanced at the others. Valiance was still staring at his wall, Autumn was playing with the gears he’d crafted and North was looking pointedly away, a small smile on her face.

“How are you feeling?”

The pegasus gingerly stretched her wings. “Like I fell down a mountain, rolled into a ravine and then a herd of elephants ran over me. What the hell happened?”

“One of those things stabbed you with its horn.”

“That would explain why my chest feels like somebody stuck a horn through it,” Dawn said dryly, moving a hoof towards the bandage.

Wanderlust batted it away gently. “Leave it. You still need more time before you’re back to your old self.”

The pegasus glared at him for a moment before relenting. “Fine. Where are you hiding my weapons?”

“We had to leave them behind, sorry.”

Dawnfire sighed and rested her head on the floor. “Next time you get your dumb ass hurt I’ll be sure to throw away all your stuff, too.”

Wanderlust draped a hoof over her and pulled her close, ignoring a squirm of protest. “I’ll try to remember that. Just don’t scare me like this again.”

“You know I can’t promise that, Wands. It’s sort of an occupational hazard.”

“I know. Just try to be careful?”

“We’re in a city full of monsters with only a general idea of where we’re going and you’re asking me to be careful?”

“Well when you say it like that...”

Dawn smiled. “I’ll try, Wands. I’ll try.”

By the end of their first week in the city, Wanderlust had begun to acclimate. As the five of them climbed higher into the labyrinth of steel, the unicorn learned to feel the pulse of the titanic structure, the way it groaned almost silently as night set in, the sound of wind whistling through the pipes that cluttered the back alleys and cramped maintenance corridors they traversed, the way the floor seemed to vibrate just slightly with the steps of their hooves, they all combined to give the city the feeling of a living thing, as if they were inside the body of some long-forgotten giant, slumbering peacefully for eons.

The ponies were living off scraps, ransacking every nook and cranny as they slowly advanced into the residential districts of the city, seeking out any bits of food, no matter how unappetizing, that may have been missed by the scavengers that had passed before them. The strain was starting to wear on them. Too many nights falling asleep to the sound of distant weapons fire, too many days straining for the sound of approaching hooves, too much time spent choking down moldy bread to quell the rumbling in their stomachs, even for a few moments. Their company had become sullen and silent, trudging through the corridors, day after day.

It was mid-way through the second week when their hunters finally found them again. The five ponies were making their way down a maintenance corridor; A narrow, cramped space so cluttered with pipes and cables that they were forced to stoop and move single-file. Walking for hours, Wanderlust tried to keep himself occupied by letting his mind wander, almost hypnotized by the now-familiar rhythms of the city around him. That was probably why he noticed it first. A quiet tapping from behind them, so quiet that he had to strain to hear it, and even then he couldn’t be sure, but it was a break in the pattern.

The unicorn stopped abruptly and twitched an ear as Autumn walked into him. “Come on. The faster we move the sooner we get out of this hellhole,” The soldier growled, giving the younger unicorn a light shove.

“Shh,” Wanderlust hissed in response, stubbornly holding his ground and cocking his head. “Do you hear that?”

By this time, the ponies near the front of the group had stopped as well. Valiance looked back, and asked, “Hear what?” The emergency light behind them in the corridor flickered. The world seemed to go silent as the ponies froze and stared at the light. It flickered again and a quiet hiss of static crept into Wanderlust’s earpieces. “Run,” Valiance hissed.

The ponies sprinted down the hallway, bounding over cables and debris that littered the floor, the lights behind them flickering to darkness one after the other, slowly gaining ground. A moment later, the cries started, echoing down the halls, seemingly coming from every direction at once. They tore at Wanderlust’s mind, blocking out his thoughts, clawing at his ears and filling his head with nightmares from which he knew he could not wake.

No matter how fast they ran, the wave of darkness closed in, the emergency lights dying closer and closer on their heels until they were plunged into darkness. For an instant, Wanderlust was running through an empty void before the orange glow of Valiance’s magic parted the curtain. The dim light cast long shadows across the corridor that seemed to writhe and move of their own accord. Ghastly figures splayed upon the walls cackled in perverse glee and closed upon the fleeing ponies, closing off all escape, sealing them in, preparing for the kill.

No, no, they’re just shadows. They’re just shadows. They’re just shadows. Wanderlust chanted the words in his head, trying to hold onto his mind as blind panic threatened to tear it from his grasp. As the screeching that echoed through the corridors reached a hellish crescendo, a white spectre hurtled from a side passage and barreled into Valiance, knocking the pony into the far wall and plunging them into darkness once more as he lost his concentration.

The struggle played out in flashes of magic, advancing frame by frame in the darkness. As he tumbled to the floor, Valiance fired by reflex, sending a beam of blinding light wildly into the air, nearly hitting North before piercing the ceiling. His assailant’s horn flashed, sending a sizzling bolt of magic that charred Valiance’s chestplate and illuminated Autumn fighting his way forward, trying to get a clear shot. The next flash was orange as the older unicorn tried to throw the monster away. The bolt broke upon a yellow shield in a blaze of golden light that sprayed sparks across the corridor.

The creature screeched in the darkness as Autumn shoved Wanderlust to the side, stumbling forward to try and help. In a sudden flash, a half dozen spectral swords blinked into existence and in an instant, they impaled the monster. It screamed in agony, clawing at the air with its hooves before the glowing swords flung it into the wall. The creature slid to the floor, gurgling weakly as Valiance rose, covered in blood and lit by the aura of the ghostly swords.

“Autumn, clear a path. Kill everything in front of you until you find the next room along this corridor, then seal the exits. North, cover the rear. I’ll hold them here for a few minutes, then fall back. If you see corrupted before you see me, seal the corridor, too.” Wanderlust stood and gaped until Dawn shoved him forward and he took off down the corridor, following Autumn. The unicorn tore down the hall, the echoing screams and flashing lights from the battle behind him nipping at his heels.

Wanderlust couldn’t have guessed if he’d been running for seconds or hours before Autumn ducked into a side passage. He followed and found himself in a small storage room. Autumn was sealing the other exit, melding the metal of the wall into a solid sheet.

“How far behind us is he?” The yellow pony grunted, not taking his eyes off his work.

“No idea,” North replied, her head sticking out into the corridor. “I can’t see him.”

Autumn crossed the room and stared at the door for a moment. “We can’t wait any longer. He’s gone.”

The pegasus cast a glare back at him. “Give him a minute longer.”

“I think we’ve risked our lives enough. I’m sealing it.”

“He’ll be here,” North insisted.

“She’s right,” Wanderlust interjected, “we can’t risk leaving him behind.”

“I don’t remember asking you,” Autumn snarled. “North, do you remember how many times we’ve stuck our necks out for him? He’s finally gotten his dumb ass killed. We need to get out of here.”

“We’re waiting. That’s an order, corporal,” North replied, an edge to her voice.

The yellow unicorn laughed. “Really? You’re pulling rank on me? It’s been millenia, North. We don’t even know if anypony back home is even still alive. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Back off, Autumn, or I will personally kick your flank from here to Ba-” She was cut off as Valiance, gasping for breath, barreled around the corner.

“Close it!” He barked. Autumn immediately complied, closing them into the room as Valiance slumped to the floor, peeling his helmet off and closing his eyes. When the yellow unicorn finished his spell, the room was plunged into darkness.

Wanderlust shivered as, moments later, the beasts started scratching on the wall, trying to claw their way in. There was a primal terror threatening to overwhelm him; He was trapped, in the dark, being hunted by creatures that he couldn’t fight.

“You okay, boss?” North’s voice in the darkness.

“No new scars if that’s what you’re asking.” Valiance’s breathing was still labored, forcing his words out in ragged gasps. “Just not quite as spry as I used to be.”

Autumn snorted. “Just as good at getting us killed, though.” He conjured a blue orb that floated in the center of the room, illuminating it with a soft, magical glow. “I wouldn’t complain if it was just your personal deathwish, but I’m tired of you dragging the rest of us into it with you.”

“What the hell are you-” Valiance started before Autumn cut him off.

“This is exactly like the Ascendent. There must be other ships on the ring. We were briefed: There were still close to a hundred unaccounted for. We could have looked for those, gotten home. Instead, you decided to assault a three-mile long warship guarded by dragons. Sixteen of us walked into that deathtrap. How many of us walked out?”

North bristled and stepped forward. “Autumn, back the hell off or-”

“Or you’ll what? Are you really going to shoot me, North? Because there’s not much else you can do. I’ve been quiet for too long on this and I’m sick and tired of it. He’s going to get us killed!” The yellow unicorn turned back to Valiance, who was struggling shakily to his hooves. “How many of us walked out of there that day? After Issus caught the Ascendent lifting off without orders and slagged half a continent to stop us.”

“Autumn-” Again, the yellow unicorn cut him off.

“Five, Val. Five of us walked away from that. I’m not going to let you get us all killed.” Autumn was edging closer and closer to his commander, his shoulders squared and his voice low.

Wanderlust made a move to assist but Dawnfire stopped him with an outstretched hoof. “Not our fight,” She whispered. The unicorn reluctantly drew back as Valiance spoke again.

The words hung in the air for a long moment as Valiance seemed to tremble, then the unicorn lunged at the other pony with an almost primal roar of anger. He feinted towards Autumn’s legs, then wrapped a foreleg around the other pony’s neck as the yellow unicorn moved to counter. Autumn’s spell fizzled out, plunging the room into darkness.

Wanderlust could only guess at what was happening as the sounds of struggle dragged on. After half a minute, he heard the sound of one of the other ponies’ weapons priming, followed instantly by a sound like flame bursting to life as a half dozen glowing swords blinked into view, bathing the room in a harsh, orange glow.

Autumn was on top of his commander, pinning the other pony to the ground and pointing a weapon into his un-armored face. Valiance had his magical blades hovering millimeters above the other unicorn’s neck his eyes narrowed in rage and his face covered in blood, apparently from a hit to his nose during the struggle.

“One thought, and I can end all of this,” Autumn hissed. “One flash of light and I can forget all about you.”

“You do that and it’ll be the last thought you ever have. I can drive these swords through your spine in the time it takes me to die,” Valiance grunted back, the fight obviously having taken a toll on him. “They’ll cut straight through barding; You should know that, you’ve seen it yourself.”

“I remember,” Autumn admitted cautiously.

“If he doesn’t kill you, I will,” North growled from a few feet away. She had her weapon trained on the other pony.

“Well, it seems we have a problem, then,” Autumn replied, never pulling his gaze off Valiance.

“No, you have a problem. I’m not afraid to die, coward,” Valiance spat back.

“No, you’re not. In fact, you’ve been wanting it, waiting for it, begging for it since Juggernaut, haven’t you?” The magical blades twitched almost imperceptibly as the red unicorn’s eyes narrowed to slits.

“Don’t you dare bring that up.”

“You’re going to kill me just for mentioning it? Go ahead. I’m never making it home, anyway. What do I have to live for?”

Morons. We’re running out of time; You need to stop this. Tell them that if they help me, I’ll get them a way home. The voice in Wanderlust’s head was more impatient than angry.
Do you actually have one?
Would I tell them so if I didn’t? For the sake of civility, Wanderlust didn’t answer.

“The admiral says that he has a way home for you.” Wanderlust’s words plunged the room back into tense silence. “Contingent, of course, upon you helping him.”

“Can we trust him?” Autumn asked suspiciously, hazarding a quick glance at Wanderlust.

Of course. Silver Star’s voice answered inside Wanderlust’s head.

“Not at all,” Wanderlust replied. “But you said it yourself: There are ships on the ring that are still unaccounted for. If anyone knows where they are, it’ll be him.” Autumn kept staring down at Valiance. “Isn’t even the slightest chance of making it home better than dying on this ring?” Wanderlust asked, silently praying that the other pony would lower his weapons.

Autumn seemed to weigh things for a moment, then his guns snapped back to their rest position on his back. “Anything’s better than dying on this ring,” The unicorn growled. Valiance let the swords fade as Autumn straightened and stepped away. “But if he’s lying, I will hunt him across hell and earth and I won’t rest until he’s dead.”

Get in line, kid. The admiral’s voice growled in response.

Autumn turned around and examined the room. “So how are we getting out of he-” He choked on his last word as Valiance grabbed him from behind and pressed a magical blade to his throat.

“I know that the years have worn on all of us, and I want to see my home again as much as you.” Valiance’s voice had a sort of terrible calm to it, like the still air before a storm. “Because of that, I’m willing to forget that this ever happened. From now on, though, I expect you to behave like a soldier, not some spoiled foal. You will show some measure of respect, you will follow orders, and you will always remember that if this ever happens again, I will not hesitate to gut you like a pig. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Autumn said reluctantly.

The blade came closer to his throat. “Yes, sir,” Valiance ordered.

Autumn gulped. “Yes, sir.”

“Better.” The swords disappeared and Valiance retrieved his helmet. “Autumn, I need you to make us some stairs, we’re going through the ceiling.”

“Any idea where we’ll come out?” Wanderlust asked, moving into the center of the room as Autumn started on his spell, Dawnfire following half a step behind.

“Not really, which is why I didn’t want to do this before. At this point, though,” Valiance glanced over his shoulder at the wall where the door used to be very conscious of the scratching noises still forcing their way into the room, “we’re out of options.”

As soon as the hole in the ceiling grew large enough, North fluttered through and poked around for a moment while Autumn continued his work. “Looks clear to me, boss,” She called down. “More residential areas.”

“No point in waiting around,” Val said as soon as the makeshift stairs were finished. Without another word, the unicorn started to climb upwards, moving noticeably more slowly than usual. Wanderlust watched for a moment, cast a sidelong glance at Autumn, then followed.

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait. School and work have been crazy recently and I haven't had much time. I've already started on the next chapter and I'll try to get it out as soon as I can.

Chapter 11 Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait. I've been dealing with some personal issues that have made it difficult to work up the motivation to write. Additionally, this story just hasn't gotten the reception I was hoping for, and my editor has all but stopped speaking to me. With all of that weighing me down, it's been tough to keep going. I apologize if the quality has suffered at all from the lack of an editor, and I'd like to apologize again for the wait. I'll try to make sure the next chapter doesn't take as long. Thank you for reading.

Chapter 11

“Griffons are a lot like ponies; Heart’s in the same place, spine’s exposed. Their skin’s thin and their bones are brittle, just like pegasi. You have to watch the talons, though.”

“Well, of course. Griffons are easy. I’m mainly concerned about more exotic fare,” Dawn replied to the other pegasus, sounding uncharacteristically happy for once. She seemed to enjoy talking shop. After two weeks of solitude, there didn’t seem to be much harm in idle conversation. Wanderlust just wished the pegasi had picked a more palatable subject.

“Exotic?” North chuckled. “Cut me some slack, Dawn. I can’t just start with the best part. Wouldn’t be half as interesting otherwise.” The black pegasus grumbled a grudging agreement and the other pony resumed. “Anyway, minotaurs. We’re likely to run into a lot of them, so you should know how to bring them down. Their torsos will be armored, so that’s out. Their necks are a good choice, but there’s a lot of muscle in there and you’d be surprised at how tough their skin is. In my opinion, your best bet is to go for the legs: Hamstring them, then hit the artery inside the thigh once they’re down.”

“Or you could just shoot them,” Autumn called from his position behind Wanderlust, at the back of the group. “That’s kind of why they gave us these guns.”

“No artistry in energy weapons, Autumn,” North replied lightly over her shoulder. “I’m sure Val would agree.”

“Aesthetics have no place in our line of work.” Valiance drew one of his knives and held it up in a dim aura of orange magic for the others to see. “This is a zebra-enchanted ceramic blade. It will not bend, it will not break and it will never need to be sharpened. No matter what happens, so long as I am alive, these give me a means to fight.” The unicorn returned the knife to its sheath. “Practicality always trumps artistry.”

North grunted in disappointment. “Spoilsport. Anyway, advice for going after corrupted with a knife: Don’t. Simple enough. Same story with dragons. In fact, I’d recommend avoiding them unless you have orbital or air support. If you’re really desperate you can use an AT rocket at close range. Anypony who goes in with less than that is either stupid, suicidal or both.” Wanderlust had almost finished blushing by the time Dawn finally stopped laughing.

“No, it’s nothing, really,” The pegasus explained, stifling a few lingering giggles. “Go on, what’s next?”

“Changelings. Killing them is the easy part, but that’s not saying too much. Their bodies are covered in an exoskeleton, so you have to go for the joints. Where their legs meet their torso is probably your best bet. It’s a straight shot to the vital organs once you get past the carapace: No bones to get in the way. The back of the neck is an option, too, but you have to aim between the plates. This assumes that you can identify them in the first place, of course.” Dawn cocked her head quizzically.

“Shapeshifters,” She explained with a sigh. “They can transform themselves into the shape of any living being. That’s just the start, though. Their society has a hive structure: Drones led by a queen. The queens grow stronger as they get older and so do the drones they produce. The more powerful hives can produce infiltrators able to scan a victim’s memory and produce an almost-perfect copy. There aren’t many ways to detect that kind of duplicate other than genetic tests. If you really want to know about them, Val would be the one to ask; He’s our expert.”

The lieutenant glanced over his shoulder and spoke in what Wanderlust had come to think of as his ‘Don’t push me’ voice. “That’s the line, sergeant.”

“Right. Sorry, boss.”

There were a few seconds of awkward silence before Wanderlust spoke up. “What about draconequui?”

“Dracos are smart, they’re tough, the least of them has magic that rivals that of any unicorn. Their equipment is top-notch, though the two here on the ring have been cut off for long enough that it will be dated, and they have military training so harsh that a senator was once jailed for suggesting that we emulate it. There are few things more frightening in battle than a unit of draconequui.” Her tone was far from reassuring.

“So you’re saying there’s no way we can fight them?” Wanderlust didn’t make an attempt to hide the edge in his voice.

North was quiet for a long moment. “I’m saying that I hope that voice in your head has a good plan.”

Do you? There was silence for nearly a minute, broken only by the echo of hoofsteps off the metal floor. Well?

Contrary to popular belief, I am not at your beck and call, Wanderlust.

So why am I at yours?

Rank hath its privileges. Wanderlust could almost see the smirk that went along with that statement. If you learn nothing else about me, you should know that I always have a plan. You’ll have your revenge, I’ll have my ring and your home will be saved. A happy ending for all involved.

The unicorn was about to reply when he was interrupted. It was the most horrible sound he’d ever heard in his life. It was pain, it was anguish, it was sorrow, it was loss, it was as if the very world were crying out, giving voice to the agony of a billion lost souls. Wanderlust clapped his hooves to his ears, trying in vain to block the sound that echoed from every wall, bombarding him from every direction at once.

“Autumn!” Val barked, screaming through the radio to make himself heard over the noise, “How close are we to the bridge?”

“Six floors up,” The other pony bellowed back, “seventy-three compartments Port!”

“Make us a shortcut!” The group ran upwards, Autumn melding the walls into stairs as they climbed through layer after layer. Near the top, the sound stopped, leaving only echoes that died slowly, fading into nothing.

“What was that?” Wanderlust couldn’t help but shout, his ears still ringing. Autumn ripped holes in the walls in front of them to clear them a path as they ran, any thought of caution or stealth thrown to the wind.

“Failsafe!” Valiance barked back.

“What?” Dawn and Wanderlust yelled in unison.

“The corrupted,” North replied grimly. “You never deploy a weapon you can’t control. The corrupted have an enchantment woven into their very being that allows them to be killed en masse, remotely. What you just heard was every single one of them in this compound receiving that signal and burning to ash.”

“What does that mean?” Wanderlust asked, trying to grasp the implications. “Why would they do that?”

“Because they weren’t needed anymore. Their master is here.”

“Are these the ships you were talking about?” There were clouds of the vessels surrounding the central tower, a dozen different models ranging from the size of a small carriage to a few that could have rivaled Canterlot Castle for height if they had been stood on one end. “The ships that were still unaccounted for?”

“No, these are just short-range craft. Maintenance, surveillance, some personal transport ships. The draconequui never figured out how to blend magic and technology together properly. After all this time, they’re reliant upon our leftovers.” Autumn was staring forlornly out over the gathered ships, watching them drift through the sky, seemingly without direction. “If we’re lucky, the garrison scuttled anything armed before they were overrun.”

Valiance laughed humorlessly. Ever since they’d reached the bridge and seen what stood between them and their goal, the lieutenant had lay in a corner with his head resting upon his forehooves. “Lucky? North, you’re our scout. How many minotaurs do you think could pack into all of those?”

The pegasus replied immediately, never taking her eyes off the windows. “We’re looking at at least a full legion of the Crimson Guard in that tower; Fifty thousand minotaurs at the low end. If they brought auxiliaries, maybe sixty to seventy.”

“Fifty thousand minotaurs between us and our ride out.” Valiance snorted. “We are five malnourished, under-equipped ponies, only four of whom are armed and only three of whom have proper military training. Do you really think there’s anything at all that’s ‘lucky’ about our situation, Autumn?”

Any response he may have had was cut off as the lights slowly, almost reluctantly, struggled to life and a dull, distant rumble echoed up from beneath their hooves. Wanderlust looked between the other ponies, all of whom save Valiance had leapt to their hooves and tensed for an attack. “Why would they restore power?”

“They know they’ve already won,” Valiance said sullenly from his spot on the floor. “There’s no point in letting us die in the dark.”

Wanderlust opened his mouth to reply and snapped it shut as an echoing voice resounded from the walls.

“Hello again, ponies. As you may be aware by now, this structure is now under the control of the Crimson Guard.” This time, Valiance rose. The red pony stared at the ceiling, a noticeable twitching of the weapons on his back the only visible sign of his barely-contained rage.

“He sent Drast,” North whispered, her trembling voice just barely picked up by her barding’s microphone.

“In light of this, it should be obvious that you cannot escape. I’ve restored power to this complex as a courtesy, that you may use the tram system to enter the main tower and issue your surrender. If you have thoughts of doing otherwise, I should also let you know that I have full control over the environmental systems. All compartments of this tower that are not on the path to the central atrium have been sealed and depressurized. Any breach of one of these compartments will be detected instantly and troops will be dispatched to execute you in numbers that you cannot hope to fight. Additionally, if I have reason to believe that you are trying to escape the complex, we will destroy it entirely with atomic weapons. Surrender is your one chance at survival. Whether you take it is of no consequence to myself.”

The announcement was followed by a long silence as the ponies stared at the floor, contemplating their fate and waiting for another to make the first move. Finally, Valiance turned and started towards the exit.

“Val, where are you going?” North asked tentatively.

The lieutenant stopped and spoke without turning. “You heard him. He’s left us with only one option. We go across that bridge, we kill him, and we carry on with our mission. He’s just one draconequus; Nothing we haven’t faced before.”

“Just one draconequus?” North made no attempt to disguise what she thought about her leader’s comment. “Gods below, Val, this is Drast we’re talking about! The Reaper’s Right Hand, The Ebon Blade, Skyburner, the one who destroyed my planet and who the hell knows how many others! He’s ordered the deaths of billions and personally slaughtered thousands. You’re talking about what may be the single most dangerous creature in the universe. You can’t seriously be thinking of doing this.” Her shoulders slumped as she stared at the back of Valiance’s head, realizing that he wasn’t going to listen.

“Does anypony else see another option?” Valiance waited for nearly a minute, never moving a muscle, for an answer that he knew wouldn’t come. “In that case, we need to move. I don’t know how long he’ll wait before he sets off the bombs. We’ve fought him before.”

“We didn’t know it would be him, before,” North muttered.

The others followed reluctantly as Valiance walked away. Dawn took up a place beside the other pegasus. “‘Gods below’?” She asked softly, “I was always taught that the Gods lived in the heavens, always watching over us.”

“The earth brings us food, gives us shelter,” North replied bitterly. “The skies bring fire and death. Where do you think the gods would live?”

I’m working on a way out, Wanderlust. Just stay alive a little while longer.

“I was starting to wonder if you'd come. To be honest, I'm almost disappointed; Have you ever seen the immediate aftermath of the detonation of a fusion bomb? That scale of destruction has a beauty to it that few can properly appreciate.” Where the larger outer structures had been built for the task of housing thousands upon thousands of residents, the central spire had been built as a hub. There were wide, towering halls that honeycombed the tower: Wanderlust had almost been able to feel the ghostly presence of the number of ponies they had expected to pass through the structure every day. When they reached the center, Drast was waiting, lounging against a vine-covered tube that ran from the floor to the ceiling high overhead. There had been a garden once, but the plants had long since overrun the room, snaking up the lift tubes that cluttered the chamber and overgrowing the walkways crossed the expanse above them.

None of the ponies replied as they followed Valiance, North drifting to his left and Autumn to his right. Wanderlust started to drift to the side as well, but Dawn silently motioned him to stay where he was.

“Lift tubes will be good cover,” North whispered, her voice carried into Wanderlust's earpiece. “There are some trees on our left; Concealment, but no real protection.”

“Some of these vines are thick enough to trip us up,” Autumn added. “Watch where you stand. There's a cluster of tubes to our right with a statue next to it. That's my ground.”

“Watch your fire. I'll be going straight up the middle. Wanderlust, you’re with me. Stay behind me, put a shot in when you can but don’t overreach. Dawn, stay back.” Valiance's voice had a growl to it. It was clear even through his barding that he was tense; His head was down and his steps had a jerky quality to them, almost like he was struggling to contain some barely-controlled force. “His armor looks rated for energy weapons. Plasma will have limited effectiveness, particle cannon should punch straight through. Expect protective fields for kinetic threats. Can't see his weapons, other than the sword.”

Wanderlust took his first good look at a battle-ready draconequus. Drast was clad head-to-toe in matte black. There were graceful curves everywhere, the armor seeming to flow around his body almost like a cloud of smoke. Joints were covered by rounded segments where the plates overlapped, revealing more black beneath, making it hard to see exactly where each ended and the next began. His head was covered by a featureless helmet. The flowing, blank front gave no hint that there might be a face behind it.

Slung across the draconequus's back was a long, slender sword. The blade would have stretched from the tip of Wanderlust's nose to the end of his tail, but it was easily small enough for the draconequus to wield with one hand. What frightened Wanderlust the most, however, was how relaxed Drast looked. He leaned against a tube, his arms crossed across his chest, watching silently as the ponies approached. His chest rose and fell with slow, measured breaths and his tail was curved carelessly in front of his crossed legs. He might as well have been waiting for a train. War holds no more surprises for him. Pay attention to this, Wanderlust, The unicorn thought to himself. This is the enemy: A professional killer, with lifetimes of experience, just waiting to log another day at the office.

“I don't like how open the center is,” Valiance growled, breaking Wanderlust out of his reverie. “Autumn, can you give us some more cover?”

“Combat casting has never been my thing, sir. I can try, but he takes one shot at me and I'll lose my concentration. Who knows what the spell will do from there. Might end up hurting us more than it helps.”

“Right. Forget about it, then.”

Drast finally broke his silence as the ponies came within about twenty paces. “The Blades of Dexis, if I'm not mistaken.” He didn't move a muscle, still leaning casually as the ponies stopped. “I'm surprised to see that so few of you have survived, given your reputation. Soldiers sworn to the god of death. You should be in awe, ponies. I'm as close to your master as you'll ever meet.” He waited a few moments for a reply that never came. “I believe we were to discuss your surrender.”

“When have you known Sentinels to offer surrender?” Valiance asked in response, his voice quiet.

“When have you ever known draconequui to accept it?” Drast sounded almost like he was smiling behind the blank face of his helmet.

There were a few long moments where the two sides faced each other down, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Wanderlust could feel his heart beating almost painfully fast as he tensed, waiting for things to break.

Everything happened in the space of a heartbeat. Drast lunged, his tail uncoiling like a spring behind him to drive himself forwards as he drew his sword with one hand and gilded the other with the telltale glow of magic. Autumn dove to the side, rushing for cover as North sprang into the air, her wings driving her upwards. Valiance set his hooves and braced to meet the draconequus, the air around him filling with an orange glow as he drew his knives and surrounded himself with a cluster of glowing, spectral blades. Wanderlust followed suit, drawing his weapons and gritting his teeth as Dawn dove for cover behind a stone planter.

The sound was like sitting in the middle of a thundercloud. All three soldier ponies fired at once, six beams of brilliant white converging on the draconequus followed an instant later by a staccato stream of red plasma as Wanderlust joined in. Drast rolled out of his dive and sprang to his feet, twisting to dodge the roiling death hurtling towards him. Three shots missed outright as their target jinked to dodge a fourth. The remaining two beams hit an invisible shield of magic and deflected away, starting a fire in a cluster of nearby trees. The plasma fire fizzled harmlessly in midair, not even phasing the draconequus’ warding spells.

There was a howl as Drast returned fire. Instead of an energy weapon, he responded with magic, filling the air with shards of black ice. The shards coalesced into streams that writhed like serpents before lashing outwards furiously, pelting the ponies with razor-sharp projectiles. Most pinged harmlessly off their protective fields, but they shattered as they did, filling the room with a smoky haze and deafening the ponies with a sound like breaking glass.

Amidst the confusion, Drast closed the last spare few feet to Valiance. The Lieutenant managed a quick shot with his weapons, one beam grazing his attacker’s arm despite his almost supernatural quickness. The draconequus howled in pain but didn’t slow as Valiance roared and stabbed forward with a dozen blades.

“No shot,” North and Autumn screamed into their microphones, almost in unison. They couldn’t fire without risking their commanding officer’s life. Wanderlust had an extra moment, pouring fire into their assailant before he, too, couldn’t take the risk. All he could do was watch as the melee played out in front of him.

Valiance’s blades closed on their target before meeting a glimmering yellow shield that blinked into existence in front of Drast, deflecting most. The rest skidded off rounded armor pieces. One drew a ragged, red line across a joint but didn’t cause more harm than a scratch. Valiance had put all his strength into that first blow, trying to end the fight quickly, and in doing so he had overextended himself.

The draconequus saw an opening and jabbed his sword forward, the tip connecting with Valiance’s helmet. The armor held, but Wanderlust saw the other pony’s head snap backwards from the force of the blow. It didn’t seem to have caused major damage, but it shattered the soldier’s concentration. His magic dissipated, dropping blades to the floor in a clatter as the draconequus spun for the killing blow, sweeping his sword in a wide arc aimed for Valiance’s neck. When the blade reached it, he was gone. The pony dove under the sword and hit the draconequus’ stubby legs, knocking him to the floor.

Wanderlust had learned from the lieutenant that ponies were at a natural disadvantage in most forms of unarmed combat: Their bodies simply weren’t shaped for it. To strike a blow, they had to be above their target, or turn their back. They couldn’t grab, they couldn’t throw, but they had a low center of gravity and a more stable stance than a biped. Get an enemy on the ground, and you had at least leveled the playing field.

Drast hit the ground and rolled, but Valiance pinned his leg with a hoof. The pony attempted to break it before the darconequus’ other leg caught him with a kick to the back of a knee, knocking the pony off-balance and crumpling him to the floor. “Have you really fallen so far?” Drast asked, twisting to wrap an arm around Valiance’s neck. “Has missing a few meals here and there, so far from your posh empire made you this weak?” He dropped the pony as a razor-sharp horn was thrust at his face with a toss of Valiance’s head. The lieutenant tried a kick with his rear legs only to have one caught and used to throw him to the ground on his stomach, his assailant planting a knee on the back of his neck.

“Before I was given to Lord Rafaldin, when they took our wings, they dumped us in the mountains, to toughen us.” Drast followed the words with a grinding motion, smearing Valiance’s face against the floor. “No food, no shelter. My best friend and I were working together. One night, when it was my turn to stand first watch, I looked at him and wondered why I had to go hungry. What would you do in that situation? Would you have the strength to do what was necessary? To survive? I think you’d die there, lying in the snow, weak and alone.” He grabbed a foreleg and started twisting, still speaking calmly as his claws pulled a knife from his belt. “That was the first time I ever ate my own kill.” He lowered the knife towards Valiance’s throat and started to speak again just as Wanderlust hit him full-force.

The draconequus dropped Valiance’s leg and tried to deflect the unicorn’s tackle, but the momentum behind him was too much. The draconequus and the pony careened end over end across the floor. Drast grabbed his sword as he skidded by and rolled to his feet as Wanderlust still lay dazed. He raised it for a killing stroke before readjusting, going on the defensive as Valiance charged him, wielding his own ghostly blades. Expertly parrying each blow, the draconequus slowly gave ground, meeting the pony’s magic blades with his own sword and a magic shield.

The other ponies moved in quickly, closing on the draconequus from all sides. Just as it looked like he might be overwhelmed, Drast leapt backwards, swinging his sword at North, forcing her back. He followed it with a feint towards Autumn that he expertly turned towards Valiance, nearly landing a blow. It became clear as the draconequus struck again and again, driving the ponies onto the defensive, that he had been toying with them: He had wanted them within arms’ reach, surrounding him so that firing a weapon would run the risk of hitting a friend. The only one with effective melee weapons, Valiance was left on his own in the fight.

Pressing the attack, the lieutenant lunged forward, a whirlwind of blades slicing through the air, trying to press the draconequus back. The others slipped away, dodging parting jabs from Drast, leaving the two combatants alone. They circled each other, trading blows that were swiftly parried or turned, stuck in a stalemate. It dragged on for minutes, neither one able to land a telling blow and Valiance’s allies unable to gain a clear shot. Without warning, it all came to a sudden halt as a soft chiming noise broke the din of battle. In a moment of surreal calm, weapons hanging still in the air, Drast and the ponies turned to look at the now-open door to the lift.

In. Now. The two words were a scream inside Wanderlust’s head, so deafening that he couldn’t help but flinch as he repeated them aloud, relaying the admiral’s order. The others didn’t hesitate to follow, but Valiance was still crossing swords with Drast. The two of them wheeled in the middle of the atrium, their swords throwing sparks as they clashed. Finally, Valiance managed to work his back towards the lift and lunged inside, bowling over the others. Landing in a disordered pile of ponies, the lieutenant’s concentration broke and the shimmering blades holding Drast at bay flickered into nothing. The draconequus lunged forwards, but the doors slammed shut faster than he could move.

Wanderlust felt his stomach drop out as they plummeted. It was the only sign of motion within the lift. There was no window, no way to tell how quickly they were moving, but Wanderlust guessed that whatever was controlling the lift knew how much of a hurry they were in. Without a sound, it suddenly stopped, so quickly that the ponies were catapulted off the floor and dropped unceremoniously back down into a heap. A soft hiss accompanied the opening of the door, and every weapon was suddenly trained on a cloaked pony who stood at the entrance, backed by a small room of white-lit concrete walls.

There was a long moment when they simply stared at each other before the newcomer spoke. “Welcome to Station Triumph. I believe we serve the same master.”

“Station?” Wanderlust asked groggily, struggling to his hooves.

“The Triumph station for Equestria’s Semi-Official intelligence service,” Valiance spat, his distaste obvious.

“It’s true. I serve the Sons of Nessal. The eyes and ears of the Kingdom.” There was a muffled roar above them and the floor almost seemed to flutter beneath their hooves. “And that was a multi-megaton fusion warhead detonated directly above us. Don’t worry, this bunker is rated for more than that. I have orders from the Administrator to put you on one of the trams. There’s an emergency siding this way.” The pony turned and began to walk away.

“Show us.” Valiance’s words stopped the newcomer.

The pony turned around again and stared at the group. “Show you what?”

“We want proof that you’re one of them,” Autumn replied. “You know exactly what we mean.”

The other pony stared for a moment, then pulled back his hood. Valiance’s prosthetics were obviously artificial, but they were clean, they looked functional. The new pony’s were garish: Half his face was metal, one eye was obviously and unashamedly artificial. There was no attempt to blend the prosthetics with the flesh, no attempt to make it anything but jarring. He smiled, seeing the shocked looks on the faces of Wanderlust and Dawn. “Locals, I assume. Proof of my devotion to our cause. We pledge to do whatever it takes to help the Kingdom, from gathering information to testing the newest technology. It also makes us unrecognizable: I have given up everything of my past life in service of my god and kingdom, even my name.” He turned and once again began to walk away.

“Station chief?” Valiance asked as he started to follow, satisfied.

“Deputy. The chief was killed in a raid about fifty years after the ring was taken. That’s when we lost our last long-range relay, too. The traditional code name for one in my post is Whisper, you may call me that.” He looked over his shoulder at the others. “I have some contacts around the ring, but for the most part I’ve been cut off for a very long time.”

“So if you’re a brotherhood,” Dawn asked as they continued down a narrow hallway, “does that mean you don’t allow mares?”

“Our sisters served in their own way. We were spies, information gatherers. They were assassins and infiltrators.”

“I like the sound of that,” Dawn remarked with a smile.

“Dragons, draconequui, griffons are all patriarchal societies,” North replied. “In fact, dragon and draconequus females aren’t even sentient. They have a tendency to underestimate mares, think of us as docile.”

“Our sisters made them dearly regret that miscalculation.”

Dawn just laughed. “I’d imagine.”

The hallway soon opened into a large, vaulted room. Bright, white lights were spaced evenly across the ceiling, banishing any shadows that may have otherwise lurked around the sleek, silver capsule sitting in the trench that lay in the center of the room. There was a single visible hatch that broke the clean lines and regular windows of the capsule, and that’s where Whisper led them.

“The computer is programmed to take you to a station near Remembrance. From there, the Administrator will tell you what to do.”

“Why Remembrance? We saw it as we came in: It got slagged in the initial assault. There’s nothing left there but ghosts,” Valiance objected, glaring at Whisper.

“And Dragons,” Their host added cryptically. “But I can’t speculate as to the Administrator’s intentions. All I know is what he’s told me over the radio.”

“He communicates with you over the radio?” Wanderlust blurted. If he can do that, why the hell is he in my head?

Radio is unreliable. It can be detected, tracked, possibly even decrypted.

“Short messages, light on detail. Apparently, he has other ways of communicating with you.” The other pony raised an eyebrow but didn’t give voice to the question that was obviously on his mind. “That’s enough questions for now. You have your task, as do I. Onto the tram.”

As they filed past, the newcomer stopped Wanderlust and pulled him aside. He’d replaced his hood, leaving Wanderlust to stare once more into the shadow where a face should have been. “I know he’s accessing your mind: My brothers developed the technology which allows it. I follow his orders because I lack any other guidance, but that won’t stop me from warning you not to trust him.”

Wanderlust stared back for a moment before replying. “I never said I did.”

The tunnel’s lights glinted off of teeth as the pony smiled underneath his hood. “You would have done well as one of us.” Wanderlust couldn’t help but cringe at the thought. “It is a motto of my order that trust kills as surely as a blade.”

“Something tells me that you have a lot of mottos.”

“Only fitting for those who serve the God of Many Faces.” The pony turned and walked away without another word. Wanderlust watched for a moment before he entered the capsule, shivering slightly as the hatch silently closed at his back.

“Feeling okay, Wands?” Dawn asked as he took a seat on the couch beside her. “Wands?” She looked over to find the unicorn slumped against the wall, fast asleep.

There’s an old Triumph Defense Force base a few miles from this station. You’ll find a single Echo-class interceptor still there.

A what?
A ship. It’s a ship you’ll need for what comes next. There’s a catch, though.
There always is with you.

They’d reached the station hours before. It was a massive, multi-level structure of walkways, staircases and landings, all carpeted with thousands of years of dust. While the others searched for supplies, Wanderlust had sat in a corner, trying to contact the admiral. It had taken some time, but he’d finally heard the other voice in his head answering.

There’s only room for two inside.

No. There’s no way we’re leaving the others behind.

They wouldn’t be left behind. You’d meet them again at another station before continuing to the command center.

I don’t like it.

There’s no other choice. We’re approaching the most important phases of the plan. If you want to save your home, you have to trust me. Bring the lieutenant with you and send the others ahead on the tram. You won’t be apart for long.

That night, Wanderlust talked to the others and passed along the message. They spent half the night arguing before Valiance finally silenced his squad. The lone voice of dissent, Dawn finally agreed as well. The next morning, Wanderlust and Valiance saw the others off, saying one last goodbye before they boarded the tram. In the last moments before they boarded, Dawnfire pulled Wanderlust off to one side and pulled him into a hug.

“Come back in one piece, Wands, okay?” She punctuated it with a quick kiss on the cheek, leaving the unicorn at a loss for words. Then she grabbed his head and stared him right in the eye. “And if you don’t, I will hunt you down through this world or the next and make you regret it.”

Wanderlust couldn’t help but smile. Yeah, that’s more like Dawn.

Chapter 1

Chapter One

The soft scratching of metal against metal was fighting a losing battle against silence in a small shop near the edge of Ponyville. In a small back room sat a light brown unicorn with a black mane and compass cutie mark. He was hunched over a table, working intently under the harsh, white glow of electric lamps. The pony was painstakingly adding flowing calligraphy to the metal plate in front of him, putting the finishing touches on his most complex project to date. Reaching the end of a letter, he gently lifted his graver into the air and took a sip of water as he surveyed his work.

The young apprentice had been staring intensely for hours at the thin metal plate that would soon adorn a press in the basement, painstakingly covering it with the likeness of Equestria and beyond. Every detail from mountains to rivers to forests had been lovingly added exactly to the client’s specifications. This plate would be used to print several hundred maps ordered by a trading guild in Manehatten. The small shop could not do the job as quickly or as cheaply as others, but its owner had brought his reputation for quality, and a number of loyal customers, with him when he had left the city.

With a deep breath the young unicorn returned his tool to the plate and his water to the table. Keeping the graver perfectly steady with magic, hardly daring to breathe lest he slip, he added the final line. There was a soft, metallic ‘tink’ as a thin strip of metal jumped away from the plate and the unicorn withdrew the graver, sighing deeply. The tired pony returned the tool to its proper place and surveyed his work, checking every inch for defects.

Finally satisfied, the unicorn carefully undid the clamps holding the plate in place and gingerly carried it into the front of the shop. Behind the counter sat an aged blue unicorn with two books laid out in front of him. The apprentice watched quietly for a few minutes, fascinated to see a master at work. The vast majority of the shop’s business was in printing: mostly books and maps. The owner, however, would sometimes copy books word by word in the manner of the monks of old for special clients. He said he enjoyed it because it reminded him that there were still ponies who could appreciate such things.

He coughed softly to get the other pony’s attention. “Sir?”

“Yes, Wanderlust?” The shop’s owner replied without looking up from his work.

“I’m finished, sir.” Wanderlust replied, nervously giving the plate another look.

“Excellent!” The older pony exclaimed, carefully moving the books to another part of the counter. “Put it up here so I can see.” He said with a smile. Wanderlust complied and stepped back to let his employer look it over. The blue unicorn set a pair of weathered spectacles on his nose and spent several minutes examining his apprentice’s handiwork.

“It looks perfect, Wanderlust. Three days ahead of schedule, too. Good job.” The brown unicorn beamed. “I’ll get the boys downstairs to hook it up to the press and everything should be inked by tomorrow.”

“Anything else for me to do?”

“I take it that the generator is fixed?” The older unicorn asked with a glance at one of the lights in the ceiling.

“Yes, sir. You should really get it replaced, though: it’s going to be more tape than anything before long.” Wanderlust replied with a grin.

“I’ll look into it. Take a long weekend, son, you’ve earned it. I’ll see you next week.”

“Thank you, sir.” The brown pony said with a smile as he moved towards the door.

“Enjoy your weekend, Wanderlust.” The blue pony said cheerily as he returned to his work.

“You too, sir.” The younger pony replied over his shoulder as he left. Trotting through town, Wanderlust was still beaming as he thought of how he would spend his unexpected long weekend. A few minutes to pack and I can just walk out of town. Four whole days to get away from it all. He picked up his pace a little, anxious to get home so he could prepare. With a slight frown he glanced at the drab clouds that filled the sky. Weather could be better, though. I should remember to bring a jacket. A tent would be a good idea, too. That made him groan a little: he liked to have as little weighing him down as possible, especially when he’d be out for a few days.

Worth it for a few days of peace and quiet, though. He thought as he approached his small house. Right at the edge of town, the cottage had a large, fenced yard and nothing beyond it but the hills in which the small town was nestled. Wanderlust shot a quick glance at his parents’ cottage, right next door. Smoke from the chimney, seems like everything’s normal. He worried about them: they weren’t exactly young anymore and they needed him around. I should ask one of the neighbors to check in on them from time to time while I’m gone. With another point added to his mental checklist, he opened his front door and stepped inside, too distracted to give much more than a cursory glance to the familiar interior of his home.

A soft cough from behind him made the unicorn, still in the process of closing his front door, jump into the air. He whirled to see a white unicorn in golden armor sitting at his kitchen table, a pot of tea and a golden helmet resting on the table in front of him. “My apologies if I startled you. Your father was kind enough to let me in.”

“Is there something I can help you with, sir?” Wanderlust asked as he approached the table and the strange unicorn poured him a cup of tea. Even appearing unannounced in his home, the gold armor of the Royal Guard demanded a certain amount of respect.

“I need to speak with you.” The guard replied, passing the cup of tea as Wanderlust sat down at the table. “It’s about your brother.”

Wanderlust froze, his tea halfway to his lips. He hadn’t been terribly close to his brother in their youth, and things between them had gone downhill from there after they had reached adulthood. The last time they had spoken was the day his brother left for Canterlot to accept an appointment to the royal guard. After a heated exchange, the younger unicorn had stormed away, not even waiting to see his brother off. Since then, Wanderlust’s only reminder that he even had a brother had come in the form of the yearly Hearth’s Warming card his parents received.

“I haven’t spoken to Snow in a very long time.” Wanderlust stated slowly. “Is there something wrong?”

The other unicorn took a deep breath and continued with obvious discomfort. “I’m extremely sorry to tell you this, but your brother passed away last week.” He continued speaking, but Wanderlust didn’t hear a word. He stared blankly past the guard, the last words he had said to his only sibling replaying over and over again in his mind: ‘You selfish bastard’. There was no taking that back now.

“May I ask how it happened?” Wanderlust said softly. His mind was still far enough away that he didn’t realize he had interrupted the other pony.

“He was on special assignment from the princesses themselves, I’m afraid I don’t know the details.” The white unicorn paused awkwardly. It was obvious he had never done this before; it couldn’t be a service that was asked of the Guard often. “If it’s any consolation, Snowfall was one of the finest ponies I have ever had the honor of counting among my command.”

“We need to make funeral arrangements.” Wanderlust whispered, mostly to himself. Grief and guilt were fighting a war in his head, making it hard to think clearly.

“I’m sorry, but Snow was buried in the field. He was given full honors, and the ceremony was presided over by Princess Luna herself. We retrieved his personal effects, though.” The guard said as he set a worn bag on the table. “Your parents wanted you to have them.” He said awkwardly before standing and retrieving his helmet. “I’m afraid I must be going. You have my deepest sympathies, and the thanks of a grateful nation for your brother’s sacrifice.”

Wanderlust saw the guard out, and leaned his face against the cold wood of the door as soon as it was shut. A few tears formed in his eyes as he thought back to the last time they had spoken. He had always meant to apologize, had always meant to make it right. There was no chance of that happening now.

The unicorn sullenly walked back to his table and collapsed onto one of the cushions. He stared into space for a few minutes before his eyes came to rest on the pack containing his brother’s personal belongings. With a sigh, Wanderlust dragged it across the table and undid the clasp. It was mostly empty: his brother had never by any means been a packrat.

He set aside a few well-worn books before seeing a glint of gold from the very back. He curiously fished it out, finding that it was a locket on a thin chain. He gingerly pried it open and stared for several long seconds before dropping his head to the table.

Snowfall had come by his name in a rather strange manner. Even as a foal, the pony had had a habit of taking others by surprise, often by accident. At one point, their father had remarked that the young colt made about as much noise as falling snow on a still night; for some reason, it had stuck. As they had grown older, Snow’s favorite pass-time, in addition to probably being the greatest hide-and-seek player in Equestrian history, had been hiding in various unlikely places and frightening his younger brother.

On this particular occasion, Snow had lunged at him from his hiding place inside a pile of leaves. The picture inside the locket had been taken just moments later as the two of them rolled in the golden autumn leaves, laughing. All these years, while Wanderlust had hated his brother for leaving, Snow had kept that picture around his neck.

When the tears stopped, Wanderlust placed the locket around his own neck and picked up the empty bag. On his way to the closet, a rolled piece of paper fell from the open top. Raising an eyebrow, the unicorn bent to retrieve it. He walked back to the table, opened it and blinked. It was a map.

The words of the guard captain came back to him. ‘He was on special assignment from the princesses themselves’. He sat back on his haunches and stared at it. A spot deep in the Everfree Forest was marked. That’s where he was going. He stared at the small ‘X’, entranced. That’s where I need to go. The thought popped into his head without prompting, but there was a conviction behind it that he couldn’t quite explain.

Why should I? He asked himself, still staring at the map. Because you owe him that much. He thought. All this time you never tried to make amends. You held a grudge against him for years. Now that he’s gone, this is as close as you’ll get to an apology.

With that thought stuck in his head, he examined the map more closely. It’s at least a week away. This isn’t something I can do over a weekend. He made his plans as he hurriedly gathered supplies. Most of what he needed was already set aside, but this would be longer than most of his usual jaunts.

An hour after his decision had been made he stepped through his front door, weighed down by food, water, torches, a tent and a dozen other things he might have need of along the way. By nightfall, having made arrangements for a neighbor to look after his parents and having explained his absence to his displeased employer, he left Ponyville without a backward glance, reading the map and a compass by torchlight.

The next morning, having broken camp after a scant few hours of sleep, Wanderlust stared at the edge of the forest. The map had led him to a particular trail, far from any section of the forest he had ever worked up the courage to explore. The path wasn’t particularly inviting: narrow, half-lost in dense brush and with roots making footing uncertain it would not be an easy trek. I’ve come this far.

With a deep breath, he stepped across the threshold of Equestria and into the untamed wilds. It was dark beneath the densely-packed trees. Every sound, from the wind rustling through the leaves to the chirping of the birds put him on edge. Above all, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was not welcome here. It’s just a bunch of trees. Why would they care if you were here? It seemed reasonable, but he still watched the shadows as he moved through the forest and glanced over his shoulder every time there was even the slightest sound.

That night the unicorn made camp in a clearing and built a massive bonfire that he hoped would be sufficient to keep away anything dangerous. He spent the night staring at the roof of his tent, listening to the swaying of branches and the crackling of the flames. His nerves improved as he spent more time in the forest without incident, but he still hadn’t managed a full night’s sleep by the time he reached his destination.

Wanderlust wasn’t sure what he had expected to find, but as he climbed atop a mossy marble slab in the last dying light of day, he couldn’t help but reflect that it hadn’t been this. There was a large clearing slowly being reclaimed by the forest. Dominating most of the space were the ruins of what looked to have been a temple. Now, it was just white stones and lost memories. The walls were gone, the columns were shattered, stones were strewn about haphazardly and the entire ruin was open to the heavens. Still, the place almost hummed with magic: Wanderlust could feel it tingling across his fur as he surveyed the area.

He warily approached the temple proper, slowly picking his way between slabs of white stone, guided by torchlight. Dead gods stood vigil as he navigated the tangle of vines that filled the empty husk; it must have been magnificent all those ages past. For some reason that he couldn’t explain, he felt drawn towards the altar that lay at the center of the cross-shaped structure.

An almost unnatural silence had descended over the forest. The beating of his heart seemed almost deafening as he approached the center of the temple, sure that he would find what he was looking for, despite having no idea what that might be. He mounted the steps, hardly daring to breathe. When he finally reached the altar, he let out a sigh. It was just a block of stone, empty and unremarkable.

Disappointed, the unicorn descended the steps and started down another branch. After a dozen strides he froze. He could see glowing yellow eyes in the corner of his vision. He dropped his torch in shock as, with a frightened glance, his worst fears were confirmed: somehow, the timberwolves had caught him unaware. He was completely surrounded.

Violence is not something that comes easily to ponykind. It was seen as a relic of a bygone era, existing only as a painful reminder of barbaric ages lost to the fog of history. For so long this had been the case that Wanderlust had not once in his life seen a hoof raised in anger. Still, self defense is an evolutionary imperative, and such things are bred in too deeply to simply be cast aside at will.

Wanderlust’s senses sharpened as adrenaline flooded his veins. A twig snapped behind him, breaking the tense silence of the night. Instinct passed down from a time when his earliest ancestors had had to fight off predators saved the unicorn’s life. Reflexively kicking backwards with both legs, he connected with something hard and the sound of splintering wood coupled with a pained yelp told him he’d hit his mark. The pony started to panic as he realized exactly what the stakes were in this game.

The rest of the pack circled warily and Wanderlust tried in vain to keep his eyes fixed on all of them. The unicorn was sweating in the cold night air, his mind desperately trying to fight through terror to find a way out. He needed something more than his bare hooves to survive this.

A thought leapt into his mind as his eyes tracked the wolves. Rocks. The floor of the temple was carpeted with white stones: the remains of the structure’s crumbled roof. Wanderlust had never been the sharpest student when it came to magic, but every unicorn could call upon telekinesis. As soon as the idea hit him, he had a half dozen stones spinning through the air around him, forming a tenuous barrier against his attackers.

It wasn’t much, but it bought him a moment to think. I can try to get out of here, make a breakfor the woods. They’ll have trouble with all that brush; I might have a chance to run for- One of the wolves lunged. Almost by reflex, Wanderlust brought one of the stones crashing into the side of its head. With a crack and a weak whimper, his assailant fell to the ground. Another one down. The thought drifted through his head, not quite sinking in. A snarl from behind him made the unicorn turn and bring another rock down upon the skull of a third wolf.

As the creature twitched on the ground in front of him, the thought finally connected. Oh, Celestia. I just killed something. His eyes widened. No, I’ve killed three of them. The realization stunned him for a moment. What am I? He let the rocks slowly sink towards the ground.

Another of the pack took advantage of his lapse and lunged forward. Wanderlust screamed as fangs sank into his thigh. Blinded by terror and rage, he knocked his attacker loose with a savage blow from one of the stones. As the rest closed in for the kill, Wanderlust could feel the blood seeping from his wounds, his strength ebbing with every beat of his heart.

The wounded unicorn was running purely on survival instinct. The fear, the pain, the guilt, all were shoved aside by one thought: more than anything, Wanderlust desperately wanted to live. Adrenaline shot through his veins like lightning as the wolves lunged for the kill. He focused his magic and with a strength that only the threat of imminent death could bring, he reached out to the still-burning torch he had let fall to the ground.

The flames leapt like an enraged beast, enveloping the unicorn. Inside the inferno, Wanderlust felt something more akin to a fireside nap than the killing heat outside as the flames caressed his coat. He kept it up for as long as he could, revelling in the feeling of power that flowed through him as the flames danced at his command. Inevitably, though, his strength finally gave out, leaving the unicorn standing in the middle of the temple, gasping.

For ten paces in every direction there was nothing but ash, and the cracked paving stones that covered the ground were burnt black. Wanderlust’s chest ached with every breath, his fur was matted with sweat and blood and he could feel himself growing weaker by the second. Still, he was alive. The unicorn struggled to shrug his pack off his shoulders so he could retrieve his jacket, forcing his aching muscles to make the effort. He was barely able to tear off a strip of cloth and bind his wound before he collapsed to the ground and everything went black.

“Who exactly are you?” The words cut through the darkness as Wanderlust slowly drifted back towards consciousness. The voice was feminine and obviously belonged to a pony. There was something hauntingly familiar about it, but he couldn’t be sure why.

After a few seconds that seemed to drag on for ages, the unicorn was able to pry his eyelids apart. There was a distant corner of his mind that was frightened by exactly how much effort it took. He was on his back, staring at a clear blue sky; he couldn’t see whoever had spoken. Wanderlust rolled onto his side and his eyes shot open in shock. Standing several feet away was a tall, midnight blue mare with a translucent mane that rippled in a non existent wind. She didn’t look pleased to see him.

The unicorn tried to speak, but all he could manage was a quiet croak. It felt like his mouth was filled with sand. He groped for his pack, managed to retrieve a bottle of water and drained it in one long pull as the princess watched him sternly. “Princess Luna.” The unicorn finally sputtered.

“Who exactly are you?” She repeated.

“My name is Wanderlust, your majesty.” He replied, bowing.

“You are not one of the candidates.” Luna snapped. “What are you doing here?”

By this point, Wanderlust had completely lost track of what was going on. “I found a map.” He explained weakly, shrinking under the monarch’s fierce gaze.

“You found a map.” She repeated slowly before raising a hoof to her face. “I do not have time to deal with this.” Luna muttered.

“It was among my brother’s personal effects.” Wanderlust continued, his face red. This was a horrible idea. What was I thinking? The princess’ ears perked up when she heard him, though. She dropped her hoof and scrutinized the unicorn closely. “He was a member of the Royal Guard, he was ki-”

Luna cut him off. “Yes, I see the resemblance. You and Snowfall have the same eyes. My apologies that I could not deliver the news myself, but there were other duties that required my attention.”

“I understand, your Majesty.” Wanderlust replied, puzzled at the sudden change in her demeanor and astonished that she knew his brother’s name off the top of her head.

“So you came all this way alone?”

“Yes, your Majesty.”

“On your own initiative?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I knew my brother had given his life for something he thought was important. We weren’t on the best of terms, mostly thanks to me. I felt I owed it to him to see it through.”

Luna eyed him critically for several long moments, obviously weighing options. “Perhaps you would be willing to go a ways further?”

“I apologize for your life being placed in danger; the others were warned before they consented to undertake the risk. ” Wanderlust was lying in the grass by the clearing’s edge trying to sharpen a stone while Luna spoke earnestly. “It had not occurred to me that somepony could stumble into the middle of this.”

“It isn’t your fault. It’s not like you knew the wolves would be here.” Wanderlust replied, not looking up from his work.

“I did, actually, because I placed an enchantment on the ruins that attracts them. There is another that informs me if anypony arrives here.”

That made Wanderlust look up. “What? Why would you ever want ponies to walk into a trap like that?”

“To test them.”

“Test them? Test them for what?”

The princess sighed. “There is a threat facing Equestria. An ancient, foreign, unfathomably powerful threat. My sister and I have tried to resist, but our hooves are tied; we cannot move against it directly. We need somepony else to act in our place, to remove the sword that hangs above Equestria.”

“And for that you’re putting lives in danger?” Wanderlust asked, horrified by the thought.

“We need to be sure that whatever pony is assigned to this task is worthy of it. There is too much at stake for it to be otherwise. They are all volunteers, and they are warned of the risks.”

“So, I’ve passed the test?”

“The first of several. If you choose to continue, there will be more challenges on the road ahead. I will not stop you from walking away if you are not willing to take the risk. There is no shame in wanting to preserve one’s life.”

Wanderlust glanced at the charred ground behind him. No, no shame in wanting to live. The methods, on the other hoof... “I’ve come too far to turn back now.”

“This is only the first tiny step.” Luna said quietly. More firmly, she continued. “Before you agree, you deserve the same warning the others received. You have seen for yourself that the tests will not be simple. Things will only grow more difficult from here: the journey will be perilous, and much longer than you can comprehend. You would not be the first to fail to return, and even if you do, the things that are forced upon you will change you: you will not return as the same pony you are now. Furthermore, you will be walking into these dangers blind: there are many things I cannot discuss until you have completed the tests, and even then there are secrets I cannot reveal. Understanding the risks, do you still wish to continue?”

“Yes, I do.” Wanderlust stated before returning to his work. He critically examined the stone, pronounced it sufficient and used a strip of cloth torn from his jacket to tie it to the end of a stout, straight branch. He held the spear up in front of him. It isn’t much, but it’s the best I can do for now. “What’s our next move?”

“Our next stop is about two weeks’ walk in this direction.” The princess replied, moving into the forest. “Your leg should be healed by the time we arrive.” Wanderlust scrambled to his hooves and trotted after her.

“What in Celestia’s name is that?” The two ponies stood at the edge of a vast canyon. The far side was shrouded in mist and the unicorn couldn’t help but think that he could’ve dropped the entirety of Canterlot into that canyon and lost it in the clutter. Still, he barely paid it any heed. Wanderlust’s eyes were locked on the tower that stood on the cliff edge just a few hundred feet away.

It wasn’t that it was particularly large: it was taller than anything in Ponyville, but that wasn’t saying much. It wasn’t even the strange architecture that held his interest: a tower made of silver metal may not have been a particularly common sight, but it certainly wasn’t alien. What kept his eyes glued to the structure was the fact that it seemed to flicker in and out of existence.

The unicorn finally dragged his eyes away from the sight and turned to look at the princess, hoping for an answer. She just stared impassively back at him. The princess had not been very forthcoming about details concerning the tests.

“You must find a way to the far side.” She finally said after a long minute of tense silence.

“And I’m guessing that I’m going to have to go in there to find it?” He asked, nodding his head towards the strange tower. He hadn’t really expected an answer, and Luna didn’t disappoint. All he received in reply was a blank stare, as if he should have known better. She warned me that I’d be kept in the dark. With a sigh, the unicorn slowly started walking towards the structure. It was the obvious place to start looking.

Wanderlust couldn’t be sure why, but he was filled with dread as he approached. By chance, when he finally reached the structure’s base it flickered back out of sight. The unicorn slowly reached out a hoof and even though he expected it, he still had to fight panic as he felt cold metal stop his hoof seemingly in mid-air. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I’ve always wanted to see something different. I’m not sure how it could get much more different than this. There was a small corner of his mind that couldn’t help but think that things would be getting much, much worse.

When he opened his eyes, the tower was visible again and he started slowly working his way around its perimeter, stopping whenever it blinked out of sight. He had to travel most of the way around the outside to find something that looked like a door. Wanderlust stood and stared for several long minutes at the alcove in the rounded wall of the tower, trying to work up the courage to go inside. Finally, after watching the door blink back to reality, he took a step forward and gave it a firm shove.

To the unicorn’s mild surprise, it actually swung inwards. Well, now I don’t have an excuse. He stepped through just as the structure flickered away again. The impression that the entrance was simply floating in the air in front of him made his head spin. The interior was dark, the only illumination coming from the open door behind him. Without warning, the door swung shut soundlessly and left the unicorn alone in the dark.

Just as he started to sink into terror, the lights came to life and blinded him. Blinking through the glare, he could see that he was in a large, round room that seemed to take up the entirety of the tower. The walls and floor were all uniform, polished metal and it was empty save a cylinder running from floor to ceiling in the exact center. The ceiling seemed unnecessarily high; one could have stacked a dozen ponies before reaching it, and Wanderlust couldn’t find the source of the sterile, white light filling the room.

Abruptly, he was shaken from his thoughts by a soft chime as a door opened in the central cylinder. After a quick look around, Wanderlust decided that there was nowhere else to go and reluctantly stepped inside. Without waiting for a command, the wall slid closed, leaving nothing, not even a seam, behind to indicate that there was any exit from the spotless white interior.

For a few seconds Wanderlust thought he had walked into a trap. Then, with another soft chime, the wall slid open again and the frightened unicorn nearly tripped over himself in his rush to leave. He stopped, dumbstruck, immediately upon stepping outside. There had been no sensation of movement inside the small chamber, nothing to indicate that it had done anything but sit at ground level before freeing him, and yet the room was different. The ceiling was half as tall as it had been in the first room and it seemed narrower than where he had entered the tower.

Beds, large enough that his entire family could have fit on one, sat along the outer wall at regular intervals separated by doors and lockers. The same configuration seemed to be repeated for as far around the curve of the room as he could see. Slowly, he walked forward, opened one of the doors and cautiously poked his head inside. The lights blinked on automatically, revealing a small room devoted to sanitary facilities. He pulled his head out again and stood in the living quarters for several minutes, trying to wrap his head around things.

With a deep breath the unicorn resumed his search, finding a spiraling staircase on the other side of the central cylinder. Following it upwards, he reached a large, open room at what must have been the top of the structure. Wanderlust could see straight through the outer walls as if they weren’t there, an effect he hadn’t seen from the ground. The height of this vantage point offered an incredible view: the vast expanse of the Everfree Forest behind and the unbelievably large canyon ahead.

The sole adornment to the room was a podium standing near the wall on the canyon-facing side of the tower. The unicorn’s hoofsteps echoed off the walls as he approached it. By the time he had crossed the room, he was surprised the sound of his heart beating wasn’t rebounding back at him, too. The podium itself didn’t help, either: it was covered in an array of buttons and dials, none of them labeled.

After a few moments’ consideration, he gritted his teeth, reached out and touched one at random. Nothing happened. He touched another, and again, nothing happened. Tense as a spring, he pressed another and immediately jumped as he was surrounded by translucent images that floated in midair. Many seemed eerily familiar, and it took him a moment to realize why: they were frighteningly similar to the yearly Hearth’s Warming Eve plays. So similar in fact that the minor differences between the two were jarringly discordant.

It took a moment for his mind to catch up to that observation. When it finally did, he started shaking: these were recordings of the actual events. A time before Equestria, a time before the princesses, a time that had faded into legend and he was watching it, in color, floating in the air in front of him. He recognized the characters from legend, he recognized the places. Oh, Celestia. It looks exactly the same. He turned and saw more recordings. He watched as a massive procession of ponies crossed a bridge over the canyon below. He watched as the first stones of what would become Canterlot were laid. He saw the arrival of the princesses. There was even one that could have been Luna’s banishment: the two princesses facing off in a massive ballroom, tossing magic back and forth like foals with snowballs.

The entire history of ponykind was laid out before him in this room, recorded and kept for who knew how long. Somepony had collected all this, but why? That was the question he kept coming back to: What possible reason could there be for all this? For that matter, who could have the capability to do all this? He felt a chill run down his spine as some dark corner of his mind supplied the answer to the former question without his prompting. To what end? That thought ricocheted around his head in response as Wanderlust looked frantically over his shoulder, suddenly unable to shake the feeling of unseen, watching eyes.

He reached out an unsteady hoof and pressed the button again, causing the images to vanish. Again alone, he took a few deep breaths and started experimenting again. Most of the buttons did nothing, but he found one that made the walls opaque and another that turned off the lights in the room. Finally he found the correct button and so quickly that he actually blinked and missed it, there was a bridge spanning the canyon.

He stood and stared at it for a moment. The bridge seemed to be made of cut stone, the kind of construction that could weather eons. In fact, it looked like it had always been there. The fact that he knew it hadn’t existed as recently as a few seconds before made that illusion of permanence almost terrifying.

He was still shaking as he descended the tower, but by the time he reached the princess he had mostly regained his composure. “Princess,” The unicorn asked, his voice cracking slightly, “did you know what I would find in there?”

“Yes.” The mare replied simply.

“Somepony was watching us, princess. Why would they do that?” It took a moment for his mind to catch up to the more important question. “Who would do that? Who even could? Princess, those recordings must have been thousands of years old but it was almost like being there. If you knew what I’d find, you must know who’s behind all this.”

“I only have suspicions.”

“Suspicions?”

“I cannot say anything more.”

“Do you know what this reminds me of? Scientists observing an experiment; watching and recording results. I have a right to know if there’s somepony meddling in my life. Why can’t you tell me?” Wanderlust asked, the panic starting to creep back into his mind. He could almost feel the unseen eyes upon him.

“Because I have been ordered not to.” Luna said quietly.

That brought Wanderlust up short. “Ordered? Who could order you to do anything?”

“That is something else I am unable to discuss.” There was a brief silence as Wanderlust tried to figure out how to reply. Before he could stop his head spinning long enough to come up with something coherent, Luna spoke again. “We should be off. There is still much ground to cover.”

Wanderlust stared for a few seconds as she started across the bridge before trotting after her, struggling to keep pace with the princess’s longer stride. “Princess, I’m in over my head here. I have no idea what I’m stepping into.” He was trying to stay as calm and reasonable as possible while still talking over the sound of their hooves striking the stone. “I know you warned me, but isn’t there anything more you can tell me? Anything at all?” She didn’t respond.

By this time Wanderlust had caught up to her and was struggling to keep pace so he could look her in the eye. “Don’t I deserve to know why I’m going to all this trouble?” Still no response. “I’ve broken our society’s highest law, princess.” She stopped dead in her tracks and the unicorn nearly tripped matching her movement as he continued speaking. “I don’t know how many lives I took that night, but I’m not sure I can ever live it down.” He took a deep breath. “Almost everything can be forgiven, but not murder.”

There were a few long seconds where the only sound was the wind whistling through the canyon. “There is a clear difference between self defence and murder, Wanderlust.” The princess replied softly without meeting his gaze.

“By whose reckoning?” This had been eating at him for a week, and he couldn’t keep quiet anymore. “Please, princess. At least tell me why I’m doing this. Tell me it’s all worth it.”

“It is worth the hardship. I am unable to say more than that.” Wanderlust stared into her eyes, desperate for answers. All he saw was pity. With a sigh, the unicorn hung his head and slowly started across the bridge, the princess of the night keeping pace beside.

Daylight was dying several days later as the pair trudged through snow. Wanderlust’s spirits had been low since the bridge and the dreary weather wasn’t helping. The clear skies that had followed them through the forest had given way to unbroken gray clouds as they trudged through foothills, drawing ever closer to the looming mountains beyond. With the clouds had come colder weather and eventually, snow.

For now, the chill was nothing more than a minor discomfort but if the trend continued it would quickly become cause for concern. “Princess, how much farther are we going?”

“Our destination is only a few days away.” She responded tiredly. The rough terrain made for slow, exhausting progress. Wanderlust felt like he had to keep the conversation going lest he fall asleep mid-stride.

“Is this the path that the original migration to Equestria followed?” He asked, remembering the recordings he’d seen.

“Close. The ancestral home of the pony tribes is somewhere in the mountains ahead of us. I forget exactly where.”

“Why is the weather still like this? I thought that the wendigos left ages ago.”

“That is just a myth.” Wanderlust’s ears perked up. Something informative for once? “The standard weather patterns in this region were damaged by-” She stopped mid-sentence and went completely rigid, as if she had been hit with an electrical shock.

“Are you alright?” Wanderlust asked, suddenly confused.

The princess sucked in a deep breath through clenched teeth before responding. “Yes. Just give me a moment.” She composed herself quickly and looked at the sky, obviously contemplating something intensely.

“What was that?”

“Nothing that concerns you.” Luna responded coldly. After a few more seconds she sighed. “We should stop for the night. Start setting up camp.”

Wanderlust bolted upright in the middle of the night. The fabric of his tent was snapping in the wind. For a few brief seconds he wondered if he’d imagined it. Then he heard it again, over the wind: a cry, unmistakably that of a pony, echoed through the hills. The unicorn flew from his sleeping bag and blindly groped for his pack. “Princess!” He called through the tent; it was much too small for the taller pony to fit in, so she had made do sleeping in the open. He was rewarded with a quiet rustling sound.

“What is it, Wanderlust?” She replied groggily.

“Somepony out there is in trouble.” He barked as he finally found one of his torches.

“And what do you suggest we do?” Luna asked.

“We need to help them.” Wanderlust said as he bounded frantically from the tent and into a blinding snowstorm. He couldn’t see anything past the tip of his nose besides the last dying embers of their fire.

“You cannot even see and you are going to try to assist a complete stranger?” Another cry broke the night as the torch finally caught, illuminating their small camp. Luna was staring at him sternly from the far side of the fire.

“We can’t just leave them!” He objected, trying to place where the sounds were coming from.

“This is not the time to throw your life away in some pointless attempt at atonement, Wanderlust.” The unicorn glared at her. “There is too much at stake.”

Another shout reached his ears, and he thought he finally had the direction. Ignoring Luna, he grabbed his spear and with his torch held high, galloped away over the hills. He lost track of distance as he traversed the featureless night, navigating by sound alone and trusting his reflexes to save him from the perilous terrain.

Just as he was beginning to fear that the strange acoustics of the foothills had led him in the wrong direction, he crested a hill into a blaze of firelight. Below him was a massive bonfire, and arrayed around it was carnage. Overturned wagons and shredded tents were tossed about like the playthings of a bored foal. There were a dozen ponies lying in the snow, unmoving. At the far end, beyond the fire, Wanderlust could just barely make out a blue earth pony hiding behind a pile of debris. For some reason he didn’t immediately register what the other pony was hiding from.

His eyes locked onto it just as it moved. The body of a lion, the wings of a bat, the tail of a scorpion: manticore. It was prowling slowly towards its prey, carefully picking its way through the debris. Wanderlust gulped; the beast had to be at least twice his height and probably outweighed him by even more. All he had to use against it was a laughably flimsy spear. Still, his eyes flicked to the other pony, still cowering behind an overturned wagon. I can’t just leave him there to die. With that decision made, Wanderlust charged down the hill, a war cry issuing from his throat the likes of which he hadn’t thought he was capable of producing.

The noise had its desired effect: the manticore turned to face the new threat, forgetting its previous prey. That was the point where Wanderlust stopped short. He had its full, undivided attention. Oh, Celestia. Now what? In all the excitement, it had never occurred to him to plan any further. He was still frozen as the manticore started stalking towards him, its body pressed low to the ground and its tail twitching in anticipation.

Animals are afraid of fire, right? It was a rather shaky plan, but it was all he had time for. He swung the torch in an arc in front of the advancing manticore, and was grateful beyond words to see its advance slow. He still didn’t have an endgame, though. The creature started its advance again, and Wanderlust stopped it with another thrust of the torch.

Wanderlust tried to come up with a way out as he warily watched the manticore and it warily examined the flame in front of it. Maybe if I can hit it in the ey- Halfway through that thought the manticore batted aside the torch and lunged forward. The unicorn rolled to the side and felt the beast’s claws part the air inches from his head. He rolled back to his hooves about the same time the manticore rounded again.

The two faced each other for a few seconds and Wanderlust started to sweat as the manticore pawed the ground. Gritting his teeth, the pony waited for the creature to charge, and it didn’t disappoint. With a roar that froze the unicorn’s blood, his assailant sprang forward. A heartbeat later, the pony threw his spear. The magically-guided projectile flew almost as the unicorn had planned, hitting a glancing blow to the creature’s right eye. As it roared in rage and pain, Wanderlust sprinted out of the way, trying to get to cover among the debris.

Seconds later, he could hear snarling and heavy footfalls on his heels; it was closing. As he dove around a corner, the manticore came close enough to strike him. The claws didn’t connect, but its paw struck the unicorn’s back, sending him sprawling. He rolled onto his back and tried to get onto his hooves, but the manticore was already on top of him. He closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath as he saw the stinger descend, tensing for a blow that never came.

After a few seconds, he cautiously eased his eyes open. The manticore was gone. Wanderlust rose to his hooves and looked around. The area around him was empty save the bonfire: the wagons and bodies were gone and the snow was perfectly smooth except for the impressions of his own hoofsteps. Turning, he could see Luna and the strange blue pony standing together on the far side of the fire. He slowly approached them, still trying to come to grips with the fact that he wasn’t about to die.

“What exactly was that?” He asked when he was finally close enough.

“An illusion. The final test.” Luna said simply.

“I couldn’t kill it. Does that mean I failed?” To come all this way, just to turn around and go back. That thought suddenly terrified him.

“I would not expect you to kill something as dangerous as a manticore with only a sharpened stick, Wanderlust.” She seemed almost sympathetic suddenly. Is it because I’ve passed the tests, or because something worse is coming? “I can provide the tools. I just needed to know that you will not be afraid to make use of them.”

“Who is he?” The unicorn asked with a nod towards the silent blue earth pony.

“My name is Allegro.” The newcomer said in response. He had a deep, sonorous voice. Wanderlust couldn’t help but imagine him singing in one of Canterlot’s choirs. “I failed the tests, but the princess believed that I could still be of service.”

“He is to serve as your conscience, for lack of a better term. The things you may be forced to do will not be easy, they will not be pleasant, and they are not things you should grow to enjoy. Strong ponies have succumbed in the past, myself included. It took a thousand years of solitude to cleanse me of my sins. ” Her eyes lost focus momentarily as she remembered. “You cannot afford to follow that path: the stakes are too high and we have far too little time.”

“It’s going to be that bad?” Wanderlust asked, suddenly more uneasy than ever.

“Yes.” At least she isn’t sugar-coating it.

“Can you finally tell me what all this is about?”

“Yes. I would prefer to do more, but our deadline is uncertain, and time is the one thing we do not possess. First, however, there is something I need to show you.” Luna took a step closer to the unicorn and stared into his eyes as Allegro moved to his side and rested a hoof on his shoulder to steady him. “This will come as a shock, no matter what we do to assist. Try to remember to stay calm and take deep breaths. Just remember that you are not in any danger.”

“What exactly are you going to do?” Wanderlust asked with a catch in his voice as the princess’ eyes started to glow.

Her voice had an airy, ethereal quality when she replied. “I am going to pull the wool away from your eyes.” The instant she stopped speaking, she erupted into an inferno of blinding light. Flames brighter than the sun enveloped the princess and the frightened unicorn, giving off no heat but burning his eyes. They teared up and he desperately tried to look away but he couldn’t tear his gaze from the princess’ eyes.

The light seemed to bore into his skull, burning its way deeper and deeper. Just when he thought that there was no way he could take any more, the pain ceased instantly, as if somepony had thrown a switch. An instant later, the flames receded from Wanderlust and coalesced around the princess before bursting towards the sky and driving away the clouds.

Wanderlust blinked several times, clearing the spots from his eyes. He didn’t feel any different. His eyes strayed to the towering mountains behind Luna, then were drawn higher, and higher, and higher still as his jaw went slack. Then as the reality of what he was seeing struck him fully, his eyes rolled and the world went black.