Mother says I must keep this. A book with words. To record what I see, what I do. She says it will help me in the future. I am confused. About many things. Words are... hard. This is knew. This me. This voice in my head. She says it is thought. She says I should not fear it. I fear it. It tells me things. It tells me stories like Mother, stories of myself. A myself that has done wrong, bad. She says these are memories. She says they will go away, a thing named time will take them from me. But this book will steal them back? I think she is wrong. Time will not take my me away, no matter how much I want it to go. She calls this... guilt. I am confused.

- Subject 1 Journal Entry, Day 1

Rocket shivered in the bitter high street winds of Canterlot, hastening his pace next to Soul to get the blood pumping through his legs.

"I'm still offering you a warming spell," Soul said casually as he walked quite comfortably along next to the freezing pony.

"Don't need it," Rocket chattered, "it'd be a waste."

Soul had to agree with him there, though for different reasons than Rocket probably thought.

The season was in the dead of winter, and chilled air whispered through the Canterlot streets like a wraith possessed, stealing away warmth and happiness wherever it could be found. Instead, ponies carved out slices of comfort in their small gathering places or domiciles, lit merrily and cozily to keep the cold at bay.

Some, unfortunately, were forced by "jobs" to "patrol the streets". Not that Soul minded, his nice grey scarf kept him absolutely warm, no magic required. He would have bet money on it being enchanted to heat the entire body, but the old stallion he bought it from swore up and down that no magic had been involved in its creation. Earth Pony magic was strange, though, oftentimes it seemed they didn't even know they were doing it, even when it could be clearly Seen.

Rocket rubbed his hooves together and huffed steaming breaths into them, rubbing up and down his forelegs. Soul rolled his eyes and cast a heat spell over Rocket's body, he knew he wouldn't be thanked for it anyway.

He and the lucky stallion were out on patrol together, cleaning up the immaculate streets of Canterlot of all its filthy non-existent refuse. At least, where the guards were around, but Soul had begun to see a pattern.

"Hey Rocket?" He asked, "Didn't D-4 just check in from this location ten minutes ago? And C-2 ten minutes before that?"

Rocket nodded, and said through clattering teeth, "Yeah, we roll through here every ten minutes, on the dot."

Soul nodded, "And... I presume it's the same for everywhere else?"

Rocket nodded, gaining some of his cocky composure now that his balls weren't freezing to his legs, "Yeah, we have a route that we patrol at ten minute intervals, no variation, very efficient."

"Very predictable too," Soul said sidelong, Seeing around into the alleyways and dead ends around them, past the street corners packed with smiling faces and joyful laughs. Granted, there wasn't much here, he didn't expect there to be. That said, he had almost gotten stabbed to death by a band of serial killers in matching outfits a few weeks ago, so maybe he shouldn't be so quick to believe the city's own self-perpetuated propaganda.

But as soon as he did See something... there!

"Rocket, I got something," he said, poking his partner and gesturing down a brickwork alley that seemed below worthy of note.

Rocket nodded and tapped the sigil on his uniform, notifying the other guards to pause their routes and not become out of sync.

"What is it?" he asked.

Soul wasn't exactly sure, but he could see Greed drifting from out of the darkness like a sickly yellow vapor. Something disreputable was definitely happening down there.

"Not sure," he answered in a whisper, "I just have a hunch."

Rocket nodded, and Soul appreciated that. Then again, he supposed that if anyone would understand auspicious hunches it would be the avid gambler in E-5.

As the two guards strolled into the alleyway, they began to hear whispers from up ahead, which Soul immediately understood.

"... really think they've got that much in there?"

"Yeah, I overheard the clerk talkin' yesterday, some old guard retired and got a boatload of bits!"

"So we're robbin' First? Sounds too rich for my blood."

"No, you idiot. What we're gonna do is go in there and start asking questions. What did the old stallion look like? How much did he get? Did he take it all with him?"

"Oooh, I see. And then we pretend to be him and say we need to withdraw the money! You're smart Weevil."

Soul then heard the sound of a hoof smacking against a forehead. He and Rocket looked at each other, deciding that they'd heard enough.

Stepping around a corner they found four stallions hunched over a box with a set of playing cards laid on top. They'd obviously been waiting for the next guard rotation to make their move on the bank. One of them seemed taller and lankier than the others, and the jut of a horn could be seen poking through his thick pink mane.

"Evening gents," Soul intoned.

"We're going to need you all to come in for questioning," Rocket rolled off smoothly.

There was a small gasp of shock, then a hot second of panic as all four of the stallions looked back and forth between the guards and each other. And then, they booked it, the unicorn, presumably Weevil, tossing the box they'd been playing on backwards in a shower of light pink sparks at the pair.

Rocket raised an arm to defend himself but Soul smashed the crate into splinters with magic, and erected a very thin wall of magical force at the end of the alley that glowed and spun with a starfield. The ponies looked back as the guards walked towards them.

"Now, now," Rocket said, tapping the sigil twice for backup, "Don't make this hard on yourselves. You've already added resisting arrest and attacking an officer to your list. Don't do anything else you're gonna regret later."

Soul could see that Weevil was eyeing him up, obviously never having dealt with a unicorn guard before, he expected his inherent advantage over most earth ponies and pegassi to carry him out of bad situations, but here, he was a cornered rat. The rest of his crew looked like they were thinking the same thing.

"Let them go," a calm feminine voice called out from behind them, and Soul turned around. Rocket, true to his training, remained facing the perpetrators behind Soul.

Soul saw a beautiful grey mare walking with annoyance towards them. She wore... boy was that a lot of red. Cherry red hat, scarf, coat, and lipstick, her eyes and mane were black as coal. She had the air of somepony that believed themselves above this sort of thing, a natural exasperation with the world.

"Are you associated with these men, ma'am?" Soul asked calmly.

She sighed, flicking her hair away from her eyes, "So that's how it is? How much do you want, to let them go?'

Soul raised an eyebrow, then shrugged, "Alright ma'am I'm going to have to ask you to also come with us, as attempting to bribe an officer is... yes, I believe that's also illegal."

He watched her eyes narrow, and she huffed dismissively, "This is NOT how today was supposed to go. Trust me, kid, this way, you don't get killed, and I don't have to clean up your corpse."

He heard Rocket snicker behind him, which drew a sharp glare from the mare, who was slowly reaching a hoof into her small red saddlebag. Rocket hadn't been there with the team that had taken out the group of murderers, but stories from Lay and Marshmallow had gotten around after a few strong drinks and some prodding. They might have overstated Soul's value in the fight somewhat.

"Rocket," Soul said calmly, "watch those four if you can."

Soul Saw inside the mare. He sound the swirling cloud of emotions. Fear, Rage, Anxiety, Reluctance, forming a brownish miasma that all suddenly snapped into place. Her hoof moved, she had made her choice.

Soul leapt forward, his right hoof snaking out, which the mare actually dodged! A cold snap clamped down his surprise before it could interfere. His hoof hit the brick wall of the alley and shattered it cleanly into fine stress lines with a resounding CRACK, raining shards and red dust down on the combatants. Unfortunately for the quick mare, she didn't have the training Soul did. As she momentarily gawked at the broken wall, Soul grabbed hold of the bare mortar and used it, and his momentum, to carry the rest of his body forwards, clapping her against the skull with a powerful back hoof that knocked her clean out, and made another dent as she slammed into the other side of the alley.

Soul regained his balance and dusted off his hooves, turning to find the criminals he and Rocket had caught were still under guard. Rocket, bless him, had not turned to look once.

"It's over, Rocket, I've got her," Soul said, quickly cuffing the woman.

"Thank Celestia for that," he said, "I wasn't sure whether to expect a pat on the back or a knife in the spine."

Soon Soul and Rocket had detained all of the idiots who'd discussed their plans in broad daylight, with the help of two more guards that had shown up as reinforcements.

"That's all they could send?" Soul asked sympathetically.

One just nodded, and the other sniffled, running his hoof over his nose, causing all the guards to freeze.

"It's okay," Soul said, picking up two of the thugs, "he doesn't have it."

They dropped the criminals off at a local station for excepting to the Castle in silence, and unfortunately Soul didn't encounter anything nearly as exciting during the rest of his patrol.

As soon as he and Rocket were off, they both walked to the same place. The infirmary. And they were met with a terrible sight.

Half the guard, at the very least, lay fevered, snotty, and miserable in row after row of the clean white beds. The long hallway bustled with the sounds of hurrying nurse's hooves, and beeps of heart monitors, but it also clamored with hacking coughs, sneezes, and groans of the afflicted. It still smelled like antiseptic, but there was another present now. One of mucus, of decay, of heat.

The flu. More specifically referred to around this time as "Winter Flu" or "Guard Flu". The only ponies required, day in, day out, to be in the devastating cold of the alpine climate, they were the most vulnerable of any pony to disease. And this year was a bad one.

Soul saw Halifax, in her brown, buxom glory, quickly trotting here and there amongst the nurses and patients, giving both orders and kind words. She was a saint to the men this time of year. But Soul read worry in her, and he tapped Rocket on the shoulder, "I'm going to find out what's bugging the Doc."

He nodded, "Gotcha, just don't be late."

Soul waved him away. Though Soul had been one of the first to volunteer for daily double duty, a task which Larus was more than happy to assign him, eventually it had become mandatory. And still their ranks stretched thinner by the day.

Halifax didn't notice his approach, so wrapped up in her work. She was looking down at a ledger with a worried expression and mumbling numbers to herself.

"Quin?" Soul whispered, shocking her out of her daze.

Her smile lit up her face like fireworks, "Soul!" she sprung into an open hug, that startled many of those that knew her that were nearby.

"Hey you!" He laughed, "Staying healthy?"

She sighed as she let go of him, liberally eyeing him up in an even more out of character manner, "I am, yes. But we've got a problem."

Soul frowned, "What is it? Can I help?"

She smiled at him and patted his chest with a soft brown hoof that he snuck a quick kiss onto when he could feel no eyes on them.

"I don't think so," she said, blushing, "not unless you're secretly a botanist as well as an expert fighter and a-" she cut herself short on whatever the second thing she was going to say was.

Soul chuckled sheepishly, "Well, I mean... my mother was a healer, and not just magic. She taught me everything she knew. Are you using Heartswax or Marrowmeld?"

She blinked and her jaw slackened with genuine shock, "I uh... we- we're not using either. They're too rare for such a mass scale, and even our readily available Tenderleaf stores are just draining too quickly. If we don't get more in soon... well, this is the worst Guard's Flu outbreak we've ever seen."

Soul nodded, still holding her hoof in his, face drawn together in deep contemplation, "The unicorns?"

"Those that we have? Working themselves to exhaustion. The Battlemages are no help, they claim that their members would only get infected and that none of them know the proper healing magics involved."

"Take me to one," he said, and she nodded, leading him over to a very, very tired looking mint green unicorn who's coat had faded almost to white, and grey strands were beginning to run through his mane.

Healing a disease with magic alone was tricky, even for Soul. The virus multiplied constantly, you had to catch up the whole of it, or else you'd have a relapse, which he suspected was happening here. And if you weren't very careful, you might end up getting rid of more of a pony than just the disease.

Soul looked on critically as the unicorn's horn flashed dully, and the stallion hunched a little more. He Saw. It was a very basic and very general spell of curing, but he supposed it was all they could do. Even with his gifts he wouldn't be able to do much better than them. It left much of the contagion still in the system, but it helped alleviate the symptoms and it did kill some, if not all, of the virus.

Virus. That was the problem, as Soul well knew. Prone to unlimited and often constant variation and mutation. To cure one purely by magic was nearly impossible. He could do it, but it would exhaust him before he healed more than two dozen ponies.

"I see the problem," he said, and the unicorn turned to him with a flicker of indignation stirring, "and there's nothing more your healers can do, they're at their capacity. You need more medicine, more good medicine."

Halifax nodded, but her attention was called away as a nurse across the hall shouted for a doctor.

She looked him in the eyes with hers of melted sunset, "You do what you can do, Soul Keeper. I'll keep doing what I can," and with that, she hurried off.

Soul stood in the midst of the maelstrom of the healers and the dying, What can I do? What more?

He was working double shifts every day, there was no way he had time to-

I have some sway with the Princesses. They must be keeping their eyes on me, still. It's risky... but it's as worth a shot as any.

Soul skipped the brisk walk down the long ancient hallways and many grand balconies by teleporting straight to the guard's entrance to the throne room, situated behind and slightly to the right of the thrones.

The on-duty guard, looking as worn as the rest of them these days, stood up straighter. Usually he would have had a partner, but right now the horsepower could be used to better effect than guarding the two most powerful creatures on the planet through an entrance only guards knew about.

"Tell the Princesses that I wish to speak to them, urgently. Tell them it's Private Soul Keeper."

The guard nodded, which Soul was thankful for, and went to Celestia's side, whispering in her ear. It seemed the world itself fell into a hushed whisper, and Soul swore he could hear the creak of her great throne as she turned to look at him. Her magenta eyes, burning with power and purpose, locked with his. He didn't need the chill to keep his composure this time, he met the gaze with a firm nod.

"We will have a quick recess, an urgent matter has come to my attention," she spoke out over the crowd.

Okay, now Soul needed the chill to keep his nerves in line. She hadn't just been speaking to the audience there. Her message to him was, "I'm putting my trust in you that this is a matter worth disturbing my routine for."

It was a heavy responsibility.

The diarch stood, and walked behind the throne, not looking directly at him as she had earlier. He gave a deep bow, as was his custom, and realized that a nod of the head had probably not been appropriate. What had come over him?

Concern, he answered himself, with a steel louder than the morning of his propriety, there are guards that could die if this is not considered

Part of himself seemed... surprised at the ardor of his inner voice. The chill along his bone marrow faded ever so slightly.

"Private Keeper," the holy diarch spoke, and Soul resisted his urge to shiver at her almighty voice, "what is the matter which you needed to discuss so urgently?"

He faced her directly, meeting her eyes again with a mind prepared for its consequences, and snapping a sharp salute, "My Princess. Doubtless you know the state of the guard. Half, or more, lie sick in the infirmary. I have just gathered that they are quickly running out of desperately needed medical supplies, and their unicorn healers have all but been stripped bare. I request permission to lead a party to collect more medicinal herbs."

The Princess looked at him. Deep at him. And he looked right back, though it made his inner eyes bleed to do it, so bright was the queen of the sun. Her radiant fur was nothing compared to the raging fire that the strength of her magic projected outwards, rolling in waves of power so bright Soul Saw almost nothing.

"I was... not aware of this."

Soul almost lost his composure, "P-Princess?"

She turned from him, looking back to the court, "The Chief Medical Officer informed me that some had come down with the Winter Flu, and that it was nothing to trouble myself with but... you say half the guard?"

Soul stood shocked, then nodded vigorously, "My Princess, it would not be an exaggeration for me to say that if those supplies are not delivered you could soon find yourself down a quarter of the brave mares and stallions that serve you today."

Her eyes widened in shock, and, for the first time, Soul saw her truly surprised. Appalled, and aghast, she turned her head back to court, clearly her mind was straining with what to do next.

"Sister," Soul heard a voice, and he turned to find that the Princess of the Night had teleported behind him, "stay. We- I will validate these claims."

"Will you Luna?" Celestia asked gratefully, "I cannot abandon court, not today of all days. I hate for you to leave."

Luna waved a beautiful silver-shod hoof, "My sister, you presided without me for more than 1000 years, I think one hour should do you no harm."

Celestia stepped past Soul and firmly hugged the smaller mare, "And I never want to again."

This she whispered so quietly a gnat next to her lips would barely have heard. Soul heard. And he blushed, like somepony who had just interrupted something unknowably sacred, and was now a foal before the whole world. That was not meant for his ears, and if he had the choice he would have taken away his hearing for that moment without a second's thought.

Celestia withdrew, giving Luna a small pat on the shoulder and returning to her seat.

With he and the Night left alone in the corridor, Soul bowed deeply, "Althos adenadem althriass, my Princess."

She smiled deeply, "It warms our heart every time to hear those words again. How art thee this morn?"

"Excuse me, Princess, but I was not exaggerating the time frame nor the scale of the emergency," Soul said urgently, "if we are to save lives, we must not tarry."

Luna blinked, then shook her head, "Forgive me, Private I was... transported. To another time. Lead the way."

"I need to teleport us to the infirmary-"

"Allow me," Princess Luna said, and with a dark blue pop they arrived outside the busy infirmary doors. Along with a very unladylike grunt.

Soul turned in alarm to the grimacing Princess, "My Lady, are you well?"

She nodded quickly, straightening, "I am fine. We must move."

She stepped into the whitewashed hallway, and her pace slowed to a mortified crawl as she took in the scene. Beds stacked high with the sick, ragged nurses and doctors running to and fro clutching precious herbs in their hooves, some barely holding back tears as they were withheld from giving a patient more than their ration of medicine.

"What... what has happened here?!" Luna asked, her voice slipping into a louder range, which immediately attracted attention from the he frazzled doctors.

"Princess!" Soul heard a yell from his mare, and soon Halifax appeared, galloping down the hallway, pulling up short as she saw Soul. She mouthed a thank you, and he nodded solemnly.

"You there," Luna boomed, "you are the head practitioner here?"

Halifax shrugged, "Acting practitioner, your highness, our head was struck with the flu two days ago."

Luna looked out over the sea of pained, fevered faces, "Why... why, where are the Battlemages?"

Halifax stuttered, "T-they um, well, your majesty, they claimed they would do more harm than good with their lack of-"

"MORE HARM THAN GOOD?" Luna bellowed, causing papers, curtains, and manes to writhe and billow wildly, many clutched at their ears in pain. Luna immediately flashed bright pink, "I-I am so sorry, please, forgive my indignation. They will be assigned to help at once. More harm than good indeed."

She turned to Soul, who bowed, "Keeper, I approve your foraging mission. Shortly you will receive a letter that gives you full access to as many as five Nox level Battlemages. Take this group, and get these ponies the medicine they need! Know that you are the undisputed leader of the party. I assume you know what you are looking for?"

Soul saluted, "My Lady, I know healing herbs better than a Zebra witch doctor, we'll get those supplies and be back with a boatload before two days have passed. We'll search through the night, keep the moon bright for us your highness."

Luna nodded, "Then you are dismissed. Every pony! I need an inventory of all the supplies you have, paper, and an inkwell and quill!"

As Luna addressed the doctors and Halifax with her, Soul teleported to... wait, where was the Battlemage tower again?

The Battlemage Tower. Set right into the side of Canterlot Mountain, it's grasping spire nearly clutched the peak, reaching just above the Ward Loft of Canterlot Castle itself. Made from ancient black stone, long since grown over with vines and lichen, the place was a magical fortress beholden to none save the castle it protected. It's moat filled with magic made to unbalance and knock out enemies filled with nose-burningly strong acid brewed by the Vird-chemists that took up residency in the tower. It's great iron gate was a mess of different spells and wards, all built to withstand every conceivable angle of magical attack. To the great alarm of the two Album Gate Guards standing out front, Soul teleported inside.

"What the bucking devil?" One of them screamed, the other primed a fireball, before realizing that at this range it would incinerate them all, not just his target.

"Peace!" Soul yelled, holding up a sealed scroll stamped firmly with the seal of the Night Princess, and marked as a matter of national security by the black ribbon tied around it, "I come with orders from the Princesses, deliver this to the Head Mage with the weight of their proclamation to speed your way!"

In the olden days, wizards and mages were sticklers for puffed-up, over important language, as well as pomp. It seemed things hadn't changed much, the two low-level spellcasters immediately began to preen at the mere idea of delivering such an important message, and so they sped away like their tails were on fire and a particularly icy lake lay ahead of them.

Soul was in agony waiting for them to return. He paced back and forth the cobbled portcullis under the raised iron gate, around the front of the great tower, looking up upon its uniform, yet chaotic, structure, the bricks shifting layer by layer all the way to the top, never quite in the same position as any if the ones beneath them.

He sighed with relief as distant the distant popping of teleportation could be heard, and flashes registered in the corners of his eyes.

Appearing before him were five unicorns, each wearing a stark black robe with golden runic trim. The cloaks were obviously magical in nature, protective spells, like small walls of color, traced around each of the mages. Protection from all the basic elements was a given, and even against some Force, unfortunately a good enough stab would get through, they hadn't thought or didn't have the resources to ward off all weaponry.

There were three mares and two stallions in the group, bearing a wide range of coat and mane colors, though all of a similar styling.

"You are Private Soul Keeper?" One of the stallions, with a black coat to match his robe, asked in a bored tone.

Soul stood tall, reaching far above all of their heads even without his horn, which itself was taller than any of theirs, "I am. We must hurry, many lives are at stake-"

He was interrupted by a yawn from a pink mare, who scratched her eyes.

He cocked an eyebrow, seeing the grasping black-grey fingers of Sleep reluctantly clasping to her as if being physically pulled away, "You have... just woken up."

She looked at him accusatorially, "It's Saturday!"

He blinked. He hadn't had a day off in... well, weeks at least. And the last week he hadn't had a day without a double shift.

"Well, know it's for a good cause-"

He was interrupted again by a dark sea green mare, "Yeah, some of you guys apparently have the sniffles, hehe-"

Soul stepped smartly forward and cracked the insolent whelp across the face. She stumbled to the side making a gargled groan. She grasped at her cheek and tumbled so far she crashed heavily against the stone wall of the mage's tower.

Only then did Soul shiver slightly, and feel the freezing jaws slowly unhinge from his mind, leaving him with a slight headache, "Ponies are dying, Battlemage. Stand up!"

He roughly hauled the semi-conscious sorcerer to her hooves, plopping her down and facing the rest of the stunned troops, "I am your commanding officer for this field mission, as mandated by Princess Luna! While under my command, you will not make light of the grave peril the defenders of this kingdom are in, nor will you question my orders. Failure to meet these requirements will result in swift action. Am I clear?"

All of them bowed their heads, and looked at the ground, scuffing their hooves in embarrassment.

Soul drew in a long breath, "The proper address when an officer gives orders is yes sir."

They met his eyes. He met theirs. He let them see his mounting fury.

"Yes sir," the black stallion mumbled, and the others followed suit. Except the one he had struck, she seemed like she would take a while to come back around fully.

"Good," Soul began to pace in front of them, "our mission is to gather a variety of healing herbs from the surrounding area. Any of them we can find, we take. Specifically, look for the long, red fronds of the Heartswax plant, or the faint yellow of the Marrowmeld. Marrowmeld also appears to be dead most of the time, with blackened edges, do not be afraid to show samples to me that you fear might not be the right plant, and I will confirm. Is all of this understood?"

They all mumbled a yes sir.

"Wonderful. If all else fails, grab every scrap of Tenderleaf you can get your hooves on. It's a heart shaped leaf with exactly ten lines running through it, no more, no less. The thinner the lines, the better the quality."

"Excuse me, Soul was it?" Asked the mare that hadn't talked yet, a light blue number with a natural sneer, "Where exactly are we going to find all of these? And how?"

"Well miss, obviously we're going to the place where magical plants grow best: the Everfree Forest. As for how we're finding them..."

Soul thought for a moment before his horn flashed with light, and a set of circles was carved into the ground in front of him, "That's the groundwork we'll be using. It will detect any healing magic-"

"What is that?" the snooty one asked, interrupting for a third time. She seemed to be pointing at the circles.

Soul looked back and forth between them and her, "I trust you've seen the expression of a spell in formulaic form before, yes?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Are you joking? That looks nothing like a proper magical formula! Where did you learn this, from a bugbear with a stick in the mud? Imbecile. A proper formula looks like this!"

Her horn also lit up, a grayish white color. Slowly, lines etched themselves into the ground in a long and drawn out manner. It was... wrong. Just plain wrong. Yes, similar elements were there, Soul could see the Plant and Health magics were taken into account but...

"This is the wrong spell," he said flatly, much to the previously smug mare's shock.

He pointed to a section of the algorithm she had written that was devoid of magic, "What is this supposed to do?"

She huffed, "Well, to any pony that had formal training, it would be obvious that is where the uncertainty of the spell goes."

He raised an eyebrow and looked around, "You... you allow for uncertainties... in the spell formula itself?"

His incredulity did not phase her, "Of course! Where else would you put it?"

He gestured to his circle, "How about not having uncertainty at all and being efficient with your casting?"

She rolled her eyes, "Nopony can make those kinds of calculations in their head! At least, not fast enough to be useful!" she scoffed.

He pointed to her lines, "And where does this account for the building blocks of the plant you're looking for? The size, the shape, the color?"

She apparently didn't have an answer for that, "Well, um-"

"And what about potency? The spell you've drawn could just as easily have led you to a forest dragon, who's scales have both plant and healing properties, as an actual healing plant!" He took a deep breath, "No. I will not have any of you do something quick and risky, and die for it. You will take the time to make the proper calculations, and cast the detection spell with all the variables in mind. If you are unwilling to do so, you may leave."

The flouncy blue mare harumphed and turned to go.

"And rest assured my superiors will hear of your child-like and uncooperative conduct, completely unfit for a member of the elite spellcasters employed specifically to do their jobs correctly and thoroughly, with no mistakes."

That stopped her in her tracks, and she came back grumbling.

Soul sighed, "Now, all of you take a few minutes to work this out correctly. We will leave when you are finished and I have checked your work."

Surprisingly they took to this exercise right away, and all had notebooks and quills out and ready almost immediately. They must have been very used to this kind of rote activity. Some even seemed to enjoy the challenge of translating what they knew as the formula into his circle, which would have taken five formulas to write out properly in their long hoof.

"I have to admit," he heard the black stallion whisper to the pink mare when they thought he couldn't hear, "this design is pretty incredible! Look how much space it saves! Did he... really make that just now?"

"I doubt it," she whispered back, "there's no way, he probably wrote it all out earlier and then just copied it."

The stallion nodded, but they both still seemed to be trying to convince themselves.

"Alright," Soul called out when they'd finished to his satisfaction, they were all deft hooves and had taken to the new form with enthusiasm, "I will now teleport us to the Everfree. Don't lose those spell sheets!"

The blue mare snorted again, "That's impossible, our magic combined is too heavy for one unicorn-"

"- without a cir...cle..."

The Everfree. The first thing that struck you was the noise. The world's loudest jungle, it felt like. Thousands upon thousands of chittering, clattering, insects. The whoops and calls of twelve dozen different animals just around you alone. The sway, rustle, and whisper of the leaves and vines all dancing together as the breeze blew. This far from the center, just inside the very edge, the wind still blew quickly and freely, and the air was not nearly as dead as the interior.

A fresh layer of snow covered the ground and treetops. The whole forest sparkled and shimmered, and from every tree dangled icicles and mistletoe. Farther in, it would be much warmer. It was almost the same climate year round. The Everfree kind of did what it wanted on that front.

She wasn't wrong, it was very hard to lift and transport that much magic. Luckily for them, Soul had more magic than all of them combined, several times over. But they didn't need to know that.

"Come on," he said softly, "I want to be back before sunrise with more plants and multipurpose healing ingredients than the infirmary will know what to do with."

The six unicorns began to stalk through the snow, and Soul watched excitedly as they all cast their new type of spell for the first time.

The black stallion got it first. Soul could See the Thought and Spirit in his body click into place, and a wave of realization, but also satisfaction and peace, understanding, flowed through his body in a multichromatic wave.

"Woah," he said, stunned, as his horn pulsed a soft green sphere away from himself, blanketing the snowy landscape like morning dew. The beads of green light quickly faded away, before the next gentle pulse sounded, blanketing the area softly again.

Soon each of them let out exclamations of mild surprise as each clicked the spell into place, even the cynical blue mare.

"Alright everypony," Soul said, talking a little louder than he would like over the noise of the forest, "be very careful, and stick together. We go in pairs. Report back here at sunset. If anything happens, holler, I'll hear you. Move."

With that the three pairs split off together, surprisingly it was the blue skeptic that chose to go with Soul deeper into the darkening forest. Her gentle swish of cloth overpowered by the clanking of his armor, which he quickly noticed, and silenced with a grimace.

They went for a good while without speaking, save for the occasional gesture at when the green light remained stuck to a particular plant or bit of snow with something buried underneath. The silence was both tense and unwelcome. It made Soul jumpy, and he felt bad that he had so soundly thrashed the mare's intelligence. He also felt bad about hitting the other one, but... less so. Pony's lives were never something to make light of.

"I have concluded," she said, finally, as they stepped over a decaying log that had fallen over some semblance of a trail that they were following, "that you are impossible."

He snorted, "Really now? And how do you figure that?"

It seemed that was the exact answer she wanted, "On average, to attain the level of Nox within the Battlemages, a pony must possess at least 543.33 swirl of magical power."

Swirl? Soul wondered. He'd never heard of the unit of measurement.

"As every unicorn knows, due to Starswirl the Bearded's Magica-Mass Conversion Theorem, this would be the equivalent of lifting a hundred kilograms with your four hooves. Approximately, of course. Now, each of my company-"

"Watch that branch."

"Right, thanks. Where was I? Ah, right, each of my company, myself included, has the potential to advance to at least Caer, some of us more," she preened in a way that indicated she was one of the more category, "that means that, for each one of us, you'd be lifting two hundred and fifty kilos with your mind-"

"Not my mind, and watch out for that snake."

"Ah!"

"Don't worry, got it."

"Are you sure? I hate snakes!"

"Yes, I'm sure, step over this here, it'll sink."

"What I'm trying to say is, for your... position, such a feat is impossible! Therefore, you are impossible."

Soul turned to look into her sky blue eyes, filled with curiosity and intelligence, the sounds of the lively forest chirping wildly around them, the faint drift of chilled humidity floating like a ghost between them.

She realized how intensely he was staring at her and blushed slightly, "W-what?"

He chuckled a little, "I just thought you meant I was difficult," and then he kept on broadcasting the spell. It was going well, he had almost an armful of Tenderleaf already, and more than a few heads of Wartfoil. Still no Marrowmeld though, that would really help to bring down the fever.

As he stalked away into the forest, the blue mare stood with her mouth agape, looking at him like he was insane. She chased after him, albeit loudly and poorly, "Well?! Explain yoursel- mmf!"

Faster than a leopard, Soul darted back to her and clamped a hoot down over her mouth. His ears were pricked up, and swiveled to and fro. He could have sworn...

The mare started to protest and struggle, Soul held clenched slightly harder and held his other hoof up in a gesture of patience as he scanned the surrounding forest. What was different? What had he heard?

A soft pad sounded to their right, and instantly a beam of energy bolted a ten foot pillar in that direction, blasting a seared hole through the foliage and muggy air. Soul just caught a glimpse of the back of a large scorpion's tail before it was sheared clean off by the atomizing magic. To its credit, the predator made no sound, slinking off to find easier prey.

After several tense seconds where Soul could practically hear the thundering heartbeat of the black robed mage, he slowly released her mouth.

Looking deep into her eyes, he said quietly, "I would advise not yelling so much while we're here. It tends to attract... unwanted attention," then he moved on to look for more healing plants. They had a job to do after all.

At sunset, about six hours after they had split up, all three pairs reconvened at the correct location.

"I'm impressed," Soul said as each of them filtered in dirty, tired, and hungry, "I've seen soldiers get more lost heading to the bathroom."

"Because you work with imbeciles," the blue mare whispered to herself. He chose to keep the fact that he could hear her to himself for the moment.

Soul closed his eyes, and a series of circles burned itself into the ground, than sprang alight with fire. Many of those gathered sighed with relief and slumped down, exhausted, in it's warmth. A dank chill had swept into the area over the last few hours, soaking them all to the bone with humidity, then settling right on in with the freezing cold that cut through any cloth or armor. Even magical cloth and armor, it seemed. It felt very good to rest and warm up by the merrily flickering light of the fire.

"We'll take a break here. Get some food and drink into you, then we'll all take a thirty minute nap. After that, we're on two hour shifts. One team sleeps, one team watches, and one team gathers."

The black stallions spoke up, "Wait, that's not... you don't mean for us to go back out there in the- in the dark, do you?"

Soul nodded solemnly, "Yes, I do mean that. It's no more dangerous than in the day."

"Except for all the nocturnal animals that are up now," the sea green mare grumbled, apparently recovered from the blow she'd received earlier to once again state the obvious.

"Right, and all the daytime hunters are now asleep," he said in as patronizing a voice as he could manage, making her embarrassed and grumbly.

That was unnecessary, he thought to himself, immediately feeling a stab of shame, you're a better leader than that. Than this. Act like it.

Soul nodded, "But she's right, you know. Many of the more deadly animals here are nocturnal, we'll be more cautious," he thought for a moment, "Very well. As a safety measure, I will go with all away teams to ensure their safety."

"What good is one extra horn gonna do?" One of them griped.

Soul was about to speak, but he was beaten to the punch by the blue mare, "Private Keeper was able to vaporize the tail of a stalking manticore based on sound alone. He's the best equipped of us to deal with this environment, mentally, magically, and physically."

He was... actually taken aback by such a ringing endorsement. Her tone and expression were frank as she said it, as if she were simply stating facts while he fire outlined the contours of her face in vivid shadow.

"Really Pearl? Love for the Guard? From you?" the sea green unicorn said incredulously. The others seemed to share the sentiment. It was funny how, if Soul didn't talk, they all just seemed to forget he was there and speak freely.

Pearl shrugged, "It's just obvious, from the evidence I've seen. He is our superior in more than temporary title."

"Bullshit," the black stallion spat, "I don't see him painted red!"

Soul quirked an eyebrow at the odd expression, but let it slide in favor of listening more. He also subtly introduced foodstuffs into the firelight, which they began to reach for and eat without even realizing it.

"He could be," Pearl said quietly, genuine, "I think he really could be."

That got the rest of them quiet as they observed her morose expression, "So... why not?"

Pearl shook her head sadly, "I have no clue."

They sat in silence for a long time after that, shoveling food into their mouths like it was their last meal, before Soul stepped into the light again. Even then, they didn't register his presence until he spoke.

"Alright mares and gentlecolts, try to get some sleep. I'll wake you up when thirty minutes are done," he didn't tell them that he was waiting for the last one to fall asleep to start the timer. Or that he might have snuck a sleep spell or two their way to speed up the process for those more used to a feather bed than the world's first mattress.

After the half hour mark he gently woke the pink mare for her shift to journey into the yawning depths of the jungle with him. Her words, not his. He left the sea green mare and the quiet blue stallion on watch, this early into the night they probably wouldn't be in danger of anything too big, especially as camped on the fringes of the forest as they were.

"So, what's your name?" he whispered to the pink mare as they each began pulsing a long strobe of green light, adding a sickly glow, and an ominous throwing of shadows to the already intensely intimidating atmosphere of the forest.

He heard her gulp, "Flower, Flower Power. Nox Power, is- is my title."

Soul nodded, and moved unconcerned, hoping his mannerisms would soothe and calm the twitchy mare, "Yes, I've heard a few of these. Album, Vird, Nox, Pearl back there even mentioned something called a Caer, these are your ranks, I assume."

Flower nodded, "You are correct, well done," she sounded pleasantly surprised, "There are a myriad of ranks above Caer, some higher than others, but not all the time. It's a confusing web of politics, once you pick your field of specialty," she sighed, "I feel that I shall, at some point, miss these times of simple study. Although, not this part. This part is awful."

Soul laughed, "What? Traipsing around the deadliest jungle on the planet isn't a fun enough field trip for you?"

She giggled, "In the dead of winter, no less!"

He chuckled alongside her, "And best of all at night!"

Their laughter, quiet though it was, still set Soul on edge. He didn't want to be this loud, though he could See perfectly fine in the pitch darkness. Better, actually, since he didn't have the constant haze of Light from the sun to cloud his Sight. He was glad she seemed more relaxed, though, and he noticed that she actually took to finding the plants with a relish, practically gasping for joy every time she was able to spot one without the aid of their spell. He saw a few curly blond locks slip from her hood as she rushed over to pick some more Tenderleaf.

"You are to be a botanist, then?" he asked.

She ran back, carrying an armful of leaves and stems that he quietly teleported to camp. She snorted, "Close, natural science, actually. I love plants and animals, but you're right that I favor flora. There's just... something about flowers."

He nodded, "No doubt, many mares seem to share your conviction, if only on an amateur level, I am sure you see something in plants that none of them ever could. Each has their own unique beauty, their own soul, if you will. It takes a very special kind of eye to see each and every one as much more than a field or a patch, but a population. A choir, if you'll forgive my romanticism."

He looked from his tangent to find her staring at him with that look. Wide pink eyes, with a slightly open mouth, full lips sparkling with gloss with the gentle warm green pulsing of her horn.

Shit, he thought to himself with a hidden grimace, I've done it again haven't I?

His stomach gave a quiet rumble of satisfaction.

Shut up, you, he chastised himself.

"Ahem, yes, well, anyway. Let's uh, let's move on."

They stayed quiet for quite a while, and the sounds and smells of the night overtook them. The rustle of the underbrush, the quiet, distant roar of millions of insects, the humid cold blanketing not just their fur, but their skin, the smell of decaying plant matter and dismal air. The treetops were so thick that no light could shine through them, but Soul had hope that the moon was still bright, as he'd asked.

After about an hour, he turned them around, looping back towards the camp.

"Aw, so soon?" Flower asked.

Soul gave a smiled, "Maybe you won't look back on these times so harshly after all, hm?"

That seemed to give her thought, and they made the rest of the trip back in silence.

They had a pretty good haul, a really great one considering how much they'd gathered during that day. More than enough to restock the infirmary for the time being, but Soul sure wasn't sure how long it would last. Better to gather more than enough.

Flower relieved the green mare from watch duty, at the request of the stallion, and so Soul woke up the black stallion for the next forest foray.

"We've never been properly introduced," the unicorn said, " I'm Point Break, nice to meet you."

Soul shook his hoof, "Soul Keeper, nice to meet you too."

Things were awkward at first, of course Break made it that way by not wanting to talk, but Soul was more than willing to give the guy his own space while he figured out their dynamic. Soul took them on a more southerly route this time, skirting the opposite edge of the forest as he had with Flower. Point Break had been the first of the unicorns to catch on to Soul's method of spellcasting, he remembered.

"In answer to your question from earlier," Soul spoke up, and the stallion, to his credit, paid attention, "I did create this spell for identifying healing plants on the spot. It's not that hard when you've practiced with this method as much as I have."

Point blinked, "You... heard us?"

Soul smiled, though Point couldn't see, "I hear most things, Mister Break," he decided to leave it at that, a stallion had to be a little mysterious, after all.

Point Break snorted, "Yeah, seems so. Pearl said that you heard a manticore earlier. If anypony else had said that, I woulda called bullshit. But I guess... you're the real deal."

"I noticed," Soul said, "that you used a phrase I'd never heard before. You said that I wasn't "painted red", what did you mean?"

Soul could feel the stallion's blush without even looking in his direction, "You heard that too, huh? It's a, uh, it's just a battlemage thing," he petered off awkwardly.

Soul raised an eyebrow at him in one of the periods of green strobe light, "Yes, I assumed so..." he let the statement hang, making the other stallion more uncomfortable by the second.

Point sighed, "It means that you have the potential to be a Rubrum, the highest class of battlemage. It's mostly used for ponies that are way too arrogant, or running hot with magic. We say they're painted red."

Soul nodded, "Another thing this Pearl thinks I am capable of. I assume she, too, is painted red?"

Point broke out laughing, and had to stifle himself after a sharp look from Soul, "Sorry, sorry, it's just... well, it's not your fault, you have no context for that saying other than what I just told you, it's just that... hoo, man, don't ever let her hear you say that!"

Soul could see several lifeforms that had taken pause after Point's outburst. Many of them were poisonous. And many of those were large.

"Extinguish your spell," he said quietly, and Point did exactly as he was told, becoming instantly serious. Soul flattened the both of them against a tree, and concealed them from all senses but touch.

They waited there, in the darkness, for minutes. He was glad that the beasts of the night could not hear the thumping of Point's heart, loud as a drum in these woods.

At one point, something passed in front of them. Soul didn't know what it was, but he could feel the heat of it radiating on his face. The scary thing was that was the only thing he could tell about it without his Sight. It made no sound, reflected no light, and emitted no strong smell. Much like them, but it did this naturally, requiring no magic to be an unbelievably deadly predator. Eventually the dangers passed, and Soul relinquished them both from his magical grasp.

"We're heading back early," he whispered, "It's been almost an hour anyway, and we haven't been finding very much. Hold on to my tail, I will guide you."

It was a grueling hike back to the camp. Something had caught Point's scent or sound, and three times the pair had to avoid being caught by something they couldn't see. Well, Soul could see them, he just didn't want to waste magic dealing with them. He was already lower than he'd like. He'd have to fill up with Hallow after all of this was over.

Oooor... we could take a little nibble of Pearl... no, that's stupid. Rutting? Here? In the woods? With... so many dangerous predators around and... so much risk it... damn that's hot, but no! Bad idea, save for later.

They eventually made it back, and Point relived the blue stallion, whereupon Soul woke Pearl for her shift in the woods. She went along without complaint.

He knew without asking that she was the most powerful of the group, so he felt more comfortable foraging deeper into the Everfree with her to snag more valuable ingredients. They cut southeast, towards the heart of the jungle.

Surprisingly, she wasn't that talkative. She would respond detachedly to questions, but most of the time she was very quiet. It helped their scavenging, and they managed to find many plants that Soul was overjoyed to see, but it made for a boring trip.

"What's gotten into you, Pearl?" Soul asked as they were headed back to camp, and getting out of the more dangerous zones of the jungle, "You were much more interested in me earlier, had plenty to say and ask, and now you barely speak."

She sighed, "To be frank, Soul Keeper, your presence disheartens me. I'd always heard that we were the best, and that the only unicorns who joined the Guard were the ones who couldn't hack it in our ranks. But now that I see one as powerful as you among their number... it is just another lie I was told."

Soul clicked his tongue, "Well, I wouldn't say that. I only know one other unicorn in the Guard, and he's in the advanced squad, with me. That poor bastard can barely cast one spell in three without it fizzling out, and his magical potential is one of the lowest I've seen in a unicorn. It's no wonder he hates my guts and tries to sabotage me almost any chance he gets."

She looked at him, shocked, "They allow that kind of behavior in the guard?"

He shrugged, "He's very good at hiding what he does, and I don't report it. The Guard is all the kid has, if I took that away from him like that, who would I be?" Soul shook his head sadly.

The rest of the night passed swiftly and profitably, the spell really paid off. The green mare's name was Peanut, and they apologized to each other for what each had done. She was a nice mare, a little lazy, but such a problem was easily fixed. Soul could not get a single word out of the blue stallion the entire night. It made for a very creepy experience when they came across an abandoned fort in the woods and Soul could have sworn the guy was buzzing. All in all it was a net gain, though. And as the sun's rays began to peak over the bleak horizon, an exhausted Soul took inventory.

"Well I will be DAMNED, we did it, folks!" He yelled, and a ragged cheer went up from the battered mages, all of whom seemed very proud of the good work they'd done that night. Probably the first time in a long time they'd accomplished something tangible, more than just pure theory.

Soul proudly observed the veritable dragon's hoard of plants they had acquired throughout the night, the area practically glowed with healing magic, and all of them felt a little lighter on their feet, though that might have been the lack of restful sleep talking.

"Alright, everypony, listen up!" all of the mages snapped to firm attention, "There's a lot of teleporting that needs to be done, and I don't want a single shred of any of this getting lost! Consider this your... final exam!" he knew the analogy would rile them up. Every single one of them, without fail, hardened and stood stronger, taller, and far more alert than they had previously. Those words were their own, special, kind of magic.

Soul closed his eyes, and the trees around him melted, flowing streams of wood snaked across the ground, before reforming into separate wooden barrels, each with the name of a plant carved into it. When he opened his eyes, Soul beheld the absolutely dumbfounded faces of six medium-strength mages. He had to admit, it was a good feeling.

"Nox Power!" he called.

"Yes sir!" she saluted.

"You will be the lead sorter! Identify or create a system for identifying each plant that we've gathered and store it in these barrels! Inform me if we run out of space."

"Aye aye, sir!" she cheered, and set to work, her pink aura grabbing loads of the plants at a time and neatly setting them into the barrels while she explained her process to the others. She was quick, efficient, and accurate. Within an hour all of the barrels were packed to the brim, and not a single leaf out of place.

"Very good, Nox Power, A+ for you!" she beamed with joy, and the others actually looked slightly jealous.

"Nox Break and Pearl!" he called.

"Yes sir!" they said in unison.

"Prepare us a teleportation circle to the infirmary in Canterlot Castle, I want all of us and the packages delivered safely and with minimal loss of magic!"

They immediately set to work, carving a large circle onto the ground with their magic, runes filling the intervening space. Soul judged it to be... fairly competent, though he was sure they weren't slacking, not with how hard both of them were sweating with concentration. Within half an hour they were finished, huffing with exertion.

"Excellent work, you two, A+. Now, Nox Peanut and... other guy, you two will be doing the actual teleporting. Everypony give yourself a protection from disease enchantment, we don't want anypony here catching what the other guards caught. After that, begin the teleport."

Everypony's horn flashed, and the two designated drivers of this fiasco moved into their positions in the circle. Soon, their horns began to glow a deep blue, which quickly rose in brightness, size, and color. Around the group, the circle began to light up as well, slowly rising, spinning, flashing, and then POP

WHUMP

With a thud from the displaced air, the group appeared just outside of the infirmary door, which was shut and sealed, no doubt to prevent the spread of infection. Everypony, save Soul, slumped to the floor with weariness. Soul immediately ran to the door and banged on it with his unnatural strength, making the whole thing shudder. He heard movement cease momentarily on the other side, before it swung open to reveal the unparalleled, and slightly tired looking, visage of Princess Luna.

Giving a bow that he almost didn't recover from, Soul intoned, "A dozen barrels full of medicine my Princess, as promised and requested," he looked back with pride over his small group of mages, who all gawked like idiots at their beautiful Princess.

"Soul Keeper, you are a godsend!" he heard a familiar voice say, and before he could even turn around he was being tackle hugged by his plump, sexy, doctor mare.

Halifax roughly turned his head and kissed him soundly on the lips in front of the Princess and all five mages, which actually made him blush with embarrassment.

"Alright, Halifax, alright," he laughed, watching at least two of the three unicorn mares deflate slightly, "we have a job to do!"

She pulled back, and for the first time he would really see the bags under her eyes, and the frizz in her usually immaculate mane. She'd been working non-stop since this whole thing began. Celestia, what a mare.

"We?" she said suspiciously, like a mother scolding her child.

"Yes, "we", I'm one of the best healers in your arsenal, I'm not going to let a little sleep deprivation get me down, and neither are you! Come on, let's get these in there and start divvying them out."

And so they went.

The situation was as dire as Soul had believed, some of the patients in the ward had been without medication for as long as three days, and although their bodies were fighting it off, there were some who weren't faring so well.

Soul walked up to one of the quarantine barriers being maintained by the green-robed Battlemages. They looked him over and saw the doctor's assistant patch that Halifax had given to him. They nodded to him and opened the barrier a fraction so that he could slip through, immediately closing it behind him. Inside, on a sickbed, and barely breathing, was a small brown unicorn.

Knives Deavy's eye rolled open, squinting against the light that bathed him from the overhead lamp. When he saw it was Soul he just closed his eyes again. Knives was already small, and fairly frail, too, as it turned out. He'd been one of the hardest hit when the infection had started to spread. Especially since he hadn't told anypony until it was already crippling. Now he lay on a stretcher hooked up to life support, the fever ravaging his body.

Soul lifted the oxygen mask a tad, and slipped a small yellow-black leaf cutting into his mouth. It seemed like Knives wanted to deny it, but he was so weak and delirious it seemed he lacked the physical control to do so. Soul Saw with relief that the healing properties of the Marrowmeld immediately began to go to work, seeping antibiotics from the bones and into the bloodstream, destroying the pathogen all over the body. It was one of the best healing plants in this area, and Soul had only managed to gather a small amount of it, so it was being held for the worst cases.

Knives gasped at first, his eyes widening in shock, and then his whole body relaxed with unspoken relief as the heat and pain diminished.

Soul nodded, and turned to leave.

"Why?"

Soul turned to see Knives staring at him.

"Why... did you... save... me?"

Soul smiled, "Look Knives, I know you hate me. And have tried to kill me, or get me killed, several times. But you're still my squadmate, and, more than that, you're a pony in need. And I would never-"

"No!" Knives coughed, glaring at Soul as he hacked weakly into his blanket, "I coulda... made it... on my own. Don't need you to... save me..."

Soul slumped slightly, "Oh. I see. No, Knives, you couldn't have. Without the medicine I just gave you, you would have been dead by the end of the day."

Knives gritted his teeth, "I'm... just as... strong as you!"

Soul shook his head, "No Knives, you're not. And you won't ever be. I'm sorry, that's just the way it is."

Knives slammed his head back onto his pillow, "It's not... fair..."

Soul shook his head, "Look, Knives, you need to quit trying to prove you're something you aren't. You were never going to be a powerful wizard, that's why you got rejected from the Battlemages, wasn't it?"

Knives gasped sharply, like he'd been stabbed.

"Yeah, I figured. So you joined the Guard instead to try and prove yourself, you got put in the advanced squad because you were a unicorn, a rare resource. And then it turns out that you can't prove yourself, because there's nothing to prove."

Soul sighed and started to pace, "Look Knives, I appreciate a stallion trying to earn his way in life, but you're going about it the wrong way. You shouldn't have joined the guard because you wanted fame and glory, you should have joined it because you wanted to help ponies."

Soul shook his head, and turned to leave again, "You'll have a lot of time to think while you recover. I know you don't want my advice but... leave the Guard. Find a different way to train your body and mind into what you want it to be, and believe me there are plenty of other ways. I know you can do it, Knives, you've got the willpower for it, but this place can't give you what you need. Goodbye."

Over the next several hours, Soul lost count of how many, he went threw a similar process with every patient he could reach. Administering doses in the correct manner, talking to them about their health and their lives, and sometimes, when it was needed, using magic to destroy a particularly virulent piece of the flu-like virus.

As the hour struck eight one night, Soul stumbled out of a barrier, head spinning both with exhaustion, and a deeper weariness. He'd already been low on magic when they'd gone to the Everfree. And after... what, a day? Two? All on his feet, casting complex healing spells... it was starting to take its very grave toll.

One of the nurses floating around noticed his near-collapse, and called for Halifax.

"Soul!" she rushed over to him, trying her best to support his large frame, "Soul, what's wrong, are you okay?"

Soul looked around and saw many eyes on him, worried. What were they-

Oh, they must think I caught the virus.

Had he? Soul ran a quick check of his internal organs, and no, there was no trace of the disease. Just magical dehydration then, good.

"Hey, Doc, could I speak to you in private for a moment?" he asked, she nodded quickly, and they began to head for the exit, when a presence stopped them.

"Private Soul Keeper," called the Princess of the Night, looming large before them. Well, before one of them, Soul was at least as tall as she was.

"My Princess," he bowed with some difficulty, it felt like his ribs were grinding together.

She looked around the room, and noticed the much more... relaxed pace the doctors were keeping. Oh sure, it was still frenetic, but it lacked the stakes and sense of tension that it had held when he first brought her here, "You have... stood watch over the patients?"

"Actually, ma'am," Halifax spoke up, "He's been working without ceasing since he returned from the Everfree two and a half days ago. I tried to tell him to take brakes and sleep, but... well, he's also been doing a world of good. Most of the progress that's been made has been by his hooves."

Soul bowed again, "She exaggerates on my behalf, my lady. I did what had to be done, and that's all there is to it. I fear, though, that I now find myself... taxed. Heavily taxed, yes."

The Princess finally turned from the room and studied him, then gasped, "Oh my! Yes, by all means, go, rest! I did not mean to... keep you," it could have been Soul's wild and very tired imagination, but it distinctly looked like she was holding herself back from laughing at her own terrible pun.

"Thank you, my lady," he said, slowly walking past her, wincing with every other step.

"So... what's wrong, Soul?" Halifax asked, her big, gorgeous eyes like melting amber looking into his.

"Halifax... I do believe I'm almost out of magic again."

Battlemage Tower, forty-third floor -

"Thank you all for coming," said the aged unicorn, long, dusty grey robe spilling out from behind the ancient wooden desk at which he sat. Before him, in his large octangular room of worked stone bricks, stood five mages, each in a black robe. Two stallions, three mares.

"Tell me... all you can about the subject you were assigned to study," he said carefully, pulling out a long, black quill, and preparing a parchment scroll.

All of the black-robed ones looked to one of their number, a mare with fur of light blue, who stepped forward.

The gnarled old unicorn looked up, "Ah, Nox Pearl, is it?"

Pearl nodded, "Yes sir, reporting on the anomalous entity. You were correct in assuming we would get the chance to study it closely on field assignment."

The old man huffed as he wrote, "It was the Rubrum, not I, that foresaw this opportunity when Album Scratch spoke with him on the training ground. He knew the entity's powers were too great to not show themselves in a time of need."

Pearl nodded, "Well sir,we can safely say that the anomalous entity remains... anomalous. Even we five, all of the highest rank of Nox, ascending to Caer, could barely understand what he was doing half of the time. We compared notes, we theorized and tested in the field, none of it matches current standards, in a... large way. As I have reported, he first demonstrated his unusual casting method, which I have submitted be of ultimate study priority, as it allows for zero uncertainty in the spell, and even seems to... amplify its consequence... somehow."

The scratching of the pen echoed throughout the room, before the wizened old mage turned his almost white eyes to Pearl again, "Go on."

She blinked, "Well sir... there is of course the fact that he was able to teleport all of us, five full Nox, no less than five hundred miles in an instant, without a circle. This could be due to the enhanced casting, but even so it would take an immense amount of power, something only a Rubrum or... higher would be capable of."

On and on the quill scratched, until silence draped them all. The wizard looked up again, but stopped himself, as it seemed that Pearl was debating what to say next.

"And then... sir... and this could be complete speculation, or natural hormones, but sir... the entity has this... aura. I felt it, Nox Power felt it, as did Nox Peanut. Nox Breaker and Ganger report feeling something similar, yet different. Just... the desire to... obey, to submit. For the mares it seemed to be... slightly more intense, but we all felt it."

The old wizard finished writing, and leaned back in his chair, deep in thought.

After several minutes, with no sound but the faint whispering of breath, he looked up, "Well then. We'll just have to keep an Eye on him, won't we?"

Canterlot Castle, The Royal Breakfast Room -

slurp

...

Slurp

...

SLURP

Celestia giggled as her sister very loudly sucked tea from her teacup, which set the other off as well. She loved this time they got to share, as Luna passed into sleep, and Celestia watched her Sun rise. It was the one time they could be sisters again.

BAP

"Ouch! Luna, be careful, I've still got tea in my hooves!" Celestia said, perturbed as her sister hit her again with a pillow.

"Make me! Rawr!" Luna said, laughing, as she flung another at the ruler of the sun, who deftly caught it, and sent it spinning right back.

This continued for several minutes.

At the end of it all, they both lay breathless on opposite sides of the room, feathers and shredded bits of colorful cloth having exploded every which way across the room. The servants would hate cleaning all this up, but at least they had something to do.

"Oh, that reminds me," Luna said, coming out of her malaise, "I have something interesting to tell you, sister."

"What is it?" Celestia asked, not bothering to move.

"Well, you remember that Private? The handsome one with the massive horn?" Luna said, knowing full well she could have used Private Keeper's name just as easily.

"Yes, I know him," Celestia rolled her eyes, "What about him?"

"I'm recommending him for a promotion," Luna said.

"What, again?"

"Yes, sister. He acted on his own initiative, led a foray into incredibly hostile territory, leading a team that had every right to cause him Tartarus, and yet, he came back unscathed and having completed his objective above and beyond our expectations," Luna hesitated, "and... there is one other thing."

Celestia sensed her sister's change in tone, "What is it?"

"We, you and I, were already aware of his abnormal ability to see through illusionary magic, I have discovered another of his quirks. When I teleported him to the infirmary... he was heavy. Not unliftable, but still... a weight! I was so surprised that I actually grunted upon arrival. He must posses vast, and I mean truly vast, magical power."

Celestia stared at the wall in thought for a while, chewing on the inside of her cheek, as she often did in private, "Well then," she finally said, "I guess we'll have to keep an eye on him."

Author's Note

Soul Keeper has successfully the deaths of hundreds by delivering much needed supplies to the beleaguered doctors during the harsh winter season. But what plans do the shadowy Battlemages have in store for him? How will he fare under the intensified scrutiny of the Princesses?

Find out, next time.