New Neighton

Chapters

Chapter 2 - Cookie Squad
Chapter 3 - Departure
Chapter 4 - Misery, Mystery and Two Awful Moons
Chapter 5 - Ruins, Riddles and Ghosts
Chapter 6 - Cutieology
Chapter 7 - Alien Space Ghost
Chapter 1 - The Task at Hoof

Chapter 2 - Cookie Squad

Distant Voice liked to consider himself a fairly smart pony. Most things that happened in the company seemed to him to have at least some semblance of sense to them, even if he had to try really hard to see it at times. This time however, he was drawing a blank.

“Sooo… What the hay was that all about?”

He looked to Watchful Eye, seated just across from him in the common room, hoping that his sergeant would be able to reveal some hidden truth, one that may suddenly allow things to make the proper amount of sense. The sergeant had joined the small circle of Lunar Guard in the common room immediately after the departure of Winter Sky, and several sets of confused eyes had been glued to him since. Those eyes now looked hopefully to him for some tidbit of information.

Watchful Eye blinked, cocked his head and looked up to the confused bat pony.

“You got me. This is all pretty peculiar.”

The sergeant nodded his head, and to Distant Voice it seemed as if he was going over something in his head.

“Peculiar? Sounds more like crazy.”

The booming voice of Rapid Advance from immediately beside him caused Distant Voice to jump in surprise. He had almost forgotten he was sitting right next to the enormous stallion.

“Whoops, sorry about that little guy!” he rapped Distant Voice on the head lighty a few times in what seemed to be some strange form of apology before continuing. “Didn’t mean to yell the last word quite that loudly. It’s true though. Seven ponies to a captain is crazy.”

Normally, Distant Voice would take offense to the reference to his size. He was a small stallion. A fact that he was reminded of far too often, by far too many ponies. Rapid Advance was an exception however. In fact, of all the ponies in the Guard, Rapid was by far the kindest to him. That isn’t to say the other ponies of his squad, or company treated him poorly. With the exception of Sable Shield, he could at least call the other ponies of his squad friends. That particular mare, for reasons he was never able to figure out, detested him greatly.

“I think it’s cool,” Far Out added, nodding.

“You think everything’s cool,” Dawn Trotter cut in, waving a forehoof in small circles for emphasis.

“That’s ‘cause it is!”

“I-” Distant Voice was about to speak when he was abruptly cut off by Sable Shield, who was rolling her eyes.

“You only say that because you think you’ll get to steal more junk.”

“I don’t steal junk. I collect stuff. Awesome stuff,” Far Out corrected her.

Distant Voice rolled his eyes and slumped down further on his haunches. This could go on for awhile. Even Watchful Eye appeared to be watching the brewing exchange with resigned indifference. Far Out’s habit of collecting knicknacks, souvenirs, doodads and all sorts of general oddities and storing them en masse in her half of the stall she shared with Sable Shield was a constant source of one sided bickering. Sable Shield didn’t like it, and made sure everypony knew it. Often.

“We won’t know anything until Captain Winter gets back,” said Watchful Eye, “and when he does, I suspect we will have a first call to deal with. Smart ponies would use this time to see to their gear so they aren’t in a rush when it happens.”

A brief moment of confusion and blinking eyes passed before a wave of comprehension swept over the assembled ponies. Slowly they began to rise and make their way towards the stable’s lines of stalls. Far Out and Sable Shield moved first, as their stall was the furthest away of the ponies present. Across the narrow walkway and one closer to the main entrance was the stall Distant Voice shared with Rapid Advance, and the two quickly followed the mares in.

The stalls of the stable-barracks were arranged in two long rows, each row flanking a central corridor into which each stall opened. Each individual stall was a small affair, a single small room just big enough to house two ponies, their beds and hoof lockers. Each pony of the company was assigned a stall-mate, with the exception of the officers and sergeants who got single pony stalls. The shared stalls of the ponies of Cookie Squad were about a little less than a third of the way down the corridor, a distance the group slowly covered.

“Guess I’ll grab my horn first, then go grab my barding. Hopefully I can get everything before the captain shows back up. You never know,” Distant Voice said half to himself, half to Rapid Advance who he sensed following closely behind him.

“Smart move,” came the slightly too loud voice of Rapid Advance, “I wouldn’t be surprised if things start moving as soon as he gets back. Better to have everything ready to go. You know, if you just kept your barding on more often you wouldn’t have to keep running back and forth between the stable and the armory.”

“Blech,” the little stallion responded, wrinkling his muzzle for effect, “That stuff is heavy. Especially for me. I’m not wearing it a second longer than I have to. Just because you live in the stuff doesn’t mean the rest of us want to. Hay, even Watchful Eye ditches the stuff whenever he can.”

“Weak. The lot of you. WEAAAAK!” the massive bat pony butted his head against Distant Voice’s rump in a display of mirthful defiance, sending the smaller pony skidding forward abruptly.

“Sorry but not everypony is built like some kind of bat-winged locomotive. I bet you forget you even have it on,” Distant Voice said, completely unfazed by Rapid Advance’s sudden impact. The little stallion had gotten use to such things, as they came so often in his interactions with his friend. The comical size difference between the duo had been the butt of several jokes in the company, and it was often said that if Rapid Advance were ever to attach reins to his helmet, and acquire one of the armored saddles worn by the Solar Guard unicorns, Distant Voice would be perfectly sized to ride him.

Distant Voice gave a final snort, as if to drive his point home, before coming to a stop. He watched the pair of mares he was trailing disappear into their stall ahead and to his right. Nodding, he took a few steps forward before pushing open a stall door to his immediate left and heading in. It was a small affair, as every stall in the stable barracks was, and it was made even smaller by the fact he shared it with Rapid Advance. He moved to his right and dove onto the bed that lay against the wall, rolled onto his side facing the center of the stall, and began to undo the latch on his hoof locker. The hop-and-roll was a maneuver he had perfected, out of necessity, as much of the free space in the room was about to disappear. Biting his tongue in concentration, he began to sort through the contents of the box.

As if on cue, the hulking form of Rapid Advance appeared in the stall doorway, before squeezing through and abruptly moving to his side of the stall. Even so doing, Distant Voice found that there was barely enough room to work with.

“Just need my helmet and a few little things” Rapid said, mostly to himself. Distant Voice nodded, fishing around in his locker with his hooves.

Nope. Nope. Nope. Not that. Not that either. Definitely not that. He thought to himself as he began prodding the contents of his box, hunting for a particular item.

“Aha!” he exclaimed, withdrawing the brass signal horn and holding it up in triumph. “Got it. Now to the armory and quick.” Distant Voice rolled from his bed carefully, attempting to squeeze out the stall door. Unfortunately for him, he found it partially blocked by the rump of Rapid Advance, who was busy donning his helmet. Not wanting to interrupt him, the little pony just sat back down and waited for him to get his gear sorted.

“It’s unprofessional!”

Distant Voice’s left ear swiveled to the sound of Sable Shield’s voice. It seems the mares had left their stall door open as well, and the sound of their discussion was easy to make out, especially for the finely tuned ears of a bat pony.

“I can’t believe they even let you keep all this junk. It looks like my grandmother’s living room. The only thing missing are the cats.”

“Nah it’s all good. Remember, stuff, not junk. Stuff is cool.” That was Far Out.

“Well can’t you keep your stuff… somewhere that isn’t in this tiny room with the two of us? Somewhere far away?”

“Nope! Got nowhere else. Plus, I like looking at it all! So many cool things, from so many cool places! Like, check these out.”

Distant Voice rolled his eyes. He couldn’t see what was going on, but he didn’t need to.

“Far Out, those are rocks.” Sable Shield had a fantastic deadpan voice.

“Nuh uh.”

“Yes, they are. I can plainly see they are rocks. Little ugly grey ones.”

“Nope. I got them during our deployment to the Griffon city. They are special. They’re stones, not rocks.”

The little stallion could almost hear Sable Shield’s eye twitching, even across the hall.

“Don’t even say it.”

“Stones, from the Griffons. Griffon-stones, you might say. Get it?”

“I hate you.”

The little pony couldn’t help but crack a grin at the sound of Sable Shield suffering at the hooves of her stallmate. Luna knows he suffered enough at hers.

“Urk. This might take a few.”

Distant Voice’s ears swiveled back to Rapid Advance, who was seemingly doing battle with his own helmet. On closer inspection it seemed that he was restuffing the padding in it. Leave it to Rapid Advance to literally split the seams of his own barding. He rose once again, deciding it was time to leave before the large pony started popping straps or fasteners, or worse. It was a marvel his barding held together as well as it did, considering how often he wore it.

Grabbing his bugle in his mouth, he trotted towards the doorway of the stall, which he found partially blocked by the imposing rump of Rapid Advance. Not wanting to distract the pony from his own battle, he attempted to squeeze by. After two failed attempts, and a confused huh from the oblivious Rapid Advance, Distant Voice rushed forward and managed to shoot successfully out into the corridor, much like a cork from a thoroughly shaken bottle.

Unfortunately for Voice, this lead to a sudden, and rather forceful collision with Private Sable Shield, who was making her way back towards the common room.

“OW!” she yelled, as the small pony projectile impacted her side, causing her to stumble back against a stall door behind her and sent the horn, which had been in the stallion’s mouth, clattering to the floor between them. She quickly spun her head to face him, and glared. “Watch where you’re going short stuff, that hurt!”

Distant Voice stumbled back rubbing his head. “Aghh.. Sorry!” He thought about mentioning the fact that the mare was wearing her barding, that he was wearing nothing at all, and that his head had hit her on a large band of metal, but decided against it. She’d just scream at him more.

“At least look to see if anypony is in the way before you do something idiotic.” Sable shield glared at him, straightening herself into a more dignified pose.

“Look, I said I was sorry ok. You don’t need to be such a bully all the time.” Distant Voice sighed, and lowered his head to grab the fallen bugle in his teeth.

“Bully? Hardly. I am just the only one around here that takes her job seriously at all.”

The small stallion raised his head, his eyes narrowed in clear anger. “Reawly?” he said around the horn in his mouth. “You dwun’t caw tha ufferth namefth. Yow dwon’t insolt tham comstanly.”

Sable Shield stared at him in silence. Seconds went by. Ten, fifteen. Her eye twitched. “You are an idiot.”

“I kno. You dell me efrry day.”

The mare sucked in a breath, as if preparing to unleash a barrage of unpleasantries before she was abruptly cut off.

“Sable Shield.” came an unexpected voice.
Her head whipped to the left, only to meet the staring pink eyes of her sergeant, Watchful Eye.

“Oh. Hi Sarge!”

“Private,” he nodded to her, “I need you to go retrieve Star Duster, back in the armory. He deserves a chance to benefit from this time like the rest of us.

Sable Shield blinked, then her expression turned sour. “I just came from there. We just came from there. Can’t Dawn Trotter go get him? He’s quick, and not doing anything.”

“Nope, this is all you private,” said Watchful Eye. “Besides, with all those stairs, it’s good exercise. And by the look of it, you could probably use it.”

“What. Is that supposed to mean?” She looked half mad, half confused.

“You mean nopony has said anything to you? You are uh, getting a bit broad in the hindquarters, Private. A little run will do you good.”

“What.. Did you just? AGHH Nevermind.” Sable Shield’s eye was twitching again. She snorted, abruptly saluted Watchful Eye, before pushing past him and down the hallway.

Distant Voice watched her go, mildly confused. He turned to his sergeant, only to receive a mischievous wink from him, before the larger stallion moved past him and walked further down the hallway in the opposite direction, heading to his own stall. A massive grin spread across the smaller stallion’s muzzle, and he carried his horn triumphantly down the hallway towards the common room.

Entering the common room, he was met by the smiling form of Dawn Trotter, sitting exactly where he was when the captain had left earlier.

“Guess he was right,” said Dawn Trotter, chuckling to himself.

“Hunh”? Distant Voice paused, turning towards the seated bat pony.

“Watch said his Sarge sense was tingling,” the seated pony motioned with a forehoof, moving it in circles for effect, “so then he trots off into the stalls, and a few moments later, out comes an angry Sable Shield and a bugle player with a manic grin.”

Distant Voice nodded rapidly in response, confirming the other stallion’s conjecture, and with gusto.

“Pfft,” Dawn Trotter couldn’t hide his mirth, “sorry I missed it. Need any help in the armory? I’ve got time.”

Distant Voice was about to nod no, but hesitated. He hated to ask anypony to help him with anything, but Dawn was offering. And barding was much easier to get into with help, especially when pressed for time.

Dawn Trotter’s expression shifted from a broad grin to a subtle smirk, and he rose to his hooves. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Thanks. Do you think we could take the long way there?” The smaller pony asked hesitantly.

“You betcha. Avoiding Sable Shield is probably a good idea, yessiree. Star Duster can have have fun with that.” Dawn Trotter motioned to the door with his head, and together, the two ponies trotted out.

******

A sour-faced Sable Shield found herself approaching the door to the armory.

How did I get stuck with these idiots. Of all the squads I could have been assigned, I get the one specially designed to drive me insane. Why. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

Arriving at the door, the mare reared up, pushing it open with her forehooves. “Star? Sarge sent me to come fetch you. Please tell me I won’t actually need a bucket.” Sable walked a few steps into the armory, receiving no reply. She glanced around, seeing no sign of the pony she was sent to retrieve.

“Star Duster?” She ventured further into the armory. The room was medium sized, with a checkered tile floor, smooth stone walls bearing racks of weapons or tapestries, and rows of several pony-shaped stands, on which were sitting various sets of Lunar Guard barding. Sable Shield moved from barding stand to barding stand, even peeking behind a weapon rack. Her target was nowhere to be seen.

“Where the hay did he go?” she sighed. Annoyed, yet unsurprised, Sable Shield found it hard to get too mad at Star Duster. At least not often. Despite his frequent antics, especially with Dawn Trotter, the pony was otherwise an outstanding guard pony. She could even overlook his obnoxious fondness for musical numbers. He was a bit of a cut-up when stuck on garrison duty in the safe and comfortable confines of Canterlot, but in the field, he was different. He was young, one of the youngest in the company, and already had a decoration, earned on his very first deployment abroad. The pony was also resilient, knew the regulations to a tee, and always placed near the top in company physical competitions, especially those involving stamina. When push came to shove, he was a pony that she knew could be relied on, no matter how difficult the circumstances. These traits earned the stallion her respect, which was not a commodity easily acquired in the Lunar Guard. If only he wasn’t so annoying. If only he wasn’t so missing.

Sable Shield turned in one last circle, letting out a frustrated nicker. There were only so many places you could hide a full grown stallion in the room, and Star Duster wasn’t in any of them. She walked back towards the door, and out into the hallway, casting glances in either direction. To her left, the way she had just come from. To her right, the end of the hallway, and its window. A very open window. Raising an eyebrow, the mare walked towards the opening. If he had gone out the window for some reason, she supposed she might be able to see him from the vantage point.

Arriving at the window, the mare reared up, to get a better look, but instead was greeted by a face full of startled bat pony stallion.

“AGHHHHHHH!” both ponies shrieked in surprise, as the unexpected window-bound arrival of Star Duster sent the pair careening back into the hallway. They tumbled and skidded, coming to rest in a sprawling pile of limbs not far from the armory door.

“Guhhhhh...” Sable Shield groaned as her vision returned, though obstructed. She found herself pinned beneath a heavy warm mass. A moment passed, then suddenly, her pupils shrank to nearly invisible slits as she realized exactly what position she found herself in. She was pinned beneath Star Duster, and certain elements of the stallion’s anatomy which she was trying very hard not to think about, were pressing into the side of her face.

“Star Duster!” she shouted, trying to heave the pony off.

“Hnuhh?” he half responded.

“Star Duster GET THOSE THINGS OFF MY FACE RIGHT NOW OR I’LL GELD YOU WITH MY TEETH!”

The stallion rolled slowly off, coming to rest on his back beside her. To Sable Shield it seemed he responded more to her screaming than to the specific nature of the threat.

“Ughh.. You’ll what with your what,” he responded slowly, life seeming to return to his upturned form.

Sable Shield pushed herself back to her hooves, her face beet red. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it. Are you alright?”

“Yeahhh… Think so. Can’t say I saw this coming.” One of his hind legs twitched a bit. “What are you doing here, didn’t you go off with the sarge?”

“He sent me to come get you, it seems he-” Sable Shield paused mid sentence, suddenly noticing the fact that Star Duster’s coat and mane were soaking wet. “Why are you all wet?”

The stallion, still laying on his back with his legs curled in the air, responded. “That stupid polish. I got it everywhere, and I mean everywhere. There was no getting rid of it. So I just jumped out the window over there, flew down to the courtyard and jumped in the fountain. Couple of minutes later, problem solved!”

Sable Shield blinked. “You jumped into the fountain in the courtyard? The Palace courtyard? The public one visited by hundreds of tourist ponies a day? And then you took a freaking bath?”

“Uhhhh yeah,” he responded hesitantly, “but come on it’s night, it’s not like theres anypony there. I needed a LOT of water.”

The mare just shook her head, trying to forget everything she had just been told. She looked to the stallion on the ground in front of her, careful not to let her eyes wander. “You should probably get up.”

“Well I would, but you are standing on my wing.”

“Oh.” Sable shield lifted the offending hoof, then stepped back to give him some room. The stallion quickly rolled back onto his hooves, and pushed himself into a standing position. Without warning, the stallion stretched low and in an instant, began shaking madly, in much the same way a dog would. His two-tone blue mane and tail began to whip violently, and droplets of water soared through the air, covering everything around. The walls, the ceiling, and Sable Shield.

“Ahh, much bet-” Star Duster stopped abruptly upon meeting eyes with Sable Shield. A much wetter, red faced Sable Shield. He grinned uneasily, his eyes shifting rapidly side to side. She snorted in return.

“Lets go. Armory first so you can get your barding on then I drag you back to the stable to suffer with the rest of us.” She motioned with a hoof to the door of the armory, just ahead of them. Star Duster trotted past her, heading to the door, and she followed.

“Weren’t you just here awhile ago? You grabbed the sarge and dragged him away. Now me.” Star Duster trotted through the door into the armory, and towards a set of barding on one of the numerous stands. “Are you the company hitpony today or something?”

“Hardly. Sarge just decided it would be ‘fun’ to find me and make me come all the way up here again, despite the fact that Dawn Trotter, the fastest pony in the whole company, was already sitting in the common room doing absolutely nothing.”

Star Duster stopped at the stand holding his barding, and began to undo straps. He sighed lightly. “You were picking on Distant Voice again, weren’t you?”

“What, no. The little weasel smashed into me with no warning, and knocked me into the wall.”

The stallion shook his head. “Uh huh. You need to stop that Sable, he’s not a bad pony, and he’s my friend. He doesn’t deserve all the crap you give him. Help me out with this.”

Sable Shield walked over to the stallion and grabbed one of the rear armored panel’s of the barding between her teeth. Slowly she began to drag it backwards off the armor stand. When it had reached about half a pony’s length off, the other pony ducked under, and began wiggling up and into it. The mare continued pulling it over him, until it was roughly in the right position, at which point she released it.

“Yeah yeah. Maybe he just needs to toughen up a little. Or a lot. I wouldn’t trust him next to me in a battle line.” She moved to her friend’s side, ducked her head under his barrel, and began to set his barding’s cinch strap in place. “Listen Star. I would trust just about everypony else in the squad to watch my back. You, Dawn, Rapid, Watch, Even Far Out if I had to. Not him though. I don’t really know what he is even doing here. He barely ranks anywhere in the competitions and it’s a wonder he passes any of the physical tests.”

“He does pass them, though. All of them. Maybe he doesn’t ace them but there is more to the guard than pure physical capability, Sable. I think you dislike him because you don’t understand him at all. Or care to. There are things he is really good at.”

Sable Shield lifted the stallion’s helmet from the barding stand, and placed it firmly on his head. “Understand him? What’s there to understand? I understand that if we ever get into a serious fight one of us is probably going to have to rescue him. He’s a nerd, not a soldier.” She then brought her hoof down on the helmet, leaving the pony within with a pair of very crossed eyes.

“Ow.”

“Come on, let’s go. Hopefully we beat the captain back.” The seemingly victorious mare motioned towards the door with her head, and then walked out.

Sable’s ears swiveled back as she heard the sound of metal shod hooves clacking on tile. Star Duster was trotting up beside her, having clearly recovered from his brief eye issues. He settled into a walk beside her for a moment, before swinging his rump abruptly into her side, hip-checking her nearly into the wall.

“AAGHH!” she clattered to the side, momentarily off balance. Her head swung to face the offending stallion, and she gave him the most irate scowl she could manage.

“That’s for the helmet!” he grinned.

“What? I owed you that one. I had a face full of Star Duster just a few minutes before that if you remember. I think I owe you several more blows to the head, actually.”

The stallion chuckled, and Sable Shield could see a hint of crimson on his face beneath the helmet.

The mare raised an eyebrow, ruffling her wings slightly.

So he does remember that part. I swear if he does say anything he’s going to get more than a blow to the head.

“You know I think you just enjoy being mean,” Star Duster nodded, “and overbearing. And kind of a bi-”

“Yeah and you have a stupid cutie mark.”

“Ooh ouch. Toootally behind the cinch,” Star Duster replied, feigning offense.

“I mean seriously. A Star, with some kind of mop thing leaning against it? What does that even mean? That you were supposed to be some kind of space janitor?”

“It means that I am the star, clearly. And that I am really good at cleaning up messes left by awful ponies like you!” One of Star Dusters wings suddenly shot out, smacking Sable in the back of the neck.

“YOUCH!” she said. “You just wait. You have to sleep some time.”

Quickly the pair retraced their steps, and before long arrived once again at the stable barracks common room. Nodding in approval, Sable Shield noted to herself that most of the squad was now present, and all were wearing most of their barding. The only two missing seemed to be Dawn Trotter and Distant Voice.

“Welcome back you two,” said Watchful Eye, walking over to greet them. He gave Star Duster a long, appraising look. “I’m surprised you managed to get that all out. That had to take awhile.”
“Eh heh heh,” he said, his eyes darting from side to side again, “yeah, I managed eventually.”

Sable Shield rolled her eyes, moving to take a seat in the reforming circle of ponies. She thought about mentioning Star Duster’s illicit fountain bathing excursion, but figured doing so would rob her of the remaining physical blows she still owed him. She found those far, far more enjoyable. A moment later, the dubiously cleaned pony took a seat beside her.

Several awkward minutes passed. Sable used the time to fill Star Duster in on what she had learned so far.

“WHAT? Just us? Really? Nopony else from the company?” he asked.

“Nope, just us. We all had pretty much the same reaction.”

Star Duster cocked his head. “Well that makes about zero sense. There are like a hundred ponies in this company,” he waved a forehoof in the direction of the stalls, “how do we end up the only ones going?”

She shrugged. “No clue, but we will find out.”

As if on cue, the common room door opened, and every pony in the room immediately scrambled to their hooves. Winter Sky stepped through the open doorway, and paused to survey the room in front of him.

“At ease, everypony.” The captain entered, making his way over to Watchful Eye. “It seems I found a couple of cookies that fell off the sheet.” Dawn Trotter and Distant Voice, now fully armored, appeared behind the captain, nodded to their sergeant, and quickly moved to take their place amongst circle of ponies.

“Ah, yes,” said Watchful Eye, “They were just going to retrieve their barding, at my behest. I figured we should be expecting some kind of first call when you returned, judging by circumstances. And welcome back, Sir.”

Winter Sky blinked several times, then slowly craned his long neck around to take a second look at the assembled ponies. He paused briefly on each, clearly noting the barding that all present were now wearing. “Well that is convenient.”

Watchful Eye nodded to his captain and began to survey the room himself. To Sable Shield it seemed as if he were waiting for Winter Sky to say something, and he didn’t wait long, as the captain’s head quickly swung back to him.

“Thank you Watch, this saves me some time. I take it with these two, we have the complete set?”

“Yes sir, Cookie is all present and accounted for.”

“Very good then,” Winter Sky then turned again from the sergeant, looking to the room at large. “All of you ponies, on me. We’re taking a walk.” With that, the captain quickly spun in place, and walked back out the door.

“You heard the stallion,” said Watchful Eye, “lets go everypony. By twos.” With that, the group, lead by Watchful Eye, quickly gathered and followed through the door. After a brief trot, Watchful Eye sidled up to the officer, with the rest of the squad falling into line behind the pair.

“When we get to the the main doors, we are going skyside. Standard transit, formed on me,” said Winter Sky, nodding to the sergeant beside him.

Watchful Eye nodded in return. “Yes sir. May I ask where we are going?”

“Up. Straight up. There are some things I wish to say to the squad concerning our new mission, and I wish to do it with some measure of privacy.”

The group kept a brisk pace, and before long found itself at the main doors to the Tower of the Moon. Without hesitation, Winter Sky pushed it open, and led them out into the moonlight. Once far enough from the tower that everypony was clear, he paused.

Watchful Eye quickly turned to face the following ponies. “We are heading up. Everypony on the captain, standard Vee.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Winter Sky launched himself into the air, his membranous wings beating furiously as he climbed. He rose quickly, and in an instant, the rest of the squad was also airborne, swiftly melting into the ordered formation behind him.

Sable Shield found herself at the trailing left edge of the formation. Her wings pounded with rhythmic precision as she moved swiftly through the air with her comrades. She grinned. This was more her style. The order and military sureness of a group of Lunar Guard in flight never failed to get her blood pumping, and there were few places that she felt more at home than in the air among her squad mates. Below her, the moonlit spires of the great city of Canterlot rose, great pillars of marble and gold that seemed to reach for the very moon itself. There was nothing like the the city of Canterlot in moonlight. Doubly so for a bat pony, specially gifted with eyesight all the better suited to take it in.

She tore her eyes away from the city, returning her concentration to the formation. She had drifted a bit, too little to be noticed by anypony but herself, but enough. The distraction was worth it, but now she had to concentrate on where she was going. The formation was turning subtly to the left, and appeared to be approaching a large cloud. The air was cold, and growing colder, and the smaller ponies in the formation were just starting to show signs of it. If they were going to land on this cloud, and it sure seemed like they were about to, it was an unusually high altitude to do so.

“We are landing on that cloud below and left.” shouted Winter Sky. “On my signal, diving approach, wheel left.” A few moments passed as the formation began to pass over. “WHEEL DOWN!”

As one, the formation of bat ponies spun left and down as a single entity, diving straight for the surface of the cloud. As they neared it, the formation leveled out slightly, reducing their speed and angle of approach to something far better suited for landing. “On one, flare and alight.” the captain yelled. “Three...Two...ONE!”

In unison, every pair of wings beat hard, and the ponies reared back, all dropping onto the cloud a short distance below. Sable Shield found herself standing on the cloud next to Dawn Trotter, still in formation.

“Very good,” said Winter Sky, nodding. He turned to face the flight of Lunar Guard, standing where they landed, in near perfect formation. “At ease, everypony.” Each pony adopted a slightly more relaxed posture. Sable Shield glanced around at her squadmates, flexing and stretching her wings a bit.

“I guess we find out what’s going on now.” She said to Dawn Trotter, who craned his neck to face her.

“Yeah. About time! All this weirdness was well, weird!” he said.

“That is certainly one way to put it, private.” Winter Sky’s voice clearly caught Dawn Trotter off guard, as his head immediately whipped back to face the officer and his tail swished erratically. The little grey mare couldn’t help but grin.

“You lot, here if you would,” Winter Sky motioned with a wing in front of him, in a vague arc. The assembled ponies shambled forward, forming a rough semicircle in front of him. Sable slid in beside Dawn Trotter, maintaining her far left position.

Content with the new position of his ponies, Winter Sky nodded and began to speak. “No doubt you are curious as to what you are doing on a random cloud, high above the city of Canterlot.”

Sable Shield raised an eyebrow, and nodded with the rest of the ponies. The captain continued.

“You are here because what I am about to tell you, I wish to tell you with some degree of privacy. For now, the details of our mission are being kept rather need-to-know.” The captain began to pace in front of the group. Sable watched him closely, eager for more information. Like every pony present, her ears had immediately perked up at the mention of the word ‘mission’, and were now turning to follow the captain as he paced.

“As for that mission...” the captain paused, “it seems we have been selected to perform a rather special bit of Nightwork.”

Sable grinned broadly beneath her helmet. She could sense a sudden energy surge through everypony. Now that’s more like it.

“Oooohhhh sneakytimes,” said Star Duster, somewhere to her right. She leaned forward and looked in his direction, down the crescent shaped gathering of ponies. She saw him, grinning as she was. Beside him, Distant Voice was absentmindedly flapping his wings, repeatedly smacking a completely oblivious and stoic looking Rapid Advance in the side. Far Out just stood there with that stupid grin she always wore, but seemed to be bobbing up and down slightly. Even Watchful eye, at the far end, had a foreleg raised, and his tail moved back and forth like an excited serpent. Dawn Trotter, next to her, was even doing his weird slow motion half prance in place. It seemed that she wasn’t the only pony here to be excited for the chance to do what the Lunar Guard does best.

Nightwork. A term confined mostly to the Lunar Guard. Not your run of the mill garrison or patrol work, it’s what made the Lunar Guard special. Recon. Stealth. Observation. Sabotage. Hit and fade. The sneaky business that came naturally to the nocturnal. Nothing in Equestria goes bump in the night quite like a bat pony.

Winter Sky raised an eyebrow briefly but continued. “A bit of distant reconnaissance, to be exact.” He reached one end of the group, directly in front of Sable Shield, before turning around and pacing in the other direction. “There is however, one caveat.”

The whole of Cookie squad continued in their little celebration. Sable Shield found her grin growing broader.

“It is on an another planet.”

The celebratory actions of the gathered ponies suddenly slowed, until the ponies seemed frozen mid action. Sable Shield’s grin had melted into a confused frown. To her right, Dawn Trotter was stuck in a seemingly impossible two legged mid-prance pose. Each member of the squad was similarly affected. An awkward silence fell on all. Seven sets of eyes blinked in confusion.

“What,” said Rapid Advance. The confused voice of the massive pony seemed to jar the others out of their stupor.

“Like, aliens?” asked Far Out. Her tone seemed strangely hopeful.

Watchful Eye seemed the most confused. His eyes were darting between the captain, the squad, the cloud, and just about everywhere else. Sable Shield had never seen the sergeant look so out of sorts. He seemed to mutter something at first, before finally finding his voice. “I, uh, I would think this was an elaborate prank if it were any other pony.”

“Maybe it is?” said Sable Shield. Perhaps she had misjudged the captain. Maybe there was a little bit of a prankster in him after all?

“I am afraid not,” answered Winter Sky. He studied the reactions of Cookie squad, giving them a moment to think.

“It’s the portal, isn’t it?” asked Distant Voice. “The one to the Lost Colony?

Winter Sky looked to the small stallion, nodding approvingly. He walked over, stopping directly in front of him. “Very good private. That was quick.”

Distant Voice shrank back slightly, clearly unused to being under such close officer scrutiny. “Umm I, err, Dawn Trotter and me..”

“We’re huge nerds!” yelled Dawn Trotter.

Winter Sky turned to look at at the interrupting pony, eyebrow raised, before returning his attention to the much smaller stallion in front of him. “Is that so?”

“Uh, yeah! Giant nerds. History included,” Distant Voice seemed to be regaining a bit of confidence. “The story of New Neighton is pretty famous, well, to ponies that care about that kind of stuff. Which we do! We’ve even talked about it before. Dawn thinks they were all eaten by a giant space slug or something.”

“Star Snake!” the pony yelled, “they are totally a real thing in space!”

Sable Shield rolled her eyes at the exchange. This was definitely not where she expected things to be going just a moment ago.

It was the captain’s turn to look confused. He appeared to be trying to come up with some kind of response.

“Those aren’t real Dawn! I told you before! Aghh.” Disant Voice turned his attention back to Winter Sky. “Sorry sir. He’s a bit, uh, less of a history nerd than I am. He’s more a comic type nerd.”

The captain snorted. “...I see.”

“So, sir?” said Watchful Eye, stepping forward. His eyes shifted between the captain and Distant Voice. “Is he right then? The lost colony? Really? After all this time? Did somepony come back?”

Winter Sky nodded once more to Distant Voice, before stepping back and turning to face the inquiring sergeant. “You’ve all heard, at least at some point, the general story of New Neighton. A strange world, well beyond the veil. A town ponies built there. Its sudden disappearance eighty-six years ago when the the magical gateway that connected it suddenly stopped working,” he paused a moment, waiting for the others to signal their comprehension. After each of them nodded in quick succession, he continued: “What I am going to to tell you now, is a part of the story you have not heard. Something no pony, save a very privileged few at the very top of the Equestrian government, has ever heard.”

In an instant, the posture of both Distant Voice and Dawn Trotter changed. Sable glanced between them, and the captain. They were glued to him like foals to a puppet show. She noted that Watchful Eye’s tail was swishing again as well. Curious, no doubt. The sergeant, to his credit, often tried to exude an aura of calm responsibility, but his tail always gave him away. He wasn’t as bad as Star Duster, but she considered him up there.

“The portal collapse was, in reality, not entirely without warning,” Winter Sky continued, “a very short time before it occurred, Equestria received a signal scroll from the colony’s Solar Guard garrison. It contained two words: Shattered Spear.”

As one, seven jaws dropped open. A tense silence enveloped the group. Sable Shield attempted to mouth the words to herself in silence, finding it hard to believe she had just heard them from the captain himself. She saw Dawn Trotter and Distant Voice slowly turn to face one another in unison, but they said nothing, and just stared. Watchful Eye just seemed to be staring, unblinking at the captain. Far Out was impossible to read.

“That is impossible,” said Rapid Advance. The large form of the corporal took a step forward, and he addressed Winter Sky directly. “If the garrison had been destroyed, the colony overrun...If so many ponies had met their end in such a way the Princess surely would have said something. Addressed the nation? How can the violent deaths of an entire city of ponies be kept a secret?”

“That was my first thought as well, corporal,” said Winter Sky, “but we don’t actually know what happened. We don’t know how or even if all those ponies died. We know very little, other than the fact the brave ponies of the colony garrison met a foe they could not overcome, or escape. There were other factors as well, some that were not shared with me, that contributed to the decision to keep the event a secret. It is a mystery. One of our greatest, and it is attempting to find even part of an answer that is our mission. We are to travel through the restored gateway, perform reconnaissance of the surrounding area and maybe, if possible, find some clue to the fate of the ponies that once lived there.”

Rapid Advance nodded slowly, and seemed to accept the captain’s answer.

“I thought Shattered Spear was just a legend. An old guardspony story?” said Star Duster. His ears were pinned, and his blue tail hung limply behind him. “What kind of...thing could those Solar Guard have met, that caused them to send a “please leave us to die” letter back home?”

“We don’t know private. But hopefully, we may find some clue. Remember everypony- This town stood, in happiness and peace, for more than twenty years. It grew and prospered. Twenty years on the planet in question with nothing scary or dangerous to be seen,” Winter Sky shifted his gaze between the assembled ponies as he spoke, “remember, it’s been eighty-six years since that signal was sent. Eighty-six years since whatever happened, happened. The preliminary look using a scrying construct showed nothing at all, just trees and grass. Whatever happened there, it’s been over for decades.” His voice had taken on a more reassuring tone.

“Also...” Winter Sky hesitated, “we leave tomorrow, just after noon. I want everypony to get as much rest as you can as soon as we get back in. Keep your barding and other accoutrements with you in your stalls. We are skipping the normal armory shenanigans, plan on using the saved time for a bit more sleep.”

Sable Shield’s head slumped, and a chorus of groans rose all around her. An obnoxiously early start was more than enough to get Cookie Squad passed their hesitant uneasiness, and into the far more familiar land of grumbling discontent.

“Noon? Ahhhhh I hate waking up early. Especially that early,” said Star Duster.

“Noooot cool,” added Far Out.

“Why so early?” asked Sable Shield, in a tone as close to demanding as she thought she could get away with. “Noon seems better suited to the Solar Guard.”

“Because,” said Winter Sky, “There is a time difference. Noon in Canterlot equates to very near dusk at our destination.”

“Oh.”

“So, to reiterate.” continued Winter Sky, clearing his throat. “Our orders are to assemble tomorrow, at noon. Watchful Eye will get you your specific equipment assignments before you hit the hay this evening. First call will be an hour before departure. We will then proceed to, and through, the New Neighton portal, and conduct the mission we have been assigned. Everypony understand?”

“Yes sir!” said all seven ponies, as one.

“Very good then. Watchful Eye, if you would, take this lot home and put them to bed. There is one more duty I must attend to before I do the same.”

Watchful Eye stepped forward, hiking his tail and left foreleg in a salute. “Yes Sir! Alright everypony. On me. Same formation. We are heading back to the barn.” He then turned and leapt onto the edge of the cloud, spreading his wings.

Sable Shield sprang into action, scrambling back into her position on the far left edge of the vee formation. No time to think about what she had just been told. Probably intentional, knowing Winter Sky. A moment later, the sergeant, wings spread, hurled himself from the side of the cloud, disappearing from view. She launched into a gallop, and with a great flap of her wings, once again found herself soaring through the moonlit skies high above the capital.

******

Chapter 3 - Departure

Rapid Advance yawned, blinking his eyes awake. Casting them about his overly cramped stall, he noted the form of his stallmate, Distant Voice, curled into a tight ball just across from him. He paused a moment, observing the sleeping stallion. Slowly, quietly, he managed to extricate himself from his bunk. Squeezing his bulky frame out of the stall, he began to make his way down the depressingly narrow stable hallway, and towards the (thankfully much larger) common room. His ears twitched, picking up a subtle clanking somewhere ahead of him.

Somepony must be up already.

Following the sounds, Rapid quickly made it to the threshold of the common room, and located their source. Moving quickly, if quietly about the empty room was the unmistakable reddish hued form of Watchful Eye. Rapid paused, watching the pony at work. He seemed to be focused on some sort of kettle on the far counter, his haunches swaying to and fro as if to some unheard beat. The large pony narrowed his eyes, trying to see exactly what it was the other stallion was working on. Then the smell hit him.

“Evening Watch. Err afternoon. Morning? Whatever the blazes it is. I smell coffee.” Rapid’s nostrils flared as if to punctuate his statement. The smaller stallion’s smooth moves came to an abrupt stop.

“That you do. It’s good stuff, too. If this doesn’t wake this herd of maniacs up, nothing in Equestria will.” Watchful Eye slapped something metallic with his hoof, then turned to face the corporal. He was grinning, and his large pink eyes seemed far too sparkly for this hour of the day.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t see you dancing,” said Rapid, moving around the table in the center of the room, “at least, I won’t remember seeing it if the coffee is good enough.” A small smile slowly formed on the large stallion’s muzzle. “As for the others, they’ll be up, coffee or not.”
Still grinning himself, if somewhat sheepishly, Watchful Eye raised an eyebrow. “Well that sounds ominous.”

“I can be a very ominous pony,” Rapid moved past the other stallion to sniff at the brewing coffee.

“Mmhmm.”

Rapid swiveled an ear as the smaller stallion sidled up to him. Together they stared expectantly at the pot. Several silent minutes passed.

“So, what do you think?” said Watchful Eye.

“Shouldn’t it be done by now?” Rapid said, sniffing at the pot again.

Watch rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. This mission of ours.”

Rapid Advance snorted. “It’s all Nightwork.”

“Well yeah, it’s kind of what we do,” chuckled Watchful Eye, flapping his wings lightly for effect.

“Yes yes, I know. There is just something to be said about a stand up fight. I am not particularly suited to this sneaking business.”

“You don’t say.”

“That grin of yours is infuriating, you know.”

“I do.”

Rapid Advance glared, then turned back to the the pot, giving it one last sniff. “About time.”

Grabbing two small metal cups from a stack near the pot, he began to carefully to fill them.

“You know what I mean, Watch. There are some things I excel at. Others, not so much. If you want sneaky, Voice is your pony. My skills are suited more for direct approach. I am built to face problems head on, not hide from them behind a rock that is entirely too small to conceal me.” Rapid finished with a note of bitterness that could come only from experience.

Watchful Eye tried vainly to suppress a laugh.

“Oh, that was good. I don’t actually think there was anything out there that could have hidden all of you. But hey, it ended worse for the griffon. “

“That it did. See, the Griffonstone operation, that’s what I mean. The incident with the sentry aside, I was able to make a real difference there. Not with that sneaking nonsense. But with these,” Rapid stomped a hoof on the ground for emphasis, “they couldn’t argue with them.”

Watchful Eye took a sip of his coffee, keeping his eyes pinned to his friend. He seemed to be thinking.

“That’s true. I don’t want to think about how that business at the north wall would have ended if you hadn’t been there to do your thing. And Dista-”

“HE would have been just fine,” Rapid cut in abruptly, “he’s a tough little pony.”

An awkward moment of silence passed, and Rapid continued. “Just a shame we couldn’t take the place. I still think we could have, if we’d been given more time.”

“Maybe so. But would it really have been worth it? Especially with it turning out the idol wasn’t even there. What a mess,” said Watchful Eye.

“I suppose you are right. I still can’t believe those bird brains duped us. With the number of ponies we lost in that assault, we could have at least been allowed to to take the place, idol or no.”

“Not everypony shared your optimism Rapid. It was their capital after all. A royal residence, no less. Those weren’t ordinary griffon guards we were fighting. The whole thing was a bloody mess. Once we knew it wasn’t there, well, I think they made the right call to pull us out. The king and the idol were gone. Hay, they were never there in the first place. They led us by the reins.”

Rapid Advanced snorted, looking to his friend. “You’re right of course. You usually are. I just wish that hadn’t been for nothing. Nothing shouldn’t have a price that high.”

The pink-eyed bat stallion took another sip of his coffee, nodding slowly. “The Lieutenant?”

Rapid nodded in return.

“I know how you feel,” said Watchful Eye, before letting out a sigh, “and if that wasn’t bad enough, they still haven’t sent us a replacement. This would be a perfect time to introduce somepony, when we’re stood down like this. Give the others a chance to get to know them, that sort of thing. And poor Winter Sky, those two were close.”

“Replacements,” Rapid spat, “No pony can be replaced. The LT least of all.”

Watchful Eye nodded, staring at his cup for a silent moment. Slowly, he raised it to eye level directly in front of the larger stallion. “To Guiding Star.”

Rapid smiled, lifted his own cup, and touched it to the side of his friend’s. “In memory still bright.”

Watchful Eye placed his own cup on the table, took a deep breath, and turned to face his friend once more. His grin had returned. “Well, we didn’t come away totally empty hooved. You did acquire quite a reputation. I think some of the Solar Guard are actually afraid of you.”

“You take down one Griffon royal guard single hoofedly and suddenly everypony is giving you funny looks. What a world.”

Watchful Eye chuckled. “Nightwork or not, I’m glad you are coming with us on this one, Rapid.”

A quiet moment passed, broken only by the sound of snoring from one of the closer stalls to the common room.

“Well,” said Watchful Eye, “I suppose it’s about time to wake up the foals.”

“That it is. If only to to put an end to that horrid noise.”

******

“You get the fillies, I’ll handle the colts,” said Rapid.

Watchful Eye nodded, heading down the long hallway that ran between the rows of stalls in the stable barracks. Rapid watched him for a moment, as he moved towards the stall housing the squad’s two mares.

The large bat pony began down the hall himself, stopping just a few doors in. Turning abruptly to the right, he rapped loudly on the door three times, and waited for a response. Snoring. He repeated the action, and listened.

“Zzzeeeeeeeeee” came the response from the other side.

Rapid Advance’s eyes quickly fell to a half lidded state. The speed at which these particular ponies could rob him of his patience never ceased to amaze him.

“I’m coming in, and you are getting up,” Rapid quickly popped the handle to the stall door and kicked it in with his foreleg, sending it flying open with a bang. “And who actually says ‘ZZZ’ when they are pretending to be asleep? Really.”

He glanced around the tiny darkened stall, his night-tuned easily discerning the details of the stall. It was clean, as any stall in a Lunar Guard stable barracks was bound to be. Even if it is the sort of clean you only get from guardsponies more interested in hanging posters than making their bunks.

Quickly his eyes fell upon the blanket-covered forms of Star Duster and Dawn Trotter, on beds against either wall. Noting their utter lack of movement, he stepped further into the tiny room. Suddenly, he found himself the target of a pair of fast moving pillows, striking his face from either side. Rapid was unamused.

“Do that again and I am going to tie both of your wings together. Into a nice bow.”

Finally, a mutual groan of complaint signaled the pair’s compliance, and Rapid Advance backed out of the stall, leaving the door open. Nodding in satisfaction, he headed a bit further down the hallway and across it, to the door of the stall he shared with Distant Voice. Easing the door open, the stallion entered, immediately noting the form of his stallmate still curled into a tight ball on top of his bunk. Rapid knocked on the nearby wall several times.

“Hey, Voice, time to be up.” No response. He moved up to the sleeping form of the tiny stallion and repeated himself, this time shaking the bed a bit. “Time to get up!” No effect. The form of the smaller pony stirred slightly, but didn’t rise.

“DISTANT VOICE!” he yelled. Still no effect.

How the hay can such a little pony be such a heavy sleeper?

“Alright,” he snorted, “I’ve had enough of this nonsense from you lot.” Reaching into the hooflocker near him, Rapid Advance rifled about.

“Aha!” he exclaimed, withdrawing the spiraled form of his stallmate’s bugle in triumph. The massive pony looked over the shiny horn, to the sleeping form of Distant Voice beyond.

“You’ve left me no choice, my little friend.”

With a deep breath, Rapid blew. What came out was quite possibly the loudest, most vile note to ever sound from a Lunar Guard signal horn.

Distant Voice’s eyes immediately shot open. The little pony launched straight into the air. A thud echoed through the tiny room as the unfortunate pony struck his head on the ceiling, crashing back down onto the bed in a tangled mass of wings and legs. Quickly the pony sprang back to all fours, back arched and wings spread wide, as in some vain attempt to appear threatening. His head and eyes darted frantically side to side, seemingly trying to make sense of the situation.

Rapid advanced blinked, then snickered. He tossed the bugle onto the bed immediately in front of the tiny, fierce looking pony, whose eyes instantly snapped to it.

“Good morning, Voice. You’ll need that.” Still snickering, Rapid Advance backed out of the stall, turned and began back down the hallway towards the common room. He didn’t get far before he heard it. A high-pitched, indignant wail echoed down the hallway behind him.

“RAPID ADVANCE!”

Rapid kept walking. One ear swiveled to the rear as he heard Watchful Eye, Sable Shield and Far out coming slowly up behind him. Immediately in front, the forms of Star Duster and Dawn Trotter were finally emerging from their pillow-infested stall.

“Ughh what was that horrible sound?” said Dawn Trotter, “my poor ears are crying.”

“That’s just your brain leaking out, Dawn,” said Star Duster, coming up behind him.

“Yeah, from spending too much time with you,” Dawn said, mid yawn.

Rapid moved past the pair, grinning slightly. Continuing on into the common room, he turned and watched the others filing in behind him. Star Duster. Dawn Trotter. Sable Shield. A frustratingly awake and cheerful looking Far Out. Slowly, the (mostly) tired looking bat ponies entered, shambling straight for the coffee. Watchful Eye came last, driving his herd towards caffeinated salvation.

“Get it while you can, won’t be time to make another properly,” said Watchful Eye, waving a wing in the area of the coffee, “and make sure to get something to eat too! We won’t be stopping by the mess hall!”

Rapid dropped to his haunches, observing the ritual. It was always the same, and never ceased to amuse him. The fact that several of these ponies didn’t even like coffee made it all the more entertaining to him.

Friendship is coffee beans, I suppose.

Eventually the diminutive form of Distant Voice appeared, wings still fully spread. Rapid watched the little pony glance cautiously around the common room, locking his gaze on the coffee pot. As if hit by some sudden realization, he flapped his wings and galloped full tilt towards the group.

******

Awake and satisfactorily caffeinated, the seven bat ponies went about the business of donning their barding and gathering belongings. Rapid Advance sat in the corner of the common room, fully armored save for his helmet, Distant Voice at his side.

“Sorry about that,” said Rapid.

“I don’t really think you are,” Distant Voice replied, somewhat cheekily, “hey, can you get that?” He gestured to his back with a hoof.

Rapid nodded, untwisting a a pair of straps that ran between the smaller pony’s wings. “Hmm probably not. It’s far too effective a technique. In fact, I may ask to borrow that thing for the others at some point.”

“First call in five,” said Watchful Eye, walking past the pair. The sergeant, now in full armor and kit, moved through the center of the common room. As each pony caught sight of him, their pace seemed to increase.

“Just about showtime,” said Distant Voice, quickly rising to his hooves.

Rapid nodded and followed suit, heaving himself off his haunches. He quickly popped on his helmet, and gave Voice’s partially donned helmet a solid thump for good measure, forcing it down over his eyes. “That it is.”

“Gahhh!”

Rapid snickered, moving to the center of the room. All around him ponies hurriedly went about the final stages of preparation. He couldn’t help but grin as he saw the forms of proper Lunar Guardsponies start to emerge all around him. A Lunar Guard geared for deployment was a rather different sight than the clean armored sentinels that most ponies were used to seeing; While the barding itself was the very same, over it was set and fastened an entire herd of accoutrements and field gear. While the exact specifics of how each pony carried some particular items was a matter of personal preference, the larger pieces were mostly the same. Over each set of barding was worn a large set of saddlebags. On top, and and typically woven between those, was a length of blanket, rolled or folded tight. While the saddlebags themselves were technically designed to house the guardspony’s blanket, most opted instead to wear it wrapped externally, and to carry more food in the bag instead. Hanging from the side of each pony, directly behind the saddlebags, was a metal canteen, clad in wool dyed Lunar Blue. Finishing off the look was a plumed helmet, each plume matching the colors of its owner’s mane and tail.

In a few short minutes, every pony present was standing fully armored, together in the center of the common room. Watchful Eye paced quickly back and forth, nodding here and there, eyeing each pony in turn.

“Well, that was quick,” he grinned, “everypony in line if you would.”

The six ponies quickly fell into line, facing Watchful Eye, who stood in the center of the common room. The chatter of ponies was replaced by the clink and creak of barding, and the heavy clopping of warshoes. The armored forms of the seven ponies reflectlected the dim light of the stable barracks in the strange purple hues that only the barding of the Lunar Guard could produce. The sergeant paused a moment, withdrawing a small of bit of paper from one of his saddlebags with his mouth. With a flourish, he extended a wing, impaling the top of the paper on the tip of his wing claw, before nodding.

“Now that everypony is hopefully awake, I’ll try to get through this immense muster list as quickly as I can.”

“Rapid Advance.”

Rapid quickly stepped forward, hiking his tail and lifting a foreleg. “Present.” Just as quickly, he stepped back into line.

“Dawn Trotter.”

The spunky grey stallion stepped forward, performing the same motion as Rapid. “Present!”

Quickly, the sergeant called the names of the remaining ponies. Seemingly satisfied he had accounted for everyone, he stuffed the little paper into the front of his barding.

“Well then, seems all the cookies are in the jar. No escapees either, that’s always a good sign,” he was met by a few snickers. “Before we head down to requisitions, a few things.” Watchful Eye turned, walking a short distance to a dark bag that was sitting unnoticed in a corner of the room. Taking the top of it in his teeth, he dragged it back to the assembled bat ponies.

Rapid looked at the bag curiously, quite confused as to how it escaped his notice. He watched as the sergeant fumbled with it a bit, before finally managing to get it open. The reddish stallion’s head vanished momentarily into the bag, before emerging with some kind of tube in his mouth.

“Thiffs,” Watchful Eye stopped, blinking, before dropping to his haunches and spitting the tube into his forehooves. “Ahem. This, is something you should never leave home without. Hopefully, we won’t need it on this one, but you know how quick plans can change. I sure wish we had it on the last one.” Suddenly, the tube was sailing through the air.

In one swift motion, Rapid had it in his teeth. Dropping it into a forehoof, he examined it. It was blue, and on its front was a large picture of a bat pony wearing sunglasses. Behind the pony, the sun, wearing a rather flustered expression. Above, in large lettering: ‘GRUMPY SUN’. “What?”

“Yeah, what?” echoed a perplexed looking Dawn Trotter. All Eyes turned to the little blue bottle in Rapid’s hoof.

“Sunblock!” said Watchful Eye. Extending both his wings, flapping them for effect. “For your wings. Remember Griffonstone?” An audible ‘Ohhhhh.’ of comprehension swept down the line of ponies. “The palace spa of all places had a bunch of it.”

Rapid Advance winced. He vividly remembered that pain. Working alongside the Solar Guard. Having to cover large distances in daylight. The awful, horribly toasted wings they all got from spending so much time in the air beneath that horrid, angry sun.

“Watch, you are a saint. Sable, be a dear and kiss him would you?”

“Wait WHAT?” yelled a blindsided Sable Shield.

Watchful Eye returned his head to the bag, withdrawing more bottles and tossing one to each pony in turn. He then paused, allowing the group to examine them.

“So, uh, how do we put this stuff on, anyway. ” asked Far Out. “It’s all super goopy and stuff.”

Watchful Eye looked her straight in the eye, saying nothing. She looked back. Several awkward moments passed as the two stood stock still, staring at one another, silent and unblinking.

Finally, Watchful Eye blinked. “Oh. I thought it was a spray.”

“The Spa he says,” Rapid shook his head.

“Sooooo...” said Star Duster, “Who’s oiling up the Captain?”

******

With a loud ‘thud’ the heavy wooden door to the Tower of the Moon began to swing open. Behind it, shielding their eyes from the invading sunlight, stood the seven armored bat ponies. Around them the familiar pale light of the tower interior was replaced by the obscene brightness of the noonday sun. Rapid took a deep breath, steeling himself for what was to come.

“Stars above!” he winced, closing his eyes completely, “too bright.”

“I wish there were stars above,” said Distant Voice.

“I hate this already,” said Star Duster, stamping a hoof.

“Pretty sure the sun hates you right back,” added Dawn Trotter.

“I hate Star Duster too,” Sable Shield chimed in.

Far Out just smiled.

Watchful Eye sighed, bringing a forehoof to his face. “We haven’t even set one hoof out of the Tower and it starts.” With a snort and a motion of his head, he lead the others through the door and onto the cobblestones of the palace courtyard. Stopping, he turned, and without saying a word, began to pull, push, and nose the various straps and buckles of his charges. Finding one of Star Duster’s barding straps loose, he took it in his teeth, pulling it tight.

Star Duster rolled his eyes. “Thanks mom.”

Watchful Eye glared at him, moving back to his original position. Taking a deep breath he turned, as if to address the group again, but stopped, blinking. “Oooh.”

“Oooh?” Asked Rapid, confused.

Watch said nothing, just pointed with a hoof, directly up and behind the group. Rapid Advance cocked his head, then turned to see what the sergeant was pointing at. “Oooh.”

The Tower of the Moon rose high into the fierce, blue sky of the Equestrian noon. It shone with an almost unearthly light, a shimmering spire of pearl and silver, topped with a dome the color of the midnight sky. The dome itself shone in a nearly supernatural way, an island of pure starlight, standing tall and proud, in seeming defiance of the overpowering rays of the noonday sun. But beneath the starlit dome, taking in those very rays of sunlight, and shining with a radiance that surpassed all else on the Tower, was a great crystal set in silver, hewn into the shape of a crescent moon.

“Wow,” said Star Duster, having turned to see for himself, “I..I’ve never seen the Moon Tower in this kind of light before.”

“Me either,” said Watch, coming out of his stupor, “it must be the lack of clouds.”

“And the fact we are never up at noon.” added Dawn Trotter.

“Well then,” said Watchful Eye, tearing his eyes from the tower, “now that we can mostly see, we are heading to requisitions. Going skyside, at the route step.” With one swift beat of his bat-like wings, he was airborne.

Rapid watched his friend ascend a moment, then launched himself into the air. Around him he heard the sound of beating wings, and knew that his comrades had done the same. Within a few short moments, he had caught up to Watch, and pulled alongside him.

The sergeant glanced back, seeing Rapid on his wing. “After we get our gear, Captain Winter is waiting for us in the room with the doorway. Portal. Whatever the hay that thing is.”

“I figured as much,” Rapid nodded.

“Along with a special mystery guest, who is totally not Marshal Prominence.”

“The Marshal himself there to see us off? Should I feel flattered, or terrified?”

“A bit of both, probably,” Watch squinted his eyes, turned to a new heading, and began to descend. His maroon mane blew back as he did, and his tail whipped in the airflow behind him. “Honestly I am surprised how well everyone is handling this after what we learned last night.”

Rapid Advance followed, and could see their destination approaching below. The magical requisitions building was a medium sized, heavily built structure sitting well away from the Palace and Towers proper, though still within the walls of the palace compound. Housed within were the stranger, rarer, and more esoteric items and artifacts employed by the Guard, and many of the most dangerous. Due to the unpredictable, and often combustible, nature of such items, the form and location of the building made perfect sense to him. “They’ve probably already forgotten the scary part.”

Watchful Eye chuckled. “Probably so.”

“I didn’t,” said Distant Voice, seemingly out of nowhere.

Both ponies snapped their heads to the space between them. Where a scant second before had been empty air, now flapped Distant Voice. His wings beat visibly harder than the other’s as he kept pace.

“Sneaky little pony,” snickered Rapid Advance.

Distant Voice returned a grin, then looked to Watchful Eye. “Sarge, I am definitely nervous about this. I know Dawn is too. But what Captain Winter said is true, it’s been like 80 years since whatever happened, happened. That’s an entire lifetime ago. I guess what I mean is, having thought about it, I am more excited than nervous. We are going to another planet! But more than that...” Voice’s eyes grew large, and to Rapid, it seemed that they began to sparkle. “We are getting the chance to solve one of the biggest mysteries in pony history! The lost Colony! If we can find some answers, that would be like learning the fate of Discord, or finding the wreck of the Ardent Heart!” He clopped his forehooves together in excitement. “And all on an entirely new planet!”

“I am noticing a theme here,” Watchful Eye smiled, glancing to the ringed planet adorning the small pony’s flank. The trio flew on a few moments more, descending as they went. Quickly they came upon their destination, the main entrance of the Magical Requisitions building. Six pairs of hooves hit cobblestones in near unison, the clack of metal warshoes on stone loudly announcing their arrival. Shortly after, more shoes hit stone as the remaining ponies joined them.

“Alright, after me,” said Watch, heading to the nearby door. It was an imposing wooden affair, clad in shining steel. “And don’t touch anything that isn’t given to you by myself or somepony that knows what they are doing. This place is built to handle mishaps, but I don’t know if it can handle all of us.” He rapped heavily on the door three times, and waited. A moment later, a small rectangular panel in the door slid open, and a pair of curious eyes appeared within it.

“Magical Requisitions. State your business,” came a voice from the other side of the door.”

“Sergeant Watchful Eye. Here on behalf of Captain Winter Sky, fifth company, Second Canterlot Lunar Guard regiment. Special assignment. Came to pick up the toys.”

“One moment.” The eyes vanished from the door.

Rapid Advance sighed. He had very little patience for this routine. “This is ridiculous.”

“This is the part they don’t put on the posters.” said Watchful Eye, still staring at the door. “This stuff is normally handled on the regimental level, so we’d never have to come here ourselves. Normally. We, however, have been summarily exiled from normalsville.”

“Oh hey, Normalsville, I’ve been there,” said Far Out, standing in the very back of the group.

Rapid craned his neck around to look at the mare, having nearly forgotten she was with them. She’d been even more quiet than usual since they’d gotten up. Nervous perhaps, in her own way.

“Really nice place, but kind of boring,” she added.

With a loud metallic pop, the wooden door swung inwards, revealing the gold armored form of a Solar Guard unicorn. “Hello sergeant.”

The stallion quickly glanced about the other members of the group. “...And friends!” He stepped aside, motioning them forward with his head. “You are cleared, welcome to Magical Requisitions. The group began to move through the door in pairs, lead by Watch and Rapid. As Rapid filed past the unicorn, he leaned his horned head close, and raising a hoof to his mouth began to whisper. “We call it the Boom Room, but that’s just a nickname. Please help us keep it that way.”

Rapid glared at the unicorn, continuing on his way. The group continued forward, Watchful Eye in the lead. The door behind them began to creak, and with another loud pop, was sealed once more. The oppressive light of the sun was gone, replaced by a much more tolerably (though still a bit much for a bat pony) lit castle interior. Rapid sighed in relief. He wasn’t alone. As the group moved further into the building, the large stallion examined his surroundings. The building was sturdy enough, and quite simple by palace standards. While the floors were polished stone, and the occasional inset pillar or tapestry passed by on the wall, none of it was as ornate or richly decorated as could be found in the Guard Towers, or the Royal Palace proper.

The group approached a set of stairs, and Rapid’s eyes adjusted enough to make out the colors surrounding him. White, tan and teal seemed to dominate, along with a strange smattering of purple. Upon the wall, flanking the staircase he was about to ascend, was carved a symbol: A particular six pointed starburst that Rapid immediately recognized as the element of magic.

“What we want is on the second level,” said Watchful Eye, now moving up the aforementioned staircase. Once clearing the staircase and following a few rather obvious pieces of signage, the seven ponies found themselves at their destination.

Squeezing through one last open doorway in pairs, they found themselves in a large room. Directly before them, a large counter ran its entire length, and behind it was located a rather impressive array of silver shelves. Also behind the counter, eyeing them all curiously, was a very blue unicorn mare.

“Well now,” she said, “What do we have here? A bewildering bundle of bats, that’s what.” She leaned over the counter, narrowing her eyes as she inspected the group more closely. “Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

“Yes,” said Watch, rolling his eyes, “We’re here for our stuff. Requisition order should be under Winter Sky.”

Rapid Advance watched the mare. She continued observing them, as if considering the sergeant’s words. She wore no armor, which seemed to make her far bluer than she had any right being. Her mane, also blue, was of medium length and hung to one side. What he could see of her eyes, nearly hidden behind her narrowed eyelids, appeared to be yellow. She seemed vaguely familiar to him.

“What?” said Dawn Trotter, looking uncomfortable.

“What indeed,” replied the mare.

“Is something wrong?” said Rapid.

“Hmm, no. I just can’t remember ever seeing any of you batbrains roaming around in the day like this. At noon. In packs.”

Star Duster sighed. “Can’t we just have our stuff?”

“I suppose supply ponies wouldn’t see much of us, it’s true,” added Rapid Advance, “Though my fri-

“SUPPLY PONY!” the mare glared, her head snapping to the large stallion, “I am not a supply pony!”

“Well that would explain why she isn’t giving us our supplies,” said Sable Shield, glaring right back.

“Well,” said Watchful Eye, “you are in Requisitions. Behind the counter. You aren’t wearing barding and you are supposed to be giving us supplies. Are you suuuuree you aren’t a supply pony?

The mare snorted, jumping onto the counter. She pressed her face against a startled Watchful Eye’s and stomped a hoof. “Twilight Guard. First regiment, first company, second squad.”

“Twilight Guard?” came the confused response of several bat ponies in unison.

“First company?” Added Sable Shield, her tone having changed to something that could almost be mistaken for respect.

Rapid took a better look at the mare, now fully visible on the counter with her face still pressed to his sergeant’s. He looked to her flank. A gem of some kind, wreathed in some rather intense looking magical flames. Suddenly, he remembered.

“I recognize you,” said Rapid, “you’re Azure Arrow.”

“What?” said Watchful Eye, backpedaling quickly, running rump first into Star Duster.

The feisty unicorn’s expression abruptly changed, and she wheeled to face Rapid Advance. “Oh, so you’ve heard of me,” she grinned.

“Yes, I am pretty sure most guardsponies in Canterlot have,” said Rapid, “it’s hard to miss the explosions. What in Equestria is one of the Twilight Guard, let alone one of their masters of offensive spellcasting, doing behind a supply counter?”

“Oh, well.” The mare jumped down from the counter, immediately in front of Rapid Advance. Standing, she craned her neck back to face him. “Gosh, you’re huge! Like, massive!”

Rapid looked down to face the mare. “Err yes, so I am told. But my question?”

Azure Arrow blinked. “Oh, yeah! Well...” the mare turned, and began to pace, “see, you remember that demonstration thing we were going to do on the parade grounds, like a week ago, with the 3 guard branches? The one that got canceled?” Rapid nodded. “Well you see, it seems I got a bit uh, ambitious at the practice for the Twilight Guard spell expo. Kinda blew up the field. And a tower. And sorta singed the tip of the Marshal’s tail.”

“That was you?” Star Duster added incredulously.

“Yeah! The only reason everypony doesn’t know it is because Prominence doesn’t want it to get out that he’s got a tail extension in now. What a princess.” the mare snickered.

The room was silent. The bat ponies eyed the blue mare in a mixture of fear, awe and abject confusion.

“WAIT!” the mare shouted suddenly, whirling back to face Rapid Advance. “I recognize you too!” In an instant, all eyes in the room were firmly pinned on Rapid Advance.

“You recognize me?”

“Yeah! You’re the guy that stomped that huge griffon all by yourself, at the Griffonstone keep fight! No magic or anything, just BAM BAM BAM!

“You saw that? how? From what I recall, the Twilight Guard wasn’t present for that particular piece of savagery.”

“We weren’t. At least, not officially,” Azure Arrow grinned, “Who do you think blasted that wall open? Star Throwers can’t make holes like that.”

“Oh.”

“Well then!” Azure Arrow whirled and lept back over the counter. “You ponies seem alright! Gimme’ just a minute, I’ll go get your stuff.” She cantered towards the back of the room, and disappeared into the mass of shelving.

“What the hay was that?” asked Watchful Eye.

“Unicorns,” said Sable Shield, shaking her head.

Ten minutes later, Azure Arrow returned, floating a large bin behind her in her in an aura of unicorn magic. Depositing it on the ground immediately behind the counter with a loud thud, she began levitating several bags from within it, dropping them on the counter top.

“Whew,” she sighed, levitating a list from the bin. “Okay then let’s see... twelve Nightflame stones, twenty-four enchanted dressings, a crystal spyglass, fourteen Smokestones, a Scroll of Distress...eight vials of-” Azure stopped speaking, continuing to read the list.

“What the hay. I don’t even want to know where they are sending you with this stuff. Some Spectre stuff too, you sneaky little bats.” Azure pushed the bags towards the opposite side of the counter, and nodded to Watchful Eye. The sergeant scrambled forward, taking possession of the bags. Quickly and with great efficiency, he went about removing contents and stuffing them into various other bat pony saddlebags.

Azure turned once more to Rapid Advance. “I can’t really picture you as the stealth type.”
“I’m not. I am more...” Rapid paused a moment, “let us just say I prefer the direct approach to problem solving.”

A knowing grin formed on the muzzle of Azure Arrow. “Me too.”

******

“She was an interesting pony,” said Far Out, nodding as she beat her wings. The group of bat ponies, after finally receiving their supplies, had made their way back out of Magical Requisitions and were now flying meet their Captain. They passed quickly over the shining white city, weaving casually between its many spires and domes, and drew near to the large mountain face that dominated its rearmost portion.

“Interesting isn’t the word I would use to describe her,” said Sable Shield.

“Interesting is the word I would use to describe her reaction to Rapid,” added Dawn Trotter, to a chorus of chuckles.

“Alright,” said Watchful Eye, “We are going groundside. We have to walk the rest of the way. This door, gate, portal, whatever it is happens to be inside the mountain.”

Without being told, the squad of ponies began to close formation. They formed tightly on Watchful Eye as he descended towards a large public square.

“Down in three, two, one..” said the sergeant, immediately followed the the loud, clacking of hooves on stone, “and here we...”

Watch paused. All around the group of bat ponies, standing stock still, was a large group of normal city ponies. Moments before, they had been going about their normal business in the large open area of the square. Now, they stood staring, all eyes locked on the group of that had just landed in their midst.

“Uh?” said Distant Voice, backing up slightly. “Hello?”

“They must not be used to seeing us during the day,” said Rapid, glancing around at the mass of staring eyes.

“Or seeing us at all,” added Watch with a sigh, “okay, let’s keep going.”

He lead the group forward, and somewhat awkwardly, they fell into line. Two by two they made for a structure halfway across the square, set into the stone of the mountain face and flanked by a pair of Solar guardponies. As they crossed the distance, the scene repeated itself, with each new pony that noticed the group stopping to stare as they passed.

“This is so awkward,” said Sable Shield.

“Nah, its cool,” added Far Out, “it’s like, being in a parade or something. But without a rad float. I wish we had some beads to throw.”

“You can just throw our dignity instead, Far,” said Star Duster, “We’re always throwing that away.”

“That’s my dignity you are always throwing away, Star,” said Watchful Eye, “You never had any.”

A chorus of “Ohhhhhh!” rose from the marching bat ponies, as well as some snickering.

Star Duster snorted.

“Is it true you are all vamponies?” came a voice seemingly from nowhere. Rapid Advance blinked, turning his head towards the sound. Trotting beside him was a small green earth pony colt. “Do you drink blood? My mom says bat ponies drink blood.”

“...What?” said Rapid, eyeing the colt incredulously, “why on Earth would she tell you that?”

“So you don’t?”

“No, of course not. That’s just silly. Do you see any fangs?” Rapid smiled for effect.

The colt narrowed his eyes, studying the bat pony intently. “Hmmm.”

“Well?”

“But my mom said. She said bat ponies are selfish blood suckers. She never lied to me before!”

Rapid gave the colt a suspicious look. “And has your mother even met any bat ponies?”

“Yeah! Her old coltfriend was a bat pony.”

Watchful Eye, who stealthily had one ear turned towards the ongoing conversation, burst into laughter.

Rapid paused a moment, before it hit him as well. He shook his head. “Ah. Well.”

“I gotta go now! Bye!” said the colt, and just as suddenly as he had appeared, he was gone, trotting off into the crowd.

Several awkward moments later, a still snickering Watchful Eye brought the group to a halt. In front of them, a large, heavy, but somewhat simple looking set of metal doors stood set into a stone building, which was itself set into the mountainside. On either side of the doors stood a member of the gold armored Solar Guard. The pair offered him a curt nod. Slowly, the doors began to open.

“Seems we are expected this time at least,” he grinned. Passing through the doorway, the bat ponies found themselves in a large, dim hallway that seemed to descend endlessly into the mountain. It’s only light came from a high row of distantly spaced torches. Still in pairs, the group began to head down. And down. And down again.

It didn’t take the bat ponies long to realize the hallway didn’t stretch quite as far at it had seemed. Quickly, they came upon another large doorway. More sturdily built than the last, it seemed to be entirely of metal construction, and in the center it bore a strange symbol: Something resembling two concentric circles with a star in the center. Briefly examining the door, and noting the presence of nopony guarding it, Watchful Eye knocked three times.

Immediately, the door was enveloped in a golden aura of magic, and swung slowly open.

The group stepped through. Within, their destination. An immense room of grey and white stone, bustling with ponies. Guard ponies of all variety moved to and fro, moving from strange structure to strange structure. Boxes of equipment were scattered everywhere. On the far wall, a set if stairs led up to what seemed to be a series of observation or control platforms of some variety. These contained even more ponies, some of which appeared to be members of the Twilight Guard. Dominating the center of the room was a large circle of polished blue stone, slightly raised above the level of the surrounding floor. Within the larger blue circle, was set a smaller purple one. Beside the mysterious stone circles stood two ponies. One a tall, regal unicorn stallion, white coated and armored exquisitely in gold. The other, shorter, a grey coated bat pony stallion of the Lunar Guard, wearing armor nearly identical to their own. The two ponies that awaited them.

“Let’s go,” said Watchful Eye, “form a line on me once we get to them.” The group nodded. Together, they marched the remaining distance across the room, and took position directly in front of the waiting officers. Stepping forward, the sergeant raised his foreleg and tail in salute. “Cookie squad, all present and accounted for.”

Rapid Advance glanced between the ponies standing before him. The Lunar guardspony he recognized immediately as his own Captain, Winter Sky. Beside him, the unmistakable form of the Marshal of Equestria, Prominence.

“Thank you, Watch,” said Winter Sky, eyeing the ponies in front of him. “everypony nervous?”

In unison, the bat ponies nodded. Rapidly.

“Well that’s a good sign.”

“Indeed it is.” added the Marshal, stepping forward. “At ease, all of you.”

The bat ponies relaxed, their eyes still fixed on Prominence.

“Shortly, you will all be stepping through a doorway to another world, in an attempt to solve a mystery that has baffled ponies for over eight decades.” Prominence paused, giving his words a moment to sink in. “I don’t need impress upon you how important this is, or how dangerous it could be. The Princess has faith in you all, and as trained members of Her Majesty’s Lunar Guard, I do as well. That being said, I have made a few arrangements to increase the likelihood that this endeavor will yield some sort of answers.”

Prominence lit his horn. Behind him, a strange object rose, enveloped in the unicorn’s golden magic, and floated towards the assembled ponies. It paused in front of him.

“Such as this.” Prominence gestured towards the object floating before him. It resembled some sort of large bulbous creature, like a parasprite with too many eyes and wings. Each “eye” looked to be some manner of gemstone, some larger than others. Its wings, like the body of the thing, appeared to be made of polished brass, or even gold. “A rather ingenious magical construct, this. The very same we used to observe the far side previously. An impossibly complex piece of physical spellcraft, it is capable of magical flight, scrying, and a host of other things. Some of the spells used in its construction are beyond the ken of even the most powerful unicorns in Equestria, devised and executed by Princess Twilight herself. Only two exist.”

Prominence floated the construct to Watchful Eye. He paused, looking at the Marshal, before taking it with great care.

“That one, at least for now, is yours. I have instructed your Captain in its use.”

“The Marshal has been kind enough to instruct me on many things pertaining to this assignment,” added Winter Sky.

“Indeed,” said Prominence, looking down the line of ponies, “I have briefed Captain Winter on everything we know about New Neighton, what transpired there, and of course, the Doorway itself.” Prominence gestured to the great stone circle on the floor behind the assembled bat ponies.

“Good luck, Cookie Squad. May the stars guide you, the Moon watch over you, and the Sun welcome you home,” Marshal Prominence nodded to the assembled ponies, before looking to Winter Sky, “You may proceed when ready Captain.”

“Very well. Thank you Marshal Prominence. Cookie, follow me, and stay close,” said Winter Sky, gesturing for the others to follow.

Rapid Advance snorted, nearly rearing in excitement. Finally.

“Oh. Oh. OH,” said Distant Voice, “we are actually doing this.”

“Seems so,” said Dawn Trotter.

“I’ve gotta pee,” added Star Duster, followed immediately by a loud THWACK.

“Ow.”

“Everypony, get as close to the center of this inner circle as you can. Avoid the edge,” said Winter Sky. His squad quickly took the ordered positions, clustering towards the center of the innermost circle.

Rapid took a deep breath. He took position next to Distant Voice, just across from the Captain. Being where he was supposed to be, the large pony returned to examining the portal in detail. On the polished stone beneath him, he could now make out a series of grooved lines, traveling off in many directions. Interrupting these lines at various points were carven symbols, only a few of which he could recognize. A star here, a crescent moon there. A spell grid, he realized. Towards the outer edge of the inner circle, the lines seem to flow together, winding around perimeter in a tight spiral. At even intervals around this spiral were larger symbols, many of them being suns and starbursts of various sorts. Beyond them, lay the larger blue outer circle. It was divided into sections almost like a cut pizza, with its own deep network of carven channels flowing around it, and inwards to the center. The criss-crossed lines of the outer circle formed a grid pattern, and upon each ‘tile’, roughly the size of a pony, were yet larger symbols. These he did not recognize, and appeared to be rune based sigils of some sort. Scattered all about the blue outer circle, and set into the floor in every direction, were a multitude of what looked like tiny gemstones.

“It’s so pretty,” said Far Out, who seemed to be sizing up the portal as well.

“Everypony ready?” asked Winter Sky. Slowly, one by one, each member of Cookie Squad looked to him and nodded. He then looked to Watchful Eye. “We good?”

“Yes sir!” said the sergeant, “cinched, pinched and chomping at the bit!”

Winter Sky nodded, then turned to face the Marshal. “Good to go!”

Prominence, now standing well outside of the outer circle, simply returned the nod. He spun about and gestured to an unseen pony somewhere on the platforms behind him.

The room began to hum. Quietly, lowly at first. A faint glow began to come from the little gemstones scattered about the outer circle.

“Show time,” said Watchful Eye.

A bluish-green light began to spread through the lined channels of the outer circle, flowing towards the center. As it did, each tile that it passed came to life, the sigil on its surface glowing brightly. Quickly the light advanced through the outer circle. Upon reaching the border of the inner circle there was a flash, and the little stones within the outer circle flared into countless points of light, closely resembling a starry sky.

“Oh wow,” said Dawn Trotter, staring at the spectacle with mouth agape.

The light then began to snake into their own circle. The countless smaller channels began to glow, and each small symbol began to light in turn. The instant the light reached the starburst symbol which marked the center of the innermost circle, there was a brilliant flash of pink light. A shimmering, translucent dome of energy rose from the perimeter of the inner circle, covering it completely.

“Whoa,” said Watchful Eye, slowly spinning in place, eyes transfixed on the shimmering dome.

Winter Sky nodded. “As expected so far. Here it comes.”

A loud crack, vaguely resembling thunder, sounded. The dome ceased being translucent, and the pink tinged view of the portal room vanished, replaced by a whirling maelstrom of magical energies. Just as quickly as it had appeared the maelstrom calmed, and the bat ponies could see nothing but a gently shimmering wall of pink energy. For the time being, nothing seemed to exist beyond the dome.

“Umm,” said Distant Voice, concern clearly evident in his voice.

Rapid Looked down, giving the small pony a gentle pat on the withers. “I am sure it’s normal. You know how magic is.” He turned to Winter Sky.

“It is,” Said Winter Sky, “I have no idea how it works, actually, but I do know what it’s supposed to do. So far, so good. In a moment, we should be able to see through it again.”

As if on cue, the color of the dome began to soften, and details began to become visible through it in all directions.

“Is that a tree?” asked Star Duster, who was leaning forward and squinting.

“Trees,” corrected Sable Shield, standing close beside him.

“It’s hard to see much detail but that definitely isn’t the room we were just in,” said Dawn Trotter.

“We are technically still in that room,” said Winter Sky, “and we will be until we pass through this barrier.”

“What,” said Sable Shield again.

“Wait so, like, we are in two places at once? That’s so cool!” said Far Out, drawing some curious glances.

“No, no, we aren’t,” said Winter Sky, “at least, I don’t think so?”

Suddenly, the light within the channels and symbols beneath them changed color, taking on a pink hue.

“Alright, that’s the signal. Get ready, and don’t move,” said the Captain. Seven concerned pairs of eyes snapped to him in an instant.

An unearthly noise came from every direction, and the dome of magical energy began to contract. It closed in slowly at first, before suddenly rushing inwards, seeming to collapse. Rapid Advance closed his eyes, crouching defensively, expecting to to be crushed into magical paste. Instead, for an instant, everything went white. Terrible, blinding white. In that split second he felt as if he were falling, flying, and being crushed all at once. Then, nothing. He was still standing. The blinding light was gone. He rose back to his full height, and opened his eyes.

The first thing he noticed was the the stone he stood upon. No longer the beautifully polished purple of just a second before, now it was dull, pitted, and riven with small cracks. A gentle, but constant breeze could be felt, and all around the accompanying sound of wind moving through leaves. The light was different too. This wasn’t the light of a pony interior, but open moonlight. Unusually bright moonlight.

“THERE’S TWO OF THEM! WHY IS THERE TWO OF THEM?!” came an alarmed sounding voice.

Looking to it, Rapid saw the wide-eyed form of Star Duster, pointing animatedly into the sky, at something directly to his rear.

“Two of what?” the large pony said, turning to look where the agitated stallion was pointing. He froze. Directly behind him, high in the sky above distant, darkened treetops, hung an enormous, unrecognizable moon. Just below and behind it, and roughly a third its size, hung a second.

******

Chapter 4 - Misery, Mystery and Two Awful Moons

“Nope!” said Star Duster, stamping a hoof. “That is way too many moons.”

“It’s just two,” said Distant Voice, his eyes locked skyward.

“Nah, I’m with Star Duster on this. That’s just weird. Bad weird,” said Sable Shield.

“How come this planet is allowed to have two moons?” asked Far Out, sounding almost disappointed. “You think we could get another one?”

With one last indignant glare at the pair of looming moons, Star Duster pulled his eyes away. Slowly he began to take in his new surroundings. His comrades all seemed to be present, most with their eyes still glued to the offending moons. Winter Sky was the lone exception, as the captain had his muzzle buried in one of his saddlebags. Star Duster watched the captain root through it, his efforts punctuated here and there by a snort of frustration. After a brief struggle, he withdrew a large piece of worn looking paper, and dropping to his haunches, began to unfold it.

“Alright Cookie,” said Winter Sky, “Dismount the portal and set a perimeter while I get our bearings. Watch, have a look at this map with me.”

“Yes sir!” came the replies, and the bat ponies began to fan out, save for Watchful Eye who made his way towards the seated captain.

“Captain.” Watchful Eye nodded, craning his neck in a clear attempt to read the map in the officer’s hooves.

Star Duster watched the two ponies for a moment, before turning his attention to the task at hoof. He and Dawn Trotter now stood on a patch of grass a few ponylengths from the portal itself, his tail and helmet plume blowing in the light but constant wind. He sniffed at the breeze as he scanned his surroundings. The smell was a strange combination of the alien and the familiar. Grass, trees, probably flowers. Rain. Strange, but familiar enough to recognize. A faint hint of salt on the wind told him they weren’t too far from a coast. The immediate area seemed to be a grassy clearing of sorts, filled with small twigs and broken branches and surrounded by trees, all of which were gently moving in the wind. Above the darkened treetops, what few clouds there were passed by with great rapidity.

“What’s with this wind?” said Sable Shield, who had also taken to sniffing the air.

“A storm’s been through here, and recently by the looks of it,” said Rapid Advance, from the opposite end of the portal’s stone circle. “A big one.”

“A large cyclone of some sort, or so the Marshal believes,” said Winter Sky, looking over the top of his map. “They saw a fair amount of storm damage when they sent the construct through earlier.”

“So, like a hurricane or something?” asked Sable Shield.

“Yes, something like that, though perhaps not quite as strong,” the captain said, ducking back behind his map.

“Yeah,” added Distant Voice, from somewhere on the other side of the captain. “Hurricanes were a thing here. The whole planet is nothing but wild weather. From what I remember reading, New Neighton had a pretty crazy weather team to deal with it all.”

“Well,” said Dawn Trotter, raising a hoof to his muzzle in thought, “you kinda have to be crazy to live on a totally different planet to start with. But then signing up to join a team that fights giant killer storms that attack without warning, well, that’s like a whole ‘nother level of crazy. That’s double crazy.”

“I like double crazy,” added Far Out, who had taken up position a few ponylengths away, watching the distant treelines. She had one ear turned towards the conversation. “It’s like, twice as fun. Crazy you can share with friends.”

Star Duster rolled his eyes, taking another sniff at the wind. “You know, this place smells strange, but not alien-planet-on-the-other-side-of-the-universe strange.” The steel-blue bat pony continued his explorations, beginning to walk the perimeter of the portal’s stone base with his muzzle to the ground.

“Well, that makes sense,” said Dawn Trotter, who was running a hoof over the stone of the portal edge. “It’s an alien planet and all, but at the same time, it has to be Equestria-y enough for ponies to live on.”

“Hey, check this out!” yelled Distant Voice.

Turning around, Star Duster could see the small pony sitting on his haunches, gesturing towards some kind of small stone structure standing near, and possibly attached to, the portal base.

Walking over to Voice and his find, he could see now that it seemed to be part of the portal. It was a small stone box of sorts, and coming around its other side, Star Duster saw that though it was set a bit away, it was indeed connected to the portal base itself by some sort of extension. On the side of the box facing Distant Voice, towards its top, were set two large crystals. Below those, and under a block of Equestrian text, was a raised circular relief, depicting the twin Alicorns of Equestria’s great seal. Further below that were a trio of the smallest levers the stallion had ever laid eyes on, all of which seemed to be locked in place by some kind of safety bar.

“That would be the controls for this side of the portal,” said Winter Sky, walking over with Watchful Eye in tow.

“Wait a sec,” said the sergeant, “doesn’t that mean that whoever, or whatever, opened the portal the first time, or at least, the first time recently, did it from right where we are standing?

“Assuming it was opened deliberately, yes,” nodded Winter Sky.

“If a pony opened the portal, they would have simply gone through themselves, would they not?” asked Rapid Advance.

“You would think so,” said Watchful Eye. The stallion turned, walking a short distance from the group. He narrowed his eyes and began to scan the area behind them.

“So...” said Sable Shield, “not a pony?”

A palpable feeling of unease spread through the rest of the squad. Looking about the group, Star Duster observed a few sets of ears pinned back in concern.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions just yet,” said Winter Sky.

“Captain Winter?” said Watchful Eye, whose eyes were locked on a treeline behind the group.

“Yes?” said Winter Sky, turning to face the sergeant.

“Do you see that? Over there in the treeline, about hallway between the tallest tree and the big break on the end?” Watchful Eye pointed a forehoof as the captain moved up beside him. The captain squinted as as he followed the line of the pointing hoof.

Quietly, Star Duster came up behind the captain, as close as he dare, stretching his neck around him to see what the sergeant was pointing at. His own eyes could make out the treeline in good detail, thanks to the unusually bright light of the double moons. His eyes moved to the spot Watchful Eye was indicating. Just below the low hanging branches, barely visible behind the tall grass that rose to nearly touch them, was a strange splash of greyish color.

“Hey, I see it!” said Star Duster, causing Winter Sky to jump briefly in surprise. The officer’s head spun to face the offending private, his glare of displeasure causing the pony to pin his ears and step quickly back with an uneasy grin.

“Well then Private,” said Winter Sky, his eyes menacingly narrowed, “Do tell?” His tail swished quickly to one side.

“Well,” Star Duster nodded quickly to the captain, then moved up to stand next to him. He pointed a hoof at the spot in question. “Over there, where Sarge was pointing, there is something gray-ish behind the leaves, sorta hidden behind the leaves of that big fallen one.”

“Exactly.” said Watchful Eye. “Light grey, straight lines it looks like.”

Winter Sky blinked, then turned to face Watchful Eye. “Probably not a random rock or such then. Hmm.” Quickly the captain brought back up his map. “Nothing marked here other than the portal. It’s rather close, let’s go take a look.”

“Alright Cookie,” said Watchful Eye, turning to address the now gathered bat ponies, “you heard the captain. Let’s take a walk to the mysterious gray mystery spot. Captain, do you want anypony eyes-up?”

“No,” said Winter Sky, “no flying just yet. Too easy to spot an airborne pony from distance in this moonlight. We stay groundside until we get a bit better idea of what can be found here, or we get more clouds.”

Watchful Eye nodded, and fell back into the group of ponies now following Rapid Advance to the treeline. Star Duster paused, letting Winter Sky get a safe distance ahead before falling back into the group himself, immediately in front and to the side of Sable Shield, who was bringing up the rear.

“Why am I always the rump end?” asked Sable, after several minutes of walking in silence.

“Because you’re a huge butt, mostly.” said Star Duster. The stallion smiled, having wisely placed himself distant enough to avoid any reprisals from the mare. She nickered indignantly.

“Hes right you know,” added Dawn Trotter, “you are pretty much the perfect pony for it.”

Before the mare could further respond, the group came to a halt. Star Duster could see the other ponies ducking under the branches of the nearby trees, and following close behind, found himself with the others, gathered around the mystery object.

Star Duster inched forward, meaning to get a better look at what they’d found. It was a weathered thing, light grey in color, looking like some kind of oddly shaped triangular pillar. It grew thicker as it rose from the ground. The top of the object was missing, broken roughly off and was lying in a great many pieces scattered around the object’s base. The cause of the damage was no mystery however, as the curious stallion could plainly see the fallen tree lying across the top of the damaged object.

“What is it? Some kind of statue?” asked Sable Shield.

“Awfully strange place for a statue,” said Rapid Advance, “it can’t really be seen from the portal, and certainly not from the colony. Wherever that is.”

“It’s also on the wrong side of the portal, judging by Captain Winter’s map,” said Watchful Eye. “The road is on the other side of the portal, so ponies coming and going on it wouldn’t see this thing.”

“A map that it isn’t on, I may add,” said Winter Sky

Star glared suspiciously at the object, trying to make sense of what was being said. He watched as Distant Voice approached the object, cautiously, his head close to the ground. The little stallion seemed to be on to something, and quickly had his face pressed almost into the side of the object.

“This is writing,” said Voice, staring intently at a spot on the side of the object. “Look, its small, but it’s everywhere. Some of these weird little shapes repeat, and are grouped together just like words. I just have no idea what these letters are.”

“Not Equestrian, then,” said Rapid Advance, moving to stand beside Distant Voice and taking a somewhat closer look at the object himself. He placed one of his large forehooves on the object, and gave it a few curious taps.

“It’s rather strangely shaped for a statue though, isn’t it?” asked Watchful Eye, who was looking intently at the bottom of the thing. “It doesn’t appear to be mounted to anything, the bottom is coming straight out of the ground. It’s larger at the top and smaller at the bottom, you would think it would be the other way around.”

“That does seem unusual,” nodded Winter Sky

“Hey,” came the voice of Far Out, directly from behind.

Turning, Star Duster saw the mare sitting, a neat pile of rubble gathered before her. She had a chunk of the ruined object cradled in her forehooves. She then extended it outward, towards Star Duster and the rest of the group.

“Some of these space rocks...” she shook the piece of rubble for effect, “they fit together in funny ways. I think there was something probably cool looking carved into the top of this thing, but there’s not enough left to see what it was. Oh and I’m keeping this,” The mare nodded, quickly stuffing the piece of debris into her open saddle bag.

Star Duster’s mouth hung open a moment, before shaking his head in disbelief. “Far Out! That thing, you can’t just keep random pieces of possibly evil space statues! It could be cursed, it could be filled with some kind of dark space magic or something!”

“Nahhh,” said the mare, shaking her head with a knowing smile. “it wasn’t magic enough to stop itself from getting smashed up now was it? Besides, we aren’t 100% sure ponies didn’t make it right? We may need a piece of it later, for science and stuff.”

Taking one last incredulous look at the mare, Star Duster shook his head again, and turned back to face the rest of the group. Distant Voice was still sniffing around the strange object, darting around with a piece of paper in his mouth, the other ponies of Cookie Squad having moved in to poke and prod it as well. The stallion walked over and joined them, looking over the thing, and the ring debris surrounding it.

“Sheesh, that tree really did a number on this thing,” he said, eyeing the immense trunk that lay splintered and lodged in the top of the object.

“Must have come down in the storm that passed through,” said Dawn Trotter.

“Most likely,” said Winter Sky. The captain dropped quickly onto his haunches, and pulling his map out once more, began to scribble something on it. “Well then. I’ve added the location of this thing to the map for now. Private Distant Voice, did you finish getting a rubbing of those characters?”

“Yes sir!” came the voice of the little stallion, somewhere on the other side of the object.

“Good,” said Winter Sky, “put that in your bag and hold onto it. We are moving on for now. We need to locate the road that connected the portal site to New Neighton proper, which, according to the map should be...that way.” The bat pony captain waved a hoof towards an area somewhere behind and to his side.

“Probably that break in the trees on the other side of the portal.” said Watchful Eye.

“My guess as well,” nodded the captain, “let’s head out then.”

******

It didn’t take Cookie Squad long to locate the remains of the old road. It was right where the map said it would be, between a break in the trees, ruined, overgrown, but still recognizable. The bat ponies moved slowly down the path in a loose formation, two groups of three with Watchful Eye, Winter Sky and his map in between.

Star Duster found himself in the rear trio of ponies, Sable Shield and Dawn Trotter to either flank. His ears were twitching and shifting constantly, the sounds of the wind in the nearby trees, and of shoes on cobblestone came from all sides, as did the voice of a rather chatty little stallion. Looking forward past the captain and his map, Star Duster could see Distant Voice gesturing animatedly with his wings, in the midst of some kind of explanation. To his left, Far Out seemed raptly interested in what he had to say, and to his right, Rapid Advance nodded along, without ever taking his eyes off the road ahead. Immediately in front Star Duster himself, Watchful Eye marched alongside the captain, scanning the trees to the side of a road with a grin, seeming to enjoy the conversation going on in front of him.

“Keep your eyes open for anything interesting. You never know what may be laying around. We’ve got a bit of a walk to the town itself going by the captain’s map,” said Watchful Eye.

“Why is that anyway?” asked Sable Shield, “couldn’t they have put the portal right in the colony itself or something? Why’d they build it so far away?”

“The portal here was constructed with haste, at the place ponies first set hoof on this world,” said Winter sky. “The original crossing used only one portal, the one in Canterlot, supplemented by a massive amount of Princess Twilight’s own magic. One of the first orders of business after those original ponies arrived here was to erect the second portal with components they brought with them.

“Yeah!” said Distant Voice, “and it took so much of the Princess’s power to do it that it knocked her on her rump for like a month. Of course, Celestia and Luna were still around in those days, so it wasn’t that much of a problem for Equestria, but it wasn’t something she would have wanted to do again.”

“Quite right, private,” said Winter Sky, picking up where he’d left off, “with the second portal established, the doorway could work as envisioned, and required no more input from the Princess herself. Traveling between worlds became as simple as pressing a button and standing in the right place.”

“Well, alright, I understand that part, but why build the town so far away from it?” asked Sable.

“The site wasn’t particularly conducive to settlement,” said Winter Sky, “it wasn’t until a little later, after ponies began to explore the area surrounding it, that they stumbled onto the place that would become New Neighton. That site had some rather attractive features that pretty much begged to be lived on. Not the least of which was a river.”

“Ohh,” said Sable Shield, the dawning comprehension in her voice impossible to miss. “I guess that does make sense.”

“Sure does,” added Star Duster, who was now scanning the treetops around the group as they walked, and seeing nothing of interest. “How far exactly is this hike anyway?”

“It’s only about 5 miles, actually,” answered Winter Sky

Star Duster nodded, satisfied with the answer, then turned his attention back to the trees. They seemed to be very similar to what would be found growing back in Equestria, though the shape of the leaves struck him as more than a little odd.

“I gotta say sir,” said Distant Voice, moving his head to face the ponies behind him, “I’m impressed how much you know about this place. I’m pretty well read on this-”

“You mean you’re a massive nerd,” quipped Dawn Trotter.

Distant Voice scowled, shooting the larger stallion a glare. “You’re one to talk!”

Dawn Trotter grinned. “Sure am!”

“I wish I could say I was as well read as you on such...esoteric topics, private,” said Winter Sky, seemingly unfazed by the pair’s antics, “but I have to confess, I knew nothing about it before yesterday. As part of the preparation for this mission I received a rather extensive and...mentally exhausting briefing on the colony’s history courtesy of Princess Twilight herself.”

The captain stared directly ahead as he finished speaking, his eyes seeming to glaze over, as if the stallion were reliving some past trauma. “The books...” he whispered.

Star Duster snickered, returning his attention to his surroundings. “What kind of trees are these, anyway? They look weird.”

“That’s because they are aliens, Star,” said Watchful Eye, turning to look at the blue-grey bat stallion. “Big, leafy, one hundred percent pure certified aliens. And aliens get to be weird.”

“THE TREES ARE ALIENS?” yelled Far Out, coming to an abrupt stop. Watchful Eye, still walking with his face to Star Duster, walked straight into her.

“Oof!”

“That’s so cool,” said the mare, completely oblivious to the collision. She scanned the treelines flanking the road with something that could only be described as reverence.

Rolling his eyes, Star Duster watched as Watchful Eye nudged the star-struck mare with his head, getting her moving again.

“Speaking of Aliens,” said Rapid Advance, his eyes still locked on the road ahead, “I have yet to see, or hear, any sign of animal life. Did anything live here other than ponies and trees?”

“Yep!” said Distant Voice, before anyone else had a chance to respond. “A few critters. Some bugs, and a couple of bird-like things. But not much else. Nothing big, and stuff was only active during the day. At least, I think. It’s been years since I read about that stuff.”

“Seems we may be the only nocturnal critters on the planet then,” said Watchful Eye.

“Hopefully it stays that way,” added Rapid Advance, his tone ominous.

Star Duster didn’t like the implications of that. The bat stallion was perfectly happy being a member of the only nocturnal species on this particular planet. Whatever caused the disappearance of the colony all those years ago could still very well be out there somewhere, and if it was, he would rather it be sleeping.

******

Star Duster sighed. Things had gotten boring rather quickly. The group continued its march down what remained of the weathered old road, and aside from a bit of humorous conversation between the bat ponies, nothing really exciting had yet to occur. At least, not far away alien planet exciting. Tree after wind-blown tree and weathered cobblestones were all the road had to offer, and even those were getting harder to see. The road’s condition seemed to grow worse as they got nearer to the colony’s supposed location, with far more grass and plant debris obscuring the stones under hoof. The stallion prepared to let out a righteous nicker of boredom, but paused. Something caught his eye. A shape, tall and angular, lay just off the road to his right.

“Hey, what’s that?” Star Duster stopped, motioning to the thing in the trees.

As one, the group stopped, looked quickly to Star Duster, then to the spot he was pointing at. Watchful Eye quickly broke from the group, taking a few steps off the road towards the object. Squinting, he leaned towards it.

“Oh, it’s a road sign!” said the sergeant, hurriedly trotting over to it. Rearing up, he cleared some of the vegetation from the sign, brushing its surface with a hoof.

“New Neighton: 1 Mile”

“Oh for the love of!” Star Duster yelled, rearing and bringing his hooves down for effect. “We still have a mile to go? It feels like we have been walking for hours. This is giving me a headache.”

“Ugh, me too,” said Sable Shield, standing to his side.

“Me three,” added Dawn Trotter.

“Me...four?” said Rapid Advance, turning back to face the the trio. “This can’t be coincidence.”

“Does everypony have one?” asked Watchful Eye, glancing around the group in concern. “I know I do.”

The remaining ponies nodded in response.

“Well, that is ominous,” said Winter Sky. “Perhaps it’s some sort of teleport sickness? We did just experience the mother of all teleportation spells.”

“You know,” said Distant Voice, appearing suddenly between the captain and sergeant. “It does feel magical, that weird sorta, bleh. Not splitting, but just there. I bet it is, sir.”

“Hmm. Well then,” Winter Sky sat down, craning his neck back to fiddle with his saddle bag. “Everypony get some water. We are going to halt for just a few minutes while I give this map another look. Sit or lie down if you feel the need, I doubt we are going to be causing any traffic issues on this particular road.”

Sitting, Star Duster withdrew his canteen from its place on the side of his marching harness. Glaring once more at the pair of weird moons over the top of his canteen, he took a few sips and pondered the current situation. A muffled thud to his right let him know that Sable Shield had joined him.

“Fun times,” said Sable, pulling out the stop of her own canteen with her teeth. “But hey, at least we found a sign.”

“And a mysterious ruined statue thing.”

“Yeah, that was all kinds of creepy. No way ponies made it.”

“Aliens?”

“Aliens.”

Both ponies nodded in agreement.

“So,” said Sable Shield, “I thought this place was supposed to be pretty big. Even a mile away we should have seen something more than a sign, right? What was this place even like?”

“I have...absolutely no idea! I bet Voice does though!” Star Duster stretched his neck upwards, cupping his hooves to his muzzle. “Hey! Voice! Question!”

“I wasn’t that curious.”

A moment later the small, overburdened form of Distant Voice came trotting over. Seeing Sable Shield the stallion hesitated, his eyes darting between the two.

“Don’t worry Voice, she won’t bite,” said Star Duster, who immediately turned to face the mare at his side. “Don’t bite.”

Sable rolled her eyes, and was about to respond when the armored, grey coated form of Dawn Trotter suddenly pushed in, plopping down nearly in the mare’s lap. She reeled back, nearly falling over.

“Don’t worry I got this.” said Dawn Trotter, motioning Voice forward with a hoof. “I wanna know too.”

“Trotter what the hay are you doing!” yelled Sable Shield, spitting out bits of the stallion’s helmet plume.

Distant Voice grinned, closing the remaining distance. He took a seat in front of the others. “Well, from what I remember, New Neighton was like a big Earth Pony town. Cottages and such. The center part was built in unicorn style though, the part with the town hall and garrison and all that stuff. Then there was some kind of small, cloud based weather station too. It was like a tiny little Equestria. In space. Spacequestria!”

“Spacequestria would have been a way cooler name.” said Dawn Trotter, nodding with a hoof to his chin.

“I know right,” said Star Duster. “Spacequestria. For those adventurous space ponies.”

“And obnoxious space janitors,” came the voice of Sable Shield, somewhere behind Dawn Trotter.

“Hush you.”

A sudden, loud whinny from the other side of the squad caught the attention of the seated ponies.

“Look! An Alien!” yelled Far Out.

In an instant, the whole group was up. Star Duster spread his wings and lowered his head, backing towards the three ponies that had joined him. Each pony had adopted a posture similar to his own, and their eyes were fixed in the direction of the shout.

Far Out trotted into the midst of the group, carrying something long and shiny in her mouth. Moving over to Star Duster and company, the mare displayed her prize: A large, snake-like creature of frightening appearance, covered in stripes, was hanging from her muzzle, its tongue quickly lashing the air in much the way an actual snake’s would.

“Thee!” she said, shoving the creature towards the assembled ponies. It locked its eyes on Distant Voice, flicking its tongue for effect.

The little stallion shrieked, reared, and was gone in an instant. He appeared again, standing on the back of an unamused looking Rapid Advance, clear on the other side of the group.

“Far Out! What the hay are you doing!” he yelled, “get that thing away!” His wings flapped excitedly, and Star Duster could see his tail whipping side to side in aggravation.

Far Out sat down, placing the creature on the ground at her forehooves. “Distant Voice. Don’t be rude. We are guests on its planet.”

“Private,” said Watchful Eye, who cautiously approached the mare, his eyes locked on the strange creature. “Be careful, that thing could be poisonous.”

“Oooh. That thing’s creepy looking!” said Star Duster, furling his wings and studying the creature with glee.

Winter Sky sighed, and sat back down. Placing one hoof on his forehead, the captain said nothing.

“Far Out!” Sable Shield yelled, allowing her wings to relax. “What the.. this is a whole new level of crazy, even for you! What are you doing?”

“Diplomacy! I’ve made peaceful contact with the natives of this planet.” The snake-ish creature slithered back towards Far Out, coiling up near a foreleg. It seemed to tongue the air in approval.

“WHAT!” yelled Distant Voice, “how does that even work! What even IS that thing?”

“Some kind of totally rad space snake-wormapillar I think,” said the mare. Even as she finished speaking, her eyes went wide, and Star Duster could almost see the light bulb hovering over her helmeted head. “It’s a Spurmapillar!”

“Private,” came the the voice of Winter Sky at last. “Never say that again. That’s an order.”

“What?” asked the mare, now clearly confused.

“See, Voice,” said Dawn Trotter. “I TOLD YOU they were real.”

Distant Voice, still standing high on his perch, glared back at the stallion. “Dawn that is some random little alien snake monster, not a giant planet eating space snake!”

“Star Snake,” Dawn corrected. “It’s probably just a foal.”

Winter Sky, who had been sitting motionless with his hoof to his forehead through most of the exchange, sucked in a deep breath and rose to his hooves. “Okay, we are moving on. And no Far Out, it can’t come with us.”

“Aww.”

******

Cookie Squad continued its agonizingly slow journey down the ever worsening road. Other than the thicker vegetation and more fragmented nature of the road itself, everything seemed, to Star Duster at least, just much more of the same. Trees and stones. Wind and grass. Two strange looking moons. With the exception of the road itself and one sign, nothing yet had been seen of the colony itself. Worse yet, the headache that had started to trouble him not long after taking to the road was still present, and was getting a lot more annoying.

“We shouldn’t be too far from the outskirts of New Neighton proper,” said Winter Sky. The group had returned to the same loose formation it had adopted earlier, and Star once again found himself in the rear trio. He scanned his surroundings with a bit more care, hoping to be the first to catch sight of something important. Getting this close to the supposed sight of the town itself, he knew they should start seeing some sort of evidence very soon.

“I feel kinda weird,” said Distant Voice, walking in the middle of the forward trio. “Not just the headache but, like a whole lot of blah.”

“Do you need to stop for a bit?” asked Watchful Eye

“No sarge, but thanks. I don’t really feel ill, just kinda.. weird.”

“I feel it too. Can’t place it, but it’s there.” said Rapid Advance.

“That is somewhat concerning. I feel it as well,” said Winter Sky, studying the two ponies in question.

“Does it seem darker to anypony else?” asked Sable Shield.

“I thought the same thing, now that you mention it,” said Watchful Eye, craning his neck back to look at the pair of moons which hung high above the horizon. “The moons are still up, even higher than they were when we got here. Cloud cover is about the same too, nothing in front of them. If anything, it should be brighter.”

“Oh great,” said Distant Voice again. “I hope we didn’t get some kind of space plague by coming here.”

“I really don’t want to die of space-itis.” added Dawn Trotter.

“Well, whatever is happening, it’s going to be harder to find what we are looking for if it much darker.” said Winter Sky.

“Sir?” asked Watchful Eye, “With permission, If I could pop up above the treetops for just a moment, I think I could get a better idea of what’s around us. I can be quick.”

Winter Sky thought for a moment. “Very well Watch. Just be very quick.”

Watchful Eye stopped, giving the captain a quick salute. The reddish grey bat stallion then spread his wings, taking a running leap into the air. With one powerful beat of his wings, the pony went absolutely nowhere. He came crashing back to earth in an extremely awkward faceplant, his hindquarters pointing skyward as if he were some sort of pony shaped lawn dart.

“WATCH!” the captain yelled, darting over to the fallen sergeant. “Are you alright?”

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh ow.” replied the sergeant, his leg twitching.

“What happened?”

“Wings no worky,” the sergeant teetered over, then rolled onto his side.

As one, every other set of wings in the group spread and began to flap. Several seconds passed with no effect, and the flapping grew faster.

“Can anypony get airborne?” asked the captain.

Star Duster flapped as hard as he could. Nothing happened.

“Not good not good not good,” he said, looking to Sable Shield, who was flapping futilely beside him. The mare looked to him in turn, and in her eyes he saw something he rarely, if ever, had seen from her: panic.

“Star?” she said. “I can’t fly!”

“I know! Me either!” the stallion flapped his wings rapidly again for effect, one wingtip catching Sable Shield in the face. “Oops.”

The mare blinked, shaking her head. “Watch it you dummy!”

At least she was mad, rather than panicky now. Looking around, he could see the other ponies of Cookie Squad in similar states of alarm. Wings beat and ponies trotted in place, trying their hardest to get into the air with nothing to show for the effort. Watchful Eye slowly, and gingerly, rose to his hooves, giving his head a good shake.

“Everypony calm down a moment,” said Winter Sky, taking a deep breath and furling his own wings. “Let’s not panic any more than usual.”

Slowly the other ponies of cookie squad ceased their fidgeting, and turned their attention to the captain.

“I admit, I have no idea what exactly is going on here, but this is a strange, alien planet. Magic may work a bit oddly. I don’t recall any mention of ponies losing any particular abilities, but one never knows. We are going to continue, at least for awhile, unless anypony begins to feel genuinely bad. If that happens, we will just withdraw to the portal and report this to the Princess. For the time being though, let us continue. It would be a great shame to return empty hooved entirely, so let’s see if we can find something.”

The bat ponies looked to one another, slowly nodding in succession.

“The captain is right,” said Watchful Eye, straightening his helmet. “This is weird, but not ‘run-screaming-from-the-planet’ weird. At least, not yet.”

Extending a wing, Star Duster tapped Sable Shield on the top of her helmet, causing the mare to turn back to him. “See? Not panic time yet. We just get to pretend we are Earth ponies!”

“Fine.” she said, nodding. “Let’s also pretend you aren’t a huge idiot and complete the fantasy.”

“Aha, there’s normal Sable!”

She glared a moment, then motioned to the group with her head. “Let’s go.”

Grouping back up, the ponies moved on. Further down the road they went, pushing through yet more overgrowth. Thankfully for the ponies of Cookie Squad, the path, even in its deteriorated condition, was still very apparent. Between the darkness, and the wind’s constant motion through the ever thickening trees, Star Duster couldn’t help but find his surroundings a bit too spooky for his tastes. Judging by the darting glances of his companions, he wasn’t the only one.

“Halt for a sec,” said Watchful Eye, moving off the path, and into the nearby trees.

“See something, sergeant?” asked Winter Sky.

“Yeah. These little piles of rocks we have been seeing, scattered about? They aren’t rocks.”

The captain followed Watchful Eye to where he was standing, taking a look at what he had. Star Duster crept behind, curious as to what the sergeant had found.

“This is debris. What’s left of a building,” Watch pushed at one of the piles with a hoof, flipping over some small pieces of well rotted, but clearly worked, wood. Beneath, and mixed in amongst the rotted wood were some other things as well, a few pieces of what was clearly tile, and some shaped decorative work of some other material.

“Looks to be what’s left of a cottage, judging by the wood.” said Winter Sky, prodding the pile himself.

“The foundation is still here, though very overgrown,” said Watch. “I’d say a cottage style house is exactly what it was. Earth Pony style, going by that tile, and the carvings.”

“Just like Voice said,” said Star Duster, drawing the sudden attention of other two stallions.

“What did Private Voice say?” asked the captain.

“Oh, just that New Neighton was mostly Earth Pony buildings, except for the center, which was built unicorn style.”

“I’m guessing some of those other piles of ‘rocks’ we passed were more of the same. More ruined buildings.” said Watch.

“Probably so,” said the captain. “Which would mean we’re already within the colony limits.”

“Welcome to New Neighton,” said Rapid Advance, walking up behind the trio, the rest of Cookie Squad in tow.

“What’s left of it.” added Distant Voice, moving up to take a good look at the pile of debris. “I guess 86 years isn’t kind to Earth Pony buildings with nopony to take care of them.”

“It’s more than that,” said Watchful Eye, dropping to his belly and moving his face within inches of the debris. He squinted his eyes, and nosed at a few pieces of the rubble with care. “Some of this damage isn’t from rot, or simple collapse. And here..” the sergeant motioned to a few pieces of dark tile had brought together in front of the pile “...that’s fire scorching. It’s burnt.”

“So it burned down?” asked Star Duster.

“Hmmm.” replied the sergeant, before moving further into the trees.

“Okay Cookie,” said Winter Sky. “I want everypony to fan out as far as you can, while still keeping me in sight, and try to find any other building remnants you can. If you find a foundation, stand by it.”

Star Duster saluted, turned, and headed off into the woods. All around him the other members of the squad did the same, and before long he came across another pile of debris. A low pile of rotted wood and assorted detritus, spread over a fairly wide area. He nosed through it, flipping over pieces of wood and broken tile, searching for the foundation of the building it once belonged to. It didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for. Clearing away a bit of dirt and debris, the stallion took his position on the overgrown slab of stone. Looking around, he could see a few other members of the squad had already stopped as well, and he began to realize just how many such buildings had once stood here.

A noise to his side caught his attention, and turning towards it, Star Duster could see his sergeant, muzzle pressed low to the ground, quickly approaching him as he sniffed at the ground.

“Good boy!” said Star Duster, smiling.

“What?” Watchful Eye stopped, raising his head to look at the private, a bit of confusion on his face.

“Nothin’. Got another building here Sarge, looks like the same deal as the first one.”

Watchul Eye nodded, then moved to inspect the debris in question. “Same as the other.” Quickly the sergeant had his muzzle back to the ground, and began to move off towards the other ponies. One by one, he moved to each stationary pony, inspecting their discoveries. It didn’t take Watchful Eye long to visit each pony that Star Duster could see, and he headed back into the trees that he had appeared from.

“Alright everypony!” came the sergeant’s voice. “Come on back!”

Quickly, the ponies of Cookie Squad had gathered again around their captain. Seeing that that everypony had returned, Winter Sky looked to Watch.

“Pretty much what I thought sir,” said the sergeant. “They all burned.”

“So the colony was razed?” asked Rapid Advance.

The captain looked to the large pony, subtly raising an eyebrow. “Or at least this section of it.”

“Not just razed but…Well I don’t really know what to make of it,” said Watchful Eye, “the way the debris is scattered about looks like some of them caught fire then got hit by a tornado or something. Some of the heavier chunks of tile, or even chunks of support beam, are pretty far from the buildings themselves.”

“Perhaps the storm blew them around?” said Winter Sky.

“I think it would have blown most of the other lighter debris piles around too in that case, but it didn’t. I suppose being in the middle of a forest like this can dampen the wind. Plus, with as deep in the dirt as some of the stuff is stuck, well, it’s been there awhile.”

Star Duster cocked his head, turning something over in his mind. “So they blew up?”

Winter Sky and Watchful Eye both turned to face the private. Watchful Eye blinked.

“They what?” asked Watchful Eye

“Blew up. You know, exploded...” Star Duster reared up, waving his forelegs for dramatic effect. “KABOOM!” He dropped back to all fours. “Well I mean, you said the stuff was burnt, and scattered all over the place right? Sounds like explosions to me.”

Watchful Eye continued to look at the private, tapping his chin with a forehoof. “Hmm. You would need some kind of siege weapon, like a mortar, to do that kind of damage. But then.. why the hay would you go through the effort of lugging something that unwieldy out to shoot at a bunch of cottages. I mean, you could just lob some torches on the rooftops and be done with it. Seems like complete overkill.”

“Siege mortars would have left some obvious craters as well, which we haven’t seen.” added Rapid Advance. “Magic perhaps?”

“Hmmm,” said Watchful Eye. “It just doesn’t make much sense.”

Star Duster shrugged. “Well sarge, I just said they were explosions, not sensible explosions! Maybe whoever or whatever caused them isn’t very sensible.”

“This is all rather cryptic,” said Winter Sky, moving in between the two stallions, “this particular section of town has been deliberately destroyed, in a possibly explosive manner. We need to get to other parts of town to see if the same holds true.”

“Good idea sir,” said Distant Voice, startling the other three stallions. “ This place is giving me the creeps.”

“Yeesh Voice, you need to stop doing that. Especially in creepy forests full of mysterious ruins.” said Star Duster.

“Sorry,” the little pony grinned, “though really I was just going to suggest we maybe head for the town hall or barracks, something in the middle of New Neighton, the unicorn style stuff. There may be more left of the stone buildings. They might not have, uh, exploded as much.”

“That is exactly what I had in mind, actually,” said Winter Sky, “though it will be a good walk through all this.” he gestured at the surrounding trees.

“Yeah, it sure would be nice to FLY there. This is stupid,” said Sable shield, who was sitting just within earshot of the four stallions, her forelegs folded in an indignant manner. Watchful Eye and Winter Sky both turned their heads to glare.

Sable’s eyes widened. “Did I say that out loud? Shoot.”

Star Duster smirked. Dummy.

“Uh,” the mare started, “ I meant, it’s a shame that our magic isn’t working, or we could just fly there really quick, sir.”

Winter Sky snorted. “Alright ponies, we are moving on again. Let’s pay a visit to downtown.”

******

Walking. Lots more walking. There were many things Star Duster liked, and walking was quickly falling from that list. Having fallen once more into their formation, It took the group several hours to make any progress at all. The ever thickening forrest and occasional stop to examine roadside debris slowed their march to a curious crawl. Every so often Winter Sky would call a brief halt to examine or mark something on his map, then they would resume their trek. If that wasn’t enough to drive a stallion completely bonkers, he still couldn’t fly.

“Hey Star?” said Sable Shield.

“Yeah?” said Star Duster, glancing at the mare beside him.

“What do you think happened here?”

“I have no idea. Nothing really makes sense, but we haven’t seen much of anything yet. Well, other than some exploded houses.”

“I know, and that is bugging me.”

“Well, yeah, it bugs me too! Burning down and/or exploding ponies houses isn’t exactly nice.”

“No you dummy, not that, I mean why haven’t we seen signs of anypony?”

Star Duster cocked an eyebrow. “Seen anypony? You mean bodies or something?”

“Yeah. Or really, any sign of them at all. If somepony, some thing was running around here torching the town, it’s not like ponies would just sit calmly waiting for them. Where are the dead, the discarded weapons, hay this road should be clogged with wagons and carts or stuff like that. You know, like we saw in those towns on the border after those big Griffon raids? Junk was everywhere! Why haven’t we seen any of that?”

“Humm” said Star Duster, “well we know it happened fast, maybe everypony ran to the center of town, where the stronger buildings are?”

“Maybe,” answered Sable Shield, “but you’d still think we would be finding more stuff along this road if half the darn town ran down it. Well, I mean stuff that isn’t just pieces of houses. Personal stuff or something. I just have a really bad feeling about this.”

“So then it happened really fast,” offered Star Duster, “so fast ponies didn’t even have a chance to grab anything at all. Maybe they just bolted, ran from whatever it was.”

“Ran, and never came back,” said Sable, somewhat more quietly.

“You know,” came the voice of Winter Sky, walking a short distance ahead of the pair, “you do have a good point about the road, private. We didn’t see anything at all around the portal either, or on the road leading up to it. It’s like nopony even tried to flee. Razing an entire settlement isn’t that fast. There would have been some time to react.”

“Unless these houses were already abandoned when they were destroyed,” added Watchful Eye, jumping into the conversation.

All four ponies turned to look at the sergeant, all wearing the same curious expression.

“Well,” Watch continued, “if there was nopony here when the buildings were destroyed, there would be nopony to find in them, or to drop stuff along the road fleeing them.”

“Well, yes Sergeant,” said Winter Sky, “but then it becomes even more confusing. Why-”

“Building!” shouted Distant Voice suddenly, cutting the captain off mid-thought. All four ponies quickly turned their eyes to the direction of the sound.

“It’s a stone one too, walls are still up!” Voice continued, halting and gesturing at an overgrown shape looming ahead, just off the left side of the road.

Star Duster squinted his eyes, looking where the little pony was pointing. Sure enough, a small, ragged building, made of rough, dark grey stone could be seen ahead of them. “That doesn’t look like a unicorn building.”

“Nor should it.” said Winter Sky. “We aren’t near the center of town yet. That is something else.”

“Probably a granary or the like.” said Watchful Eye.

“That would make sense,” added Winter Sky, “Earth Ponies are rather industrious types, I imagine there are some functional structures they would need to build out of stone.”

“Whatever it is,” said Rapid Advance, “it’s the first building we have come across that is still standing. Well, sort of. It’s certainly worth a look.”

“Agreed,” said Winter Sky.

“Let’s have a look then, shall we?” added Watchful Eye, turning his eyes from the captain to the structure in question. He moved off, walking towards it, Cookie Squad falling in quickly behind him.

As the group drew close to the structure, its nature, and condition, became more apparent. The roof was strangely tall and surprisingly intact, save for one side which had partially collapsed. It’s walls, while still standing, were in worse shape. Cracked and crumbling in some places, they ceased to be entirely on one corner, having collapsed into a pile of stones and wooden beams that littered the overgrown ground around it. Laying in the grass not far from the ruin was a huge, elongated pile of fragmented wood, broken up at intervals by some sort of metal bands. The rotted remains of a giant wooden blade, Star Duster realized. This was what remained of a windmill.

“So, a windmill,” said Star Duster, pausing as he reached the nearest crumbling wall. Turning to face the others he froze, narrowing his eyes, “and, uh, is it just me or did it get even darker?”

“It’s not just you,” said Dawn Trotter, still at his side. “seeing the same thing here. Or well, not seeing.”

“This isn’t right,” said Watchful Eye, walking around the pair, his eyes trained skyward. “The moons are both clear and visible, and even higher up than earlier. It should definitely be brighter than when we got here.”

“Whatever is affecting our flight, could very well be affecting our night vision.” added Winter Sky, walking up to the sergeant’s side, his eyes also locked on the two moons. “Both are physical abilities that draw on magic to function.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” added Rapid Advance.

“Me either,” said Sable Shield, her unexpected proximity making Star Duster jump slightly.

Star Duster turned to face the mare. “Spooky stuff.”

She just nodded.

Turning back towards the ruin, the stallion scowled. “Well, you guys can keep looking at those moons, I’m going to check out what’s inside.”

“I’m coming too,” said Sable Shield, starting after him.

“We’re all coming,” said Watchful Eye, turning and trotting up to Star Duster, “Except for you Far Out. I need you and Rapid to sweep the exterior. See if there is anything laying around.”

The mare, and much larger stallion, saluted promptly and turned away. A moment later the pair had rounded the side of the building, vanishing from sight.

“You did that so Far Out wouldn’t loot the place, didn’t you?” whispered Star Duster.

Watchful Eye leaned in close, whispering back. “Yep. And so Rapid doesn’t wreck it. This thing looks like its about to fall over, and Rapid is about as gentle as a blind Yak on its tenth cup of coffee,” the stallion grinned.

The group, Star Duster in front, moved the short length of the nearest wall, coming up to the ruined corner at its end. Turning it, the stallion took one step and abruptly froze in place.

“What the hay is that.”

A large shape, tall and dark, loomed in the shadows of the ruined building. A vaguely familiar, very out of place shape, surrounded by chunks of debris.

“What in the...” said Watchful Eye, moving in on his right, Winter Sky at his side. Behind, Star could hear the rest of the group round the corner and pause in a similar manner.

“Isn’t that the creepy statue thing we saw near the portal? Asked Sable Shield, the unease in her voice impossible to miss.

“Let me see!” came a shout from behind, quickly accompanied the small form Of Distant Voice squeezing himself between the gawking ponies.

“Oh hey, it is! And it’s intact!” Having squeezed himself through to the front of the group, Voice approached the object slowly. Cautiously, curiously, he began to circle the object in an almost predatory manner.

Star Duster watched the curious little stallion for a moment, then tilted his head back, his eyes tracing the shadowy form upwards. “This thing has to be like fifteen feet tall.”

“So, there is more than one of these things...” said Winter Sky.

“...And this one was built inside a building?” asked a clearly confused Dawn Trotter. “That makes like no sense.”

Watchful Eye approached the object slowly himself, his head low to the ground his pink eyes pinned firmly on the object’s base.

“It wasn’t,” he said, “look at it. The base isn’t built on the floor, its piercing through it. “

“What?” said Winter Sky, his attention snapping to the sergeant.

“Its going through the floor, look,” he swept a forehoof along the floor, near the base of the object. “like a spike. Looking at the roof right here, I’d say it went through that too. And the wall. That’s why this corner of the building is such a mess. This thing came down through the whole thing, from above, like some kind of huge stone lawn dart.”

“Wait,” said Sable Shield, standing just behind Star, “somepony dropped this thing on the building?

“Watch is right. That’s why it’s narrower at the bottom!” said Distant Voice, nearly shouting at the sudden realization. “So that it can pierce the ground, I mean. Like an arrowhead!”

“It’s a weapon?” said Winter Sky, hesitantly, as if he not quite sure of the conclusion he was drawing.

“Well, at the very least it looks like its meant to drop into the ground like this sir. The other one was sticking out of the dirt in the same way.” said Voice.

Star Duster thought about that. Voice seemed to have a point with the shape of the object, but something still struck him as odd about the whole idea.

“That one didn’t seem to have been dropped on anything though. Other than the dirt, I mean. Seems like a big waste to haul something so big and clunky out there just to drop it on some trees.”

“Maybe they were aiming for the portal?” asked Sable Shield

Star Duster nodded. “True, maybe, but if they were that was one heck of a miss. And they never went back to try again.”

“And who drops a statue on a friggen windmill?” said Sable Shield, half to herself.

“The carving at the top of this one, it’s intact,” said Distant Voice, who was now on the opposite side of the strange statue, looking up. “It’s hard to make sense of though, the light is too dim. I am not sure what I am looking at. It’s almost like it gets darker the closer you get to it.”

“Somepony grab a Sunstone,” said Winter Sky, “we’ll risk a bit of light to get a better look at this thing.”

“Good idea sir!” said Distant Voice. “Then I can take another rubbing too, and compare them. The other one had a bunch of weird writing right her-”

Distant Voice screamed. A short, sharp, strangely agonized scream that jolted every pony present. The small stallion reared, staggering backwards on two legs. Cradling his forehoof, he managed but a few steps before collapsing onto his side.

Star Duster stared, mouth agape, unable to process what had just happened. Distant Voice moaned, writhing on his side, then curled into a fetal position.

“Voice!” shouted Watchful Eye, his eyes wide in alarm. Galloping over to the fallen stallion’s side, the sergeant sat quickly next him. “Voice, are you alright? Look at me.” Getting no response, Watchful Eye quickly removed his helmet, dropping it at his side. Just as quickly he had yanked off Distant Voice’s own. Gently, he began to nose the fallen pony’s neck, looking for signs of life.

A loud series of hoof falls drew Star Duster’s attention to his right as Rapid Advance, trailed by Far Out, came careening around the corner.

“I heard a scream!” Said Rapid. “What hap-” he froze mid sentence, his eyes falling on the scene at the object’s base.

“VOICE!” he shouted, galloping over to the pair. His eyes darted between the prone form of Distant Voice and Watchful Eye, sitting at his side. “Watch, what happened? Is he..”

“No,” the sergeant, his eyes pressed tightly closed, shook his head quickly. “No, thank heavens, no. He’s alive. He’s just...I don’t know. He’s cold. He touched that thing,” he gestured at the mystery object with a forehoof, “and it did this to him.”

Rapid ’s nostrils flared, and he turned towards the object. Watching the scene unfold, Star Duster could feel that something bad was probably about to happen.

“Whatever you want to do Rapid, don’t. Don’t touch that thing!” said Star Duster

“Uhhhhhhhhh,” moaned Distant Voice, who stirred slightly. As one, all eyes moved to him.

Watchful Eye pressed his nose to the smaller stallion’s neck again, before pulling back and nodding. “He’s warming up.”

“Can he be moved?” asked Winter Sky, coming up behind the trio.

Watchful Eye turned to face him. “Maybe. I don’t know. I just, I have no idea what just happened. He touched it and… Did you see when he did? All the weird little shapes on it flashed, but just for an instant.”

The captain thought a moment. “Some kind of ward?”

“I don’t know, but it sure seemed like it.”

“Private Far Out,” said Winter Sky, moving his eyes to the prone form of Distant Voice.

In an instant,the mare appeared. She failed to salute, her eyes instead locked on Distant Voice.

“Sir?” she said.

“Did you hear what we were just saying?” the captain asked.

“Yes sir.”

“Good. Help Watch with Private Voice. See if you can do anything for him. I want to get as far away from this thing as we can, as soon as we can. Corporal,” Winter Sky looked straight to Rapid Advance, gesturing behind himself with his head, “with me. I’ll fill you in.”

Rapid Advance nodded, moving to follow the captain a short distance across the ruined room.

Star Duster watched, as the captain began relating to Rapid Advance what little they had learned, or rather suspected, about the two objects. Rapid would nod along as the captain spoke, but his eyes never left the limp form of his friend across the room. To Star Duster’s own left, a concerned looking Dawn Trotter sat, observing Watch and Far Out at work. Glancing to his right, he saw Sable Shield, standing emotionless, staring at the strange object that felled his friend.

“Far Out what are you doing? You can’t jus-” said Watchful Eye, the alarmed tone in his voice drawing Star Duster’s attention.

“Sure I can, watch!” said the mare.

“Wait!” said Watchful Eye, but Far Out was too fast. In a flash, the mare thrust a hoof forward, shoving something into, and almost down, the throat of the still motionless Distant Voice. She pushed hard on the exposed end of what he could now see was a potion bottle of some sort.

“He’s going to choke on that thing!” cried Watchful Eye, moving to intervene. Like lightning, the mare’s free hoof shot out, landing square in the middle of the sergeant’s face.

Star Duster watched the scene unfold with a mix of awe, and confusion. To one side, Far Out had a hoof pushing on a rapidly draining potion bottle lodged in the mouth of Distant Voice. To her other side, another hoof was firmly pressed into the snout of a vainly flailing Watchful Eye, who despite his best efforts, was unable to get any closer to the mare.

“Captain Winter said to help, and I’m helping! This stuff is totally disgusting, which means it’s really good.” The little mauve mare deftly doged the sergeant’s every attempt to interrupt her, much to the confusion of Star Duster, still watching the scene from across the ruined room. Watchful Eye’s tendency to get a little crazy whenever one of his charges so much as chipped a hoof was pretty well known throughout the company, but Far Out’s ability to hold him at bay was both impressive and unexpected. If she could grapple this well one hooved and sitting, Star Duster didn’t want to think what she would be capable of on all four hooves and angry. The stallion made a mental note never to find out.

A loud cough, followed by the clanking of a hastily expelled potion bottle brought the impromptu wrestling match to an abrupt end.

“Blarghh” coughed Distant Voice, pushing himself up slightly and spitting out some very unsettling looking green fluid. “What’s that awful taste?” he coughed again. “That’s not natural. Nothing should..” he paused, offering a last wheezing cough, “...taste like that.”

The little grey stallion froze, noticing the many eyes fixed on him. “What..?”

In a flash of maroon and mauve, he found himself swept into a multi-pony hug with the two ponies nearest to him.

The thunderous clomping of very large, and very quickly approaching hooves drew the attention of the three, and as one, three pairs of eyes went wide in alarm.

“Oh no,” said Watchful Eye.

Star Duster winced at the inevitable. The wrecking ball in pony form named Rapid Advance slammed into unfortunate trio, dragging them into far more imposing quadruple bat pony group hug.

Walking over to the quartet of aggressively embracing ponies, Star Duster said nothing, rapping the hapless Distant Voice on his now unhelmeted head.

“You scared us, you little nerd,” said Dawn Trotter, coming up beside Star. Smiling, he rapped the unfortunate little pony on the head as well.

“I am glad to see you are alright, Private,” added Winter Sky, walking up with a grin on his muzzle.

“Uhh, thanks sir?” said Distant Voice, his voice strained by the crushing embrace of Rapid Advance.

The captain cocked an eyebrow. “You sound...confused, private.”

Distant Voice grinned, a bit sheepishly. “I have no idea what’s going on sir. I remember touching that thing over there and then…. Far Out trying to drown me with the nastiest tasting stuff ever.”

“I helped!” exclaimed the mare, from somewhere within the mass of hugging ponies.

The captain’s expression changed, to something nearly unreadable. “You don’t remember what it did?”

“Nope, it’s sort of fuzzy?”

Winter Sky nodded. “I hate to break this up Cookie, but we are going. Now.”

Star Duster, returning the captain’s nod, turned towards Sable Shield. The mare hadn’t moved, and was still looking over the mystery object.

“Uh, Sable? You weren’t going to say anything?”

“What?” the mare responded. “About him? I knew he’d be fine. He always is. I’m more worried about that thing,” she nodded towards the statue.

Star Duster sighed. “Come on, lets go.”

“Yeah yeah.”

******

Back on their hooves, Cookie Squad made its way back to the exterior of the ruined mill. Pausing to repack supplies and re-don their helmets, the bat ponies prepared to leave this particular mystery behind, and head once more towards the center of the colony.

“Well that was fun,” said Dawn Trotter, once more taking position at Star Duster’s side.

“Yeah, hopefully we are funned-out now,” said Star Duster. “I am done having fun, if that’s what passes for it on this planet.”

To his left, the stallion could see Rapid Advance, standing a bit away from the group. He stood glaring at the strange object that caused his friend so much grief. Every now and then, the large pony would look to some part of the building instead, as if studying it.

“Uh, Rapid, what exactly are you doing?” asked Star Duster

“Thinking.”

“Oh.”

“So,” said Distant Voice, from somewhere behind him, “did anypony get to see what was carved on the top of that thing?”

“Afraid not, Voice. We had more important things to worry about. Namely you,” said Watchful Eye.

Star Duster couldn’t see him, but could just tell by the sergeant’s tone of voice that he was grinning.

“Heh. Well, drat,” said Voice, “I don’t suppose we cou-”

“No,” said Winter Sky, quite abruptly.

“Oh. Okay then.”

Star Duster turned to face the conversation now, the terseness in the captain’s voice drawing his attention.

“Captain?” said Watchful Eye, somewhat confused. “Wouldn’t it be worth just a quick look, especially considering what that thing could have cost us?” The sergeant noded subtly towards Distant Voice, who having turned to face the captain, was oblivious to the gesture.

“That’s exactly why I want to get as far from it as we can, as quickly as we can, Watch.” said Winter Sky. “Voice said he couldn’t remember what happened after he touched it. He was definitely conscious. If there is even a chance that thing can mess with memories, get into minds, if that is even a slight possibility, I want us as far away from it as possible. That is not the kind of magic I want anything to do with. That thing is dangerous.”

A loud snort came from behind him, and Star Duster turned to its source; Rapid Advance.

“The captain is absolutely right,” said Rapid, “that thing is dangerous. Too dangerous.” The huge bat pony flared his nostrils, pawing at the ground with a foreleg.

“Rapid, what are you doing?” asked Star Duster, who was very certain this was going to end badly.

“Something.” Rapid Advance reared, charging straight towards the ruined mill.

“Rapid!” shouted Watchful Eye, clearly alarmed by the explosive launch of the corporal.

Before any answer could be made, the massive bat stallion collided with the building, disappearing into a jagged, Rapid Advance shaped hole in its side. Shards of stone and wood flew skyward, and the building shuddered. Creaking loudly, it began to take on a precarious lean, then, after going silent for a brief moment, collapsed in on itself, the bulk of the intact walls falling straight onto the strange statue within.

Suddenly, pain. Every pony present hissed or shouted, collapsing where they stood. Star Duster found himself gasping for breath as a sudden rush of heat washed over him. His vision blurred. The world around him flashed, growing brighter, and an overpowering flood of sensation the pony could not begin to describe drowned out his senses. Just when he thought he could take no more, it all began to fade, slowly at first, then building up speed until just as suddenly as it had begun, it was over. Still gasping, the stallion craned his neck up, looking for his friends, and saw that everypony else appeared to be in exactly the same condition he was. Even stranger still, he could see no debris, anywhere near them. The building hadn’t collapsed on them, or anywhere near them.

“Uhhh?” Star Duster croaked.

“What... just happened?” added Sable Shield.

Star Duster couldn’t see the mare, but- actually yes, he could see the mare. Very clearly. He blinked.

“By the moon, I can see!”

“Moons,” groaned Dawn Trotter, somewhere behind him.

“No!’ snapped Star, “MOON. Our moon. Those moons are awful and I hate them. And that statue. And the wind, and and the walking and really I just hate this whole planet.”

“Huh?” came the voice of Watchful Eye, who’s head popped out of the tall grass a short distance away. “You’re right, it’s way brighter now.”

Movement to his left drew Star’s attention, and around the corner came the stumbling bulk of Rapid Advance.

“Did you all, uh, you know, nevermind,” Rapid fell hard on to his haunches, shaking his head as if to clear it.

All around, Star Duster could see the other members of Cookie Squad sitting up slowly, in similar states of disarray.

“Hey, wait a minute...” said Watchful Eye, hauling himself out of the grass. The sergeant staggered forward, past Star Duster, into a more open area between himself and the sitting form of Rapid Advance. Pausing, he slowly spread his membranous wings.

Raising an eyebrow, Star Duster watched with curiosity. Watchful Eye began to flap his wings. Slowly and hesitantly at first, then faster and more fiercely. Nodding, the sergeant then leapt straight into the air, pumping his wings and...rose. A moment later, Watchful Eye found himself airborne, hovering over the dazed ponies of Cookie Squad, all of which had their eyes trained on him.

“I can fly!” shouted Watchful Eye, looming high over the heads of his comrades.

“Yes sergeant, I can see that,” said Winter Sky, rising to his hooves before unceremoniously shaking himself off. “Now please, land before something sees you.”

“Wait, we can fly again?” said Sable Shield, who was dragging herself back to a standing position as well.

“And see,” added Far Out, who was prone on her back, and making no attempt at righting herself. “Look at those clouds. Pretty.”

“So, we have our magic back,” said Rapid Advance, returning to the group.

“Not back,” said Distant Voice, suddenly sitting up from the tall grass that had been completely concealing his small form. “No longer suppressed, I think. You broke that statue Rapid. Then this happened. At like, the exact same instant. Not a coincidence.”

“So that statue was some kind of giant magic suppressor?” asked Rapid, turning to face his small friend.

“Or siphon, or sink, or something....” added Winter Sky, walking up to join the two. “Voice is right about it though. The instant that building collapsed, everything went bright again.”

“So those statues stop magic from being used somehow?” asked Star Duster, trying his best to follow along.

“It would seem so,” answered Winter Sky.

“Well that explains the one by the portal, doesn’t it?” said Watchful Eye, alighting amidst the conversing ponies.

Winter Sky’s eyes went wide with comprehension. “Of course. The portal is magical. Everything about it is. If you prevent the use of magic, you prevent the use of the portal as well.”

“So it is a weapon.” added Rapid Advance.

“A weapon far more dangerous than we first considered,” said Winter Sky, turning back to look at the remains of the building. “Wait.”

Watchful Eye cocked an eyebrow, before turning to look at what had caught the captain’s attention. “Well what do you know... Voice, you may get your chance after all.”

Thoroughly confused, Star Duster walked up to the pair, determined to learn just what had caught their attention. It didn’t take him long to see it. Just outside of the pile of rubble, laying on its side, intact in the grass, was the top portion of the mysterious object about which they had just been speculating.

Cautiously, together, the group approached the fallen object, its features coming more clearly into focus. Like the other, it had sections of what was almost certainly writing covering portions of its grey, stone-like surface. Unlike the other, and now clearly visible as the group drew near, was the carven upper portion of the object, completely intact. Eight pairs of eyes found themselves fixated on that very feature as the ponies of Cookie Squad came to a halt immediately next to the fallen object.

“...what is that supposed to be?” asked dawn Trotter.

“I..I think it’s supposed to be some kind of giant face. It has a mouth?” said Distant Voice

“That is quite possibly the creepiest looking thing I’ve ever seen.” added Rapid Advance.

Star Duster stared at the strange carving. It did look to be a face of some kind, but it had to be the strangest face he’d ever seen. Even worse, was the expression it wore. The face appeared frozen in some kind of stylized scream, its features, as best as he could tell, contorted in pain. Beyond the creepy factor of a screaming alien face, there was something else, something unnerving about the whole thing that he just couldn’t place.

“Definitely nothing from our world, assuming it’s supposed to represent something real at all. Could be a mythical beast or god or something couldn’t it?” said Watchful Eye, the reddish stallion staring intently at the object.

To the sergeant’s right, Star Duster could see the strangely quiet form of Far Out, looking frighteningly out of sorts, something completely unheard of for her. Of all the ponies of Cookie Squad, Far Out is the one he would expect to be all over a huge, creepy space-face. Aliens were right up her alley after all.

“Far? What do you think?” he asked.

The mare just quickly shook her head.

Star Duster blinked. That reaction was infinitely more frightening than the face itself.

“There is something deeply unsettling about this face,” said Winter Sky, taking a few steps forward. Lowering his head to be level with the object, he continued. “As Watch said, it’s like nothing in Equestria, or anywhere on our world.” The captain cocked his head slightly. “Yet, somehow, in some way I cannot place, it seems…familiar.”

Star Duster felt his blood run cold. The captain was right. That was what seemed unnerving to him. Familiarity. Something that should not exist with an alien face, on an alien planet, somewhere on the other side of the universe.

Winter Sky raised his head, turning to face the assembled ponies. “Like something out of a half remembered dream.”

Glancing from side to side, Star Duster tried to take in the reactions of his friends. Most seemed just as unnerved as he did. Except for Far Out, who looked completely terrified. That fact alone unnerved him more than any strange, screaming alien face ever could. Whatever this was, whatever it represents, the stallion found himself hoping that this particular dream of theirs would not become a nightmare.

Chapter 5 - Ruins, Riddles and Ghosts

“Help! It’s got me again!” cried Far Out.

Winter Sky sighed, watching the mare struggle futilely against a pair of vines that had ensnared her by the harness.

This is getting ridiculous.

Cookie Squad had travelled a fair distance, making their way further into the interior of the ruined colony. The battered road they had been following had all but disappeared, with only the vaguest outline of broken stones and stalled growth serving as a guide. The group had found its progress slowed, and now nearly stopped, by the oppressively thick foliage that seemed to get thicker as the group progressed towards their goal.

“Well stop flailing and maybe I will!” said Star Duster, who was attempting to grab one of the vines with his teeth.

“This is what, the third time now?” asked Watchful Eye.

“Fourth,” said Winter Sky, nodding to the sergeant at his right, “though in her defense, the road has pretty much disappeared.”

“Ow! Stop kicking!” yelled Star Duster, who had just failed to dodge one of the mare’s frantically flailing hind hooves.

Watching the exchange, the captain shook his head. “Watch, why don’t you pop up above the trees again and tell me what you see. We should be somewhat close.”

“You got it.”

Winter Sky watched as his friend hurled himself into the air, beating his wings until he disappeared above a nearby treetop. Turning back to face his struggling private, he could see her now surrounded by the other members of the squad, all pulling and snapping at vines with their teeth.

How the hay does she always manage this? ...And why is she upside down?

“Far Out, furl your wings,” said Dawn Trotter, “when I bite through this one you shou-”

The uncooperative mare yelled, falling a short distance to the ground with a thud.

“-fall free.” Dawn Trotter glared at Star Duster, who stood to his right with half of the severed vine in his mouth. “Way to wait for the warning, Star.”

“Whoops.” Star Duster chuckled, patting the prone form of the mare at his forehooves apologetically.

“Uhh, a little help here guys,” said Distant Voice.

Turning, Star Duster and Dawn could see the form of the little stallion partially hanging from another vine by a hindleg.

“Holy hayburgers, it’s contagious,” muttered Dawn Trotter, moving to assist his friend. Star Duster just giggled, helping Far Out back to her hooves.

“Little Pony Problems,” added a snickering Sable Shield, who stood just outside the debacle with Rapid Advance.

Winter Sky continued watching his charges, his expression as neutral as he could manage. A familiar conflict simmered within the grey bat stallion, one that often afflicted him when it came to anything concerning this particular squad of ponies. He found himself torn once more, unsure whether to scream in frustration, or laugh madly. He was leaning more towards the latter at present. The fact that every single one of these ponies had passed Royal Guard competency and physical testing, on multiple occasions, certainly seemed to warrant it.

A subtle thud broke him out of his contemplation, and the Captain turned, nodding to the returning sergeant.

“What did you see, Watch?”

“A herd of idiots wrestling in the woods,” said the ever-grinning sergeant.

“Yes, well, aside from that.”

Watchful Eye nodded, sucking in a breath. “Well, the good news is that we are pretty much right on the river. I think that’s why the plants got so crazy here. Go just a bit further thataway,” he motioned to somewhere vaguely behind him, “and you hit water. Across it, and a bit further out to the east, across town I’d wager, is a pretty substantial rise. A hill or something, with some ruins on top.”

Winter Sky nodded, recalling details of the map he had been viewing for much of the evening. “Yes, I believe it was host to a winery, and most of the colony’s windmills. Probably the ruins you are seeing.”

“Then to our west,” Watch continued, “just a ways down the river are two pretty large stone ruins. One had a pretty hefty a wall around it, so I’m guessing it’s the garrison compound.”

“The other large ruin, is it by chance on the opposite side of the river?” asked Winter Sky.

“Sure is, sir.”

“Then the other one is probably the town hall. Sounds like you found the center of town, sergeant.”

“Also,” added Watchful Eye, with a bit of a smirk, “just a bit ahead of us the forrest clears away almost entirely, along a small strip. Looks like what’s left of another road that follows the south bank of the river. It looks to be in way better shape than the one we were following here. We should be able to follow it straight to where we want to go, as well as avoid more ambushes by savage alien weeds.”

Winter Sky could hear some snickering behind him, which abruptly quieted as he swiveled an ear towards it. “Good job Watch.”

The captain then turned, facing the rest of Cookie Squad. “It seems we have a specific objective at last. You all heard the sergeant’s report. We have some ruins to investigate. I want us back in proper order as soon as we get to this river road.”

The captain began to move off, then paused abruptly, casting a glance back over the squad. “And I swear, if I see one more guardspony lose a fight to a plant I am going to be very put out.”

******

The road, and river, were just where Watchful Eye had put them. Breathing a collective sigh of relief, Cookie emerged from the dense, vine infested forest bank and onto a much clearer road. Assuming the same order they had been following prior to their encounter with the creepy magic statue, the bat ponies continued their journey.

“You think there are any fish in there?” asked Dawn Trotter.

“If there are, I don’t think I want to meet them,” said Star Duster.

“Hmm...probably not,” added Distant Voice, “I don’t think there was much of anything here.”

Winter Sky moved his ears in time to the conversation, training them on each speaker in turn. His mind was elsewhere however, as try as he might, the captain could not drive the image of the unsettling alien face from his mind. A feeling of unease and general foreboding had clung to the captain since they’d left the object behind them. Weighing most heavily of all on his mind was the effect it had on Distant Voice when the little pony touched it. Though he had escaped relatively unscathed, if something as unassuming as a statue was capable of something like that, he dreaded thinking of what other surprises could be laying around the ruins of the colony.

“Something on your mind sir?” asked Watchful Eye, snapping the captain to the present. The sergeant had resumed his position walking at his side, and was giving him a curious look. “You’ve got that... look again.”

Winter Sky turned his head to the sergeant. “I appreciate the fact you didn’t use the word ‘face.’”

Watchful Eye chuckled. “Almost did. Still, what’s on your mind?”

The captain shot Watchful Eye a hesitant glance, gathering his thoughts. “That thing, it could have killed Voice if we had been a bit less lucky. We need to be more careful. Who knows what else might be lingering here, eight decades later or not?”

“Yes sir,” said Watchful Eye, “though I don’t think anypony is very keen on touching anything too mysterious or spooky after what happened. Especially if it happens to be some kind of screaming space-face.’”

“That’s the thing, Watch,” said the captain, “I’m worried about the stuff that doesn’t. Whos to say any other hazards are going to stand out as much as those statue things.”

“Well, we’ll just have to keep our eyes open,” said the sergeant. “Or at least I will. I’m pretty good at it after all. Talented, you might even say.”

Winter Sky snorted, glancing at the sergeant. “Do you ever stop grinning?”

“On occasion,” nodded Watchful Eye, “you don’t want to be around when that happens.”

“I’ll second that.” said Distant Voice.

“Thirded.” added Star Duster.

The journey along the river road proved far less frustrating than their previous road going attempt, and in short order Cookie Squad found themselves nearing the location described by Watchful Eye. Two large ruins loomed above the treetops on either side of the river, and bat ponies slowed their pace, taking in the scenes.

Directly ahead, the road continued into an area of forest sparser than what they had been traversing, and low stone ruins, in great numbers, could be seen scattered amongst the thinning trees. Further back, and sitting in the midst of those smaller ruins, were the remains of a much larger, heavily damaged structure. Across the river from it, an overgrown, though still impressive wall could be glimpsed between densely packed trees. Rising above this wall was a battered, weather beaten tower of medium size. Though ravaged by time and whatever disaster had befallen it, the graceful lines and remnant gold cladding still clinging to the remains of the tower’s top marked it as a unicorn-wrought structure.

“That should be the town hall up ahead,” said Winter Sky, his eyes darting between his map and the ruins directly ahead of them. Around the captain, the bat ponies slowed to a halt.

“Or what’s left of it,” said Star Duster.

“Which makes that the garrison across the river,” added Watchful Eye, squinting as he stared at the location in question.

“Hmm,” said Winter Sky, his eyes moving between the two ruin sites. Tapping a forehoof to his muzzle, he returned his eyes to the map.

“Something on your mind, sir?” asked Watch.

Winter Sky turned to his sergeant, nodding. “Getting to this point has taken us longer than I would have liked. We don’t have too much night left, though I want at least a cursory look at these two sites before we find a place to set camp.”

“Split the squad?” asked Watchful Eye.

“Exactly what I was thinking,” said Winter Sky, nodding in approval. Moving to stand next to Watchful Eye, the captain turned to face the rest of the squad.

“Cookie, we’re splitting into two groups. Rapid Advance, Distant Voice and Far Out, you’re with me.”

“Star Duster, Dawn Trotter and Sable Shield,” said Watchful Eye, making eye contact with each pony in turn, “get your rumps over here, you’re on Team Watch.”

Winter Sky waited a moment for the assorted members of Cookie Squad to gather around their assigned team leader. “Watch, you take Town Hall. I’ve got the garrison compound. Everypony understand what we are doing?”

“Yes sir!” answered the group.

“Very good!” said Winter Sky. “Watch, I say we’ve got two hours to look around, after which I want to start looking for a place to set camp. Do you see that bit of ruin straddling the river up ahead, about even with the big one on our side?”

Watchful Eye turned to face the direction indicated by the captain, and squinted his eyes. After just a moment of searching the bank, the sergeant nodded. “Yeah! Looks like what’s left of a bridge.”

“That’s it. In two hours, we meet there. You’ve got your timepiece yes?”

“Yes sir.”

“Very well then. two hours, see what you can find. Lets move out.”

“You got it, sir,” said Watchful Eye, who turned to face the ponies assigned to him. “Star, Sable, Dawn, let go take a peek, shall we? And please avoid any creepy alien faces you may feel compelled to touch.”

Winter Sky watched as the sergeant moved off, leading his team down the road towards the large ruin that was once New Neighton’s town hall.

“Well then you three,” he said, looking back to his team, “lets see if the garrison holds any answers.”

The captain then spread his wings, beating them quickly until he was at treetop height just above the river. He turned, waiting for his ponies to join him. They did so in short order, though not as quickly as he expected.

“Feeling sluggish?” he asked.

“A bit harder to get aloft than it should be.” said Rapid Advance, who took up position next to the hovering captain.

“Oh not this stuff again.” added Distant Voice.

Far Out looked a bit concerned, but said nothing.

The captain nodded to the trio. “Another one of those things must be around here somewhere. Get groundside as soon as we are across the river and stay there. I won’t have any of us plummeting to our doom because we flew too close without realizing it.”

The four ponies moved on, alighting together on the far bank of the river. Before them, a short distance from the water’s edge, could be seen the pale grey stone of the garrison compound’s still formidable wall.

“Ugh, there is definitely one of those things nearby,” said Distant Voice.

“It must be in the compound itself,” added Rapid Advance, glancing at his small friend.

“Or close to it at least,” said Winter Sky, running his eyes along the top of the wall between the trees.

“Yeah, it’s super hard to fly again,” said Far Out. She was standing a bit behind the others, a look of exertion on her face. “You gotta’ flap like a hummingbird to get up at all.”

“Or like Dawn Trotter when he eats a whole box of cupcakes,” added Distant Voice, who nodded to Far Out in understanding.

“Lets just go in through the gate,” said Rapid Advance. “I’d rather not flutter over this wall just to face plant onto one of those statues on the other side.”

“What Rapid Said!” added Distant Voice.

Winter Sky took in the wall before him, scanning down its length as far as he could see in both directions. Biting his tongue, he probed his memory for details. He remembered learning the various types of pony military structures, though the details were proving frustratingly vague.

“Let’s see,” he thought aloud, “Canterlot style outpost tower and associated buildings...about a century ago, hmm.” The officer rapped a forehoof against his helmet a few times, as if trying to dislodge a specific memory. “I think if they had built this place like the normally would, we just need to follow the wall further west along the river, then turn north. The main gate should be fairly close after that. Not too far, but it will be a bit of a walk in all this undergrowth.”

“Cool!” said Far Out, swishing her tail. “Though couldn’t we like, go through the hole in the wall back there?”

Winter Sky blinked slowly, fixing his eyes on private Far Out. Slowly, the equally confused heads of Rapid Advance and Distant Voice slid in to either side, taking position directly beside the befuddled captain’s.

“What?” all three stallions asked at once.

“You know, the big hole back there” said Far Out, who motioned in the general direction with a wing.

The heads of all three stallions craned as one, stretching to see around the now equally confused mare. Sure enough, not far behind Far Out, in the opposite direction, was an area of dark shadowing on the otherwise uniformly grey wall. On closer inspection, it was clear to see that it was indeed a breach in the structure, one that had been rather inconveniently hidden by the treetops during the brief flight across the river.

“Oh,” said Winter Sky.

“Good job, Far Out,” said Rapid Advance, clearing his throat.

“Wow, we’re terrible,” said Distant Voice, snorting for effect. The little pony quickly found himself under the withering glares of the other two stallions.

“Uhh I mean-” Distant Voice’s reply was cut short as the oversized forehoof of Rapid Advance came down on his helmet, ringing it like a gong.

“Shhh,” said the much larger bat pony, who turned his attention to Winter Sky.

“This way,” said the captain, nodding to Rapid before moving past him towards the opening. The rest of the group fell in quickly behind, and together they moved through the breach.

Ducking his head, Winter Sky passed through into a large, heavily overgrown area. Motioning a stop command with a wing, he glanced to either side, trying to fix his bearings. All around, thick, tall grass grew, sprouting up about chunks of fallen stone. He knew that they should be entering into a courtyard or mustering field of sorts, but the overgrown, dilapidated nature of his immediate surroundings made it impossible to be sure. His only real landmark was the short, ruined spire looming above the surrounding vegetation.

“The stable barracks should be at the base of the tower, running southwest. Or whatever passes for southwest here. Seems a good starting point,” said Winter Sky, his eyes on the tower rising before them.

“I can see the top of it from here, actually. Straight ahead and left of us, fairly close,” said Rapid Advance.

“Well lucky you,” said Distant Voice. He let out an indignant nicker.

Turning his head to face the little stallion, Winter Sky could see his ears, and a plume of purple mane, rising above the tall grass.

“Oh no, we’ve lost our Voice!” said Far Out, unable to stifle a snicker.

“Very funny,” said Voice.

Winter Sky rolled his eyes. “Let’s go. Grass looks to get more manageable up ahead.”

“I sure hope so.”

The assembled ponies, or what could actually be seen of them, nodded, falling in behind the captain. They began to push through the tall grass, making their way in the general direction called out by Rapid Advance.

“Captain,” said Rapid Advance, “there’s something up ahead, off to the right. Well, a pair of somethings.”

Winter Sky stopped, halting the group. He raised an eyebrow, turning to the corporal. “A pair of somethings? “

“The remains of some sort of carts it looks like. Guard equipment, maybe,” nodded Rapid.

“Hmm. That way?” asked Winter Sky, pointing ahead and to the right.

Rapid Advance nodded again.

Winter Sky moved off in the direction Rapid had signaled, his group in tow. Moving a short distance through the tall grass, it began to abruptly thin, opening quickly into a clearing. Catching sight of the objects spotted by Rapid, he trotted towards them. Nearing the decaying objects, the captain began to recognize them. Wood and steel, covered with what was once a shining metallic overlay. Large arms extending on either side, surrounded by a heavy, once swiveling frame. The rotted remains of tensioning cables, and the broken winches that once serviced them. All around, the moldering remains of the wooden carts that once gave the machines their prized mobility. Once, they were finely crafted machines of war. Now, they were derelicts.

“Star Throwers,” said Rapid Advance, voicing Winter Sky’s own thoughts. He moved up slowly, taking position at the captain’s side.

“Yes, the smaller variant of them.”

“Oh, Star-Tossers,” said Distant Voice.

Far Out giggled.

“Please tell me ponies don’t actually call them that,” said Winter Sky.

“They do,” said Rapid Advance.

Winter Sky shook his head, returning his attention to the old weapons. He looked to a pair of shafts protruding from the remains of one of the ruined carts. Ragged bits of what was once heavy harnessing tack hung limply from their ends. The bat pony captain stared into the empty space and couldn’t help but wonder about the pony that once cinched those ruined straps. It was a feeling that only seemed to be getting stronger, the more of the colony he saw.

“There’s nothing here but ghosts,” he whispered.

“What’s that, Sir?” asked Rapid Advance, who had pulled his head away from one of Star Throwers he was closely examining.

“Nothing, corporal. Just thinking,” said Winter Sky. Closing his eyes, he attempted to clear his mind and refocus on the task. There was something else about the weapons, something that didn’t seem right.

“Aye,” said Rapid.

The captain turned to face him, cocking his head slightly. “Other than the fact they are half rotted away, do you notice anything peculiar about these weapons, corporal?”

Rapid Advance raised an eyebrow, then quickly returned his eyes to the Star Throwers.

“Well,” Rapid paused, thinking for a moment, “for starters, there are only two of them. These things come in batteries of three. Secondly, they look to have been deployed, yet the sliders are locked back in transport position. Seems they didn’t get to finish deploying them?

Winter Sky nodded. “Good observation, but look more closely. The slider is pulled back as far as it can be, true, but it isn’t locked for travel.”

The captain pointed a hoof at the center of the device, a geared assembly around which the weapon could be turned or elevated. “The weapon is free to aim, and has been deliberately craned back at that angle. Whatever they were planning to shoot at, was up. Though as for where the third weapon is, I have no idea.”

“Who the hay fires a Star Tosser at something in the air,” said Distant Voice, the sudden question causing the two stallions flanking him to jump in surprise. The pair had been so engrossed in their musings on the siege weapons that the presence of the little stallion between them had gone completely unnoticed.

“They are too small to hit anything far away, and anything close enough is moving too fast. They are only good against things on the ground.”

“So help me private, I’m going to tie a bell to your harness,” said Winter Sky, glaring at the offending pony. “No, three bells. You really need to stop sneaking up on your squadmates like that.”

“Hey, you guys just didn’t see me. Absolutely no sneaking involved,” said Voice, spreading his wings defiantly. “Maybe you should be more alert!”

“Yes, well maybe you should be taller,” said Rapid Advance, making a rude gesture with his lips.

“Oh yeah, hey, great idea Rapid,” said Distant Voice. A nefarious smile began to form on his muzzle. “I’ll get on that right now.”

Distant Voice dropped low, springing upwards with all the grace of an angry cat. With a few short flaps of his wings, he settled onto Rapid Advance. Fluttering his webbed wings once more, he lowered himself into a rather awkward looking sitting position on the Corporal’s back.

“Wow, that was a great idea. I can see way more now!’ Distant Voice kicked Rapid’s side, motioning ahead of him with a forehoof. “Onward, noble steed! I want a close up look at those Star Tossers.”

Rapid Advance turned calmly to face his captain, a completely unreadable look on his face.

“Permission to kill private Voice, sir?”

Slowly, Winter Sky shifted his gaze from Rapid Advance to the triumphant face of Distant Voice, sitting smugly atop his new mount. Shifting it back to Rapid, he nodded.

“Permission granted, Corporal. Just wait till we get home. I don’t want to fill out a casualty report.”

“You know, that’s kinda hot,” said Far Out, a burst of giggles erupting behind the trio of stallions. All three heads swung to face her.

“Voice, kick his side again!”

Without a word, Rapid Advance suddenly reared, flaring his massive wings. Distant Voice flew backwards with a screech, disappearing back into the tall grass.

“Or... maybe not,” she grinned.

“The stable barracks is just over there,” said Winter Sky, still staring at Far Out. “We are going in to have a look around. You too Voice, if you’re still alive.”

******

“Watch your hooves coming in, the rubble is kind of slidey,” said Watchful Eye, making his way carefully down a pile of debris. His wings were spread for added balance and each step he took was slow, as he half expected to trigger an avalanche of debris with each hoof fall.

The sergeant’s group had just entered what remained of New Neighton’s town hall; a large, formerly splendid Canterlot-style structure that was now reduced to a vine-choked, half-collapsed corpse of a building. Though they found themselves in what was technically a lower interior room of the building, large portions of the walls and ceiling had fallen away. Moonlight streaming through gaping holes in the walls and ceilings gave the group a well lit view of the devastation surrounding them.

“Slidey? Is that even a word?” asked Sable shield. She followed carefully behind Watchful Eye, her wings spread in a similar fashion. Behind her followed Star Duster and Dawn Trotter, moving with just as much care.

“Absolutely,” said Watch. It probably wasn’t. Not that it mattered, the sergeant thought, as there were clues to be found. Hopefully. The interior condition of the building was, by and large, worse even than the field of smaller ruined buildings the group had made its way through to get to it. Only the fallen tower they passed on the way in seemed to be in worse shape. That tower was, at least once upon a time, part of the complex they now found themselves in. At some point though it had lost its battle to time or the weather, and now lay shattered across the nearby river.

Watchful Eye paused, trying to picture what the view from that tower may have looked like, long ago when it still stood tall and proud high above the center of Equestria’s most incredible achievement.

The sergeant shook his head, trying to clear the image. That sort of thinking was a habit of his, and on occasions like this it only served to give his mood a tinge of melancholy. The tower was long gone, as were all the ponies that had seen its views. Now all that remained was forgotten pile of stones half submerged in a river nopony remembers the name of.

“So, where to sarge?” asked Dawn Trotter.

“Well,” said Watch, turning to face the trio that were now standing in a patient semicircle behind him. “There isn’t too much left of this place that is still standing, so the parts that are, that’s where we look. From the outside, it looked like a corner on the second floor, and about half of the first. Guessing by the amount of rubble strewn about, this place probably had more than two floors, so hopefully what we are looking for wasn’t in those sections. Or in that tower that used to be attached.”

“And just what are we looking for, sarge?” asked Star Duster, cocking an eyebrow.

“I have no idea,” said Watch, tapping his muzzle with a forehoof. “Something, anything that could shed some light on what happened here.”

“We may as well check the second floor, while we can still sorta fly,” offered Sable Shield.

“Yeah,” said Star Duster, “we’ll see how long that lasts. This place really wants to keep us on the ground.”

Watchful Eye nodded to Sable Shield. “Up it is then,” he looked up, scanning for the safest point of entry to the floor above. “And Star, I don’t think this place minds flying ponies. Whatever left those face things though, well, that’s another story.”

The group headed up, Watchful Eye in the lead, wings beating furiously against the unnatural effects of the unseen alien objects. They landed together in another, smaller ruined room, most of which had fallen away, exposing what remained of the floor to the open air.

“We aren’t going to find much in the rooms open to the weather,” said Watch. “Hopefully there are still a few intact up here.”

Moving deeper in, the bat ponies searched on. Room after ruined room they found, each a little better off than the last. The one thing they all shared in common though was a lack of anything useful. Water, ceiling plaster and chunks of wall seemed to be the only contents of note in any of them.

Watchful Eye found himself examining a large picture frame. It leaned against the bottom of a wall from which it had clearly fallen. The room he and his team now found themselves in was one of the best preserved they had yet encountered, though that wasn’t saying much. The image the frame had once contained was still discernible; A painted scene of flowers on a large hill, with a small number of suspiciously familiar windmills in the background. He suspected it was a painting of a location in New Neighton itself, probably done by one of the locals.

“Sarge, take a look at this,” said Sable Shield, gesturing from the opposite side of the little room.

Walking over to the private, Watch examined her find. Scattered on the floor before her were a number of small, tarnished metal cylinders. Some appeared to be missing some kind of cap on the end, a number of which were visible in the pile.

“What the hay are those?” said Watch, narrowing his brows in confusion. “They look sort of like signal scroll containers, but they are way too tiny.”

“And not magical either. They’re just regular old bronze,” said Sable Shield.

“Well, they are made by ponies at least,” said Star Duster, who had appeared at Sable’s side.

“I think I know what they are!” yelled Dawn Trotter, from further into the room. “Come take a look!”

Dawn was all the way in the back of the room, his head well into a doorway that lead to the next. Coming up behind him, Watchful Eye squeezed past.

This room was in even better condition than the one they had just been in. The layout was strange, containing a large bench like table, set against a wall, above which a large, and amazingly intact, sliding window sat partially open. Along the opposite wall was a line of tall cages, stacked two high, all of which sat open. On the far wall, on either side of a door leading to a mostly collapsed room were large open boxes, filled with what appeared to be straw.

“Oh, well now that make sense,” said Watch, walking over to the table by the window. On the table was a small rack, containing more of the little bronze cylinders. Beside the rack, what appeared to be some kind of perch.

“Yep,” nodded Dawn Trotter.

Sable and Star Duster walked up to the sergeant, their eyes moving between the cylinders, the perch, and the window.

“Oh,’ said both.

“Yeah, should have realized it as soon as I saw the tiny tubes” said Watchful Eye, who turned from the table to start exploring the rest of the room. “It makes sense they’d be using messenger birds. It’s not like there are any telegraph lines, or established mail services on an alien planet. They’d have to be able to keep in touch with the ponies that were out exploring and such.”

“Well, it looks like the birds escaped at least,” said Dawn Trotter, who had moved over to inspect the row of empty cages.

“Well, I’m glad something did,” said Star Duster.

Watchful Eye continued to run his eyes over every inch of what he now knew to be a messaging loft, catching sight of something beneath the large table. Walking back over to it, he dropped to his belly, and began feeling about underneath with his forehooves. Finally finding the object against the wall, he scooted backwards, rolling it out from its hiding place beneath the table. Rising to his haunches, lifted the item in his forehooves.

It was another of the little bronze message cylinders, though slightly different. This one was still sealed, wrapped in twine. Beneath the twine, around the outside of the cylinder, was an image, still visible on aged paper. It was a crude depiction of three pineapples. A cutie mark, Watch guessed.

“Sable,” said Watch, offering the cylinder to the private. “Try to get this open, you’re better with your teeth.”

The mare nodded, taking it in her hooves. She bit dit down and twisted, spitting the cap onto the table. Taking the rest of the cylinder in her teeth, she mouthed it back to Watchful Eye.

Grasping it gently between his own teeth, he tilted his head sideways, shaking it in a manner that must have seemed incredibly silly to the rest of the bat ponies watching. A few moments of very awkward shaking later, a small roll of paper slid out, bouncing gently onto the table.

“Ah ha!” said Watch, spitting the empty tube from his mouth. He brought his face close to mysterious little roll, examining it intently.

“Now, try unrolling that, as gently as you can,” he said, nodding to Sable Shield. “I think I’d squash the thing with these cloppers.” The sergeant waved a forehoof in the air for effect.

“Yeah, those weak little hooves may be just what we need,” said Star Duster, snickering to her left.

“Oh? Wanna see how weak they are?” said Sable, holding one of them up to the blue tinged stallion. “Well get ready, cause’ I’m about to shove this one clear up yo-”

“SABLE,” said Watch, hastily. “Paper. Now.”

“Fine, fine,” said the mare, giving one last glare to Star Duster before turning to her task.

Star Duster grinned.

Watch rolled his eyes. Still, it could be worse. With this particular pair of ponies, it often was.

“What’s it say?” asked Dawn Trotter, pushing in closer to get a closer look.

“Give me a sec,” said Sable, who had just begun to roll the tiny sheet flat.

The group watched nervously as she gently pushed her free hoof across the tiny parchment, slowly pushing until it was at its full extent. Pinning the new edge with her other hoof, she held it firm.

“There.”

“Great job private,” said Watchful Eye, who leaned in close, running his eyes over the newly revealed words. They were legible, but barely. The writing was messy, clearly written in haste.

“Find Swift quick,” he read aloud, “get to vineyard cellars. Guards are closing doors. Hurry.”

Watchful Eye looked from the little letter to his group, all of whose eyes were fixed on him.

“There’s no signature I’m afraid. Whoever wrote that, did it in a hurry.”

“And never got to send it,” said Dawn Trotter.

“Well that explains all the cylinders in the other room, doesn’t it?” asked Watch, turning to look back through the door behind them.

“How’s that?” asked Star Duster.

“A lot of ponies must have been trying to get messages out at once. As many as they could, as fast as they could, judging by the number of these things littering the floor.”

“So that’s why all the cages are open,” said Dawn. “All the birds were out when whatever was happening got here.”

“These ponies,” said Sable shield, her eyes locked on the message pinned beneath her hooves, “the one writing these, sending them out on the birds. That is a lot of cages, a lot of birds. A lot of little messages to write.”

“Sure was,” nodded Star Duster, who turned his eyes to the cages.

“And whatever happened here happened quick,” continued Sable. “They must have been here sending out messages until the end. They stayed at their posts.”

Watchful Eye looked at Sable Shield, pondering her words. Slowly he turned, facing the wall of cages opposite the table.

“That they did. Guard ponies or not, they had a duty to do, and they did it. More than that, they may have given us our first real clue as to what happened here.” Watch spun around, locking his eyes on the message in Sable’s hooves.

“It said the guards were shutting the doors to the ‘vineyard cellars’. If the guards were there, chances are some of the other ponies were too.”

“This sounds a scary amount like the build to a last stand,” said Dawn Trotter

Watchful Eye nodded slowly. “It may very well be, Dawn. There was a vineyard marked on Captain Winter’s map. Sounds like we may know where we need to go.”

His three companions nodded in unison.

“Let’s get this back to the captain,” said Watch, moving back towards the door.

“Sarge,” said Dawn Trotter, “aren’t we going to have a look in that last room before we go?”

Watch turned, looking to the doorway on the far side. The room beyond seemed to be mostly in ruins, choked with fallen stones, plaster, and all the other detritus associated with a building collapse. It wasn’t completely filled however, and some empty space could be seen amidst the rubble.

“It seems pretty wrecked Dawn, I doubt there’s anything to find in there.”

Dawn Trotter dropped to his belly, his eyes focused on something within the other room. “Its not whats in that room sarge, it’s what past it. I think there’s a path through all that junk, to whatever is beyond it. It just seems pretty tight.”

Watchful Eye froze. “You mean crawl through that?” The sergeant stepped back hastily, not liking this suggestion in the slightest.

“Yeah! At least to see what’s past it, I think its another room. The middle seems to get pretty close though. A smaller pony wouldn’t have any trouble getting in I bet.”

In unison, Star Duster and Dawn Trotter turned slowly to face Sable Shield.

“Of course,” she said, her eyes narrowed in annoyance. The mare moved towards the door in question.

“Sable, you don’t have to go there,” said Watch.

She paused, turning to face the sergeant. “Nah it’s fine, I’ve squeezed through worse.” She cocked her head. “Uh, sarge are you ok? I’m the one going in there but you look like you’re about to pass out.”

“No no, I’m fine” he assured her. “If you’re sure, just get in and out as quick as you can.”

Sable nodded, then turned back to the door. She dropped low, close to her belly, and moving slowly through, disappeared into the next room.

A few minutes passed, with Watchful Eye pacing nervously at the doorway. He was not a fan of confined spaces. Underground? With enough space, no sweat. Low ceiling? That’s ok too. Narrow corridors? Totally manageable. But when the walls and ceiling are touching you at the same time, when the whole room seems like it wants to squeeze the life out of you? That was a definite nope. It’s not something he could really deal with, and he didn’t like the idea of sending one of his friends to do it either.

“You doing ok in there?” he called through the door. No response.

“Sable Shield?” he called again. Still no response.

“SABLE?” he yelled, beginning to trot in place.

“Yeah, I’m here.” came the answer, sounding somewhat distant.

Watchful Eye stopped, dropping low to get his head more on her level. “Everything okay?” he yelled to her.

“Yeah, but you guys need to see this.” she yelled back.

Watch paused. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah!”

“Can’t you just describe it?” Watch yelled again, his voice sounding suspiciously like a whine.

“No sarge. I think this might be important. I pushed some stuff out of the way. It’s a little tight, but you guys should be able to get through.”

Watch dropped to his belly, his reddish hued tail going limp in defeat. His ears pinned back against his head and his pink eyes moved to one side, staring at nothing. He took a deep breath. He heard hooves to his left.

“I can shove you through if you want,” said Star Duster.

Watch didn’t even need to look at the other stallion to know that he was wearing that annoying smirk of his. He could feel it.

“And I could go first and pull!” added Dawn Trotter.

Watch turned his head and glared at the pair. He looked between the teal eyes of Star Duster, and Dawn Trotter’s blue. He couldn’t help but think, for a fleeting moment, how much better they would look in black. He returned his attention to the door.

“Let’s go,” he said, crawling slowly through the opening.

One harrowing crawl and near panic inducing squeeze later, Watchful Eye made it to Sable Shield. The mare sat in a void, an area of free space just beyond the mostly ruined room they had just passed through, motioning at the floor beyond her. Coming up to her position, he paused, and saw what had caught her attention.

A large, jagged, rectangular hole in the floor about the size of four ponies, was tucked against the wall. A few steps could be seen descending from its edge.

“A stairway!” said Watch.

“What’s left of one anyway,” said Sable. “The room down there is pretty dark too, I think it’s sealed up tight. Its hard to see very far across it.”

“You can thank those awful face statues for that,” said Watch, inching close to the hole for a better look.

Sable shield had been correct. The area of the room close enough to be seen in detail was in relatively good shape. While there was debris scattered across the floor that he could see, none of it was the heavy stone chunks that had choked the floors of most of the previous rooms they had seen.

“Well private, seems you’re right. We need to get down there.”

With that, Watchful Eye made his way down the stairs. With Sable Shield and the others following close at his tail, he moved slowly into the darkened room. Cautiously, the bat ponies fanned out, and details started to become clear. Though weakened by the effects of the strange alien statues, their night sight still functioned, and after a few minutes of careful exploration, the room started to reveal itself.

It was a fairly large rectangular space. Along one of the longer walls, a row of windows, through which only debris could be seen. On the far end of that wall was a large set of double doors. In between the windows were rectangular shapes, tattered pieces of paper clinging to most. To Watchful Eye, they looked like bulletin boards, or what remained of them. Across the room, near to the other longer wall, was a long counter, running the entire length of the room.

“Looks like some kind of reception area,” said Watch.

“Yeah,“ said Dawn Trotter. “Probably the main entrance, going by the windows and doors.”

“How did it not get completely squashed?” asked Star Duster, walking over to one of the nearby windows. He tapped a pane of intact glass, giving the rubble on the other side a suspicious glare.

“Looks like the top of the building fell off and landed right on the doorstep,” said Sable Shield, joining him at the window.

“I think that is exactly what happened,” added Watch, walking over to the counter on the opposite side. “The floors above toppled over and landed in front of the place, rather than collapsing into it.”

“Sounds like somepony came by and just knocked its top off,” sad Star.

“Yeah, about that,” said Dawn Trotter, “something isn’t right about all this.”

“A lot isn’t right about all this,” said Star Duster.

“Well, yeah,” said Dawn Trotter. “Sable said the ponies here stayed till the end, but if they did, why haven’t we found any of them? There had to be a lot of ponies in this building trying to send messages and stuff, and I mean, look at this place.”

He sat down, gesturing all about him with his forehooves. “I don’t think everypony could have gotten out of here. There is so much junk, we should have found somepony in here. Or, you know, part of somepony.”

Star Duster turned from the window, facing Dawn. “That’s a creepy, but good, point. It was the same with those houses on the road. Nopony anywhere. Not a trace.”

“Whoa!” said Watchful Eye. “Hold those thoughts you three, you need to see this.”

The sergeant was on his hind legs, his forehooves resting on the counter top. His neck was stretched clear over the top of it, his head pressed as closely to the floor as it could manage. His tail twitched excitedly as his companions approached, and he began to examine his find in detail.

Before the sergeant, on the floor where it had seemingly fallen, was a great crest. Two alicorns, one wrought of a bluish silver and the other of gold, circled a massive field of purple crystal. Within the crystal were set a great many smaller gemstones, which appeared to be diamonds. Amidst these smaller gems, and at their center, were set a large sun and moon.

“Holy horseapples,” said Star Duster, who peered over the countertop next to Watch. The others quickly joined him.

Sable Shield gasped, but said nothing.

“What Star said,” added Dawn Trotter.

“This thing is incredible,” said Watch, who was stretching precariously over the counter to get a better look.

“You have no idea,” said Sable Shield.

“Huh?”

“Do you have any idea what that is?” asked Sable, pushing her way onto the counter top. She waved a hoof at the crest.

Watch cocked an eyebrow. “Of course I do. We all do. It’s the Great Crest of Equestria. I’ve just never seen one like that.”

“Not that!” said Sable, stamping a hoof. “That.” She waved her hoof again, indicating the left side of the crest.

“The silver alicorn?”

“Yes! Well, no, just..” Sable hopped down behind the counter, moving closer to the fallen crest. “This isn’t silver. Or at least, not normal silver. This is freaking Moonsilver. “

“No way,” said Star Duster, leaping over the counter. He moved in close to the crest, low to the ground, displaying a sort of reverent caution that Watch had never seen from the stallion before.

“Wait,” said Watch. “Are you saying that thing was made by-”

“The Princesses,” said Dawn Trotter, from behind the group. “I know what it is.”

Three heads popped up from behind the counter, their eyes locked on Dawn.

“Voice mentioned it on the road on the way in. It’s the town’s official seal thing. Celestia and Luna brought it as a gift when they came to see the colony.”

“And they made it themselves.” said Sable Shield. “Moonsilver is beyond rare. It’s not natural, and nopony can make it anymore. It only ever came from one place, one pony, and she’s gone now.”

“Princess Luna,” said Star Duster.

“Yeah,” nodded Sable. All the Moonsilver that exists, everywhere, was made by Luna herself. And that is a huge chunk of it. I mean..” Sable seemed to hesitate for a moment. “Even if you ripped off the gems, the gold, everything else. Just that Moonsilver… Do you have any idea how valuable this thing is?”

“Yet here it is, tarnishing on the floor of a ruined building,” said Watchful Eye.

Sable turned back to the fallen crest. “Who the hay attacks a town, and leaves the most valuable thing in the whole place behind?”

******

“Anything in that one, Corporal?” yelled Winter Sky.

“No, just more of the same,” replied Rapid Advance.

The captain’s group, having made its way into the ruined garrison proper, now found itself searching what was once its stable-barracks. Winter Sky knew it should be of a similar design to what they knew back home in the Moon Tower, though he found himself a bit surprised at how much smaller it was. A familiar narrow passage was flanked on either side by individual stalls, each of which was once home to a pair of Royal Guard ponies. So far, Team Winter’s search of the stalls had yielded little in the way of answers; half-rotted mattresses and a few discarded bits of Solar Guard barding could be found, as well as the personal belongings of the stall inhabitants- most of which was scattered amongst the debris or still contained within their hoof lockers.

Winter Sky found himself on his haunches, staring at one such locker. It was still sealed, its latch on tight, exactly as it’s owner had left it. He hesitated a moment, thinking about the pony that may have owned it. On any normal night, an officer about to rifle through one’s hoof locker would be a cause for alarm. It was the only truly personal space a guardspony had when in stable, and thus was home to that particular pony’s most personal belongings. Not that any of that was a concern now. The owner of this locker, whoever he or she was, was eight decades gone.

He popped the latch, gently flipping it open. Tattered paper. The remains of letters could be seen resting atop a small stack of effects. Carefully removing the largest piece he could, he placed it on the ground beside the locker and began to read.

“...ker! Way cuter than that, even. The whole night was amazing, especially dinner on the hill. You should see the sky here at night, Diz. It’s so dark, so clear, so different. I’ll have to tell you all about that too when I get home. Just a month to go, and you will fin-”

Winter reached the end of the fragment. He closed his eyes, sighing as he moved the fragment aside. Returning his attention to the locker, he removed the remaining letter fragments, setting them aside in a pile. Tipping out the locker’s remaining contents on the floor, he began to inspect them. A pair of colored military tailbands, similar to the one he himself now wore. A small drawstring pouch, empty. A small pin. There was an inscription on the front, small and worn. It was hard to make out with his hindered vision.

Reaching back to one of his saddlebags, he nosed under its flap, and after a bit of prodding withdrew a small object. It was a white, circular stone, which was set within a thin, though ornate, metal rectangle. A small tab protruded on the top of the rectangle, which the captain quickly pressed. There was a brief flash of light from the face of the rectangle. Magical characters glowed dimly for an instant, before fading to darkness. The stone in the center began to glow.

He placed the Sunstone on the floor near the contents of the locker, and took the pin between his forehooves. The glow of the Sunstone, even diminished in strength, lit the interior of the small stall brightly, and to the eyes of a bat pony, even ones so hindered as Winter Sky’s at that moment, the room seemed as if it was lit by the sun itself. He could now read what was inscribed on the little metal pin.

Unbridled

“Hmmm,” mused Winter Sky. He knew that word, or rather, why that word would appear inscribed on a pin worn by a guardspony, or at least he used to. The captain gently rapped his head with a hoof, trying to remember. It had something to do with a historical event, something from even before the colony was founded. He just couldn’t place it. After a moment of thought, the captain placed the pin in his saddlebag. Deactivating the Sunstone, he returned it as well. Though useful, the spell powering the device had a limited duration, and he didn’t want to squander it. Returning the remaining locker contents, he relatched it, taking one last look around the tiny room before stepping back into the corridor.

“Anything of use?” asked Rapid Advance, who was standing in the narrow corridor to the captain’s left.

“No, it’s just like the others,” said Winter Sky, “seems everypony managed to get on-line at least, judging by what all is here. And what isn’t.”

“Well,” said Distant Voice, emerging from a stall door further down the corridor, “that’s a whole bunch of nothing in here too. Unless you like eighty year old stinky mattress. There’s a bunch of that.”

Winter turned, heading towards Distant Voice with Rapid Advance in tow.

“Nothing on our ends either, Voice,” said the captain, moving past the little stallion. He motioned with his head for the group to follow. “Where’s Far Out?”

“In here!” shouted the mare, from somewhere beyond the doorway at the end of the corridor.

“Far went to look in the next room,” said Voice.

“Well, hopefully she has more luck than we did,” said Rapid Advance.

“Indeed,” said Winter Sky, “though I did stumble a curious little thing in one of the lockers. A small pin, with an inscription reading ‘Unbridled’”.

“Ooh, neat.” said Distant Voice.

Winter Sky craned his neck around to look at the private. “You know the meaning, private? It seemed familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it.”

Distant Voice nodded. “Yeah, though why you would find one here of all places is kind of confusing. It’s sort of like an unofficial medal. You remember learning about the time Equestria was conquered, for like a week?”

Rapid Advance scoffed. “Conquered? Equestria was never conquered.”

“Yes it was!” said Voice.

Winter Sky blinked. “Ah, that’s it, of course.”

“What?” said Rapid, whos confused eyes darted between the other two stallions.

“The Storm King invasion, like 100 years ago,” said Voice. “Unbridled was what the guardsponies that managed to avoid getting caught called themselves.“

“Yes, I remember now,” said Winter Sky. They harassed the invaders and such, made it difficult for them to take ponies outside of the capital.

“Yep. Those guys never gave up, never surrendered, and were never taken prisoner.” Distant Voice hopped over a piece of debris and continued walking. “They were still fighting when Princess Twilight blew up the Storm King. That pin would have belonged to one of them, though the timeline doesn’t make much sense.”

“That is not a conquest,” said Rapid Advance. “They just raided the place for a week until we threw them out. That hardly counts.”

“They captured the capital Rapid, it totally counts. They were just awful at everything else,” said Voice.

“What do you mean about the timeline not making sense, private?” asked Winter Sky.

“Oh. It’s just that, well that stuff all happened 100 years ago or so, but New Neighton vanished like eighty-six years ago right? So that guard pony was still enlisted, fifteen years later? I mean, shouldn’t he be an officer or retired or something?

“Probably given to this particular pony by a parent then. Seems like something a family could be proud of,” said Winter Sky, nodding as he walked.

The trio made it to the door, and lead by the captain, moved into the next room. Private Far Out was ahead, standing in the center of the large, rounded space. Winter Sky recognized it as the main floor of the central section section of the garrison. Around the perimeter of the room could be seen a series of doors, one of which they had just come through. To the right, a larger set of doors, which clearly lead to the main entrance of the structure. They were open inwards, but blocked by vegetation and debris. To the left, directly across from the entrance doors, was another large, but shorter set of doors. Scattered about the interior wall were several smaller pony sized doors leading to small rooms, and to the tower visible from the exterior. Several large holes in the upper walls let in a fair amount of moonlight, casting the room in an eerie glow.

“Well then, where to look?” asked Rapid Advance, seemingly to himself.

“We need to search the garrison commander’s office,” said Winter Sky, taking in the scene around him, “but keep your eyes open for anything that stands out.”

“What about you Far, you find anything.” asked Distant Voice, walking over to the mare.

“Uhh, yeah. Lots of things. Something bad happened in here, I think.” she said, her eyes on something above them.

“What are you looking at?” asked Distant Voice, stopping by her side.

“Those marks up there, on the ceiling,” said the mare.

Distant Voice squinted his eyes, looking up. “The dark spots?”

“Yeah. There are lots of them in here.”

“They look like spell burns,” said Winter Sky, appearing beside the pair. His eyes moved slowly between the spots in question. To him, they seemed very much like the traces left behind when a powerful spell blast strikes something unyielding. In this case, stone. Darkened pits, with black marks radiating in all directions like some kind of haphazard sunburst. There was something else.

“Though that would be odd. It takes a rather powerful unicorn to cast a spell that can scorch stone, and few of those happen to be trained in offensive magic. Even fewer of those would be found in a Solar Guard garrison like this, if any.”

“There’s a bunch of them too,” added Distant Voice. “A few on the ceiling, and uh, a bunch over there on the far side by the looks of it.”

Winter Sky narrowed his eyes, going over the evidence in his head. He didn’t like the picture that was starting to form.

“They are on the wrong side,” he said, tapping his muzzle with a forehoof.

“Huh?” said Far Out.

Distant Voice turned to face the captain with an inquisitive look.

“To be made by the garrison ponies, I mean,” the captain continued. “Well, unless they were trying to recapture the place. Those marks are mostly clustered around the walls on the far side from the entrance back there. Whatever made them, it was coming in. Through the front door, and through the way we just came, it would seem.”

“So there was a fight here,” nodded Distant Voice.

“That there was,” said Rapid Advance, somewhere behind the trio. “I think you all need to see this.”

Winter Sky turned, quickly finding Rapid Advance across the room, standing by the wall near one of the small doors. He trotted over to the corporal, Voice and Far Out in tow.

Rapid Advance nodded, then gestured at the floor with a forehoof. “See for yourself.”

The corporal pointed to a large, dark spot on the floor immediately in front of him. Several long, broken streaks extended away from it, towards the center of the room. A few old hoofprints could be seen in the stain, as could many more marks that the captain could not place at all, some of which contained a strange patterning.

Distant Voice shifted uncomfortably. “Uhh, is that-”

“Blood, yes,” said Rapid Advance. “A great deal of it, too. Pony blood, I think. It’s about the right color for the age, and well, it’s on the side of the building they would have been defending. The armory is right through the door there I think. Also, over by the entrance, there are a few spent crossbow bolts, definitely Solar Guard.”

Winter Sky nodded again. “And those?” he pointed at the trails leading away from the stain,“drag marks?”

“I figure they were just stacking corpses, sir.” said Rapid.

“Well, that is just horribOH, what’s that?” said Far Out, pushing past the stallions. She headed past the bloody stain, and straight to the wall a bit to the side of it.

“Looks like she found something!’ said Voice, scurrying after her.

“Oh wow,” said Far Out, scooping something into her hooves.

Winter Sky couldn’t see what she had from his vantage point. He sighed loudly, starting to trot over. So much for being careful.

“What is it, private?” he asked, glad the mare hadn’t fallen over dead.

“Noo idea, but it’s neat, look!” she turned, a strange object cradled in her forehooves.

She held it out for all to see. It was a rectangular box or case, narrow and rounded on the corners, looking a bit like something that should hold a pair of eyeglasses or the like. It was made of something the captain could not identify; a light grey, silvery material that did not appear to be metal at all. Far Out tapped it with a hoof, as if reading his mind.

Definitely not metal.

“What the hay is that?” Asked Distant Voice, pushing his face right up to the mysterious object.

“A mystery box,” said Far Out, angling it so the little stallion could get a better look.

“There are more of them here, against the wall,” said Rapid Advance, who was busy examining the ground near to where Far Out had found it.

“Wait a sec,” said Distant Voice, squinting his eyes. “Far, can I borrow that?”

Far Out paused, giving him a suspicious look. Hesitantly, she offered the object over.

“Thanks, I’ll give it back,” said Voice. “Look though! It’s faint, but there is something on it.” He took a deep breath, blowing the dust from the object. He rubbed it against his muzzle, then examined it again.”

“Yeah, see, there is some kind of symbol or something. Looks like...” Voice squinted even harder, cocking his head. He stared intently at the object for a moment. “It looks like a snake and a line or something? And a triangle.”

Winter Sky walked up behind the little bat stallion, taking a close look at the object himself. Voice was right. The symbol was there, and did seem to depict a snake of some variety, coiling around a vertical line. The image was framed within a triangle, forming some kind of logo or emblem.

“That seems eerily familiar,” said Winter Sky.

“I don’t see how,” said Distant Voice, “pretty sure that thing was made by-”

“Aliens.” nodded Far Out, who quickly snatched back the object from a startled Distant Voice.

“This one is open,” said Rapid Advance, approaching the group with one of the objects dangling from his mouth. It hung open on a hinge, and flapped like some sort of strange silvery butterfly as he walked. He dropped it on the floor before the group.

“There’s nothing in it,” he continued, “but that little latching mechanism… I don’t see how anypony is supposed to get these things open. It’s tiny.”

The captain looked at the peculiar object, flipping it over with a hoof. It was indeed empty, and the mechanism mentioned by Rapid was barely visible at all. Some kind of tiny, sliding button near where the two halves joined. He still couldn’t shake the feeling he had seen the symbol on the object, or something like it, before. He knew that should be impossible though, as these things were clearly not made by the ponies of the garrison, or anypony else for that matter. At least, not by any pony that actually wanted to work them.

“Whatever was in them must have been used, then the boxes discarded,” said Rapid Advance. “We should take one back with us.”

“Don’t worry, private Klepto here already has three in her bag,” said Distant Voice, motioning with his head to the mare beside him. She was on her haunches, her teeth clamped down on the strap to one of her saddle bags. She was frozen in mid pull, meeting the gaze of the three stallions whose attention she had suddenly found herself the focus of.

Winter Sky brought a hoof to his forehead. “Of course she does.”

The captain took a deep breath. “Very well, moving on. I want to check out those larger doors across from the entrance before we head up to the garrison commander’s office.”

The assembled bat ponies nodded, following him across the open space to the larger doors beyond. They were open slightly, the room beyond in darkness. More of the dark marks surrounded them. Distant Voice moved close to inspect one.

“These really do look like spell hits,” said Distant Voice. “Strong ones too, like Bright Bolts or something.”

“I thought so too,” said Winter Sky, “but there are just too many of them. No garrison has that many powerful unicorn ponies, unless it’s Twilight Guard. And they didn’t exist at the time.”

“More than that,” said Rapid Advance, moving up beside Voice and placing his hoof on the mark, “whoever it was throwing the spells, how did any of them do it with those things with the faces making magic nigh unusable?”

“That...is a good question,” said Winter Sky.

“Maybe it’s not magic?” asked Far Out. “Maybe it just looks like it?”

“And leaves holes like it,” added Distant Voice.

“The more I see, the more disturbing this whole thing seems,” said Winter Sky, moving past the three ponies and into the darkened room beyond. Pausing, he withdrew his Sunstone again, and a faint light began to fill the room.

“That stone seems to be struggling,” said Rapid, coming into the room behind the captain.

“It is, worse than in the stables too,” said the captain. “We must be closer to one of tho-”

“Oh.”

Winter Sky froze, his eyes catching a familiar shape in the dim light cast by the Sunstone. Directly ahead of him, towards the back of the room, sat another small Star Thrower. Unlike the two from earlier, this one looked to be completely intact. Faded bronze inlays could be seen covering a dark, but sturdy wooden frame. The large bow, minus it’s drawstring, sat slightly elevated in storage position. Between the two protruding wooden shafts at the front of the machine, hung a perfectly intact, expertly stowed set of harnessing tack.

“Oh wow!” said Distant Voice, galloping across the room towards the weapon. At the last moment, he flapped his wings and dropped, skidding on his haunches to its side.

“Well then, there’s our missing Star Thrower,” said Rapid Advance, approaching the weapon in a much more casual manner.

“So it appears,” said the captain, moving towards the pair. Far Out trotted along behind. “A Solar Guard Star Thrower at that. They don’t make them in that livery anymore.”

“I know, right!” said Distant Voice, eagerly examining the device. “They haven’t made them like this since the big War. The Sunburn patrol doesn’t really do Star Throwers anymore, they are all about cannons and mortars and catapults and other lobby things.”

Winter Sky ran his eyes over the weapon. Distant Voice was right of course. It was an antique. Yet another ghost from the past.

“Ooh, it even has the rising sun plate on the front,” Voice added.

“This entire room is in strangely good shape,” said Rapid Advance. “Seems having no windows and only one way in kept things somewhat tidy.”

“Oh hey, check this out!” said Far Out, a bit behind the trio.

Turning about, the captain looked to what she’d found. The mare was sitting before a large wooden box, one of several, the contents of which she was now digging through. Her head had disappeared entirely into the box as she struggled with something within. With difficulty, she slowly withdrew a coil of what looked to be rope, spitting it onto the floor.

“There are a couple of these in here, and some little metal hook things.” she said.

“Spare Drawstrings,” nodded Winter Sky. “I suppose it makes sense there would be some in here. This was probably where they worked on all three of the pieces.”

“Guess it explains why this one wasn’t out there with the others,” said Distant Voice. “Replacing those things is super annoying, it takes like four ponies. They probably couldn’t get it done when all the… whatever it was started happening, so they only used the two outside.”

“Four ponies? Hardly,” scoffed Rapid Advance. “It’s tough, but you only really need two ponies that know what they are doing. Or one pony, if he’s strong enough and knows what he’s doing.” Rapid grinned.

“Horseapples,” said Distant Voice. “You’re strong Rapid, but not that strong. There’s no way you could do that by yourself.”

“I already have, ye of little height. Not on this Star Thrower of course, but another.”

Distant Voice shook his head. “No way I’m believing that.”

Winter Sky watched the exchange, grinning slightly to himself. Rapid Advance was a strong pony, one of the biggest he’d ever seen, and certainly the largest in the Lunar Guard. This though, this was something even he had trouble believing.

“That’s quite a boast, Corporal. Care to put it to the test?” asked the Captain.

“Always,” grinned Rapid. Far Out, would you tyaAGGH” he staggered backwards as a large coil of drawstring struck him squarely in the face.

“OH GOSH RAPID I’m sorry!” yelled Far Out from her seat at the box.

Rapid Advanced snorted, shaking his head, before picking up the coil between his teeth. He moved towards the rear of the Star Thrower.

The armored form of the captain moved in beside him, a grin still tracing his muzzle.

“Alright Ponysseus. String your bow.”

Rapid’s nostrils flared as he nodded his head. Uncoiling the drawstring, he let one end fall, which he then pinned to one of the mechanisms of the Star Thrower with a hoof. Straddling the machine, he maneuvered the free end around the other side of the mechanism, and moving between hooves and mouth, managed to get it threaded through four different points, before pulling the free end of the string tight. Holding the small free portion in his mouth, he managed to contort himself in one of the most painful looking ways the captain could remember seeing a pony do intentionally, and with a loud snort, began to slowly tension the weapon.

Holding steady on the bit of drawstring in his mouth, and with great strain, the immense stallion continued to push the two tensioning mechanisms with his forehooves. His leathery wings spread wide, resting against the bow arms of the device, steadying the pony as he worked. Slowly the mechanisms turned, emitting a steady series of high pitched clicks as Rapid exerted all his strength against them. Click. Click. Click. His eyes closed as he began to struggle, the clicks coming at a slower pace. He nickered to himself, and his entire body began to shake.

Just as Winter Sky was about to say something, the Star Thrower emitted a loud, deep CLACK and the position of its arms changed slightly. Rapid Advance slumped against the machine, breathing heavily. His forehooves hung limp over each side, but his wings continued to steady him. His three companions, all of which had formed a small circle around him as he worked, stood with mouths agape.

“See, you little unbeliever,” said Rapid, opening an eye and fixing it on Distant Voice. You just need one pony.”

Distant Voice continued to stare. It took him a moment before he could form a response. “You aren’t a pony, Rapid. You’re a beast!”

“And how!” said Far Out.

Winter Sky blinked. His eyes darted between the exhausted form of the corporal on the Star Thrower, and the weapon itself.

“Uh.”

“Ha!” exclaimed Distant Voice, whirling to face the captain. He waved a forehoof in his direction. “You even made captain Winter sound like a normal pony for a second! That’s even better than the string thing!”

The captain narrowed his eyes, locking them on Distant Voice. The little pony stepped back slightly, but continued to grin. A soft giggle could be heard from behind.

Winter rolled his eyes, clearing his throat as he focused on the Star Thrower. “Ahem. Impressive work corporal,” he said, trying his best to avoid looking at the other two ponies. “Does that mean it’s functional now?”

Rapid Advance sat up, slowly removing himself from the top of the weapon. “Sure is. Well, if we had anything to shoot it would be. The string is in good shape, considering how old it is. They don’t make them like this anymore.”

“Oh! Oh!” said Far Out, darting back to the boxes. She stuck her head into one that rested directly behind the box from which they recovered the coil of drawstring.

“No pwobehm, luh heer,” she mumbled, withdrawing her head from the box. She turned, trotting to the front of the group with something large and pointy in her mouth.

It took the captain but a moment to recognize it. A Star Thrower bolt.

Far Out spit the bolt out on the floor in front of the weapon. “There’s like, lots and lots of those in boxes back there!”

“Oh neat,” said Distant Voice, who had pushed his face to within an inch of the bolt, and was examining it in what was probably too much detail. “Enchantment is long dead though. Just a big crossbow bolt now.”

“That’s right,” said Winter Sky, “the long term ammunition enchantments didn’t show up until decades later. These things required unicorns on the weapon crew to reset the enchantments as they were loaded.”

“No unicorn, no boom!” added Far Out, who had returned to rifling through the boxes.

“Still, boom or no, a crossbow bolt of that size does quite a bit of damage,” said Rapid Advance. “And it’s all mine.”

“Yours?” said Distant Voice. “How is it yours, it’s a big Solar Guard artillery cart thing!”

“It was abandoned, I fixed it, it’s mine.” said Rapid Advance, patting the weapon on the side.

Winter Sky rolled his eyes again, then returned his attention to the now functional weapon. “I’m going to make a note so that whoever is sent here after us gets this piece back to Equestria. For now though, we need to move on. We don’t have much time before we need to meet back up with Watch and his team. We are going to check out the tower. CO’s office should be on the second level. Hopefully.”

The bat ponies nodded, and with Winter Sky in the lead, headed out of the room. A quick check of the adjoined tower’s first level yielded nothing of note, and the group ascended the stairs leading to the second level. Here the signs of battle were far more apparent; more burn marks could be seen on nearly every surface, and dark staining on the worn stairs carried an unspoken, grisly implication. Entering the second level, the group came upon the door to garrison commander’s office. Or rather, where the door should have been. It was gone, and the entrance stood open.

Stepping into the room, Winter Sky slowly took in the scene. Scattered about the entry interior was a large and strangely concentrated pile of debris. It looked as if every furnishing and large object not nailed down had been moved to one spot in front of the door, then pushed outwards. The remains of a barricade, the captain surmised. Wooden splinters could be seen mixed in with the debris, and upon one a set of door hinges. A large desk, turned on its side, caught his attention. It was covered in more of the ‘spell burns’, and pushed a bit to the side of the entryway. The marks looked to be concentrated entirely on one side, and some of them passed clear through the heavy desk. Behind him, he could hear his team moving into the room.

On the far left side of the room was a large map affixed to the wall. It was something sturdier than simple paper, taking the form of some kind of board. He continued searching the room with his eyes, seeking something specific. On the far wall, a lone window, wide open. Then his right, nestled in the far corner, his eyes fell upon the object of his search. A recessed box, set flush into the wall. The commander’s strongbox. Alarmingly, it seemed ajar.

Winter Sky hopped over the nearby debris, trotting towards the box.

“Looks like they tried to barricade the door,” said Rapid Advance.

“Tried,” said Distant Voice, who the captain could hear stumbling over the debris.

Arriving at the strongbox, the captain could see it was indeed open. He pushed the door aside with a forehoof, revealing the contents within. Nothing. Whatever it had once contained was gone.

“Horseapples,” said Winter Sky

The room went quiet.

Turning, Winter Sky could see the eyes of his team on him. He rubbed a foreleg awkwardly. It was rare that his thoughts managed to escape his mind before he had carefully shaped them into something professional. Something worthy of a wise, collected, and respectable Lunar Guard captain.Unfortunately, this was one of those times.

“Ahem. What I meant to say is that the strongbox is empty. No Garrison log, no orders, no anything that may tell us what was going on just before all this started.” he cleared his throat.

Distant Voice grinned, but said nothing. He resumed digging through the pile of debris near the door. Rapid Advance turned away, examining the large map on the opposite side of the room. Far Out joined him.

Winter Sky pushed the door of the empty strongbox closed. He walked to the window ahead, taking in the view. It was probably rather nice, before the place was an overgrown ruin. The river would be visible off to the right, and the large hill to the north they saw coming in was still visible ahead. He sighed. The garrison log was his big hope as far as potential clues went, and it was gone. He’d figured knowing what the guard was doing just before the apparent attack could provide some insight into the nature of it. He thought back, trying to think of any other locations within the town that useful records may have been kept. Town Hall was the only other location that came to mind, and Watch was currently searching it.

The Captain closed his eyes and hung his head. It seemed there would be no swift answers. Opening his eyes, he paused. A faint outline could be seen in the corner of the window sil- one in the shape of a hoof. Examining it closely, the captain could see it was another dark stain, a bloody hoof print. A bit more on the side of the sil seemed to lead up, and slowly, he let his eyes follow. Another hoofmark was visible above, on the wall near the latching mechanism for the window. A window that he could now see had been opened, rather than shattered. His eyes moved between the intact glass of the open window, and the hoofprint on the sil.

“Somepony went out the window,” said Winter Sky.

“Can’t say I blame them,” said Distant Voice

“You should take a look at this map, captain,” said Rapid Advance. The big pony craned his neck around to face him, and gestured him over.

Winter Sky nodded and joined him at the map. It was large, covering fully half the wall. On various spots of the map, things were written, times, patrol routes, all common things to see in garrison planning.

“What’s with the big question mark?” asked Distant Voice, joining the pair at the map.

Winter scanned the map, finding the spot the private was talking about. At the northwest edge, a large mountain range, the same one visible on his own map. Drawn over it was a large question mark, which was circled. Below that, the printed name of the mountains themselves.

“Mountains of Mystery,” the captain read.

“How mysterious,” said Distant Voice

“Way.” added Far Out, who had now joined the trio as well.

Winter Sky nosed into his saddlebag, withdrawing his own map. This large one was far more detailed, and contained more identified features than his own. He dropped to his haunches, and began to scribble in the details.

“Petal’s Mill,” said Rapid Advance, pointing at a feature on the map. “I do believe that is where we encountered that thing with the face.”

“You mean you do believe that’s the name of the building you dropped on top of that thing with the face,” grinned Distant Voice.

Rapid Advanced nickered, with a not-so-subtle hint of pride.

“Oooh, look at that one, the big hill. ‘Pink Sun’. That sounds so pretty,” said Far Out.

“That’s not the hill Far,” said Distant Voice, “I think that’s the name of the stuff on it, those buildings. Look underneath, it’s called Sunrise Hill.”

”Oh. Well hey, that sounds pretty too! Maybe the sunrise is pink?”

“Aren’t all sunrises pink?”

“Yeah but not like, space pink.” nodded Far Out.

Winter Sky cocked an eyebrow, looking up at the large map to see what the two were talking about. Sunrise Hill was on his own map, but nothing named Pink Sun. He checked his own map again. On the Sunrise Hill feature was another word: Vineyard

“Hmm. My map has the ‘Pink Sun’ feature described as ‘Vineyard.’

“Pink Sun is probably the proper name of it then,” said Rapid Advance.

“That would make the most sense,” nodded Winter Sky. He put away his map, happy with the new additions.

“At least we found this,” said Rapid Advance, gesturing at the map, “even if what you were really looking for wasn’t here. This is worth something.”

“It is,” said the captain, who turned to face the rest of the room. He stared at the remains of the barricade.

“What is it?” asked Rapid Advance.

“Why the barricade?” asked Winter Sky, gesturing to the debris on the floor. “It doesn’t take any time to open a window and take wing. Why waste time stalling at the door when they could just go out the window and put as much distance between them and here as they possibly could?”

“They probably weren’t all pegasi,” said Rapid Advance.

“How awful would that be,” said Distant Voice. The little pony walked up, observing the debris pile alongside the captain. “Imagine being one of the ground-bound ponies, stuck in a room, high up, the only way out a window and a fall that would probably break a leg.”

“I think being one of the ponies with wings, that had to leave them behind, that would almost be worse,” added Far Out. “I don’t think I could do it, even if ordered.”

Far Out glanced nervously at the captain. “No offense, sir.”

“None taken, private.”

“I don’t think any pony would,” said Rapid Advance.”Or rather, any guard pony. If somepony went out that window and left others behind, they did so under orders, and probably for a good reason.”

Winter Sky thought about that, nodding to himself. Rapid and Far Out had a point. He had a hard time picturing any situation in which one of these ponies he now found himself leading, would leave any of their number behind. It was the same in any guard unit. Squad mates were more than just comrades, they were family. Rowdy, often obnoxious and incorrigible, but family. If anything could drive a pony to leave his or her comrades behind, it had to be important, and as Rapid said, it had to be an order. Winter Sky’s eyes moved to the empty strongbox on the other side of the room.

“They were buying time,” said Winter Sky, his eyes moving between the door and the strongbox. “To get the strongbox open.”

Rapid Advance nodded grimly, but said nothing.

“So...Where did that pony...or ponies go?” asked Far Out

“That, private, is the ten thousand bit question,” said Winter sky. “I have no idea.”

“Well then here’s a million bit question.,” said Distant Voice, “how did the flying ponies get away with the creepy faces making it impossible to fly? It feels like the bad guys dropped them everywhere. And definitely here.”

“The bad guys,” hissed Rapid Advance. “Whoever they are.”

“I was thinking about that as well, Voice,” said Winter Sky. “Perhaps they weren’t all placed at the same time? They did have enough time to get the Shattered Spear scroll off, and that required magic. They must have experienced enough of what was going on to know they had no chance before they sent it, right? Whatever the case, if we are extremely lucky, they made for Town Hall, and Watch’s group may find something. Speaking of which, we are running out of time. We need to get back and meet the good Sergeant. The sun will be up soon, and I want us somewhere safe for the day.”

The group nodded.

“What about here?” asked Distant Voice.

Winter Sky cocked his head slightly. “Here?”

“Well, not this room specifically, but this garrison. This tower especially! One level up, the roof is mostly gone but is still there in places, and we’d have a good view of everything around while staying out of sight for the most part.”

Winter Sky mulled the suggestion over. It had merit. The oppressive effect of the alien statues was present here, but he suspected it would be the same most places they went. They would be mostly out of sight in the ruins if they stayed low, and he could set a pony on watch at the tower apex while they camped.

“That’s actually a good idea, private. I think we’ll do just that.”

******

Chapter 6 - Cutieology

Watchful Eye sat near the river, staring at the worn ruins of what once must have been a majestic little bridge. It had collapsed in various places, most obviously at the midpoint of its span. Little pieces of pale grey stone lay everywhere along the nearby riverbank.

“This is where the captain said to meet him, right?” asked Sable Shield. The mare stood directly behind Watchful Eye, her eyes scanning the opposite bank of the river.

“Sure is,” said Star Duster, “I don’t think it’s been a full two hours yet though.”

Watchful Eye glanced to his left, checking his time piece. One hour, fifty-eight minutes.

“I don’t think I can put into words how hungry I am right now,” said Dawn Trotter, sitting down next to the sergeant.

Watch grinned, glancing over at the hungry stallion. “Dawn, when are you not hungry? If you weren’t so active you’d weigh more than Rapid.”

Star Duster snickered. “Give him time.”

“We’ll eat once we set camp anyway. Probably,” said Watch.

“Probably?” asked Dawn Trotter, his face deadly serious.

“There they are,” said Sable Shield pointing across the river.

Watch looked to where she was pointing. Sure enough, four bat ponies could be seen, their wings beating furiously, making their way across the river. One extremely large, and one extremely small silhouette left no doubt as to who they could be.

“No mistaking those two,” chuckled Watchful Eye, rising to all four hooves. He waited as Winter Sky’s team drew closer.

One by one, the other team landed, panting with exertion. When all four were down, Winter Sky looked them over, nodded, then approached Watchful Eye.

“Welcome back, sir,” said Watch, offering a salute.

“Funny,” Winter Sky paused, panting. “I was going to say the same to you.”

The captain paused again. “Well, minus the ‘sir’ part.”

“Aww, and here I thought I scored a battlefield commission.” Watch grinned, and his own team drew up beside him.

“A little late for that, sergeant,” said Rapid Advance, nodding to Watch. “This battle is long over I’m afraid.”

“And it’s probably a good thing we missed it,” said Star Duster

“I take it that means things were just as bleak in the town hall,” asked Winter Sky.

“Bleak is certainly a good way to describe it,” said Watch.

“The whole place is a disaster,” said Sable Shield, “but you won’t believe what we found!”

Winter Sky raised an eyebrow. “Do tell, private.”

“You just couldn’t wait, could you?” asked Watchful Eye, glaring at the mare.

“No,” she said, glaring back.

“Waiting isn’t really her thing,” whispered Star Duster, standing close beside Watchful Eye.

“We found the town’s seal or whatever. It’s like, half moonsilver. The biggest chunk you’ll ever see. Pretty sure we could buy our own airship with it.”

“WHAT?” shouted Distant Voice. He avoided Sable Shield’s glare and looked to Watch. “For real?”

“It’s true,” nodded Watch. “It’s an incredible thing to see. Even more incredible that it was just left there in the rubble to rot.”

“Whoever, or whatever, did this,” said Winter Sky, waving a hoof around him, “didn’t seem interested in taking anything. Just destroying everything.”

Watchful Eye took a deep breath, steadying himself. “Did your team find anypony, sir?”

Winter Sky paused, shaking his head. “No. That seems to be the only thing we can’t find.”

“We did find old blood, and evidence of a fight in the garrison. One that didn’t go well for us,” said Rapid Advance.

“Not well at all,” said Winter Sky, “and speaking of the garrison, its tower is where we are going to be setting camp tonight. Let’s start moving there while we still have time. You can fill me in on the way. The flight over though is, well, it’s a pain.”

Watchful Eye nodded. “Yeah, we saw. I think it will be easier if we just follow this ruined bridge across, we can just fly across the gaps. Then we just walk a little extra along the river.”

“Sounds good to me,” said Winter Sky, “I don’t fancy another flight like that.”

“Me either,” added Far Out.

The now reassembled Cookie Squad made its way across the bridge. After a few hops and fitful flights across missing sections, they found themselves firmly on the other side. With Winter Sky in the lead, they headed towards the garrison ruins.

Watchful Eye trotted up to the front, taking position beside the captain.

“So, what made you decide to set camp in the ruins of a building where we guardspony types got our rumps kicked?” asked Watchful Eye.

Winter Sky snorted. “It was Voice’s idea actually, and a good one. It’s relatively intact, at least compared to the other buildings around here. The tower offers a good vantage point to set a watch on. Good combination of shelter and cover. I’ll be sure not to set us next to any of the blood stains.”

“Blood stains?” asked Watch, shooting the captain a suspicious glare.

“No, sadly I am not joking. There was a battle. It’s pretty evident,” said the captain.

“Uhh, that doesn’t really sound like a place I want to sleep,” said Dawn Trotter, who was following a few ponylengths behind the pair. “It could be haunted or something.”

Sable Shield scoffed. “Please don’t tell me you believe in ghosts, Dawn.”

“Hey, you never know.”

“Plus,” continued Winter Sky, “there is a large, interesting map in the office of the garrison commander. You may want to have a look.”

“Oh, well now that does sound useful,” said Watch.

“What about your team, aside from that treasure Sable Shield was describing, did you find anything of note?”

“It’s more like a super treasure,” added Sable Shield.

“Actually, yeah. We found some kind of bird based messaging center. Lots of little cylinders scattered about that they used to send letters and such to the ponies out and about.”

“Well that makes sense,” nodded Winter Sky.

“We found one unsent message that mentioned the guard garrison, or at least some of them, had moved to a vineyard and were sheltering ponies inside. The message said they planned to seal the doors at some point. I figure it was the vineyard on your map, the one on the big hill.”

Winter Sky turned to look at the sergeant. “Now that is interesting. When we searched the CO’s office, we found the logs and other strongbox contents gone, and evidence somepony had fled with them out the window. We had no idea where they would have gone.”

“The vineyard seems like a good guess. It seems like thats where they were planning to make their stand.”

Winter Sky nodded again. “Pink Sun is what the big map called it. I suspect that’s where we are going to need to look next.”

“WAIT A SEC!” yelled Sable Shield.

Watch and the Captain both swung their heads around to face the mare.

“Do you seriously mean the vineyard here is Pink Sun?”

Winter Sky eyed the mare. “As best as we can tell, yes. The map seems to refer to it as the Pink Sun vineyard.”

Watch observed the exchange with curiosity. It was rare for Sable Shield to offer insight not directly related to hitting something.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” continued Sable.

“Why, what’s odd about that name?” asked Winter Sky

“Nopony here has heard of Pink Sun Vineyards?”

The rest of the squad was staring at Sable now, none showing any signs of comprehension.

“It’s only like, the most expensive booze in the history of Equestria. Rich ponies will pretty much fight each other for it. A bottle is worth more than I am.”

“Well, so what? I can think of lots of things worth more than you are,” said Star Duster, who was walking beside the mare.

Sable glared at the stallion. She trotted ahead of him, paused, then turned to face away from him. When he came even with her hind legs they shot out, sending him sprawling into the bushes a good distance away. No one seemed to notice.

“Ow.”

“Well, it does make sense,” added Rapid Advance, completely ignoring the exchange. “Anything produced by that vineyard is going to be rare, for obvious reasons.”

“True,” added Winter Sky, “I could see the surviving bottles that made it to Equestria being worth a pretty bit.”

“Understatement of forever,” said Sable Shield, trotting back into her original position.

“Private Sable Shield, please refrain from killing private Star Duster while he may still be of some use to us.”

“Is he ever of some use to us?” asked Sable.

Winter Sky turned again, glaring.

“Err, I mean yes sir!”

Watchful Eye couldn’t help but smile at the exchange. “Star’s gonna feel that one.”

“Psst, hey.” came the entirely-too-loudly whispered voice of Far Out.

Watchful Eye shook his head. He knew she wasn’t talking to him, but he could hear her perfectly well. So could everypony else. He turned his head around just enough to observe the exchange.

“Yeah?” answered Dawn Trotter, her intended target.

“Sarge said you guys found some kind of neato metal tubes?”

Without speaking, Dawn Trotter moved a hoof to the front of his barding. He withdrew and object from behind his Lunar Guard sigil. Even from this angle, Watchful Eye recognized it as one of the empty bronze cylinders from the town hall. Dawn offered it to the mare, who snapped it up in an instant.

“Ohh you’re the best!” she said, butting Dawn Trotter with her head.

He grinned. “I know, I really am.”

Watch rolled his eyes.

“You know, that reminds me,” said Winter Sky. “We found something else in the garrison. Some kind of strange little cases, with a peculiar mark on them. I am fairly sure they weren’t made by ponies.”

Watch blinked. “Not made by ponies? You found some alien stuff? And what kind of cases?”

“Hard to say. If we can pry one away from Far Out later you can have a look for yourself. Whatever was in them is long gone, they were all empty.”

Cookie made their way back along the river, and soon arrived at the ruined garrison. Following Winter Sky, the group entered the structure, heading for the tower.

Ascending the first set of stairs, Watchful Eye couldn’t help but notice the dark staining, and the strange burn marks that could be found everywhere. They passed an open doorway on the second level, which Winter Sky revealed was once the commander’s office, then ascended a second staircase. Following the captain up, Watchful Eye and the rest of Cookie Squad found themselves in what was now the top level of the tower.

Stepping over a small pile of stone debris, Watch moved to the side, assessing the space they had entered with the critical eye of a Lunar Guard sergeant. The room was large, the rounded exterior wall visible in all directions. It was filled with small, scattered piles of rubble and debris. Above, the stars were visible through large holes in one side of the ceiling, the other side looking mostly intact. To his right, a large chunk of the wall was completely missing, offering an unobstructed view of the area in the direction they had come from. Or rather, it would, if their night sight wasn’t suffering from the effects of another one of the mysterious alien statues. Overall, it did seem a pretty good position, it would just need some tidying up.

“Let’s get this cleared,” said Winter Sky, seemingly reading the sergeant’s mind. He cast his eyes about the room, motioning with his wings. “Fill in what gaps you can with loose stone, toss anything left over the side.” He nodded, seemingly satisfied, then moved towards one of the larger holes in the wall.

“Far Out, Voice,” said Watchful Eye, beginning to shift some of the smaller stones, “once this area with the slightly-less-destroyed walls is cleared, get everypony’s Nightflame stones and start setting up the kitchen.”

The two ponies offered a salute, then turned back to the pile of rubble along with the sergeant. Together, the bat ponies began the job of clearing the room of debris.

******

Winter Sky stood at his makeshift window, scanning the now visible horizon. The tower, though mostly a ruin, still offered plenty of height, and with it, one of the few unobstructed views above the trees that now covered the remains of the colony.

“Spot anything interesting?” asked Watchful Eye, trotting up to the Captain’s side.

“Trees, if those count.” said Winter Sky.

“Alien trees. Totally counts,” yelled Far Out, from clear across the room.

Winter Sky turned to face her, frowning. She was digging in a pile of stones with her forelegs like a dog, and wasn’t even looking in their direction.

Watchful Eye, who had been just about to answer the captain when he was abruptly cut off, just smiled and rolled his eyes.

“Other than alien trees.”

Winter Sky’s eyes turned skyward. “Sun will be up before too long. Still windy, though it seems to have died down a bit. I suspect it should be whatever passes for normal here by tomorrow evening.”

Watchful Eye could see the telltale pink and orange hues starting to rise above the distant treetops, looking very much the same as they would back home. So similar were they in fact, that If it weren’t for the strange trees, and the double moons, it could almost pass as view from the ruins in the heart of Equestria’s own Everfree forest.

“We’re nearly done clearing the place out. Far Out and Voice should have the Nightflame stones going in a few, which is good, because I’m starving.”

“Yes, well, I didn’t w-” a gasp and clatter of hooves cut the captain off, and both ponies turned to the source of the commotion.

Star Duster was backing away from a hole in the opposite wall awkwardly, one forehoof stretched towards the opening.

“Thingy! Face! Down there, check it out!”

The rest of the gathered bat ponies stopped what they were doing, making their way over the opening Star Duster was pointing at.

Watchful Eye, moving in behind Star Duster, who had returned to the window with the rest of the group, craned his neck to see what the stallion was pointing at.

“Right down there, at the edge where the tall grass starts turning into the big trees” Star said, waggling his forehoof for emphasis.

“Another one,” said Rapid Advance.

It didn’t take Watchful Eye long to find what Star Duster was pointing at. Sure enough, slightly obscured by a nearby tree, but a few hundred feet out from the base of their tower, was another one of the disturbing alien pillars.

“Greeeat,” added Distant Voice.

“Well,” said Watchful Eye, “we knew there had to be one around here. Good to know where it is at least.”

“Yes, most definitely,” added Winter Sky, moving up slowly behind the group, “and I suspect it won’t be the last one we encounter.”

“Well, it should be,” said Dawn Trotter, hurling a small stone from the opening with a huff. “Take that you stupid thing.”

The stone sailed through the air, hitting the ground a bit over half way to the artifact.

“Gonna need to throw harder than that, Dawn,” said Sable Shield.

“Way harder,” nodded Star Duster.

Watchful Eye observed the pair, who were standing together on the far side of the “window” the group shared, when something alarming caught his eye. Standing behind them was Rapid Advance, his eyes focused intently on the hurled stone, a manic grin on his face.

Watch turned to his right, prodding Winter Sky with a wing. “Pssst.”

The captain turned, eyebrow raised, as Watch motioned to Rapid Advance with his head. Catching sight of the manic looking corporal he blinked, pausing a moment.

“Rapid Advance, is there something you’d like to share with the class?”

The bulky form of the Corporal shifted, his head turning slowly to face the captain. The grin grew wider, and he nodded.

“Oh yes. I have an idea.”

“Uh oh,” said Distant Voice, his head popping up behind Rapid.

“Do tell,” said Watchful Eye.

“I plan to throw something harder. Way harder.” said Rapid, nodding to Star and Sable.

“Scratch that,” said Distant Voice, his wings suddenly spreading, “I’m liking this idea.”

Watchful Eye raised an eyebrow, “Care to elaborate?”

“Oh,” said Winter Sky.

Watch turned, brow still raised, to face the captain.

“OH,” Winter continued, looking between Rapid and Watch.

“Permission to go break things, sir?” asked Rapid.

Winter Sky nodded slowly. “Permission granted, corporal. Take some of your squadmates with you, should speed things along.”

“Huh?” said Star Duster and Sable Shield, in unison.

Watchful Eye frowned, looking to Winter Sky in confusion “Care to fill us in sir, clearly we missed something.”

“Something neat!” added Far Out, to no ones help whatsoever.

“Ah, yes, well,” said Winter Sky, “we happened to stumble on a small, mostly intact Star Thrower in a room downstairs. Rapid Advance got it working, and seems to have claimed it as his own. I believe he intends to turn it on that face-statue.”

“Oh cool!” said Dawn Trotter, his wings flapping subtly at his side.

Rapid Advance stepped back, taking up a position to address the rest of the squad. “Lets see, I will need some ponies that are good at breaking things.” He brought a forehoof to his muzzle, tapping it a few times in thought. “That is pretty much all of you.”

Far Out giggled, nodding quickly.

“Well then, you heard the corporal,” said Winter Sky, motioning to Rapid with a wing. “Everypony follow him to his new toy.”

“If it’s alright with you sir,” said Watchful Eye, “I’ll stay here and finish getting things set up for grub. Need to get the skillet going if we are going to to sleep before noon.”

“Very well Watch, good idea,” nodded the captain. “I’ll be staying up here too. Somepony needs to spot the fall of the Star Thrower bolts.”

“And have a really good seat for when things inevitably go off the rails?” grinned Watchful Eye.

“I’ve been with you bunch too long it seems,” said Winter, a ghost of a smile on his muzzle.

“Well then Corporal,” said the captain, nodding once more to Rapid Advance. “I trust you can manage this field trip. Just try not to knock down this ruin with us in it.”

“No promises, sir.” With that, Rapid turned. Bending his neck back to an almost painful extent, he managed to free a strap on one of his saddle bags, causing them to drop to the ground at his hooves. He stepped over them, looking back at Watchful Eye. “Watch, you know where everything is. The rest of you lot follow me, and do refrain from pulling any levers or lanyards I don’t tell you to.”

******

THWUNK

Watchful Eye’s ear turned to the sound of another Star Thrower bolt being loosed. He tried to ignore it. The hungry sergeant was sitting, his attention on the gathered group of Nightlfame stones Far Out and Voice had left for him. One by one, withdrew them from the protective pouches they resided in. He inspected each stone in turn, perfectly round, jet black spheres that bore a striking resemblance to huge black pearls, and once satisfied there was nothing amiss, he placed each into the matching base that came with every stone. The bases themselves were made of something like bronze, but dirtier, looking like squashed cubes with a round indent on the top into which the stone itself was set. They reminded him of some sort of puzzle game one would find in a schoolhouse for the very young. Having loaded all the stones into their bases, He went about arranging them in a rough circle, with one square in the middle.

“High, but close!” shouted Winter Sky, who still stood at his spot by the makeshift window, tail swaying slightly. “Bring the elevation down slightly.”

“Depressing the weapon, aye,’ came the response from Rapid Advance, somewhere down below. “Reload!”

Satisfied the Nightflame stones were all assembled correctly, Watchful Eye withdrew his canteen. He pulled the stopper with his teeth, then carefully, slowly, he tipped it over above the center stone. Nothing happened.

The sergeant stared at the collection of idle stones. He cocked his head, pouring the contents of his canteen on the remainder of the stones. Still, nothing happened. He sat there for a moment, confused, before dropping the canteen and bringing a hoof to his face in exasperation.

“Of course,” he said, shaking his head. He turned an eye on the captain, who had seen everything. “You could have said something before I went and unpacked all these. And poured all my water out.”

Winter Sky nodded, “I could have. I chose not to. I was curious how long it would take you.”

Watchful Eye glared. To any other pony in the Guard, Winter Sky’s expression would be one of cold, factual neutrality; The unmoved, sterile gaze of an unimpressed company commander. Watch, however, could discern the subtle grin on the captain’s muzzle, and the deep sense of amusement he was trying extremely hard to hide.

“Besides,” added Winter Sky “I have great faith in Cookie’s ability to break things. That pillar will be down shortly.”

“Well, it had better be,” said Watch, returning his attention to the circle of dormant Nightflame stones. He prodded one with a hoof. “I love these things. Well, when they work. I wish we got to use them more often.”

“Yes,” said Winter Sky, turning to face Watch and his stones, “magical artifacts are often like that. Hard to make, easy to break, and jealously guarded by ponies of the horned persuasion. I’m surprised they gave us twelve of the things, they usually hoard them for the Spectres.”

“Well, I’m glad they did.”

Winter Sky narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “That’s the real reason you offered to stay up here and cook, isn’t it? You just wanted to play with all the stones.”

Watchful Eye grinned. “I respectfully decline to answer the question.”

The captain snorted, turning back to his window.

THWUNK went the Starthrower again.

“Good shot!” yelled Winter Sky, his body tensing as he leaned precariously out for a better look. His tail swished quickly from side to side. “You’ve got the range, you just need to come left a bit! You should have it on the next shot!”

“Reload!” yelled Rapid Advance once more.

Watchful Eye’s attention was drawn away from his tragically still stones, and to the rapidly swishing tail of the captain. Somepony was having fun. He wondered if that tail would be moving so quickly with the rest of the squad around to see it. He doubted it.

“I didn’t know you liked artillery so much,” said Watchful Eye.

“I what?” said Winter Sky, turning once more to the sergeant.

Trying his hardest to suppress a smirk, Watch motioned with his head towards the captain’s rear.

Winter Sky blinked, craning his head around to catch sight of his own tail, whipping back and forth. He froze for a moment, turning back to Watchful Eye with a mortified expression.

“If you don’t tell them their sergeant stayed behind to play with their magic rocks,” grinned Watch, “I won’t tell them their captain wags his tail.”

Winter Sky nodded, clearing his throat. He turned hastily back towards his ragged window, his tufted ears falling slightly to his sides. “Just how did I end up with such a frustrating first sergeant?”

“You picked me, as I recall,” said Watch, smiling. He could tell the captain was embarrassed.

“Ah. I did, didn’t I?”

“And, you know,” continued Watchful Eye, “there’s nothing wrong with being a wagger.”

Winter Sky turned back to face Watch, his bemused, half lidded eyes saying more than any words could hope to manage.

The sergeant just grinned further. “No, really, I mean, Star Duster does it.”

“That does not make me feel any better.”

“Sable Shield, too.”

Winter Sky blinked. “Now I know you are pulling my tail.”

“No, really,” said Watch, “It’s super subtle, but it’s there. She only does it when Star is around, though.”

Winter cocked an eyebrow. “Well that seems… suspicious. Is there something between those two?”

Watch shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. I’m not one to judge. May just be he’s the only pony that can stand being around her anymore.”

“Well, I could see that being the case. She seems to be, uh,”

“A huge jerk of a pony?” finished Watch. “Yep. She didn’t used to be. Good Guard though.”

“Didn’t used to be?” asked Winter Sky.

“Yeah. She started out fine. Well, overconfident and a complete glory hound, but otherwise, a good pony. She wasn’t mean spirited. And she sure didn’t torment Distant Voice the way she does now.”

“So what happened?”

“I wish I knew. All I know is by the time we got back to Canterlot from that business with the Griffons, she was different.”

“Well,” said Winter sky, seeming to go over something in his head, “I wish I’d paid more attention to her, earlier on.”

“Well, you have an entire company to worry about, normally,” said Watch. “We’re just one squad out of ten. You can’t be expected to know every pony in the company personally. That’s my job.”

THWUNK

A loud pop came from Watch’s right. A large tongue of flame, black as a shadow at midnight, lept up from the gathered Nightflame stones. At the same moment he was hit with a sickening feeling, like a sudden buck to the gut, and the entire room seemed to pulse with magic.

Watchful Eye yelped, beating his wings and scooting away from the conflagration on his rump.

“Well, there’s your shadowfire,” said Winter Sky. Turning back to his window he leaned out once again. “Excellent shot Ra-, Distant Voice?”

“Yeah!” came the little stallion’s response, clearly yelled at the top of his lungs. “Rapid finally gave me a turn!”

“Well excellent work, all of you!” yelled Winter Sky, “it looks to be mortally wounded, but not yet dead! It still stands. Now that you have the range, perhaps you can do something about that? Lay it low!”

“Yes sir!” came the response, from several ponies.

“My turn!” yelled Star Duster.

Watchful Eye, having regained his composure, slunk back to his stones. The black flames calmed slowly, shrinking back down to their expected sizes. He removed his helmet, setting it to the side. He paused to shake out his mane, which was matted with sweat and clinging closely to his head and neck. Dropping low, he drew his face as close as he dared to the enchanted stones.

The little flames flickered and danced, moving like living shadows, making no noise, and casting no light. What they did however, was emit heat, and a fair amount at that. Watch could feel it on his muzzle and ears as he stared into the flickering shadowfire, his slit pupils growing wide as he observed the tiny spectacle.

“There, it seems I bought you a few more minutes,” said Winter Sky “perhaps you could use the time to try, ahem, cooking something?”

Watchful Eye blinked. “Oh. Yeah, good idea, that.”

He scooted over to the saddlebags left by Rapid Advance, and began to dig through them. Pulling out a large iron skillet, he then ducked his head into one of the bags, pulling it back out with a large pouch in his teeth. Tossing it to the side with the skillet, he continued to pull various cooking supplies from the corporal’s bags.

“You weren’t kidding about the kitchen,” said Winter Sky, walking over to the pile of supplies Watch was building. He prodded the skillet with a hoof, the clinking sound of his steel warshoe on the iron pan drawing the attention of one of the sergeant’s ears.

“Heh, sure ain’t,” said Watchful Eye, “Rapid carries a bunch of extra stuff for us. Having a huge, stupidly strong pony in one’s squad has its perks.”

He turned, tossing a small metal grate over the assemblage of burning Nightflame stones. The iron skillet followed quickly after. Grabbing the large bag next, he opened it, dumping some of its contents into the waiting skillet. Finally he grabbed the spare canteen from Rapid’s pile, pouring some of it in.

“Oatmeal?” asked Winter Sky.

“Oatmeal Surprise,” said Watch.

“Dare I ask what the surprise is?”

“The surprise is that we don’t usually know what the surprise is going to be.”

Watch stuck his head back into the saddlebags, pulling out several smaller bags. “Hmm, what shall it be?” He opened the first, shaking some of its contents into the skillet.

“Dried fruit?” asked Winter Sky.

“Ah, yes!” nodded Watch. He went for the second, shaking it in.

“That is, uh, I am pretty sure that is a chili pepper,” said the captain.

Watch blinked, bringing his face close to the concoction to inspect it. “Well, so it is. Surprise!”

Winter Sky stared blankly as the sergeant reached for the third bag. “I think I’ll be dining alone this evening.”

“Oh no way, you have to try some of this with us, it’s like a tradition. Seeing as you don’t have a big ole’ command tent to hide in on this little mission, or like a hundred other ponies distracting you. You get to learn the ways of the Cookie.”

Watch dumped in the next bag. It contained something resembling cinnamon. “Oh! Oh! Speaking of traditions...That gives me an idea!”

“I don’t particularly like the sound of that,” said Winter Sky.

“Oh no, this is a good one. Especially after what you said about Sable Shield. It’s the perfect way to get to know these particular ponies just a bit more personally.”

“Well, I’d like that,” said Winter Sky. “Just, uh, don’t actually tell them I said so.”

Watch grinned. “Of course not, sir. Trust me, this’ll be fun.”

******

“Rapid, I think thats the first time I have ever seen you high trot,” said Sable Shield, scooping a bit of the Oatmeal Surprise into her cup.

Having returned from their unscheduled artillery practice, the other ponies of Cookie Squad had seated themselves in a circle around the bubbling skillet. Each had removed their helmet, and most cradled a large metal cup between their hooves. Watchful Eye, who found himself seated in the midst of the circle, had observed with some satisfaction as each pony, save Far Out, had scooped up a cup full of his concoction.

“We needed an appropriately triumphant entrance to mark our victory,” said Rapid Advance.

“Isn’t that like, your third cup?” asked Star Duster. He was seated to Sable’s right, staring at her suspiciously.

“Shut up.”

“And sarge says I eat a lot,” added Dawn Trotter.

Star Duster snickered.

Sable eyed them both, the end of her muzzle firmly planted in her large metal cup, like some sort of metal feedbag.

Far Out, who was wearing an actual feedbag, and sitting across the skillet with Dawn and Rapid, attempted to say something. Only muffled sounds came out.

Watchful Eye rolled his eyes. “Far Out, take that thing off before you try to talk. Or at least finish chewing.”

Far Out blinked. She held one hoof up, motioning with it. She was clearly trying to chew, and quickly.

“And why are you wearing that thing in the first place, Private?” asked Winter Sky, who was the only pony not seated in the circle. He stood behind it a small distance, observing the group. “We aren’t marching anywhere.”

“She only really eats raw oats,” said Distant Voice

Far Out nodded.

“Yeah,” added Dawn Trotter, “As for the bag, I think she’s just lazy.”

The mauve maned mare started to nod, then stopped. She cocked her head as if thinking for a moment, then shrugged.

“Well hey, at least she’s honest,” said Star Duster.

“Nah, that’s not it,” said Sable Shield, narrowing her eyes at the other mare, “don’t let her fool you. She just wears that thing so she can eat and play with whatever she looted at the same time. I have to live with her, I know how she works.”

Far Out brought both her free hooves to her chest, then placed one leg over her face, like some kind of stage actress in the midst of a hammy death scene.

“Oh please, Far” continued Sable, “we both know you have no shame.”

Far Out just shook her head. She then turned, grabbing something from behind her. One of her saddle bags. Digging through it (and continuing to chew) for a few moments, she then emerged with an object in her hooves.

“Knew it,” said Sable Shield

The strange appearance of the object caught Watchful Eye’s attention.

“What the hay is that?” he asked.

Far Out tossed the object to the sergeant, which struck him in the chest and fell down between his hind hooves.

“Thanks,” he said, scooping up the strange object. Some kind of strange silvery box.

“That is one of those strange little cases I mentioned to you on the way in,” said Winter Sky, moving to stand behind Watch. “Thank you for sharing, Private.”

“She’s got like 5 of them,” said Distant Voice.

He was promptly struck on the head with a feedbag.

Sable Shield snickered.

Watch examined the item, then passed it to Rapid Advance. It began to make its way around the circle, each pony inspecting the strange artifact in turn. Dawn Trotter seemed particularly interested in it, closing and opening it repeatedly, and going on about the snake-like symbol on the front.

“It’s always space snakes with you, isn’t it Dawn?” asked Distant Voice

“STAR snakes! Come on, it can’t be a coincidence, Voice! First the baby one Far Out found, and now we find artifacts with their symbols on them!”

“I should never have lent you that book.”

Watch snorted. Those two could be at it for awhile.

Watchful Eye scooted back from the circle, rising to his hooves. He stepped back a bit, taking a position directly beside Winter Sky. The captain had also gone helmetless, and his matted, frizzy tangle of grey strands looked almost comical. Helmet mane spared no pony it seemed, regardless of rank.

Watch grinned, nodding to the officer at his side.

Winter Sky cocked his head, one ear falling flat to the side in momentary confusion. It then shot back up, and the captain nodded back.

Watch chuckled to himself, then cleared his throat.

“Fillies, colts, respected officers, and Star Duster too I guess, your attention please.”

The gathered bat ponies paused, their attention turning to Watchful Eye.

“This day is going to be a very special one for us.”

“Well yeah, we’re on an alien planet,” said Star Duster.

Watchful Eye glared. “Yes, well, Shut up.”

Everyone blinked.

“The real reason,” Watch continued, “that this day will be a special one, is that our dear company commander, for the very first time, shall be spending it amongst his very favoritest assortment of baked goods.”

“He means us, right?” asked Star Duster, slowly motioning to the group with a forehoof.

“You know Star,” said Sable Shield, “It’s getting harder to tell when you are just playing dumb to rile up the sarge, and when you are just dumb.”

Star Duster stuck his tongue out at the mare. “Well you should learn the difference, it could save your life.”

“I suspect he doesn’t know the difference himself, Sable” added Rapid Advance.

“AS I was saying,” said Watchful Eye, flaring his wings out to regain the group’s attention, “in honor of this special occasion, we are going to be indulging in one of our great traditions. A venerable tradition of the entire Royal Guard, even!”

A strange mix of groans and clapping hooves rose from the circle of bat ponies.

“Now now, I know some of us here have already endured this particular tradition,” said Watch, “but it’s been awhile since we’ve done it, and never with such an illustrious officer! That is right my friends, our own captain, Winter Sky, has agreed to join us!”

“I did?” blurted Winter Sky. All eyes turned to the captain.

Watchful Eye nodded. “Of course you did, just a little while ago!”

He turned back to face the rest of the group. “That’s right! Now, it is time for...”

The sergeant reared suddenly, spreading his wings to their full extent, “Cutieology!”

More groans. Some clearly less genuine than others.

Far Out clapped her hooves together. “Yay!”

Watch dropped back to all fours, running his eyes over the circle of ponies with his signature grin. He began to pace around the group.

“Well then, let us find our first vic, err, patient!.” He paused, pointing a hoof at the nearest pony, which happened to be Far Out.

“Saddle...Bridle...Blinders...” with each word, Watchful Eye moved his hoof, landing on a different pony in turn, “...Reins!” His hoof stopped, landing on Rapid Advance.

“Joy,” said Rapid.

“So,” began Watchful Eye, who moved to stand behind Rapid, “Corporal Rapid Advance. Cutie mark: A large red arrow, pointing forward. We know that it means he is a pony that is always pushing forward, always up front. It means he is a pony that you definitely want to be behind.”

“Or does it?” said the circle of ponies, in unison.

Watchful Eye nodded, a huge smile on his face. “Well then, tell me Cookie, what does it really mean?”

“Well, see” said Distant Voice, turning to face Rapid Directly, “the arrow always points forward, right?”

The bat ponies nodded.

“Well, that’s because Rapid is a big dumb horse that needs to be reminded which way is actually forwards, because he keeps forgetting.”

“Oh, you little bugel-sucking traitor,” grinned Rapid Advance.

A few giggles arose from the circle.

Distant Voice nodded, as if confirming some long held truth.

“The arrows are like, red, right?” said Far Out, who was seated on the other side of Rapid. She was leaning back, glaring suspiciously at his barding-covered flank.

Again, the bat ponies nodded.

“So they are red because its like, the BLOOD OF HIS ENEMIES! Get out of his way, or you are gettin’ SMASHED!”

Rapid Advance grinned. “Far Out, I knew there was a reason I liked you.”

Far Out nodded quickly.

“And like, they are arrows because, like arrows are sharp! And sharp things are good at stabbing, and stabbing is good at...more blood! Yeah!”

“Makes sense to me,” said Sable Shield.

“I vote we just declare Far Out the winner here and now,” said Rapid.

“No way,” said Watchful Eye sticking his tongue out at the corporal, “besides I think Distant Voice’s appraisal is the more accurate one. Anypony else? Something just a wee bit more insulting?”

When no one else answered, Watch turned to the captain, “Well sir, what do you think?”

Winter Sky blinked. “I, well, I think I am going to have to go with the blood option.”

Watchful Eye frowned. “Oh, well then. Blood it is. Rapid Advance, you may now choose the next contestant.”

“Very well then. You know what they say about turnabout, Watch?”

Watch narrowed his eyes. “Spoilsport.”

“We all know Watch’s mark,” said Rapid Advance, gesturing to the sergeant, “that big pink heart, with the big pink eye in the middle. It means that he cares, or so we are told. It means he is ever watching, ever vigilant.”

“Or does it?” Repeated the the circle of ponies.

“Tell me, friends, what does it really mean?”

“I think it means he’s full of himself,” said Dawn Trotter, pointing to the sergeant’s flank. “I mean his mark is a heart, with an eye on it! So his talent is loving something, and that something is an Eye. A Watchful Eye. I mean seriously, what kind of pony has themselves as a cutie mark?”

“Literally everypony, Dawn” said Sable Shield.

“Shh.”

“Well, that heart of his, it IS rather large isn’t it? Said Winter Sky. “Perhaps it IS full of something. Hot air, perhaps?”

The rest of the squad turned to face the captain with a measure of surprise.

“Ohh I like that one,” said Sable Shield.

“And Winter Sky joins the fray!” said Rapid Advance, his expression practically daring the sergeant to retort.

Watch just grinned. “The die is cast, Captain.”

“You guys are all wrong,” said Star Duster, causing the rest of the bat ponies to return their attention to the circle. “See, it’s all in the Eye. What is it sitting on top of? “

“A big pink heart?” asked Sable Shield.

“Exactly. The eye means he is looking, and the heart is what he is looking for! And what does a heart mean? Well I’ll tell you. It means love! So Watch is looking for love.”

“That doesn’t seem so bad,” said Far Out.

“Oh, it’s all in the details Far,” continued Star Duster. “See, his talent is looking for love, not finding it. I mean come on Watch, when’s the last time you went on a date? Hay, when’s the last time you even got l-OW!”

Star Duster, interrupted by a sudden blow to his side, turned to face Sable Shield. “What was that for? That hurt!”

Sable Shield just stared straight ahead, ignoring him.

Star Duster then returned his attention to Watchful Eye, who glared back, slowly pulling a forehoof across his neck in a throat-slitting gesture. Star Duster seemed pleased.

“Well I think it safe to say Star Duster wins that one,” said Rapid Advance,”and Watch, we do have that sunscreen you had us all pack. You said it was supposed to help prevent burns, so, perhaps you should dig some out.”

Star Duster snickered.

“I believe you get to select the next pony, Sergeant,” said Winter Sky.

“That I do,” said Watchful Eye, snapping back to his usual self. Star Duster’s time would come, Watch knew. But not yet.

“Sable Shield!” he said, whirling to point at the mare.

Sable’s eyes went wide, and she looked between Star Duster and Watchful Eye several times, quickly.

“I’m not with him!” she blurted, pointing at Star Duster.

“Coward,” said Star Duster.

Watchful Eye moved slowly around the circle, stalking towards Sable Shield in an almost predatory fashion. He took his place behind the mare.

“Private Sable Shield,” he said, gesturing to the mare, “cutie mark: A large black shield. It represents her abilities as a guardspony, she says. It means she’s a tough, stalwart defender of the realm.”

“Or does it?” said the group.

“Well, what’s that shield really mean?”

“Well this one is easy,” said Rapid Advance.

“Oh?” said Watchful Eye.

“Yes,” nodded Rapid. “A black shield, to go with that black, withered husk she calls a heart.”

“Hmmm, it does fit,” said Star Duster

“Watch it,” said Sable Shield, one ear turning towards Star Duster, “I know where you live.”

“I always thought the black represented the gaping void where her sense of humor used to be,” said Watchful Eye. “But the black heart thing, I can see it.”

“Yeah, me too.” said Dawn Trotter.

“I think it’s a bit of both,” added Distant Voice.

“I think her shield’s pretty,” said Far Out.

Watchful Eye turned to the mare, sighing. She wasn’t watching the rest of the group anymore, as the mare’s attention was now firmly on something she was pressing down in front of her. She seemed to be trying to roll or twist something, and it only took Watch a moment to recognize it as one of the bronze cylinders from the ruined town hall.

“Far Out, Cutieology still, remember?”

Far Out stared at the sergeant, thinking. “Oh. OH! Yes, sorry, just kidding!”

She looked to Sable Shield. “I think it’s pretty...stupid?”

Watch’s eyes lingered on Far Out for a moment, “You know what, I’ll take it. Anypony else?”

When no response came, Watch snorted. “Well that was disappointingly quick. Seems you got off easy, Sable. Choose your pony.”

“Star Duster,” said Sable Shield, without hesitation.

“Hey!” said Star Duster.

“Call me a coward will you?” said Sable.

Watch took a step to the side, coming to stand behind Star Duster. “Hello, Star.”

Star Duster craned his neck back, coming face to face with Watchful Eye. “Bring it, mom.”

“Private Star Duster,” began Watchful Eye, “cutie mark: A blue star, with a push broom leaning ag-”

“It’s a dust mop!” said Star Duster.

“...with a dust mop that looks suspiciously like a push broom leaning against the front of it. It means- well he says it means,” Watch paused a moment, looking down at Star Duster, then back to the rest of the group, “actually I have no idea what it means, and I don’t think Star does either. Somepony help me out here.”

The whole of Cookie Squad blinked as one.

“...or does it?” added a somewhat puzzled Far Out. The group seemed to think for a moment.

“His true talent is janitorial work,” Offered Rapid Advance.

“And he’s really good at it, so that’s what the star means,” added Distant Voice.

“Space. Janitor.” said Sable Shield, waving a hoof around as if she was trying to explain an advanced concept to a group of foals.

“You know, I’ve got nothing,” said Dawn Trotter, shrugging.

“Well that star of his, I think I get it,” said Watchful Eye. “It’s like one of the gold ones they give out to foals in school, when they try. Doesn’t matter if they pass or fail, they just get it for trying. That is the meaning of Star’s star. YOU TRIED!”

“I tried, and I succeeded,” said Star Duster, wagging his eyebrows.

“No, you just tried,” countered Watchful Eye, “if you had succeeded, you wouldn’t be a guardspony with a mop on his flank. Your cutie mark is an existential participation trophy.”

“HAHAHA,” Sable Shield burst into laughter beside Star, dropping her cup on the floor.

The blue maned stallion turned to her, scowling.

Watch’s ear swiveled quickly to his right, catching the faint hint of a snicker from Winter Sky.

Vengeance.

“I think we can safely call Star Duster for Watchful Eye,” said Winter Sky, who was still trying to disguise his smirk.

“Number one cutieologist, right here,” said Watchful Eye, striking a pose.

“Total set up,” said Star Duster.

“Nah, you deserved that,” said Dawn Trotter, “Choose the next pony!”

“Okay then,” said Star Duster, who now sported an alarmingly suspicious grin. “Winter Sky.”

All eyes snapped to the captain.

“It’s mutiny, then.”

“Of the best kind,” said Watchful Eye, trotting around the circle to take his place beside Winter sky.

“Captain Winter Sky,” started Watch, “cutie mark: A crescent moon, its horns facing upwards, a snowflake floating between them. It represents, we are told, the cool, collected nature of a good Lunar Guard officer, the Guard itself, and of course, our own beloved night.

“Or does it!” came the refrain. Then nothing.

Watchful Eye scanned the group suspiciously. “Anypony?”

More silence.

“I promise nopony will be getting hallway duty over this. Not even Private Star Duster.” offered Winter Sky.

“Well, uh,” said Distant Voice, all eyes turning to him, “it’s a snowflake and a moon right? So it means he’s cold. Cold and distant-”

“No relation,” grinned Dawn Trotter.

Voice snorted, tossing his empty cup at Dawn before continuing, “distant and pretty much no fun at all!

“I think that is a requirement for being an officer,” said Star Duster.

“Something you will never have to worry about private, I assure you,” said Winter Sky.

“You say that like its a bad thing.”

“Star,” said Far Out.

“Yea, Far?” asked Star Duster

Far Out, who, for some reason was now looking nearly straight up, quickly turned her attention to Star Duster. “Huh?”

“You said my name?” asked Star Duster, raising an eyebrow.

Far Out cocked her head, realization suddenly flooding her eyes. “OH! No, not Star, star. Little star, up there!”

She motioned towards the ceiling, or rather, one of the gaping holes in it through which the dawn sky could be seen. “That star, right there. It’s like, moving!”

Every pony present shifted position, attempting to get a look at what Far Out was talking about. Watchful Eye and Winter Sky came up behind the mare, their eyes following the line of her hoof.

“What the,” said Watchful Eye “it IS moving.”

“Pretty sure stars aren’t supposed to move,” said Dawn Trotter, who, along with Distant Voice, had appeared beside Watch.

“They definitely aren’t supposed to do that,” added Voice, who was now joined the others.

“Is it just me, or is it getting brighter as well?” asked Rapid Advance. The entirety of the squad had now moved to where they could clearly see the object.

“You know, I think you are right,” added Winter Sky, who had his head buried in one of the saddlebags he had placed on the ground near his hooves. He pulled out a fancy tube of wood and brass, and dropping to a sitting position, he took one side of it in his mouth and pulled, bringing what was now clearly a small telescope to its full length. He quickly put the small end to one eye, training the device on the mysterious star.

“See anything, sir?” asked Watch.

“Yes, its strange,” said Winter Sky, “I don’t think it was getting brighter, so much as it is getting closer. There also seems to be some kind of tail to it, like a shooting star or something, but I have never known them to endure like this.”

The ponies of Cookie Squad watched as the strange star drew nearer. It’s bewildering features slowly became clearer, even to the unaided eyes in the group. The tail, barely visible at all at first, now became plain to see- a strange, dimly glowing haze or smoke that trailed behind the brightest part of the phenomenon.

“Uh, ok it’s getting kind of close isn’t it?” Asked Sable Shield, the unease evident in her voice.

“It kind of looks like a little comet,” said Far Out.

“It seems to be growing dimmer now, yet closer? That doesn’t make much sense at all!” said Winter Sky, still tracking the ‘star’ with his spyglass.

“It looks like it’s going to pass close,” said Watchful Eye, “but it’s hard to say without knowing how big it is.”

The bright glow of the mystery object seemed to fade to nothing, but the strange, hazy tail still seemed to trail it, clearly revealing its presence.

Star Duster reared up, squinting his eyes as if trying to get a better look at the object. “What the hay is-”

BOOM BOOM

The sky seemed to split apart, and a pair of thunderous booms shook the air around the group. Star Duster, whinnying in surprise, tumbled over backwards, and ponies all around him dropped to the ground, eyes wide. The walls of the ruin shook, small bits of stone and worn masonry falling all about them.

“WHAT THE HAY IS THAT?” shouted Dawn Trotter, laying on his side, eyes wide and staring at the open ceiling.

“It sounded like the world’s fattest pegasus pulling off a sonic rainboom!” yelled Sable Shield, peeking out from beneath her forehooves.

“Look!” yelled Distant Voice, scrambling to his hooves and pointing towards the same gaping hole that had overlooked their artillery work earlier.

Watchful Eye struggled to his hooves, galloping to a spot from which he could see out the opening. Passing quickly through the dawn sky, silhouetted against the pale glow of the still hidden sun, was a dark shape, too distant to see clearly. It passed their position high and to the east, still trailing a wisp of quickly dissipating haze, heading towards mountain range in the distance.

“That would have to be the strangest meteor I’ve ever seen,” said Distant Voice, joining Watch near the opening. The others filed in behind him, and all eyes were fixed on the quickly moving shape in the sky. A light appeared suddenly on the front side of the distant object as it neared the mountain range, and it appeared to slow.

To Watch’s left, Winter Sky appeared, bringing out his spyglass again. The object in the distance, its strange trail now gone, was vanishing into the predawn darkness.

“It looks to be falling into that mountain range, between the peaks,” said the captain. “And by falling I mean very, very slowly. Whatever that light was, seemed to slow it down a great deal.”

Winter Sky lowered his spyglass. “Whatever it was, it ended up in those mountains by the look of it.”

“Mountains of Mystery indeed,” added Rapid Advance.

Cookie Squad stood motionless, staring together out the makeshift window, and towards the mountains in the distance. A few uneasy glances were exchanged, and silence fell upon them. The deep blue of the pre dawn sky was now giving way to the lighter blue of the dawn, and the very first hints of the sun itself could be seen peeking over the eastern treelines.

Suddenly, the captain slammed his spyglass closed. He turned to face the rest of Cookie.

“I am afraid we are going to have to cut our little tradition short this morning, everypony. Get those stones up and your gear back on, we are sleeping up today.”

The ponies groaned as one, ears pinned, and heads fell.

“Ughh, not that,” said Sable Shield, shambling off towards her saddlebags.

Watchful Eye sighed, but knew the captain was right. “Ok Cookie, you heard him, gather your junk and come circle the wagons. Dawn, you have the dawn watch.”

“EVERY TIME!” growled Dawn Trotter.

Watch nodded, “Shouldn’t have such a convenient name.”

Dawn Trotter slammed his helmet back on, and began refastening his saddlebags. “Yeah well, blame my parents. I swear they should have named me Lunch Trotter, or Vacation Trotter or something that would be actually convenient.”

“Private,” said Winter Sky, moving over to meet Dawn Trotter. He had already redonned his own helmet. “There is rather good position on the roof here, or rather, what is now the roof. Get up there, and you should have an excellent field of view with good cover from the remaining stonework. Just stay low.”

Dawn Trotter saluted the captain, then took wing, flying hesitantly up through the broken ceiling.

Watchful Eye watched him go, then returned to securing his own helmet and saddle bags. Content that he had everything back in its place, he began to move to each member of the squad, tying on cups, pulling straps, stuffing wayward Nightflame stones back into their pouches, and respective owner’s saddlebags.

Winter Sky watched the proceedings with seeming approval, and nodded to the sergeant.

Watchful Eye nodded back. “Okay everypony, on me. Rump to rump, right here.”

The rest of the squad, fully armored and wearing all their equipment, approached Watch, slowly backing themselves into a circle, each pony facing outwards.

“I hate sleeping on my hooves,” said Sable Shield, yawning.

“Can’t we at least take off the helmets this time?” asked Distant Voice.

Winter Sky paused, clearly mulling the suggestion.

“Very well,” said the captain, “helmets can come off if you feel the need, but only helmets. Keep them at your hooves, I want to be able to bolt in as short a time as possible.”

Distant Voice nodded, a relieved look on his face.

Watchful Eye took one last look around the rest of the circle, yawning himself. “Well, morning everypony.”

“Morning,” came the response.

He closed his eyes, lowered his head and tried to get some sleep.

Author's Note

Special thanks to Jude and Unity for help with pre-reading!

Chapter 7 - Alien Space Ghost

“’Shouldn’t have such a convenient name’, he says.”

Dawn Trotter grumbled to himself, his muzzle scrunched up in annoyance. The young Lunar Guard found himself perched atop the ruined tower that now served as their campsite. His form was concealed, mostly, in a low between mounds of rubble. Having removed his helmet, only his ears and eyes rose above the surrounding debris, affording him a good view of the tower’s immediate surroundings. He settled in for the dawn watch.

“Stupid sarge. Stupid planet. Stupid...fog?” Dawn stretched his neck upwards, craning it slowly around. In the time it had taken the stallion to get settled, the low, barely notable wisps of fog that had been present during the night had greatly thickened, and were now forming the beginnings of a blanket, surrounding the garrison tower. Steering his eyes to his rear, he could see its source; thick rolls hung over the river that divided the town center, and were slowly advancing from it. The fog, it seemed, would come with the sun.

“Stupid rivers, too,” said Dawn. “Like it wasn’t spooky enough here already.”

He plopped his head down on the debris piled directly in front of him. Dawn was more than willing to sacrifice a bit of stealth for comfort, even if the stones didn’t make a particularly good pillow. He got comfortable, and watched the fog roll in.

An hour passed. Maybe two. Dawn wasn’t quite sure. Time got a little muddy when he was bored. And tired. His ear twitched. The wind was slacking even further now, nearly dead. Only the highest part of the trees caught any breeze, and the rustling noises that had accompanied it their entire trip so far had mostly faded away. It was the quietest it had been since the group had arrived on the planet.

Dawn’s ear twitched again. His eyes narrowed. He glanced to his side, swiveling the ear. Every so often, Dawn would hear something. Or he wouldn’t. He wasn’t quite sure. The relative silence seemed to magnify every movement he made, every shift of his barding against the stone, every breath he took. He thought he heard the buzz of a fly, but didn’t see one. He hadn’t seen any bugs.

He wiggled himself a bit, listening to the sounds he made. Nothing seemed to buzz. Suspiciously, he eyed the tops of the surrounding treeline, seeing if it may be one last trick of the wind. The trees seemed innocent, but one never knew.

I swear, if I am the first pony to get stung by a giant alien bee I am going to friggin pissed. They’re probably poison, and…

Dawn’s thoughts came to a crashing halt.

Something moved down below, barely visible in the fog. A tall, pale shape advanced silently in the mists, moving slowly along the treeline.

Dawn’s eyes went wide, his ears pinned back, and he dropped low. He peeked cautiously over the stones surrounding him. The buzz forgotten, his quickening heartbeat was now the only sound he could hear.

He watched the thing advance. The nearer it drew, the more of it Dawn could make out. It was a tall thing, and narrow, maybe twice the height of a pony, or more. It had to be light gray, or white, or some combination of the two colors, judging by how well it blended in with the surrounding fog. Most disturbing however, was the way that it seemed to sway or billow about the edges as it moved.

Then, it clicked.

“G..gh...gh..ghost..” Dawn stammered, sliding backwards in panic, his pupils had shrunk to nigh invisible slits. Fumbling for his helmet, he barely managed to to get it back on amidst the terror. Falling to his belly, he low-crawled back to the hole leading to the tower interior, and to his sleeping comrades.

Dawn poured down through the hole in the ceiling like slime, fluttering to the ground in the middle of the circle of sleeping bat ponies. Still dragging his belly, he slid over to the sleeping form of Watchful Eye.

“Sarge!” hissed Dawn, prodding him in the foreleg, “sarge wake up!”

“Hnnh?” mumbled Watchful Eye, blinking slowly awake, “what is it Dawn?”

“Sarge...” whispered Dawn, turning his head as if to see if he had been followed. Turning back to face the rousing sergeant, his helmet slipped forward, nearly obscuring his eyes.

“Outside! There’s...there’s a!..”

The sergeant turned his head to dawn, cocking an eyebrow, “a...what?”

“AN ALIEN SPACE GHOST!” blurted Dawn, in the loudest whisper he could muster. He pushed his helmet back into place.

Watch stared at Dawn Trotter a moment, started to say something, then abruptly stopped. He looked at Dawn with a curious expression, then nodded.

“Wake the others, quietly,” said Watchful Eye, “I’ll get the captain.”

Dawn nodded back, then, still slinking along on his belly, began to move from pony to pony, waking them as quietly as he could.

“Psst, Star,” he said, prodding the snoozing stallion in the muzzle. Star’s eyes shot open, and before he had a chance to speak, found Dawn Trotter’s hoof in his mouth.

“Shhh.”

Star Duster’s face contorted in confusion, but he nodded back.

Dawn continued around the circle.

“Huh? What is it?” whispered Winter Sky, somewhere behind him. Dawn’s ear swiveled to the sound.

“I’m not sure, sir,” came the hushed voice of Watchful Eye, “Dawn saw something outside, something that spooked him pretty bad. I think we should check it out,”

Having successfully alerted the rest of the squad without any shouts or screaming, Dawn turned towards Watch and the captain.

“What is it, private?” asked Winter Sky, creeping close to the anxious bat pony, Watchful Eye in tow.

“There’s a ghost down there sir,” said Dawn, as quietly as he could manage while still being clearly heard, “moving around in the trees. An alien space ghost!”

“Alien...space...ghost?” repeated Winter Sky, his unsure eyes locked on Dawn’s. He glanced to his side, to Watchful Eye, who motioned towards something with his head. It only took Dawn a second to realize it was the hole that had served as their window earlier.

“Show me,” said Winter, “and stay low.”

Dawn crept up to the opening, staying below the jagged ‘lip’, and motioned for Winter Sky to look out.

The captain nodded, and approached the opening in the same fashion, Watchful Eye right behind. The two raised their heads just enough to get a view below.

“Where?”

“Down there” said Dawn, “near where we were shooting earlier!”

“Near the statue?” asked the captain.

Dawn Trotter nodded.

Winter Sky squinted, searching for their star thrower target from hours before.

“This fog seems...excessive.”

“You were probably dreaming,” yawned Sable Shield, from somewhere behind. The clip clop of hooves announced the others were joining her.

“I had watch,” hissed Dawn, “I wasn’t asleep!”

“Uh huh.”

Dawn couldn’t see her, but could practically feel her rolling her eyes. He was beginning to feel very reasonably angry.

“Shh,” snapped Winter Sky, “I see something.”

“What is it?” asked Watchful Eye, squeezing in close to the captain.

“I’m… not entirely sure.”

Dawn cowered below the edge of the opening, his eyes peeking over just enough to allow him to see what the captain was looking at.

The ghost was still there, and still shrouded by fog. It seemed to have shrunk since Dawn had last looked, and now stood directly before the broken alien statue-thing.

“Oh, I see it! What's it doing?” Whispered Watchful Eye.

Before either pony could answer, the specter began to rise. Slowly it assumed the height Dawn remembered from his first encounter. He realized the thing hadn’t shrunk, but had been sitting, or at least bending towards the ground in some fashion, right at the base of the statue.

“Whoa,” said Watch.

“It’s tall,” said Winter Sky.

Dawn Trotter watched as the mysterious spirit began to move again, continuing down the treeline, moving closer to their position in the ruins. It seemed to almost glide towards them, its strange, ghostly form trailing it slightly at the edges.

“That’s no ghost.” said Watchful Eye.

Dawn’s Eyes darted to the sergeant, half angry, half confused.

“It's fabric of some type,” continued Watch, “it's wearing..something, Dawn.”

“Watch is right,” added Winter Sky, still squinting harshly at the mysterious visitor. “it’s wearing a dress or something. Whatever it is. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

Private Dawn Trotter turned his worried eyes back to the visitor. It had drawn yet closer, and its form was now more easily discerned through the fog. What he saw only disturbed him more. What Dawn had first assumed to be wispy bits of spirit trailing the thing were in fact part of some kind of elaborate garment, swaying gently as it walked. As he watched it move slowly forward, a chill ran down his spine, from his mane to his tail, and right back up again to the tips of his wings. Nothing about the way the thing moved seemed natural. Graceful, but unnatural. Such a tall, narrow thing should topple over, moving about like that on what could only be two legs. Worst of all, however, was what had to be the things face, if any pony could call such a thing that. It was featureless, other than being silver. The bright, reflective silver of an expertly polished mirror. The surroundings reflected in what part of it was visible as it moved, and if there was one thing to be thankful about, it was that the thing didn’t seem interested in looking up.

“What was it doing by the statue thing?” asked Dawn Trotter.

“I’m wondering the same myself,” said Winter Sky.

“Was it looking for something?” asked Watchful Eye, sounding very unsure himself.

The creature shifted, revealing an as yet unseen upper appendage, and lowered its head slightly. It clutched something in whatever claw-thing it had, holding it before it’s face.

Dawn cocked an ear, trying to make out just what the ghost monster had. Something thin and fairly long. His eyes went wide.

A Star Thrower bolt.

“Oh horse apples,” hissed Winter Sky, recognizing the fact at the same moment.

“Down!”

The three ponies dropped below the line of their makeshift window, no longer visible to the creature. Dawn glanced back to the rest of the squad, all of which were giving them concerned stares.

“It knows we smashed its pillar thing,” said Watchful Eye.

“It knows something did at least,” added Winter Sky.

“You mean it,” said Rapid Advance, “whatever it is, knows something smashed its statue thing. With the artillery piece that is still sitting at the entrance to the tower we happen to be occupying at the moment.”

“Ah crud,” said Distant Voice.

“Wait,” said Far Out, “the ghost knows we’re here?” She dropped low, covering her muzzle with her hooves. Her eyes darted side to side.

“No, err, maybe not,” said Winter Sky, turning to the mare, but glancing between the others as well, “it knows something probably broke its pillar-statue.”

“..and that something probably used the star thrower right below us.” said Watchful Eye.

“Yes, we need to move,” said Winter Sky.

The captain rose slowly back to their makeshift window, peering cautiously. He immediately dropped back down.

“Luna’s teats there are more of them!” he hissed.

“Language!” said Far Out, still covering her face with her hooves.

“Whoa,” blurted Sable Shield, who seemed more surprised by the captain’s sudden vulgarity than by the possible horde of alien ghost monsters descending on them.

Dawn did not like the sound of any of this, not one bit. He had to see for himself though. Watchful Eye seemed to have the same idea, and both ponies cautiously rose.

The ghost, or whatever it was, was still there, holding the Star Thrower bolt. He could no longer see it’s face, if that creepy shiny thing could really be described as such, as it had turned from him, now looking in the direction from which it had come. That’s when he noticed the movement. Two more forms, barely visible, were making their way forward along the same treeline the ghost had followed. They were the same gray and white coloring as the ghost, or least looked to be from this distance, but lacked the strange dress-like covering it wore. They were also much bulkier. Their faces were also different. If they had the same strange mirror-face going on, it wasn’t as obvious as with the ghost. Both were carrying some sort of object in their limbs, much larger than the Star Thrower bolt and seemingly identical between the two of them. Dawn didn’t like the look of them one bit.

“You two, get down!” said Winter Sky.

Dawn found himself suddenly seized from behind, and forced to the floor.

“Don’t let those things see you!”

“Do you guys uh, feel that?” asked Star Duster.

All three stallions turned to face him.

“Feel wha- oh.” said Watchful Eye.

Star Duster extended a wing part way, flapping it for effect.

“A little like earlier, before we killed the statue, but not nearly as bad. The anti-magic creepy stuff.”

“It’s getting colder too,” said Distant Voice, “don’t you guys feel it?”

“I do,” said Star Duster, “but I thought I was going crazy!”

The two stallions shared a worried look.

“We should get out of here before we can’t use our wings to do so,” said Rapid Advance.

Dawn looked to Winter Sky, who nodded to Rapid.

“Was thinking the same thing, but we can’t go the way we came in without walking right out into them. We can’t hop out the window for the same reason. If we go out the other side they’ll see us crossing the open area.”

“Wait till they get to the base base of the tower,” said Watchful Eye, “they will need to go through the door to get up here after all. Once they do we glide out the opposite direction, keep the tower between us and them and make for the other treeline, towards the river, as fast as our wings will take us.”

Winter Sky looked to Watch, thought just a moment, then nodded again.

“That’s really our only option. Everypony, make sure you have everything you need, and be ready to take wing. This fog should help us a bit. You lead us out Watch, when I give the order.”

Watchful Eye saluted, drew back, and staying low, made for the opposite side of the room.

“Everypony on me, stay low, and keep quiet.”

Dawn Trotter moved away from the window with the others, staying as low as he could. He held position behind Watchful Eye, who had placed himself beneath one of the large holes in the remaining ceiling structure.

“When Captain Winter gives the order, I am going up and out. Everypony stay on my tail until I stop moving”

Dawn Trotter stretched his wings, nodding along with the others.

Winter Sky was still at the window across the room, trying his best to stealthily observe the approaching creatures. After a few minutes of awkward, unbearably tense silence, he dropped to the floor once more, and crawled swiftly across the room to the assembled Cookie Squad.

“Watch, go.” said Winter Sky.

Watchful Eye nodded, spread his wings, and with several labored wing beats, was up and out. The others swiftly began to follow. Dawn Trotter spread his own wings and prepared himself, he would be right behind Distant Voice, with Winter Sky behind him as the last pony out.

Getting airborne was difficult and gliding any distance was not going to be possible. Dawn and the others found themselves beating their wings as hard as they could just to stay aloft with any sort of speed, though it was getting easier the farther they got from their campsite. No heed was given to maintaining any kind of formation, just staying on Watch’s tail was proving difficult enough. Dawn pulled up alongside Distant Voice, who per usual, was laboring the hardest to keep up.

“Hey, it feels like it’s getting easier at least,” said Dawn.

“Yeah,” huffed Distant Voice, “as long as we don’t fly into another one of those statue things!”

“I don’t get why it got hard in the first place,” said Star Duster, falling back to place himself beside Distant Voice opposite of Dawn Trotter, “I mean we broke the dumb alien face statue.”

“Maybe,” wheezed Distant Voice, “they fixed it?”

“That fast?” asked Star Duster.

“Some kind of evil space alien sculptors back for revenge?”

“Treeline ahead,” said Watchful Eye, who quickly dropped to just above ground level. His tucked forehooves swept across the tops of the tall grass as he moved in towards his chosen landing point.

A moment later and the sergeant was down, trotting to a stop beneath a large pair of trees. One by one the other members of the squad alighted around him, with Dawn and Distant Voice coming in to his left. Voice stumbled a bit as he trotted to a stop, breathing as if he had just finished first in the local Running of the Leaves.

Watchful Eye turned to Distant Voice, raising an eyebrow.

“Not going to die on me, are you Voice?”

“Can I?”

“Nope.”

“Not even a little?”

“’fraid not,”grinned Watchful Eye.

Suddenly, the armored form of the captain dropped into their midst, turning immediately to Watchful Eye.

“I don’t think anything saw us leave.”

“And I didn’t see anything out ahead of us on the way here,” said Watchful Eye. “It looks like it's just the three of those things. So far, anyway.”

“Oh well goody,” said Far Out, pushing her way into the group of speaking ponies. She bore a nervous grin, and turned her hopeful eyes to Winter Sky.

“So like, that means we are going to leave now, right?”

“Yeah,” added Sable Shield, “you know for once I think she’s right. Those things sound super creepy, leaving before they can try to...” she dropped to her haunches, raising her hooves in an air quoting gesture, “’make friends’ with us sounds like a good idea to me.”

Watchful Eye glanced at the captain. Dawn knew he was waiting for an order.

“No need to convince me,” nodded Winter Sky, “whatever those things are, it's a near certainty they are connected to the destruction of this place, and the loss of its garrison with all hooves. I have no plan to join them.”

“Back to the portal?” asked Watchful Eye.

“Back to the portal,” said Winter Sky.

“Now wait a moment,” said Rapid Advance. The large bat stallion stepped forward, drawing the attention of the rest.

“From what you were saying up there, these things were investigating that statue of theirs we shot up with the Star Thrower?”

“Yes,” said Winter Sky, “the one was even carrying around one of the Star Thrower bolts we fired.”

“So,” continued Rapid, “if these things were somehow able to tell we broke one of their little decorations, and exactly where it was, well...”

“Oh no,” said Far Out.

“Ah.” added Winter Sky.

“Horse apples,” said Watch.

“Yes, you see the problem. If we backtrack towards the portal, we also backtrack towards the other smashed pillar. If those things move to have a look at that one as well, we could run right into one another. Orr worse, more of those things that might already be there.”

“AHH!” yelled Far Out, causing the rest of the assembled bat ponies to jump. She was quickly silenced with a hoof in the mouth, courtesy of Sable Shield.

“SHHH,” hissed the angry gray mare, scowling.

“MMBBLLLGNNG!”

“What?” asked Sable, through half lidded eyes.

Far Out scowled in return. She then grabbed Sable Shield’s offending foreleg between her own hooves, and yanked it out of her mouth.

“I meant!..What about the other smashed one? The one the tree fell on! It’s right near the portal thing!”

Sable’s eyes went wide.

“Oh yeah!” She turned towards the captain.

Dawn watched the exchange with confusion, then concern. He had forgotten about the ruined alien statue thing in the trees by the portal. Would they be blamed for that one too?

“Yes, that’s what I was getting at,” said Rapid, regaining everypony’s attention.

“What do you suggest?” asked Watchful Eye

“I...don’t really know,” said Rapid. “We could lay low, try to wait them out. Then make back for the portal once it's clear they have gone.”

“But what if they don’t go?” asked Star Duster. The concern in his voice was well disguised, but Dawn could recognize it. Then it hit him.

“Oh no!” said Dawn Trotter, grabbing the sides of his helmet. He had the others’ attention.

“What if they just keep coming? More and more of them? What if those three are just the vanguard of an insidious alien invasion!”

“Re-invasion”, said Distant Voice, giving Dawn an incredulous look, “they already invaded Dawn, and ruined everything. Like, big time.”

“That’s even worse Voice!” continued dawn, who began to wave his hooves emphatically.

“Don’t you get what this means?”

Distant Voice blinked in confusion, and Star Duster appeared beside him.

“What’s it mean?” asked Star.

“A DOUBLE ALIEN INVASION!” blurted Dawn Trotter, “We’re DOOMED!”

“Aliens can’t invade twice!” said Sable Shield.

“Oh yeah, then how do you explain those three things over there!” Dawn waved a hoof in the general direction of their campsite.

Star Duster and Distant Voice blinked in unison, looked at one another, and screamed. With the quick addition of Dawn, all three embraced in a traditional Equestrian panic hug.

Winter Sky blinked at the spectacle, before raising his hoof to his face. Not even Far Out flinging herself into the pile of panicking guard ponies managed to draw a response.

“I don’t have enough hooves for this manure,” said Sable Shield.

“Watch, help.” said Winter Sky, the hoof never leaving his face.

“Okay okay, panic time is over”, said Watchful Eye, moving in and rapping each of the ponies on the helmet with his hooves.

“Back on your hooves you nut jobs,” he said, seeming to enjoy the exercise far too much for Dawn’s liking. The sergeant quickly had everypony back up, and began herding them away from the captain.

Dawn Trotter began fixing his crooked helmet. He took a deep breath and looked to Winter Sky, who was now speaking with Rapid Advance. He waved Watchful Eye over as well, and digging out his map once again, the three of them began to discuss something.

“You think so?” Rapid Advance.

Dawn didn’t catch the first part of what was said, but began to tune in to catch the rest.

“Yes, I do,” said Winter Sky.

“You are right about backtracking Rapid. The chance of running into those things is just too high if they are drawn to the damaged statues. So we can’t backtrack. We also can’t stay here.”

“Why’s that?” asked Watchful Eye.

“Because, there may have been some small kernel of truth in that ridiculous display a moment ago. If there are more of them, and they begin to actively search for us, it will probably be in the areas around any of the damaged statues, then fanning out from there. They’d find us fairly easily here.”

“So,” said Watchful Eye, “We can’t just go back the way we came, and we can’t stay here.”

Watch narrowed his eyes slightly, cocking his head.

“So where are we going?”

Winter Sky tapped his map.

“That vineyard, as originally planned. It’s way off the path we took, in the complete wrong direction for anyone heading back to the portal, by a fair distance. I say we spend some time checking it out as we intended to anyway, and then we make back for the portal from there. It’s a completely new path, so if those things are really hovering around the statues we damaged, we should be able to avoid them entirely. At least until we get near the gateway itself.”

Watchful Eye and Rapid Advance both nodded as one.

Dawn Watched as Watch then broke from the little group, and approached the rest of the squad.

“I’m sure most of you heard that,” said Watch.

“We are going on a little hike. A horrible, awful, sun-infested daytime hike through fog and trees probably teaming with alien monsters. Sounds fun right?”

Dawn just stared. It hadn’t even hit him that the sun was up. It sure went a ways towards explaining why everything felt so completely awful. Well, aside from the alien space ghost monsters of course. He glanced up, finding the looming form of that fiery curse-ball in the sky, and scowled at it as hard as he could. This was going to be a bad day.

******

They’d been walking for what seemed like hours. Or maybe it was hours. Dawn wasn’t about to look up and see where exactly in the sky the sun was. He wasn’t about to give it the attention. That thing hated him, and he hated it. At least there was just one.

Progress was painfully slow thanks to the “no flying” order put in place by the captain, and the lack of anything resembling an intact road heading towards their destination. Not flying was probably a good idea though, as above the fog and obnoxiously thick trees, a squad of miserable bat ponies was probably a pretty easy thing to spot against a nearly cloudless daytime sky. At least they were nearly out of the fog.

What was even up with that fog? Dawn thought.

It seemed to have risen up around the camp in just a few minutes, and blanketed the whole area. Dawn knew that rivers could make fog, or attract it or whatever, but he didn’t think they could spew fog.

“Yeah, that fog was pretty spooky.”

Dawn blinked, his ears pinned back. He glanced towards the voice on his right.

Far Out walked beside him, nodding to herself.

“Uhh, I am pretty sure I just thought that,” said Dawn.

“Yeah,” said Far Out.

“I hate the sun too!”

Dawn Trotter drew his head back, as far as he could get it away from the mare, eyeing her up and down in concern.

“Far, what the hay! I don’t know how you do that but it’s weird! Can you read minds or something?”

Far Out grinned to herself. The mare was clearly trying to stifle a laugh.

“Nah. Not minds. Just some ponies. Faces can say way more than words sometimes. Or lots of times, depending on the pony.”

Dawn Trotter continued to eye her suspiciously.

“Faces?”

“Well,” said Far Out, “maybe not just faces. Wings and ears too a lot of the time. Tail as well. Take them all together and a pony can be talking and not even realize they are.”

So..what you really mean is that you spend a lot of time staring at all of us. Intently.”

Far Out blinked.

“Uhh, maybe.”

“Why, does that turn you on?”

Dawn Trotter snorted, and stumbled, nearly falling flat on his face.

Far Out giggled.

“Ha, Gotcha!”

“That’s not fair! I was setting you up, you can’t just spin it around like that!” said Dawn Trotter.

“I can, and I did!” snickered Far Out, “faces can say more than words, remember!”

Dawn Trotter snorted again, in the most exasperated way he could manage.

“I’d do this totally great mane-toss of a victory pose but you know, helmet.”

Dawn Trotter shook his head. He was too tired to compete at Far Out’s level right now. She may seem immune to the effects of sleep deprivation, but he certainly wasn’t.

The subject had to be changed, his honor depended on it, and he knew just the thing. The one subject this particular mauve menace could never resist talking about.

Things she stole looted found.

“So, Far” said Dawn Trotter, “How many of those little alien boxes did you make off with
anyway?”

“Huh? Oh! Six I think, I didn’t keep the broken one.”

Dawn was somewhat shocked by the fact the answer was not all of them.

“They are so cool! The hinges and the crazy little latchy bits are amazing! I wonder what was in them?”

“Hard to say. Shame we can’t speak alien ghost monster, that symbol on them would probably tell us.”

“OH! Yeah, the symbol!”

Far Out looked straight at Dawn, and her expression puzzled him.

“Far?”

“I didn’t want to say anything last night.” said Far Out “cause everypony would just like, say I am being weird and all that other stuff they usually say.”

“Say what?”

Far Out glanced around suspiciously.

“I am pretty sure I have seen the symbol on those little boxes before Dawn. Somewhere back home.”

“How?’ said Dawn Trotter, “That’s a space alien symbol Far Out, why would there be space alien symbols in Equestria?”

“I don’t completely remember! I know I’ve seen it before though! Plus, Dawn, it’s got a cute little snake on it! One that looks just like any regular snake back home. Do aliens even have normal, non-spurmapillar snakes?”

She had a point there.

“You can’t remember where you saw it at all? Not even a little bit?” said Dawn.

“If I could I wouldn’t be so frustrated!” now it was Far Outs turn to snort.

“Maybe somewhere in training? A book or something.”

“Well,” said Dawn, “I don’t remember ever seeing it. And I am pretty sure any of the others would have said something if they recognized it, and they all went through the same training.”

Far Out’s eyes went wide. “That’s it!”

Dawn cocked an eyebrow. “What’s it?”

“You said everypony went through the same training and didn’t see it!”

“Yeah”

“Except that’s not like, 100% true! Some of us got some special stuff. Like, Watch has the NCO stuff, the captain the fancy officer stuff, and me.”

“Oh yeah! Said Dawn, “you did the medical course!”

Far Out nodded enthusiastically.

“That’s where I saw it! It was in a book! It's some kind of super old healing symbol or something!”

“Sooo” said Dawn, “evil space aliens with silver space boxes with ancient Equestrian healing symbols on them. Far that makes like, negative sense!”

“I know!” nodded Far Out, It’s great!”

******

After an entirely-too-long and laborious trek through an entirely-too-plant-infested forest, Cookie Squad had finally arrived at their destination. They stood together, gathered around Captain Winter Sky, who was consulting his map. Above them, the thick canopy of trees surrounding the large, steep hill which was host to Pink Sun vineyards. The trees grew nearly up to the very base of the hill itself, leaving a small ring of grass surrounding it in an otherwise ocean of overgrown trees. The bat ponies had seen no sign that they had been followed or even seen fleeing their campsite, and the group, aside from the incessant yawning of ponies deprived of sleep, had nearly returned to normalcy. Nearly.

Dawn had encouraged Far Out to bring her memory of the symbol on the strange silver boxes to the rest of the group. After a rather colorful debate on the subject, Winter Sky decided to move on and withdrew his map, declaring that the group would be on the lookout for any more familiar symbols, but that Far Out was probably mistaking it for some similar obscure symbol. Dawn didn’t buy it, and from the look of things, neither did Voice or Watchful Eye, but he understood the captain needing to move on to things that could actually be dealt with. Like escaping from alien space ghosts.

“So then,” said Winter Sky, who rested on his haunches with his nose in his map,” from what I gather looking at this map, somewhere around here, built into the base of this hill, is a door leading into the lower levels of the storage cellars for the vineyard. Probably a good place to start, and get away from the prying eyes of whatever those things were.”

“If they even have eyes,” said Star Duster.

“Not to mention, the structures on top of the hill looked completely destroyed,” said Watchful Eye.

“Yes, that too.” said Winter Sky.

“So, we are looking for a door,” said Rapid Advance, moving out into the grassy area between the trees and the base of the hill.

The others followed. Rapid Advance was an expert on destruction, so if anypony was going to find something that needed broken into, it was him.

Sadly for Rapid, his services would not be needed.

“Whoa,” said Watchful Eye.

The sergeant moved out ahead of the others, approaching a large, rectangular hole in in the hillside. A hole it was, as the door was no longer present, lying twisted and half covered with dirt directly before it.

“That’s kind of big for a door,” said Distant Voice.

The little pony moved past Watchful Eye, and up to the remains of the half buried door. He gave it a few curious taps with a steel shod hoof, the muffled clang of metal on metal drawing the attention of his comrades’ swiveling ears.

“This is a pretty freakin’ hefty door.”

“Not hefty enough,” said Rapid Advance.

“I’ll say,” said Watchful Eye, stepping past the door and moving closer to the opening itself, “and what the hay is this?”

Watch looked back to the rest of the group, motioning for them to look where his hoof was pointing.

“The hinges, they look melted or something.”

Winter Sky moved close, squinting at the hinges in question.

“They do indeed. Strange.”

“That doesn’t bode well for anypony that tried to seek shelter here,” said Rapid Advance.

Dawn glanced from the edge of the opening that the sergeant was pointing at, then back to the door that Voice was still half standing on.

“Why the heck did they need such a big door, anyway?” he asked.

“So large carts can fit through I am guessing,” said Winter Sky, turning to face the private.

“Seems about the right size for a wagon stable door. Judging by the map, some kind of road or trail led up here once.”

“Makes sense,” said Rapid Advance, “easier than trying to pull a wagon up this hillside, road or not.”

“So, do we reaaaally have to go in here?,” said Watch. He stepped up to the threshold, sticking his head inside. He pulled it out just as quickly.

Dawn paused, recalling the difficulty the sergeant faced with their crawl in the town hall ruins. He was pretty sure Watch was claustrophobic after that, and judging by the glance he had just gotten from Star Duster, he wasn’t the only one. Hopefully things wouldn’t get too tight in there, for their poor sergeant’s sake.

“Well, at least those things won’t be able to see us in there,” said Star, “hopefully.”

“Sunstones,” said Winter Sky.

“Whaa?” said Distant Voice, “I thought we were going to get away from all this awful light.”

“This may be our last chance to find something, Voice, “said Winter Sky, “I don’t want to risk missing anything.”

Dawn was in agreement with Distant Voice on this one, but orders were orders. Like the others, he removed the offending little gem from his bag, sliding it into its position on the front of his helmet, just below the plume.

“These things always reminded me of those silly helmet lamps miners wear,” said Star Duster.

“I didn’t sign up to be a miner,” said Sable Shield.

“Well you didn’t sign up to be a huge pain in the rump either, but here you are.”

“You’re lucky I am too tired to bother going over there, Star.”

“Hey,” said Far Out.

“Nope,” said Watchful Eye, “we gotta turn these things back in.”

“Aww.”

Winter Sky cocked an eyebrow.

Dawn Trotter shook his head, trying not to giggle.

“Everypony ready?” asked Winter Sky.

Most of the group nodded.

“Very well. Watch, lead on.”

Watchful Eye hesitated a moment. His ears pinned back.

“Okay.”

The sergeant moved through the opening.

The others followed, with Winter Sky pausing and turning to Distant Voice.

“I need some pony to stay out here and keep a watch for those things, and you are it Private. I don’t want to be surprised coming out of here. Try to stay out of sight.”

Voice sighed, then saluted. “Yes sir.”

Rapid Advance, paused, just before entering, turning to Voice as well.

“You heard the captain, Voice. Stay small.” he grinned.

Voice’s eye twitched, but he said nothing. Rapid Advanced disappeared into the opening.

“We’ll try not to be too long.” said Winter Sky, who behind Dawn, was the last one to enter.

Passing through the ruined doorway, Dawn could quickly see that Winter Sky had been right with his guess. On the other side of the short entrance way it opened up into a large room. To one side was a cart, still half loaded with boxes, the Pink Sun name clearly visible on them. Some random items were scattered about the room. Dawn recognized what was left of harnessing tack, most likely from the wagon. Towards the other side of the room, a heap on the floor that looked suspiciously like a set of old saddlebags drew his attention. On the far end, exactly opposite the entrance, another open doorway lead deeper into the complex. The multiple sunstones cast too much light for Dawn’s liking, but on the literal bright side, it would be pretty hard to miss something now.

“We must be a fair distance from any of those statues, judging by how well these are working,” said Winter Sky.

“I was thinking the same thing,” said Rapid Advance. “Quite the difference from the garrison.”

Sable Shield, having moved almost immediately to the old cart, was in the process of trying to pry open one of the boxes.

“Give me a hoof, Star.”

“On it,” said Star Duster, moving to assist.

“I doubt you’ll find anything interesting in those boxes, private,” said Winter Sky.

Sable grinned. “I respectfully disagree, sir.”

Dawn Trotter walked slowly across the room, nudging the pile of suspected saddlebag with a hoof. Turning part of it over, he could see a clasp and flap, along with the large fastener for the bag’s cinch strap. Definitely saddlebags. He lowered his face to the clasp to get a better look at it, and taking a deep breath, blew. A cloud of dust erupted around him.

One coughing fit later, Dawn was able to see the clasp a bit better. Some kind of fruit it looked like, probably a pear. The clasp was unfastened, and gently, Dawn opened it, and looked inside. Nothing. After a few good shakes, he knew both bags were empty.

“What are you doing, Dawn?” asked Watchful Eye, coming up behind him.

“These were saddlebags, but they’re empty,” said Dawn, “belonged to somepony with a pear cutie mark, or something that looked like a pear, anyway.”

“Huh, interesting. We haven’t really found much in the way of personal belongings.”

“Hey, look at this!” came the voice of Far Out, on the other side of the room.

Dawn turned away from the saddlebags. The mare was standing at the wall, near the old cart and a bit behind it. She had opened some kind of door in the wall, and was motioning to it. He moved over to get a better look at what she had.

It resembled a cabinet of some sort, perfectly square and set above the ground about withers height. Something resembling a shelf looked to be wedged inside, near the top. The lower half of the interior seemed to be unfinished stone. It took Dawn a moment to figure out what he was looking at.

“It's a tiny little elevator thing!” said Far Out, just as he had managed to work out what he was seeing.

Sure enough, it was a small elevator, rope and pulley powered, similar to those you would see in the wealthiest unicorn estates in Canterlot, but about twice as large. Glancing around the room again, it was clear it was not the only one present.

“That must bring down product from the upper levels, to be loaded on the cart,” mused Rapid Advance, joining the others at the elevator.

“Ahh, so this is some sort of loading dock,” said Winter Sky, “clever ponies.”

“Wait,” said Sable shield, who was observing from on top of her cart, “loading dock, upper levels? How big is this place?”

“Supposedly, this entire hill has been hollowed out into one big wine cellar and grain store. So big.” said the captain.

“Earth ponies,” chuckled Star Duster.

“It does sound like the perfect place to fall back to,” said Rapid.

“Or the perfect place to get trapped in,” added Sable.

“We’ll only check some of the largest places we can find on the lowest levels,” said Winter Sky, “places that could shelter a fair number of ponies. Considering the state of that door we passed through though, I think we’ll just find more of the same.”

******

Leaving the loading dock, things got tighter. Cookie made its way through rough-cut hallways with low ceilings, with the occasional rack of bottles, or storage cabinet, lining the walls. Occasionally a door would lead off from the low passageways, opening into much larger single rooms. Most of these so far encountered were filled with the decayed remnants of whatever agricultural product they had been storing. One had been empty, with nothing of interest inside. The bat ponies found themselves approaching the open door to another one of these large, yet unexplored, rooms.

“We’ll check a few more of these on this level, then head back out. Follow me,” said Winter Sky.

With the captain now at the front, Dawn and Watch now brought up the tail end. The sergeant’s ears had been pinned since they went underground, and the stallion had been uncharacteristically quiet. Dawn had seen Far Out try to approach him twice already, but she’d been unable to get him somewhere she could talk. Dawn seized the opportunity.

“You doing okay sarge?” whispered Dawn.

Watchful Eye said nothing for a moment, then sighed a little.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Ears.”

“Ah, yeah.”

“I’ll be fine once we get out of this place. It gives me the creeps.”

“Hey, what are you guys whispering about?” said Sable Shield, in an obnoxiously loud voice.

“You,” said Dawn.

“Yeah I figured.”

“We’ll be out of here soon sarge,” Dawn continued in a whisper, “plus, this place is in pretty good shape, like, nothing is collapsing or fallen over or anything, so it should be a breeze.”

“I sure hope so,” said Watch, “...and you know, you’re right. This place IS undamaged. Even the bottles are intact.”

“Sir?” said Watchful Eye, in a loud voice.

“Yes, sergeant? Said Winter Sky.

“Dawn here just pointed something out to me. Have you noticed that nothing down here is really, you know, damaged, crushed or blown up?”

“I have,” said the captain, “glad I am not the only one. It seems that whatever happened outside, didn’t make it in here, despite the damage to the door.”

“That’s rather paradoxical don’t you think?” added Rapid Advance.

“Yeah, what Rapid said,” said Star Duster, “who batters down the gates then doesn’t even go through them?”

Cookie passed into the next large room, instinctively fanning out to search.

“Apt question, private,” said Winter Sky, “I wish I had an answ-”

Winter Sky paused mid answer.

Objects of all descriptions littered the floor. Several sets of discarded Solar Guard barding lay in the corner of the room, which Dawn recognized immediately. Along the base of the walls, more saddlebags were arrayed, along with miscellaneous other items. In the middle area of the room a few rickety tables stood, empty wine bottles still standing on some of them.

“What is this?” asked Winter Sky.

Without having to be told, the group spread out further. They moved about the items, sniffing and prodding with hooves as they went. The captain and Watchful Eye had immediately moved to the sets of Solar Guard barding, and Dawn Trotter followed along. He moved past Sable and Star Duster, who were investigating the old tables.

“Looks like four sets,” said Watchful Eye, looking down at the pile of armor.

“Yes, certainly four helmets at least,” said Winter Sky, “All pegasus, it looks like.”

“Wait, what is that?” said Watchful Eye, dropping low and yanking on one of the larger pieces of armor. He managed to pull it out from underneath the pile.

“Ouch,” said Dawn Trotter.

On the rear of the set, in one of the larger plates that would have covered one of the flanks of the pony wearing it, was a circular hole, about the size of a cherry. Unlike a normal hole you might see in a battle damaged set of barding, this one appeared to have been partially melted around the edge of the hole, with the entire area of the damage pressed slightly inward. It reminded Dawn of the little craters they had seen earlier, on the walls of the garrison building’s lower level.

Winter Sky grimaced. “Flank shot.”

“It doesn’t look like any of the other sets are damaged at all, other than by age,” added Watchful Eye.

“Nothing else seems damaged in here,” said Rapid Advance, turning his attention from the saddle bag he was shaking, “everything here looks discarded, not damaged or looted.”

“Like they left it here and just never came back,” added Far Out.

“Anything in those bags?” asked Winter Sky.

“Some crumbly bits that I think were once paper, and the occasional piece of twine. The remains of food wrappings, I am guessing.”

He then turned to the mare sitting beside him. “What about you, Far Out?”

“A little of the same, but that’s it.”

Dawn glanced around the room suspiciously, paying close attention to the walls. He didn’t see any sign of those pits and craters that were all over the garrison battle site. It sure seemed that something different had gone on here.

“Well whoever was in here, at least they had some decent booze to keep them company,” said Sable Shield, lightly dinging one of the empty bottles with a hoof.

“And plenty of it at that,” nodded Star Duster.

“Rapid, Far Out,” said Winter Sky, “keep going through those bags, I want all of them checked. Watch, Dawn, help me separate these sets of barding, I want to look all of them over, you never know.”

Watch Nodded, Dawn Trotter offering a salute. The three ponies went about their task, pulling on plates and scattered warshoes, forming them into rough piles.

“Well, since it seems everypony but us has something to do,” said Sable Shield, “Permission to go peek in that next big room sir, since it's just a bit down the hallway.”

“That is...” started Winter Sky, who paused a moment, “uncharacteristically proactive of you, private. I’d rather you not go off alone, though.”

“Well, I can take Star with me, since he’s being useless as usual,” Sable Said, motioning at Star Duster with a hoof.

“What, hey, You weren’t doing anything either you know,” said Star.

“That’s even worse,” said Watchful Eye.

“You are the last two ponies we are sending off alone together.”

Sable Shield balked. “Just what's that supposed to mean?”

“It means you are crazy and he doesn’t trust you,” said Rapid Advance.

“Dawn Trotter,” said Winter Sky.

Dawn Looked to the captain.

“Go with Sable Shield and Star Duster. You three check out that next room as quickly as you can. Just see if there is anything in there worth investigating, then get back here and report.”

Dawn hopped to his hooves, saluted, then turned to Star and Sable.

“Aghh. Fine. Come on Dawn,” said Sable. She turned and headed for the door, Star following close behind.

The three ponies made their way quickly down the empty hall, arriving at the partially ajar door of the next room. Sable Stuck her head through, glanced around, nodded, then stepped back.

“Empty, no surprise.”

She then continued down the hallway.

Dawn Trotter cocked an ear, confused.

“Sable, where the hay are you going?” he said.

“What he said!” added Star.

“Don’t worry, just right here,” said Sable, stopping near one of the rack or cabinet protrusions that lined the walls. Then she stepped behind it. “Star, get over here, we have to do this quick.”

“Wha?” Star Duster flapped his wings momentarily. He glanced to Dawn Trotter, half confused, half something else.

“What?!” Blurted both stallions in unison.

“Don’t be a coward Star, we may only ever get this one chance and I am NOT wasting it. Now get over here!” she said. She sounded slightly frustrated.

“Uhhhhhh..like, right here? Right now?” he took a few hesitant steps towards her, his wings partially unfurled to his sides. “But Dawn is right here!”

“Of course right here you dummy. And who cares? Dawn may be a huge dork, but he is a huge dork I trust. He won’t rat us out.”

Star gave Dawn one more worried look, then moved up to Sable’s hiding place.

Dawn watched with a mix of awe, and horror.

The mare leaned out around the corner, a pair of bottles cradled in her forehooves.

“Awww yeah, It’s like a dream come tru-” Sable caught the eyes of the two stallions and froze, blinking.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Both stallions just stared in return.

Star Duster looked at the bottles Sable was cradling, then back to her face. He repeated this several times.

“Booze?”

“You bet your ear tufts! I told you this stuff is worth like a million bits back home. And here it is! Aged to perfection over like, a million years! We are going to drink some of it RIGHT NOW.”

“You were talking about space booze?” asked Star Duster again.

Sable cocked her head. “Duh. Super rare, super expensive space booze.”

Dawn and Star looked directly at one another.

“Ohhhhh.”

Sable carefully popped one of the bottle tops with her teeth.

“Now at last, I-”

Sable Shield froze. A look of horror, or confusion, or perhaps both, etched on her face.

“Oh sweet mother of nightmares I just realized what you thought I meant.”

She slowly turned to Star Duster, staring. She shoved the unopened bottle into his hooves.

“You two take that one. I am going to need this one. All of this one. All for me.” Sable Shield then slowly disappeared back behind her bottle rack.

“We can’t let her drink a whole bottle, Star,” said Dawn,“Winter Sky will kill us. Watch will kill us. Everypony will kill us.”

“Yeah well Sable will kill us if we touch that bottle,” said Star Duster, shaking his head quickly.

“Sable, you can’t drink that whole thing on duty!” said Dawn Trotter, approaching her hiding place. “Winter Sky will have you transferred to like, the Crystal Empire, or..” Dawn shuddered a moment, “the Solar Guard! The awful gold armor, the white coats, the SUN Sable! The SUN!”

“Fine!” said Sable, stepping out from her hiding place. She hurried past Star and Dawn, her ears folded tightly against her head.

The sight startled Dawn Trotter. He’d only rarely seen Sable with pinned ears. Only when she was scared, or angry. Very, very angry. She wasn’t either just now. To Dawn, she looked embarrassed.

“I only drank half of it,” she added, continuing down the hall, back towards the others.

“Luna protect us,” said Star Duster.

Dawn nodded.

“So,” continued Dawn Trotter,” are you going to, you know, try that stuff?”

“Darn right I am. I just don’t plan to drink half a bottle.”

Star Duster moved into Sable’s former hiding place, and began to feel around with his hooves.

“Oh for the love of,” he said, “did she really put a half empty bottle back on the rack?”

“Knowing her, probably,” nodded Dawn, “just open the one she gave us.”

“I can’t, I put it back on the rack.”

“Of course you did.”

Suddenly, a loud, grating noise erupted from the rack of bottles, and it began to spin. An opening was revealed, with some kind of chamber behind it.

“What did you do?” asked Dawn, staring at what he was pretty sure was a completely real secret passage.

“I uh, tried to pull out a bottle, but it was stuck and then that happened?”

Star Duster, who had been standing right next to the thing when it spun, already had his head in the door. The secret door.

“Oh wow, Dawn, you have to see this!”

Dawn Trotted over, shoving his head through on the opposite side of the opened bottle-door.

“Is that...?”

“Sure looks like it.” said Star Duster.

The room beyond the secret opening was fairly small. Maybe half the size of your average pony’s living room. What caught Dawn Trotter’s attention however was what was in the room, leaning up against its far wall. A long pole, the upper portion wrapped in faded cloth, atop which still sat a golden sun. Not just any sun, Dawn recognized at once, but the Sun Radiant. symbol of the Solar Guard, and cutie mark of one of Equestria’s most beloved ponies. It could only be a Royal Guard standard, that of the garrison.

“The garrison’s colors!” said Star Duster.

“And more,” said Dawn.

Below the old standard, leaning up against some kind of half sized bottle rack, was a set of Solar Guard saddlebags. From the look of them, they were anything but empty.

“Going by the fancy bottles on the wall, I bet this is some kind of hiding place for super special booze,” said Star.

He was probably right, but that didn’t matter now. Well, to anypony but Sable Shield at least.

“We need to tell Winter Sky,” said Dawn.

“Yeah, preferably before Sable gets there.”

******

Winter Sky dropped the saddlebags onto the table with a thud. It had taken some convincing to get the captain to follow them to the secret room, but once they had, his entire demeanor changed. After hauling its important and non-alcoholic contents to the room they had been exploring, the captain began the process of digging into the saddlebags like a Foal into a Hearth’s Warming present. The others gathered around him in a circle to watch, all save for Rapid Advance, who was gently tending to the recovered standard a short distance away.

“Let’s see,” said Winter Sky, pulling back a large flap.

Inside was a relatively large object, which the captain managed to coax out, slowly and oh-so-very carefully, undamaged. It was a book, a big one, and heavily built. Dawn had a pretty good idea what it was.

“If this is what it looks like, this is beyond good fortune,” said Winter Sky. He proceeded to withdraw another pair of much smaller books from the opposite bag.

“Good fortune and dumb luck,” said Watchful Eye, glancing between Dawn and Star, “emphasis on the dumb.”

Dawn stuck his tongue out, but said nothing.

“There’s blood on the back edge of those saddlebags,” said Far Out.

Dawn jumped. He hadn’t heard the mare slide up beside him.

Winter Sky paused, book in hooves.

Watchful Eye leaned in close to the saddlebags, near the spot indicated by Far Out.

“She's right. Hard to see with the wear and age, but there’s a stain here. All along the back edge.”

Far Out put out her hoof, resting it on the one of the clasps to the saddlebag. She then turned, looking towards the piles of barding in the corner.

“I think we know who these belonged to.”

“Oh,” said Winter Sky, turning to face the pile of barding as well.

“Your window pony?” asked Watchful Eye.

“They managed to make it all the way here, with that hole in their side?” said Rapid, admiration clear in his voice.

“It would seem so,” said the captain, returning his attention to the book.

“Whatever fate ultimately befell that pony, we aren’t going to let it be in vain. We are getting this book back home. I just hope it tells us something.”

The captain began to flip through the large tome, hastening to the end. He began to skim the last few pages.

“Hmm, starts out with what you would expect. Maintenance, patrol and training reports, a few exercises.”

All had their eyes fixed on the captain as he continued.

“Hmm, listen to this. It’s dated a week before everything went to Tartarus.”

“It’s been more than two weeks now since we’ve heard from Blue and her group. I know she likes to range pretty far, but she’s always been good with the birds. Warned her that those mountains looked pretty dangerous. Starting to get worried. We’ve had a few missing ponies in our time, but never an entire group.”

“Then this,” said Winter Sky,” “two days later.”

“It’s now pretty clear that Blue’s group aren’t the only ones to go missing recently. The Major’s plotted them all on the map, seems to be concentrated around those mountains to the north of us. Planning to send two 5 horse flights of pegasi for recce and, hopefully, rescue.”

Winter Sky nodded to himself. “Another two days after.”

“Still no word from our flights. Birds returning with messages undelivered..”

“And later...” the captain continued, engrossed in what he was reading.

“Guardspony Silver Lining, flying above the river tonight, reports lights on the mountain.”

Winter Sky froze, staring at the page.

“The stars are moving.”

******

Chapter 1 - The Task at Hoof

Watchful Eye lay in the corner of the armory, observing the progress of his subordinate. “You missed a spot. Three spots, actually. Also I think that’s on backwards.”

The bat pony stallion narrowed his eyes, keenly observing the actions of a second as he went about polishing a purple set of Lunar Guard barding. It was by no means the only set. Private Star Duster, the unfortunate victim, snorted in reply.

“This is demeaning sarge. It was just a song!”

Watchful Eye tutted, shaking his head. “A song? That’s not what the reprimand says. Something something ‘organizing an unauthorized musical number.”

“Oh come on, it was just Moonbeat. You were singing it too! Heck, you were in the dance line!”

“Sure, I love that song,” Watchful Eye grinned. “But I didn’t start it, you did.”

Star Duster snorted again, shaking a bit of polish off a hindhoof. “It was just a little song.”

“A little song, of course. During evening colors. With the whole company. Hay you even had Distant Voice, Far Out AND Sable Shield singing backup, together. I didn’t think that was even possible.”

“That, is the power of Moonbeat.” said Star Duster, wagging his eyebrows.

“And this...” Watchful Eye motioned to the other stallion, and the sets of barding surrounding him. “...is the power of discipline.”

“Seems more like the power of boring officers with no sense of humor.”

“It’s usually the same thing.” Watchful Eye chuckled. “But hey, think of it like this. While you are stuck here, you aren’t getting into worse trouble. A whole night may even pass where somepony isn’t shaking a hoof while screaming your name.”

“That’d be a first,” Star Duster replied, aggressively rubbing at a stubborn spot. He was nude, as all guardsponies were when out of their barding, and his aggressive attempt at spot removal was getting the polish everywhere. It caked his hooves, coated his furled, membranous wings, clung to his mane, and was smeared in places that couldn’t be described in polite company.

“Aghh, this stuff gets on everything.”

“Private, you’re a trotting disaster area,” Watchful Eye added amusedly. His clean, red-grey coat and deep reddish mane contrasted sharply with the polish-caked disaster he was observing. “I mean really, how does that even happen?”

“SARGE!”

Both ponies started, wide eyed, snapping their heads to the sudden shout. The armored head of a Lunar Guard mare had suddenly appeared in the doorway behind them, gaze locked on Watchful Eye.

“What is it, Sable Shield?” Watchful Eye’s slit pupils slowly returned to their normal size as he waited for the mare’s reply.

“The captain is as...” her voice trailed off abruptly as her eyes found the polish covered form of Star Duster on the other side of the room. “What.”

“Don’t mind him, Private. He’s just learning. Messily. You were saying something about the good captain?”

“Yes! Captain Winter is asking for you, and uh..”

Watchful Eye raised an eyebrow, waiting for the mare to continue.

“Well its not just the captain, Sarge. He has a unicorn with him. One of Twilight Guard.”

The stallion blinked, furrowing his brow in thought. What’s one of the Twilight Guard doing in the Tower of the Moon, with Winter Sky of all ponies?

He knew it was rare to see members of the other branches of the Equestrian Guard in the Tower of the Moon. Rarer yet to see one of Princess Twilight’s own guard ponies. They were few in number, and tended to keep themselves secluded in the Tower of Magic. For one to be accompanying a captain of the Lunar Guard was unusual, to the say the least.

“Very well private, thank you.”

Sable Shield saluted quickly and vanished from the doorway.

“Whats going on?” Star Duster inquired, turning to look at his sergeant.

“Private Star Duster, I trust you can finish this without a foalsitter?” Watchful Eye gave the polish caked stallion a suspicious look. He really was getting it everywhere.

“Yes Sarge.”

“Good, then do so and then hose yourself off or something. I’m going to go find out what’s going on.” The stallion rose and walked to the door. With one last look at the polish smeared disaster that was Star Duster and his less than eloquently executed lesson, he made his way into the adjoining hallway.

“Sarge.”

Sable stepped back, nodding curtly to the sergeant as he exited the armory.

“Tell me what you know, private”. Watchful Eye motioned for the mare to follow him, turning to move down the hallway. Sable Shield bounded, trotting up to her sergeant in short order. The clacking of her hooves on the polished stone floors drew the attention of one of the stallion’s ears, which followed her until she sidled up to him.

“Well... I was just hanging out in the common room playing a game with Rapid, waiting to head out to my post for the evening. Everyone else was just sort of being useless. Then some pony knocks on the door. I mean, who knocks on the door to the common room? Anyway the door opens, and in walks this Twilight Guard unicorn, armored up and everything.” Watchful Eye nodded, listening to her story.

“So then everypony freezes, looking at him. It’s totally awkward. We all just stay there like that for like, an entire minute. Then he asks where he can find Captain Winter.”

“He came looking for the captain in the common room?”

“I know right? Seems the captain wasn’t in his room, so this guard was hunting for him. Turns out he wasn’t in his room because he was on his way to the common room. He had something in his mouth so he ended up walking right into the the Twilicorn’s rump.”

Watchful Eye visibly winced. “Great first impression, that. Poor Winter Sky.”

“Nah it was pretty great actually. I think that was the first time I’ve ever seen Winter Sky blush Or show any fun emotion at all, actually. He got super serious after that though, and he and the Twilicorn went off a bit into the hallway to talk about something. A couple of minutes later Captain Winter comes into the room, and tells me to come find you.”

“Hmm.” he pondered. “That is pretty mysterious, isn’t it?” Sable Shield nodded quickly in response. The two armored ponies continued down the corridor, paying no heed to the carved flourishes or painted scenes quickly passing them on either side. The Tower of the Moon complex was extravagantly decorated by military standards, filled with statues of famous Guardsponies, rich tapestries depicting pivotal events in the history of the Lunar Guard, and was bathed in the light of the specially enchanted blue torches that lit its interior. The torches were kinder on the eyes of the night adapted bat ponies, but the particular ambiance they provided caused most ponies to consider the Moon Tower a rather spooky place. Eventually the pair came to the end of the corridor, and the two doors to be found there.

Without hesitation, Watchful Eye pushed open the left door, revealing an ornate spiral staircase that he quickly began to descend. Sable Shield trailed dutifully behind him, and the pair wound their way down, and down, and down the stairs to the barracks level. The Tower of the Moon was many things, but short wasn’t one of them.

The pair emerged onto the main level of the tower barracks complex, and hanging a left, proceeded together towards the door of their assigned stable. The barracks level, though slightly less ornate in decor than the upper tower levels, was much more spacious, and held the various stable-barracks of Equestria’s Lunar Guard. They at last came upon the door to their particular stable, and throwing it open without a thought, Watchful Eye led the two of them in.

Stepping through the doorway and into the common room of the stable, Watchful Eye quickly took in the scene. To his left, on one side of the rectangular common room and on their haunches, sat a semicircle of four Lunar Guard bat ponies. The rest of the infamous Cookie Squad, with whom Watchful Eye was all too familiar. They had quite the reputation for eccentricity, in what was already an eccentric company. They called themselves the Tough Cookies, though the captain often called them Half Baked.

The sergeant’s eyes fell on the furthest left first; a large, sturdily built stallion with a mid-grey coat known as Rapid Advance. His helmet was missing, revealing a deep teal, somewhat mussy mane.

Beside him, to almost comical effect, sat a much smaller stallion with a darker grey coat. So small in fact was this particular stallion that he was frequently mistaken for a mare at distance. Not a particularly likely issue at present however, as the pony was completely nude. A two tone mane of Purple and violet ran down his neck, and unlike the others present, Watchful Eye could clearly see his Cutie Mark- a colorful ringed planet that appeared to be communicating with a speech bubble. Distant Voice he was named.

Further yet to the right of Distant Voice sat a rather content looking mare wearing only a helmet, and poorly at that. A wave of mauve colored mane spilled out of the front of the ill-fitted armor piece, making the dull, lavender-grey colored coat of her face somewhat difficult to see. Far Out she was rather aptly named.

His eyes came to the final seated pony. A young stallion of medium build, the pony sat armorless, with his helmet between his hooves. His light greyish-blue coat, and dirty, blonde mane stood out somewhat awkwardly from the rest of his squadmates. The most striking feature of this pony however were his piercing, almost glowing, blue eyes. Only Watchful Eye’s own pink orbs competed with them for sheer ocular audacity. Dawn Trotter he was called.

They were all trying, and miserably failing, to avoid staring awkwardly at the orange coated Twilight Guard unicorn seated across the room from them. If it weren’t for the table bisecting the room and keeping them relatively distant, things would be even more awkward than they already were.

“Ahem.” Watchful Eye cleared his throat.

All eyes snapped to him in an instant.

“Hi sarge!” came the chorus of replies, and Watchful Eye nodded in return. The orange unicorn let out a brief sigh of relief, and stood up. The sergeant made a point to note the rank insignia adorning the Unicorn’s barding. Lieutenant.

“Sergeant Watchful Eye, I presume?” the unicorn asked.

“Yes sir. I was summoned by the captain.” He studied the unicorn for a moment, trying to read him. Watchful Eye could get a good idea of the character of a pony after just a few seconds of introduction, or at least he thought he could. This one seemed decent enough.

As if on cue, Watchful Eye shifted his gaze away from the unicorn and to a bit of movement that had just entered his peripheral vision. Captain Winter Sky was making his way up the central passage of the stable towards the assemblage of ponies in the common room.

“Speak of the Nightmare...” he said, and every pony present snapped into a salute.

“And she doth appear.” Winter Sky strode into the common room, casting his golden eyes about it. He was armored, save for his helmet, revealing his two-toned grey mane. His gaze landed on Watchful Eye. “Or he shall, in this case. At ease, everypony.” He nodded to Watchful Eye as the assembled ponies dropped their salutes. “Hello sergeant. I see you’ve met Lieutenant High Road, of Her Majesty’s Twilight Guard.”

“Yes sir.” Watch nodded curtly. He stepped aside as Sable Shield sheepishly squeezed by him to make for a seat with her comrades. The mare knew better, and clearly had no desire to get herself stuck in the middle of an officer sandwich with Watchful Eye.

“Very good.” the captain added. “It seems something unusual is afoot. The good Lieutenant here has informed me that there is to be a very special bit of Nightwork required, and that I have been selected to lead it. I am to accompany him to learn just what it is that I will be tasked with. The one thing he has been able to tell me so far is that it is to be a very small unit affair, no more than eight ponies.”

Watchful Eye cocked his head, the metaphorical gears within plainly turning. “A captain to lead one squad?”

“I am just as confused as you in this regard, sergeant. The little I’ve heard so far would make me think it is a mission better suited to the Spectres, but I will know more soon enough. There are always reasons. Even in the Guard” Winter Sky glanced at the unicorn as he finished, nodding. “Furthermore, whoever it is that is planning this has already selected the Ponies in question. You and Cookie will be accompanying me on this. Whatever this is. Make the necessary arrangements. I will fill you in with what I can when I return.”

Five sets of slit-pupiled eyes blinked in abject confusion.

******

The two officers, having departed the stable barracks, made their way towards the exit of the Tower of the Moon. Their metal shoes clacked noisily as they trotted along, side by side. The eerie blue glow and shining stone floors of the moon tower gave way to Daylight as they exited into the main palace compound. High Road abruptly turned, heading straight for the center of the sprawling complex.

“May I ask where we are going?” Winter Sky inquired.

“The throne room,” replied the unicorn, matter-of-factly.

“...What?” Winter Sky suddenly stopped, eyes wide and fixed on High Road.

“The palace throne room,” High Road glanced side to side suspiciously, as if checking for any unwanted eavesdroppers.

“It was the Princess that summoned you captain, or so I was told. I was simply instructed to bring you to her.

“Told? By whom?” Winter Sky was staring.

“Marshal Prominence.”

Winter Sky’s ears pinned back flatly against his head as he took a step back. Fear was plainly evident on his face.

“The Marshal? The supreme commander of the entire Equestrian Royal Guard told you to bring me to the Princess? For an assignment?” The bat pony captain was on the verge of hyperventilating, but managed to hold himself together long enough for his companion to reply.

High road lifted a forehoof to his chin, nodding. “Yes, that is pretty much exactly what happened.” Quickly wheeling about, he resumed his trot towards the palace.

Winter Sky hesitated for a moment, mouthing something, before shaking his head and taking off after the retreating unicorn. The pair traveled in relative silence, save for the everpresent clacking of metal clad hooves. Eventually the the two ponies made it the doors of the main palace itself, and paused between a pair of Solar Guard pegasi. The golden armored ponies glanced at the unlikely pair, before nodding and moving to open the door.

The two officers made their way through and into the gilded marble hall of the palace foyer. Winter Sky had been here many times before, but never became accustomed to the ornate spectacle of it. Red velvet carpets spread wall to wall, broken up only by polished walkways and pillars of carven marble. Statues, busts and tapestries lined the walls in every direction. It was a waiting room for ponies far fancier than he would ever be, and he was quite alright with that.

“This way.” said High Road, and he resumed his trot. He went straight for the large, decorated door furthest from them, on the opposite side of the foyer. Passing through the door, the pair proceeded up a flight of richly decorated stairs, through yet another set of doors guarded by Solar Guard ponies, and after a few particularly confusing hallway choices, they arrived at the entrance to much larger hallway.

This hallway Winter Sky recognized, even though he had never actually seen it in person. It was long, and flanked by immense stained glass windows. Winter Sky felt a certain amount of awe as he slowly followed his companion down this sacred path, and he found his eyes drawn to each scene rendered in the massive windows.

Some kind of of serpent creature, holding the strings of ponies as if they were puppets. Discord, Winter realized.

Another scene, this time two stylized Alicorns, white and blue, circling above a crystal sea.

Six ponies, gathered around a jet black alicorn, striking it with some sort of rainbow-colored magic. The bat pony winced.

Walking, he came upon a third scene. A young lavender alicorn, eyes closed, surrounded by magic. The pony he was now traveling to see.

Nearing the end of the massive hall, Winter came upon a final window and froze. A scene he recognized. A scene every pony, any pony would recognize. Two alicorns, white and blue, horns blazing with magic, surmounted by the moon and sun in full eclipse. Falling stars surround them. Beneath, a field of blue fire.

“Captain?” High Road called.

Winter Sky shook his head and turned.

“Yes, sorry.”

The unicorn motioned him over, to a large, filigreed silver door at the very end of the hall. Atop it was a series of stars, but no other signs as to what lay on the other side. Winter Sky however, knew very well what waited for him past that door. High Road knocked three times and waited.

******

The door opened, pulled inward by a pair of Solar Guards. High Road nodded to the bat pony captain, and the pair stepped into the throne room and paused. Winter Sky’s slit-pupiled eyes went wide as he took in the sight before him: The vast, teal-tinged marble chamber that was the palace throne room. If the wide, green fields and azure hued skies together formed the heart of the nation of Equestria, then this room was it’s mind. And across the great polished floor, between the immense tapestries that clung so neatly to the pristine walls, below three great circular stained glass windows, enthroned atop a great multi-tiered stone dais sat the very force that animated this great mind- Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria.

What am I doing here? Winter Sky thought, swallowing audibly.

The pair walked slowly towards the subtly grinning form of the Princess as the guards behind them moved to shut the door. Winter Sky noticed that they were not alone in the throne room however, as there was another very recognizable pony standing before the throne. The Marshal of Equestria was instantly recognizable to the captain; no other pony wore armor like that. Reaching the foot of the dais upon which the throne was set, they bowed low, dropping to the knees of their forelegs.

“Rise, please!” the Princess beamed at the pair.

“Your Highness,” both ponies responded in unison. Marshal Prominence nodded once, and with a swift return nod, High Road moved to his side, leaving the bat pony captain alone before the throne itself.

“Thank you, High Road,” the princess smiled, and the unicorn bowed low in return.

She turned her attention to the captain. “Welcome, Winter Sky!”

“T-thank you your highness,” he responded nervously, trying his best to keep his eyes forward. He remained in that position, head and tail proudly raised, eyes locked on some imaginary, less terrifying situation in the far distance. Maintaining her welcoming smile, the princess raised an eyebrow, before shooting a slightly confused glance to the gold clad form of the Marshal to her right.

Sensing the captain’s discomfort, and probable near panic, Prominence spoke. “At ease, captain.”

Winter Sky relaxed a bit, steadying his breathing. He looked up and met the eyes of the princess.

“Oh. I am sorry about that. Sometimes I am so focused on what I am going to say, I forget what I need to say. Thank you Prominence, for rescuing my poor captain.” The princess shot an amused glance at the regal unicorn.

“Of course, your highness”

“Winter Sky, I am pleased our paths have finally crossed,” said Twilight, carefully looking over the bat pony captain before her. “I knew your Grandsire. Seneschal Moonrise was a wonderful pony, and an even better Guard Commander. Princess Luna was extremely fond of him.”

Winter Sky nodded, and felt his heart sink. Was he being chosen purely for his pedigree, yet again? He wondered briefly if he should have legally changed his name to ‘Moonrise’s Descendant’, as it seemed to be the only aspect of him any pony ever really cared about, regardless of how hard he tried to distinguish himself. “Thank you, your highness, that is kind of you to say.”

“Seal the door please,” the princess nodded to the two solar guards posted at the door, and they began to shift the previously unseen latching system.

Winter Sky shifted nervously, and waited for the princess to continue.

The princess cleared her throat. “Tell me, Winter Sky, are you familiar with the story of New Neighton?”

The bat pony blinked, cocking his head.

New Neighton, he thought, searching through his memories. The lost colony. Built on the other side of some kind of magic door, on an entirely different planet, or so the story goes. Some kind of grand magical research project started by the princess. Got pretty important, until the door just up and stopped working one day. Whole place, and everypony in it lost, without a trace. But what they hay does that have to do with me?

Collecting his thoughts, he answered the waiting princess.“Uh, yes princess, as much as any other pony. The lost colony?”

“Indeed,” Twilight answered, “So you know the story. An entirely new world, far beyond the Veil, found by our Star Scriers in the Great Observatory here in Canterlot. The first, and only extra-Celestial planet ever detected, and one with life! As you can imagine, this caused a great deal of excitement. Especially here, among those ponies to whom matters of the night sky bear a special interest. Astronomers, wizards, archivists and simple dreamers, all gathered here to discuss and debate the find. More importantly, we set about discussing what to do about the find.”

“After a great deal of spirited debate, we decided what we would do. We would set before ourselves the greatest task of magical engineering ever attempted: A door between worlds. So we set about constructing a portal, one unlike anypony, or anycreature, had seen before. One that could bridge the vast distance between our world, and this new one. We used the knowledge we gained in...” The princess stopped herself abruptly.

“Well let us just say we used a multitude of sources, and were able to construct a portal like no other. It would function only one way of course, but the plan was to send the components of a second portal through the first, and construct a matching gateway on the other side. Once we did, a magical connection would be forged between the two gates, making the whole process a great deal easier. So we did just that! Ponies went through the portal, and explored. They looked for the life we had sensed, and quickly found it!

Granted, it turned out to be a bunch of plants but still! It was incredible!” The princess was quickly becoming animated.

“Alien plants even!” She waved her forehooves in the air for emphasis. “Things we had never seen before. And the magic...”

Winter Sky felt slightly uneasy. He was starting to realize that the princess wasn’t relating a tale to him, but a memory. He had almost let himself forget that the tall, youthful looking pony before him was older than his grandmother, and was in fact a being of incredible, nearly timeless cosmic power. He forced the lump down in his throat and nodded as the Princess continued.

...”was just different. Everypony that wrote back to me said the same thing. The magic on the planet had felt different somehow. Everything about the place was different. Did magic work the same outside of our own world? Did friendship? I was determined to find the answers.”

Twilight Sparkle’s expression changed at this point, and to Winter Sky it seemed as if her mood abruptly darkened. “So we decided to build a town. A colony. The first and only pony colony on another planet.”

Winter Sky nodded. Though slightly uncomfortable in the presence of such powerful ponies, the story enthralled him.

“New Neighton they named it. And to it, some of our best and brightest found their way. By studying this strange and different place, we had hoped we may just learn something about ourselves. Friendship and magic, far across the stars”.

The Princess frowned. “So it was for twenty years. The town grew and a great many ponies came to call New Neighton home. Some came for answers, others for adventure. Until one day, it all stopped. The portal, which had worked flawlessly for 20 years, just… stopped working. No matter what we did, we couldn’t get it to open again. We waited, hoping the ponies of New Neighton could open it from their end. They never did. 3000 ponies, gone, in the blink of an eye. Eventually, we moved the dormant portal to a chamber within the mountain. We set a watch upon it, in the vain hope that someday, perhaps, they would once again make contact with us.”

Twilight sighed, and hung her head. “It has been 86 years since the portal failed. 86 years since an entire town of ponies disappeared without a trace.”

A silence came over the throne room as the princess finished, and Winter Sky looked to the ground in thought.

A sad story. ThoughtWinter Sky. Especially for a pony that actually saw it happen. But what does it have to do with me?

“This is the story you are familiar with, is it not?” The Princess asked.

“Yes, your highness. Though not in such vivid detail.”

Twilight Sparkle rose from her throne, drawing in a deep breath. “Then allow me to tell you a part of the story you are not familiar with. A part no pony, save one other in this room, is familiar with.” She glanced to Marshal Prominence, who nodded in return.

“The sudden collapse of the portal was not the only thing heard from New Neighton that day. Exactly one and a half minutes before, we received one brief, final message. A signal scroll, from the town’s Solar Guard garrison. It contained a single, hastily written message: Shattered Spear.”

Winter Sky’s eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open. “They signaled Shattered Spear?” He repeated mostly to himself, half misbelieving his own words.

The captain knew the signal. Every guardspony, Solar, Lunar, Crystal or Twilight had heard of it. It was nearly a myth. The very idea of it is enough to chill the blood of any member of the guard. Shattered Spear. Not used at any point in the living memory of the Guard, it had but one meaning: Defeat. Total, crushing, hopeless defeat. Defeat so dire that no thought should be given to attempting a rescue. We’re overrun. Leave us. Do not return. Save yourselves. Shattered Spear. Warning, sacrifice and epitaph, all in one neat, two word package.

“Somepony did at least,” Twilight added. “Quickly. Then the portal closed for good. After many failed attempts to open it, and hearing nothing more from the garrison, we came to believe that the New Neighton ponies destroyed their portal themselves. To prevent whatever was happening there from spilling through to our side. Or rather, that is what we believed... Until yesterday.”

“...What?” Winter Sky looked up, wide eyed, at the princess.

“Yesterday, just before noon, without any warning or indication, the old portal opened of its own accord.”

The bat stallion’s mouth hung agape as he attempted to process what he was being told. The princess continued.

“We closed it again,” she continued, “then re-opened it. Dozens of times now. The portal appears to be functioning normally again.” As if sensing the question forming in Winter Sky’s mind, the princess looked to Marshal Prominence, and nodded. The unicorn stepped forward.

“Not long after, we prepared a small construct, fitted with a scrying stone, and sent it through the doorway. From what little we were able to discern, the Colony itself appears to be gone. We did not see anything that would indicate a cause in the immediate vicinity of the doorway, nor anything that would appear to pose a threat. The area appears to be covered entirely by woodland of varying sparseness now.” Prominence lit his horn momentarily, pushing closed the hanging jaw of the bat pony captain before continuing.

“We have resolved to find the answer to this great riddle, captain. To discover the truth of what happened to New Neighton and it’s ponies. It is a duty we owe to their living descendents on this side of the doorway. Much can change in eighty-six years. It is possible no threat remains, or if it does, it may be far from the colony at this point. New Neighton existed in peace for twenty years. After this long, we believe we can risk a brief foray to the site with reasonable expectation of safety. A team will travel through the doorway, locate the site of the colony, and look for whatever answers may be found.”

“And that is where you come in,” Princess Twilight cut in.

Prominence nodded, and stepped back.

“I have selected you to lead this mission captain, as well as the seven ponies that will be accompanying you on it.” The princess looked to Winter Sky, closely observing his reaction.

She chose me? And Cookie specifically? What…

Confusion was evident on the bat pony’s face as he went over this information in his head.

“Captain?” she asked.

“Yes? Err.. I mean Yes, your highness! I’m honored, your highness.”

The slightest hint of a grin traced the princess’s muzzle as she leaned forward to speak. “I know that look, Winter Sky. You have a question. By all means, I will be happy to give you the answer if I have it.”

Winter Sky nodded sheepishly, trying to form his question into non princess-offending form.

“It’s just.. I don’t understand, your highness. Why me? Why just Cookie squad? Why not Apple or Baker or Dragon? Hay, why not the Spectres?”

Twilight nodded.

“Whatever happened in New Neighton captain, happened in the middle of the day. Therefore it’s been decided to do our reconnaissance by night. This makes the Lunar Guard the obvious choice. The Spectres... as skilled as our Lunar elites are in special tasks of the aggressively martial nature, they lack the more… eclectic set of skills I felt necessary for this endeavor. It is answers we seek Winter Sky, not a confrontation with whatever may or may not be there. As for why I chose you, and the third squad of your company specifically, well..”

Twilight lit her horn, and from behind her throne, an immense stack of papers began to rise.

“These are the personnel files of the Lunar Guard. All of them.”

Winter Sky balked.

“The personnel files of the entire Lunar Guard?”

“Every one. And this...” A single sheet of paper rose on the right side of her throne. “Is a list. Specifically, a list of requirements I feel will grant this mission its highest chance of success in both its main goal and an array of secondary ones I have set myself. I cross referenced this list with the traits described in the various Lunar Guard personnel files until I found a squad which seemed to possess the best mix of these traits and talents. A complete squad was important, as from what I understand, squads operate as a cohesive unit of cohabitating ponies with somewhat stronger bonds than would be possessed by a random selection of guardsponies drawn from multiple sources”

Winter Sky nodded slowly. What.

“Friendship is always important captain, and can prove to be a critical aspect to mission success. Trust me, I know.” The princess rapped her hoof against the tiara set upon her head for emphasis.

The captain nodded, things slowly starting to fall into place for him.

This is going to be...interesting

Author's Note

Special thanks to my editor Jude and to that one anon who always asks about the story!