The Nexus

Chapters

1. The Haycart's Farm
3. Lightning's Storm
4. The Value of Friendship
5. Birds of a Feather
13. The Worst Adventurers Ever
14. Dreamspace
15. Of Course It's Rats
16. Three Pieces of the Puzzle
17. Reflection
18. Ancient Magic and Spells of Tickling
19. Fracture
20. Northern Lights
21. Flying Through a Winter Wonderland
22. Harbinger
23. Dreamcatcher
24. Betwixt and Between
2. Cobalt, the Griffon
6. Lightning Meets the Mane Six
7. Mysterious & Mundane Magic
8. Solace
9. Apples and Griffons
10. Not All Sunshine and Rainbows
11. The Place that Should Not Be
12. Daydream

1. The Haycart's Farm

Being named Haul-Ass Haycart wasn't the most enjoyable way to spend a childhood.

He was a pegasus colt with fur and feathers the color of the wheat fields he worked in every day, a golden-yellow which came from his pegasus mother.

His platinum gray mane and tail was from his father's side of the family. His father, an ordinary Earth-Pony, had inherited vast acres of grains, hay, and barley.

Most pegasi born into mixed-race families never received the sort of flight training that young pure-blood pegasi were raised with. For those who could not afford flight school up in the clouds, it was even worse. Haul-Ass, however, refused to let his circumstances define him.

He would fly cartloads of hay into town rather than take the exhausting dirt path through the hills. His father, on watching this, would comment, "You don't need to haul ass like that."

The Haycart family was named for the acres they tended in the Macintosh Foothills, south of Dodge Junction. This had been their simple, peaceful mode of living for generations now, going back for thousands of moons, or hundreds of our years. Over such a long family history, some members did choose to deviate from this course and go against the family grain. This was never much appreciated.

Grumbling and complaining, Haul-Ass checked over the components of the wagon full of hay bales he was attached to. It was firm and ready to go. Next came the only fun part of his routine: He took off at a gallop down the dirt road leading away from home, and where the road took a sharp left as it began to ascend the rugged hills, Haul-Ass opened his wings and achieved liftoff.

The cart bounced twice and then came off the ground too, staying level with him as though from its own volition. This was by far the most uncanny bit of intrinsic magic which pegasi were born with: the ability to tow carts in midair. Most of his magic was innate, except for weather control, and he hadn't really figured that out yet, to his father's chagrin.

"If you'd let me attend flight school, I could learn how to bring the rain!" he would say, to which his father always responded the same, "We can't spare three crops' worth of bits for some sort of fancy club, Haul-Ass."

The young pegasus, covered in dust and mud and sweat from farm life, wore a straw hat and a sour expression. He flapped his wings through the hot, humid air towards the jerkwater town of Dodge Junction. At one point it was a thriving mining settlement. Now it barely existed, supported only by local farmers. It was the end of the line on a little-used side branch of the railroad system.

He didn't want to spend his life farming and he did not want to take over the family business. Any of his brothers or his sister could have the damn place--they were earth-ponies, not pegasi. They didn't know how it felt to him, being a caged bird. Haul-Ass wanted two things most of all: A name change, and to explore to the edge of the world and whatever lie beyond the edge.

The first part was easy enough, just a trip by rail to the capital city to submit a request to the pony in charge of census stuff. The second desire though... three more long years of plowing, digging, watering, flying carts into town. Three years left of labor until he was of age to go his own way, and then he would seek after adventure and become a legend, like his mother, Lightning Ridge.

She would approach him at times, tears in her eyes, as he sat on the roof of the barn under the stars. She would warn him of all the dangers in their world, and of losing her entire left wing. Her son was deaf to her concerns, and his mother was his idol. He never understood why she, a majestic pegasus, a member of the Wonderbolts, a hero, a legend, had settled down on this dusty farm in the middle of absolutely nowhere. She had so much more potential than that.

The seasons came and went as young Haycart endured the next few years of farm life. At last, he came of age and approached his mother about getting his name changed. She heartily agreed. They prepared for the trip to Canterlot the next time the supply train stopped by.

When the day came, they walked into town. The train station was just a wooden deck with creaky, sagging stairs. The rest of Dodge Junction was in mostly the same condition. Lightning wore a hooded cloak which was a faded brown to hide her one wing and avoid questions she didn't want to answer.

While they waited, Lightning talked to her son about his plans. She said,

"Are you going to keep Skyblazer as your official name?"

"Yeah mom, I still like that name," he replied. His mother would never consider calling him "Haul-Ass". He had preferred Skyblazer since he was young. It reflected his desire to explore and blaze a trail, but through flight.

It was his father who had gone to Canterlot to submit the name form, and returned to announce his name was now Haul-Ass. His father and he had never been on the best of terms.

His mother continued, "Do you have any specific goals in mind? What about work?"

"Oh I'll figure out work later. I just want to see the world mom. There's so many cool places I've read about: The Crystal North. The Dragonlands. Cloudsdale. I want to see all of it."

"It does sound exciting, but don't forget to think about finding a job. You won't earn bits traveling the world over."

"Who knows, maybe I'll find treasure?"

Lightning offered a soft laugh, a rare event for her. "Maybe," she said.

The train rolled into town slowly, steam hissing as it came to a stop. Aside from Lightning and her son, there were three other passengers waiting. No one got off, and the train was empty aside from the crew.

They boarded, stowed two suitcases and their saddlebags under their seats, and waited for the train to leave town. Barley Haycart, the father, hadn't even bothered to come say goodbye. He was at home, sottered with beer.

One of the workers, a unicorn, stepped off the train as it began to move forward slowly. The train followed a track in a loop around the tiny one-street town in order to turn back around. As it approached the station again, the unicorn hefted a switch by magic, using telekinesis to switch the tracks.

After the train passed he set the tracks back as they were, and then ran and jumped up onto the caboose. The engine chugged and puffed and picked up speed.

It was lonely, dusty land out here. They wouldn't be passing the forest for a while. Haul-Ass looked out the windows as the dry grasses of the desert passed by.

His mother nudged him. She took off her cloak and set it across the seat in front of her. She extended her right wing, making her missing left wing even more prominent. She began to speak,

"Only your dad and your grandmother know the full story. I think it's time I told you. I'm not trying to rain on your dreams, just telling you to be careful. It starts when I joined the Wonderbolts."

Lightning lie down on the cushioned bench and told her son about how exciting it was. The very best fliers in the world were accepted in
to do search and rescue, air shows, sometimes handle dangerous creatures, nothing crazy. They were technically the air force of Equestria, but that was only in times of war or in major emergencies, and their land was peaceful. Nothing drastic ever happened.

She had no idea how wrong she was.

It happened suddenly, in her fourth year with the bolts. Nightmare Moon, a black mare with absolute command over dark magic, had made a sudden appearance in the backwoods town of Ponyville.

News spread like wildfire as pegasi messengers fled from the scene fast as their wings would carry them and night fell, perhaps forever: The myth of a second royal deity was true.

In the lofty city of Cloudsdale, Lightning had been napping on an outlying tuft of cloud at the edge of town. She was enjoying the warmth of the sun against the cold high-altitude wind rippling through her golden fur and feathers, when several pegasi messengers came hurtling back home with enough speed to upset some of the cloud formations around the city. Disgruntled landscapers immediately went about reshaping the clouds back into ornamental pillars and sculptures.

Lightning, disturbed from her slumber, shifted to roll over and see just what in the name of Tartarus was going on. She had forgotten how small her cloud perch was, and promptly fell off into the great blue nothing. With alarm, she spread her wings. She caught an updraft to soar in a swooping arc and alight on the main fluffy structure of Cloudsdale. She shook her head to try and clear the grogginess, took a seat, and swiveled her ears towards the speaker, piqued:

"Nightmare Moon is back, and she's threatening to bring eternal darkness!" the messenger paused here, panting, steam from sweat rising off him in the icy air, "but, but that's not the half of it. Something has caused a disturbance in Everfree, and every monster there is heading right for Ponyville."

A gasp came from the crowd, and Lightning stood back up in fright and concern. She spoke,

"But they never leave the forest! Don't they need the powerful magic there to thrive? And why all at once?"

"Oh, I don't know," wheezed the winded pegasus, "it's insane. It's like something is controlling them. Celestia is declaring a state of emergency, and us messengers are gathering all the Wonderbolts in Cumulus Square."

Lightning lifted her left wing, and used her mouth to open a satchel which was tightly strapped down. She gave a couple bits to the messenger, and told him to buy some sweets to take the stress off. Then, she crouched on the amorphous surface of her hometown and took off with enough force to upset the top layer of cloud like misty dust.

The sun was setting fast now. It already rested on the horizon, filling the sky with streaks of color. It would normally be magnificent. This was far too early for darkness, and the growing shadows were terrifying.

Cloudsdale shrank as her height increased. The great span of her wings beat the air around her. It was always peaceful up here above the cloud level. Just the shrill whistle of the cold winds from the north. The consistent rustle of her wings. Her powerful heartbeat in her ears as she swiveled them flat against her head, tucked in her wings, and tucked into a fast dive towards the center of the city.

Her black mane and tail whipped in the wind as her speed increased, and the town square came wobbling into view. The horizon was somewhat angled ahead of her, and she adjusted slightly with a right wing until the moon and stars were level. Her powerful, hawk-like eyes, while not as effective in the dark, could see the torchlight of the Wonderbolts barracks. This meant the Northern edge of the square.

The building, made of shaped clouds like anything else in this town, was approaching way too fast for a safe landing. She took a cursory glance around for any other fliers before snapping her wings out, catching a strong current, and pulling up into a vertical loop. She fluttered her wings to slow her descent, and then watched the city beneath her spin as she spiraled down carefully, with her eyes on the well-lit barracks to aid her aim in landing.

'Poof' went the cloudy street as she landed gently. Dozens of others were already here, and she was one of the last informed. The ethereal cloud surface by all established physics and logic should never hold their weight. Thankfully, an innate magic pegasi were born with allowed them to walk on clouds.

Surprisingly, the current leader of the Wonderbolts himself was doing role-call and preparing for a speech, rather than someone under him. He acknowledged the presence of Lightning Ridge. Several more minutes went by as the last few pegasi fluttered in, and then he spoke in a hoarse voice:

"My fellow Wonderbolts gathered here today: A time has arisen requiring our service in the defense of Equestria. This is a declaration of emergency; ergo, those members too far for a quick summons will have this message relayed to them by our swiftest units. I regret to state that the time for frivolity has passed, and the risks we are all aware of now present themselves."

There were murmurs of concern and disbelief among the pegasi who had never imagined this actually occurring. Lightning Ridge was taken aback, but knew the risks when she signed on and she prepared for further orders.

"An unknown force, perhaps dark magic in nature, is driving dangerous creatures from the Everfree Forest towards the settlement of Ponyville. The residents have been warned to stay indoors. Commander of Strategy, Midnite Breeze, will elaborate."

The leader of the Wonderbolts fluttered down from the building and flew around the square, shooing curious onlookers out onto the perimeter. A pegasus in the front row of the gathered Wonderbolts jumped into the air with powerful leg muscles, snapped her wings open, and did a barrel roll onto the top of the barracks, settling in front of the podium.

She had sleek, shining, jet-black fur and feathers, although the outer fluff of her feathers and her muzzle had grayed with age. Her body was covered in scars, and she wore an eye patch. As pegasi had an intrinsic magic aura that gave them greater durability than Earth-Ponies or an untrained unicorn, this was not insignificant.

She cast shifty, untrusting glances around the crowd. One ear had the tip missing. She wore some armor on the front half of her body, built around her wings, as well as a helmet built around her ears.

"Thank you, Ragged Edge," said Midnite, as she cleared her throat and then addressed the audience in a gravelly, carefully paced voice, "We are the Wonderbolts. We are the best of the best. There are no higher trained pegasi. And we will protect the civilians below. Division A, front and center, now."

The gathered pegasi shuffled around. The most elite and skilled of the most elite and skilled pegasi in the world stood before their second in command.

"I have received word that a group of six residents have set off into Everfree, heading in the direction of the old castle. I don't know what they're thinking, but Celestia says to let them be and keep an eye on things from above. If they die, we handle Nightmare Moon. I'll take the lead. I need Weathervane by my side, we will generate heavy fog for concealment. Division A, disperse. Division B, gather."

The pegasi did so. Lightning Ridge stepped forward with her division.

"Acrobatics Division all present? You are in charge of resolving the monster situation. Lightning Ridge will take the lead, she has the most experience in bounty hunting of monsters. Due to the unusual numbers and the apparent compulsion to charge Ponyville, avoid confrontation. Divert, redirect, and stall. You will be assisted by the royal guard. Only fight those monsters that are unable to be corralled by magic or wing."

Lightning Ridge was very nervous at being put in charge. She gulped, nodded, and replied, "Yes, ma'am." Her division stepped back so that division C, the Speed Squad, could step up.

"You know your role in times such as these. Scout, relay orders, communicate between the other divisions, report back. Dismissed."

After a chorus of "Yes ma'am" the D division stepped up.

"Specialty Class, you will have individual assignments best suited to your unique skills and abilities. Report to Ragged Edge for orders. Dismissed."

They all shuffled off to the left side of the square where their leader stood.

The last division awkwardly and nervously moved to the fore, some of them on the verge of panic.

"Division F. Reserve duty. One quarter will stand guard in Ponyville and be on alert for any monsters that get past Division B. You will be hitched to supply carts and assist the royal guard in building fortifications.

"Second quarter will investigate Everfree for the cause of the disturbance, led by Sixth Sense from the specialty class. Third quarter, report to the cloudfront over the front lines. You are assigned to ancillary duties. Angel Wings will manage duties and transport the cook wagon and medical supplies.

"Fourth quarter, weather management duties. Create heavy winds and storms to help slow the approaching monsters, and keep the skies over Ponyville cleared. Do not attempt to meddle with weather in Everfree, it cannot be controlled by magic. Wonderbolts, it is time to come to the aid of Equestria. Good luck, dismissed."

Lightning Ridge walked into the barracks, starting to sweat. She received a pack of supplies and met the rest of her division.

Author's Note

This is the first book of The Nexus series. This will be a darker and more mature consideration of the world of Equestria, regarding their world if it didn't have the age demographic restriction. Many events and characters are based off canon or implications of canon, while other aspects are original.

This is also a medium with which I may implement certain ideas which I would like to see from the official series. One example is how, in spite of all their careful attention to detail, pegasi can hover indoors without a wind disturbance or the biological capacity to hover. In a world of innate magic, pegasi magic can answer both concerns. Suppose that "air null" and "hover" are both magic pegasi are born with, like cloud control.

If you notice any grammar issues or storyline tangles, please do let me know. Thank you.

3. Lightning's Storm

The pegasus regiments slung through the dark skies like so many unseen arrows. At different points they split up until only the reserves were left. Those pegasi settled on the clouds above Ponyville and set up camp. Below, in the dark mystery that was Everfree, chromatic bursts of magic energy illuminated the night and the occasional fire flared up.

Lightning Ridge led the charge towards the menagerie of monstrosities that lurked below. The impromptu fireworks show of colored magic would be beautiful under less horrific circumstances.

The vast, featureless expanse of dark ground was always treacherous on approach, even for veteran pegasi such as the Wonderbolts. There was an illuminated makeshift runway in the clearing between the woods and the wall built to protect Ponyville. Lightning yelled for everyone to fall in behind her, and they did so except for one pegasus towards the back who seemed to have second thoughts about battling a horde of mythical creatures.

He braked and banked sharply, giving a short laugh at his treachery and his perfectly safe landing in Ponyville. He ran into the wooden wall with a thunk loud enough to resonate across the sky. Lightning winced.

She and the rest of Division B slowed with a great flutter of wings on landing. They were dead silent, and landed soft enough to barely make a patter on the sand poured down for the purpose.

Another intrinsic magic and a normally passive one: air nullification. It allowed them to fly and hover indoors without causing any wind disturbance. Through years of hard training and meditative self-control, it was possible for a pegasus to adjust this ability to any setting in short bursts. All pegasi in the A and B divisions, and some in C, knew how to do so.

There was a sharp intake of breath and nervous chatter. Never had they seen this many hazardous creatures in one gathering with one singular purpose. Some of them were a nightmare to handle on their own.

Timber wolves, chimeras, manticores, a couple basilisks, a couple smaller rogue dragons, and less concerning nuisances like slimes and a bobcat all marched towards a shimmering barrier of magic energy held in place by straining, armored unicorns, all of whom bore the seal of Canterlot, the royal city.

On the wooden wall behind them, unicorns wearing cloaks rather than armor held bows in the air using telekinesis and fired bolts of magic energy which arced overhead in streaks of light. While flashy, it wasn't especially accurate. A jelly-like slime was hit by one, split in two, and became two smaller slimes. Two timber wolves were struck. These were literal wolves made out of animated timber. They fell apart into inanimate firewood.

Lightning's division reached the magic barrier, where the unicorn in charge informed her on events, "Wall won't last forever, it's exhausting, even in shifts. When it falters, our second ranks will replace them. They have magical artifacts, for the love of Celestia stay back until they deplete those! I'll light the signal fires when I need you to move in and assist."

Lightning was scared at the prospect that lay behind the shimmering, weakening magic barrier: growling, menacing, usually passive creatures moving as though possessed.

"Do you have any idea what caused them to behave like this," she asked, "and can we drive them back into the woods?"

"Tis the plan. The amulets contain spells of fright, of slowing, and we have one which can warp whatever it hits far back into the woods. It should deter the smaller things, the concern is the more dangerous beasties."

Shortly after he spoke the air was punctuated by a shrieking roar which Lightning recognized. Her eyes widened in shock.

"No. A hydra," she said in a disbelieving whisper.

The hardened royal guard let out a frightened whinny and took several steps back. He cleared his throat, ashamed, "I- I will signal when ready. Prepare yourselves."

"I'm gonna scout things out, especially see how far back the damn hydra is. Those are magic resistant."

Lightning Ridge let her division know the plan. They would rest their wings, tighten their armor, and prepare for some difficult, close-quarters, high speed flying and fighting within a heavily wooded area. A preposterous feat, but nothing the most acrobatic of the Wonderbolts hadn't done before.

While the others rested, she flew over the magic wall and over the battlefield, dodging a spurt of flame from a dragon--no, not a dragon, a large lizard called a salamander. Hard to tell in the dark. A tree ignited where she just was. In the weak light of the full moon and flickering flames, she saw the hydra in silhouette. Sure enough, as with others of its kind, it was slow and plodding. Trees snapped in half as it walked through them like a field of matchsticks.

Lightning returned to where the others were resting, and from her side satchel she took out a flask to try and ease the nerves.

"We can't hold it!" came a cry in unison, followed by a shattering sound as the magic wall collapsed along with the unicorns holding it up. The ones in line behind them used their telekinesis to move them out of danger, and then stepped up. Various colors of magic sparks emitted from their horns, and promptly dived down into amulets worn on necklaces. One unicorn charged at the monsters with a burst of red magic, causing some creatures to flee for the woods. The Amulet of Fright had served well.

Following behind with beams of blue and green and purple and white, various other status effects emitted from a series of very rare and very illegal amulets. This forbidden magic was for emergency use only, and this definitely qualified.

The monsters that had not ran or been warped were now slowed and blinded, but they still approached. Now it was time for the pegasi to intervene. With a whistle from the white, muscular unicorn in charge, great bonfires were lit, offering light and a signal. The white unicorn then sat, closed his eyes, and a great dome of shimmering energy encompassed the vicinity; the monsters could not pass through it.

The pegasi swooped in at staggered intervals like a great swarm of bats. They dove and swerved through trees and branches and hills, catching the attention of the various horrific creatures, annoying them to the point that they ignored whatever it was that controlled them and pursued the pegasi further into the woods.

When most of the monsters had been lured back into the woods, chasing the pegasi who flew just fast enough to stay out of reach, the cloaked archery unicorns all rushed down from the wooden wall. Powerful light spells from their horns illuminated the area. They tossed smoke bombs into the fray to further distract and confuse the creatures. A teal pegasus dove through the smoke obscuring a timber wolf. She vanished into the smoke; shortly after, a shower of wooden parts came raining down around her.

While division B handled the little slimes, the rogue dragons, and the three chimeras, who had not been affected by anything previous, Lightning flew well above the treeline to locate the hydra.

It had a way to go but it was getting dangerously close. This thing could smash through the dome of barrier magic cast by Shining Armor as though it wasn't there, run over the resting unicorns behind it, and then flatten Ponyville.

Before she could decide how to handle it, she caught sight of a basilisk. Thankfully, it hadn't seen her. Also known as a cockatrice, it could turn her to stone if she met its gaze.

Her heart seemed to stop in her chest. A silvery pegasus with black mane and tail was going after the cockatrice, seemingly oblivious to what it was. Lightning recognized him: Windbreaker, from her flight school days. She dove after him and cried out but it was too late as stone began to encase his body, and he collapsed to the ground as a granite statue.

Lightning dove with speed worthy of her namesake. The cockatrice noticed her. She closed her eyes in midair.

A short count. Factoring in exactly how fast she was going and exactly how far to the stony forest floor below. One mistake in this, and she would die. Three. Two. One. Now, pull up.

There was a sickening squelch right as she made hard impact with the ground. Her eyes flickered open and she reacted quickly, using her wings to help slow her tumbling fall down a steep, forested cliff as she narrowly dodged a tree, the bark from it breaking off against her flank. It hurt, but her intrinsic durability held, and she was unharmed. She kicked off the cliff face and flew back to the top.

The cockatrice was very dead. From the indents and slide marks, it looked like she nailed the thing with a front hoof and then her body weight at a high velocity. She looked herself over for injury. Her dark yellow fur was bloodied and muddied. She was alarmed, and then she realized that, amidst the feathers, it wasn't her own blood.

An unfortunate thing. These basilisks were incredibly dangerous, but mostly harmless. They never sought out travelers to attack unless they felt threatened or trespassed upon.

Lightning folded her muddy wings and ran towards Windbreaker. She looked him over; entirely turned to stone, but not a single crack from the short fall and slide on the muddy ground. It should be possible to reverse the petrifying.

A shrieking, echoing roar, repeated thrice from three heads, ripped through the air entirely too close for comfort. The hydra was almost on her. It picked up speed. She had to keep it from damaging Windbreaker, or he would be stone forever.

She rose into the air with grace and purpose, the wide span of her wings rippling the branches and leaves. The weather control group far above had sent a deluge of a storm crashing down upon the fields between Ponyville and Everfree. Hopefully by now the unicorn guards had retreated behind the wall. The river would flood soon.

Sheets of rain came hurtling down and drained off of her wings and wet, matted fur. Water sprayed everywhere each time she flapped. But Lightning was not perturbed. She shot forward with a singular purpose, but with no idea how she was going to bring down a hydra. Where were her other members?

She cast a glance behind. In the flickering light of signal fires and magic, her hopes were raised as she saw that most of the other creatures had been driven away or else destroyed. Very few pegasi were on the ground, which meant there weren't many injuries. She considered the petrified pony below her, the hydra stomping towards him, and noticed she had just enough time.

Rushing back towards the others, Lightning prepared to call for help when something else rushed past her just as fast. She stopped, missed a beat of her wings, and dropped a bit before catching herself. She spun back around. Who was that?

Cutting through a peninsula of forest at full speed while weaving through trees like a maniac, Lightning overtook the pegasus who had gone around through the clearing towards the Hydra. A flash of actual lightning; light brown fur with a spotted palomino pattern. Closer, another flash. The cutie mark on her flank, a tornado. This wasn't anyone she recognized.

As this strange pegasus turned towards her, Lightning dropped into a dive, arced back up, and tackled her from below. The stranger was driven into a tree, and roughly plopped down on a branch, winded. She glared, twisted back, and before Lightning could process what was going on, bucked and kicked her firmly in the nose with her hind legs.

Lightning saw stars as the stranger took off again towards the hydra. She jumped off the branch and zig-zagged a little, disoriented, and weakly rose into the sky in pursuit.

As the distance closed the stranger spoke in a soft, sing-song voice, "Leave me alone! I can handle this!"

"That's a damn hydra!" replied Lightning, "You can't do it alone, I can't do it alone--we need at least three pegasi just to drive it away from here!"

"I know what I'm doing, just watch!" the stranger pulled a vial of some fluid from under her wing, craned back, and hurled it at the hydra. There was an incredible flash; Lightning shielded her eyes with her wings.

When it cleared, they both looked at the hydra. The strange pegasus was in hysterics.

"That was a shrinking potion! I paid thousands of bits for it! How could it be a dud--oh I was ripped off, I can't believe it!"

"No, no hydras are immune to most magic attacks!" yelled Lightning against the wind and storm. In response, the tan pegasus charged at it, saying before she left, "I'll prove all of you wrong! I belong in the speed squad, I should never have been put in the stupid F division! I'm taking this thing down, you can't stop me!"

"What--what are you doing?! No, wait!"

Lightning charged after her, unable to overtake, winded, exhausted, in pain from hitting the ground and from the hard kick. She just couldn't do it. She glided to the ground and leaned on a boulder, panting. The stranger did well at first, zipping around and around the hydra as it snapped at her. Two of its heads got intertwined and then detached from the body by sharp hooves moving at a ridiculous velocity. Three more heads took its place, and this was one too many even for the sheer speed of this agile pegasus.

The first dragon-like head of the hydra snapped with cat-like reflexes; the pegasus narrowly dodged with a sharp roll to the left. The head on the other side spewed acid. She couldn't overcome her change in momentum fast enough and it hit her in the flank. The magic symbol there, her cutie mark, began to melt away along with the rest of her fur, and her hide under that began smoking. She yelled in pain and surprise, but did not let off.

She was out of control now, in a panic. Two other heads snapped towards her; she shot straight up and the heads conked on each other. She gained composure, and made an arrogant charge straight down to finish these heads off. The new fourth head came around on its long neck and suddenly lashed out from above. The tan pegasus swerved, and was caught firmly in the claws of the hydra.

Lightning flashed in the storm; Lightning Ridge watched in horror. The hydra tore into its meal. Something in Lightning's mind snapped. She rose from the ground with calm and composure. She charged towards the hydra.

The air around her snapped and popped as she approached the sound barrier. It wasn't possible for a pegasus to surpass this mark, and few pegasi had flown remotely close to it a mere twenty feet from the surface of the ground. The muddy, soggy forest floor ripped up in a flurry of leaves and uprooted bushes from the force of disrupted air as she aimed a kick at the hydra's body. The force of impact was multiplied by the steel armored boots she wore over her hooves, and the hydra's tough, magic-resistant hide was pierced, as well as its heart.

It lashed out wildly as it died; one flailing head smashed into Lightning Ridge, swatting her out of the air. The head was as big as she was, and the protruding fang which punctured her left wing was sharp as a railroad spike. In spite of the pain and the chaos she kept control with her right wing and attempted to swing off of the tooth. She was slammed against a tree, caught up in the branches, but the hydra's head missed the tree and kept on going. Sheer force was applied to the weakest point on a pegasus' body. Her wing was torn completely off, and she collapsed to the ground. Her world grew dim and blurry.

The reason she had joined the Wonderbolts. The reason she had work at all. The reason she could reside in Cloudsdale and dance with storms. The reason she had a unique role in the world. The reason fluttered down to the muddy ground beside her. As she grew dizzy and about to faint from blood loss, certain that the dying hydra would take her with it, she saw a shape whoosh past as her world went black, and several dark blue feathers fell around her.

4. The Value of Friendship

After resting enough to fly back on top of the bridge and making a hasty exit in case of more moving machines, Cobalt weighed her options.

Her leg was killing her, but her wings seemed rested enough for at least a few hours flight. The West opened into plains while the South was forested, the blue outline of another mountain off in the distance. She took flight, and her leg hurt a bit less.

It had been two days now since she had much to eat. The two fish over the ocean, and nothing the day after that. She could have easily cried again, she had never felt this hollow and empty with hunger. A griffon was supposed to be tougher than that.

With her stellar eyesight, it wasn't hard to catch three bunnies in the forest. As she finished the second and started on the third, a unicorn approached from the distance.

Before Cobalt could so much as say hello, the pony screamed and ran. She finished the last rabbit, less sure of everything than before.

Full now, with some energy and vigor, she drank from a clear forest lake and made the mountain by nightfall. She rested in an alcove near the summit, sheltered from the wind. Somewhere off to the west, on the towering monolith of a mountain peak she had seen earlier in the day, torchlight flickered. Had the ponies built a city into a mountain? Probably the flying ones, Cobalt thought to herself.

She would avoid that direction at all costs. It was clear the pony race was no friend of hers. South lie dark and vacant, with the smell of forest.

The dawn woke her. She stretched her legs and wings in the crisp air full of birdsong. The light was painfully bright, and she waited until the sun had risen a bit more to descend.

With a yawn, Cobalt surveyed this new and hostile world around her. She drank river water at the base of the mountain and then flew at a low altitude across a long expanse of plain. This grew tedious; she gained height and speed.

After four or five hours of this, reckoning from the sun at high noon, Cobalt needed a break. As she floated towards ground level, she saw another set of tracks for the ponies' machines. Not a good sign. Probably meant a town was nearby.

Beyond the tracks was a rocky, rugged area that led to a quarry. West from the quarry was a grand expanse of woods, lined with rivers, which looked like a perfectly comfortable place to call home.

Cobalt noticed something far to the northwest. Just on the edge of her vision, the outline of what seemed to be a settlement. She considered moving on, but then again, if anyone would be friendly to her, maybe even help remove the arrow in her inflamed leg, it would be rugged ponies who lived in a small town like that. She decided to rest in the forest for the night.

At the southern edge of the woods, Cobalt found the collapsed stone ruins of some very old looking structure. Griffons didn't have castles, but they did have a fortress, and so this new home became known to her as the fortress.

The next few days were spent here, looking around at the place for some sort of insight into pony culture. Nothing but tapestries, crumbling walls, and a library of dusty old books she couldn't read. She could only speak pony.

As the week closed, Cobalt rested on her belly within the fortress, her injured leg stuck out to the side. The pain had grown even sharper and she wasn't sure how much longer she could walk.

She lie on a pallet of tapestries and torn-up cushions from decayed furniture. For dinner, a neat stack of fish. They had even been cooked--it was cold and she had bothered to start a fire. One of the massive tapestries, torn from the wall, made a fine blanket.

This isn't so bad, thought Cobalt.

Then, she heard a click, click, click of approaching footsteps from the collapsed hall in the direction of the library. A figure rounded the corner and stopped short in surprise. This was a pony with strange black and white striped fur.

"A griffon here in Everfree? Not a sight I thought I'd ever see," the pony rhymed.

Cobalt was puzzled, startled, curious and wary, all at the same time. She began her first friendly conversation in Equestria with a question, "Do all of you ponies like to make rhymes when you speak?"

"Oh my no, it's just a habit of mine. Living alone will do that to you."

"Um, you're not going to scream and run away? Or say I'm a monster?"

"You prove that you're not by virtue of actions, so I choose to respond with a friendly reaction."

Cobalt was so relieved that it felt as though some heavy weight had been removed from her back.

"Are you hungry at all?" she asked, gesturing at the fish.

The striped pony paused for a moment before answering. "The pony race does not eat meat. They abhor violence and prefer plant-based treats. Your diet may prompt a hasty retreat."

"Well, yeah, it already has, but I have to eat. Leaves and plants aren't filling and don't give me energy."

The striped pony noticed her injured leg and said to her, "Allow me, if you will, to be your first friend. The arrow in your thigh, I know how to mend."

This time Cobalt could not help it. She started crying, tears splashing on the stone. Was this... that friendship thing? How the hell could someone make an offer like that for nothing in return?

The odd pony sat patiently, gathering her shawl around herself and nuzzling open a book. Cobalt sniffed and gathered her wits.

"I'm sorry," Cobalt said, embarrassed.

Without looking up from her book, the response came, "The strongest among us all mask their emotions. But pausing to feel, is a powerful potion."

"So, what's your name? And why do you look so different from ponies I've seen?"

"My name is Zecora, a zebra by race, which should answer your questions and tell you my place. Estranged from the ponies, I am a disgrace. So I live alone and enjoy life at my pace."

"Uh, if-if you want, I can bring the fish somewhere else, I don't want to, oh what's the word, I don't want to upset you or anything. I'm just really hungry. Spent the whole day flying over this forest and scouting it out."

"Do not worry about causing me offense. I respect you and I within our difference. I'll withdraw for now, and avoid a stomach disturbance."

Smiling--actually smiling-- at meeting this, this "zebra" she had called herself, Cobalt munched on the fish and had her fill, and then poked at the books on the floor with curiosity. She hid the fish bones under a rug and called for Zecora, who returned.

"Zecora, do you think you could teach me to read your pony books?"

"I do not have a gift for teaching, but I'm willing to try if it's knowledge you're seeking."

Zecora gathered her books into a worn-out bag which she slung across her back. She gave a look around at the old ruins.

"The castle is drafty and falling apart. Follow me, if you want a fresh start," rhymed Zecora.

"How did you--" Cobalt began.

"What's left unsaid speaks the loudest, revealing the motives of the hardened and proudest."

The great and fearsome griffon followed the zebra out into the fresh air of the woods. They followed a clear forest stream to where it met a drop and made a neat waterfall. Zecora was about to descend the hill when she froze, ears perked up. She spoke,

"I must cease peace for this moment. For my transgression, I offer atonement."

Cobalt tripped and fell flat on her back as the stones they were about to climb down jumped up from where they rested. Each stone started skittering towards them on six legs as spikes suddenly appeared. Each one in turn, then, began spinning fiercely, the spines ripping up vegetation.

Zecora kicked a rock at the one approaching a cowering Cobalt. Sparks flew and it went flying into the water.

She pulled a glass bottle from her saddlebag. It contained an oily purple liquid. When she chucked the bottle at the two next bugs, they caught on fire and began to run around in a panic. One remained, towards the bottom of the hill.

The zebra pounced from the cliff top, and squashed the final bug before it could start spinning. It went splat. She asked Cobalt to come down now.

"What was that?" Cobalt asked in a meek voice.

"Ripper Beetles, only one of this forest's evils."

"Why do you call such a scary place home, Zecora?"

"Home and hearth is a matter of heart which pest and monster may not tear apart."

Cobalt, still shaken, followed her new friend to the waterfall.

"Here in this water you should bathe. It will ease the leg which is inflamed."

The griffon did so, as the zebra got a fire going in spite of not having any dexterity like Cobalt did. She used a metal horseshoe on a front hoof to strike a dark stone and make sparks.

Hot water was made, using some kind of bark as a pot. Cobalt drank a bitter herbal tea, and quickly fell into a deep sleep. Zecora retrieved a razor-sharp knife and another potion bottle from her saddlebags.

It was night when Cobalt woke up. Her leg felt better. Twisting back, she saw the arrow was gone and all that was left was an X-shaped scar.

Cobalt walked over to Zecora, who said, "Night has fallen in Everfree Forest. We must make haste before the owls reach third chorus."

Cobalt had no idea what this meant, but obliged to transport Zecora on her back and fly above the treeline deeper into the woods.

They reached her cabin just as the owls all hooted in harmony for the third time that night. Zecora launched herself off of Cobalt's back and made a run for her cabin. The griffon followed suit.

A strange, dark purple energy encompassed a neat stack of firewood by the door, which began to assemble itself into something. Zecora's earring glowed, and so did her eyes, as a beam of white light slammed into this animate construct, the purple dissipated, and the wood hit the ground.

"Be a dear and bring that in please?" she asked of Cobalt.

The griffon grabbed the firewood in her talons, hobbled in on three legs, and Zecora slammed the door and touched several runes on it, which began to glow fiercely. She made a quick circle of the cabin, inspecting metal shutters over the windows, before settling down by the fireplace.

She seemed a bit flummoxed and didn't say anything for a minute.

Cobalt looked around. It was a nice, cozy place, but she wasn't dense and she realized that this probably wasn't an average pony's cabin. She tossed the logs down by the fireplace. The cabin was very neat and tidy, but simple and practical. Cobalt found it relatable. Zecora only kept the basic supplies she needed for life and survival in the forest, and her materials as an alchemist.

Zecora spoke now, "If you would, fetch the firewood...no, that's too forced. Our time is dwindling, fetch that kindling!"

Cobalt nodded in approval at this one, and said, "I like your house. It's nothing like the way griffons live."

Zecora said thank you as she arranged the logs neatly beside the fireplace.

The griffon continued to speak, "Griffonstone is a very practical place. They force everyone to do certain jobs and to be married and live in certain family homes. It's also a very strict and violent place."

Zecora was busy getting the fire going. She said, "I'm listening well, continue your tale."

"I wanted to know what freedom and peace and friends was like. Never had any of that before. But when I got here to your pony-kingdom, all I met was being treated like a monster and having arrows shot at me."

The fire was lit as Zecora nodded sagely, taking a moment deep in thought trying to figure out how to make it rhyme. She said, "Here in Equestria we hold freedom dear, but freedom is a powerful force. Please don't be angry at displays of fear, for it's easy to startle a horse."

"Oh," said Cobalt, getting it, "you're saying you also have the freedom to be nasty to each other if you want. So, I guess not all ponies are the same..."

For the first time, Zecora seemed a bit ruffled at this remark, "Your musings on life are blunt and homely. May I venture to say all griffons eat ponies?"

Cobalt took a breath here, nervous, knowing the next question probably meant the end of this friendship.

"But no, behold, here before my eyes! A griffon who just wants friends! But you see, I'm not surprised. Others of your kind may be my demise, but you won't all be the same, you're not a changeling hive. I'm sure you'd never eat a pony alive."

Cobalt shuffled and fidgeted, struggling for words.

Zecora dropped all of her pretense on the floor. "Uh, you haven't... right?"

Cobalt felt like her heart was in her throat. To make a nice friend and then lose one so fast! She started to speak, slowly, "You know how I said we all had jobs we had to do? Well, if you refused, you'd be imprisoned, or worse. My job was to live on the mountain as a miner and also gather wood and meat. We have these mines there, and sometimes ponies would sneak in and attempt to steal our gold, so, well, I didn't like having to, but, it wasn't a choice..."

A long pause. Zecora sat by the flickering flames, her back to Cobalt. At length she spoke,

"I live alone, and I defend myself, and I alone maintain my health."

Cobalt lie couchant on the hearth rug, looking more like a nervous dog than a fierce griffon.

"I healed a wounded dragon--this was many moons ago--I gave him potion and a bandage but he didn't want to go. 'I'll repay my debt!' is what he said to me, but a dragon is a beast I cannot trust entirely. So I allowed him to stay, in return for one demand: To be forewarned of danger, by means of magic brand."

Zecora walked over to where crates and baskets and barrels of various sundry supplies were neatly stacked and organized in a corner nook of the cabin. She climbed a spiral stair to a loft, and rooted through a dusty old tote bag.

She came back down with it, set it on the rug beside Cobalt, began taking items out, and finally said, "I'm willing to believe you, if you want to start again, but many will bereave you, even those you call a friend. Everfree is as dark and cold as you must be to survive. I've learned this with the loss of friends and nearly with my life. This magic brand will warn me if you have evil in your mind, and betray all secrets with a telepathic bind."

Cobalt looked at the metal object in front of her. It was some sort of rune, maybe part of an ancient or forgotten language. She knew what a brand was, and this was crazy. Zecora showed her how her other earring was a match for the rune.

"The choice to leave or stay is up to you," said Zecora, "You may refuse, or follow through."

"Alright," said Cobalt, "I'll do it. I'm not going to lose the only friend I have."

Zecora had her lie on her left side on the hearth rug, so it could be on her uninjured right leg. She tied Cobalt's beak with twine, and heated the metal pole in the fire. There was a sizzle, and a muffled scream from the griffon.

Her beak was untied, and she nervously looked back at her leg. The burned mark there was glowing slightly with a green hue.

The zebra closed her eyes, her runic earring also glowing green. Within Cobalt's mind was a swirl of doubts, questions, concerns, tragedy and misery, and under it all, a spark of hope.

Do not be alarmed. I mean you no harm.

The griffon jolted back and broke a side table.

It feels like you're in my head! It's like my inner voice has company. This is so weird.

I'm so sorry, my friend, to bring you pain. Let me make amends and let me explain.

"Could we just talk? This is too weird."

"Notice, now, that the rune has changed hue. We are at peace, and the rune glows blue."

Cobalt looked back; the mark was a dark blue, same color as her feathers.

"Green is uncertainty, confusion, or fright; yellow is anger or dark thoughts in the night. If my life is in danger the rune will glow red, and if it stops glowing, that means I am dead. For the sake of new beginnings you endured so much pain. Now I know that I can trust you, and this friendship will remain."

The griffon sat down, humbled, recognizing that the magic rune burned onto her flank wasn't actually about warning and distrust at all. The fact she had actually gone through with it rather than be kicked out and lose Zecora as a friend meant that she was willing to do whatever it took to start over. Now she had proven that point to the zebra, and now Zecora could feel safe sharing her home with a creature that had once eaten ponies similar to her.

Weeks, moons, and then years ensued in the company of this zebra. Cobalt was assigned various tasks she was better suited for in order to earn her keep. Since she had to eat meat, she learned how to properly handle different kinds of monsters, and which were safe to consume and which were likely poisonous.

Cobalt learned to read the pony language, and frequented the old castle to learn all about them. Zecora let her know the castle was from ages ago, and the books might not be up to date.

The griffon gained a well-balanced education in alchemy, wilderness survival in Everfree, the various tricks and secrets of the forest, how to stay in communication at a distance with telepathy. She improved her flying acrobatics by flying through the forest until she reached and surpassed the average Wonderbolt skill level. She made nets to capture fish with, she helped the zebra chop firewood, and then she would rest by the fireplace with a good book or some exotic story of adventure from the zebra.

They spent five years together, happy in the forest. Cobalt even ventured to the edge of the town called Ponyville a few times. To her shock and surprise, a farmer pony by the name of Big Mac was willing to chat instead of running off, and she learned a great deal about pony culture and traded for delicious apple products from him and his family members.

This was the best time in Cobalt's life so far. And then, in the sixth year, darkness suddenly fell far earlier than it should have.

Author's Note

Some original creatures have been added to this story which are not part of canon.

Slimes may be canon since the smooze exists. It seems plausible that there would be other critters like it.

5. Birds of a Feather

Lightning woke up in a room, lying on a bed. Everything was blurry for a few minutes when she opened her eyes, and the light hurt. She was nauseous and groggy; memories didn't want to come back all at once.

Very slowly she sat up, and promptly tipped over to the right. That was weird. And then she noticed. Her entire left wing, gone, a bandage wrapped around her side.

"Oh thank the Hippogrifs, you're alive!"

Dizzy, vision still blurry, Lightning Ridge sat up again, using her remaining wing for balance. Something yellow at her bedside. Her vision slowly cleared: her mother, Stormfall.

While Lightning's dad had abandoned the family, her mother had always been there for her in childhood. How long had it been since the last visit? Lightning had grown distant as an adult, kept busy with harsh training to make Wonderbolt level.

"Mom, I, it's, where am I? What happened?"

Now the memories came back in a torrent.

"Windbreaker! Oh, oh no, and that poor tan pegasus. Did we do it? Is Ponyville safe?"

A new voice boomed, "By your sacrifice and bravery, this town is safe."

She looked over to the corner of the room. Ragged Edge, leader of the Wonderbolts, sat there in a chair.

"Sir! What--what are you doing here, sir?"

"Your mother and I both sat here all yesterday, and all night. You've been out for a while now, Lightning."

"The hydra?"

"You killed it alright, and saved the entire town. That was really reckless and stupid you know."

"It was about to crush Windbreaker sir, and it got the tan pegasus, and, I don't know, I was just so angry...."

"I'm afraid you can't be active in the Wonderbolts now, with only one wing. However, before you leave us, I'd like you to see something. Look at your nightstand."

She did so. Her Wonderbolts necklace was on it, with tags indicating her division and rank. She had shot up to Division A, Rank #53.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she thanked Ragged Edge. She then spoke, "What exactly happened out there? I thought I was done for."

"Well, we don't exactly know, Lightning. Someone saved your flank. It was dark out and hard to see, except by flashes from the storm. I gathered intel from everyone and we know four things: It was a very bulky, muscular pegasus with dark blue feathers. This pegasus was female. Her flank mark was a glowing, blue rune. And she took off for the Everfree forest, we're presuming she lives there or perhaps beyond it."

He nuzzled into a duffel bag by his side, and set three deep blue feathers on the bed. They were much bigger feathers than she had known any pegasus to have. She set them on her nightstand, curious.

Ragged Edge continued, "Windbreaker is safe. This hospital here in Ponyville is prepared for Everfree-related ailments, and they had the alchemy materials to reverse his condition. The palomino pegasus, Luna rest her soul, was a reserves member. Her name was Wildspirit. She was part of that whole back-to-nature movement before joining the bolts. She charged past the wall before anyone could stop her. I'm so sorry you had to witness that, Lightning."

"I knew the risks when I signed on," she replied weakly.

Stormfall spoke now, "Lightning, you're a hero. You did everything you could to defend this town. They want to reward you."

Lightning was unhappy with this. "No way! I'm not the only Wonderbolt who was out there in the fray. Besides, Ragged Edge, how is everyone else?"

"No other casualties, and you have the worst injury. Everyone did a phenomenal job out there."

"Do we know what caused it in the first place?"

Ragged Edge hesitated before speaking, "Nightmare Moon returned, you know that. She tried to gather some kind of ancient magic in the old castle to gain more power, and she had some kind of dark magic that controlled the forest creatures. But then these six random ponies from Ponyville charged into the forest after her."

"Wait, you let them take that risk?" asked Lightning dubiously.

"Celestia's orders. They were able to handle themselves very well at any rate. Handled a manticore and a sea serpent very impressively, and the two pegasi among them saved a couple klutzes from falling off a cliff."

"What happened when they reached the old castle?"

"I have no idea, Lightning, it was...surreal. Midnite and Weathervane are still in Canterlot right now talking to the princess--I mean, the princesses about it. Something crazy happened, but there was this massive burst of magic energy. So powerful it rippled the air around us at cloud level. Very colorful, almost looked like a damnned rainbow. The entire old castle shook and stones fell from it."

He paused to take a drink of water for the long speech,

"Then out of freaking nowhere, Celestia herself was in the clouds with us. No one even saw her, guessing she teleported. That's how she made a dramatic entrance at the castle anyways, popping in and out of thin air. When she came back up, she had her younger sister on her back, and told us that Luna had returned to us."

Lightning was thunderstruck, "So those ordinary ponies reformed Nightmare Moon?"

"That's how it looks like. But if my suspicions are true and they harnessed the ancient magic--I mean it's just a myth, you know, I'm not trying to start rumors here--but if they did, they are no ordinary ponies then."

"Wow, I guess the Wonderbolts aren't alone anymore in handling weird stuff happening. Well, guess I need to figure out what I'm going to do next."

Ragged Edge didn't have an answer for her, and he said goodbye and left her room.

Her mother, as well, was at a loss for words, "Never, not once ever, did I think the old pony-tales had a grain of truth to them... I'm sorry, Lightning, I didn't mean to ignore you," She paused, grimacing, "Well, I guess... you're going to have to live life as an earth-pony from now on. They did what they could, but a healing potion can't restore an entire wing."

Lightning tried to hold back tears, but a few of them quietly slid down her nose anyways. She said, "Could I be alone for a while, mom?"

Her mom nodded, and left the room.

The injured pegasus spent several more days in the hospital. When fully healed, she stepped through the doors out into the sunlight.

Looks like eternal darkness was prevented, she thought.

She walked in an awkward way, constantly tripping to the right from imbalance. The town of Ponyville was friendly, cozy, and charming, but she hardly noticed it.

Images flashed through her mind like the bursts of magic and fire on that night. The tan pegasus. Her final screams. That horrible acid. Lightning shuddered.

She wanted to avoid ponies for the time being, and she rambled her way out of town, tripping occasionally. Everyone stared without meaning to, and quickly looked away.

Southwest. Towards Everfree, but away from where the battle had taken place. The town slowly gave way to nature and she passed fewer houses. This side of town was full of flowers and gardens, and it was so lovely that her visage became a grim smile. Lightning wondered who had planted them all.

The answer appeared near Everfree. A cozy and secluded cabin, surrounded by all sorts of flowers and birds. A nice white picket fence bordered the yard, with pink hearts painted on it. This must be the gardener's place. A cream colored pegasus with a butterfly marking lie in the loamy soil of the garden, and Lightning had to shake her head and do a double take: This pegasus was feeding a baby squirrel a bottle of milk.

Lightning walked up very quietly, but tripped and startled the squirrel away.

"I'm so sorry about that," she said.

The light yellow pegasus was unfazed. She called the squirrel out of the bushes, saying that it was okay to come out. To Lightning's shock the squirrel seemed to understand her.

When the squirrel had resumed taking milk, the pegasus spoke to Lightning in very soft, timid voice, "It's quite alright. I love visitors--oh my, your wing!"

There was an awkward silence.

"I'm sorry, it was probably rude of me to mention it."

Lightning sat in silence, on the verge of crying again, sniffing.

"If you need to talk about it, I'm all ears. My name is Fluttershy. Do you want to come in and have some tea?"

"Y-yes that would be l-lovely," Lightning managed to say.

They both stepped inside.

The beautiful garden flowed so seamlessly from outside to inside the house that it felt like they were still out in nature. Even more various wild animals rested in Fluttershy's cabin. Some of them seemed to be recovering from sickness or injury.

As the light yellow pegasus placed a kettle on the stove to boil, Lightning Ridge sat by a bay window which let in warm rays of sunlight for numerous potted plants. She stared into the cloudy sky, a vacuous and distant look in her eyes.

Fluttershy sat down beside her, and very gently placed a hoof across her shoulders.

Lightning, still gazing in a trance at the great blue expanse, said in a quiet, bewildered tone of voice, "I will never fly again."

The teapot started to boil and Fluttershy walked over to prepare some green tea, which smelled amazing. The steaming cups and a plate of delicate pastries were brought over to a lacy table. Fluttershy balanced the two trays on her wings so well that the tea didn't even spill, and used her mouth to place each tray on the table.

Lightning was impressed. As she walked over to a white wicker chair and took a seat she said, "I don't even think most Wonderbolts could pull that off."

"Oh, it's nothing really," meekly answered Fluttershy as she opened a container of sugarcubes, "I just have years of experience balancing plants and small animals that way."

She nudged a cup of tea over to Lightning, who took a few sips. Lightning began to talk about her time in the Wonderbolts, how she made it all the way up to Division B. Fluttershy patiently listened without interrupting, and nibbled on a sugar cookie.

Lightning found she could easily talk to this pony with no fear of judgment. She poured out her whole story as Fluttershy peacefully nodded. After telling her everything that had happened, she asked for any thoughts or advice on what to do next.

Fluttershy took a moment in silence to think. She replied politely, "I don't know what to say, Lightning. I've never been in a situation like that. I always fly low and stay out of danger, you know. There's so many scary creatures outside of Ponyville, and not all of them are herbivores like my cute little Angel bunny here."

Lightning could swear that the bunny in question gave them an angry glare as he passed, but she had to be seeing things. Rabbits were not a sapient species.

"Well, I suppose I could say one thing... this is kind of personal and I'm not very comfortable talking to anypony about this. I just really feel like it's something you need to hear. Give me a moment please."

Lightning enjoyed a pastry full of jam and cream cheese as she waited for the pegasus to gather her nerves. Fluttershy had a gulp of tea, and then spoke in an even quieter voice,

"Just, please don't go telling everyone about this," she took a couple breaths, "The truth is, I was born with a fear of heights. I really worked on it during my childhood, and now I can fly to Cloudsdale when I need to, but it still bothers me. I don't know if it's any consolation to you at all, but, I'm also a pegasus who mostly stays on the ground. So if you want, we can be pen pals wherever you go, and feel free to stop by any time."

"Thank you, I will," answered Lightning.

"It's really not so bad down here once you get used to it. It might take you a while to adapt, but I love life in my garden. And there's so many nice, friendly ponies around."

"Um, if you don't mind Fluttershy, could I help you with gardening sometime? I've never really done it before, but, I'd love to learn."

"Sure! Would sometime tomorrow work?"

Before Lightning could answer, there was a knock at the door. A moment later, Fluttershy returned with a friend.

"Lightning Ridge, this is Tree Hugger. She's with the Back to Nature movement."

The green-furred, loopy looking pegasus said, "It's like, so nice to meet you."

Lightning offered an uncertain hello back.

The green pegasus continued, "I need some aloe vera, our cook burned herself on a hot skillet."

Fluttershy trotted into her kitchen, and returned in a moment with a couple slices from an aloe plant. Her friend said thank you as Fluttershy returned to her seat and her green tea.

Tree Hugger sat down by the table and spoke to Lightning, "Fluttershy has so many herbal remedies and natural cures. She's amazing with that stuff. Do you know what chamomile is?"

"No," said Lightning.

"It's a tea that helps with sleep and pleasant dreams. Then Fluttershy has these like, lovely roses and lavender she uses for potpourri."

Fluttershy responded, "Hmm, yes they do smell lovely."

"And she even knows how to grow a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, and it always turns out so wonderful."

"Why thank you," answered Fluttershy as she took another sip of tea.

"Then the flowers in her bedroom are a common kind of aphrodisiac."

"Okay Tree Hugger, thank you for stopping by. It was nice seeing you, I really think it's about time for you to leave. Have to go take care of that burn, right?"

She hastily escorted her friend out the door, slamming and latching it shut once she was out. When she returned to her chair, her face had gone the same color as the strawberries planted in the windowsill.

"Um, right. Don't mind her. So, be seeing you tomorrow for gardening lessons? Oh, and I'd love for you to meet my other friends, they've been wanting to tell you thanks for everything you did to protect Ponyville."

Lightning spent a few more hours at the house of this amiable pegasus. They moved to the living room and sat in squashy, overstuffed chairs by the fireplace. Fluttershy had much to say about this quiet town she called home, and she gave a brief summary of the five other good friends she had recently made. These were the ones who somehow convinced her, of all ponies, to go with them and take on Nightmare Moon.

As Lightning prepared to leave, she mentioned that she had no way of getting back up to Cloudsdale and she wasn't certain where she was going to sleep tonight. Fluttershy had no problem letting her sleep on one of the cozy chairs by the fire, and gave her a blanket.

Lightning went to sleep that night by the warmth and crackle of the fire with an actual smile on her face. Things were going to be okay.

Author's Note

Yes, Lightning should have lost a lot of blood if she lost her wing. Let's say a wizard fixed it. A potion of blood restoration. Yeah.

13. The Worst Adventurers Ever

Shortly after Skyblazer knocked on the door, an angry voice could be heard from inside, "You follow me all the way out here, and try to force me to register? Do I need to hurt you again?"

The rudimentary door--thatch over a wooden lattice--was picked up and set to the side. A very large and very irritated avian blockaded the entrance. She began to mutter obscenities about the persistence of the guards, but then she stopped. Seeing this strange new pegasus at her door, she said,

"Who the hell are you, and what are you doing all the way... is that dragon scale? What kind of pegasus would wear hide armor?"

"Me, I guess," answered Sky.

"Uh, can I help you with anything?"

Sky responded slowly and cautiously, "Well, I think you're the griffon who saved my mother's life."

Cobalt sat down now, thinking. She said, "I wouldn't know anything about that."

"It was a long time ago now. Um, night fell and all the monsters went crazy, Nightmare Moon was involved--she was that dark magic pony."

Her eyes opened wide in surprise and she said, "You mean way back when all the forest monsters attacked Ponyville?"

"Yeah."

"Huh. So if I didn't save that golden pegasus, you wouldn't even be here right now. That's... kind of interesting actually."

"I was kind of hoping to ask you something and I know you're going to say no,"

"Ask it anyways."

"I want you to meet my mom so she can thank you. I've heard you've been through a lot, and it's just, not everyone hates you."

"I take it you've been talking to Zecora."

"I understand if you want to stay here, Cobalt."

"Look, you uh, what's your name?"

"Skyblazer."

"Sky, I just find it really hard to trust you damn ponies. I ran away from my own kind because you're supposed to be all about peace and tolerance and stuff. You don't know what it's like having to fight off guards just for who you are."

"Okay no. I don't. But I do know what it's like to have my own dad hate me just for who I am, as a pegasus."

"There's no way he actually hates you. He's your dad."

"Oh yeah? How about staying home, drunk, after cussing me out, when I went to leave the farm and go after adventure? Naming me Haul-Ass? I've even heard him whispering to my mom, saying he knew this would happen if they had a pegasus son. And then there's my oldest brother, Iron Haycart."

"What about him?"

"He's always been jealous of me. 'Oh look at the special snowflake! You get wings and magic and think that makes you better than us!' Then he would beat the ever-living Tartarus out of me. I've known how to fight since I was a colt."

"Your father didn't stop that?"

"No, he was either too busy working or way too out of it."

Sky closed one eye and grimaced. Cobalt sat in silence for a few minutes before responding,

"Alright. I still don't understand why you came all the way out here just to talk to me."

"I just want you to know that I appreciate you saving my mom. Her name is Lightning Ridge, and she's been looking for you her whole life to say thank you. So, for her sake, thank you. Now I get that you don't like me or anypony, so I'll leave you be."

"Wait! Don't go just yet," Cobalt lowered her voice and spoke in a more somber tone, "It was chaos out there. I was helping the ponies fight the monsters off too, trying to stay out of sight you know. I saw the hydra approaching, but I was too busy driving back a whole pack of timber wolves. I was just able to get over there in time to rescue the golden pegasus, and I got away fast as I could so no one would see me in the firelight."

Sky spoke in a grave tone, as well, "That's... really quite something. You're braver than I could ever be."

"Nah, just angry and stubborn."

"Trust me I get that."

"Look, I--I can't believe I'm saying this, but do you want to come inside? You look awful. What happened on the way over here?"

"Storms, monsters, a good cold splash of reality."

Cobalt smirked, "So you were hoping to be a fairy tale adventurer. Land of sunshine and sugar, nothing bad ever happens. Be the big damn hero and find treasure."

"Something like that."

"Instead you're just a glorified bum."

"Hey! That's... not too far off actually. Kind of worried about the farm, too."

"The farm?"

"Where I grew up. With me gone I'm sure it's harder to take care of the place."

Sky and Cobalt stepped into the seaside shanty. The floor was dirt and the furnishings were woven mats.

"Ain't much but it... ain't much." said Cobalt.

"Story of my life."

"Ha. You and me both Skyblazer."

Sky looked around the dwelling. It kept the wind and elements out well enough. A firepit had been dug into the center, beneath a hole in the ceiling to vent out smoke. A cook pot was in the embers.

"You built this yourself?" he asked.

"No, I just happened to find it. Of course I built it."

"Impressive."

"Years and years of practice."

Sky set his packs down in one corner, and sat by the fire. He stared into the flames, and ventured to say,

"Cobalt, I was kind of wondering if you'd think about traveling with me. Go search for adventure and treasure and stuff."

"Oh sure, and draw all sorts of unwanted attention from you ponies. Oh my sweet lovely Celestia it's a griffon, run!"

"So that's a no."

"Yep. I'll go back with you to Everfree and to visit your farm, but after that, you're on your own."

"Alright. Mind if I stay the night then?"

"Fine by me. Just so you know, I am having meat for dinner. If that bothers you, I don't care."

Sky set his bedroll and blanket by the fireside, and sorted through his packs for whatever food he had. Not much left. His stomach gave a gurgling noise, and he frowned. He said,

"I'm perfectly happy to tolerate that, but it's a shame we can't split rations. I'm low on food and there's no edible plants out on this bluff."

Cobalt considered him for a moment. She gave an agitated look at the wall, and said, "Hmm. Maybe I could make a -----. Could you stomach that?"

"A what? Was that the griffon's language?"

"Oh you ponies wouldn't have a word for that, of course. Uh, it's like a vegetable soup, but then you add meat to it."

"I do have some veggies left. Maybe I could get a bowl of soup for myself, and then you can add meat to your portion?"

"Sure, why not. Meat needs to cook a bit longer anyways."

Skyblazer felt a bit sickened, which was a natural and understandable reaction. He was, after all, a pegasus pony. The foreign concept of eating another creature for sustenance was an unthinkable taboo. It was the behavior of monsters, those creatures which posed a threat to entire settlements.
And yet, this griffon across from him was a sapient creature who bore no malice against him.

Regardless of the rising acidic taste in the back of his mouth, he grit his teeth to ask, "So, when you eat a critter, do you have to cook it first?"

"Nah, just makes the meat taste better."

"Ah I see. So you griffons can't eat plants, right?"

"I mean we can, just not get by on plants alone."

"Why, what happens?"

"During my flight through the desert, I had to get by on veggies from Zecora and cactuses."

"Cacti."

"Whatever. I was hoping to hunt a few desert rabbits, but didn't see any. Nothing but plants for food for five days."

"Took me two days to cross it."

"Pegasi tend to be faster than griffons. Plus, one of my canteens got a hole in it, so I had to find an oasis."

"Damn, that's unfortunate."

Skyblazer placed the remainder of his veggies into a cook pot, with water. He had carrots and potatoes from Zecora which were still good. Onion, garlic, and celery from the market in Riverbend, which was old but still edible. A small side pouch held some wild mushrooms. He also had spices left--pepper, salt, dried herbs. Cobalt added her share of vegetables to the pot, and Sky placed the soup over the fire as Cobalt continued her story,

"By day five, I was so weak I could barely fly. My body wouldn't stop shivering and I felt on the verge of throwing up. Pretty sure you should trust your gut about what you should eat, and now I know that as a fact."

"Do you want to go around the desert on the way back? We aren't in any hurry."

"We could do that. Those southern mountains look dangerous, what's north?"

Sky checked his map. "Looks like the desert fades out into dry plains and then some forest. Some farmland that way, but if we fly high nopony should panic about you."

"Alright. So how about you ponies, can you eat meat or is it like, you have to have plants?"

"Has to be plants. Trying to eat a critter would kill us."

"How do you know?"

"I read a lot. There was this one history book, some sailors got stranded and tried to get by on fish. Bit of an emergency, you know. None of them survived. Most of them just threw up and starved, the ones who kept it down died too."

"Huh. I'm glad we had this talk, Sky. Think I have a better understanding of things now."

"You know what, me too Cobalt."

"Most of you ponies would have screamed and ran, or else given me an angry stare and ignored me by now."

"My name isn't 'most ponies', it's Skyblazer. Sorry about the guards harassing you. I wouldn't want to wear a magic tracking collar for sure."

"It's more of a necklace or bracelet now, they did change that. Honestly wearing a magic bracelet wouldn't be so bad. Maybe I could even socialize more, I don't know, visit pony towns? Is that too much to hope for?"

"I met a pegasus named Rainbow Dash who has a griffon friend named Gilda. Don't know if you would know her."

"I know of her, never met her. Always envious because she was born outside Griffonstone, making her a wild griffon. Free to travel and do as she pleased."

"My mom said the ones born in Griffonstone are strictly managed."

"Yeah. I mean it works, it's just... cold and violent. But you were saying?"

"Gilda visits Ponyville, and other places, all the time. I've even met her once. Asked about you, of course--she didn't know you. She registered in Canterlot, got a tracking collar, and she only travels into settlements with Dash, to help ease the nerves a bit."

"That actually does make sense. Like, if you and me went into town together, they'd know that you trust me. Might make folks freak out less."

"Or that I'm one crazy, dangerous pegasus."

"Saying you aren't, Skyblazer?"

"I'm... going to take that as a compliment? Soups ready, let me get my bowl."

Sky had his share of the soup, and Cobalt added the freshly gathered meat of three rabbits. Sky blew on his soup to cool it down, and he asked,

"I'd figure you would get by on fish out here."

"Oh I do, but fish doesn't go in soup like this. That comes out awful."

"I see. So, you may very well kill me for this and I don't care, but what are you doing out here? Avoiding ponies?"

Cobalt gave a wry smile at his nonchalant remark, and replied, "Sky I think I like you. That's saying something, only Zecora and maybe the Apples have been decent to me.

"Heh, thanks."

"No, just doing some thinking. Apparently Griffonstone is a bit more lenient now."

"Thought about going back for a visit?"

"Yeah, but the flight over the sea was hell. I can't roost on clouds like you can."

"Is that really all?" Sky offered an arrogant grin.

"Oh you little--no, it's not. I came over here to at least try to find a different way of life. Bout ready to give up on it too. But you know what, maybe... I'll have to think about it, but if we did travel together, I might be able to be a part of your society."

"Up for some treasure hunting and causing some chaos?"

"Both sound good. You know where to find any treasure?"

Sky put his ears down, and said, "Honestly, no. I bet we could do bounties together though. Take on actual monsters--hey, maybe that would put you in a better light too! You know, that whole 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.'"

Cobalt sat up with stiff posture, and said in a mocking voice, "Behold, Skyblazer and Cobalt, Destroyer of Fiends!"

Sky laughed, inhaled some of his soup, and coughed. He replied,

"I mean we'd make a great team. You have the brawn and I have the speed. My mom was once a bounty hunter, I have her journal."

"During my time in Everfree, Zecora taught me loads of things about monsters and survival and magic," Cobalt added.

"That sounds like a damn good plan then, Cobalt! Let's go kill some things! Should be your cup of tea, right?"

"Oi you feathery bastard, didn't I say I wanted to find a more peaceful way?"

"Yeah, but griffons can't get by on plants alone."

"And I can't just eat any monster we come across! Lots of them are poisonous."

"You realize we've only just met, you hate ponies, I should fear griffons, and we're bickering like an old married couple."

Cobalt sat back for a second, holding up a talon as though to say something, and then she burst into laughter. She wiped a tear from her eye and said,

"Fine. Fine, you got me. Let's at least try this, but I'm still not sure about ponies and I will leave if we get enough hate."

"Fair enough."

"Let's get some rest and head out in the morning. I need to gather and cook some fish for the trip. You can fly out and find whatever plants and mushrooms you want. We'll meet back at this shack, pack our things, and head off to be the worst adventurers ever."

"Sounds good, Cobalt."

Both he and the griffon settled in for the night. A strong ocean breeze whistled against the driftwood walls, but the little shack held steady. Skyblazer fell into a deep slumber, and found himself having yet another odd dream.

Meanwhile this evening, far to the west on the Haycart Farm, moonlight shone on the golden fur of Lightning Ridge as she sat at the edge of her fields, and waited. A flying figure eclipsed the full moon, becoming clearer as it neared. In the darkness, it took until the pegasus had landed to see the purple fur and feathers of one Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight spoke, "Evening, Lightning. We're alone?"

Lightning nodded, saying, "Everyone else is sound asleep. We can talk in peace."

"Just to be sure," Twilight put up an arcane shield, "this should absorb the sound of conversation just fine."

"Alright, in your last letter you said you had a lot to talk about, so you go first."

"I need to gather my thoughts more. What's on your mind?"

"The farm. We're just not making a lot of money and Barley never listens to me. If we would add some fruit to our crops, we could make plenty of bits. The town doesn't get a lot of fruit on a regular basis."

"How's he been holding up since your kids all went their own ways?"

"Badly. Drinking even more, I'm worried he's going to poison himself with how much he's had lately. And it takes money away from Violet and the farm buying all that alcohol."

"Oh, I wish I could do more to help her. I just don't understand what's wrong with Violet. If she was cleared by the hospital, it has to be magic in nature, and magic ailments are exceedingly rare."

"Do you know anypony who might know something about that subject?"

"No, not off the top of my horn."

"I miss Sky, Twilight. Hope he comes back soon. Honestly worried if I'll even see him again."

"He's tough, he'll be alright."

"Not what I meant. Barley and he, they, well they just can't stand each other. It got bad enough at times that I'm surprised your map didn't send you over here to resolve our issues."

"How is the farm holding up, financially?"

"We're making ends meet. I just really, really need Barley to stop gambling and drinking so damn much. If not for that, and if he'd buck tradition and let me plant some fruits, we could prosper."

"Do you want me to try talking to him?"

"If he won't listen to his own wife, I don't see how a stranger would help."

"Hmm. Maybe if Skyblazer does find that griffon and bring her back here. That might shock him into his senses."

"It might, if she can even be found. I also highly doubt she'd be easily convinced. Anyways. What did you need to discuss, Twilight?"

"Things are just insane is all. I need you to keep this talk between you and me and the fence post, okay?"

"I can do that."

Twilight talked in a quiet, sad tone of voice, "It's just, I now know what it's like to have knowledge of things nopony should ever know. And it's not fun, Lightning, it's so scarring. I had another run in with the powerful wizard pony I told you about, her name is Starlight."

Lightning was intrigued. She said, "Oh, really? Did you capture her this time?"

"It's more complicated than that," Twilght sighed, and stared into the distance, "So, magic actually exists that lets you alter the very flow of time. It's forbidden though, a unicorn could be imprisoned for using it. And let me tell you why. If you change the smallest thing in the past, it can make your whole present something you don't recognize."

"Okay, the way things have been going in Equestria I can't say that fazes me. Go on."

"Starlight was so upset with my friends and I, that she tried to go back and keep us from ever meeting. I watched her succeed with this plan. Again, and again, and again. Each time I managed to get back to our reality, to this world as we know it. But each time, I caught a glimpse of how things would look if we never did find the Elements of Harmony. Remember Tirek, that creature from Tartarus? If not for us, he would have sucked the life energy out of all Equestria and left it a desolate wasteland."

"Holy hell."

"Oh and that's just the icing on the cake," Twilight was holding back tears now, her voice cracking as she spoke, "I get to deal with that, on top of knowing that our entire reality can just up and be molded like clay. Discord, he may be reformed now, but to think there's something that powerful... and to think what else could be out there, and what if something eldritch eludes the power of the elements..."

"Discord, I think I remember you telling me about that. If he's so powerful, why doesn't he help with all this craziness?"

"He's not just chaos incarnate, he's also 'doesn't give a fuck' incarnate."

"Okay then. Yikes."

"Freaking Tirek escaping from Tartarus. Ponyville just totally wrecked. Not like it's the first time, things keep threatening to destroy our entire world again and again. The Crystal Empire. Changelings. Dark magic. I'm supposed to be a damn princess on top of all of that and smile and wave and pretend like it's all just going to keep being okay, and it's not, Lightning, it's not okay, things are falling apart faster than we can patch them together..."

Twilight began to cry, and she embraced Lightning in a hug with her ears down and her wings wilted. Lightning patted her on the back, her visage grim. It took several minutes for Twilight to gain her composure.

Twilight sniffed, and said, "I, we, need reinforcements. We need a plan in case the elements aren't enough. I really, truly believe that Starlight Glimmer may simply be misguided, and I need your advice as a trusted friend. She wants to change her ways, I was able to convince her during the whole time travel nonsense that it's really not worth threatening the stability of reality itself over a grudge. She conceded that point. Apparently she just hates inequality in the world and she has a lust for power, which is a very bad thing because her magic rivals mine. But to just stop and think what she could do if she would be willing to reform! We could have a whole new pony to help defend Equestria."

Lightning took a moment in thought, blurring out Twilight's words as she just kept going on and on. She heard Twilight mention that Starlight could fly by her own magic ability, which is one of the most advanced magics in existence and an incredible feat.

There was a pause following this remark, where Twilight considered the implications in the presence of this one-winged angel, now fallen from grace. She told Lightning,

"Hey, the offer still stands if you want it."

Lightning replied, "If you would have told me you could give me temporary flight through spells only a few years ago, I might have said yes. But I've changed, Twilight. I am willing to accept life for what it is now. I have a family, a farm, my own mess to deal with here. It may not be stuff that shatters all we know about what's real, but it is a broken family that needs work. I'll be here for Barley and my kids. You go out there and stay strong for Equestria, okay Twi?"

"I will, Lightning. Thank you."

"Also, I think if you girls can convince an eldritch creature who can reshape reality to change his ways, than a single rogue unicorn should pose no challenge. Especially if she sees the error of her ways. Makes a lot more sense to be a mentor for her than it does to have Starlight tossed in a dungeon somewhere. She'd just concoct another angry scheme to get back at you for that."

"Okay, thanks for the advice. Since you agree, I'll do that with Celestia's permission."

Twilight lowered the shield bubble, and walked with Lightning through the placid farmland. Summer had just arrived. The grains were all growing up nice and hearty, without hardly any issues.

Lightning said in a stern voice, "I need to put my hoof down. I think I know how to scare Barely enough to make him see common sense. I'm going to threaten to leave the farm and the family if he doesn't let me make the changes that I mentioned."

"Do you think it would be enough to make him change his mind?" asked Twilight.

"Absolutely."

They arrived at a firepit, where wicker chairs circled the stones. Lightning placed down a neat stack of tinder and small twigs, and Twilight provided a strong pyro spell.

The full moon shone brightly on the anxious face of Twilight as she considered what fresh hell might possibly lie ahead of them. Lightning, at a loss for words, sat serenely in the moonlight.

There was a calm silence for a few minutes. Lightning quietly spoke,

"Hey Twilight, years ago when we first met you told me that I'm not alone. That really stuck with me, and it's given me a lot of strength. I think you need to hear that too. You're not alone, and you have amazing friends standing by you. They were chosen by the Elements too you know, and they have risked their own lives for you and for Equestria. I believe in you. Just know that."

Twilight was quiet, and stern. She thanked Lightning for her time, and disappeared in a flash of magic.

Author's Note

The only reason the pony race has a word for "meat" is because there are carnivorous creatures in their world.

08/23/2019
This chapter took some pretty heavy editing for grammar/style cleanup. In the moment, it's very easy to write dialogue that would impress Plato in an attempt to be emotional. I cut down a lot of optional things while keeping the same message.

I see where I was going with it: Twilight breaking down under the stress, the initial friction between Cobalt and Sky.

Say more, less words.

14. Dreamspace

Skyblazer and Cobalt awoke in Zecora's cabin. They both looked around, confused, before getting out of their beds to look for the zebra.

She wasn't inside, so they stepped outside into the Everfree Forest. It was night still. The pair backed up towards the door, watching for monsters, but none appeared. Not so much as a single timber wolf.

In the foggy distance, an obscured figure approached. Cobalt and Sky hovered in the air above, ready for a fight, but it was Zecora who emerged from the dense fog. She seemed oddly out of focus, as though their vision was blurry.

When she spoke, it was a haunting, rhyming echo, "Tread carefully, my friends, for all is not as it seems. You are not invincible within the realm of dreams."

Zecora stepped back into the fog and faded from view. Her cabin, and the forest terrain below, became even further obscured by fog. Cobalt and Sky looked at each other, confused, and then watched as a new scene came into view and the fog cleared.

They landed now. Sky's hooves and Cobalt's talons and paws settled on solid ground littered with dried autumn leaves. Despite how real it all felt, they now knew this must truly be a dream. It was the zenith of summer, and the trees had not yet began to change color.

In front of them was a wooden gate, with faded paint on it which read, "Haycart Farm".

Stepping through this gate, they found themselves in a shallow facsimile of the farm. This place, whatever it was, was very disorientating. It felt very much like eating the wrong kind of mushroom. Details were missing and the landscape was vague, as dreams go, and yet the frightening thing was, Cobalt and Sky were aware of this fact.

The farmhouse was a shimmering mirage that never seemed to get closer. The trees were paper thin and couldn't be seen from the side. Yet off to one side of the field, the world became very realistic.

Cobalt and Sky flew in this direction. They drew near to where the world seemed to come into focus again. Sky felt Cobalt tap him on the side, and looked over at her. He realized they had reach the edge of the dream, and could no longer progress. They were stuck flying in place at the line where the hazy space of the dream met... reality? A vision?

They couldn't see much beyond this point. It was as though they had a small window through an opaque barrier. They could see ground about forty feet below, judging by the trees. A purple ring of magic energy drew their attention.

Within this ring were two ponies: Lightning, and Twilight. They seemed to be talking, but couldn't be heard. Cobalt watched in stunned silence as Twilight began crying and hugged Sky's mother, who seemed to be sympathetic.

Suddenly, the window of clarity closed, and they were left staring at an opaque, hazy edge of the dream world which could not be passed through by any amount of strength or magic.

They turned back the way they came, uncertain of what they were meant to do. Finding direction was difficult here. There was no moonlight, no sunlight. It was neither night nor day. A soft, cold light suffused the world through gray clouds overhead.

Sky spoke, noticing his voice echo as though they were in a cave, "What do you think would happen if we flew above those clouds?"

"Probably can't go past them, same as the sides," answered Cobalt.

Curious about something, Sky closed his eyes and focused. The clouds far above stirred a little, and darkened. It began raining. Cobalt exclaimed,

"Thanks, that's just perfect. Trapped in cloud cookoo land and now it's storming."

"Sorry, sorry, I'll fix it," apologized Skyblazer, as he reduced the moisture content of the clouds above. It ceased pouring.

Cobalt shook the water out of her feathers. She was not amused.

Sky seemed on the verge of laughing, and covered his mouth with a front hoof. Cobalt glared at him, her feathers ruffled, and Sky couldn't help but giggle a bit.

She was about to tackle him and give him the what-for, but then she stopped and pointed at the ground. Skyblazer looked, expecting to be punched while distracted. A small wagon breached the fog. They could see the tracks formed behind it on the muddy ground.

On landing, Skyblazer was shocked to see his younger sister struggling to pull a cartload of harvested rye and alfalfa. He began to talk in a panic, entirely forgetting that they were in a dream,

"Violet, you shouldn't be doing this by yourself! Where's Piney at, is Hayseed here? That's too much weight for you, here, let me help."

As Sky moved towards the wagon in order to strap on the yoke, something strange happened. He found himself passing right through the wagon like a ghost. Violet didn't even seem to recognize their presence.

Cobalt, still flying overhead and keeping a lookout, yelled down,

"Hey Sky, get up here! I think we're under attack!"

Sky took off, leaving deep hoof prints in the muddy ground. He reached Cobalt, and looked around the dream world for signs of danger. From all sides, shadows neared. As they drew closer, they were revealed to be jet black pegasi with bug-like wings and holes in their body.

Cobalt began freaking out now. "What the hell, what the hell? Skyblazer, what are these?!"

Sky knew, from talks with Twilight and his mother's journal. He paled, and said, "Oh dear Celestia. We're fighting changelings."

"WHAT?!"

"They can turn into anything they want! This... this is going to suck, Cobalt."

"Well, let's take them down fast before they can change!"

Cobalt charged the looming shadows, which was no easy feat in this bizarre space. Her sense of direction and inveterate sense of what's up and down as a flying creature seemed all off kilter.

She smashed into a gathered cloud of changelings at speed. To Sky's horror, she passed right through them in a ghostly fashion, same as had just happened to him.

She came stumbling back in a drunken zig-zag, confused but unharmed.

"Sky! They turned into vapor!" she yelled.

Despite himself, and the situation, Sky burst out laughing until he could hardly breathe. He said through persistent giggles, "They... they can't just turn into smoke! We're in a dream, goofball. Don't think we can interact with objects. Here, let me try something."

He caught his breath, cleared his throat, and considered his options. He touched a hoof to the silver chain of his necklace, and considered the gray gem which was nestled in the tuft of fur at his chest.

Dream. Pyro.

Skyblazer blitzed towards the changeling horde at incredible velocity. The air crackled around him. His eyes watered. He tucked in to reduce the ferocious wind drag against his body. The changelings dispersed as he phased right through them, and he snapped his wings open wide.

He performed a rather crooked loop, and observed the world upside-down as the changelings all reformed into a phalanx of shields and spears.

On descent, he unleashed a furious blast of flame that would make a dragon proud. To his surprise, it seemed to work. Several changelings caught on fire, and the remainder shrieked and rushed to ground level. Right towards Violet and her heavy cart.

Sky checked himself. This was the realm of dreams, it wasn't real. Nopony could actually be hurt by anything here, and Violet wasn't even in the dream. She was an imaginary figment.

Violet screamed, looked up at the descending changelings, and tried to get unhitched from the cart quickly. She was in too much of a rush, and got the buckles and cords tangled up. It was too heavy, she was bogged down by mud, and Skyblazer reacted too slowly, stunned by what was happening.

Sky came screaming down from the heavens, and he surpassed the sound barrier. A booming shockwave ripped across the dreamspace. The sheer force cracked the edge of the dream, and fierce light shone through.

In spite of his ridiculous velocity, there was no way he was going to get there in time to stop the monsters from killing his sister. There was no hope. It was all over.

There was another, smaller bang. It sounded like a cannon going off. A portal opened, dark blue in color, with rays of light radiating from it. From this fissure in space and time stepped Princess Luna.

She hovered in the air. Her eyes glowed a fierce white, and her body followed suit. She landed with absolute composure, and walked towards the changelings.

The shadowy cloud noticed her, and began marching her way. Sky had carefully come to a stop, which had taken a while from the sheer speed he was going. Cobalt had just now caught up with him and hovered by his side, watching the scene below, aghast.

Each changeling had shifted into a fierce form for battle. Weapons, monsters, animals, some in indescribable, amorphous, spiky shapes. Sky expected Violet to retreat now in fear, but to his surprise, she just seemed very confused. She stayed where she was, with the cart tipped over on its side, and tilted her head.

Violet Haycart watched the monsters flee just as suddenly as they had appeared. It had been sunny and hot just earlier, but suddenly, the weather had chilled and clouds had formed overhead. That was when black shapes came swooping down towards her.

The shapes had paused in the air. They did acrobatics and flew in formation. Violet had wondered if it was the Wonderbolts doing a practice session. But then, one gathering of flying creatures had suddenly caught on fire. These flaming, abyssal pegasi then came swooping down for her, and she screamed in terror.

She could see, now, that they were changelings. Her mother had only briefly mentioned the existence of those things with great fear and loathing. Violet recalled her story of the beautiful wedding between Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, which was rudely interrupted by the changelings years before. They had attempted to destroy the capital city, and failed, thanks to the efforts of everypony there.

Violet was far too shocked and surprised to bother asking why these creatures were here, now, attacking her farm. She had to run. Quickly, she undid several buckles and wiggled out of the yoke. Getting all hitched up to a cart with only her mouth for dexterity wasn't a simple task, and it was time consuming. She pulled on a square knot wrong, and got it stuck. She couldn't get away from the heavy cart, and the sudden storm made the ground too slippery to gain any traction. The monsters were right on her now.

Pain enshrouded her. It was far greater than the suffering she endured every day from her sickness. Far worse than the pain in her joints on cold mornings. These insect-like pegasi formed into a hail of blades, and she was certain this was to be her last day alive in Equestria.

As the cart was knocked over and she fell into the mud, the changelings suddenly ceased attacking. They weren't fleeing, but rather, charging. To her further fright, they all assumed a wide variety of very creative, very dangerous forms, and kept marching.

But at what? There was nothing over there! They were surrounding empty air! Violet was far too injured and shocked to stand, but she managed to crawl under the cart for whatever safety it offered. She heard galloping hoofs approaching, and started crying.

Her mothers voice graced her ears, "Violet, sweetheart! Dear Celestia, what happened to you..." she yelled off into the distance, "Piney! Get the first aid supplies! Run, your sister is hurt!"

Lighting looked in the direction of the noise and commotion with a start. She exclaimed,

"What the hell? Where did those come from, why didn't I get a warning from Barley? Oh Tartarus no, by Luna's mane, what if Barley couldn't warn me... please, please, no."

Lightning, as well, was flummoxed by the changelings' behavior. She was ready and willing to charge at them, disregarding her lost flight. Although she didn't comprehend quite what was happening, she still tried to put a stop to it.

Her feathers bristled on her remaining wing as she cast her cloak to the side and stepped forward. Her eyes reflected a cold and tranquil fury. The storm clouds from earlier formed again. Cascades of rain formed rivulets in the furrows of the field. Lightning began to strike, and lightning began to strike. The bolts hit with an angry precision on each group of changelings, and to Lightning's horror, it did all of nothing.

Agitated and confused, Lightning gathered her strength and built up a potent gust of wind and rain. The hurricane-force winds, at least, seemed to bluster the changelings to the side a bit, but the effect was tiny for the force of the windspeed. At a loss for words, Lighting sat, her jaw dropped, as Piney Haycart ran to the scene at a full gallop, holding a first aid kit in his mouth.

Back in the dream, Cobalt and Skyblazer watched Lightning conduct her symphony of meteorological havoc. One lightning bolt hit them--or rather, passed through them, doing no physical damage. Cobalt wasn't able to hold her bladder at this, and Sky was badly shaken for his part. They grit their teeth and shook off the insanity, observing that the weather had no affect on the changelings either.

Sky noted how none of his family could see Luna or them. He came to an ominous conclusion, and told his griffon companion, "Cobalt, what if the farm down below is actually real!"

Cobalt blanched in surprise. She commented, "I hope not, that poor little earth pony down there seems hurt pretty bad."

Sky remained as stock still as it was possible to be while maintaining flight. He suddenly tore for the ground below. Violet was cut badly all over, and bleeding. His mom and brother were doing the best they could with gauze and healing potion, but it was a dire situation. Sky yelled,

"Mom! Can you hear me! I'm right here, please notice me! There has to be a way."

In desperation, Sky tried slamming down lightning bolt after lightning bolt on the changeling swarms. He didn't notice as they were simply annihilated by the blasts. He formed a decent-sized funnel cloud, and didn't see the grounded changelings, and Princess Luna, run off to the side and put up magic barriers to evade the twister. In spite of all of this, his mother, brother, and grievously injured sister didn't notice his presence by their side.

Caring for Violet in reality, Lightning and Piney finished tending to her wounds best they could. Piney stretched back to draw a machete from a sheath at his side, with which he cut the ropes binding Violet to the cart.

He quietly spoke to his mom, "I had no idea she was out here, mom, I'm so sorry, if I would have known..."

"It's not your fault, Piney," Lightning replied, as she and her son gently picked up Violet and set her in the cart. They jury-rigged the equipage in order to both hitch to the cart and trot away from there as fast as they could with the weight. There was simply no time to unload all the grains.

Violet quietly spoke up, "Mom, I think I saw the princess, and I thought I saw my brother flying down towards us really fast. He fought all the changelings with lightning."

"Shh, quiet for now dear, you need to rest," said Lightning, believing her daughter to be suffering from shock.

As Lightning's mother hurried away from the scene, thinking of Violet, the mystery of her husband's health and the damage to their farm, she spoke under her breath, "Skyblazer, if you're out there, and you can hear me, please help. I don't know what to do anymore."

Skyblazer did hear her, even through the storm. He ascribed that to the dream world. The words from Zecora's prophecy came surging to the fore. Skyblazer, can you hear me, can you see infinity...

He turned his attention to the changelings, and realized that he had managed to hurt them with his weather control. He said as much to Cobalt.

"Sky, I don't think it's that," meekly answered a badly shaken Cobalt.

Skyblazer looked at her. He froze up in shock. She was holding an emerald, firmly gripped in her left talons. It was star shaped, and set into a ring. It was glowing profusely. And it was touched against Sky's side.

Cobalt looked at it, looked at a stunned Sky, and said, "It was just sitting there on a tuft of cloud that formed when you went all axe-crazy with the weather. So I took it, I'm a griffon, I like sparkly things dammit. Then when all that lightning hit the ground, while you weren't looking, I saw sparks fly and they formed a word, and I'm not lying Sky, it was in griffontongue. It said, 'unity'. So I figured we needed to fight together."

"There's no way, not another one..." answered Sky, as he held up his necklace to Cobalt, and continued, "I got this from a dream."

Cobalt tried the ring on. It fit perfectly. She stared for a moment, her beak dropped in surprise.

The two completely different creatures looked at each other, realization dawning on their faces.

"Back to back?" asked Skyblazer, and Cobalt nodded.

They flew in the air, pressed flat back against each other, their wings only inches apart, beating rapidly and enhanced with innate magic to keep them aloft and stationary. Sky took control of the weather and pyro spells as changelings approached in myriad flying forms. A dragon one went down with a criss-cross gust of wind that cut off all of his lift.

Cobalt seemed to have acquired her very own unicorn telekinesis. A rich blue energy emerged from the faceted green emerald ring. It enveloped changelings, and smashed them into cloud structures as solid as brick walls, formed by Sky.

When at last the air around them was clear, they looked down at how the battle below was going while breathing hard. Sweat steamed off of Sky. Cobalt, who could not sweat, panted and requested a personal rain cloud.

Sky formed a cloud, which Cobalt was also able to rest on, either due to the dream world or the new unity crystal. They both rested with their front limbs on the edge of the aerial platform, observing the grisly fight beneath as though they were spectators at a gladiator event.

Luna had changed. She now possessed the form Cobalt had first seen her in, as Nightmare Moon. They could only watch in shock and awe as the changeling army was massacred by concentrated darkness and a wide variety of forbidden spells.

Nightmare Moon laughed manically as she speared a half dozen changelings at once with crystal spikes from the ground. There was a lot of blood. The space around her cleared, and she began to charge energy up in an ominous ball of light. It was a deep purple, almost black.

Dozens more changelings encroached. There was a shrill whirring noise as the dark energy was unleashed in a vicious spiral. Every single changeling was cut down where it stood.

Nightmare rose into the skies, nearing a terrified Cobalt and Sky. Her eyes glowed a fierce purple. She had summoned some kind of astral armor, and she was a good bit spikier than before. She seemed to be flickering with sparks of energy. She spoke,

"Help me--heh hehe--no, zap me! Hit me now! Do it--you will perish."

As Nightmare reared back to unleash some unknown, ancient spell, Sky flew from the cloud, and exhausted the remainder of his energy to summon a final lightning bolt. He tried to keep it as small and pitiful as he could, and Nightmare was hit by a puny zap of lightning.

Sky blacked out for a moment, and fell. Cobalt dove to catch him, and hold him as he shook it off.

Nightmare had gained her composure now. There was a gentle, suffusing, purple glow as she reverted to her passive form.

Luna stood before them again. She excused herself, and flew to the ground, where she lost her lunch. After drinking down rainwater from a puddle, she returned.

She spoke softly now, "I can't believe I almost struck both of you with a curse of enfeebling torment. Apology will not suffice. This is why we avoid our ancient forms, it is not easy to maintain control."

Sky and Cobalt nodded, both quite thunderstruck.

"Please, wait here. I shall travel to reality and offer healing magic for the injured pony. I assume she is of relation to you, pegasus?"

Skyblazer answered, "Yes, that's my sister, Violet."

Luna blasted away from their cloud perch with startling speed. Sky couldn't imagine that kind of acceleration. In a heartbeat, she had reached the ponies below, where she opened another portal and disappeared from view.

Sky badly wanted to fly over, but Cobalt restrained him and suggested they heed the insane pony's advice. Sky, in turn, chastened her for calling one of the ruling sisters insane when she was basically a deity.

Cobalt's sarcastic reply to this was, "Yeah I've heard they're supposed to be immortal. That doesn't make them some kind of holier-than-thou higher power. Just stupidly powerful ponies. Emphasis on the stupid. Why the hell go after so much power that you can't even use it anymore?"

"Excuse me, but were you there thousands of years ago? Were any of us?" asked Sky, "I'm sure they had a good reason to obtain their forms--maybe it wasn't even their choice."

Cobalt, too proud to offer an apology, said that Sky was probably right.

In the real world, Lightning and Piney--now joined by an inebriated but concerned Barley--jumped a bit in surprise at the cacophony of a portal opening. As the noise of the displaced air ceased ringing in their ears, they noticed Princess Luna. They all immediately bowed to her.

Luna spoke, "Please cease your formalities, we haven't the time. I would like to offer my services to heal the injured pony."

Barley barred her path, and exclaimed in a drunken stupor, "Oh no you don't. You use dark magic, right Luna? Well you, hic, ye ain't getting close to my daughter with your crazy spells!"

At this, Luna gave him an annoyed stare and used magic to greatly amplify her voice. She yelled, "Doth thou challenge powers beyond mortal kin?!"

Barley backed off now, removing his hat and apologizing, "No, no of course not your highness, go right on ahead."

Luna bumped into him as she passed. Lightning noticed numerous cuts and burns all over her body and realized that, rather then tend to her own wounds, she had chosen to heal Violet first.

Purple energy exuded from Luna's horn, becoming a white glow which infused Violet. This lasted several minutes, and was then withdrawn. Most of her wounds had healed over, and even the deepest cuts were manageable now with bandages and potion.

Now, Luna stepped a distance away to lay in the grass and use the same spell on herself. She rose, and approached the family.

Lightning said, "Thank you, and I'm so sorry about my husband. He has a deep distrust of magic."

"It is only natural, and quite understandable," replied Luna.

"Princess Luna, what in the name of, well, you, just happened?"

"This is not the proper time for an explanation. I believe, if I am not sorely mistaken, that you are of relation to a pegasus with fur and feathers the same tone as yours."

"Yes, my son Skyblazer is a pegasus. Why?"

Luna nodded, and said cryptically, "With this knowledge, I now assume that destiny intends for your son to discuss these matters with you. I must travel to dreamspace now, I have urgent matters to attend to."

Luna entered the portal, which slammed shut behind her.

She found herself in dreamspace once more. Or rather, the shattered relic of what should be dreamspace. She sighed, and gave an exhausted look at the work that lie before her. Doubtless she would be informed by her sister that she had been gone for several days when she returned to the castle.

For now, the enigma of the pegasus and the griffon. This was the pegasus' dream, and the griffon had no damn right to be here sharing it. Something was amiss.

The wind buffeted her as she hurtled towards their cloudy perch. She kept her eyes closed for the entire flight. The physical, manifest vista was useless for navigation in this plane. She relied on the ley lines to guide her path.

The griffon and pegasus waited eagerly for their explanation. This needed to be kept simple and to the point so Luna could proceed with repairs, and then return to reality for her royal duties and to care for her diurnal needs.

Skyblazer spoke to her, "Your highness, I've always heard rumors that you had power over dreams and stuff. Thank you for saving my sister, we owe you."

Luna replied, "Do not thank me, young pegasus. This is merely my sphere of responsibility. Are you Skyblazer?"

"I am Skyblazer Haycart, and the scene below is the Haycart farm where I was born. Or I think it is. I don't know how much of this is real. This is Cobalt, we literally only met a few hours ago. She saved my mother's life a long time ago when... I don't want to offend you, but... uh, she was in the Wonderbolts at the time when night fell so..."

"I see the implication, and do not bear grudge but rather shame and guilt," responded Luna.

Sky was rather humbled and off-put by Luna. He said, "Um, I'm sure you're busy with stuff I can't even begin to comprehend, but could I ask for a bit of explanation?"

Luna nodded, sat on the cloud, and paused to collect her thoughts. She said, "This is called dreamspace. It is where dreams occur, and it is an actual location, separate from reality. I am one of the few beings capable of physical travel between reality and here. All others only observe as vicarious specters. This statement remains true only while dreamspace is intact. I am afraid though that it is not invulnerable, and it has, in fact, deteriorated. I have been here for days now, repairing the cracks."

Cobalt showed Luna her ring, and said, "Um, I found this glowy thing here."

"Yes, I noticed you and the pegasus each share a piece of conflict."

"A what?" asked Sky.

"Reality itself is beginning to break down in much the way dreamspace is. At some point, it may lead to cracks, and whatever lies beyond."

"Which is?"

"I have no idea."

"And this gemstone is... conflict? How does that work exactly?"

"It's just the nomenclature. That is to say, a term used by legends and prophecy from ages past of which even Celestia and I only have a vague knowledge. For you see, these legends were ancient when we were fillies."

Cobalt and Sky felt a chill at the vast gulf of time that this implied. Princess Luna, an immortal, had already lived for millennia. Luna continued,

"One legend says that in dark times where peace breaks, the Elements of Harmony will appear to six worthy ones who represent the Ideal Attributes of Virtue. This much is common lore, and it has now transpired. Further back, in the hazy archives of history which predate Old Ponish, are legends carved into stone in the Runic dialogue of the Windigoes. Absolute access to all magic is a prerequisite to reading such runes--ergo, reserved for alicorns such as Celestia, Twilight, and I."

"Hang on, I need a drink," said Sky, reaching for his flask, "does that work in Dreamspace?"

"Just fine, trust me from experience," answered Luna as Sky had several swigs and shared the whiskey with Cobalt.

Luna resumed her monologue, "We managed to locate several such carvings, each hidden in locations which are extremely difficult to visit, and warded against simple teleportation. One reads that the Elements of Conflict may appear before those least worthy to wield them."

It took several more swigs of whiskey and some headache-inducing thought to parse that. Cobalt, much more intelligent than she seemed, remarked,

"Wait just a minute now. Are you saying me and Sky are like, the least worthy creatures in all the world to receive these things?"

"Uh, I'm afraid so, sorry," said Luna with an eyebrow raised.

Cobalt seemed rather insulted. Sky nudged her, and said,

"How's that, we really are the worst adventurers ever." Sky realized something dire, and asked in a worried tone, "Is that actually reality down there? Did the changelings actually escape the dream and attack Violet?"

"Yes, I'm sorry but that's exactly right," said Luna, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but these were dreamspace creatures. They do not abide by the constraints of reality, nor do they behave in predictable ways. Further, more may escape from this segment of dreamspace, as you managed to damage it. It would seem that you broke the sound barrier in an effort to save your sister."

"But that's impossible!"

"Not quite. A pegasus named Rainbow Dash, one of the chosen six, has done it. And this is dreamspace, where the rules are less clearly defined. However, your sister is safe and healed, and your family awaits at the farm. I presume, if I read the ley lines of magic correctly, that you have quite a ways to go to return to them."

"Yes, two weeks' travel if Cobalt can fly half the speed I can."

"They shall be safe henceforth. Your maneuver shattered one edge of this bubble of dreamspace, causing it to leak, as it were. I shall repair the damage. When you are ready, I request both of you to visit Celestia and I in Canterlot. It is time for you and Cobalt to awaken now."

Luna's horn glowed purple, and the magic formed a pair of wings which ensconced them.

Sky and Cobalt woke up in the shack by the sea. Sky had rolled right up into the embers, but thankfully he was still wearing his dragon-scale vest and wasn't burned at all. He heard Cobalt exclaim,

"Oh fantastic, looks like I didn't just piss myself in the dream. I need to go jump in the ocean for a bit."

Skyblazer was far too shaken to so much as laugh. He needed to get back home as soon as possible. He glanced at Cobalt's talon, and she looked down. A blue glow, the color of her feathers, had covered her front leg.

She yelled, jumped up, and tried to shake the energy off of her to no avail. It subsided, revealing the emerald ring on one talon. She tried using it, and succeeded at lifting the cook pot--and accidentally launching it at the wall with such force that it smashed right through the driftwood.

"Huh, neat." she said, as she stepped outside to stretch and bathe.

Author's Note

Canon indicates that Luna is capable of both portaling into the dream world and projecting shared dreams, as in the Tantabus episode.

It would stand to reason that more serious endeavors would require her physical presence, rather than a dream avatar of herself.

15. Of Course It's Rats

Skyblazer and Cobalt flew west together, close to the cloud level. From this height, it was difficult to see details on the ground. They could tell that it was a green carpet of forest broken up here and there by farmland.

Each tile of farm they passed brought a renewed sense of urgency to Skyblazer. A part of his mind wished to believe that what had occurred last night was only a dream, and nothing more.

He looked over at Cobalt. She was a griffon, with white fur and deep blue feathers on her wings. The glowing, pulsing ring on her left talon was a testament to the fact that it had not entirely been a dream.

According to Luna, something was badly broken. These cracks in Dreamspace were a threat to reality. How exactly did you go about fighting something which was merely a figment, if it escapes into the real world? Could any of these dream creatures even be damaged in reality--did they need to figure out how to get dream weapons into the real world?

Cobalt didn't seem to be quite so worried. Sky didn't get how she could just shake off such insanity, when she didn't have the awareness of magic in their world that he did. He changed his angle of flight to draw closer to her so they could talk over the wind noise.

Sky said to her, "Hey, you feeling okay?"

"What do you mean?" she replied.

"After that crazy dream last night."

"We're all in one piece, ain't we?"

"Yeah, but Violet..."

"She's fine too, remember? Here, let's rest for a bit."

They gained altitude and passed through the frosty cloud layer. Partially frozen sleet clung to their fur and feathers. Above, they settled to roost. Sky could feel the winter-cold cloud layers gather and settle beneath him as his innate magic took hold. Cobalt's artifact glowed blue as she landed.

Cobalt complained, "It's so d-damn cold up h-here I can't stop shivering! A-and I can b-barely breathe in this air! H-how do you stand it?"

Sky answered her, "We can make clouds lower than they naturally form, so it's not this cold and windy in Cloudsdale."

"Isn't that the city made of clouds?"

"Yes, hometown of the pegasi race for most of recorded history. They control the weather from up there for the other races."

"H-how are you not cold!"

Sky smirked, "Been practicing with my element."

He nudged his crystal necklace. One of the Elements of Conflict, it rippled with a foggy glow. It allowed him to control fire, and he had finally managed to turn that power inward and keep himself warm.

"Your feathers are on fire," noted Cobalt.

Sky looked back, and panicked. He canceled out his cloud resting magic so he could dive into the cloud, where the chilly moisture extinguished the flames. On rising back up, with tendrils of smoke wafting off his wings, he said,

"Stop laughing! You're not much better with your magic."

Cobalt couldn't help but chuckle as Sky sat on the cloud, some of his feathers still smoking like extinguished candles. She rolled onto her side from laughing so hard, and when she finally caught her breath she exclaimed, "We're the unchosen ones! The heroes nobody wanted but everyone deserves!"

Sky couldn't help but smile at this aside.

Cobalt said, "Oh, laughing hurts in this thin air. I'd like to visit Cloudsdale now that I can walk on clouds. That place sounds neat. Ever been?"

"Honestly, no," replied Skyblazer, "Since my mom lost her flight and I was so busy on the farm, we didn't often get the chance to explore much. The time we did have, we usually went to Ponyville to trade goods and meet Twilight and her friends."

"Sounds like a good stop then. Do you suppose they have bounties for us to go after?"

"I wouldn't know Cobalt, and I really want to get back to visit my folks first. I'm so worried about them right now I can't even think."

"That's fair. Do you suppose we'll even be bounty hunters, now that we have these magic crystals? It sounds like we're a part of all the craziness that's been happening."

"If we really are that unworthy, I don't see how we can be much help. Might be better off staying away until Twilight needs our help, do you reckon? Take some time to get some bits and some better armor and stuff first."

"I don't want to keep hiding from ponies like this, Sky. Part of the deal was that I want to at least try to make peace with your kind."

Sky considered her, and said, "Okay. Let's find a town and see if we don't get kicked out."

They jumped down from their cloudy perch, opened their wings, and caught warm updrafts as they glided closer to ground level. It was quite a ways down from natural cloud height to solid ground.

As they descended, they could see it was still forested but starting to get more hilly. The mountain range was nearing, and with it would be rivers and fertile valleys. Had to be a settlement somewhere, with the farms not far east.

One came into view after several more hours of flight. It was situated on the mountainside, right before the cliff face became too steep to build upon. They spent the time as they approached guessing the name of the place.

"Pine Mountain," said Skyblazer, as they drew close enough for their sharp eyesight to see the place in detail. It was scenic and cozy, and about the same size as Ponyville.

They landed just outside the town, so that they could calmly walk in. Might be a bit less frightening than having a griffon alight on a random street. Sky talked to Cobalt on the way in,

"Alright, I know you don't want to hear this, but you need to be super polite. If you want to fit in you can't go around being all rude and fierce, most ponies scare easily."

"Ugh, do I have to?" asked Cobalt.

"You said you wanted to fit in more, right? Just bite your tongue, and show me you're actually tough enough to use words like 'sir' or 'excuse me'. That will help a bunch."

"Fine, if you say so. Feels so stupid though. I'm not all sappy like that."

"Neither am I, Cobalt. Just, got to know the right time and place for things."

The pair cautiously strode towards town. A stone wall rose up about a dozen feet. The gate was open and unguarded, so they shrugged and stepped on in.

All seemed at peace. Ponies, donkeys and mules went about their various tasks. It felt very much like Ponyville, only more rural. The majority of citizens here seemed to be earth ponies and unicorns, with pegasi being uncommon.

Sky and Cobalt got strange looks as they walked down the stone streets, and some ponies shuffled off into stores to avoid them, but no one was openly hostile to them. They came across a cafe and sat outside on the patio, at a table with an umbrella built onto it for shade from the hot sun.

A mule waiter approached with an uncertain look on his face. He cast several shifty glances at Cobalt, set two menus on the table, and asked what they wanted to drink. Sky had a water and Cobalt requested a beer.

Their drinks were soon brought out by a different, younger worker who seemed equal parts curious and frightened of Cobalt.

This young unicorn said a quavering hello to her, and quietly said, "Um, I've never met a griffon before, but I don't think we would sell anything you guys eat, you know..."

"It's okay, I'd like to try some of your pony food," said Cobalt, as she used a napkin to clean some of the beer off the table. The unicorn had spilled a bit with shaky magic.

"O-okay, take your time then," he said, backing off slowly.

Cobalt looked over the menu. She wasn't sure if she could so much as eat hay, so she ignored those items. She settled on a hearty vegetable pasta dish with sides of corn and fresh berries. Sky had a hay burger and sweet potato fries.

Another unicorn walked out from the restaurant, this one wearing an apron with utensils in the pockets. He spoke in a professional but firm voice, "Guys, I don't want to come across as rude or anything, so please don't take this wrong. I'm the cafe owner and chef here, and I just need to inform you that our village is very well protected from the monsters of the woods. Please don't cause any trouble while you're here, okay?"

Cobalt nodded, and said as politely as she could muster, "I'd imagine that's meant for me. I understand."

"Both of you, honestly, ma'am," replied the owner, "I take it you're some kind of adventurers or monster hunters. We haven't a need for... your manner of services at the moment. Just please, don't do anything to cause a scene."

"I'm honestly not here to cause trouble, sir," said Cobalt, who seemed disgusted with herself, "really just trying to be a part of your pony culture best I can. I'm sorry if I'm not good at it."

"Nah, you should be fine. At least you're polite, more than can be said for most griffons."

He stepped back into his cafe, and seemed content enough with a 'bloodthirsty griffon' in his town. Even an unregistered one! Cobalt knew she needed to say sorry for a second time, and really hated herself for it. She sighed and said to Sky,

"Dammit. You're right and I'm sorry."

"It's alright Cobalt. You're doing great. Be sure to say something nice about the food, we might make a friend, maybe even get some free stuff out of that."

The food was very good and at a reasonable price. Sky was almost completely out of bits now. If he didn't want to forage for wild plants, he'd need to earn some more.

Cobalt had eaten pasta before, Zecora made it every now and then. This had a robust tomato sauce and various steamed veggies. It was honestly pretty good, just needed meat. The steamed corn on the cob and fresh berries with honey were also wonderful.

She had no problem saying the food was delicious--it was, after all. Being polite and friendly sure wasn't natural for her, though.

Skyblazer had a sandwich made of hay, veggies, and sauce, along with sweet potato fries. Cobalt tried some of the fries, and they were pretty good.

The chef seemed enamored with their compliments, especially coming from a griffon. He gave them a whole loaf of fresh cinnamon honey bread, and then sat down at the table to chat. He said,

"I've only met several griffons in my life. All of them were very snide and held us ponies in disregard. It's curious that you're traveling with a pegasus."

Skyblazer spoke for her, "My name is Sky, she is Cobalt, and we're monster hunters. We were hoping you had a bounty or two up, running low on funds."

The chef pony nodded, and said, "Might be menial and not much of a job for you, but you could help with a vermin problem. Just some rats and spiders."

"That's it?" asked Sky incredulously.

"They're mutant ones, much bigger than normal you know. Spiders the size of this table. We can't drive them off, tried everything."

Sky spoke to Cobalt, "Most ponies avoid killing other creatures at all cost unless it's in self-defense. More work for us professional monster hunters, right Cobalt?" He nudged her.

"Oh yes, it's no problem for us," said Cobalt, "Where's this at?"

"Grain silo, north side of town."

Sky asked, "By the way, what's the name of this town?"

"Corn Hills."

Sky perked up, "Oh, if you grow corn here, you probably have some good whiskey."

"We most certainly do, and I take it you're thinking of a reward."

"Some bits and a bottle would be nice."

"Get rid of them, don't make much of a mess, do it by night so you don't scare folks. It's a deal."

As they walked away from the cafe, Cobalt quietly said to Sky, "Arggh, I hate eating rats. They're so bony and tough."

"Just use your new element to fling them off into the woods. Good practice."

They explored the town until dusk. A few ponies were brave or stupid enough to hold a conversation with them, though most ignored them and went on their way.

There was some curiosity and loaded questions about Sky's choice of armor and companion, but this was mostly resolved by saying that bounty hunts were dangerous.

As the sun rested at the summit of the mountains, and sanguine light flooded the world below in that eerie and hollow glow of sunset, Sky and Cobalt proceeded with their first bounty.

They walked in silence past lamplighters and townsfolk who were returning home for the night. Cobalt noticed a number of double takes as folks saw a griffon in their quiet town.

The structures become more sparse as they neared the north edge of Corn Hills. This side of town did not have a wall, just a narrow trail winding up the steep slope in zig-zags of stone stairs and dirt paths.

Without so much as saying a word to each other, Cobalt and Sky reacted to this by running, jumping, and then flying up the embankment rather than use the stairs.

As they landed at a wide plateau and turned around to admire the glittering lights of the little town below, Sky spoke, "My mom wrote a lot about her time hunting monsters. This little hunt we're on reminded me of that. 'It's always rats, why does it always have to be rats or snakes? Give me a real fight!' She's always been such a tough pony, even after she lost her wing."

"I can't even imagine that," said Cobalt quietly, "Like looking down on the town here, for us it's just so natural to glide down on the cool evening breeze. Or take off into the sky and just go for a nice fly under the moon and stars. Can you imagine losing that, forever?"

Sky shivered and exchanged a look with Cobalt. They moved on past the last lamps, and into the darkness of the trail.

After what felt like five minutes of walking, a pool of light showed a stone tower ahead. This was the sturdy grain silo, overbuilt in case of monsters. The front door was unlocked. Always interesting how different life in the country and life in a city was. Ponies felt at peace here.

Sky thought about that word. Peace. Cobalt and I are getting along well, even for such very different creatures. And we've handled everything nicely so far. Why are we the elements of conflict? Why are we unworthy? Are we just doomed for failure, will this rat hunt go badly?

Inside the granary tower was a storeroom, where chutes led down to bulky carts parked outside. Various implements and building supplies were stored here in a haphazard manner. The floor on this level was dirt and sawdust. There was a hole at ground level where the rats had burrowed in.

The pair helped each other get their packs and pouches off, and stacked them in one corner. Sky tightened the straps on his dragon scale armor.

Across from the entrance was another door, which no doubt led to the stairs. A number of boards had been hastily nailed across it, and drops of blood could be seen on the ground nearby.

Cobalt looked at Sky. Skyblazer nodded, and Cobalt lifted her left talon and focused on her magic ring. The rich blue energy seized the boards, and ripped them off the door. Rather than toss them down, Cobalt kept them as a weapon.

Beyond, sturdy stone stairs wound around to the grain stores. Cobwebs crossed the stairs, which Sky cleared with small poofs of fire magic.

The second story held great wooden bins of various grains and cornmeal, which rose far above them to the roof of the tower. Steep stairs and catwalks circled the walls. Oversize rats and spiders had the run of the place.

Sky gulped, and charged at a spider half the size he was. He took flight without nullifying the air, and sent a number of smaller rats and spiders flying with the force of wind from his wings.

He yelled as he slammed his hoofs down on the spider. Surely enough, despite the size, it squashed. However, as Sky made contact, there was a static sound and a fierce zap. A spark arced through the air.

Sky slammed into the ground, and lie there for a moment, winded. Cobalt ran over.

"Oh sweet Celestia that hurt," moaned Sky.

Cobalt looked him over for injury and said, "Yeah, I heard that! I'll avoid touching the bugs."

She used her telekinesis to grab the boards, spiked with nails, and gave a half dozen large, electrified spiders the what-for. She complained, "Alright that's just nasty. Sky, you alright to get some of these rats? They seem... agitated."

The rats, also mutated by magic, glowed red from the inside and were covered in burns. Sky guessed that these vermin had somehow been infused with pure fire magic. His mom's journal had a note about that, but he was still seeing stars and couldn't recall the entry.

So, options. What good was a fire amulet against fiery rats? Charging them seemed like a bad idea. They were angry now, hissing and surrounding them. Cobalt smacked a few with the boards, which resulted in them spitting flames.

Cobalt and Sky backed up against the wall, flames singing their fur, the heat getting unbearable. Sky was sweating now as the confined space became a sauna. He couldn't condense a cloud in a space like this with this much heat, so rain wasn't an option.

Water magic would be so handy, or a beam of ice. Twilight had shown him ice magic on one occasion, just as a cool party trick. She said it followed the same pattern as any other empathy-based magic. Be cold, calm, and collected. Fierce, but resolute. He tried exactly that, and closed his eyes.

Sky breathed deep, ignoring Cobalt as she said, "Sky what are you doing?"

Cobalt was in too much of a panic to focus on her new magic, and it kept fizzling out. She growled, and fought the rats with talon and fangs. This burned her, but she kept fighting and killed several of the rats.

Winter. The end of harvest. Rest and peace in the frosty cold. Snow blankets the desert, until all is a sea of white powder.

The amulet around Sky's neck ceased rippling. It dulled for a moment, appearing as a plain gray gem.

I am calm. This may be dangerous, but we are capable of flying away, slamming the door, and giving up. But I refuse to, I am resolute. I want to prove my father wrong. I want to win this fight. I want to protect Cobalt.

Now the crystal glowed again, but this time with a consistent glow through a frosty texture like a frozen window. A pale blue energy encompassed Skyblazer. Rays of this energy shot off towards each of the dozens of rats swarming around them.

There were squeaks and squeals as the Element of Conflict brought ice magic to bear against fire. Awful sizzling and popping sounds were followed by small explosions.

Sky heard Cobalt say, "Well. So much for not making a mess," and he opened his eyes.

He put his ears down, his jaw dropped, and he stared. Wasn't much left aside from rat bones, smoldering fur, and a lot of blood. Cobalt and he had been spattered by it.

After a moment of shock, Sky noticed Cobalt limping and asked how badly she was hurt. She replied, "Burned pretty badly. That's about it. I can't quite feel my tongue, biting those was a bad move."

Sky looked at the icy patches of stone and the frozen blood mingled with smoking rat fur. He sat, and said, "Ice magic? That's new."

"You just had to chill a bit," said Cobalt, as Sky glared at her.

They used empty grain sacks to clean up best they could, and went downstairs. Sky poked around in his pack to find a jar of aloe vera extract, which Cobalt applied to her wounds.

Cobalt seemed a bit ruffled. She exclaimed, "Oh sure, forget to mention the fire rats and shocking spiders. I ought to..."

"Continue sucking it up, being polite, and get a nice reward?" asked Sky, "There's whiskey for us."

They left the granary, pausing to leave a note on the door saying it was cleared out and pardon the mess. They both stretched fore and aft, and stretched their wings. Cobalt craned her neck, and Sky winced at a loud crick. She was twice his age, after all. Also, a meat-eating griffon. Definitely would have to stay just friends, if they could even do that through all the chaos.

Sky spoke, "Let's find a place to sleep for the night, get our reward and get going. I need to make sure everything is okay at home."

Cobalt nodded, and they ran towards the edge of the path, leapt from the cliff, and took flight into a dark sky glittering with stars.

The town below was a good landmark for them to gauge their direction and distance from the ground. They landed on a street this time, with nopony out to bother. A night guard was startled and drew a sword from off his back.

"Whoa, we don't mean any trouble!" said Sky.

The mule guard spoke in a muffled tone while holding his sword, "Is that a griffon? And are you guys okay, looks like you're bleeding, what happened?"

Cobalt wearily replied, "Took care of your granary problem."

The guard's eyes widened. He said, "Oh! Just the two of you? We had five guards go in yesterday, and they were all badly hurt."

"Might help if you would fucking mention that the rats were on fire," said Cobalt.

The guard offered a nervous laugh and said, "Uh, right, sorry. We just really needed to make sure they were taken care of, hunters don't often stop by here."

"Ah, so you have a part in this," said Sky with anger, his wings bristling. He looked at Cobalt and said, "Want to rough him up a bit?"

"Dear Luna!" yelled the guard as he dropped his sword, "Don't hurt me! I'll give you bits, a room for the night, with a hot bath!"

Sky and Cobalt calmed down, exchanged a glance, and burst into laughter.

"You should have seen the look on your face!" said Sky, through manic laughs.

Cobalt caught her breath, and said, "Oh, but seriously though. We damn well deserve a room." She used her element to hoist an entire wagon of hay into the air, and hold it over the guard.

"Do you have a guest house?" added Sky.

The guard, who seemed on the verge of either passing out or running away, said in a very small voice, "Yes we do, you're welcome to stay long as you like. Follow me."

Cobalt tried to set the cart down gently and failed. Two wheels broke. Both Sky and Cobalt ducked, and winced.

"What was that?!" came a shout.

"You better run," Cobalt instructed the guard.

They all ran into a dark alleyway as other guards rounded a corner. They disappeared into the city streets. The hassled guard led them to a cozy stone guest house, which also seemed to be the mill. Rooms were upstairs overlooking the river.

Sure enough, a stove, basin, and large pitchers for water were available. The room even came with fur conditioner and fluffy towels.

Cobalt filled the tub, while Sky was able to use fire magic again to heat it. Sky eased into the tub with a sigh. He sat up with a start as Cobalt got in too.

"Hey! Get out!" he yelled.

"Oh, get over it you damn feathery bastard."

They washed all the rat blood and bug bits out of their fur and feathers with a great deal of disgust. Sky complained about Cobalt barging in on his personal space, and she ignored him.

When they were done and dried off, they looked at the luxurious room. They each had their own incredibly soft bed. A nice change from sleeping on the ground all the time.

Sky spoke, "You were really being an ass to that guard. Might want to work on that."

"That's racist," said Cobalt.

Sky tried to think of a clever retort, and he said, "You certainly are getting to know pony culture. Well, guest rooms are normally free so we didn't steal anything. The sign said we're supposed to have permission from the guards to stay here, though."

"We did get permission," said a grinning Cobalt, "get some rest now. Good night, Sky."

"Good night."

Bright sunlight woke them up as dawn greeted their window, which was a fine bamboo screen. Vibrant bird song and the rambling of the river could be heard beyond.

The two got prepared for the day's travel. Sky stepped into his armor vest, and carefully eased his wings through the wide slits on the side. A few feathers got snagged on the sharp dragon scale and were plucked out, which hurt.

Sky found containers of oatmeal, brown sugar, and honey. There were also exotic bananas and a coffee press. Cobalt stepped out to the balcony, launched off the railing, and flew off towards the woods.

She returned as Sky finished eating, saying she had gone to hunt her own breakfast.

"Oh, what did you catch," asked Sky, not even perturbed.

"Rabbits, I love those things. Tasty and tender."

"Neat," said Sky, as he enjoyed a piece of buttered toast.

Cobalt tilted her head and said, "You could at least pretend to be bothered."

"Oh trust me, it's taking a force of will to keep my food down right now."

They exited the guest house, but not before admiring the machinery of the mill on the first floor. Workers were just arriving for the day with cartloads of corn, and were understandably flummoxed at finding a griffon in their mill.

Cobalt derived great pleasure in saying hi to them and being super friendly to watch their reactions. Combined with her soft and downy feathers from the recent bath, the poor mill workers were left with a whole can of mixed emotions.

They walked with a spring in their step back to the cafe. Word had spread fast in such a small town, and the ponies here were much nicer than before. Many of them even drew up the courage to walk right up to Cobalt, and tell her thanks.

Sky noticed that Cobalt had a legitimate smile, and her wispy lion tail was flicking with delight. He smirked, and walked with his wings drooped in a state of deep zen.

A herd of gossiping old ladies waved from the porch of the tavern and said a profuse thank you. Sky grinned, and sarcastically commented that dealing with rats and spiders hardly seemed worthy of being the town hero.

Cobalt nipped him on the ear. "Ow!", said Skyblazer, as Cobalt told him,

"Don't ruin the moment! I've never been able to so much as walk into a pony town before without being driven off just for who I am."

They arrived at the cafe, and asked to talk to the owner. He walked around the counter, and beckoned them to a table.

He spoke, "As promised I have a reward for y'all. Here's a hundred bits, one bottle of Corn Hill whiskey, and some food for the trail. Oh, and here's a letter from the night guards."

Cobalt and Sky collected their reward, and thanked the pony. Sky asked him, "Don't think we ever caught your name, stranger."

"Copper Skillet."

Cobalt said, "That's... strangely fitting."

"I changed it, I was born just Copper."

The letter was opened and read:

'Dear heroes, we left a cart of armor pieces outside the town cafe. Have your pick, just please never come back here again. You threatened the guards, damaged private property, the griffon stole some things from market, and you both left the granary looking like a horror story. Want to guess who gets to clean it?'

Copper was not amused. "Is that all?" he asked.

"Sky also spelled out some naughty words with clouds to practice his weather magic," replied Cobalt. Sky punched her with a front hoof.

They sheepishly stepped outside with feeble apologies to the huffing chef pony.

A rickety two-wheeled cart of armor and weapons was here. Sky tried on several helmets, and found one that fit. As ponies would never consider using leather as a material, the helmet was thick canvas and metal.

Sky also took a nice, sharp knife with a serrated blade. A monster hunter's knife, well balanced and versatile. It would be fun learning to throw it precisely. His old dagger was tossed in the cart.

Cobalt, to her surprise, found a chain mail vest that would fit her if not for her wings.

"Let's try our magic out," said Sky, as he began heating the links. When the chain glowed red hot, he changed his focus to cold thoughts and chilled the metal, weakening it. Cobalt applied shaky telekinesis while sticking out her tongue, and managed to pull the links apart to make slits for her wings.

She also took some plate armor for her legs, and a heavy falchion which she strapped across her back. The sturdy sword belt fit diagonally, just between her wings without restricting them.

Cobalt snarked, "This armor must be meant for the big n' hefty ponies."

"Oh, so you're a big and hefty pony now?" asked Sky with an evil grin.

"That was funny. I'm not even mad."

They tipped over the cart just for the hell of it, and scrambled to get out of town, now stocked up and prepared for the dangers ahead. They had split the reward money, and Cobalt carried the whiskey bottle since she was the more experienced, graceful flyer. The heavy chainmail and sword didn't slow her down, but her normal flight speed was still half of Sky's.

To Sky, flight with her felt like a slow jog. A paranoid part of his mind wanted to get back home faster, even though he knew the situation there was handled and all was well. He breathed in the frosty air, and focused on just relaxing. Cloud layers were just overhead, soft and gray with no threat of rain. Birds were plentiful, and had to be dodged at times. The scenery below was watery green with patchy ground. The Hayseed Swamps.

Cobalt pointed out a dark gray spot, and said that it was a quarry called the Rambling Rock Ridge. Zecora had told her most of the granite and marble in the kingdom came from there.

Everfree was a day's flight away now. They were both almost home.

A rumbling, booming voice came from overhead as the sun was blocked out and a shadow fell over them, "Is that dragon scale? You killed one of my brethren? This may be a fine day for revenge."

Author's Note

As mentioned previous, the official map is used for this story as a rough guide to the layout of Equestria. I have moved the Hayseed Swamps further north, and extended the badlands region further east with a mountain range splitting the low and high deserts.

16. Three Pieces of the Puzzle

Sky and Cobalt flipped over to fly upside down. The shadow above them was a humongous elder dragon, with grayed scales and scars from age and experience.

The dragon was calm and steady in flight as he swooped to grab them with surprising speed. The pair rolled and dove, accelerating greatly in freefall. Lower layers of fog rushed past them in wispy tendrils. A warning of ground level fast approaching. They pulled up, aligned with the horizon, and shot off towards the quarry ahead.

Skyblazer realized he had left Cobalt in the dust. He circled back to stay by her side, willing his nerves to calm down. As a pegasus pony, flight was the more natural aspect of his flight or fight reaction.

Not as though they could fathom fighting this thing. This dragon was the size of a good-sized house, and it had no right to be flying this fast. Perhaps an intrinsic magic was at work.

Through jagged breaths and the shrill whistle of wind, Cobalt's exceptional hearing caught Skyblazer saying the words "quarry" and "lose him".

The ringed levels of open mine fast approached. They flew at considerable speed past the descending levels. Cobalt could not outpace the dragon on their tail.

At the bottom of the quarry, the mine narrowed until it reached a natural canyon. Boulders, branches, brambles, and the twisting walls of the canyon all reached out in an attempt to swat them from the sky.

"Stay on... as I do," Sky heard Cobalt say, and he followed in line behind her.

She maintained a daring line through the impediments. Sky was hard-pressed to copy her acrobatics. Cobalt did a corkscrew through a thick web of branches and roots that blockaded the entire canyon. Sky followed suit and felt a root painfully smash into his flank.

The dragon, now slowed considerably, barely fit in the canyon. A white-hot jet of fire weakened the mess of branches. The dragon smashed through, sundering the wooden barricade into ashes.

Cobalt veered right at a split. Sky missed the turn, and relied on his sheer speed to shoot up into the sky and over the canyon walls in a great arc on his back. He spread his wings wide and felt the heavy pressure of opposing forces as he exited his aerial half-pipe maneuver and took off down the canyon in pursuit of Cobalt.

They were both breathing heavy from flying this fast while burdened with the weight of their supplies and armor. They couldn't keep it up. The dragon had flown above the canyon, lurking patiently. When his prey below ran out of energy, he would then incinerate them.

Sky and Cobalt hurtled through serpentine twists and turns. They splashed through a waterfall in a great spray of water, glanced off the muddy banks of the canyon and flew at a suicidal height right above the river rapids to help avoid overheating.

The canyon reached an abrupt end as they burst out into open space. They were in a vast, rocky badlands, without any cover in sight. All around them was scrub brush and outcrops of rock.

A shadow eclipsed the sun. Sky found himself exhausted first. Trying to keep up with Cobalt's agility took a lot out of him. He gradually lost altitude.

They struggled and strained but had to land. They did so roughly, Sky tumbling and Cobalt skidding in the rocky soil. The massive drake landed right on top of them, but suddenly stopped before he could stomp on them.

Sky peered through a wing he had put over his eyes, and saw that Cobalt was straining with her magic ring. Her entire body shuddered as she set the dragon down using telekinesis. Cobalt fell over on her side, and lie on the ground, breathing hard.

The dragon bowed down and opened a mouth bigger than Cobalt was. An armory of jagged teeth approached her. Suddenly, the dragon felt an intense chill at his belly.

Sky had given all the energy he had left to his element, and a glaringly bright beam of ice magic shot out from it. He had aimed at the dragon's belly--the weak point, according to his mother's journal.

The blast was so potent that the ground at Sky's hooves froze over. It had the effect of aggravating the dragon, who left Cobalt alone and stepped towards Sky. Boulders shattered when the dragon stepped on them.

A great paw came slashing down and slammed into Skyblazer. He was launched through the air, and sent tumbling across the rocky ground, trying in vain to correct his fall with tired wings and only making it worse. He lie still in a battered heap.

The air around the dragon rippled with heat as it reared back to shoot a jet of flame. Cobalt was on her feet now, and she used her element just in time to wrench the dragon's head to the side. Rocks and sand close by Sky became molten.

The dragon took a step back, and stepped on Cobalt with a back paw, crushing her into the ground. The sheer weight pressed the chainmail links painfully into her body. She started to black out. Sky wasn't moving. A tear of pain eased out from her eye. It couldn't end like this. Things were just looking up.

Suddenly, the dragon's paw stopped crushing Cobalt and the dragon staggered to the side. Cobalt was dimly aware of a series of explosions hitting the dragon, which began to bleed.

Gray scales as sturdy as roofing tiles thumped the ground, followed by cascades of hot blood. The dragon turned to look at something, but before it could so much as move two larger, carefully placed explosions almost hit it in the eyes.

The dragon ducked just in time, and Cobalt, now weakly sitting up on her side, saw deep cuts on its face. It gave a shrieking roar that rippled through the air. It took flight, and faded into the distance.

Cobalt felt somebody nudging her, trying to get her to stand. She groggily got up, and almost fell over again with a yell. Her back left ankle was badly sprained.

The earth-pony who had saved her had dark gray fur, a dusty bandanna, a well-stocked hiking pack, and a stern but bored expression on her face. Cobalt leaned on her as they walked. The pony clearly struggled with the weight, but endured.

Sky was stirring. He was trying to stand, shaking and whining with the effort. He finally managed, while breathing heavy and sweating profusely.

"Come with me," said the stranger.

They slowly limped their way towards the canyon. Through the sheer haze of pain and shock, the passage of time didn't seem to exist. Each step felt like an eternity. At long last they came to a cavern entrance.

Sky was dimly aware of wooden stairs and railings leading down the dripping cave. At the base of these stairs, they followed the cavern floor until it reached a side tunnel.

On passing through this tunnel, Sky and Cobalt stopped in amazement. They forgot their injuries for a moment. There was a grand underground lake here, surrounded by massive crystal formations. Vertical shafts rose to the surface and allowed beams of sunlight to enter. Loamy soil under each sunbeam held a small garden plot, some with vegetables, and some with flowers.

This wide, glittering space was comfortably outfitted as a home for an adventurer. There was furniture for a living room, bedroom and kitchen space, tastefully separated with decorative screens. Organized collections of minerals and rocks were all over the place.

The dark gray pony spoke in a bored monotone, "I will get the guest hammocks. I prefer not to have my bed soaked in blood."

A stack of supplies were brought out. Hammocks were set up, and Cobalt and Sky were instructed to lie in them. Their wounds were tended to with healing potion. The strange pony said she didn't have enough for this kind of grievous injury, and Sky weakly said there was more in his supplies.

The bottles weren't broken, so the strange pony applied yet more potion and gauze. She applied aloe for burns and, somehow, a pack of ice for Cobalt's ankle and Sky's right wing.

She left abruptly. Not a single word about who they were, about the threat of the dragon, about who she was. She didn't even sound afraid or worried, just bored.

Just who is this crazy pony? thought Cobalt as she fell into slumber.

On waking, it took the two of them several minutes to recall where and why they were. Their saddlebags, pouches, armor and weapons lie neatly stacked on the ground, with some crimson stains.

They eased painfully out of the hammocks, their heads spinning from pain. Cobalt couldn't step on her sprained ankle, but as a quadruped it wasn't much of a hindrance. Sky was much worse off, and Cobalt hobbled over on three legs to sit by him.

Skyblazer had stopped walking with a horrified look on his face. He sat, and broke down into heavy tears. Cobalt put her front legs around him and hugged him. The very first hug of her life.

Sky placed his left wing on her back, and after some time, stopped crying. He spoke, his voice almost failing him,

"I can barely move my right wing, Cobalt. All I can think of is--"

"Your mother, and losing your own flight. I'm sure."

He resumed crying, and said through sobs, "Please don't tell me we survived just for this. I can't lose my flight. I don't know how to live with that. I can't deal with that. I'm not my mother, I can't deal."

"Easy now, Sky. Deep breaths. Ask the strange pony about your wing, she knows her shit."

The dark gray pony had stepped back into the cave, with the same perpetually bored and tired expression on her face. She had brought food. The pair were startled to note she had made sure to gather food they both would prefer. Again Cobalt wondered just who in the seven hells this pony even was.

Sky blubbered through tears, "My wing, it's numb and I can barely move it, will I..."

"You did not lose your flight forever," said the gray pony blandly, "It is a temporary injury and you will be grounded for a week or two. The wing is sprained."

"I don't mean to be rude," Cobalt began, "but I'm more than a little curious just who the hell you are."

"My name is Maud Pie."

"Alright, and just what kind of pony knows that much about healing magic and goes out to kill rabbits for a griffon to eat?"

"Again, my name is Maud Pie."

"I don't think I like you."

Sky quickly intervened, while wiping away tears with his good left wing, "Uh, thanks for everything Maud. We could have died if not for you."

"Yes."

A bit taken aback, Sky said, "Are you any relation to Pinkie Pie?"

"We are sisters."

"Wow, you're nothing alike."

"We are more alike than ponies think."

Cobalt, still agitated at the attitude of this damn pony, conceded that it was short sighted of her to condemn someone who was helping them. She said,

"Thanks for the food, and the help. What I want to know is how you took down a dragon--an elder dragon--that was making short work of us, when we have magic elements."

"Oh, I have one too," Maud wiggled her ear, which had a glowing earring, "I found this gem. It makes things explode."

"You're not saying... we have to get along with you," Cobalt complained.

Sky, too weary to raise his voice, said firmly, "Cobalt, stop hassling the pony who just saved our flanks. You don't have to like her, but you have to learn manners if you want to be a part of our culture."

"I'll try. I'm sorry, Maud."

"I am not offended," Maud intoned.

While Cobalt took the rabbits to one corner to eat raw, Sky and Maud had their vegetarian meal in the makeshift "living room". A large, ornate rug with a tribal pattern in royal blue and gold cushioned the stone cave floor. Soft couches and chairs surrounded it. The coffee table was a large rock.

They ate in silence for several minutes as Sky chewed on both his food and his thoughts. He said one thing that was on his mind, "I can't believe you killed those rabbits for Cobalt. You're about as unlike an average pony as I am."

"She must eat to sustain herself, as all living creatures must do."

"Well certainly, but you don't have to act so bored about it."

Maud looked over at Cobalt and said, "Do not pee near that boulder. It is my guardian golem. It is named Tom."

Cobalt laughed and poked the boulder, which began shaking and growled at her. She took three steps back and accomplished the reason she had gone over there.

Before Sky could say anything, Maud added, "Twilight got really wasted one night and thought it would be hilarious if she made the memento from their first meeting with Discord a guardian rock monster for me. She was right. It is funny. Oh, Cobalt, don't step on my pet rock please. Boulder doesn't like that."

Cobalt jumped six feet in the air, and hovered there in flight.

"Boulder is just a rock. He won't attack you."

Cobalt flew over, and plopped onto a couch while muttering under her breath.

Skyblazer, between bites of salad, told Maud, "So you're the third Element of Conflict. It's good to meet you then. I don't know if it's fate or coincidence that we ran into you."

"It could be either. I am not a unicorn, I do not know magic that well."

"I hate to tell you this Maud, but, we aren't exactly the chosen ones. Luna said we're like, the exact opposite."

Cobalt specified, "You have the 'legendary glorious elements of harmony', and then you have us. We're the cheap replicas."

Sky nodded, "Princess Luna says we're the least worthy of all to wield these gems."

Maud was still nonplussed. She commented, "That seems fine. It only means we must prove ourselves worthy."

"Are you this calm about everything?" asked Cobalt.

"No. This morning, I thought I misplaced my recent fire quartz vein discovery. It had simply moved. The bottom levels of this cave are enchanted and the layout changes. I was angry about losing my fire quartz."

"Of course," said Cobalt.

Sky commented here, "I don't think these elements just do one thing. Mine gave me a pyro spell at first, but now I can use ice magic. Also now that I think about it, Zecora gave me magic items only unicorns should be able to use. Those might also involve my amulet."

Cobalt held up her ring and said, "This beauty lets me do this," she hefted a giant boulder in the middle of the lake into the air, and set it back down gently. She snidely commented, "I'm terribly sorry if I disturbed another friend of yours, Maud."

"No, that boulder is just a memorial to the ponies who have died in the chaotic events which have transpired since the Elements of Harmony were discovered," replied Maud.

Cobalt sat with her mouth open, quite speechless.

Sky, with a raised eyebrow, said, "I'm thinking Cobalt's crystal can do other things she hasn't tapped into yet. And your earring causes explosions? That is really fucking cool."

"Well, it only explodes rocks into shards."

"How did you fight off that dragon? Dragon scales ain't easy to break."

"I made obsidian arrowheads. They are extremely sharp. A few slivers got under the scales, and it was easy to pry them off from there. My gem gives me precise control over the placement and intensity of each explosion."

Cobalt asked, "I've wondered how you ponies could possibly shoot arrows. Zecora didn't know about it. How do you use a bow?"

"I do not, I'm not a unicorn."

"Let me try that question again, I'm not getting angry here.... how do you fire arrows?"

"Crossbow. It attaches to my front leg."

"Thank you. Dammit."

Sky noted, "I want one," as he finished his dinner.

"You two should check on your supplies and your injuries."

Cobalt and Sky walked over to their packs to check on the damage to their supplies.

Sky, with his ears flat against his head, quietly said, "This is all my fault. I knew the dragon scale was a bad idea, and now it got you hurt."

"Sky, don't blame yourself," said Cobalt in an unusually kind and gentle tone, "We're in this together. I panicked just as bad as you did, we could have done so much better. I'm supposed to be the experienced one here, and it's my fault for letting that dragon ambush us."

She dug around in one large pouch of her saddlebags which had a red cross painted on it. Among her first aid supplies and herbal remedies were four sturdy glass potion bottles. Cobalt pulled two out, holding them in the palm of her birdlike front foot, and she said,

"Smoke bomb, and sticky hot pepper trap. Double thick glass. I could have used either on the dragon, but I panicked."

"Those could have been handy on our earlier bounty," said Skyblazer.

"Too confined, it would have hit us too."

The pair appraised each other's injuries. Sky had deep cuts on his right side from the dragon's swipe, but his armor had taken the brunt of the claws. The dragon scale vest, lying on the ground with specks of blood from the rats and from himself, was now missing three stripes of scales. It had entirely protected Sky where it covered him, and only his flank and chest had been badly cut. Cobalt commented,

"Your wounds are closed properly with thornsap. Maud seems properly prepared to live out here by herself."

Sky nodded, and said, "She does seem highly intelligent."

"My back leg hurts like hell. Twisted my ankle and the whiskey bottle got smashed. Maud got most of the glass shards out. Damn, but we could use that whiskey about now."

"Oh, I filled our flasks before we left town," said Sky as he perked his ears up.

Cobalt examined their armor and packs, "My saddlebags are torn up and the chainmail is damaged, but it held up. I can see blood on the broken links. How bad is my back?"

"The cuts are all shallow, nothing serious," observed Sky.

"You said your mother tried to warn you. She was sure right about how dangerous the world is."

"I knew the risks," said Skyblazer, "My scale armor held up great, it's still perfectly usable. Your chain mail looks too jagged and sharp to wear now. Are your pouches fixable, anything damaged?"

"Well, some straps and buckles are torn, but I carry rope and thornsap so it can be fixed."

They went through their inventory. The damage, thankfully, was minimal. It would be hard to restock supplies this far from any town.

Sky spoke, "Aww, the jar of pickles from our bounty reward got smashed. They were nice spicy ones too. The cover of Twilight's journal also got torn off, but the pages are fine."

Cobalt was scooping up shiny silver coins into a pile. She said, "Looks like my money pouch broke, and the jar of blackberry jam I stole from the market."

Sky stared at her with an angry look.

"What? You helped me steal a water jug, remember?"

"Yeah, but that's something you actually need," grumbled Skyblazer, "How badly broken is the jam, can we go ahead and use it?"

"Just cracked, should be fine."

"How's your ankle?"

"Can't step on it. More worried about your wing, what's the plan from here?"

Sky shrugged, and winced from the pain in his wing and shoulder, "We either rest here, or walk to Everfree."

They returned to Maud, with the jam jar and the loaf of cinnamon bread. Maud went to her root cellar to retrieve a tub of butter, and they all shared the amazing fresh bread. Sky had been the one carrying it, and with his food supplies kept in a sturdy pouch, it wasn't damaged in the tumble.

Half of the bread was eaten with the blackberry jam. For this moment, the three creatures felt at complete peace although they were the total antithesis of each other. The cavern was a serene and blissful space. The ambient temperature down here was refreshingly cool after the blistering heat above ground.

Sky talked to Maud, "Cobalt and I are hunting bounties and exploring Equestria. I didn't expect there to be a third element, and I don't know how we can travel together. Travel by flight is so much faster than travel by hoof."

Maud replied, "Just let me know when you need my help."

"How can we contact you?" asked Sky.

"I will be here. If I am not here, then look in Ponyville or Everfree."

Cobalt, who had been lying on her side, sat up in her chair to say, "Everfree? You go there?"

Maud nodded, "Everfree Forest has lots of minerals and rocks. I also buy first aid supplies from Zecora."

"How long of a hike is that?" asked Sky.

"About three days. I need more healing potion, and I am going there. Would you like to walk with me?"

Cobalt and Sky agreed. It rained for two days, and they used the time to rest. On the third day, the weather cleared and they prepared to leave. They repaired their packs and pouches. Cobalt could not use her damaged chainmail, but Sky's vest was still in good shape.

As they stepped out of the cavern into daylight, Sky spoke, "It's a miracle we didn't break any bones. I'd hate to be grounded for months."

"Would that keep you from flight?" asked Maud.

"Flying is a lot of strain, so I sure couldn't. Don't know about Cobalt."

"It is not very surprising that you have no breaks. Cobalt was lying on soft ground, and you are a pegasus with your own innate durability."

"I guess you're right. Better a sprained wing than a broken one."

They hit the trail, heading Southwest towards Everfree. Cobalt flew low in the air for a time to keep the weight off her ankle. This sustained slow flight was exhausting, so she alternated between hiking and flying.

Sky had not hiked a distance like this since he was a very young colt, before he could fly. With his sturdy muscles and strong heart, it was no trouble for him. Only concern was going through food faster.

The weather was beautiful and the scenery was pleasant. From the rocky quarry, the landscape became forested, with clear areas of floral meadows. They followed a well-worn trail alongside a stream. Water was ample, cold, and pure.

By the time they reached Everfree, Cobalt's ankle had healed enough to walk on. Sky's wing was getting better as well, and he could flap it with some pain. It would take a while longer until the wide span of golden feathers could withstand the pressure of his body weight.

Cobalt paused midway through the third day of hiking to say that they were now in the Everfree Forest. It was hard to tell the transition. More pine trees than deciduous, and the thickets of bushes gave way to more open space. Most of the trees were ancient, and tall. Nopony was foolish enough to cut lumber this close to where monsters and foul magic resided.

Maud and Skyblazer talked to each other while Cobalt walked a ways behind them, still quite annoyed by Maud. The runic mark on her flank now began to glow blue, and she cleared her mind to focus on Zecora.

I'm back, Zecora.

Nothing. Probably still too far out. After a while longer Cobalt tried it again. Still no reply.

Cobalt was worried now, but she kept it to herself. If Zecora had taken out the earring, the telepathy wouldn't work.

The sun began to set as they reached Zecora's cabin. The door was locked and no lights were on. Cobalt flew onto the roof, and used a talon to pull a loose brick from the chimney. She returned with a house key.

They entered as the timber wolves began to howl. Cobalt made sure the magic runes were active and the shutters were all closed. A note was rolled up on the dining table. It read,

'Cobalt, if you read this, do not be alarmed. I am in Ponyville, at the Apple's farm. I am watching the place while they are away, and should return within several days. You will find, in the cellar, smoked fish and good cider.'

They all began to unpack for the night. Cobalt and Sky went out to the root cellar together, and only had to drive off one timber wolf. They returned with food and jugs of the good cider.

Maud and Sky had hay and fruit at the table, while Cobalt rested on her belly in front of the fireplace to enjoy her smoked fish. They finished eating, stacked a couple logs on the roaring fire for the chilly evening, and got some sleep.

Cobalt slept in her bed, Maud lounged on the sofa, and Sky put his bedroll down on the floor. While the others slept soundly in the tranquil quiet of the forest, Cobalt lie awake with anxiety. The world had grown so dangerous. Monsters, dragons, and forbidden magic were bad enough on their own.

All of this new chaos that had happened over the years was just too much, and now they were a part of this whole mess. Cobalt didn't feel like this was even her fight, but then again, she did live in Equestria now. Was it right to just hide away from major threats and let the well-known six heroes handle it? As the unworthy ones, should the three of them even get involved?

At the very least, the real chosen ones kept Equestria safe. Twilight and her friends could rely upon the Elements of Harmony. This, along with the powerful ponies who ruled the kingdom, meant that there was no way Equestria would encounter any actual threat.

She eventually fell asleep, as unaware as anyone was of the dark forces which waited patiently for their time to strike.

Far, far off from Everfree, in a desolate and uninhabited region of Equestria, the queen of the changeling hive considered what it would take to exact revenge after losing to the ponies a few years before. Especially against Twilight and Cadence. Those two had cost her the victory in Canterlot. They had stopped her from ruling Equestria as her own kingdom. The proper time drew near for them to pay due recompense.

Magic was weakening. Queen Chrysalis knew this, and she knew that the Elements of Harmony were only a threat so long as the ponies who could use them were around. Their plan was flawless. The only possible failure was if her swarm could not properly duplicate the behavior of the citizens they planned to capture.

This was a trivial concern. If they could only manage to contain the princesses and the chosen ones, then there would be nopony else capable of rebelling. By the close of the year, or perhaps spring of the next, Equestria would fall.

17. Reflection

Zecora the zebra trotted through the forest in a happy mood while towing a wagon full of supplies. She paused every now and then to gather some plants into a pouch and observe the landscape for signs of an ambush. It may be daylight, but Everfree was dangerous at all times.

She followed shiny trail markers around dense thickets of thorns, one of which was animate and tried to whip her. A shield of energy took the blows, only becoming visible each time the thorns struck.

Agitated now, the entire thornbush began crawling towards her like a caterpillar--which, in fact, it was. This monstrous creature, called a Thornipede, coiled up in order to charge towards the zebra. It smashed into the shield, which rang like a gong and glowed with angry red runes. The bush promptly caught on fire. The thornipede inched its way towards a pond, where the flames sizzled out and smoke bellowed.

Zecora smiled, and thought to herself, Thanks be to the Crystal Empire, for gifting me that arcane shield of fire.

A new voice resounded within her mind, not her own, and it rhymed, The good cider was great, thank you very much! But we drank too much and might have damaged your hut.

Zecora put her ears down and glared at the trees ahead of her, What did you do this time, you crazy friend of mine?

I forgot the dining chairs can't hold my weight. Kinda... broke one and maybe a plate. Alas, but the situation is not without hope! The others thought it was quite a joke.

The others? Whom? Are they friends, or be they--

They be friends, so don't think doom! I await your presence soon.

The rune?

Glows blue, for these friends are peaceful too.

Good my dear, I shall see you soon. YetI feel your fear, symbolized by the moon.

We need to talk. We couldn't fly here and had to walk.

I will arrive by afternoon, keep an eye on your rune.

Cobalt nodded here, forgetting that Zecora couldn't see her do that, and she quickly thought, Blue or green, all is serene. Yellow or red, I'll warn you instead. But I believe my friend Sky can be trusted.

That rhyme was terrible, but Sky's return makes it bearable.

See you soon, you crazy zebra.

Zecora shook her head with a fond look in her eyes. She stretched her legs, twisted back to tighten the equipage, and jostled the cart along the ruts of the trail.

Back at her hut, Skyblazer asked Cobalt what was on her mind.

"Huh?" said Cobalt, snapping back to her senses.

"You were kinda out of it there," said Sky, "still hungover?"

"Well yes, but no. I was just chatting with Zecora, she's on her way."

"I saw the mark on your flank start glowing brighter when you closed your eyes. Never did ask you about that."

"It's... a long story."

"We have time. Let me get some more coffee on, I'm listening."

Sky hopped off the easy chair, instinctively using his wings for balance and a gentle landing. His right wing hurt like hell, and he grimaced.

As he placed a kettle of water on the stove and used his amulet to reignite the fire, Cobalt told him,

"When I first met Zecora, I was honest with her because she was the first pony who had been friendly to me in Equestria. I think I told you that some guards shot arrows at me just for being a griffon when I got here."

Sky nodded as he grabbed the coffee press in order to dump the old grounds outside. He spoke in a mumble with his mouth around the handle, "Big cities ofshen haf lots of guards to proshec the ponies."

"I sure found that out the hard way," said Cobalt, as she pried the buckle of her left leg armor open. She pulled the scuffed armor plate off. Beneath the white fur could be seen an X-shaped scar.

Sky had stepped back inside and filled the press with coffee grounds. All three of them soon had a nice, steaming cup of dark coffee.

Cobalt, being part avian, had a harder time than either of them drinking from a cup. Beer bottles were easier to drain. She placed her mug on the coffee table so she could lean over it to take careful drinks. There was a pause while she gathered her thoughts, and she said,

"I know you two aren't going to like hearing this either. Maud, I'm only telling you this because you happen to be in the room and you're one of the elements of conflict."

Maud replied in what could only be assumed was politeness, "Nothing you can say will offend me. I find information about foreign cultures fascinating, and endeavor to understand more about the creatures we share this world with."

Cobalt looked at her and remarked, "Oh, so your personality is more than just rocks?"

"Yes, I have myriad other hobbies, interests, and my own personal life. It is not as though I am a shallow character of a fictional story who only enjoys rocks and minerals. For example, I was born on a rock farm, which you call a quarry, in western Equestria to parents who taught me how interesting minerals really are. They compose the structure of the world, you know, and have contributed to the development of all society. My siblings have always been cold and apathetic to me, except for Pinkie Pie. I do love my sister, and we honestly are able to spend time together despite our unrelated personalities..."

Cobalt cut her off here and now, "Enough of that, I didn't ask for your whole life story. Now what was I even saying... right. Skyblazer, I'm only going to say this once so you better listen. You are a good friend and I do love and care about you. There, I fucking said it. I think it's about time I had an honest talk with you, so you can decide if this whole "adventuring buddy" thing is gonna work out."

Sky sat patiently in the easy chair, with the cup of coffee balanced on a front hoof and his wings wrapped around him like a robe in the morning chill. He said, "I'm listening."

"So you know I was born in Griffonstone. Things might be different now, but for me I had this whole assigned family job and arranged marriage and a bunch of... what's a good insult in the pony language?"

"Pony-feathers?" noted Skyblazer.

"I like that one. Poetic as hell. Like those itchy little feathers you have to preen out every couple days, get on everyone--everyponies nerves."

"Exactly."

"So Griffonstone is a load of pony-feathers. I lived on the side of the mountain. Never even knew my father, he died in the mines. All I knew growing up was cutting firewood and catching fish and rabbits. When they needed minerals, we would have to go in those hellish mines and choke on dust and get our feathers all soiled with soot."

"Sounds awful," said Sky over a sip of coffee.

"Not the worst part. See griffons have always loved gold. Anything shiny really. Like this plate mail, I picked it for the shine. So we guarded our mines fiercely."

"Seems fair to me," said Maud calmly, "The mines are griffon property."

"Ponies would try to mine late at night. Griffonstone mountain is rich with marble and gold and coal. The griffons in charge said part of my job was to kill them if I caught them, or else I could be imprisoned or tossed down the chasm. So I didn't have a damn choice."

Maud sagely replied, "I presume you also ate the trespassing ponies, as the griffons do not seem wasteful. It would be the logical and efficient choice for a carnivorous race."

Cobalt awkwardly shuffled on the couch, and drank her coffee.

Sky and Maud did need a moment to consider this. It was a dark and unpleasant spot in Cobalt's life.

Skyblazer spoke first, in a tone as gentle and reassuring as Cobalt had been when he freaked out over his sprained wing, "It really doesn't sound like it was your choice. And you left Griffonstone over it."

Maud took a sip of her coffee, which had sugar and cream, and said, "Hmm, this does bother me. Suppose the roles were reversed. With that said, neither of us seem to bear judgment, but rather mutual understanding."

Cobalt was sympathetic to Maud, "Thanks. I'm sure most ponies would accuse me of being a monster, and maybe they're right."

Maud spoke before Sky could, "A monster would not risk her own life to save a pony from an elder dragon."

Sky nodded in agreement, and said, "That's right. And if you're such a dangerous monster, why would you console me and even hug me? I'm sure that hurt your pride."

Cobalt felt on the verge of tears, but she fought it back. She thanked both of them profusely, and continued speaking, "Zecora was also understanding, but cautious. She lives alone out here, you know. She agreed to take me in, be my friend and mentor. I just had to prove how badly I wanted that."

Skyblazer said quietly, "I'm sure you wanted that more than anything."

Several glistening tears were visible on Cobalt's face, which she promptly wiped away. She said, "At the time I was close to conceding that my race was right to hate pony-kind. That all of you were just racist and hateful and anything not a pony couldn't hope to settle in your land. Zecora changed all of that. She was my first friend--even if she is legit insane."

The right leg plate came off now, clattering on the wooden floor. The brand on her flank glowed softly with a blue light.

"Obviously Zecora didn't want to get eaten by an angry griffon, so before she agreed to share her home with me, she gave me an ultimatum. I could leave, go my own way and survive out in the wilds on my own. Or she would be willing to share her life with me, a potential threat to her, in exchange for a magic brand."

"Wow," said Sky, "Zecora really is insane."

Cobalt smirked a bit now and said, "That's exactly what I thought. I didn't think she was serious, but she was. I sure as hell didn't want to go through with it and was about ready to head out into the night, but there was something.... different about Zecora. Same kinda aura as you and Maud. Like the majority of ponies are pansies and sheltered and bigoted,"

"Hey!" exclaimed Sky.

"But Zecora, now she was different. Brave, cunning, even bloodthirsty if she had to be to protect herself or others. Even though she was a kind of pony, she didn't cave in to her instincts and just recoil from me."

Cobalt added whiskey to her coffee. She continued speaking, "I was intrigued by that toughness of character. I agreed to let her put this painful brand on me, and she took me in like I was her child, Sky. She cared for me, taught me how to fight monsters, how to live in the woods, how to get along with the average pony..."

Sky unfurled his wings so that he could lie on his left side, and carefully stretched out his sore right wing. A moment passed in silence.

He replied to Cobalt, "I can honestly understand both perspectives. I'd have to say you have come a long, long ways Cobalt. You did great in Corn Hills--remember the townsfolk thanking you? You may be a lot of things, you great big feathery bastard, but you are not in any way a monster."

Cobalt smiled, and for a rare occasion, so did Maud.

Their sharp hearing picked up the rattle and squeak of a wagon approaching. They stepped outside to meet Zecora.

On the way out, Cobalt mentioned, "It's telepathy, by the way. I can talk with Zecora in my mind within a certain distance."

"I didn't know magic like that existed," said Skyblazer.

The zebra alchemist arrived at her cabin. She noticed the three walking towards her, and asked for some help getting the wagon unpacked.

Cobalt greeted Zecora, "I hope your travels went well, my friend, and that nothing befell which you couldn't amend."

Zecora, a bit weary, walked over to Cobalt. They nuzzled each other. Sky noticed the rune glow strongly in a teal color. Zecora now spoke to Sky,

"Skyblazer and Cobalt, they now travel together! I hope that your friendship endures every weather. You must tell me of your time out exploring the land. I can see from your demeanor all did not go as planned."

Zecora now turned to Maud. She tilted her head, and said, "Let me recall your name, pony of gray... wasn't it Maud? How may I help you today?"

"It is indeed Maud. Three days we have trod. I need supplies. This should suffice," Maud held up a coin purse full of bits.

"Am I the only pony here not rhyming?" asked Sky, "Are we about to break out into song or something?"

"No," said Maud, "I am not Pinkie Pie. Oh, and that was a loose rhyme."

"Dammit," said Sky.

Maud exchanged money for healing potion, fresh tea, herbal remedy, and clover honey.

They all helped Zecora unpack, Cobalt using her newfound powers of telekinesis. Zecora remarked, "This seems a power which Sky would desire."

"His amulet should offer it, but it doesn't," Cobalt snarked.

When all was settled and they returned indoors, Zecora inquired about their journey. She seemed to have known they would find the crystals, but some things surprised her.

Zecora muttered, "Potion prophecy should not go awry... I cannot help but wonder why. You should have found a willow park, for that is where I saw the lark."

Skyblazer spoke, "I saw you in the dream, saying all is not as it seems. Then things went crazy and hazy and, um... I can't keep the rhymes up. Luna said the dream broke and some creatures from it got out."

"The dream itself breaking I did not foresee. This should not happen. It is a mystery."

"Perhaps the future isn't set in stone?"

"No, certainly not, but some events may be known."

"And how much do you know?"

"The future is darker than it has ever been. The only light I see is you, my friend. I see forbidden magic of shattering power. Dimly I see a griffon and a pegasus in their darkest hour."

"That's not haunting at all. So, why were you were at the Apple's orchard?"

"The six legends visited the Crystal Empire, to witness a rare event transpire."

"I like rare events," said Maud, "what manner of one was it?"

"Never before in written history! The birth of an alicorn. A profound mystery."

Sky spoke up, "Ooh, that is neat. Can't wait til they get back, I ought to fly over to Ponyville and see them again."

Zecora nodded, and said, "They have been through so much toil and stress. This placid visit should give them some rest."

"Speaking of rest," added Skyblazer, "We could use to rest here for a while. My wing needs to heal fully before I can fly on it."

Maud left for the quarry after saying goodbye to them all. Cobalt and Sky spent a week and a half at Zecora's, helping her with potions and chores. Sky learned a bit more about Everfree, and found himself rhyming when he didn't mean to be.

One evening, at dinner, Sky mentioned his sister being injured, and how she didn't need that on top of her magic ailment. Zecora perked up at this, and said that she was familiar with the peculiar. She went with them to the Haycart farm.

Skyblazer made good use of his innate magic for the trip. He hitched to a two-wheeled cart, which he could pull in the air to transport Zecora. Despite the magic, the cart still felt like it had weight to it. The added burden was a bit rough on his sore wing, but it held up well enough. Sky applied a healing salve each night to relax the sore muscles.

They reached Dodge Junction in four days of flight, but had no good reason to stop. The farming valley was reached a few hours before sunset.

Skyblazer didn't see anypony out in the fields, so he stepped into the house without knocking. This was still home, after all.

His family heard the creak of the worn door. They were preparing for sleep. Hayseed and Violet Haycart both had wet fur and a soapy scent from a recent bath. Lightning, who was caked with dirt, was about to head out for hers with a towel on her back.

She walked over to her son, and put her remaining right wing around him in a hug. Sky returned the gesture. Lightning Ridge spoke, her voice more gravelly and weak than normal for her,

"Oh Sky, it's so good to see you're alright. The craziness in Equestria finally caught up to us. Violet was hurt. It was awful."

Sky responded, "Actually, I know. I was there. It was so surreal... but that can wait. First, guess who I brought with me."

Lightning's eyes went wide as dinner plates, "There's no way."

Sky nodded, "I found her, and we've become good friends."

He left the house, and invited Cobalt and Zecora in.

As soon as the Zebra crossed the threshold, Lightning rushed over to her and spoke in a panicked voice, "You're that alchemist, right? You can't be here, if Barley sees you..."

Sky interrupted, "Barley can deal with it for all I care!"

"First, he's your dad," Lightning began, but then the pony in question came around the corner. He saw the zebra, and a cold look came into his eyes. He yelled,

"Get out of my house! I've heard all about you, Zecora. Folks at the bar talk about you, say you live in Everfree. I'm having none of that, get out now before I make ya."

The zebra bowed curtly, and backed out of the residence. Skyblazer got into a shouting contest with his dad.

"I don't care if she makes healing potions," Barley growled, "fact of the matter is, she does forbidden magic too. Everypony knows it, son. There's a group of lumberjacks who meet me at the tavern fer poker once a moon. They don't get too close to Everfree, but I reckon they've seen that zebra out and about. Say she has magical items she can zap shit with. You know that's forbidden!"

"Are you saying Twilight and the other heroes of Equestria should be forbidden?!" yelled Sky in a rising voice.

"No, for corn's sake! Just sayin' a pony should be cautious around stuff like that. I remember when that letter came from Twilight what said she had to defend Ponyville from some rogue wizard. Evil amulet was involved. Hey Lightning, what was the gal's name, was it Pixie?"

"Trixie," said Lightning, "and that pony has changed her ways now, she's decent enough--"

"Point is," Barley grumbled, "those magic artifacts ain't good for a pony. You've seen all the nonsense Twilight's been through. Her and all her friends. How long you reckon it is til the power corrupts them too?"

"They have saved thousands of lives!" Skyblazer snarled, "Not just Ponyville, but all of Equestria! Tirek could have brought our kingdom down!"

"Didn't I tell you I don't believe there ever was such a thing? Had to have made it up. Tartarus is a myth they use to scare young ponies."

"You SAW the moon and sun in the sky together that day! You SAW the magic battle go by here! How can you stand here and say that?"

"Listen here, Haul--"

"It's Sky now, or I am going to hurt you."

"Boy are you threatening me?"

"Yes," said Sky. Seeing red, he gruffly walked over to the fire place. He focused on his amulet, and blasted the logs with fire.

Skyblazer took several steps back, turned around to face his father, and said in anger, "Maybe power does corrupt, dad. But it can't be as corrupt as your heart has to be to accuse the ponies who risk their flanks and their sanity to protect our land."

"I can't deal with this right now. You get back after going Luna knows where, and first thing you do is backtalk me. We have a farm to run here, son. Guess you forgot about that."

Barley almost bowled Sky over as he marched past him. He kept on walking into the fields, not looking back, not so much as bothering to address the wild griffon in his house.

Lightning wasn't happy. She said in an utterly defeated voice, "Honey, can't you be just a little more understanding? He's gonna go drink himself into a pit again. I don't need that right now."

Cobalt had backed way off, out of sight and out of mind. She wasn't having any part of this. Lightning noticed her, and began to walk over to say hello, but then a shout came from outside,

"Aggh! My eyes!"

Everyone ran outside. Cobalt knocked a piece of trim off the door by mistake.

They saw Zecora and Barley facing off against each other. There had clearly been a fight. Zecora spoke,

"On seeing me still here, he chose to pull a knife. It would seem that my pepper bomb was an unwelcome surprise."

Lightning sighed, beyond angry, beyond worn out. She asked, "Will he be okay? How long does that last?"

"It is a temporary measure. Make sure he applies water."

"Look, I'm sorry about him, it's just... he's had some bad run ins with dark magic in the past. Like, real bad. It would be better if you left the property. I'm sorry you came all this way for nothing."

"Your son brought me in an aerial cart. I must say, I enjoyed that pegasus art. I desired to evaluate your daughter's curse, but it would seem she is doomed to become worse."

"Do you think it's a curse? How? It's not like she's ever crossed a dark wizard before, or even met one."

"Magic ailments are rare and severe. There are several ways for them to persevere."

"I see. We should talk more, but for now, I'd like to speak with Cobalt. I never thought I'd actually meet her."

Zecora nodded, and began walking back towards where the cart was parked.

Back in the house, Cobalt and Sky were having a heated discussion. As Lightning drew near, it became obvious that the anger wasn't directed at each other. Skyblazer was busy venting about his father.

Lightning cleared her throat, and said, "That's certainly pleasant language to use in front of your mom after nearly a moon away."

Sky put his ears down, and apologized.

"Don't say sorry to me," said Lightning, "your dad needs to hear it."

"Not happening," said a stubborn Sky.

Lightning had the presence of mind to place this entire feud on a back burner. First, she greeted the griffon,

"Well, I'm Lightning Ridge. Sorry you had to see that, things can be a bit... rocky here sometimes."

Cobalt was still taken aback. She replied, "Your son is a lot like you. Stubborn, brave, not willing to back down easily. Have to say, he's one of the first of your kind I've met that I can call a friend."

Lightning offered a weak smile as she said, "It's fantastic to hear that. So, I guess, thank you for saving my life all those years ago. That battle feels like it was forever ago. I bet it was quite a situation for you, too. You live in the forest, right?"

"Yeah, Everfree is my home, and Zecora is my friend and teacher, I've learned all I know about pony-kind from her. It's, um, hard to deal with your ass of a husband being cruel to her."

"I beg your pardon, he's a pony. Even if he were a donkey, there's nothing wrong with a pony and..."

"Didn't mean any offense. By Celestia but you and Sky are similar!"

"Did you just say what I think you did?" asked Sky with a cheesy grin.

Cobalt stuttered for a second, and said, "It slipped, okay?"

"Uh-huh," said Sky, as Cobalt gave him an askew glance.

Lightning noticed their injuries now. She walked up to Sky and quietly said, "You can't say I didn't warn you. What happened out there?"

Sky, Lightning, and Cobalt walked into the kitchen. Cobalt carefully tested her weight on a chair before sitting in it. Lighting got tea on the stove and brought over some stale bread and a lump of suspicious butter. Strawberry jam, made fresh from the berries in their garden, made it much more palatable.

Cobalt and Sky went through three cups of tea as they told their story. They tastefully avoided saying anything that would make them look bad.

Lightning had a thousand questions now. Many of them could be calmly regarded as 'yet more insane shit that's wrong with Equestria'. Of course dreams took place in another world. Of course this place was breaking apart and letting nightmares become reality. Why not.

She was amazed that her son, and Cobalt, had been chosen to wield new elements. They could be called unworthy for all she cared, just the fact they had been chosen to help protect their kingdom by some unfathomable ancient magic was incredible. Lightning couldn't help but be proud of her son for this accomplishment.

These things would need some time, and some liquor, to fully process. For now, the elder dragon attack was the more pressing priority.

Lightning finally spoke after gathering her thoughts. The first thing she said was, "You handled that dragon about as poorly as you possibly could. Really should have spent more time reading my notes."

Skyblazer meekly agreed, "I should never have taken the offer of dragon scale armor, it's all my fault..."

"No, the armor is fine," said Lightning, surprisingly, "An elder dragon would attack you anyways. To them, the world is composed of fellow dragons, prey, and inedible creatures."

With a chill down his spine, Sky said, "Oh, I see."

"Dragons live hundreds of years. The oldest ones remember the fierce war from about a century ago, which drove the remaining dragon packs out of Equestria. The younger ones are a new generation, if a young dragon sees a mere pony wearing armor made of dragon hide it would probably piss itself and fly away fast as possible."

"Like Cobalt has done on two separate occasions."

"I was hit by lightning!" explained the griffon.

"Your lightning attack went right through us in the dream world. It was beyond intense," said Sky.

"The mechanics of all this dream versus reality stuff gives me a headache," said Lightning Ridge, "but as I was saying, the dragon viewed you as prey, and you behaved like prey. The dragon wanted you tired and grounded."

"Well, what could we have possibly done?" asked Sky.

"The big ones can still fly fast in a straight line, but they are about as agile as a blimp. You should have attacked him in the air. The dragon wanted an easy meal, not a nuisance. It would get tired of swatting at you, and leave for better prey."

"Right, guess exhausting ourselves flying through the canyon was pretty stupid..." said Cobalt.

"Worse than trying to fly away in a straight line, honestly. Dragon just had to wait. I'm glad you were able to fight it off and get help, at least. Looks like he tore you both up pretty badly. I didn't want to see you get hurt, Sky."

"I know, mom. You were right, the world is dangerous."

"Again, it's fine. When I was your age, I was out doing the exact same thing. Taking on bounties, fighting monsters. Trying to make Equestria a safer place. You just have to be smart about things."

Lightning admonished the griffon a bit, "Honestly now Cobalt, I'm surprised you didn't notice the dragon earlier. I was hoping my son would be better protected in your company, and I know you have the experience to read the situation better."

"I wasn't paying attention", admitted Cobalt, "Really should have watched the clouds more, his gray scales blended right in."

"Well," said Lightning, "I'm glad my son met you, and that you can call him a friend. I would suggest you listen to his advice on our culture. I need to check on my husband and talk with the zebra, what was her name again?"

"Zecora," said Cobalt.

"I need to ask her about Violet. We'll talk more tomorrow, I need some time. This is some crazy, wild stuff to think about."

"Tell me about it," said Cobalt, "I thought Equestria was a peaceful place."

"I mean it is, or it was. I don't know why things are different now. First, Luna returned to us as Nightmare Moon, then Discord the avatar of chaos shows up, now apparently the world of dreams is broken. What's next? Windigoes are real?" Lightning took a moment in thought, and said, "Maybe all the elements, including the new ones you found, are involved somehow."

Cobalt spoke in a politer, softer tone, "Maybe we can figure out what's wrong and make it right again, while the six heroes are off protecting everyone."

Before leaving the table, Lightning added, "Say, Cobalt. Thank you for giving us ponies a chance. I'm happy Skyblazer could help change your mind about us. Keep my son out of trouble, and do what you can to keep your new home safe, okay?"

Cobalt sat up, looked Lightning in the eyes, and nodded.

Lightning brought a pail of well water out to the workshop, where Barley was busy working on a jug of moonshine. She slammed the door on his drunken verbal abuse, and trotted through the fields to find Zecora.

She found the zebra waiting just outside the gate, and asked her to come to the house to take a look at Violet. Zecora did so.

Violet had recovered well from being attacked by dream creatures, but it had made her sickness all the worse. She lie in bed, shivering with chills in spite of the warm weather.

Zecora applied a number of herbal tonics to her forehead, consulted an old and tattered spellbook, and provided herbal tea to help her sleep easier.

As Violet snoozed peacefully, Zecora put her ears down and gave a sad look at Lightning. She brought the spellbook over. Lightning didn't recognize the language.

"An old ponish tome, copied from the source. Let me make it known, and you may choose your course," said Zecora in her usual cryptic manner.

A bracelet on Zecora's front leg was passed over the pages with a suffusing white glow. As it illuminated the words, Lightning was startled to see she could read them, although it was very archaic language. She said aloud,

"Curse of Oppression. Forbidden by thine Princess Celestia. Heretofore be enfeeblement of wartime and siege. Henceforth be treason against kingdom, thine users exiled. One of thee enduring dark curses. Afflicts weakness of body and mind, preventing thee peasants from labor and combat. Persists upon town of caster's choice until cursed relic be destroyed or curse be lifted. Forbidden not for severity, rather lack of finite terminus."

Zecora clarified, "It is tested with a mixture of tonic and herbs. The correct reaction makes the herbs disturbed. It was rose petals that moved, my friend. I'm sorry to say this, but this curse may not end."

"The book says the relic needs to be destroyed. If we could find it, we could put a stop to this!"

"It shall not be a simple task, I fear. Perhaps buried with age, afflicting all who draw near."

"Is there a cure of any kind, Zecora?"

Zecora nodded, and pulled a bundle of scrolls from a saddlebag. Each had a runic symbol stamped on. She compared the symbols with the one in the tome, and found a matching scroll.

She read the scroll, and said, "The ingredients are rare, perhaps lost with time. If they can be gathered, then Violet will be fine. Many exist within Everfree. There is one item, however, which eludes even me."

"Which is?"

"Allow me to read: Reflect on the water, for it is all that ye need. Be ye pure of heart, thy cure shall succeed. Beware yon ponies whom suffer from greed, for the Pool of Reflection shall once more be freed."

"That sounds vaguely familiar for some reason... in fact, I could swear Twilight mentioned that to me," said Lightning.

"I know not if it's real or a myth, only the rumors, and rumors persist."

"I'll write to Twilight, or ask Sky to stop by Ponyville. If there's a cure, and the ingredients are safe, I'm trying it. Barley be dammned. I don't want Violet to suffer for all her life from some awful old curse they used to use against citizens in wars."

"May we stay the night, and leave when it is light?"

"Certainly, Zecora. My husband doesn't care much for you, may I set up a tent? I'll have breakfast on in the morning... oh, except for Cobalt. Don't think I could stomach making something she would like..."

"She eats plants, as well, and I'm sure your cooking is swell."

"Sounds good then. Let's get some sleep, and try to put this craziness away for now. We can deal with stuff in the morning."

Zecora agreed. Lightning brought the tent, and then she quietly stepped into the house, cautious to avoid the squeaky boards. It was late, and the others were sleeping. In the living room, Sky had fallen asleep on the couch while Cobalt had curled up in front of the fire, her beak resting on her back.

Lightning offered a warm smile, and placed a quilt over each of them. She gave her son a kiss on the forehead, brushed down his feathers a bit, and quietly stepped to her room to sleep alone. Her husband was probably passed-out drunk by now. Just another problem that could wait until morning.

She blew out the candles in the bedroom sconces, and promptly fell sound asleep.

18. Ancient Magic and Spells of Tickling

Skyblazer woke up, stretched, and yawned. He tossed the quilt over the back of the couch, and recalled that he was at his folk's home. A strange feeling of nostalgia and vertigo washed over him for a moment before he fully woke up.

He would have to get used to waking up in strange places, being always on the move.

It had been a sound sleep without any dreams, which was fine by him after the previous nightmare. Simply knowing that dreams took place in another world was unsettling.

Sky looked over at the fireplace. Cobalt was already up, in the kitchen with his family. Lightning was just about done cooking breakfast. Barley still hadn't come back in.

Violet and Piney had already heaped their plates with good, country cooking. They usually started their arduous farm chores at the crack of dawn, and often didn't finish until well after sunset.

Skyblazer had to admit to himself that he felt some guilt at leaving the farm behind him. Still, he was a grown pegasus, right? He looked at his saddlebags and armor, jumbled up by the sofa, and at the amulet glowing against his chest. He was a part of something bigger now.

He helped his mother set the table before taking a seat. Lightning gestured Cobalt to a chair, and said, "I know it's not the same thing, but I made some eggs for you. Should be close enough to your usual fare."

Cobalt thanked her. She was happy with the scrambled eggs, but the homemade cinnamon rolls were what really caught her interest. She said,

"Oh wow these are good. Can I live here?"

Lightning chuckled and said Barley would have a conniption.

After breakfast, Lightning and Cobalt got packed and ready to leave. Sky was out the door and about to gallop off into flight when his mother stopped him.

Lightning said, "You should talk to your dad before you take off."

"No, I'd rather not," came Sky's reply.

"So you're going to just leave without saying anything? You really have become your father."

Cobalt made a shrill bird noise which sounded rather like a whistle.

Sky stopped walking, and stood with his back to his mother for a moment. He turned around, looked at the ground, and then took flight towards the workshop. Cobalt knew well enough to stay out of this.

His dad was nursing a hangover, sitting in the dark since the light hurt. He saw his son's winged silhouette come through the door, and almost cussed at him, but he stopped. Sky sat nearby him.

Skyblazer cleared his throat, "Ahem. Morning, dad," he didn't look at him, but rather at the wall.

His dad opened a beer bottle, and said, "Reckon you're about to leave. Off on some new adventure. Farm life ain't good enough for you, is it? I get it. We're broke out here and you wanna make a name for yourself."

"Dad, it honestly ain't that. Times have changed, you have to see that by now. Ponies are dying. All the magic folks are relying on to fight off the monsters, well, it's breaking down. No one knows what's going on. Here, let me show you something,"

Sky raised a front leg, and pulled his necklace off. The Element of Conflict rippled with a foggy light. It wasn't enough to light up the workshop, but it did let them see each other's faces. Barley's face was lined and worn from stress, age and weather, and his eyes were bloodshot from drink.

Barley stared at it like it was a snake. He said, "I don't trust shit like that."

"I know, dad. Thing is, this is ancient magic, not some forbidden dark magic. There has to be a purpose behind all this. Twilight and her friends have gems just like this, and now the magic map... I'm not looking for money, I'm looking for answers. I'm going to Canterlot castle so I can talk to the two ponies who are as old as the elements are."

Barley took a hearty swig of beer, wiped his mouth, and paused for a moment. He said, "I'm not too happy about you and that griffon being friends. You ought to know she's a monster, anything that eats critters is. Just their nature, and one day, she's gonna turn on you. But I'll say this, son. The both of you are gonna have one hell of a fight ahead of ya. Keep poking at myths and legends with a stick, eventually they're gonna hit ya back. Be careful."

"I will. Say what you will about Cobalt, I still think she's amazing. She already saved my life. If I'm going to deal with things nopony should ever encounter, then I'll be glad to have her with me."

"Long as it's just friends. I don't even want to think about it being anything else, couldn't call you part of the family in that case."

Sky coughed and choked, caught his breath, and said, "Whoa, it's just friends, dad. We're just adventurers, out killing monsters and looking for trouble."

"Good then. Y'all be safe, and don't be a stranger. And stay away from that damn zebra, you hear? Nutcase will be the death of you."

Skyblazer flew back towards the gate, stopping to hug his mother goodbye and grab some fresh fruit from their tiny orchard on the way out. On his flight back towards the gate, he tried to focus his amulet on telekinesis. He managed to eat a whole apple by holding it aloft with arcane power.

Cobalt and he each had a beer. His dad had given him six as a parting gift, all ice-cold from being kept in the water of a cold spring. Sky got the cart attached, and flew off with Zecora in tow towards Everfree.

The three arrived after several days of flight. Sky stayed the night in the forest, and prepared to leave in the morning. Cobalt told him,

"I'm staying here for now, go on ahead to Canterlot."

"Oh, I understand," replied Sky, "You don't want to be in the big city."

"It's not that. I'm just dealing with... girl problems."

"I don't know what that means."

"Good. I'll need to stay here about a week and a half, then what say we meet in Ponyville?"

"That should be midway for both of us. See you then. Take care, Zecora!"

"I shall see you again, my good friend Sky," said the zebra, "and bid you good weather as you fly."

The day's flight was relatively peaceful, for Everfree. The only trouble was a water elemental which attacked him when he landed to refill his canteen. He froze it solid, and took off as it began to break free.

Applejack was sure right about everything trying to kill me out here, Sky thought to himself as the wind rippled past him.

He soared over the Apple's orchard from a lofty height, and then dove for a ways to avoid flying through the cloud layer. It was honestly strange moving from wild areas into urban, carefully maintained areas. Since the pegasi managed all the weather in the Ponyville and Canterlot region, the clouds were all lower than what was natural.

They weren't quite low enough to qualify as fog, and it just felt wrong that they weren't higher up. Honestly a bit unsettling. Sky got a glimpse into his father's point of view from thinking on this.

Curious now, Sky altered his course and flew up, close to vertical. He pierced the clouds, passing through moisture which clung to his feathers in drops. Above, the scene was as majestic and unreal as he had imagined.

Pegasi called this place the "Cloud Plateau". It was the boundary of natural and magic weather. Here, Sky floated just above the clouds, where it was very tempting to bounce on the fluffy things with his innate magic. Right nearby, the cloud level suddenly rose way, way up to the upper sky where the air was thin. Rays of sunlight pierced through straggling clouds which hovered in between these two elevations.

Sky cleared a hole through the clouds, and then rested on his belly to look upon the vast world below. He was glad to have been born as a pegasus. He noticed another pegasus flying towards him. She landed right by him, and said,

"Put that back, would you? We need rain and wind next week, getting the layers prepared ahead of time."

Sky apologized and fixed the clouds. He canceled out his magic and fell through the gray fluff. After a moment of exhilarating freefall, as ragged tatters of cloud sped past, he spread his wings and gained speed in a fast dive towards Canterlot.

Returning to the city felt somehow different now, in light of the things he had been through. Only a few moons ago, getting off the train had been frightening. Now, the bustle and din of city life paled in comparison with the chaos of their world.

Canterlot was as uppity and snobby as ever. It honestly was a good thing Cobalt had stayed behind, this was not her kind of place.

Skyblazer landed at an approved entry point, stretched his tired wings, and trotted along the cobblestone streets. The grand castle towered overhead.

By far the largest building in all of Equestria, the royal castle was something of a hobby for the princesses. They had used magic to improve and expand the place, room by room, level by level, to ridiculous proportions. Sky counted windows going up for five stories, not including the taller turrets.

Royal guards were posted at the gates of the castle, but they were more for show and pomp. The castle was usually open to the public, though it could be locked down in an emergency. This had been the case far too often in recent years. Sky, awed and humbled, stepped inside.

Canterlot Castle had a small army of maids, butlers, messengers, wizards, and diplomats all busy within its walls. One messenger greeted Sky, and led him up three stories to a tiled parlor. He was told to wait here.

Sky observed the room while the messenger went to find the ruling sisters. The floor of the parlor was marble, with a flawless shine. Light came from windows carved through the stone, and exquisite chandeliers of some magic, glowing crystals. A coffee bar was available, and Sky helped himself.

The messenger returned, offered a curt bow, and said, "The Princesses will see you now."

Sky went through the enormous oak doors, up a flight of stairs with trailing red carpet, and into the venerable Hall of Legends. Stained glass windows, made by and infused with magic, depicted famous battles and events of Equestria.

Twilight and her friends were represented on several of these windows, each with their corresponding element. The closer Sky walked towards the thrones where the two sisters sat, the further back in history the windows went, until he no longer recognized the events from the reading he had done.

Nearby the thrones, Sky was shocked to see a great deal of various damage to the room. Grievous burns and gashes in the floor. The thick rafters overhead sliced clean through like butter. One of the stained glass windows, which had an image of Discord, all warped and twisted as though melted.

The visage of the two sisters reflected the state of the hall. They were both regal and somber, yet the stress and worry still showed through.

Sky bowed as Princess Celestia addressed him,

"Young Skyblazer the pegasus, welcome."

Celestia sat in a larger-than-life throne, which had many ancient runes etched on it and a symbol of the sun. She was a white alicorn--both a pegasus and a unicorn--with a mane and tail composed of astral energy which flowed gracefully with a soft blue light.

Her sister, Princess Luna, sat with stiff posture beside her in a similar throne with a symbol of the half moon. This alicorn with black fur and feathers appeared far more weary and worn down than her sister was.

Luna spoke now, "I notice Cobalt is not with you. We were hoping to speak with both of you. Is all well, I hope she is not injured?"

"She was complaining of 'girl problems'", Sky answered, "I don't even know what that means. Guessing it means she doesn't want to be in the city."

Celestia was quite startled. She sat with one ear down and one eye closed, with a bit of a blush to her cheeks. Luna covered her mouth with one wing to muffle her laughter.

Princess Celestia spoke, "That is.. really something your parents should have told you when you were younger. If you don't know, I'd advise you ask your mother."

Luna laughed even harder now. Celestia scowled at her, and said, "Don't you think four millennia is a bit much to be acting like a filly?"

"I'm so sorry!" said Luna, as she struggled to catch her breath, "That was just so unexpected, came out of nowhere."

Celestia sat up with royal posture, rigid ears, and a stern expression. Luna struggled to maintain the same composure, while suppressing giggles. Celestia's horn glimmered with a yellow energy, and she quietly wafted a beam of magic towards her sister, behind her back where she couldn't see it.

Skyblazer watched quietly in stunned silence. The yellow energy encompassed Luna, and a pained look came onto her face. She wiggled in discomfort, and then burst into fits of laughter.

She finally managed to cast a shield spell and dispel the yellow magic. She sat up properly with her invisible shield, and told her sister, "Don't you think five millennia is a bit much for a tickling spell?"

Celestia laughed now, and wiped a tear from her eye. She breathed in deep, and turned to Sky, saying, "Oh, we desperately needed that. Times have been so hard here."

Skyblazer said in awe, "That's a long time... does anypony else know those exact numbers?"

"The Elements of Harmony, and the alicorns who assist us in managing our land. Twilight Sparkle, as you may know, is both. All others only know that it has been a supposedly long while."

"So you two really are immortal..." quietly said Skyblazer.

Luna answered, "So far," and Sky could only nod. That was a point.

Princess Celestia continued, "Insofar as Cobalt and you have been appointed with the Elements of Conflict, is is only proper we have a similar discussion with you. It would be better if she could be here. Luna, would you transcribe please?"

Luna nodded. Sky expected her to summon a piece of parchment and ink from nowhere. He did not expect her to rip reality asunder with her horn, step into what could only be described as a dimensional janitor's closet, and return with paper and ink.

She closed the rift as Sky blinked several times, considering the insanity of beings so powerful that they used holes in reality to keep cleaning supplies handy.

Celestia was silent for several minutes, with her eyes closed. A pleasant breeze softly ruffled her feathers. She opened her eyes, nodded, and bid Sky follow her out of the Hall of Legends.

They left behind the austere hall and uncomfortable marble thrones, and ascended the castle until they arrived at a dead end hallway with suits of horse armor along each side.

The two princesses placed their horns into two sockets on the wall, each of which had their cutie mark inscribed. Their marks began to glow, and the wall faded until it was no longer visible.

A spiral stair lie ahead. Sky reluctantly climbed, the only light being from smoky torches burning in an arcane blue. They wound around what Sky assumed was a turret, and exited the stairs into a library.

This room was lavish and luxurious. Sky had to sit for a moment in awe of it. The combination of dark wood, brass fixtures, rich carpeting, exotic tapestries, and aromatic incense was overwhelming.

It was by far the most comfortable place he had been in his life. The two sisters beckoned him to a plush chair, and they then sat together in a plush love seat opposite from him. Spirals of magic energy in black and yellow danced upon the coffee table, and in a moment, a full tea service appeared on silver trays.

Sky gratefully took a plate of cookies and grilled cheese sandwiches. He was a bit famished from all the energy of flying against the mountain winds. He looked around the room. Mementos and artifacts of unknown purpose were on every shelf, in front of hundreds of dusty books. Lamps with golden filly filigree suffused the room with a soft, ambient light from magic crystals.

Princess Luna placed a neat stack of parchment and a bottle of ink on the table. She leaned back to pluck a black feather from her wing. She snipped an angled tip into it with a quill sharpener, and used her magic to dip the point in ink.

Celestia began, "This is our personal study. We have other libraries and archives throughout the castle for traditional meetings. Knowledge, we have found, is the one treasure which endures for all of time."

Luna lie couchant on her belly as she wrote on the parchment. She juggled the quill, a cookie, a hot cup of tea, a saddle blanket, and several opened books in the air at the same exact time with telekinesis. While focusing her eyes on her writing, she also added sugar cubes to the tea, stirred it, folded the blanket in half, draped it over herself, and wedged a pillow under her side, all at the same time without so much as glancing at what she was doing.

Sky was sufficiently impressed.

Celestia spoke after a moment in silence, "Within Equestria lie numerous legends and secrets. Some of these have been revealed. Others lie hidden even to us. A few events and entities violate what is established to be the nature of reality. We believe these things may incite mass panic and paranoia. Ergo, we discuss these items with very few ponies."

"I may have encountered some of that already," said Skyblazer.

Luna nodded, and said, "Dreamspace should not break. I have seldom seen that happen, and never on this scale. Of late, I have spent more time repairing the damage than I do here in your reality."

Sky noticed the emphasis on the word 'your' as Celestia spoke again,

"First item: the ancient magic. As intelligent as you are, you may already know that certain varieties of magic have been explicitly forbidden, and may result in incarceration if caught in use."

Sky nodded, and said that he had heard of forbidden dark magic. Celestia had a sip of tea, and then said,

"The forbidden magics are as follows: Time, Dark Arts, Spells of Pain and Suffering, Criminal Misuse of Magic, Summoning Monsters, and finally, That Which is not to be Known."

"I can understand all except the last one, and I assume from the name it's better if I don't," said Sky.

Celestia nodded as she said, "The last one falls mostly under ancient magic. Spells etched in cryptograms in stone. Spells which may not simply be cast, but which require incantations in Old Ponish. The foundations of Alicorn magic of ancient days which we, by reason of time, do not clearly remember."

"Okay, and how are Cobalt and I involved in this?" asked Sky, as he dipped his sandwich in tomato soup with telekinesis and splashed soup everywhere. His amulet glowed a solid gray.

Luna responded, "Do you recall when I said reality itself is breaking as Dreamspace is?"

"Yes."

"Outside of that is nothing."

"...I beg your pardon?"

"The Void. Quite literally nothing, just empty space. We know of its existence, and nothing further. It tis the place that is not."

"So... at this rate, one day, cracks into this void could form and ponies could be lost forever in the abyss."

"Precisely."

"Yep. What's the next completely mind shattering thing?"

"The second item", said Celestia, "is the Elements. All of them. You understand that the six Elements of Harmony correspond to aspects of unparalleled virtue. This does not diminish the value of the Elements of Conflict. On the contrary, that those objects do exist is a very positive sign."

"How so?" asked Sky, piqued.

"Twilight and her friends were declared worthy at the start. The three Elements of Conflict must prove their worth, overcome obstacles, and thereby redeem the world. Or so the remnants of prophecy and legend state."

"Were you two around before the Elements were?"

"The simple answer is, we don't know. When we first discovered them, we thought they were a simple curio of our time. Now that we understand the abnormal magic of cutie marks is intertwined with both ancient and crystal magic, it follows that the Elements far predate us."

"Could you explain how these things are connected?"

"You may regard ancient and crystal magic as the same thing. Both are enigmatic and were the subject of lore and myth when we were young. Cutie marks, however, are something unique. Some form of manifest destiny. A magic so powerful and all-consuming that it recognizes, and bolsters, the deepest desires of the heart. Which brings us around to the fact that you are missing one upon your flank."

Luna spoke now while her sister had some tea and cookies, "The friendship map in Twilight's castle was evidence that the three oldest magics are somehow connected. We then consulted our memory archives. For you see, we maintain our memories within enchanted crystal orbs, to avoid losing them to time."

"That's honestly really cool," said Sky.

"However, we encountered impediments."

Luna's horn glowed a deep purple as she reheated a grilled cheese. Celestia took over for her monologue,

"The archives have proven very durable. We can review our earliest recorded memories with perfect clarity. However, a few orbs have become frosted over with crystals of dark red, and cannot be accessed. Among these are orbs labeled with, 'Realization of Longevity', 'The Bestowment of Alternate Forms', and most interesting of all, a more recent one titled 'Possible Object in the Void'."

Sky was speechless.

"We do not know what power corrupted the memories, and they are distant enough that we cannot dredge them from our minds through simple thought."

Sky spoke now, "So your alternate form is for battle... and Celestia has one too..."

Celestia nodded, and said, "I am called Daybreaker in my alternate form, with absolute control over light and fire. Luna, as you have seen, is Nightmare Moon, with mastery over dark magic and shadow so intense that the darkness itself becomes clay for her to shape."

"Holy--"

"The third item," interrupted Luna, "Is the way our citizens view us. Neither of us care for being regarded as deities. We are immortals, but we are still just ponies like you at the end of the day."

Celestia gave he sister a tired look and said, "I wish we could be treated like normal ponies without all this pomp and grandeur. I find it most unwelcome."

Luna disagreed, "Well, some respect is due to us as rulers, but I too disapprove of our names being regarded as some venerable saying."

Skyblazer interrupted, "Wow, in that case I certainly do apologize."

"There is no need," replied Celestia in a resigned voice, "By now, it is an ingrained aspect of culture. Now then, the fourth item. Our alternate forms, apropos the chaotic events which have transpired. It is commonly believed that we cower from combat or are too weak to intervene in the matters which the six heroes have resolved."

"I certainly don't believe that," said Sky.

"The truth is as follows: Our alternate forms imbue us with nigh unlimited power. Together, we could reduce all of Equestria to dust. However, these forms are eldritch and unstable. We do not even know what kind of magic is at work with them, for it doesn't have a name. It is the ability of an alicorn to harness all magic, blended together into this salsa of mayhem."

"Salsa of Mayhem is my band name," said Sky, getting a chuckle from Luna.

Celestia smirked grimly, and said, "Final item. The failure of magic. I have observed the magic of our world weakening within the past few centuries. This is what allowed Luna to return to us, thankfully at a time in which she was willing to reform. Dear sister, you may speak from here."

Luna took over, "With my endemic and unique control over the realm of Dreamspace, I bear witness to the decay of magic. We believe it will affect unicorns next, and then perhaps the magic of all races, and then the innate magic that holds the world together. Without it, chaos shall enshroud which makes Discord's assault a paltry matter."

Sky stared, wide-eyed. Celestia spoke now,

"Due to the corrupted memories, we have no way of knowing what shall transpire next. If only it were thousands of years ago when we were fillies... within the far past reaches of our memory is lore concerning the forging of the Elements of Harmony. It is said that powerful seers could see the threads of destiny itself, observe where the threads had frayed, and take measures to prevent it."

Luna spoke now, "And so it came to pass that the six elements of harmony found their proper owners. The Tree of Harmony, their source of power, has been restored, helping renew the land with magical energy. We stay back and observe, with respect to the fact that magic far more powerful and obscure than ours is involved."

Celestia finished the conversation with, "There is a unique pony in Equestria who hails from the Western Isles. She has requested that we do not discuss her past. This pony has a closer connection to dark magic than any other, even us. Yet she is not a threat, but rather, an observer. You know her. Her name is Zecora."

19. Fracture

Skyblazer needed a moment in thought after this revelation. Was his father right to fear Zecora? Was she actually dangerous? That didn't add up, she had been friendly and trustworthy to both Cobalt and himself.

He looked across the comfortable study at Celestia and Luna. They had brought him here to discuss serious topics which they entrusted to few others. Sky carefully asked the question on his mind,

"I... honestly don't mean any offense, but Zecora doesn't seem like an evil and cruel pony. I mean sure, she's a hermit, and she makes potions, but, she didn't seem bad."

Celestia answered him calmly, "You are free to speak your mind, we do not take offense. Dark magic does not have to be inherently evil. Luna, this seems more your area of expertise."

Luna spoke, "The dark arts bring to mind awful and unthinkable spells. Curses, possession, necromancy. However, it need not be so grievous. The magic energy of darkness and shadow may be used for potion crafting, for melding into shadow, or for scrying and observation of distant events."

"Thank you, Luna," said Celestia, "Recall that I said Zecora has an innate connection to this magic. This is simply the way she was born, as you were born with innate pegasi magic. It is neither good nor bad, simply a state of being. This provides her with knowledge and observations which have been of significant interest to us."

Sky had a question about this, "I know she's a zebra, from some foreign land, but isn't she still an earth-pony? How is she able to make use of artifacts and magic?"

"In rare cases," replied Celestia, "ponies have been born with unusual magic affinities. For example, Fluttershy, one of the six heroes, has exceptionally weak pegasi magic, and yet her connection to nature is stronger than most earth-ponies."

"I've met Fluttershy, and that explains why she's so good with plants and animals."

"We have not, however, known of any pony in our kingdom who was born with a strong connection to the ancient magic. Twilight and her friends were chosen by the Elements, but this was to fulfill a prophecy and purpose, and not an innate bond."

"Would it be meaningful to find a pony like that?"

Celestia and Luna exchanged a look. Luna spoke, "We do not yet know, and that is why we wished to speak with you."

"I... what? I don't know a thing about any dusty ancient magic."

"Most ponies are not aware of it. The remnants are mostly in the form of carvings, spellbooks, and artifacts. Zecora gifted you with several artifacts which are antique and far predate modern magic objects. Were you able to use them, could you show us?"

Sky, more than a little confused, dug through his supplies until he found the things. He was still wearing the bracelet, he had just forgotten about it in all the turmoil.

Sure enough, it still lit up for him. The glaringly bright light clashed with the relaxed library. He found the hot rock and the shielding stakes. These also functioned properly.

Celestia nodded, and said, "For us, it would take days of research into the Old Ponish incantations to activate those items. They are relics, from forgotten times. No ordinary unicorn could hope to make use of them without the requisite knowledge."

"Where did Zecora even get these from?"

"The bracelet was a gift from us. The other items were discovered and bartered for over the course of her life. Again, though, she wishes to keep her story a private one."

"I can respect that," said Sky, "So, what's the meaning of this ancient magic stuff?"

"It lines up with the ancient prophecy and fables," said Celestia, "and it is fascinating that we should meet you so soon after the Crystal Empire returned."

"I read about that in Twilight's journal," said Sky, "where did it go while it was missing?"

Luna replied, "The entire region was banished from time and space. To us, the Crystal Empire has been simply missing off the face of Equestria since antiquity. To the residents, it is as though no time went by at all. This is how we discovered that a Void exists outside, or perhaps between, our world."

"This is a touchy question," said Sky, "but did you get sent to the Void, when, you know..."

"No, Luna did not," answered Celestia, "that was a pocket dimension anchored to an object of significant sentimental value. The moon, in that case. Though for most mortal unicorns, the spell does not have the same duration."

Luna spoke now, "I encountered a crack which led into the Void, where I became lost. In time, I found another break which led into reality. If I had not been in my Nightmare Moon form at the time, I would likely still be trapped in that abyss... Something had changed. I had grown calm. I had recognized the folly of attempting to end daylight. Yet, I felt an all-consuming anger and violence driving me, which lie well outside of my control. This absolute rage is what drove me to persevere, and find my way back."

Celestia added, in a gentle tone, "I was able to maintain a telepathic bond with her while she was imprisoned, and I saw this improvement... but there had been another, unexpected change. It began roughly three hundred years ago, when magic as a whole began degrading. I found that I could no longer maintain control and sanity in my Daybreaker form. The realization hit me that this may affect my sister, as well, but I never once considered that it would be possible to escape from a dimensional pocket."

Skyblazer was now awestruck. He added more sugar to his hot tea, and willed the hot stone to cool down. He spoke in a daze, with one ear down, "Okay, so what I'm understanding here is that Luna did realize her error, but her scary nightmare form took control of her."

"Correct," said Luna, "and there is more. I recall seeing... something in the Void. My memory is extremely scarce. Between my struggle to take control, my form of pure shadow which reduces my sensory awareness, and the mind-bending nature of the Void, all I can clearly picture is a powerful light. There was something else, an object... but I simply can't remember."

"We attempted to catalog the memory in an enchanted orb," said Celestia, "but it immediately froze over with unknown red crystals. It is not conventional crystal magic. Even the libraries of the Crystal Empire failed to yield any results."

Sky spoke, "A thousand years seems a bit extreme as a punishment... I'm sure that's not my place, of course."

"The dimension had a cycle of light and dark," said Luna, "and by my count it was only several moons. Enough time for me to recognize that neither of us should usurp power from the other."

"This is another really stupid, dangerous question, but... do you think it's right to rule by proxy?"

Celestia answered this, "I agree with that exact sentiment. Luna did not. This was the main area of our disagreement--attempting to end daylight was simply a result of our arguments."

Luna seemed a bit uncertain as she said, "While we do have far more awareness of the history of Equestria than any other, and experience to properly manage our land to ensure the happiness of our subjects... it would seem the citizens desire a system of peers. We have withdrawn more from the day to day operation of Equestria, entrusting these matters to elected diplomats."

Celestia quickly spoke up, "Between Luna's command of Dreamspace and my extensive studies of magical theory, the both of us are quite busy. We seek to understand, and repair, this enigma of magic itself breaking down. The Elements of Harmony and the ones of Conflict have been of great importance in this regard. The only concern now is that there should be a third Element of Conflict."

"Oh, I've already found her," said Sky, "her name is Maud Pie. She resides in a quarry Northeast of Everfree."

The two royal sisters seemed elated to hear this. Celestia finished their discussion with, "That is the first good news we've had in a while. Now, do not mind the title of 'unworthy ones'. It is merely a test of character and ability. I'm certain you three shall rise to great things. For now, you may rest in the castle, if you wish."

Skyblazer accepted the offer. The tea service vanished from the table just as readily as it had appeared, and they followed the spiral stairs back down into the serpentine halls of the castle.

The next morning, after a wonderful breakfast, Sky took off from a high balcony and made a slow glide towards the streets of Canterlot. The plan was to explore the city for the day.

As he settled gracefully on the stone street he heard a shrill whistle, and looked up. A pegasus with beige fur and bronze armor was descending towards Sky with a whistle in his mouth and a stern look in his eyes.

He landed in a puff of dust, pointed to the royal seal on his armor, and said, “Flight is not permitted within Canterlot. This is a warning, sir. Please walk on Canterlot streets henceforth, or you may be imposed with a fine.”

Sky meekly apologized, the guard took off, and Sky trotted into the city.

After passing boutiques, antique shops, a salon, extravagant cafes, and a tailor, Sky decided that this place was far too ritzy and upscale for his taste. Bumping into a single display would cost more bits than he had seen in his life.

He found an approved exit point, and glided on down towards Ponyville, while running some numbers through his mind. He could reach Everfree in a day's flight, but Cobalt wanted some alone time for around a week. Getting back to his home would take four days, flying alone. Everfree should be a couple days' flight from the farm.

For now, he decided to find a place to sleep in Ponyville. He wanted to visit Fluttershy, Twilight, and the other legendary ponies. If Rainbow Dash was in town, she might have advice on visiting Cloudsdale, since Cobalt wanted to go there.

By mid afternoon, Skyblazer set his hooves down on solid ground in the cozy town. The mood was somber and quiet, but still rather relaxed in spite of the insanity of recent years. Ponies here had defenders they could rely on, while other towns like Riverbend or Corn Hills lived in fear of dragons and monsters. Sky frowned at the discrepancy.

Fluttershy was not at her cabin. Pinkie wasn't at the bakery, and Rarity wasn't at her home nearby. Sky flew towards the crystal castle. He didn't get an answer on knocking, and he stepped inside after a moment.

His hooves echoed in the glimmering halls. If only his dad could see him now, trotting around in two castles in one day. He could picture it in his mind. This structure, made entirely of crystal, would disgust his father. Not that it was Twilight's fault in any way. She didn't build this place, and she didn't honestly care for the opulence.

For that matter, Twilight wasn't even here. Everpony else was gathered in the map room.

Something was very, very wrong. Skyblazer could sense it the moment he walked in. The crystal map, once a colorful projection of their kingdom, had now turned a monochrome gray.

For many moons, the map had displayed the ponies' symbols over the areas they were needed. They had resolved disputes, small and large, all over the kingdom. Now, five cutie marks all hovered in a circle over Ponyville.

The sixth one, Twilight's purple star, was hovering far above the map, close to the ceiling. On looking up at it, Sky could see a mural carved into the crystal. Twilight's star clung to a tile with a large question mark, which read, 'Location Unknown'. The only solace was that it had not moved to an adjacent crystal tile, for the ones to either side read 'Deceased', 'Dreamspace', and 'Tartarus'."

The crestfallen ponies in this room kept staring up at the star as though it could move to one of those tiles at any minute. They noticed Sky's entrance, and said hello, but nothing else. Spike, the young dragon friend of Twilight, was the worst affected. He sat on the crystal map, staring up at her cutie mark overhead, never looking away at anything else.

Two unknown unicorns were here in this room as well. The light pink one calmly walked over to talk with Sky. She held a note aloft with magic, and nodded her head towards the door. They stepped out, down a hall, and into a reading room. The blue unicorn, who wore a purple cloak, followed them.

They all took a seat on the rug, in front of the fireplace. A second serious conversation in a magic castle was not something Sky had expected, or wanted. He had heard enough crazy things already last night without whatever this was.

Starlight spoke, "Um, I don't you if you know me, but Twilight told me about Lightning Ridge and you. You're the son of that pegasus who lost her wing, right? Have a farm south of Everfree?"

"Well, my parents have a farm," said Sky, "but I've gone my own way in life. The name's Skyblazer."

"I am Starlight Glimmer, a student and... friend of Twilight."

Sky's eyes went wide in surprise at a name he had only heard Twilight use in disdain before. He bit his tongue and took a breath before speaking,

"Uh, nice to meet you?"

She caught the tone in his voice, and said, "I take it you do know me. I can't ask you to trust me or forgive what I did, and I don't deserve that... but I was wrong. I'm trying to handle things the right way now."

"Alright," said Sky politely, as he turned to the blue unicorn, "and are you Trixie, the magician? My mother said you did tend to wear a cloak."

The blue unicorn answered, "You do behold the great and powerful Trixie!"

Starlight gave her a look, and scolded her, "This is a really bad time for that sort of yak shit."

"Fine. You're right, as usual. Things have gone really, crazy bad here."

"What happened? Is anypony hurt?" asked Sky.

Trixie answered, "Well, no. Twilight just vanished in the middle of the night. Even Spike doesn't know where she went... poor little guy is devastated."

"I can imagine. What's the note say?"

The paper crinkled as Starlight hovered it over to him. He read the elegant magic script,

"My dear, beloved friends. I am taking personal responsibility for matters from here on out. I am so tired of seeing you risk your lives and well being to protect our land. I do not wish to continue relying on ancient magic we have minimal understanding of when it is abundantly clear that magic is already faltering. I have been richly gifted by Celestia to be an alicorn, and with that comes unfettered access to all magic. I will return when my studies allow me to protect any pony from being hurt ever again.

Love, Princess Twilight Sparkle."

"No," said Skyblazer, and he then sat in silence for a few moments staring into the fireplace.

"Without her, the Elements don't work," said Starlight.

"They would fall apart without any of them," said Sky, "they've been such good friends for so long now."

Skyblazer held up his amulet. It rippled rapidly now with a somber gray glow.

"What's that?" asked Starlight, prompting a quick explanation from Sky.

Starlight seemed relieved. She flicked her tail as she said thoughtfully, "If you bring all three elements of conflict together, at the right time and place, it may have a similar effect to what the other elements do... it only makes sense, from what I know of ancient magic."

"I mean, so far it just seems to give me access to some basic unicorn magic, and Cobalt just has her telekinesis, but it could very well be more than that."

"It has to be. Without Twilight, and without the elements of harmony... I don't know how much longer Equestria has left."

Sky thought of his family, back on the farm, working hard under the sun. A stricken look appeared on his face, as he said, "This... could be the end of civilization. Wow. Like, what if they hadn't been there to stop Discord, and Tirek, and everything else..."

"And me," said Starlight in a self-deprecating tone. Sky ignored this as Trixie told her not to be so hard on herself. Sky continued, "Okay. I need to get Cobalt and Maud, and I need to see my folks just in case anything.... um, and I should probably talk to Zecora, she seems to know things."

"Trying to step up and be the hero?" asked Starlight grimly. Sky nodded, and Starlight said, "That's exactly where Trixie and I are right now. Ponies barely even trust us, but you saw how bad off Twilight's friends are... we have to at least try to do the right damn thing for once in our lives."

"Oh, this is a disaster," said Sky, "the farm is four days of flying from here, without Cobalt, and she flies at half my speed..."

"Where, exactly, is this farm?" asked Starlight. Sky told her, and Starlight walked over to the map room. She returned, and stood in the middle of the study, eyes closed, focusing.

Fierce sparks flew from her horn, followed by a blast of magic energy so powerful that the air around her rippled like desert heat. A portal opened, ripping apart the very air. There was a booming noise like thunder, and Sky jumped.

Through this portal could be seen a fertile expanse of tilled farmland and endless wooden fences. Starlight spoke, "This portal will stay open for three days."

Sky thanked her, and was about to step through it, when Trixie asked, "Hang on now, we didn't get your name."

"Oh, it's Skyblazer Haycart."

"Skyblazer, in case we don't see you again, take care. Best of luck."

He stepped through the magic hole. In an instant, he was out of the cool shade of the crystal castle and into the humid, oppressive heat of the farming valley. It was only a five minute walk to the gate of his folk's farm.

Damn, but that was some precise, powerful magic casting. Sky took a moment to appreciate that Starlight was trying to do good in the world, with her abnormal level of sheer power.

The gate creaked open, and he stepped through. Three ponies could be seen in the distance, plowing channels for water for the unripe crops of late summer. Harvest would be soon. Skyblazer felt a tinge of guilt that he couldn't help with that busy season. His father probably wouldn't care that it was the end of the world, getting the grain to market would still take priority.

As Sky drew closer, he could see the bulky figure of Piney Haycart, with his usual straw hat on. He pulled the plow, while Violet followed behind, pulling weeds and opening wooden gates to divert river water to where it was needed.

The third pony was Hayseed, another older brother of Skyblazer. He was hauling a heavy cart of compost, and shoveling it into the soil. Sky hadn't seen him in a long while now, and he greeted him first,

"Hey there Hayseed. Taking a break from the mines?"

"Yep, folks need help with the place, so I stopped by. You gonna at least help us with harvest? Should be a good one this year."

"I honestly would, but things are crazy right now..."

"It's fine," said Hayseed, "I get it. You're not a farmer, it's okay. Don't let pa get to you, live your life the way you want. We sure could use the help, though."

Sky decided not to push the issue, and went to talk with Violet and Piney. They were both very tired and overheated.

"Here, help me get these saddlebags off," said Sky. He got attached to the plow. Piney walked back to the house to cool off.

Shortly after Piney stepped in, Lightning came outside and walked towards Sky.

Her worn brown cloak clung to her in the heat. When she arrived, she placed a hoof around Sky in a hug, and thanked him for the help. Sky nodded, and strained with the plow.

After he got the water channels repaired and Violet opened the gates to let the water flow through, the three of them rested in the shade of an old oak tree. Sky explained what had happened in Ponyville, but kept his discussion with the princesses to himself.

"They don't want me talking about it," said Sky, though in truth he didn't want to think about their mind-bending conversation in light of Twilight vanishing.

Lightning was horrified. "Twilight?" she asked, "I knew she was suffering from all the chaos... I should have made time to visit more often, this is my fault."

"No mom, it's not your fault," said Sky, "I don't think you could have convinced her not to do this. You know her better than me. Where do you think she went?"

Lightning shrugged, and said, "I'm not a unicorn, so I don't know where. I'd presume she's going wherever it is that she can find powerful magic, maybe studying ancient and dark magic in order to combat it."

"I should ask Starlight," said Sky, "She's a powerful unicorn, she might know the answer."

Skyblazer stayed the night. Barley had gone to town with a load of dried hay, so it was a peaceful visit. The next day, he casually stepped through the shimmering portal and smoothly avoided Dodge Junction and talking with his dad.

The crystal castle was quiet. Most of the ponies had gone now. Skyblazer went to look at the map room. Spike was still here, still on the map table, now sound asleep on his back. Fluttershy was here as well, taking care of him. She had placed a pillow and blanket down for him to sleep on.

She spoke in her usual quiet demeanor as Sky entered, "He was awake for two days, so I... don't tell anypony this, but I gave him some of Zecora's sleeping tea. Rest is so important in tough times."

Sky, on the verge of tears, thanked Fluttershy for being such a great friend, and hugged her. She meekly deflected the compliment.

Twilight's symbol remained unmoved, on the tile that read 'Location Unknown'. Sky had no idea what that could mean.

Fluttershy let him know that the others all wanted some alone time. Sky nodded, left the castle, and took flight for Everfree. His sense of direction felt all weird after using the magic portal.

Cobalt would need more time, and so he passed the cursed forest at high altitude, only descending as he neared the quarry. The distance went by so much faster by wing.

Thankfully, at least one thing went right. Maud was at home, in her cave. She patiently listened to all Sky had to say, and read Luna's notes. Despite the surreal subject matter, Maud kept a bored and uninterested expression.

Sky had to ask, "You don't find this stuff insane, or exciting?"

"No," answered Maud, "I find it fascinating. This greatly improves my knowledge of the world we live in."

"Okay, since you're so relaxed about everything.... I didn't want to ask my mom this and Celestia wouldn't tell me. So I have a strange question for you, it's about Cobalt, that griffon you met."

About five minutes later, Skyblazer stepped outside the cavern, walked up to the surface, and sat on the ground, blushing profusely. It was a while until he worked up the gumption to go back down to the cave, where Maud and he packed up for a hike to Everfree.

"Would you happen to own a cart?" asked Sky, to which Maud said yes. It was a heavier wagon, and Sky couldn't make it stay airborne by himself. It still kept a good amount of weight. This was a two-pony wagon for aerial use.

They would have to walk. Sky wasn't happy about it.

Several days were spent at the quarry to give Cobalt more time. When they left, Maud maintained a fast trot, allowing Skyblazer to stay airborne while matching her speed. They made it to Everfree in two and a half days.

Zecora and Cobalt were both out of the house, gathering alchemy supplies. Sky flew on top of the cabin, kicked the loose brick, and returned with the house key.

Maud and he waited inside for the two. They arrived shortly before sunset.

When Cobalt came through the door, she embraced Sky in a bear hug that made his joints hurt. "Ow, ooch, let me go!", complained Sky.

Cobalt seemed to have a lot to say about Everfree. Sky had a lot to say to Cobalt. They both talked over each other for a few seconds, then stopped, and laughed.

"You first," said Sky.

"I was able to get my magic ring to do more spells!" shouted Cobalt in excitement, "I tried pyro and ice at first like you did, and then I managed magic missile, illumination, even some weak shield magic!"

"That's awesome!" replied Sky, "Now, the stuff on my mind is a lot darker and just some really trippy things... let's get dinner, and talk at the table."

Maud and Sky helped Zecora get a fire going and get a hearty potato soup on. They had coleslaw and fresh produce from the garden to go with it. Cobalt flew off into the dark with a fishing net and several glowing artifacts. She returned shortly with a net full of fish.

As she placed them over the fire to roast, Sky asked her, "Did you just use magic artifacts to fight off monsters?"

"Yes, light and fire scares off most of them. Any basic magic attack can break apart timber wolves back into timber."

"Is that normal for griffons?"

"Using magic? No, not that I know of."

Sky turned to Zecora, and said, "Were those items, by any chance, ancient magic relics?"

The zebra nodded as she carefully gathered a stack of plates and cups, balanced on her head. She placed these on the table just as carefully, and said, "Those items bear the rust and wear of time, yet Cobalt could use them all just fine."

They gathered around the table for dinner. Cobalt sat on the floor since the chairs were too fragile for her.

Sky sat staring into the distance. He shook his head, and replied, "So that means, she also has innate ancient magic she was born with... here, let me go over the stuff Celestia and Luna talked to me about."

He jumped down from his chair and ruffled through his bags. He retrieved Twilight's journal and the rolled-up stack of parchment Luna had given him. Both were placed on the dining table after Cobalt cleared some space.

Skyblazer spoke, "Listen carefully, for this may affect reality... Zecora, I'm blaming you for that rhyme," he patiently explained all that he had heard, with pauses to sip tea and stoke the fireplace. The others listened in stunned silence as timber wolves howled in the background.

Zecora was startled, with her ears rigid and her eyes wide. Cobalt had a grim and serious countenance. Maud sipped tea with an apathetic expression. All three of them needed time to consider these things. Most pressing and urgent was the disappearance of Twilight.

Maud spoke on this issue, "While she does not show it, Pinkie Pie has a great deal of stress and worry for her friends. I should visit her and console her in these dark times."

Zecora was deep in thought with her eyes closed.

Cobalt spoke, "All three of us should go to Ponyville. They may not like me being there, but some kind of 'heroic chosen ones' would help the ponies chill a bit."

Sky shook his head no, and said, "The others can handle it, you know how strong and reliable they have been. If we can find Twilight, and convince her to return, it would be better for everyone. We're the unworthy ones, remember? And hardly heroic."

"Yeah, but there's no telling where she went."

"We could ask Starlight and Trixie. They're unicorns too, powerful ones, so they might know where Twilight could have gone for magic training."

For some reason, Zecora was laughing. Sky raised an eyebrow and asked what could possibly be so funny. The zebra replied, "You trust the 'great and powerful' Trixie just upon her word! Truly, my dear friend, you are a silly bird."

"Is she not so great and powerful, then?"

"Ahh truly, she is a gifted magic sage. If you regard magic skill as taking place upon the stage."

"Oh, she's a... stage magician. And she's... trying to defend Equestria... by Celestia, but we need to get back to Ponyville as soon as possible."

Maud cut in here, "You are being hasty. Panic does not help us resolve this situation. We should certainly travel to Ponyville, but we should make a careful plan from there."

Sky breathed in deep, exhaled, and said, "You're completely right."

They stayed the night, and left at dawn. Zecora stayed behind in Everfree. She provided supplies and foodstuff for their journey, and asked everyone to wait a moment before departing.

She mixed a variety of herbs and liquids into a cauldron in the fireplace. A blue smoke rose from it as it boiled. The resulting potion was bottled, and Zecora asked Sky to cool it down for her. He did so, using a careful spell of ice magic. Zecora drank it, and her eyes began glowing. This haunting effect passed, and the zebra stood with a horrified expression, her ears down, her tail drooped.

She gulped, and spoke slowly, "Recall that I have said you two will face your darkest hour. The time approaches now, as one approaches power. The Elements of Conflict shall earn their rightful name, yet this is just a lesson, not a cause for shame. I see friendship fueling the most powerful spell of all, and I see fractured friendship preceding their greatest fall. I see traveling rogues fighting for what is right, and these words in my mind: Where there is no light, where there is no night, they may still have sight."

Cobalt wrote all of this down on a piece of parchment, and they all took a moment to think over it. Zecora bid them a fond farewell, saying,

"Stay safe and be on guard. I know that times are hard. Stay together as friends and make Equestria whole again. Cobalt, my dear, you can do this, do not fear. Never before have I seen a riddle in prophecy. It must be for you to uncover, for the meaning eludes me."

Sky and Cobalt gave the zebra a hug goodbye, and the three of them began their hike towards Ponyville. As they stepped out of sight through trees which were beginning to change color for autumn, Zecora turned towards her cabin.

She stopped, ears perked up. A small silver bell on her necklace had begun to ring, even though it was not moving. She put her ears down, and took off at a charging gallop through the woods, not bothering to lock her door.

The foliage blurred past her as she ran. A small ravine approached, with a stream at the bottom. She vaulted over this, and dove through brambles on the other side into a grotto.

A well-maintained flowerbed was here, beside a calm pool of water. Around this pool were stones with runes carved into them and a small wooden chest. Zecora ignored this place for now. She had no need to observe distant events through scrying magic.

Still galloping, breathing fast and raggedly, Zecora rushed down a long set of stone stairs. She arrived in a canyon at the bottom, where she paused, out of breath. Panting and sweating, she walked towards the Tree of Harmony. Twilight and her friends had returned the elements to the tree, in order to restore its energy.

The tree was fine and of no concern to Zecora. She walked past it, and walked right towards the rock wall of the canyon. She jumped into the wall, and passed right through it into a cave.

With light from a magic bracelet, she stepped through this cave with echoing steps. Water dripped off stalactites into pools. The silver bell filled the cave with alarmed, rapid ringing.

Zecora approached a stone plaque which was inset into a nook on the wall, where the drip of water could not deface it. The writing was Old Ponish, and it said, 'Beyond lies thee Pool of Reflection'.

A bright purple glow filled this part of the cave. The entire way forward was blocked by a wall of pure energy, covered in runes, with the star-shaped cutie mark of Twilight in the middle.

Nopony had broken into the pond of reflection, which was good, after the havoc Pinkie Pie had caused. Zecora sat now, taking a moment in somber thought. Violet Haycart needed the water of this pool for her cure, but a seal should only be breakable by the one who cast it.

Then, Zecora looked up. The roof of the cave seemed wrong, as though deeper in shadow than it should have been. She amplified the light of her bracelet.

This zebra who found the cursed Everfree Forest to be a quaint and relaxing place to live felt absolute, primal terror and let out a scream as she ran.

Behind her, a tear in reality lie suspended in midair, like a hole in fabric. Beyond was absolutely nothing, a darkness greater than the absolute dark of a the cavern. Zecora failed to comprehend and, for the first time in many, many years, she did not know how to calmly react. She ran all the way back to her cabin, and slammed the door.

Author's Note

Chapter twenty is in progress. I am reviewing the story so far, rewatching some episodes of the show, and very busy with things in life right now, so it may be slow.

20. Northern Lights

Ponyville wasn't far from Zecora's cabin. The three reached it by the end of the day.

Skyblazer, Cobalt, and Maud walked across a small bridge over the river, and into town. Talk was minimal. All were focused on the task ahead.

The evening was far too pleasant to be so dire, and the weather was nice. Cobalt, a griffon, didn't even encounter any hostility or fear from the ponies. Just idle curiosity. It would seem the residents of this town had, by now, become rather calloused towards danger.

They reached the crystal castle, and stepped inside. To their surprise, it was rather empty. Only Starlight, Trixie, and Spike were present.

Cobalt introduced herself.

Sky spoke to Starlight, "It's either a good thing or a very bad thing that no one else is here."

Starlight replied, "Well, so far things are fine. Twilight's friends are just doing their usual things. Trixie and I are watching the castle."

"Any word on Twilight?" asked Sky, as he glanced at the map room nearby.

Starlight shook her head no, and said, "Still just says her location isn't known. For now, the others have decided to trust her on this."

"What, really?"

"I know, it's crazy. Some kind of friendship thing. How are you holding up?"

"Not bad, aside from getting mauled by a dragon and Twilight just vanishing."

Starlight talked to Cobalt now, "A griffon, huh? Think you're the first I've met."

"Oh, is that what I am?" answered Cobalt, "All this time, I thought I was a pigeon."

Trixie chuckled, but Starlight wasn't amused.

Sky quickly spoke up here, "So, we have all three Elements of Conflict present, and almost all the ones of harmony. Ponyville should be plenty safe, right?"

Trixie answered this, "The ponies here really trust Twilight and her friends. They'd feel a lot safer if we could find her."

"Any idea at all where she went?"

Trixie said no, but Starlight had a possible lead. She said,

"I can think of one pony who might know... we can talk more about it in the morning. Friend of mine, from magic school."

They all rested in the massive crystal castle. Skyblazer found it hard to sleep. This whole town felt like nothing more than a giant target. Something else was bound to attack it soon, and they honestly needed the elements of harmony for protection.

Sunrise woke up Sky. Cobalt was still snoozing, and he quietly stepped out of the room.

Maud was busy examining the crystal which the castle was made of. Breakfast was ready.

Starlight sat at the table. She was using spells on a necklace which had words on it in an unknown language. Sky was curious about it, and Starlight answered him,

"It's an amplifier artifact. Don't tell Twilight I have this, please."

"Is it forbidden?" asked Sky, as he took a seat.

"No, but it doesn't look good for me to own it. With my past and Trixie's... experience with stuff like this."

"What's it do?"

"Enhances any spell put into it. I should be able to teleport straight to the Crystal Empire with it."

"I'd imagine there's a reason it's not common."

"Rare, expensive, and it can backfire badly," replied Starlight. Cobalt entered the room now, with a yawn.

Starlight explained, "We got a scroll back from the princesses, even they don't know where Twilight went. All we know for certain is that she wants more power to defend Equestria with."

Cobalt added here, "Lot of the things you've been dealing with are ancient and dark magic."

Starlight nodded, and said, "If she didn't go to the Canterlot archives, then I don't know where else would have info on those magics. My friend Sunburst would know, he's studied magic more than anypony alive."

"You mentioned the Crystal Empire. Take it he's there?" asked Sky.

"Yes, all the way in the frozen north."

Sky went to find his map and consider the distance. All the way across Equestria. It would take over two moons to fly there. That was ignoring Cobalt's slower flight speed.

Some of the other ponies stopped by in the afternoon. Rainbow Dash stopped in, wearing her Wonderbolts outfit. She invited them to visit Cloudsdale sometime.

Rarity was also free today. She seemed more wary of Cobalt than the others, but she spoke to her in a kind tone,

"Ahh, you must be the griffon Sky told me about. I must say, your feathers are a wonderful shade of blue."

Cobalt answered, "Thanks. First time I actually came into Ponyville. Surprised by how relaxed everypony seems here."

"This town has suffered far worse than a griffon visiting," said Rarity, "Not to be rude or anything. Well, I see that Twilight's cutie mark still has not moved. I must be on my way, business to take care of."

"Wait," said Sky, "We're going to look for her. Do you know anything?"

"Why yes, darling. I know that you shouldn't bother. Twilight will return when she is ready to."

"What if something attacks before then?"

"She did say that she was improving her magic and finding the next threat ahead of time. I do not see cause for alarm. Trusting in each other is the only way my friends and I have survived thus far."

"Huh, I see," said Sky, unconvinced. After Rarity left, Sky spoke to Starlight,

"That's nice and all, but we need her back. Cobalt and I aren't ready for this kind of responsibility.”

"That's an understatement," said Starlight, as she placed the necklace on, “but I am ready to get us all to the Crystal Empire now. I've been measuring and preparing all day, so the amplifier should be good to go.”

Starlight had the other four gather in a huddle. Her horn began to glow fiercely. There was an unsettling rush of speed, and a blur of color. A second later, they appeared far, far to the north. Everything was obscured in a flurry of white.

When the powdery snow settled, they saw a bleak terrain of ice and snow. Pine trees climbed frozen cliffs. The hollow arctic winds whistled through ravines. No signs of a town anywhere nearby.

Sky asked, “Where are we?” as Maud and Cobalt looked at the winter landscape in equal confusion. Trixie seemed annoyed with her friend.

“I'm... not sure,” answered Starlight, “This is my fault. I'll take care of it. Let me think...”

After a moment, she walked away from the group and stared at a towering mountain peak in the distance. Her horn glimmered, the snow stirred, and she was gone in a blink.

The others looked at the mountain, where a brilliant flash of magic and a puff of snow could be seen. There was a few moments of silence. The soft snow muffled sound and left the area in a tranquil calm.

Another distant flash, and then one right nearby them. Starlight appeared. They all jumped at the sound of tiny thunder as air refilled the vacuum from teleportation. Starlight lowered her shield spell, and walked over to chat. She spoke,

“It looks like my aim was off. I've honestly only attempted mass travel once or twice before... but there is a settlement not far from here. Should be able to hike over there before it gets dark.”

Cobalt spoke up now. Her high-pitched and gravelly voice was unusually free from sarcasm, “I'm sure the smallest error in accuracy means being off by days of travel at a distance like this.”

Starlight seemed impressed. She responded, “That's exactly right. Have you studied magic?”

“Yeah, my friend Zecora taught me a bunch and got me books from the Ponyville library.”

“Can't say I've heard of her,” said Starlight, “but she sounds competent.”

“She lives in Everfree by herself and knows everything about making potions, so I'd damn well say so.”

They began hiking towards the village now. Sky and Cobalt occasionally took flight to find their bearings. Even for ponies, and even for unicorns with a wide variety of magic, the deep snow and bitter cold was harsh. Cobalt, the griffon, was plenty used to cold and snow—her homeland was a cold place.

They reached the village before sunset, though it was hard to tell through the uniform gray clouds far above. These wild lands were far removed from pegasi weather control, and Skyblazer couldn't see much use in modifying the weather here.

The village was nestled in a snowy valley, frightfully close to mountains full of snow. It seemed an avalanche risk.

To call it a village was to say that Sky's hometown was a sprawling city, and Dodge Junction was a one-street ghost town.

It would be more proper to call this a settlement, as Starlight had so politely put it. From the totems, the frosty buildings of log and thatch, and the visible inhabitants, it became clear that this place was tribal in nature.

Trixie spoke in an annoyed tone, “Oh great, we get to ask the yaks for help.”

Cobalt and Sky hadn't even heard of that race before. The questions they had were quite suddenly answered as one yak approached.

This creature was a living bush of matted fur. No doubt that was useful in their northern climate. The yak seemed calm, but resolute. He spoke,

“You there, halt! This yak home. Why ponies come here?”

Cobalt, offended, said, “Do I look like a pony?”

“No,” said the yak, “You are bird. Why bird and ponies seek entry to yak home?”

“Close enough,” muttered Cobalt as Sky nudged her away from the yak.

Starlight and Maud spoke to the yak now, while the others stayed back a ways.

Maud was perhaps best suited for this. She spoke in her usual bored, flat voice, “We are lost. Can you give ponies direction to Crystal Empire?”

“Hmm, yes! Crystal city and yaks good friends for all time!”

“Ponies and bird very cold,” said Maud slowly, knowing that the yaks only had a small knowledge of her own language, “Trapped in blizzard. Not finding trail. Need fire and food.”

“Hahaha, silly ponies. Should follow fuzzy crystals.”

“What?” asked Maud, in the most startled voice the others had ever heard her use. The effect of her tone of surprise was very much the same as finding a palm tree out here in the snow.

“Warm crystals go to crystal city. Gift to yaks, before crystal city go away. Yaks wait. Yaks tell story of crystal city to baby yaks. Crystal city comes back. Warm crystals fuzzy now, but still is trail.”

Maud just stood there for a moment, her eyebrow raised in thought. She asked Starlight to write all of that down.

The yak continued, “It no matter. Yak land dangerous. Yaks give ponies and bird food and fire.”

They all took that unconventional invitation and stepped into the gate, past the sturdy log wall. They spent the night here at the yak's village. Thankfully, the yaks ate hay during the snowy seasons, and they kept water jugs in their homes where it wouldn't freeze.

This wasn't much consolation to Cobalt, who needed meat, and so she went off to hunt. While she was gone, the others talked.

Trixie said, “Guess I was wrong about the yaks. They're nice enough.”

“Yak thank you for that!” said the yak from earlier, as he walked through the blanket which served as a door for the tiny hut. He was soon followed by Cobalt, who plopped down by the fire with a satiated sigh.

Maud tried to talk to the yak about exactly what 'fuzzy' meant, but couldn't get a clear answer. The others sat around the fire at the center of the room.

Starlight and Cobalt were amusing themselves by using magic to turn the flames different colors. Cobalt, who was a novice with her magic element, turned the fire a putrid shade of brown by mistake. They had a good laugh at this, and kept it that way.

Skyblazer called Maud over, and asked her how far the Crystal Empire was. Maud spoke, “With the snow, it may be three or four days to walk there. We should have brought winter clothing.”

This proved to be of no concern. The yaks had ample scarves and beanies and blankets for the cold. They also provided some old but edible hay for the trail. Cobalt and Sky had food in their packs, so they didn't need any.

They left the next morning. Starlight and Cobalt, the more adept magic users, stayed at the front where they could take turns using arcane shields to ward off the snow and freezing wind.

Sky, who still struggled managing the magic of his amulet, stayed back with Maud. His best spell was pyro, and so he kept their canteens from freezing over. Maud had just recently found her element. With her intense knowledge and calm, she could already handle several spells.

Maud quietly kept a spell of detect magic active, unknown to the others. The frozen north was still a mystery even to Celestia and Luna. The crystalline and ancient magics at work here posed unfamiliar dangers. However, according to her reading in the Ponyville library, this spell should be able to make known to her all magic which was nearby.

With that in mind, it was strange that there should be any magic which she couldn't simply identify. It ought to be concerning, perhaps something to share with the others, but then again, she was new to the use of magic. The average earth-pony would never make use of it, except perhaps with the sort of artifacts which were forbidden.

Whatever it was, it didn't feel threatening. The yaks were correct, it felt... fuzzy. Like static electricity. The feeling grew more intense. Maud decided to say something.

“Starlight Glimmer,” said Maud in a voice just loud enough to carry over the wind.

“Yes?” replied Starlight.

“Something feels fuzzy. Try using magic detection.”

Cobalt took over the arcane shield for her as she did so.

“Huh,” said Starlight, “That is weird. I've never felt anything like that.”

They hiked on and the feeling began to fade.

“Wait,” said Maud. They did so, and she turned back around. The odd feeling became stronger again. She dug into the snow until the frozen ground was visible.

Her earring, one of the three Elements of Conflict, began to glow fiercely. Rocks beneath the ground shattered until the permafrost was broken up. Starlight and Trixie watched this in shock.

Visible now was a buried quartz crystal. It looked perfectly ordinary, but Maud knew better. She carefully targeted more rocks until more ground was worn away.

The quartz was only the top of an entire sculpture made of crystal. This was a quartz statue of a unicorn. Only the head was visible, and this alone was the size of Maud.

The others had gathered in a circle now. Maud spoke, “Hundreds of years of weather and erosion buried it. Why has the statue itself not chipped away at all? It is flawless.”

Every finely carved detail was still in perfect condition. The face and the spirals of the horn hadn't been worn away at all. Cobalt, enamored by the beauty of it, just about reached out to touch it. Maud stopped her.

Starlight asked the others to back off a good ways. She then crouched, and stretched a back leg back, bracing herself. A massive blast of energy from her horn slammed into the statue. The frozen ground was blown into powder, and most of the statue was revealed, but it did not suffer any damage.

The feeling of static fuzziness became strong enough that it could be felt in the air. Sparks glanced off of the statue. When Starlight ceased her powerful magic missile, the fuzzy feeling faded.

Everypony gathered again, in silent awe at the devastation. With one short burst Starlight had excavated the whole statue, leaving a hole in the snowy ground. Cobalt caught the glint of metal at the base, and fluttered down to look at the plaque. Sky warned her to keep a shield up, and she did so.

This statue was of some ancient unicorn unknown to them. Ancient in the sense that he was from centuries ago, and ancient as in elderly. This unicorn was depicted with a long beard, a cloak, and a pointy hat with spirals on it.

Cobalt said she couldn't read the plaque. Starlight came down now, flying by force of sheer magic.

“Oh, that's why,” said Starlight, “It's Old Ponish. I don't know a whole lot of it... something about stars, that's all I can gather. This rune is interesting though...”

She brushed snow off of the edge of the plaque. A rune weakly glowed here, in a faint blue. Starlight suddenly jumped back. Cobalt flew up into the air and waited.

Starlight told her, “It's the same as yours!”

“What—the rune?” asked Cobalt, as she landed and began to undo her leg armor.

They compared it. Sure enough, it was a match. Cobalt spoke,

“Let me try something... this might be dangerous, keep a shield up.”

Starlight did so. Cobalt closed her eyes, and her rune glowed brightly. For a moment, nothing happened. And then, Cobalt heard something. A voice in an unknown language.

She opened her eyes, and said, “It worked! It's also for telepathy—but I can't understand the language.”

“Here, let me try this...” said Starlight, as her horn glowed and light suffused Cobalt.

The griffon tried it again. This time, she could understand the words. They echoed in her mind, In honor of Starswirl the Bearded, whose bravery kept the Empire from the shadows. Never shall shadow prey upon this land, nor shall dark mage Sombra meddle with forces beyond magic again. The Crystal Empire is safe, and all may be at peace.

This message was repeated to Starlight. She said, “Sombra is the wizard who invaded and overtook the empire. Twilight, Celestia and Luna just battled him again, actually—and he did have a shadowy, dark magic form.”

Cobalt spoke in a scared voice, “Is that pony immortal? How?”

“No, no I don't think so. Just got sent wherever the Crystal Empire went, came back with it."

They returned to the others and shared what they had found. Nopony seemed certain what it could mean.

Several more days of cold walking took them to the Crystal Empire. The fuzzy feeling of the strange magic statues helped them find their way. Some of these were buried beneath the snow. Other ones were still visible.

They arrived at town right at sunset. All present sat in awe at the majesty of the scene.

The playful colors of sunlight sparkled through the crystal spires of the translucent castle in the distance. Rays of light shone through across the town. As the sky faded to black, the northern lights danced in hues of green and blue against the backdrop of the rustic town.

Now this was worth everything Sky had been through so far. This was the stuff he had left home to find. In spite of all the danger of their world and the frosty cold of the landscape, this far northern city brought a sense of innocence and wonder.

As they trotted into town, Starlight took the lead. She was the most familiar with the place.

The houses and structures were not crystalline, but the ponies were. It was beyond weird looking at the shimmering texture of their fur, which had the same oddly translucent quality that the castle did.

“Long-term exposure to concentrated crystal magic,” said Starlight quietly.

The cobblestone streets were quiet. Most residents were staying home where it was warm, preparing for bed. The street lamps were some kind of glowing crystals, bright enough to offer illumination.

They soon arrived at a rather plain looking wooden house. Starlight knocked, and a unicorn answered. He spoke in a calm tone,

“It's good to see you, Starlight. Caught me just before bed,” he noticed the others, “My, that's a lot of company. I take it you need to talk about something?”

“Yes, it's important. It's about Twilight,” answered Starlight.

They all stepped inside. It wasn't a small house, but between the six of them and the endless stacks of books it was rather cramped.

Despite being about to go to bed, the unicorn wore a cloak and glasses. He took a seat in a tattered easy chair which was surrounded by books on magic.

Starlight spoke, “I'm sorry for barging in so late, Sunburst. Twilight has just vanished, and we were hoping you had some idea of where she might be.”

“I see,” said Sunburst, “I don't really know Twilight that well, so I may not be of much assistance.”

Starlight gave him the note which Twilight had left. He read it, and closed his eyes in thought. Finally, he spoke, “If she's looking for greater power, then she's probably studying ancient, dark, and crystal magics. Those comprise most of the recent weird events.”

Skyblazer spoke up now, while Cobalt browsed the bookshelves, “Do you know where she could go to learn about those?”

“Well, there are only a few known archives in Equestria that would have the knowledge. The first isn't far from here, it's at the old fortress in the tundra. Canterlot castle, of course, has the most arcane lore. And then the libraries here in town, but I sure haven't seen her around.”

Starlight asked, “What about spells of concealment—she could be using invisibility, or stopping time even though that's dangerous.”

Sunburst shook his head no, “If the friendship map doesn't know where she went, then it's a greater magic ward. As a result, she cannot use magic while it's active.”

Sky and the others didn't have a clue what this meant, but Starlight seemed shocked by it. She spoke, “I mean no disrespect, but could Twilight really have mastered such an advanced spell?”

“She has alicorn magic,” said Sunburst, “that puts her in a whole different league from unicorns—well, most of them,” he said, with an askew look at Starlight.

Trixie spoke to him now, “If anything else crazy happens in Ponyville, they won't be able to stop it without her. The way things are going, that could threaten all of Equestria!”

Sunburst calmed her down by saying, “I am aware, but I would say Twilight's friends know best. If they trust her as a good friend, then I'd say we should, as well.”

Skyblazer called Cobalt over, and spoke to everyone present, “We have a couple of leads now, and we need to split up. Cobalt and I can go find that fortress and search around the frozen north.”

“It's a long, cold flight back from here,” noted Starlight.

“We're explorers anyways, so it's fine. Right Cobalt?”

Cobalt nodded, and said, “If we're choosing to trust Twilight, it's fine by me. We'll take on some monster bounties and help out if anything crazy happens.”

Sunburst spoke to her now, “You're certainly abnormal for a griffon. Have you immigrated to Equestria?”

“Well, yes, I suppose so,” she answered, “but I haven't had the best experience dealing with ponies.”

“That should be understandable. A pony has good reason to fear a griffon.”

“Sure, but you could at least give me a chance.”

“I am, I'm not as dense as that. You don't seem very threatening.”

“Huh. Thanks.”

Starlight interrupted here, “Do you suppose Maud should stay with you, since she's one of the elements? You could take the train back.”

Maud spoke now, “While it could be a chance to gain greater insight into our elements, I would prefer to be near my sister at this time.”

“Fair enough,” replied Starlight, “In that case, Maud can stay in Ponyville while Trixie and I visit Canterlot for clues... I'm not looking forward to meeting the princesses.”

Maud answered this, “In light of recent events, I would suppose that your backgrounds are less essential than your knowledge of magic.”

“Well said, Maud. It's about time to get going, can't waste time right now. Sunburst, may Cobalt and Sky stay here for the night?”

Sunburst had no problem with it. He spoke, “With as determined and intelligent as she is, if Twilight doesn't wish to be found then it may be better to be patient. Stand by the others and wait, see what happens.”

Sky perked up at this, and said, “See what happens, huh. What if Zecora could give us more insight with her prophecy stuff?”

“Thinking of heading back with Starlight?” asked Cobalt.

“Maybe. I'm not sure right now.”

“What if we... no, that's crazy.”

“What?”

“You're a really fast flyer. It wouldn't take you long to get back to Everfree from here.”

“We're all the way in the frozen north, Cobalt. At best, two moons and a week with a good tailwind.”

“Yeah, and during that time I can go to Canterlot and get properly registered, introduce myself to five of the elements of harmony, and then go visit Zecora. Also, maybe look into the remedy for your sister. I know a ton about alchemy, remember?”

Starlight butted in, “What's wrong with your sister?”

Sky answered, “Some kind of ancient curse. Zecora found a remedy, but it needs 'water from the pool of reflection'. Whatever that is.”

“It's an eldritch pool that can create duplicates of a pony,” said Starlight, “It's been sealed off by Twilight.”

“You know where it is?”

“No, not personally. I only know of it through Sunburst.”

Sunburst spoke, “I actually asked the royal sisters while they were here, and Celestia said it was in Everfree, but no specifics.”

Sky seemed confused, “Zecora told me it was a myth, you don't suppose... she lied to me?”

“If she did, I doubt it's personal,” said Sunburst, “the pool is incredibly dangerous. Besides, it's not likely that she knows everything that goes on in that forest. It's one of the most enigmatic locations in Equestria.”

Sky and Cobalt stepped outside to talk now. Skyblazer said,

“Are you sure you want to split ways? We'd be safer together, and then these elements have to mean something.”

“We'll be okay, Sky. We're both tough, ain't we?”

“What about that whole 'darkest hour, doom and gloom' thing?”

“If we're apart, it can't possibly take place, right? Supposed to be 'our' darkest hour. And prophecy isn't always right anyways.”

“What if something else attacks Ponyville?”

“I'd say there's more than enough skilled wizards to handle it.”

“Yeah, I guess... and Celestia and Luna are standing by.”

“Luna can reach us in that dream world if we're both needed, for whatever reason.”

“Alright then. So I'll look into this fortress place, and you go with the bitchy ponies to visit the royal castle. You guys should get along fine.”

Cobalt laughed, and pushed him over. She said, “Oh please, Trixie and Starlight annoy me too... but yeah, they would know what to look for if Twilight did sneak into the castle library.”

Sky got back to his hooves, shook the dust out of his wings, and said, “Looks like any bounty hunting is gonna have to wait... I wouldn't mind earning some bits, too.”

“Pretty sure protecting Equestria from eldritch monsters is more important,” remarked Cobalt.

“Do you... know why ponies don't trust those two?” asked Sky.

“You mean our magical new friends?”

“Yeah. Trixie and Starlight... have a history. Both of them used to be wanted outlaws.”

“Can't be much worse than us.”

“Trixie attacked Ponyville with dark magic, and Starlight enslaved an entire town.”

“Oh.”

“Seems like a lot of misunderstanding, though they're trying to do better. I don't know if we can really trust them...”

“You're trusting me, aren't you?” asked Cobalt.

“Yeah, true. Take care of yourself, okay? Hopefully we can find Twilight.”

Sky and Cobalt had a brief hug, and then returned indoors. Starlight had cleared a space in the middle of the room, and Trixie was moving the last few books away.

Maud, Trixie, Cobalt and Starlight stood in the cleared circle.

Sunburst noted the necklace she wore, and whistled. He said, “Even I wouldn't trust a power amplifier.”

“It's not for anything risky,” said Starlight, “just a teleportation spell.”

“Would you like a list of things that can go wrong?”

“Not needed,” said Cobalt, “We ended up days away from here here and had to get directions from some yaks.”

“Yes,” conceded Starlight, “But Ponyville is a bit more than a couple days' walk from here. Equestria itself could be in grave danger if we don't figure out what Twilight is doing. If anypony wants to stay, fine, but I'm getting back quickly.”

“Just watch that temper of yours,” said Sunburst, “I really don't want to know what happens if teleportation backfires.”

Starlight nodded, and took some time to enjoy tea and chat with Sunburst before leaving. When she felt calm, she prepared to leave. The glowing energy from her horn was absorbed by the necklace, a sturdy magic shield was conjured around them all, and they vanished in a blink.

Sunburst calmly returned to reading like nothing had happened. Sky needed a moment to recover after seeing magic that nuts.

Skyblazer walked over and took a seat in a chair nearby Sunburst. He quietly asked, “What did you mean by 'even you' wouldn't use that type of artifact?”

Sunburst seemed a bit miffed. He said, “Don't worry about it, it's nothing. I have a guest room—you will have to move some books off the bed. I've got spare bedding in here somewhere.”

It was a quiet and peaceful night of rest. A fireplace in Sky's room, and thick quilts, kept the autumn cold away well enough. Morning came. Sunburst offered breakfast, but didn't say a whole lot. He was a very quiet and isolated sort of pony. Sky wondered why, but didn't wish to be rude.

Sky took his leave, and went off to visit the extravagant castle and see the alicorn baby he'd heard about.

The crystalline ponies of this town were really neat to look at, but hard to talk to. It felt like being in a historical reenactment. He walked to the castle, giving his wings rest for the long hours of flight ahead.

Starlight Glimmer and company had safely returned to Ponyville the previous evening.

Through another rush of color and wind, they found themselves precisely at the town. In the air far above it, in freefall.

Cobalt instinctively unfolded her wings and took flight. Starlight, Maud, and Trixie began to fall towards the streetlamps far, far below.

21. Flying Through a Winter Wonderland

The griffon dove and caught Maud, who was closest by. Trixie was screaming, in a panic. Starlight seemed calm, and resolute. There was a flash of light from her horn, and then another at ground level.

Cobalt spiraled towards the streets with some exertion from the weight. Trixie was falling, but there was nothing she could do.

Suddenly, a familiar light-blue pegasus stormed by at high speed. She caught Trixie on her back, and began to lose height fast. Cobalt continued her controlled descent and watched. This pegasus was clearly skilled, but the weight was too much for her.

Cobalt grimaced as ground level fast approached. Even with her strength, it was difficult to slow for the landing.

Starlight Glimmer could be seen standing on a rooftop now. She shot an unknown spell at Trixie and the blue pegasus carrying her. Their velocity slowed drastically, though the pegasus had a harder time keeping control.

They all landed now. Cobalt landed with a grunt on her back legs, and had to tuck in and roll since she was holding Maud. It wasn't pretty, and she felt a rock cut into her shoulder, but they were both alright.

Trixie and the blue pegasus came in for a very gentle landing, and settled to the ground very much like autumn leaves. They, too, were unharmed. Starlight floated down from the building by magic.

Cobalt was back up now, and helping Maud up. She was about to comment about how lucky an escape that was, when she noticed Starlight.

Her back leg was badly cut, and her silvery fur had become crimson. She seemed to be in shock, and she was beginning to shake.

She spoke weakly as the others approached, “I... don't know healing magic, never studied it... I'm feeling weak.”

Trixie encouraged her to sit down, slowly. The cut was bleeding profusely. Starlight closed her eyes several times, and almost keeled over, but grimaced and stayed alert.

Cobalt walked over to her, and said, “Hey. I've done some awful stuff in my life too, Starlight. That doesn't mean there's no hope for us. Just hang on, you'll be okay. Equestria needs you right now.”

Cobalt dug into her first aid pack. She applied gauze and healing potion to the wound, but it didn't close up completely and some blood still dripped down her leg.

Starlight lie across Cobalt's back as the griffon took off for the Ponyville Hospital. Trixie galloped along the streets below, fast as she could run. Her hat flew off, and Maud picked it up for her.

Maud stayed back to talk with the sky-blue pegasus. She knew her well. It was Rainbow Dash, who stood with a worried and somber look on her face.

There was an attempt from Maud to cheer her up, “Normally you would be gloating about your flying abilities.”

“Yeah, I guess in the past...” replied Dash, “but shit is real bad right now. What happened up there?”

“Starlight attempted to teleport all of us back from the Crystal Empire. It is good that you were around.”

“I was at home for the night. Heard this voice, it was like, in my head, and it said 'I need help, get your flank down here fast as possible.' So I took off.”

“You got down from Cloudsdale that fast?”

“No, no. I actually have this really cool cloud house a lot closer to ground level. Flying from Cloudsdale every day would be a pain... but anyways, looks like Starlight was hurt pretty bad. What happened?”

“I do not know. She used her magic to relocate herself to ground level, and what I assume was a spell of soft landing on us.”

“She must have hit something in the dark... could have been way worse. Where's Sky, I was hoping to show him and that griffon around the skies here. Help take our mind off of things, you know.”

“He stayed in the Crystal Empire to search for Twilight.”

“Pony-feathers! He'll be gone for weeks.”

“You will have time to visit Cobalt, at least.”

“Yeah, that's true... let's get over to the hospital and check on Starlight.”

They made their way towards the hospital through the flickering light of streetlamps.

It was a sturdy, well-lit building next door to the town hall. Two royal guards patrolled the entrance. They seemed a bit ruffled.

Maud greeted them by saying, “I take it from the look on your faces that a belligerent griffon and injured pony arrived here recently.”

“Aye,” said one of the guards, “They're waking a doctor up now.”

Sure enough, a unicorn was approaching. She stepped into the hospital, but the guards kept Maud and Rainbow out, as it was after hours.

Rainbow seemed to have something on her mind. Maud asked her what it might be, and she replied,

“You said Sky is looking around the frozen north, right?”

Maud answered, “Yes. Apparently an old fortress out in the tundra holds an archive on crystal and dark magic. It would be a quiet place for Twilight to sneak off to.”

“Did you warn him about the magic ice storms?”

“...No, I did not. Dear Luna. I certainly hope Sunburst lets him know.”

“I should see if Spike is able to send a message that far... Sky could be in serious danger trying to search around out there.”

“He does have an element of conflict, and experience with it. He has some magic abilities.”

“How about a strong pyro spell? Light magic?”

“Yes, and I believe so.”

“I sure hope he's alright.”

“Do you trust Twilight knows what she's doing?”

“Kinda. I think her heart's in the right place, but her mind sure isn't.”

“How do your friends feel?”

“Worried as all hell. Celestia knows I am. But... we've made it through this far, right? Just gotta stick together and we can handle whatever wants to attack Ponyville.”

“I should visit my sister. Is Pinkie in town?”

“She's staying busy with work. Folks want sweets when they get nervous, y'know.”

“I'm nervous, and I would like sweets.”

“Hahaha! Sure, Maud, that's not a bad idea. Let's all stop by Sugarcube Corner tomorrow, after they get Starlight patched up.”

They waited a while longer until Cobalt and Starlight walked out of the hospital. Starlight had a limp, but she seemed okay. Cobalt was stern and unharmed. Some of the white fur on her back was now stained dark red. The guards seemed rather leery of her.

One guard trotted up to her in an imposing manner, and began to question her. Cobalt was too tired for this, and she growled at him. The guard swiftly backed off.

Cobalt reached Maud and Rainbow, and sat down. She said,

“Alright. They got the leg stitched up. Starlight is all loopy right now from some strong sleeping potion, so we should get her back to the crystal castle to rest.”

Starlight said, slowly, “I've... been better. I'm fine to walk, let's go.”

She leaned on Trixie and limped to the crystal castle, as Maud, Cobalt and Dash walked on ahead, chatting with each other.

On arriving, they quietly walked towards the guest rooms. Cobalt noticed that Applejack and the other ponies were asleep on the floor in the map room.

They'd deal with things in the morning. They were famished, but food could wait too. For now, it was time to get some rest.

Skyblazer Haycart had finally reached his destination. The Crystal Empire had clearly been named after it. Spires and arches of the translucent crystal towered far above him. It made the one in Ponyville look like a shed in comparison.

For a moment, he considered how fun it would be to fly up to a balcony and make a surprise appearance. He eyed the heavy crossbows mounted along the walls, and thought better of it.

A crystalline unicorn guard let him pass into the castle grounds. Here, beneath the shade of several flowering trees, was a gravel courtyard. A fountain—also crystal—bubbled away peacefully off to one side, with benches nearby it.

Sky found that this was as far as he could go. Pending recent events, the castle had been locked down for security and repairs.

He spoke to the guards, “Is there any way I could talk to Shining and Cadence? I was really hoping to see their new foal, but it looks like that's not happening.”

The pegasus guard on the right responded to Sky, “I can see if either of them have time. Is it important?”

“Well, Twilight Sparkle went missing and I'm looking for any advice I can get.”

The other guard spoke now, in a rumbling baritone, “Oh wow, that is serious.”

This guard, a unicorn with yellow fur, wore armor pieces with the Canterlot seal on them.

Sky waited patiently as the pegasus guard ran down the courtyard, took off, and fluttered up to the rooftop. He entered a tower here, and returned after a while.

Dust scattered as he landed gently as he could with armor on. He spoke, “Shining Armor can talk for a bit. Cadence is too busy.”

Sky had a seat at a picnic table while he waited. The doors into the castle gave a protesting creak, and Shining stepped through. He kicked the door closed rather than use magic.

As this white-furred unicorn drew closer, Sky observed him with a mixture of shock and apprehension. He had only met the guy once before, at his wedding years ago, but this did not seem to match what he'd heard about him.

Maybe it was the lack of armor that made Shining look so bedraggled. He usually wore heavy plate mail on duty, or chain mail when traveling. While Twilight and co had taken on threats to all Equestria, Shining and his guards had frequently handled lesser monsters as needed to protect towns.

Shining Armor sat across from Sky, and now the lines beneath his eyes revealed that he'd been running on little sleep. He yawned before speaking in a deep but calm voice,

“Yep, sounds about right. Leave it to Twi to go off and try to solve problems on her own.”

Sky was taken aback. He spoke in alarm, “No one's told you yet?”

“Nope,” Shining shook his head, “and normally correspondence from Canterlot is instant. They have this young dragon—oh, dragons can send letters off at a distance...”

“Yeah, I know that,” said Sky brashly, “It seems like such a strange oversight.”

“No, no it's fine. The royal sisters have a lot to handle right now... sounds like my sister does, too.”

Sky dug into his saddlebags and retrieved the letter, while the guards quietly watched him from their post.

Shining used a glint of magic to hold the letter down against the breeze and read it. He nodded, cast a glance over at the mossy fountain, and spoke with a grim smile,

“Always the hero, Twi. I just wish she stayed with her friends. There's something to all this ancient magic, it wouldn't be popping up now for no reason.”

“You think so?” Sky thought of Cobalt, weeks away in Ponyville.

“Look, I don't believe in 'destiny' or 'fate'. That said, we have a mythical prophecy becoming true with the Elements of Harmony, and that just happens to coincide with long-forgotten monsters suddenly being free again.”

“Celestia and Luna said they think magic is weakening,” mentioned Sky.

Shining nodded, “I'm kept in the know with stuff like that. Cadence is one of the alicorn princesses, if you'll recall.”

“Um, I heard you two had a foal? Congrats.”

“Thanks, but we're keeping Flurry Heart inside for now. You know how unicorn babies can't control their magic use?”

Sky nodded.

“Imagine that, with the power of alicorn magic.”

“Yikes.”

“Tell me about it,” said Shining with a weak laugh, “I've gotten like, no sleep. Think I'd rather be fighting a dragon.”

“Been there, done that, no thanks,” responded Sky. Shining was piqued by this, and Sky told him a summary of meeting Cobalt, finding their elements, and what they had been through.

“Damn,” said Shining stoically, “That's a whole lot of nonsense to handle at your age. Be sure to take it easy when you can, fighting monsters can be rough on a pony.”

“I mean, I knew that going in. Still seemed like honest, good work. Protect folk, handle monsters, earn some bits. Of course, we're a part of something else now.”

“So three elements of conflict, six of harmony, nine crystals in total. Hmm. I think you need to gather up Cobalt and Maud soon as possible. Take some time to figure out what your elements are meant for, besides magic tricks.”

“Could they just be, what was it called... amplifier artifacts?”

Shining raised an eyebrow, “I don't know how you know about that, but sure, tis possible. With how accurate this ancient magic and prophecy stuff has been, though...”

Sky nodded, getting the point. He said, “Yeah, but for now, we need Twilight back. I'm going to look for her. Do you know anything about an old archive in the wilds near here?”

“Sure, there's a whole map to it in the library. Come on in.”

The guards shuffled away from the door, and Skyblazer followed Shining Armor into his castle.

Cobalt, a griffon with white fur and blue feathers, glided on the warm and lonely winds towards Everfree. She missed Sky. For a change, and perhaps for the first time in her life thus far, she didn't want to be alone.

She shook her head and closed her eyes, inhaling the sweet scent of the autumn woods below. The ornate, runed ring she wore—inset with a large emerald—glowed fiercely. Her spell of detect magic offered a response so overwhelming that it gave her a headache.

The griffon abruptly changed her course now, swooping into a fast climb into the big blue sky. Beneath, at ground level, an Ursa Major lumbered through the trees.

Cobalt's sharp eyesight followed the path of this surreal monster with some trepidation. Its entire hide was some sort of astral energy, same stuff as Celstia's mane. Trees shivered and birds took off in squawking flocks at each step.

The creature paused, sniffed the ground, and began digging. A nearby lake began to drain into the hole as the creature pulled a massive crystal from the ground. It began glowing, the energy flowing into the bear's mouth. The ursa dropped it when it stopped glowing.

Huh, thought Cobalt to herself, That's how those eat.

Past the whistling wind and the rustle of her feathers as she flapped hard to stay in one place, she could faintly hear a scream for help. She looked at the ground below, and saw two ponies up in a tree as the flood waters swirled around them.

A fast dive took Cobalt towards the Ursa. It noticed her, and began growling, rippling the air like thunder. Cobalt had an idea.

Her ring glowed brilliantly as tendrils of blue energy flowed towards the mountain-sized astral bear. This energy passed right through it, and was absorbed. The Ursa licked its lips, and began walking away, content. The craters from its footsteps began filling with water. The bear became more transparent, and stopped having any effect at all on the landscape, passing through trees like a ghost and gliding along the ground.

Cobalt was panting now as she flew towards the tree. There was a unicorn, and an earth pony. The male unicorn yelled over the rushing water,

“Rescue Lavender, don't worry about me! I'll figure something out with magic.”

Cobalt hefted the confused and protesting earth pony out from the tree.

“Yes, I'm a griffon,” she said, “Deal with it, I'm the only one with wings here.”

The lavender-colored pony shouted, “I don't care about that—save my sweetie!”

“Here, let me set you down first,” Cobalt flew past the muddy rapids and set the pony down on higher ground. The unicorn lost his grip, and fell into the water. Cobalt rushed over to help, but she was tired by now.

Thankfully, the unicorn had thought of something. His horn glowed, and a length of rope shot off towards a tree and tied itself around the trunk. The unicorn held onto the rope with his teeth, and tried to swim against the current.

Both Cobalt and Lavender ran over to help him get to shore.

“Whew, thanks,” the soggy unicorn said in ragged breaths.

Cobalt scolded them, “What were you two doing out here?”

“We could ask you the same.”

Lavender spoke up as she leaned on her 'sweetie', “Everfree is the best place to go for some peace and quiet.”

“I wouldn't say the best place... alright, I've got stuff to do. Be more careful.”

“Hey wait!” yelled the unicorn before Cobalt could take off, “You aren't going to bother asking my name, or telling us yours, at least?”

Cobalt turned around, rolled her eyes, and sighed loudly. She spoke in a chafing tone, “I'm Cobalt, the big, scary griffon.”

“I'm Pine Bough, the unicorn who can very well take care of himself.”

“No doubt, since you were brave or stupid enough to be out here.”

Lavender asked sweetly, “So, visiting Equestria?”

“I live here, in Everfree.”

“Great job with that Ursa... I'd heard they exist but never thought I'd see one.”

“They aren't normally a threat, long as you can see through em. If they look more solid, run.”

Lavender added, “You ain't bad for a griffon. Well, good to meet you then, take care.”

Cobalt shook her head in wonder as she took off. Clearly, not every pony was a sheer pansy.

Zecora was found in the solace of her hut. This did not bode well. Normally, in great, cool weather like this, the zebra would be harvesting flowers that only bloom in fall.

Cobalt stepped inside, where the zebra sat surrounded by books and wearing a blanket and shawl over herself. She hadn't bothered to get a fire started, so Cobalt hit the fireplace with a pyro spell and had a seat on the couch.

Zecora kept reading and muttering to herself as Cobalt munched on several fish.

Cobalt's rune glowed, and she squinted, reaching out with her mind.

Hello, Zecora, you're scaring me. What's up. Find something neat?

Cobalt gulped a bite of fish, fell off the couch, and stared at Zecora in wide-eyed shock. She cautiously walked over to the zebra, putting a front leg around her shoulders.

Zecora was sweating profusely, but shivering. Cobalt tried again, now in direct contact with the zebra.

Endless dark. No place, yet someplace. An outline of Zecora, and... something else. A shadowy figure. Is this a dream? She has her magic charms, at least. They seem to be fighting. I believe in you, Zecora, I'm with you now. Light. Approaching fast—a fracture in reality? What does that mean? Into darkness again. Please, snap out of it.

A burst of light filled the cabin. Zecora and Cobalt fell back onto their sides. A shadowy burst of energy fled through a window, hissing as it went.

Cobalt hugged Zecora, and the zebra jumped back with a yell.

“What, what is it?!” asked Cobalt in alarm.

“Your ring!” yelled Zecora back, and Cobalt looked down. The gemstone was steaming with heat. The metal band must be scorching.

Zecora was breathing heavily, and still sweating. She stared into the distance, caught her breath, and glared while gritting her teeth.

She gathered her shawl around herself, and said, “Your ring, it stings.”

“Are you alright? Holy Celestia, what was that?”

“Invoking Luna may be more apropos, with her knowledge and control of shadow. As for what that was, Cobalt... I don't know.”

“But you know everything about magic!”

“Some magic come from before the time of this zebra and her rhymes.”

“So what, ancient magic stuff? Is that what ancient magic looks like?”

“No, my friend, I fear we haven't put an end... to Sombra.”

“Who?”

In response, Zecora nudged a book over to Cobalt, who read the title out loud,

“History of the Crystal Empire, volume five. Modern translation by Sunburst. Ugh. Sounds as dry as eating sand.”

“Take a look at where I have opened the book.”

Cobalt flipped the book open, using magic rather than a talon. She wore a snarky smile as she did so.

The chapter detailed the fall of the Crystal Empire to some powerful wizard pony who wanted to seize control of the known world. He succeeded in taking over the city known as Crystal Hearth, and renamed it the capital of his Empire. From this, the name Crystal Empire has stuck until the present day.

This evil fellow, who began calling himself King Sombra, had studied and mastered the darkest aspects of dark magic. With an arsenal of spells of pain and confusion and control, it was no trouble overthrowing the city. The ponies there were academic and creative, but didn't so much as have an established army.

According to the book, two princesses (Luna and Celestia?) appeared at midnight, in their alternate forms, fully armored and with enchanted weapons to combat this serious threat. If the chapter was to be believed, they fought for days without rest and leveled the lands around the Crystal Empire.

This is really cool and really scary, thought Cobalt to herself as her eyes flicked down the page.

Through a complex web of powerful and often unknown spells and curses, the princesses prevailed. Sombra was not willing to surrender to them. With his absolute knowledge of dark magic, he became as one with the shadows, and dark masses of shadowy energy eclipsed the city like stormclouds.

As the princesses retreated and observed the magic for a way to repel it, they could only watch in awestruck horror as the entire city became as transparent as the castle was. It faded from view, the last tendrils of shadow dissipated, and only an expanse of tundra could be seen.

These final notes had been gathered from the private journal of Starswirl the Bearded, who assisted the princesses with the fight. He had forgotten his journal in the library, which allowed it to be perfectly preserved and stand as a testament to what had happened.

To the residents, it felt like no time at all had passed. Simply a new day, though over a thousand years in the future. One Twilight Sparkle located the Crystal Heart and brought the light back to the city with the aid of her friends.

From here, the book detailed how she resolved each trap set in place by King Sombra, how the shadowy being was at last repelled and banished, and then went into the modern history of the city, which didn't interest Cobalt.

The griffon put the book down and sat in silent thought for a moment.

Zecora spoke, “Possession of the mind is a magic quite rare, forbidden and forgotten and allowed nowhere. Between this and my struggle against shadow, I believe it can only be one foe.”

“And that would be Sombra, I know,” replied Cobalt, “We have to warn the princesses, and Twilight's friends.”

“I leave this task up to you. It is fall, and I have many things to do.”

Cobalt nodded. Each season brought unique materials to harvest for potion making.

With a wry smirk, Cobalt asked, “To a bloodthirsty griffon you make this demand, to go and bring warning and save this land?”

Zecora smiled now as she replied, “My dear, you have come such a ways... truly you are a griffon to be praised.”

Cobalt took off her armor and saddle bags now. She stretched fore and aft, and helped the zebra with her household chores before bed.

Back in the Crystal Empire, Skyblazer cinched his saddlebags on and thanked Shining Armor for letting him visit the castle.

Sky had gotten the chance to talk with Cadence and see their baby. He had attempted to give a snack of blueberries to the alicorn foal. The berries had all exploded like a string of small, fruity firecrackers.

After getting the mess cleaned up, Sky decided it would be safer to head out into frozen tundras full of unknown, dangerous ancient magic and various monsters than stay in here with Flurry Heart.

At first, the flight was uneventful. The glamorous Crystal Empire faded into the distance behind him. Skyblazer found himself in a land of ice and snow. A light dusting of snow fell from the clouds above. Sky could, theoretically, alter this weather any way he wanted, but it would be better to save the energy.

He kept a keen eye on the horizon. Shining Armor had given him some advice on the hazards out here. If the temperature suddenly dropped and the snow suddenly stopped, an arcane ice storm was incoming.

It stopped snowing. Sky shivered and breathed in frosty puffs in weather that was already below freezing without flying at speed through it.

Oh no, thought Sky.

While he wasn't sure how fast he could fly, this was a great time to find out. The icy wind ripped past him, and he risked a glance behind as he accelerated.

A bank of dark clouds were passing by overhead, faster than any natural clouds Sky had ever seen. He realized it was not natural.

Several rabbits and a fox, all with white fur and difficult to see against the snow, dove and dug down deep into the snow.

Sky went even faster. The air snapped and popped around him as he pressed close to the sound barrier.

Trees and mountains below blurred past. Miles went by in moments. The storm was still, against all logic, advancing on him yet faster.

Skyblazer began to feel exhausted. Nopony could keep up this speed for more than a couple minutes. He had to find shelter. At this speed, the old fortress shouldn't be far.

It was a flight of four or five hours normally, and he had been flying for three... a blocky something zipped by. Without losing momentum, Sky banked around into a fast turn as heavy g-forces wracked his body.

He dived towards the old fortress and whatever shelter it offered. The storm line advanced towards him.

Like watching a heavy downpour of rain at a distance, dark lines drained down from the massive front of “clouds” which zoomed towards him faster than a cloud had any damn right to be going.

Pine trees froze into icicles and the sap exploded, sending shards of frozen bark in all directions. A moose, which was also trying to hide in the shelter of the fortress, was speared by several shards, and fell.

The entire world ahead of him froze over. Every tree, cold-hardy shrub, unlucky animal, flake of snow, and pine branch froze solid with the sound of a settling glacier. The air shimmered from the sheer cold. The lingering curse from the battle far in the past served its purpose, and all was still.

Skyblazer flew into the fortress at speed and met the cold front right at the entrance.

His crystal necklaced glowed with fury. His entire body glowed with a golden magic energy. His tail and the feathers on his wings began to freeze over as the pyro spell, turned inwards, countered this and steam rose from his body in puffs in the icy air.

Somehow, his weather control magic cleared a hole through the storm as he dove for cover. One final burst of magic, a basic magic missile. The wooden and iron door of the fortress, already brittle from cold, shattered to pieces.

Sky zipped in, braking hard with painful wings, sliding to a stop on slippery, frozen stones. He slammed into the far wall at highway speed, and put up an arcane shield just in time. It absorbed the brunt of the impact, and caught him like a cushion.

Stairs led underground. Skyblazer ran down these, slipping on the ice, as the rafters above creaked and froze solid.

At the bottom, he found himself in a study. He crouched now, shaking in the intense cold, and kept his pyro spell active as the worst of the storm passed above.

The temperature rose to just above freezing. By comparison, this was warm.

Skyblazer shakily walked over to a table in the center of the room. He pulled a chair out and had a seat. Several brittle, frozen feathers snapped off his wings and clinked on the ground.

After several minutes of warming pyro spell and several swigs of whiskey, Sky stood back up, breathing heavily. He noticed firewood by the fireplace, including kindling. This place was probably a known safe haven to the locals.

A fire was started, and when Sky had gathered his wits, he limped over to the bookshelves, bruised and hurting all over. The tip of his right ear had gone completely numb. That was probably fine.

If Twilight had gone this way, then Sky hoped she was okay. He began scouring the library for any clues.

The books were all, without exception, written in whatever ancient language the crystal ponies used. It was probably the Old Ponish he had heard about.

He started pulling each and every book off the shelf. Every single adventure story he had read with a library in it had a hidden alcove somewhere, and it was always the last book that was the lever.

Actually, it was the first book he pulled on. Something clicked, and a small panel popped open at the base of the shelf.

Sky opened this little cabinet door. The craftsmanship was amazing—he hadn't so much as seen a seam. It was just a little nook. He made sure to use his light magic bracelet to look inside before sticking a hoof in.

Within was a solitary book. The title on the spine was Old Ponish and illegible. The book had strange, dark red crystals holding it closed all along the edges. Two silver chains crossed over it, with a lock at the center.

Sky spoke to himself now, “Wait, that actually worked? And why hide... a book? At any rate, they didn't think this lock through very well.”

He set the book on the ground, took a few steps back, and his crystal began to glow. He thought about fighting monsters, pulling a sword and swooping forward, and sparks flying.

A magic missile shot forward with precision on the lock. Even if the lock held, the book should be torn apart so he could see what it was hiding. Might even be a hidden safe in a book, that would be cool.

Instead, to his shock, the magic missile bounced right off the book with an echoing ring. The crystals glowed angrily. Without time to react, Sky was struck by the bolt. It hit his dragon scale vest, and was deflected onto the stones.

Skyblazer was sent skidding back into a table. A lamp fell on him.

“Okay, ow,” said Sky under his breath.

He walked back over to consider the book, and noticed a single black scale had fallen off his vest. He looked back at his armor, where exactly one scale was now missing on the left side. Now both sides of it were damaged. Argh.

As for the book, it wasn't even scratched. Cautiously, he placed the book in a side pouch, not sure if it would let him do that.

He dusted himself off. Great, even more bruising... he was going to be so sore tomorrow, and he had so far to fly. Hopefully there would at least be a tailwind from the northern winds blowing south.

At least his efforts weren't all for nothing. After some time spent examining the library, he found several purple feathers caught in the woodwork. He tried out a spell of detect magic, entirely unsure if he was doing it right as he walked through the study, his necklace glowing.

As he walked up the stairs, he spoke out loud, “Am I supposed to feel something if it works, or...”

He stopped. He did feel something, kind of like a ringing in his ears at first. Suddenly, the names of spells came to him in his mind: Unknown Spell of Crystal Magic, Translate—Old Ponish, Invisibility, Fourth Tier Greater Teleportation, Greater Cold Ward, Weather Control, Aerial Spatial Warp, Farsight Scrying, Detect Magic, Lesser Pyro, Lesser Arcane Shield, Magic Missile, Weather Control.

“Huh.”

Sky realized, now, that the spells which had come to mind had been from oldest to most recent. He huffed when he realized the 'lesser' spells were his. There was something more,

Forbidden Magic noticed: unknown Ancient Magic, unknown Ward against magical location tracking. Caster bears royal signet of Canterlot. Listed magic is now permissible.

Now that was... fascinating. This had to be Twilight.

Skyblazer cooked his frozen vegetables over the fire, and then returned to the Crystal Empire for the night. Surely Sunburst would know something about this.

22. Harbinger

The flight back to Ponyville was uneventful. Skyblazer was focused on making good time, and he stayed at a higher altitude with the strong Northern winds against his back.

Sunburst had failed to open the book. In spite of all his knowledge, he could offer no insight on the crimson crystals which held it shut. He did, however, know of artifacts which could reflect magic that belonged to the distant past.

It was not a forbidden kind of magic, just a forgotten one. Nopony knew how to enchant crystals to do such, and no old lore had been found on the subject.

Sky considered visiting the Crystal Empire a while longer, but he had all of Equestria to fly across. He was also worried for Cobalt's safety—and the safety of everypony else.

With saddlebags stocked with food and water and the enigmatic book, Skyblazer maintained ferocious speed on his way back South. He formed low clouds to rest on for lunch and for sleeping, conjured drinking water out of storm clouds, and spent several days at a time without once touching the ground.

An entire cycle of the moon went by, and half of another one, before he arrived in familiar countryside. The landscape hadn't offered much of interest through his flight. Simply a dark green blur of pine forests which became a blaze of orange and yellow with deciduous the further South he flew. Autumn had now arrived in full. The leaves were changing, crops were ripe for harvest, and the Apples would be holding cider season soon.

If only Sky had time to enjoy it all. He knew he didn't, and that the present mysteries needed answers before he could relax. There had to be some connection between Maud, Cobalt, and him. Some purpose to nine elements in total.

This was by far the longest distance he had flown, and further than most pegasi ever bothered to. Even messenger pegasi seldom had reason to travel across the entire kingdom.

Now, the mind-numbing monotony and the chill of blustering winds was at last broken up by the crags of mountains fast approaching. He slowed now, recognizing the place for what it was. The Smokey Mountains. His mother had spent moons here in solitude.

He shot past the rocky spires and changed his direction with the sun for his guide. Southeast now. For several more days he blitzed through the sky with the speeds only a pegasus or a younger dragon could hope to maintain. Rainbow Falls neared, the cloudbank and landmark which meant Canterlot was not far.

This place merited a stop. He paused at the town of Rainbow Falls to purchase more supplies and admire the waterfalls of liquefied rainbow, as it gleamed and glittered in the sunlight.

It was a good place to rest for the night, and a chance to have a hot meal. For weeks now he had gotten by on foliage and berries, although a lot of both to provide all the calories needed for his hours of flight.

In the morning he took off once more for the final, two-day flight to Ponyville. He would bypass Canterlot Peak and its fierce mountain winds. A talk with the princesses could wait until he reunited with Cobalt and the others.

At last he reached the cozy town at the base of the mountain, and breathed a tired sigh of relief. Sky found a consistent current in the erratic winds to glide on, giving his tired wings rest on the spiral down to Ponyville.

A strange beam of light caught his attention. It came from the Southern edge of town, where it bordered Everfree Forest.

When he had gotten close enough, his sharp eyesight recognized a familiar silhouette on the ground below.

Skyblazer grinned as he found renewed strength to dive towards the ground and swoop up into a flashy landing. His wings stirred up a cloud of dust. Through the haze lumbered the bulky figure of a griffon, who pounced and tackled Sky in a hug that sent them both toppling over.

Cobalt was sent flying back in a puff of strong wind. She landed gently with agile wings, and gave a mischievous smirk as she spoke,

"Sky! Am I ever glad to see you. Got some things we need to talk about."

Skyblazer got to his hoofs and shook the dust off before replying, "I was going to say the same thing! Why are you out here in the woods?"

"They just kicked me out of Ponyville," answered Cobalt as she preened the dust out of her dark blue feathers and shook twigs from her white fur.

With a sigh Sky asked, "Alright, what did you do?"

"It wasn't me!" growled Cobalt, "I was blamed for it. You don't have to believe me."

"No, I believe you. I just can't believe Ponyville folk would be so judgmental."

"Sky, let's head to Zecora's place and we can talk about it."

Together again, they took flight further into the Everfree Forest. It was only several hours by wing to reach the cabin.

Zecora, the zebra alchemist, did not step out to greet them this time. Nor did she offer any fond hello to her friends as they entered.

She sat in a chair by the hearth, her shawl wrapped around her and the hood up. A stack of books was on the floor next to her. The fireplace was lit, even though it was a warm day.

Skyblazer, exhausted from his long flight, wasn't sure how to feel or react. He quietly took a seat in the chair across from her as Cobalt relayed what had happened.

“And now she's reading lots of books on ancient and dark magic,” concluded Cobalt, “but none of them talk about spells that can tear reality or take over the mind.”

Sky nodded now, understanding. This was some scary, high-level magic. He suggested,

“Luna said that magic itself is weakening, and that is what's causing these tears into nowhere.”

Zecora looked up from her book now. She stretched and yawned, and spoke to Sky,

“That is the effect, of course, which leaves unknown the cause and the source.”

Cobalt spoke, “We don't know that the old dark wizard Sombra is actually dead. All this stuff that's been happening seems like dark magic to me.”

Now Skyblazer asked, “Where did you find this crack in reality?”

Zecora hesitated before speaking, “A cavern nearby the place where I scry.”

“You have a pool of scrying? I thought that was a myth...” replied Sky, “guess anything is possible, way things have been. Oh, I found a lead on Twilight.”

“You did?” asked Cobalt, piqued, “The girls and me didn't find a damn thing in Canterlot. I did get the tracking necklace thing though.”

Sky noticed the fine silver necklace chain with an intricate amulet, inset with small gems. He talked with Cobalt and Zecora about the ice storm and the fortress, and his detect magic spell.

“Sure does sound like Twilight,” said Cobalt, “You should go back and let the others know. I'll wait here.”

“So, what happened in Ponyville?” asked Sky.

“Someone managed to steal a dozen barrels of cider from the Apples while they were sleeping. I got blamed for it by this really wealthy, popular pony. My word against his. But I am trying to be nicer dammit so I left without a fight.”

“You shouldn't just stand for that! Here, go with me, I'll side with you. If there's no proof then they can't just pin the crime on you. Maybe we can figure out who did it.”

Zecora agreed, and said that she wished to stay for a further look at her books. Clearly, the unknown magic was bothering her. It was unsettling to Sky, as well, that anything could elude the zebra with her extensive knowledge of obscure magic.

Sky asked Zecora a question, “This might be stupid, but, would it be possible for me to learn the telepathy you guys have? It could be incredibly useful.”

The zebra answered, “I only have one runic charm. May it serve you well, and protect you from harm.”

She used a nail in the wall to carefully remove her earring. Cobalt then used her talons to affix the charm onto Sky's necklace, next to the crystal element of conflict which began to glow.

Sky took a moment to focus on the magic, Okay. Talking in the mind, crazy. How do I focus on that.

A high-pitched, gravelly female voice entered his mind, badly startling him, You just do it, stupid!

After lunch, Sky took off. Zecora offered some food, a refill for his canteen, and more supplies after his long trip. Cobalt went along with him, bringing a pouch of bits in case they would accept payment for the crime she didn't commit.

She had taken on several monster bounties nearby Ponyville, and built up some savings and good will for handling dangerous creatures. The town ponies didn't even mind her one bit and were happy to accept her. She had even considered moving into town—and then came the night of the cider incident.

Cobalt talked to Sky, flying right beside him to be heard, “Guess they were more suspicious of outsiders than I thought. Can't say it surprises me.”

Sky had been thoughtful and quiet. He said now, “A whole dozen barrels wouldn't be easy to hide, and they would need a cart and magic to pull that off without being heard.”

They landed at the outskirts of town. It was sunset. The warm, radiant colors reflected off the river ahead. With a stern look at each other, they nodded and walked across the bridge into town.

A short ways later, as they neared the main street lined with shops, two Canterlot royal guards trotted towards them, and told Cobalt she needed to leave, now.

Skyblazer began to argue with them, when he noticed they were just staring at him and not saying anything. He stopped talking, and walked around them. They weren't moving at all.

A shout from Cobalt, and Sky looked her direction. Everything else in town had stopped moving. The wind was no longer ruffling their fur and feathers. The steady din of town life had dulled to a sudden silence.

They approached a bird suspended in midair, and a blinding flash behind them caught their attention. Both Sky and Cobalt prepared for a fight, their magical elements glowing fiercely.

When they turned around, they saw Princess Twilight Sparkle calmly walking towards them. They both sat down in shock and surprise.

She approached them, summoned a pillow from nowhere, and took a seat facing them. Her visage was grim, her fur dirty and her feathers ragged. She wore dusty, threadbare saddlebags which jingled with many magical charms.

She spoke calmly, “Leave Ponyville alone for now. We have far more critical issues to contend with. I need you both to listen.”

Still unable to process the situation, both Sky and Cobalt nodded.

Twilight continued, “I found the next big threat before it could find us. This time it's different. Skyblazer, your mother calls me Twi because we are that close as friends. Normally I only accept Twilight. Is that right?”

“Y-yes?” answered a confused Sky.

“Good. The changelings are gathering their strength. Their queen wants Equestria as her own. Be careful who you trust. I want you to go to the castle and warn Luna and Celestia. If you share this with anypony else it could mean the end of Equestria.”

“Wait,” said Cobalt as she stepped forward, “Don't fight them alone. I've spent my life trying to go my own way, and I realize now... magic is powered by friendship, you know that! Your friends need you here.”

“I'm sorry, griffon, but I don't want to let them take that risk. I'm strong enough now to handle this on my own. I will be back soon, and this time, we will have peace and solace. Let them know I love them all, in case anything happens.”

Another burst of light. Sky and Cobalt shielded their faces with their wings. Twilight was gone, and the town came back to life. Suddenly, the ground beneath them tremored and swirled and, in an instant, they found themselves on a hill overlooking the distant town.

Sky and Cobalt exchanged a glance. They hesitated, but turned away from Ponyville and galloped into flight towards the mountain castle of Canterlot.

Deep within Everfree Forest stood the crumbling ruins of the old royal castle. Luna trotted towards the ruins with cautious reservation.

Starlight, Trixie, and Maud accompanied her. All were quiet, and had been since passing by the skeletal remains of some poor soul who had tried to challenge the monsters of this woods. Judging by the armor and fire potions, the pony had been a hunter or adventurer.

It was a somber reminder of their purpose in being here. Equestria had become dangerous and unpredictable. Princess Luna remarked at one point on their hike through the forest that she had not seen this amount of constant danger since the times before her banishment.

The four gathered here were perhaps the most dangerous creatures presently in the forest, and for them, only the most powerful beings represented any threat. However, three of the four had used their power in selfish ways before, and now wished to find a means of protecting their entire kingdom with that power.

Luna entered the old castle, followed by the others. She paused and let Maud take the lead. The gray earth pony studied the cracked brickwork and rotting mortar of the walls with bored interest, and gave the okay to proceed.

They followed a winding spiral stair several levels underground until they arrived in a dusty and forgotten coal chamber. The walls were caked with black soot that absorbed the magic light from the horns of the unicorns.

Crumbling piles of coal harbored dusty rats. The rope and bucket to the higher stories now lie on the floor, broken. A rusty coal chute led through a tiny hole in the ceiling, and a stone arch behind them led to the stairs.

Luna nudged the bucket away and dug at the ground near the wall with a front hoof. Her horn shimmered brightly, and the quavering dark magic energy scrubbed the soot from the stone until a rune was revealed.

Maud stepped up as Luna said, “While this may not work, we should at least try.”

With a nod, Maud lie down in front of the rune, and put her ear to the wall as if listening. Her earring began to flicker with a weak glow. Maud focused, closing her eyes, and the glow became stronger.

The stone floor beneath the chute began to shimmer along with the rune. Slowly, it became more and more transparent until a stairway was visible where the floor used to be.

It wasn't perfect. The mechanism that retracted the chute had rusted long ago, and Starlight ripped the metal chute off the wall with a burst of telekinesis. It made an awful creaking noise as it went.

Part of the ceiling had fallen in. Maud cleared this with her Element, blasting stones to bits as the others kept up shield spells.

Luna took the lead once again. At regular intervals on the way down they reached landings which curved. At each landing, Luna stopped and her horn glimmered. There was a burst of dark purple light as ancient curses were dispelled.

They had nearly reached the bottom when Luna took one step too far and suddenly froze, not moving. She had been utterly paralyzed in place. Carefully, Starlight moved Luna back with her own magic as Trixie dug into her saddlebag.

A potion, provided by Zecora, was tipped into Luna's mouth. A few minutes passed, and with a grunt, Luna was able to free the bind and move again. She dispelled the curse in an angry flash, and the party continued downstairs.

“How far down is this place?” asked a concerned Trixie, looking at the walls and ceilings with interest. As they exited the stairs, the orderly stone bricks and antique arches had opened out into a cavern. Natural stone walls glistened with crystal formations. Somewhere ahead, rushing water could be heard.

Maud's earring glowed as she closed her eyes. She opened them, and said, “About six or seven stories underground. The cavern opens into a massive space to our north. South of us is an unnatural cubic shaped room, perhaps carved.”

“Our destination,” said Luna quietly, as she used her wings to fan the dust off of her fur.

They walked carefully along the slick and uneven cavern floor, at some points winding past stalagmites. It was all very lovely, but this wasn't the time or place for admiring the scenery.

A giant iron door barred their passage. It had no locks, no handles, no visible hinges, and impeded the way like a wall of metal. Luna had them all stand back.

Her horn and her eyes glowed in a vicious dark purple as she began an incantation in Old Ponish. Dust and small stones began to swirl around her.

The three with her collectively gasped, shouted, and almost fell over in shock. Luna's own shadow detached from where it should be, and slipped like liquid underneath the door. There was a click, and then a loud grinding noise as the door began to slide sideways on unseen wheels.

It opened fully, revealing a dungeon beyond and the shadow. Luna's shadow had assumed a vaguely three dimensional shape which was hard to look at. Two glowing purple eyes were on the head of it. The mane and tail were purple fire. Luna braced herself and yelled for the others to run back to the stairs.

They did so immediately. Behind them were several flashes of white light and purple magic beams. All was quiet. Cautiously returning, they found Luna breathing heavily and sweating. Her shadow was back where it belonged. The others stayed well away from it.

Before any of them could ask what in the name of Tartarus that was, Luna cryptically commented, “Young foals do well to fear their own shadow.”

Even Starlight had chills. She had studied stolen books of dark magic, but never had she encountered anything remotely like that.

She shook it off. Luna was an immortal alicorn who had been alive millennia ago, when magic was still very wild, feared, and unknown. While it hurt her to think of, it was probably a spell far beyond Starlight's ability.

Princess Luna breathed deeply, and exhaled mist in the frosty air of the deep cave. She adjusted her saddlebags, and said, “Above once was the Castle of the Two Sisters. Before you is the Pit, as the prison was aptly named.”

Inside the dungeon, they passed empty cells and wound through a zig-zag path formed by metal gates and fencing. Luna noticed the others looking around with concerned glances, and she spoke,

“Before we discovered a physical egress into Tartarus, the most dangerous offenders were kept within here. In those times this chamber was proofed against magic, and kept far remote and underground to ensure that no telekinesis or teleportation could be properly performed.”

They continued through a cave passage shaped by forces of time and magic. The ceiling was far, far above, and looking up they could see stone ledges with buildings on them.

“Quarters and structures for the guards,” noted Luna.

Ahead, a stone fortress wall crossed the cavern, complete with ramparts and decayed crossbows at the top. Several locked doors were easily blasted through, and they proceeded to the chambers beyond.

From the icy and forgotten cave of the prison, they crossed into what felt like a different world. It was warmer, for one thing, and the rooms here were lavish. The floors were wooden planks with carpet which fell apart as they stepped on it from sheer age. It seemed that they had stepped into some fortified mansion.

Maud announced that this thousand year old structure was, in spite of being preserved in a cave, in serious disrepair. They walked very carefully now, always watching for signs of collapse.

Luna now spoke, “You will recall that Equestria was exceedingly dangerous in the era before my banishment. At times, the entire castle was destroyed to the foundation and had to be rebuilt. This did not bode well for such services as the guards, the treasury, and the studies. All were moved here, within a fortress within a prison within a cavern beyond a secret passage in the basement.”

Trixie spoke in a sarcastic tone, “Are you sure that's enough security? How about a dragon to guard it too?”

“We had one,” said Luna, dismissing her, “But I digress. We are here to look for Twilight, as she is privy to the knowledge that this location exists. Let us see if the study is intact.”

While the upstairs was still stable, the wooden stairs had long since collapsed and rotted like the floorboards. Luna flew upstairs, carrying Maud on her back. Starlight nearly tried to teleport, and caused the composed Luna to panic and smack her with a weak magic missile.

Dazed and angry, Starlight yelled at her. Luna replied back to think about her actions. Starlight instead used her magic to fly the short ways up, and avoided the forces of teleporting that would further strain the ancient fortress.

Trixie's blue magic energy encompassed the old stairs, which formed themselves into a ladder. This collapsed when Trixie tried to use it. “I'll just wait down here,” she said.

Maud's earring glowed, and she considered the exciting practical application of magic in maneuvering objects. Trixie was shrouded in a magic glow, hoisted upstairs, and set down gently—although upside down.

Trixie folded her cloak back around her body and picked up items that had fallen from her saddlebags. She offered a disgruntled 'thank you for that'.

Most of the floorboards and entire rooms had collapsed to ground level. The roof, also wooden, had caved in as well and was home to sleeping bats.

They all avoided stepping on this floor. Luna flew, Starlight and Trixie used a spell of soft falling to walk gently, and Maud caused a large cobblestone to levitate which she lie on smirking, as the others yelled at her that she shouldn't be able to do that.

Past the decrepit wooden structure, they reached a natural alcove of the cavern. Another iron grate barred the way, but a drip of water had reached the iron and rusted it to a dark red, fragile state.

A wood and metal door led through an arch in the cave. Luna spoke,

“I believe this endeavor was for naught. I have not detected any recent magic use here besides our own, except for such lingering curses as do not fade in seven hundred years. Thankfully the curse of stupidity over the study threshold is one that did not last so long.”

Starlight nodded, and added, “I have a lot of respect and envy for Twilight's insane arcane skill, but even Twilight would have had to use some force to get through here. Luna, is it at all possible to teleport without badly disrupting the air?”

“No, Starlight, it is not, and I am afraid you are correct. The curses and the doors would have needed a physical interaction.”

“Do you suppose,” asked Trixie, “she could have learned whatever that shadow thing was?”

“Twilight is exceedingly gifted and is capable of mastering any spells which exist. Therefore no, she could not.”

“Wait... the spell, doesn't exist?”

“Not in the real world, at least it shouldn't, and I wasn't certain I could control it. It was simply too risky to teleport in this aged place.”

Starlight was staring at them aghast, her eyes wide in shock. She said, “I had heard of cracks in the dream world, but, things can actually get out?”

“Yes, which is why I have been so very busy of late.”

“So, what exactly was that spell? It was terrifying!”

“As dreams do not abide by constraints of reality, nor does magic abide by established arcane rule and order in the dream world. It has magic of a sort, but one which may never be tamed.”

Maud spoke now, “Let us continue searching for Twilight. We may discuss theoretical magic and existential threats to all life on the hike back to Ponyville.”

The others stared at her in an annoyed way, not quite sure how to respond to that.

Luna prepared a spell to knock the door open and said, “The Delve. Our most secure study and the former repository for any uncovered forbidden magic. All books have been relocated to Canterlot, along with any artifacts which were safe to move. Twilight may not have known this, however, and it would be a place to find any remaining long-forgotten secrets.”

The door was blasted open in a dusty shatter of splinters and clattering iron. They stepped in.

The space, a natural cave chamber, had empty shelves and a long hall off to one end where tables of dusty items sat, some of them glowing brightly, others melted through the table. It had the look of a tomb for a powerful wizard.

No sign was found here of Twilight Sparkle. Not one purple feather, not one disturbed artifact.

Together, they neared the end of the rows of tables where the room rounded a corner. A heavy iron vault sat here, now rusted shut. It took several hearty combined magic missiles from Luna and Starlight to open it.

They stepped in as the dust settled, and stopped, and then sat down. Luna held her right wing out and her left hoof up, as though to say something. Starlight and Trixie looked around in shock.

Maud let out a loud, “What?!” that echoed off the metal of the vault room.

Shelves once filled with dangerous arcane objects now sat empty, marked by spaces free from dust. Sanguine red crystal formations covered every surface. All present illuminated the room bright as daylight with their magic, and observed the red glint of the crystal which coated the floor.

“It's... the same...” said Luna slowly, “As the crystal which coats some of our memory orbs. Celestia and I together could not damage it, and it is invulnerable to everything. It simply absorbs crystal magic.”

The jagged crystal on the floor had a set of tracks sunken into it, leading towards one wall of the vault. Large splayed pawprints with claws, the tracks of a dragon. They ended suddenly at the wall, which was intact and solid metal.

Author's Note

I have finished moving to a new apartment, taken care of all the nonsense to get classes going at community college, and now that I'm settled, I can write more chapters. I have been as busy as Luna dealing with the dream world of late.

23. Dreamcatcher

A day's flight brought Skyblazer Haycart and Cobalt to Canterlot by sunset. Their altitude provided them with a breathtaking vista over the mountain city as myriad colors set a warm backdrop against the rugged slope.

Sky, a young male pegasus with golden fur and feathers and a platinum gray mane and tail, had just finished a flight across all of Equestria. His desire to visit the horizon and beyond had been utterly satisfied, and he welcomed the short journey.

Cobalt, a female griffon with white fur and deep blue feathers which were her namesake, flew alongside him. The pair made for quite the strange sight to pegasi who passed by. Ponies and griffons typically avoided each other. These two, however, were best of friends.

They landed in a flurry of wings at one of the authorized entry points for the royal city. Neither were interested in paying a fine for inappropriate landing. They stretched their wings and legs, tightened straps on baggage loose from turbulence, and strode into the bustling city.

Sky worried that Cobalt may react badly to such a crowded location. However, she seemed to have calmed and adjusted sufficiently. While still giving off an air of cold indifference, she was very polite and peaceful.

An earth-pony hauling a cart paused in passing. Both cart and pony were formal and gaudy. The blue-furred pony wore formal clothing and glasses with a gold chain, while the cart was full of expensive imported wood, velvet pillows, and an overweight mare.

The blue pony gave an interested glance at Sky and Cobalt. He spoke,

“Marble, would you look at this? I do say, it seems to be a griffon!”

Skyblazer corrected him, “You mean 'she' seems to be a griffon, and she can talk you know.”

“Indeed, and I do not mean to come across as rude. Rather, we are fascinated. I have never seen one up close.”

The obese and sweating unicorn mare in the cart, who was apparently named Marble, held less resemblance to a sculpture than to the block from which one could be carved. Her horn glimmered with an ugly magic in the color puce as she used a paper fan to attempt cooling herself.

She talked in an incredibly haughty tone, as though studying a monster exhibit in a zoo, “Hmm quite a fine specimen, yes, very muscular, feathers of a fine quality. Rather calm and composed for a member of the griffon race. Do you know Ponish, my dear griffon?”

A subtle glow formed on the element which Skyblazer wore. This golden glow flowed down the necklace chain and into a runic charm alongside the crystal.

Sky put one ear down in focus, and thought, Cobalt I know this is hard. You can get through this. Just grin and bear it, keep a good impression.

The telepathic reply from Cobalt came as a burst of obscenity that would have shocked even Sky's farmer father. Sky grinned broadly at her predicament.

Marble was still speaking, her snout in the air, “Quite abnormal for a pony and a griffon to be traveling together, and with such amity as well! Why my dear husband, I do believe we have encountered another couple upon their stroll through Canterlot.”

Both Sky and Cobalt began to loudly object while taking several steps away from each other. The male blue pony raised a hoof, shook his head, and spoke,

“Now now, there is no cause for alarm. I believe I speak for Marble and myself when I say that we welcome this fascinating, modern romance.”

“Uh, thanks..” answered Sky, both ears down now, as absolute embarrassment poured off of him like water, “But we're not really, well, you see,”

“Pony-feathers!” announced Marble, “Why, look at your matching necklace and ring.”

Watch this, thought Cobalt to Sky. She gave him an evil, toothy grin and Sky was too late to stop her as she said,

“Oh, you have no idea what that means to us! Why yes, the discrimination you damn ponies so often give to griffon-kind has been a great burden on this beautiful thing we have going.”

Sky was horrified. He couldn't even speak, only watch. The fat mare Marble replied in a gushing and warm voice, “Well I say it certainly is beautiful, and good to see! Let others hold judgment, pity on them! Luna rest their hardened hearts! You two enjoy your visit to our fine city.”

The two wealthy ponies went on their way, leaving Cobalt standing with a grin and a front leg on Sky's back, as Skyblazer sat on the cobblestone with his ears still down and an angry glare in his eyes.

Cobalt, who was on the verge of riotous laughter, spoke to him, “What? You told me to be friendlier, didn't you?”

“That's... a little too friendly, Cobalt.”

The griffon offered a chuckle and a slap on the back for Sky. She spoke, “You should know me well enough by now, Sky. It wasn't just a joke.”

Sky blushed, “I don't, I mean thanks and all, but that's kind of...”

Cobalt realized what she had just said, and stuck her tongue out, “No! I meant, this! Look at this!” She held up a velvet coin pouch, which contained close to a hundred bits.

“Oh, wow,” said Skyblazer in stunned disbelief, “I'm not sure, but that might be even worse.”

The two of them continued through the elegant city, stopping in to visit various shops and observe the ebb and flow of material hedonism.

All of their concerns proved baseless. Even though it was a large town, the ponies of Canterlot seemed to harbor no fear or ill will towards foreign races. This was an abrupt change of pace from Cobalt's arrival to Equestria. The pegasus guards of Manehattan had tried to shoot her from the sky with a hail of arrows.

Cobalt expressed these thoughts to Sky through telepathy. After a pause, Sky thoughtfully replied back that East coast regions had more to fear from aggressive dragons or griffons who crossed the sea.

The pair walked on towards the castle, respecting the posted signs which read “No unauthorized flying within city limits. Please be courteous of others.”

Well how come they get to fly, complained Cobalt within Sky's mind. Skyblazer glanced at the descending pegasi and the artificial formation of low clouds they came from. With his powerful eyesight, Sky could observe an official-looking seal on their clothing and carts.

He thought towards Cobalt, My mother told me that Canterlot pegasi get incentives to live in the clouds and save space, since they can't exactly expand a mountaintop city. They have a whole private neighborhood up there.

The voice of Cobalt entered his mind, Oh, with exclusive clubs and lots of snobby rich ponies drinking wine. No fucking thank you.

Ha, I couldn't agree more. Let's hurry to the castle, this news is pretty important.

What do we do if Celestia and Luna are changelings?

Probably act natural and run like a bat out of Tartarus when we can.

Both of them craned their necks to look up at the impossible architecture of Castle Canterlot. If not for magic, it could never have been built. Without magic, it might even collapse from imbalance. No doubt this was one of many concerns for the ruling sisters.

They shuffled and weaved their way through the gathered crowds. Merchants peddled their wares in the street. Sky and Cobalt split left and right to make way for a lumbering wagon full of bricks, which was hauled by two shackled criminals. Local pegasi descended into parks and clearings where it was safe and wouldn't cause a disturbance, with guidance from pegasi of the royal guard.

Emerging from this river of noise and commotion, Sky and Cobalt found themselves leaving the market district and moving on to the political offices. This part of town was far quieter and less popular than the tourist districts.

The demographic shifted as well. While the parks and markets and landmarks were frequented by younger ponies from many areas, seldom local, the political district was mostly full of elderly ponies who walked slowly under the weight of books and scrolls. They wore dusty robes as old as they were, bedecked with various brooches and ribbons that symbolized their formal role in managing the kingdom.

One such older unicorn mare paused as she passed and offered a friendly greeting, “Ah, you must be the new ambassador, Silverhoof! I see you are already welcoming an adventurous griffon to Canterlot."

Skyblazer responded, “Sorry ma'am, but my mane is naturally gray. I was born with it! We're just adventurers together, visiting the castle.”

Cobalt offered a friendly grin which was actually rather frightening coming from a carnivore. She spoke softly though, “That's the second mistaken identity today! Earlier, somepony thought we were a couple.”

The elderly mare laughed lightly, saying, “Imagine that, a pegasus and a griffon. Predator and plant eater. No, surely the world has not gone that far to Tartarus just yet.”

Sky nudged Cobalt before she could say anything rude. He answered, “Oh heavens no! We are monster hunters for hire, and you see our line of work is very dangerous. A break and some tourism is nice.”

“Not many tourists stray into the political district! If you intend to visit the castle, I'm afraid it has been closed off to the public in light of recent events.”

“That's no problem!” interrupted Cobalt, “Princess Luna actually invited us.”

“Oh is that so, hmm? Did she make her usual dramatic, bombastic dream world appearance?”

Sky and Cobalt shared a glance. Sky very subtly nodded. Cobalt spoke, “Yes, it was very startling.”

“If it's not prying, may I ask your business with her? You see I am an official scribe of court, you can see my signet here...” she nudged a sash from beneath her robes, which had a badge ironed onto it of a scroll and quill, “so I may be needed shortly if you are to hold any formal discussion.”

Sky answered, “You may wish to stick around then, ma'am. We do have very important official business. The princesses need us brave adventurers to help them investigate why magic is weakening!”

“Ahh, so you two fine fliers may visit far off locales while the royal sisters are free to manage and protect their kingdom.”

“Indeed, madam. By the way, I'm Skyblazer, from the Haycart family, and this is Cobalt.”

“Haycart? Strange family name for a pegasus.”

“My mother is a pegasus, father is an earth pony. They own a grain field south of Ponyville.”

“Then tell them thank you for me, the farming types never get enough gratitude for all they do. Is it too much if I ask what kind of exciting mission Luna has in mind for you?”

Sky asked Cobalt if it was okay, and she nodded. They held up their elements, which glowed and lifted a few nearby leaves and sticks with telekinesis. The old mare was flabbergasted. Sky spoke,

“We found these crystals, which are apparently more elements to go along with the famous ones of Harmony! We don't know what they do yet, but along with an earth pony named Maud we have three of them. Ours let us use magic! It's kind of weak, but still very nifty.”

“In all my days, I never... perhaps this is key to the restoration of all magic! I bid good day to you, pegasus and griffon.”

Cobalt quickly added, “Ma'am, we didn't get your name?”

She spoke, “I am Madam Ivy Gardens. As you can tell I was born here, in Canterlot, and I was named after the botanical finery near the home of my unicorn parents. You ought to hurry on, seems like rather important business!”

They said goodbye and moved on towards the looming castle. Cobalt's runic brand glowed from beneath her metal leg armor. Her voice was in Sky's head as she thought, Well that was strange.

Sky couldn't agree more. They traveled at a fast trot towards the castle grounds.

The old mare observed them as they trotted over a hill and out of sight. She began to shimmer and vibrate. There was a brief flash of deep gray magic energy, and she was gone. Standing in her place was the true form of a changeling: part bug, part pony, with a glossy black exoskeleton and papery bug-like wings. It hissed and flicked out its tongue.

Around it were further shimmers. A mailbox, a lamppost, and a bag of mulch all flashed with gray energy. The four changelings were joined by what appeared to be an earth pony. This pony shimmered gray, and then became a canvas tent which covered them all. Anypony passing by would only see a tent to cover building materials nearby some new construction.

The lead changeling, who had posed as the scribe, dug into saddlebags for scrolls and maps and unrolled them on the ground.

Skyblazer and Cobalt were halted at the castle gates. They waited in a luxurious parlor with glasses of cold lemon water and fruit to snack on. When the messenger returned, he beckoned them upstairs and through corridors to meet Celestia.

The throne room was the usual place to meet visitors, but for these two, they were led instead to a comfortable conservatory.

Many towering and perfectly clear windows let warm sunlight through lacy curtains. The room, situated in a tower, was full of plants. Foliage, flowers and berries resided happily in planters in every corner. Baskets hung from the rafters, overflowing with flowers. It was a very humid room, but the warmth was wonderful in the autumn chill.

Princess Celestia reclined on a lounge, lying relaxed on her side and yet sill giving off an aura of absolute majesty and grace. As her guests entered, her horn glowed and overstuffed chairs glided across the polished floor for them to sit in.

Celestia warmly greeted them. She spoke to Cobalt first, to Sky's surprise, saying it was nice to meet her again.

Cobalt bowed deeply, and said, “Same to you Miss Celestia. I can't thank you enough for the warm welcome to your land. I've been through so much.”

Celestia sagely nodded as Cobalt and Sky took their seats. She then spoke,

“You must understand the primal fear ponies hold, Cobalt. For all of recorded history, ponies have feared carnivorous predators which may consume them.”

“Well, I get that, but it's still just not fair,” said Cobalt gruffly, “and now I got kicked out of Ponyville!”

“Oh?” asked Celestia, as Cobalt explained.

“Well that certainly isn't fair,” said Celestia, “Have they any proof it was you?”

“No! I was just blamed and banished. Back to Everfree, 'where I belong', apparently.”

“Rest assured young griffon, I will personally clear this up. I have a feeling I know which wealthy pony is responsible, a certain Mr. Rich... I digress. You wished to speak to me about something?”

Skyblazer and Cobalt told her about the sudden appearance of Twilight, the crystallized book, and the warning from Twilight.

Princess Celestia, in her aged wisdom, offered some peace of mind. She said, “If I were indeed a changeling, even a particularly intelligent one, I doubt that I could do this,” she focused on energy from her horn. The sun itself outside the window began to visibly move past sunset as night fell. Several minutes later, the moon rose in its place.

Celestia spoke, “It would seem Luna is fine and well.”

A question from Cobalt, “Wait, if you can move the entire sun, what happened before you two were born?”

“Oh it would always set naturally without us, simply at a much delayed time. Or so I have read and maintained in memory orbs, that before ponies harnessed magic to control day and night, each lasted far, far longer. Imagine a single day that lasts for three, and as much darkness to follow, and you may well understand the modern fear of the dark.”

“That's wild,” replied Sky, “And to think of times that were ancient before you were even born! You must have witnessed so much, Princess Celestia.”

She nodded weakly, “Indeed, and not all of it good. A warning from my haggard student concerning a newfound threat as she herself goes rogue among such.”

Cobalt told Celestia about the dream world, and the dream changelings, which seemed indestructible. This gave the wise immortal mare enough surprise to pause and linger in thought.

Eventually she spoke again, in a gentle and reassuring tone, “You need not fear creatures of nightmare finding their way out, not for as long as my sister holds power o'er the realm of dreams.”

“Which leaves,” said Sky, “the very real creatures which can change into anything. Or be anyone. That is terrifying. What do they want?”

“Changelings feed off of happiness, they literally eat it for sustenance. This leaves their target in a despondent and badly depressed and shaken state. Usually they manage a vicious cycle of joy and sorrow among themselves, but it would seem in these dark times they cannot find moments of happiness with which to feed each other.”

Cobalt added, “Okay, that's entirely fu--”

“Anyways,” cut in Skyblazer, “What should we do? We have elements, I could get Maud and we can find out what they are meant for.”

“It is concerning that Harmony should be disbanded, and yet, I maintain my trust in Twilight and her friends, as you should. Perhaps a greater understanding of Conflict may bring more light to the mysteries of faltering magic. I agree with your chosen route.”

“Alright then, I'll leave with Cobalt and we'll locate Maud.”

“Maud shall arrive here soon, along with her companions and my sister. All will be explained then. Consider the castle home, you are family here. I will arrange a room and bath for the night. Oh yes, take these cards with you,” here she gave them several pieces of paper, “and memorize the answers to each question, so that the guards may know you are whom you claim to be.”

Curious now, Cobalt and Sky reluctantly retreated to their rooms for the night. As they walked the halls, led by a messenger, Cobalt spoke,

“Can you believe it? I'm in the royal castle! And no one hates me, no one's trying to stab me.”

“It is pretty awesome, but remember it's just cause we found the elements of conflict,” noted Sky, “Without them, we would just be two ordinary adventurers. And before you say anything I'm sure Celestia would clear up the mess in Ponyville even without the element, since you have good intentions. It's not playing favorites.”

All throughout the castle were more curios than they could count. A glass cube which constantly changed color, a flower in a vase which glowed and smelled sweet, a stone bowl of cold fire which could be touched. The castle was a maze of rooms and passages, more than they could see any justifiable need for.

Most prominent of all were the books. Scrolls, documents, tomes, shelves, stacks of books everywhere. Sky could see, now, why Twilight missed Canterlot so much. The collections in this castle represented thousands of years of continued study and knowledge, supplemented with the collective wisdom of the entire kingdom through the years.

Behind locked doors and well hidden would be further archives of advanced and forbidden magic spells that could alter reality in terrible ways. Artifacts that granted immense power at a steep cost. Somewhere, locked safely away in these halls, would be the amulet Trixie had once used to take over Ponyville.

Skyblazer had his bath, and then sampled a few books while his feathers dried. Cobalt jokingly asked if he wanted to share a bed since they were a 'lovely couple'.

“Sure, why not,” said Sky distractedly, his nose in a book.

“Hey, I was joking!” exclaimed Cobalt, “Get your own room, you feathery bastard.”

With a grin, Sky threw the book at her. Cobalt caught it and read the title, imitating the snobby ponies from earlier, “Ye Lost Treasures of Equestria Past,” she tucked the book under a wing to bring with her, “They wouldn't mind if one book went missing.”

Sky gave her an angry glance.

“Okay, I'll put it back when I'm done! Here, give me a hug before we hit the hay. Hurry up before I change my mind.”

Sky did so, and they both went to their exceedingly luxurious rooms for the night. They were not apart for long. Soon, both of them awoke within a dream.

It was dark at first. As their eyes adjusted, they saw a flickering light nearby. They approached; it was a campfire, with a circle of comfortable lawn chairs around it.

Now attuned to the darkness, they could see a blaze of stars and a quarter moon far above, although they all seemed oddly blurry and unfocused, as though the entire sky was full of the campfire smoke.

A quick glance at their surroundings confirmed it must be a dream. Walking too far from the fire led into a dark pine forest full of cold mist. From this mist, several shadowy shapes could be seen emerging into the firelight.

Princess Celestia calmly flew into the clearing, the dream mists trailing off her wings and tail as she landed gracefully. With a nod at Sky and Cobalt, she sat in a chair. They did the same, remaining quiet in stunned awe.

Further into the mist could be seen a blinding light, which seemed able to part the thick fog. The wielder walked into the open, leading several others.

Sky and Cobalt sat up in surprise as Luna, Starlight, Trixie, and Maud all joined them.

Luna lie couchant by the fire as Starlight and Trixie took a seat together, cuddling side by side, on a lounge.

Maud announced, “This is a dream, correct?” and proceeded to summon a granite throne from the very ground covered in flowering vines, which she sat in regally. In response to this Luna gave a wry smile, and the shadows cast by firelight seemed to become liquid, flowing around her, until Luna lie on a large cushion made entirely out of shadow.

Celestia couldn't help but smile. She gently scolded them, “Now then girls, this isn't the time or place for silly antics.”

Now Cobalt spoke up, her high but gravelly voice cutting through the quiet forest, “Oh, by Luna's mane—sorry,” Luna held up a hoof and nodded to say there was no offense taken, “but if we're back here, then the dream world is still broken.”

“You need not worry, Cobalt,” spoke Luna in a softer and kinder tone than she was usually known to use, “I have explored the extent of the dream realm and repaired all known damage. For a change, I feel at peace.”

Celestia nodded, and continued, “My sister seldom has peace of mind. You must understand she is given to regret and mourning for her past mistakes, and seeks a role as paladin of Equestria to atone.”

“Indeed my dear sister. However, this is the first pleasant shared dream I have conjured in quite some time. The previous one was an effort to subdue the Tantabus. That could not be described as pleasant.”

Celestia spoke, “While the subject matter is dark, our time together need not be. Let us relax and rejoice in the company of friends, for soon I fear, we may not know who to trust.”

They talked to Luna and company about Twilight's changeling warning. Luna then spoke to Celestia, Sky and Cobalt about the old castle and their findings. A moment of silence then followed, as they considered any possible correlation.

At length, Luna reluctantly said, “While it pains me to say it, we may be facing two considerable threats which are unrelated. Celestia, I need your counsel. Would it be prudent to trust Twilight Sparkle in her endeavor so that we may explore this new enigma?”

A moment of thought. All were quiet. Celestia spoke, “Yes, thus far the chosen Elements of Harmony have been reliable. I will never doubt Twilight or her friends. Let us explore what lies before us.”

Maud spoke now, in her typical bored monotone, “My element of conflict allows me to observe mineral structure and composition. The red crystal does not have a structure. It is not composed of any minerals. Normally I can focus on an object, like this throne, and observe a granite and flint composition. The red crystal does not exist. We also know it cannot be damaged by any magic. Now, here is a piece of the red crystal for analysis.”

Author's Note

Important edit in the previous chapter. I meant to add a short bit of dialogue on Skyblazer asking Zecora about her telepathy, and receiving the runic charm from her so that he and Cobalt may communicate by thought.

24. Betwixt and Between

Everypony stared in stunned shock as Maud very calmly withdrew a chunk of the crimson crystal from a saddlebag. Her earring glowed, a pillar of rock shot from the ground, and she placed the crystal on the pedestal.

“My element was able to break the invincible crystal,” she said stoically.

Even Luna and Celestia were speechless. Luna cast some manner of angry magic spell at the crystal, but it did not budge. Now she spoke, disbelieving,

“It is not a figment of the dream, but rather... a foreign object. Yet, it cannot be.”

Celestia was out of her chair and on her hoofs now. She exclaimed, “This isn't logical! The Elements were forged of ancient magic. We may wield ancient magic, and yet it did not have any effect upon the sanguine crystal.”

Sky interjected, “I beg your pardon your majesty, but if I understand right, it's the Harmony elements you know all about. Aren't these new ones just a myth?”

Celestia calmed now. She nodded, sat back down, and spoke after a deep breath, “Yes, that is correct young Skyblazer. Still it doesn't make sense. Here in this dream realm we may do the impossible—it's all very abstract, you see—but upon the plane of reality, that is to say, normal life, we have identified every extant magic.”

Luna provided a voice of reason, “Dear sister, a moment to reflect. We are not the only beings of longevity. What of Discord? Or eldritch aberrations such as Tyrek? The windigoes, if they do exist?”

“Hmm, true...” contemplated Celestia as she softly flapped her wings in thought, the feathers ruffling in a cool breeze, “I suppose their magic does not align with logic. Absorbing and nullifying arcane energy, or converting it into new forms, belongs to the beings of Tartarus. Twisting the very fabric of the plane of reality belongs to Discord... and quite possibly Pinkie Pie.”

“Let us be glad she doesn't seem to hold conscious control o'er it.”

Celestia shuddered before speaking, “It would seem, despite our best interests, we have been given to arrogance and folly as the result of this gift and curse of immortality.”

Sky was out of his chair now, an alarmed look on his face, “Wait, did you just say Pinkie, as in, that goofball earth pony? Magic?”

Celestia answered, “Just ask the others about her Pinkie sense sometime, or her moments of seeming insanity. Talking to herself and such as that. It drove Twilight quite mad.”

“Now then, everypony,” spoke Luna, “The matter at hoof.”

Maud continued her speech, “With this new information, and the knowledge that magic does not have to adhere to its established boundaries, I have two theories. One. The Elements of Conflict, the red crystal, crystal magic, and some manner of crystalline dragon are all connected. Two. Another flavor of magic exists which is overlooked by virtue of abstraction. Dream Magic.”

Luna ceased lying down and sat bolt upright, her ears perked up, the astral energy of her mane and tail flaring as she spoke, “It is so logical... insofar as the dream realm is a physical location, one which we even now gather in so as to speak with each other in a lucid state, the magic therein must be real.”

Maud finished the statement, “In normal times this would be a mere addendum. A margin note among the magic types. If, however, the dream realm could be damaged and offer a link to reality, the dream magic itself may escape. Princess Luna is able to physically enter the dreamspace. Ergo, it is possible.”

Luna seemed horrified, and she spoke in a feeble voice, “No... it was never meant to be, dreams are so abstract, what may it do in the plane of reality?”

Maud continued, “Sky, Cobalt. Gather around me. Let us try our elements on this crystal, in one accord.”

The pegasus and griffon got up and walked over to her. They stood in a circle around the red crystal on the stone pedestal, their elements all glowing, when something peculiar happened.

Each Element of Conflict began to brightly glow. First, Maud's silver earring with a small and delicate diamond. Next, Cobalt's ring which she wore on a talon, which held a star-shaped green emerald. Finally, Skyblazer Haycart's amulet, which he pulled from beneath his damaged dragon scale vest. This was a fine silver chain with a large, square-beveled, gray crystal on it which rippled with fogginess and dull light.

A burst of magic energy rippled through the Dreamspace, sending a rush of wind through the pines. The golden magic of Skyblazer, the deep blue magic of Cobalt, and the silver magic of Maud interlinked and formed the shape of a tricolor chain, binding them together.

Their eyes glowed white and the intensity of the magic ripples increased. All three began to levitate above the ground, and so did the red crystal. The sanguine crystal began to vibrate with increasing intensity of frequency, until it emitted an ear-piercing rending sound.

The magic chain of gold, blue, and silver suddenly reared back like an arcane snake, and catapulted forward. It wrapped around the chunk of red crystal several times, and constricted. The entire world around them began to flicker and the royal sisters wisely took flight, hovering in the air nearby, observing, prepared to use their alternate forms if the need arose.

The dream world became completely translucent, allowing both the plane of reality and the space of dreams to be visible at the same exact time. Within reality, they were located in the vault of forbidden artifacts beneath the ruins of the old castle. Meanwhile within the dream, Starlight watched in astonished wonder while holding a sturdy arcane shield over Trixie and herself.

Now, the tricolor chain of magic began to split and splinter into numerous smaller chains, all in shades of gold and silver and blue. Each chain shot towards a red crystal formation and anchored onto it firmly. The glow from the chains became fierce.

Each and every red crystal shattered into dust. The Dreamspace flickered now, and the dream began to change. Starlight and Trixie were left in the pleasant campfire dream as it faded from view.

The others found themselves in a nightmare. Far removed from the peaceful buzz of cicadas and wind through the pines, the scene now became a smoldering crater where active lava pits could be seen. At the edge of this translucent dream, a dark red, spiky hill could be seen.

The hill rose up and down a few times before Celestia and Luna realized it was a dragon. Except, it couldn't be. Even the most massive elder dragons never reached half the size of this one. Judging by the volcanic summit the dream was focused on, the dragon was half the size of the entire volcanic crater, and covered in deep red crystal spikes.

Cobalt, Sky, and Maud were still glowing and linked with magic chains, still reminding the two princesses of the dire situations where the Elements of Harmony had done the exact same thing when needed.

Now reality began to fade from view like the backdrop of a theater being withdrawn into shadow. The dream became fully visible, and the two princesses squinted against the harsh sun. Instinct drove them to fly high and away from the fatal convection heat of the lava pools, which could be many thousands of degrees.

Luna and Celestia were not dreaming. Both had personally entered the Dreamspace. Unlike the others, they could be harmed, and so they remained cautious.

The dream did not move towards the dragon but rather away, zooming out, focusing on the steep side of the mountain. Cobalt, Maud, and Skyblazer still glowed fiercely, now levitating in open space far, far above the distant ground at the base of the volcano. The entire side of the volcano was covered in sanguine crystal formations, the deep red, jagged minerals giving the appearance of moss against the dark brown of volcanic rock.

Here, the chains retracted, and began circling the three in rings. They generated some manner of magic shield. Despite the intensity of the situation, Luna and Celestia had the presence of mind to quickly put up their own durable arcane shields.

Golden magic arced towards the mountainside. It smashed into the largest gathering of crystal, shattering it on impact, shards cascading down the cliffs. Deep blue magic arced beside it. Stone silver magic followed. The glow became unbearable. Celestia and Luna darkened the tint of their arcane shields.

The dragon was awake with a shrieking roar of pain. It flew over to them in a blink, but paused at the edge of the cliff. Something was smoldering on top of its head.

What seemed to be a column of black smoke descended towards the three who represented the Elements of Conflict. The smoke shifted and flowed as though in wind until it assumed an identifiable form, that of a unicorn pony.

The dark wizard King Sombra hovered in the air before them, within the Dreamspace. He, or perhaps it, was composed of ethereal black smoke, hateful glowing red eyes, and polished armor which glowed white and somehow adhered to him despite his intangible form.

Surprisingly, this being of dark magic incarnate cast a brilliant white shade of magic from his horn. It was not aimed at the ponies gathered, but rather at the plateau of the volcano summit below.

The tricolor magic of gold, deep blue, and silver was still focused on the mountainside, sweeping back and forth, razing off sanguine red crystals, eliciting roars of pain and agony from the dragon which tried to pounce on the three but seemed to be held back by invisible bindings. The dragon was so immense that it rested its front paws on the edge of the crater while its back paws were planted in the base of the crater hundreds of feet below, one back leg ankle-deep in magma.

Sombra sent a tendril of smoking shadow at the dragon, and patted the dragon's head. It calmed, and sat. Now, the dark wizard pony turned his attention to the ground below, where a thicket of black thorns could be seen. These sinister thorn bushes covered the entire crater of the volcano, and seemed to thrive best where they were planted directly in lava.

Every red crystal covering the side of the mountain had now been obliterated. In the time this took, the black thorns had grown and gathered and become impossibly gigantic.

Now, King Sombra's pure white beams of magic intertwined with the giant spires of thorn and twisted them together into spiked columns, each the size of a large tornado.

The scale was hard to grasp for Luna and Celestia. The columns of twisted black thorns dwarfed the dragon. Now the thorns began to move with purpose towards the three Elements of Conflict, who were still glowing fiercely and still sending a tricolor blast of ancient magic at red crystals around the crater.

The thorns cracked like a whip, slamming into the conjured shield which began to crack and splinter after a single hit. Princesses Celestia and Luna calmly rose in one accord, flying towards their old enemy, King Sombra.

Celestia now used her amplified royal voice, the powerful noise booming and echoing off the mountainside. She cried out, “I am Princess Celestia of Equestria, and I am sworn to protect my land and its ponies even at the cost of my own life. Dark wizard Sombra, you are among the absolute threats to all life, among those whom we have decreed be destroyed upon sight, and you shall not harm our dear friends.”

Princess Celestia began to glow as fiercely as the chosen three, while Luna stayed far back, focusing all of her energy on her magic shielding.

Magic flashed with an audible bang. Celestia had changed. Her mane and tail were now fire which became blue and white at the tips from intensity. Her eyes glowed solid white. She felt iron and leather armor enclose around her body, clasping, encasing her. A cape of pure and absolute fire appeared from nothing and clasped itself around her neck. Suddenly, her mind became cloudy and she felt ancient magic pulsing through her thoughts, overpowering her, until her own lucid control of actions was as though seen from afar.

She now spoke, I, Daybreaker, shall end your finite span of days, Somb-ra... thou who art not king.

She became encased in a ball of blue and white fire so bright that it was blinding in broad daylight. Columns of blue fire erupted under King Sombra, crystal magic pierced the ground around him sending cruel daggers of sharpened crystal shrapnel flying towards him, ancient magic hexes and pentagrams glowed on the rocks around him, and modern spells slowed time and increased gravity fivefold.

The sheer pull of gravity brought the mountainous dragon to the ground, pinned in place, no longer a viable threat. Sombra seemed unaffected, as though he were truly a gaseous substance.

Sombra played out his own cards. Tendrils of dark magic encased several of the crystal spikes of the dragon, ripping them from its body in spasms of blood and shrieks of pain. The crystals shattered, and were thrown at Daybreaker with speed which ripped the sound barrier.

Daybreaker had to shield herself and teleport at ridiculous speed to dodge and repel every shard. While she was distracted, King Sombra rose higher into the air away from columns of hateful fire which clawed and grasped at him.

He began to speak in Old Ponish while simultaneously putting up shields. Jagged crystal daggers slammed into Daybreaker's shield, no more effective than hail against a tin roof, but with the same amount of racket.

Forgotten and forbidden dark magic began to form. Rips and tears cut through the Dreamspace like a knife through paper, each fissure flaming, from which came shadowy beings from Tartarus.

These beings seemed to struggle and writhe in pain as they were forced towards each magic hex. Princess Luna watched in unbelieving horror as the beings were torn apart in myriad ways by ancient magic curses of the highest and cruelest tier.

This spared King Sombra, who now turned his attention to Daybreaker. His shadowy form became a wisp of smoke, flying at great speed towards her. Behind him trailed the massive twisting spires of black thorn. Glaring white magic energy twisted through the thorns as they weaved a serpentine, spiraling path, surrounding Daybreaker at speeds faster than the average pegasus was capable of flying.

In response, Daybreaker went full supernova. Luna fled the scene, breaking the sound barrier. The ancient magic within the Elements of Conflict recognized the threat. It had destroyed all the red crystals on the mountaintop, and now it retracted, reforming into chains again.

Skyblazer, Cobalt, and Maud were gently set on the surface of the volcanic crater, away from the cataclysmic battle. The tricolor, glowing chains spun in rings around them once more, the magic shields were lowered, and their eyes ceased glowing. The three looked around them in lost confusion.

The chains rattled and clinked and snapped apart, making a tremendous amount of noise and scaring the three awake. Princess Luna observed, with sight enhanced by magic, as they began to shimmer and fade until they were no longer dreaming, and thus, no longer inside the realm of dreams.

This left four beings remaining. Luna continued flying, not risking a look behind her. She flew until she no longer felt an intense heat burning her back as though she stood in front of a wood stove.

Daybreaker and Sombra faced each other. King Sombra spoke in a hiss, “Fool! I have the advantage, dreams need not abide by the petty arcane law of reality!”

The spires of twisted thorn began to flicker and fade and appear again in a haphazard manner. Daybreaker could not avoid all of them as they struck at her instantaneously. She was cut several times despite the intensity of the flames and the shields and the armor.

Through the chaos, the noise, the terror, the insanity, she paused, and smiled sweetly. She spoke, Indeed, Sombra. This is not Equestria. I am still in full control, I, Princess Celestia, in the form of Daybreaker! For the weakening of magic need not matter here! Further, not one other being besides myself, thou, thy dragon, and beloved Luna have physical presence in Dreamspace. This world is paper. I am now free to rend it to ashes.

Pillars of fire the size of the thorns engulfed every single one. The yellow magic from Daybreaker's horn shot towards the volcano, and ensconced the entire mountain in a yellow glow. A ball of white-hot fire encased Daybreaker, growing until it was nearly the size of the wounded dragon below.

Daybreaker ceased her focus on time and gravity. All resumed to normal, and the speed of the thorns and her own attacks were doubled. Now, all Luna could see was a blur of movement.

One pillar of thorn got through and slammed into Daybreaker. She was launched back at speed, and she slammed into the ground at the base of the volcano at near supersonic speeds.

She rose, now bleeding profusely, her magic flickering, No, I am.. Dreamspace... it's, it's force of will, I am in control here agh, beloved Luna, please...just don't hurt her...

Daybreaker calmly rose to the air above Sombra. Her yellow magic encased the volcano as the frightened dragon took flight and fled. It flickered and faded into another pocket of Dreamspace.

Globs of lava began to levitate and the mountain trembled. The volcano was torn asunder. Rocks, trees, and lava were all held suspended in midair. The air was ripped by more tears into nowhere. Yellow arcane chains, traveling faster than the eye could see, slammed into Sombra and held the smoky form in place.

The entire volcano was dropped on top of him, and the entire pocket of Dreamspace shook, creating a sudden blast of wind in reality that scared away several deer and birds of the forest.

When the dust finally settled, Sombra was nowhere to be seen beneath the rubble. Regardless, Daybreaker was couched inside a massive ball of white fire, and breathing fire at the rubble until the very rocks began to glow.

A lone figure approached her, flying at supersonic speeds, guarded with a powerful magic aegis. Princess Luna slammed into Daybreaker, smashing through the wall of white fire before the sheer heat of it melted the very concept of physical barriers separating dimensions.

Within a forbidden ancient magic shield of total null, none of the ancient curses and not one iota of heat reached Luna. She closed her eyes, breathed, and began an Old Ponish incantation as the enraged Daybreaker breathed fire her direction, not even recognizing her.

There was a shrieking wail as daylight faded. The sun set and the moon rose in Dreamspace. Dark shadows blacker than midnight encircled Daybreaker, extinguishing the white fires. Luna's horn glowed with her deep purple, almost black, magic and modern counter-spells defused every ancient jinx and curse.

Luna braced, reminding herself this was all, literally, a dream. Nothing they did here could harm Reality. Her body glowed, and she became Nightmare Moon. This transformation was only held for ten seconds, in which time she flew towards Daybreaker with the full force of her dark and ancient magic arsenal. The already dim night became even darker as a singularity of absolute nothing formed around Daybreaker, and Nightmare Moon slammed into her with a powerful body slam.

This darkness dispersed. The flames stopped erupting. The dust settled, and Princess Luna, back in her normal form, embraced the restored Princess Celestia in a hug, steam rising off both of them from sweat and from magic. Both of them spent several minutes in each other's embrace, crying.

They released the hug at length, nuzzled each other, and they both exited Dreamspace for the solace of Reality.

Skyblazer woke up in his room, sweating. The bedding had been strewn all over from the intensity of the dream. There was a knock at his door, and then it creaked open. Cobalt quietly stepped in. She spoke in a meek whisper,

“Hey, Sky. Look, if anyone asks I never said this... but whatever that was, it scared the hell out of me.”

“Me too, Cobalt, I'm scared too. What a nightmare,” Sky trailed off in a quiet tone of disbelief.

“Sky, um, if it would be okay with you,” she gave a couple furtive glances at the door, “could we sleep together tonight? Ah, not like, not like that, you know, just... dammit, that dream world thing was terrifying, okay?”

Sky nodded with a cheesy grin. He said, “Sure, you big feathery bastard. Just help me pick up the blankets.”

The wild, bloodthirsty griffon cuddled up back to back with Sky, and in the company of each other, they were able to get more rest. This time, it was a dreamless and peaceful sleep.

Starlight Glimmer and Trixie woke up with a start in their wagon. They stumbled from a bed at each end of the wagon, stepped outside, and sat in the sharp glare of morning sunlight. The sun was just beginning to rise over the rocks and crags of the badlands region Northeast of Everfree.

They both breathed a sigh of relief. Princess Celestia was okay, and no doubt her sister as well. That sun would never be raised if Luna was harmed. Starlight was sure that Celestia would do everything in her power to protect her sister, and vice versa. She had no idea how correct that was.

“Starlight, where is Luna? She's okay, right?” asked a groggy Trixie.

“Princess Luna can physically enter and exit Dreamspace. For us, we were just dreaming,” answered Starlight, followed by a yawn, “and Celestia can physically go into dreams too, I only found that out recently.”

“Oh, that means she's probably with her sister. Which leaves us... all alone and unwatched. Are you up for some mischief?”

“Come on, Trixie. Please tell me you're better than that. After all we've seen, all they have done for us and for everypony.”

Trixie sat in consternation before speaking softly, “Yeah, I guess Twi and her friends did save Equestria... again, and again... and sometimes, it was our fault.”

“Let's get to Canterlot. We might never be the heroes, but who says we can't be on the right side for a change?”

In a canyon alcove and a day's hike from her cavern home, Maud Pie jumped to her hoofs and prepared for a fight before realizing, all had been a dream. One which was fast fading, as dreams do.

Quickly now, she withdrew parchment and quill from her saddlebags and lie in the cold and fluffy dust to write whatever she could recall.

The Elements of Conflict. These artifacts, perhaps of antiquity or perhaps forged in Dreamspace and made real by their very power, functioned the precise same way as Harmony did.

Perhaps only when Harmony was broken? That would be conflict. Maud continued jotting down essential notes on the various regions of Dreamspace, on the crystal dragon, Celestia's true power, and Sombra's escape to the dream realm and the bolstered strength it gave him.

She finished her notes, stood up, stretched, and prepared to set off for the Rambling Rock Ridge. Within this quarry was her comfortably furnished cavern home.

Maud Pie chewed on the most concerning thought which she knew everypony else would overlook in an emotional response of optimism. No matter what they did, it was still a dream world. Unstable, flexible. This could not be the end of Sombra.

Earlier that night, in Everfree Forest, Zecora the zebra was suddenly awoken. She couldn't figure out why at first, until she realized it was the lack of sound that had woken her up.

The magic alarm bell had stopped ringing. Curious, she shrugged on her cloak and, in spite of the danger posed by night in Everfree Forest, set off into the dark. It would seem that the Pool of Reflection was no longer breached by that tear into the void.

If only she could find Twilight, and get her to break the magical seal guarding the pool. All she needed was a thimble full of the magic water. She had gathered the remainder of the ingredients to cure Skyblazer's sister, all except for the water of reflection.

Dear lost Twilight, wherever you are, please find your way safe by day and by stars. Return to us soon and cease this folly. Remember the moon, recall your true calling. Violet Haycart suffers a terrible malady. Only the water may complete the remedy.

End of Book One of The Nexus Series

Author's Note

In the course of writing this story I have made some fascinating, useful observations.

World-building, whether from scratch or an established rubric, is calming. There is a sense of peace in developing character backgrounds, consistent events, important plot elements.

In the arduous task of completing an entire novel, keeping notes is super important. A simple notes file and changelog of minor grammar edits helps keep everything neat and tidy and consistent. With the notes I can keep fresh in mind Sky's brothers. Hayseed may inspire his own chapter in the next book, restoring Dodge Junction. Also real life may create times when one cannot write. Storyline notes on major events help keep the big picture going.

2. Cobalt, the Griffon

Far to the east and many moons ago, in the Griffon lands, life was simple, practical, and rigidly enforced.

The griffon race had only formed the town of Griffonstone out of necessity. At first, it was a small group of griffons who had formed a mountain camp together, for gathering food and for defense against dragons.

As time went by, the town grew in size and complexity. Still fiercely independent, the average griffon only used the place in early childhood and to settle down if they found a brood-mate. Most griffons left for the wilds once they could fly. This behavior left the town in disrepair, and badly hindered development of culture and new invention.

Of the few griffons who remained in or near the town through their lives, Swiftwing the blacksmith was perhaps the most loyal. Half lion, half eagle, he had front talons that offered some rudimentary dexterity with which he forged hot metal into useful implements for his town.

From his sweltering shop, Swiftwing observed the ebb and flow of the populace of Griffonstone. It was a depressing sight. The structures around him would collapse and rot. An aspiring griffon built a fountain, which went uncared for when he left to live out in the wilderness as any self-respecting griffon should.

The griffons who settled in town were all, without exception, very old or injured and couldn't survive on their own any more. They didn't have the strength to assist with much.

Something had to be done. Swiftwing would gather together as many griffons as would listen to him, and describe organizing a system of leadership to make sure their whole town didn't fall apart. The response was always the same. 'It will never work!', they would say to him, and they were right. Griffons didn't stick around long enough.

The last straw was when the well collapsed. Swiftwing gathered shovels and tools from his workshop, and went in search of able-bodied helpers. He found only two. It took them a week to rebuild the well. The decrepit elders of the town only had water to drink once that week, when it rained.

While narcissistic and proud, griffons weren't stupid. Swiftwing rallied together a group of loyal followers by exploiting their desires. Wealth, luxury, power! Status as elite griffons in the new regime.

He equipped the griffons loyal to him with armor and weapons from his forge. Together, they dug into the mountainside where gold gleamed. They mined stone blocks, veins of gold, veins of coal. A few young griffons, rather than leave for the horizon, chose to stay and help in return for some of this shiny gold.

Swiftwing could form the gold into whatever articles of jewelry were desired. His work force grew yet more. Now with over thirty griffons happy to listen to him, he instructed some of them to craft nets and haul in fish to feed his growing army.

A fortress was built and met no resistance. The elderly griffons were too feeble and busy rearing young. The young griffons were entirely apathetic to events that didn't concern them, or else happy to help construct a stone building in return for food and shiny gold.

Block by block, each hauled up by two mighty griffons flying it into place together, the mountain citadel was built against a cliff at the back of town. Swiftwing crafted each and every iron component of the entire fortress. Furnishings were made by a fellow griffon and woodcutter who had discovered a love for carpentry. Between this carpenter and Swiftwing, they built barrels, tables, stockpiled weapons. It took them many moons and long days of hard labor, from dawn to dusk, but at last it came together and they had inspired the majority.

When the fortress was finished, Swiftwing took initiative and forced his town to prosper, rather than seeing it fall into decay. He seized power, declaring himself King of the Griffons, and offered a display of cold-blooded brutality to seal his place among such independent creatures.

By now, over fifty griffons--more than half of all in Griffonstone--were loyal to his cause and willing to obey his orders, in return for their promised wealth and status.

The first official decree: Let all griffons who desire the wilds flee now. They may expect to never have help from Griffonstone if life becomes hard. Let those who desire a time of wealth, happiness, full-stomachs, and culture remain and obey their king, Swiftwing.

Very few of the young left. Swiftwing and Splinter the Carpenter had each remaining griffon come to the fortress to be assigned a task for the benefit of Griffonstone.

Each griffon was given a family home which would be kept in good condition. Swiftwing rationed out food, textiles, furnishings, tools, and gold to each of his subjects, reserving a bigger and better cut for him and his followers.

Some griffons feared this system of rule and tried to leave. They were captured and had their wings cut so they couldn't fly. Other griffons insulted their rulers, saying it wasn't fair they got luxury by virtue of being in charge. These griffons had their wings tied, and were tossed into the deep, windy crevasse near town.

Twenty griffons were paid well with quality food and a harem. These twenty became the guards, defending the town and carrying out the orders of their king. Others of the original fifty were placed as elite families, and were allowed to select their family's desired role in Griffonstone.

Swiftwing found a mate to be his queen, by whom he had two sons and a daughter. The first born son was raised to replace his father as the next king of the griffons.

To manage the continued populace, arranged marriage was enforced. To ensure the fortress itself would be kept in good condition while the two leaders continued to ply their unique trade skills, any griffon unhappy with the family occupation could become a fortress servant instead. Rather than waste resources building a prison, disobedient griffons were either exiled or forced into the worst labor.

On the outskirts of Griffonstone, and living in an adobe house on the mountain itself, were a family of griffons whose assigned work for their town was mining and gathering meat and firewood. Generations passed. The harsh system of dictatorship functioned with cold efficiency. Then one day in this mining family, a griffon was born who had white fur and dark blue feathers. She was named Cobalt.

The Forbidden Mines. This was the name on the rare maps of pony-kind that contained lands east of Equestria, with a firm notice in glowing magic red that trespass meant death.

It wasn't as though a pony couldn't visit Griffonstone, that was fine. Ten bits to get past the town guard. You aren't welcome, get the hell out soon as you've seen the place, not much to see. Check out the Windy Crevasse, be sure to fall in.

What was strictly and firmly forbidden, on signs written in both pony and griffon language, was attempting to mine for gold. All gold, marble, and other materials on the mountains were property of the griffons. Ponies had their own damn gold deposits in Equestria, and attempts to mine the exceedingly rich deposits here would be dealt with brutally.

Despite this, some still came and mined in the dead of night. Greed was a word which could also describe some pony-race adventures.

Cobalt lived in the adobe house on the mountainside. It was only accessible by flight, much like the main town of the pegasi. She was the daughter of her mother Poisonclaw and her father Featherheart, an arranged marriage. Cobalt lived alone now. Her mother had been thrown into the crevasse for suggesting a better system of rule by popular vote. Her father had died in a collapse while mining gold.

Cobalt's task was to gather wood and meat for the griffons. Meat came in the form of fish, rabbits, small deer, and mining ponies.

Mining in griffon territory was forbidden, and was dealt with brutally.

Cobalt had doubts about her own race and society, and wanted to know how life was for ponies. If she had only been born in the forested land outside of Griffonstone instead of within it, all she would owe was a seasonal tax to the king, not her entire way of life. It just wasn't fair. Other griffons--Oakwood, Gilda, Ivan, to name a few--were born outside of town and could visit Griffonstone all they wanted and even sell goods, but they weren't stuck living in one place!

She had enough and was ready to do what she had to. The time came for her arranged marriage and furthering the family; she declined, and was exiled. In a dramatic facade of misery, she simply left, taking nothing with her, to see if the damn ponies were really as accepting and nice as everyone said they were.

She ate a good meal of fish and gathered some into a knapsack before a flight across the sea to the East coast of Equestria. The salt air stung her eyes, and she flew above the clouds for a time where the air was clearer. She flew for nearly the entire day before a distant shore appeared. Part eagle, part lion, all gruff and cynicism, Cobalt began to descend as she saw land below.

As the last puffs of cloud swirled past her body and the patchwork ground far below became visible, she gasped, at a loss for words. It was a pony city, but a big one, with all sorts of huge buildings and a massive bridge of metal connecting the island to mainland. She approached as a pegasus launched off a cloud, closing the distance with alarming speed.

"Halt there!" he yelled, "Griffons have no place in Manehattan!"

"Did I hear you right," answered Cobalt, "This is you ponies' main city then, Mainhatten?"

"No you dunce, like the thing on our heads. Y'know, a mane?"

She was visibly affronted, "Is every damn place in your land a pun?"

"Excuse me miss, but this happens to be the foremost urban center for culture and forward progress within our entire kingdom. And a griffon is most certainly not an element of culture. Go the Tartarus away from here before I summon the rest of the aerial guard."

"Okay, maybe I will! Look. I just want to settle down, live in peace and love and whatever the hell it is you ponies have going for you. Find a better way of life. Is a big mean griffon like me allowed to do that, anywhere?"

"Why don't you go to the Everfree Forest? It's really popular with monsters. Like you."

Cobalt bristled and roared at the pegasus, who nearly fainted and sped back towards town to summon his fellow guards or whatever. She promptly made her own show of speed, high-tailing it to the west, a number of distant pegasi specks in pursuit.

The landscape below turned into mountains. Some weird parallel lines of metal disappeared into a hole in the cliff face. Cobalt was starving and exhausted; this was the longest in her life she had ever stayed airborne. She had to land soon, whether or not intentionally. She made a dive for it as the faster pegasi closed in. Arrows started to rain around her. How were they even shooting them?!

She reared back, using her tired wings as air brakes. It was all the last strain they could take as her whole body shivered with exhaustion, and she plummeted the last dozen feet into the bushes. Unharmed, she quickly got back up and ran into the tunnel in the cliff.

It seemed to work--for some reason the pegasi stopped chasing her. She walked, holding her wings limply, sore all over from the long flight. Towards the middle of the tunnel, the weird metal and wood path she was on became a bridge and crossed through a natural cavern. An underground lake glittered off of crystal formations. The weird bridge began to rumble and Cobalt heard an odd, loud noise she couldn't place. A light appeared on the bridge ahead; she squinted, and saw some kind of machine rushing towards her that was not about to stop. With a scream she hurled herself off the bridge and opened her wings to fly. Sharp needles of pain wracked her entire body, her exhausted wings failed her, and she plummeted into water colder than she could ever imagine.

Cobalt dragged herself onto a shore of razor-sharp rocks, curled up, shivering and bitterly cold, an arrow lodged in her leg, in pain, angry and outraged at the treatment she had gotten just for who she was, and for the first time in her entire life, she cried.

Author's Note

This interpretation of griffon society isn't really based off any elements of canon. It just factors in the behavior and personality of a typical griffon and how unlikely it is that they would form a city and social structure together.

6. Lightning Meets the Mane Six

The sound and smell of frying pancakes woke Lightning up in the morning. Fluttershy served this breakfast with fresh fruit and maple syrup, and then went about her morning ablutions before heading out into town.

She drew a fresh tub of hot water after she was done so that Lightning could have a bath. It came as no surprise at all to Lightning that the bathroom was in frilly shades of pink and white, and full of even more plants and flowers. This entire house was just one garden.

Lightning shook off the water and dried off with a large towel. She had her pancakes and fruit out on the back patio, with birdsong and fresh, floral morning air. If this was how Fluttershy started every morning, it was no wonder she always seemed in such a good mood. Lightning had a cynical thought that this might be her unique coping mechanism after her adventure in Everfree, but Lightning ignored that thought.

After packing a few things and placing some supplies into a garden cart, they set off into town.

Fluttershy made several stops to plant flowers, pull weeds, water the plants, and gather fruits and herbs. Lightning helped her, and learned some facts about the different plants and what they needed. Some of these were common flowers or root vegetables. Other plants had imbued magic and great use in alchemy, and had unique care instructions.

Lightning kept her balance much better today. Pulling the small, two-wheeled wooden cart behind her helped with that.

Ponyville was a cozy little hole-in-the-wall sort of place. Dirt roads and weathered but cared for wooden buildings. Ponies milling about here and there, but nothing that could be considered a crowd.

They passed a number of businesses all in a row. Lightning guessed this counted as downtown. A shop called 'The Cakes', its display window full of sweets, looked especially inviting. Lightning asked about it,

"What about the cakes?"

"What?" asked Fluttershy.

"The sign just says, 'The Cakes.' I mean, yes I see they have cakes in the window, but also pies, and bread, and--"

"Oh, their name is the Cakes. The couple that runs the bakery, that is."

"Huh. Maybe they should change that to something less confusing."

"Mr. and Mrs. Cakes Bakes?"

"Not bad. How about, Sugarcube Corner? It is right on the corner after all."

"Ooh I like that. I ought to suggest it to them sometime."

"So where are we headed to today?"

"First I need to stop at the tea shop. Then, I'm going to stop by and visit Cherry Jubilee, the schoolteacher here. She also gardens and we trade plants and supplies a lot. After that, I'd like you to meet my friends. We're all planning to meet up at the town library this afternoon."

This pegasus was certainly a social butterfly. Lightning had some close friends but never really got to know ponies on that kind of personal level. She looked over her shoulder at the place her left wing should have been, and realized she had all the time in the world to start.

The tea shop smelt of tea. A soft spoken male earth-pony was the clerk. Fluttershy requested a few varieties, pulled a coin pouch from her saddlebag, and paid a few bits for her teas.

Further east and in a more wooded part of the town, they found Jubilee's house right next to the school building. It had the same white painted barn wood siding as the school did, and a tidy garden. After whacking the door with her hoof, Fluttershy talked with the earth-pony teacher and they had a friendly hug.

Cherry Jubilee said hi to Lightning, and offered her condolences for the missing wing. She knew better than to pry about it, and instead traded with Fluttershy. A bag of mulch for a bag of wood chips. Several potted roses, magnificent ones, for some home-grown snap peas and salad greens.

As they left the house, Fluttershy commented, "It's too bad the world is too complicated for everyone to trade like that. Having your dreams locked away from you because of money isn't very nice. I never thought I'd have enough bits to grow such a nice garden, but guess what? Princess Celestia, bless her heart, she gave me a cabin in return for gardening all around in Ponyville."

Lightning had a case of the warm fuzzy feelings.

The sun was slightly past high noon as they walked to the north side of town where the library was. Lightning stopped and sat down in surprise--or rather, she tried to sit, forgetting she was hitched to a cart.

It was a treehouse! Not like the sort fillies built, but a house built within a massive tree! How was this even possible?

Fluttershy helped her uncouple from the cart and they went in, without so much as needing to knock. Within the tree, aside from all the books of course, were five other ponies who couldn't possibly have been more different from each other and less likely to forge a friendship.

Lightning was worried they would all run up and besiege her with thanks and questions about the whole battle she was involved in, and a couple of them were about to, but the purple-furred unicorn told them not to do that and to respect her space.

The first thing on Lightning's mind was, "You shouldn't be thanking me, you're the heroes here. For goodness sake, I'm highly trained and it was my job to handle danger. You guys are ordinary citizens. It's already brave to venture into Everfree, but taking on a living myth on top of that? I should be thanking you!"

A pink earth-pony with a frizzled, pink mane and tail boinged over to them, a big grin on her face, and said in a high-pitched voice, "Oh, I wasn't worried about it. I'm Pinkie Pie I work at the Cakes place it's nice to meet ya!"

Lightning watched this pink pony bounce up and down in place like a filly who had just discovered coffee for the first time. She was quite at a loss for words. Finally, she said, "W-well, you must be a very brave pony, and it's great that you were able to help bring Princess Luna back to us. Weren't you scared at all?"

"Oh no I'm never scared of things like that, silly."

"What? Why?"

"We're the main characters, and we have plot armor."

As Lightning raised an eyebrow, a white unicorn walked over and leaned right up against her to whisper in her ear, "Don't mind Pinkie dear, she has more than a few threads loose but not in a bad way. She's a good pony, and a great friend."

The unicorn introduced herself as Rarity, fashion expert, business owner, and said that she was happy to meet Lightning. She offered to tailor her a silk cloak to hide her missing wing, and the pink pony rearranged this sentence to say that she was not crazy, and cake is delicious.

An earth pony with golden yellow fur close to Lightning's shade introduced herself as Applejack. She had a straw hat on.

"Hi, up here!" came a voice, and Lightning looked up. A sky-blue pegasus with chromatic mane and tail was reshelving books while flying near the ceiling. She dropped down to greet Lightning.

"A real member of the Wonderbolts! I'm Rainbow Dash, and I'm trying to get in too--whoa." Dash had noticed the wing missing, and her eyes were wide in surprise. "Wow, I uh, wow, that's bad. Tell you what. Want to meet me at Applejack's place sometime for the good cider? I think you need it."

"Haven't you had enough of the good cider there, sugarcube?" asked the pony in question.

"Please, I can fly just fine. Wait, I didn't mean--I'm so sorry Lightning, I, uh,"

"It's fine, really," answered Lightning unconvincingly.

While Rainbow wanted to hear the story, she gave the wounded pegasus some space for now to be polite, and let her say hi to Twilight.

The purple unicorn set her book on a side table, and bookmarked it, using telekinesis. Lightning noticed the title was 'The Mathematics of Applied Spells Over Distance' and felt herself falling asleep just reading that.

Stepping out of her chair, the unicorn said, "I am Twilight Sparkle, and I'm a student of magical studies. I heard that you took part in defending Ponyville? Thank you for that."

"Please, don't thank me! I'm in the Wonderbolts--was, I was in the bolts. You seem like a very well-read pony, so I'm sure you already knows what that entails."

Twilight nodded, and said, "Yes, I'm aware you were just doing your job, but we still do want to say thanks. Here, may I see your left side please?"

Lightning, curious, turned so that the unicorn could take a look.

After inspecting the missing patch of fur and the scar on that side, she said quietly, "A perfect sheer at the pivot joint, from the base of the upper wing bone. That means, a tremendous amount of force applied over a very small area."

"Well, you aren't wrong about that, Twilight."

"You made a significant sacrifice as the result of defending this town and everypony living here. So, allow me to tell you, thank you, and I mean it. No, you weren't the only one out there keeping the monsters away, but if there's anything my friends and I can do to help repay you, just let us know, okay?"

"Alright Twilight, I will, and I guess I can accept that. Thanks."

Lightning found some books which interested her, and followed Fluttershy back to her cabin, the wooden garden cart in tow.

After helping some more with the gardening, Lightning said a warm thank you to Fluttershy for everything and walked to the Ponyville Cafe. She had an order of hay fries, and puzzled over just what to do with her life from here.

A pegasus messenger swooped down and handed her a rolled-up letter. Lightning placed it on the table and opened it, curious. It read:

'To: Lightning Ridge, Ponyville

From: Captain Ragged Edge, Wonderbolts Barracks, Cloudsdale

Please reply when you are rested and able. I would like to meet you for a discussion on your future plans. Respond with the time and location.

Best wishes, Ragged Edge.'

Lightning asked for parchment and a quill, which the messenger had available in a pouch at her side. Using her mouth to hold the quill and dip it in ink, Lightning wrote back,

'Please meet me at the home of Fluttershy, on the southwest side of Ponyville, at noon tomorrow. Thank you sir.'

Lightning watched the pegasus take off towards the clouds high above with sadness in her eyes, and considered where to sleep for the night. She didn't want to be a bother to Fluttershy. She remembered Twilight's offer, and made her way back to the strange library. Ponies were heading home for the evening, and they tried to keep the disfigured pegasus from seeing their looks of surprise, but it didn't go unnoticed by her. She let out a deep sigh, and pressed on towards the library to see if the unicorn was still there.

Lightning approached the tree, and knocked. To her surprise, a young, purple dragon answered the door. He knew how to talk, too, and let Lightning in when she asked if she could see Twilight. They found her in an easy chair, lost in a book.

Twilight said before Lightning could ask, "His name is Spike, I've raised him since he hatched from an egg. He assists me with my studies, household chores, and note-taking."

Lightning said, "You're certainly friendly for a dragon, Spike. Could I talk to Twilight in private for a bit?"

Spike returned to washing dishes in the kitchen, where Lightning could see a number of burned spots on the floors and cabinets. "Some sort of cooking mishap?" she asked.

"You could say that," answered Twilight sheepishly, "I've been trying to learn the pyro spell today, to start fires. It could be a very useful and versatile spell... once I learn how to aim it better, that is. What did you need to talk about, Lightning?"

"Well, now that I think about it. What kind of library has a kitchen?"

"This place is more of a guest house and a library. I'm just calling it home for the time being since Celestia sent me here to make friends--uh, I shouldn't have said that."

"You said you were a student of magic, so I take it you're under the wing of Princess Celestia herself?"

"Well, yeah, I guess," Twilight answered, blushing.

"Oh, hold on a moment!" said Lightning in realization, "If this is a guest house, is there space for me here tonight? I don't have anywhere to go, my home was in Cloudsdale and, you know..."

"Ample space," answered Twilight, cutting through that unhappy line of thought, "You're supposed to let them know at the town hall before staying here, but I'll take care of that in the morning."

"Alright then, that answers my first question. The usual guest house rules? Temporary boarding for travelers and ponies working here for the short term, and free of charge?"

"It's free as long as we take of care of the place. They only charge bits if we leave a mess."

Lightning gave an askew glance at the kitchen.

"I'll fix that! I know a repair spell. Feel free to bring in your things, pick a bedroom."

"All I have is my saddlebags and what's in them, the rest is in my old house," she said sadly.

"Hmm. My friend Pinkie--you met her earlier--said there's a hot-air balloon in this town. That could get you up there."

"How could I forget that pony? Great idea though, thanks."

"Did you have anything else you wanted to ask?"

"Well, yeah... let me get settled in first."

Lightning explored the place. It dawned on her that a smaller town like this might not have the bits to pay for both a library and a guest shelter out of their tax income, so they combined them.

The tree had four stories. The first floor seemed to be non-fiction, kitchen, a cozy, sunken reading nook, and a half-bathroom. The second floor was a balcony around the perimeter, accessed by a spiral stair. Bookshelves lined the wall, with occasional gaps for windows and cushy chairs. This was all the fiction.

A staircase curved up the wall to the third floor, and sure enough, the entire side of it was bookshelves of increasing height. On the third floor were yet more books--these seemed to be dusty tomes of local history, advanced magic, and academic records--and the main living space for the guest house.

Lightning found several bedrooms, a full bathroom, and a living room with a fireplace on this floor.

She picked out a bedroom which had a door into the bathroom, and set down her bags on the bed. She then looked at the books--by Celestia this was more books than she'd seen in one place in her life--on shelves at both sides of the fireplace. Poetry, mythology, philosophy, alchemy, charms and jinxes, and other things that could be categorized as arts, legends, and imprecise sciences.

The living room was furnished with a couch, loveseat, a couple lamps, and a dining table. Lightning noticed some parchment on the table with scribbled notes about something called the "elements of harmony."

The three books stacked on the table were 'Enchanted Artifacts of Mythology', 'Cursed Objects and how to Identify Them', and 'The Ancient Magicks: What We Know'.

One final, steep staircase led to the fourth floor. This came to a hall with two bedrooms off of it. The one on the left was storage space, with dusty crates and trunks. Lightning wondered if any "enchanted artifact of mythology" was hidden in there among the cobwebs and old wooden furniture. The right side was clearly Twilight's bedroom, with a cushioned basket for the baby dragon.

She zigged and zagged back to the first floor, and took a seat in a chair opposite Twilight. Her second question nagged at her, and she asked it,

"You seem pretty insightful, Twilight. Could I bounce my thoughts off of you?"

She placed her book on a side table, and said go ahead.

"I'm so lost right now Twilight. My entire life was flight. I lived in Cloudsdale, my job was Wonderbolts member and part time weather control, and now I look up at the clouds you know, and I keep thinking, I'm never going to get up there again by my own ability. I'm stuck living on the ground. And for someone like you it's normal, but for me, I don't know how to cope with this. I don't know where I'm going to live, or what I'm going to do, and, and, I'm scared. I'm honestly scared, and I feel so alone."

Twilight took a deep breath before responding. She full-well knew how it was to feel overwhelmed by things, whenever plans faltered and her perfectionism flared up. At length, she answered,

"Okay first, you're not alone. Don't think that. All of my friends and I are here for you, and trust me when I say that all of Ponyville is here for you. They would do the same for anyone who was injured during the defense of this town, and that pony who was severely injured happens to be you, Lightning. By all means, we appreciate the efforts of everyone who went out there and took on all those monsters at once--Celestia knows I couldn't do something like that--but you really need someone to lean on right now. I get that."

Lightning nodded. She asked for something to drink, she was parched. Twilight attempted to conjure lemonade into a glass on the table, but summoned lemons into existence instead.

"Spike!" she yelled, "Could you bring us a pitcher of water?"

The young, bipedal dragon brought over a pitcher and poured three glasses. He leaped out of the way when Twilight hoisted up the lemons by magic. She squashed the first one, spritzing lemon juice everywhere. She tried again, and magically sliced the second one in half.

Lightning took one of the halves in her mouth, and squeezed the juice into her glass of water. Twilight gave it a third try, managed to neatly separate the third lemon into wedges, squeeze the juice into a glass, and levitate the glass so she could have a drink. She smirked, a bit proud of herself, and then turned to Lightning,

"I've been thinking about it since I met you, and it is one tough pickle you're in. You know I'm a very bookish pony, I've never been good socially, so I'm sorry if this doesn't help. I think since you're new to life on the ground, it makes sense to go from that perspective."

"How do you mean?" asked Lightning.

"Well, for any young earth-pony or unicorn uncertain of what they want to do with their life, the best advice is to figure out what type of passions they have. Do you like to read, do you spend more time indoors or outdoors, would you rather play sports or watch a play, that sort of thing."

"Well, clearly my main thing was flying, but hobbies... I have always loved spending time in nature. In my free time, I would usually find a secluded place somewhere in the forest or the mountains where I could enjoy the peace and the scenery."

"Alright, so you enjoy the outdoors then. How about gardening? Have you ever thought about that?"

"Oh, Fluttershy has already been teaching me about gardening--and her house has a lovely one. I really liked it there, she's so relaxed and the way she planted things, it just flows so smoothly from outside to indoors. It's amazing."

"Did you enjoy helping her with the plants?"

"I loved it! It has helped me take my mind off of things."

"So you could become a gardener, or any number of vocations related to the great outdoors. A ranger, a farmer, you could sell herbs and teas."

"I'll have to think about that, actually. Thank you Twilight."

"Oh, it's no problem Lightning. Glad I could help a bit."

"Do you know what Fluttershy's schedule is like? Will she be busy tomorrow?"

"She usually stays in town, or on the outskirts tending to plants and animals. Don't think she's busy tomorrow."

"Good, I'll be sure to pay her a visit. I bet she would know some more directions I could go. I'm also going to be meeting the bolts captain there, he wanted to meet me."

"Make yourself at home, then. This is a pretty quiet town so we should have no problem staying at this guest house long as we like."

"I've never slept in a library before!"

"Well, there's a first time for everything! It's getting dark out, I'm going to hit the hay. Night, Lightning."

"Good night, Twilight. Hey, thanks again. I really needed some calm structure about now. My mind just hasn't been in the right place lately."

"I get that. Get some rest, it will do you good."

They both climbed up to their rooms for the night.

7. Mysterious & Mundane Magic

The next morning. Lightning stretched, rolled out of bed, and straightened the blankets. She stretched her legs and her one wing, and looked out the window. It was a cloudy day, which meant the weather control pegasi were preparing for rain within a couple days.

She joined Twilight and Spike in the first-floor reading nook for a breakfast of fresh fruits and a daffodil salad. Even this early in the morning, the purple unicorn still had her nose in a book. Lightning asked about it as she chewed on some flower petals,

"Is that a journal?"

Twilight answered, "Why yes, it is. This is my friendship journal. I'm working on it together with my new friends here."

Lightning got permission to read some of it, and her eyes widened in awe at their crazy adventure in the Everfree Forest. She ate a peach absent-mindedly, her eyes on the pages. When finished reading this adventure, she glanced at Twilight's notes about her new friends in Ponyville. It all seemed on point.

"Wow, it sounds like you were dealing with some dangerous stuff. All of you seem very brave. What, exactly, are these 'elements of harmony'?" asked Lightning.

Twilight looked at the shelves, and levitated a massive, heavy book to the floor. It landed with a dish-rattling thunk, and was magicked open to a dog-eared page.

Lightning read the caption below a drawing of six magic artifacts, "The Elements of Harmony. Little is known about these mythical items. Legends about them are few and far between. A stained-glass window in the old castle reads in ancient runic language, 'Gather here ye six of great virtue. Those who are chosen may peek beneath the waves and see the true depths of reality.' It is unknown what this saying means, but the consensus is that magic has depth and scope to it beyond our modern understanding."

Twilight chimed in, "Isn't it interesting, Lightning? It seems to imply that everything, all we know, is just the tip of an iceberg. I know the castle in Canterlot has spellboook archives you aren't allowed to visit without permission and a good reason."

"Well I'm not even a unicorn, but that is interesting. Do you think it has anything to do with pegasi magic?"

"I don't really know. I've done a lot of reading on magic theory, and nopony seems to agree whether or not the magic of different races is related. Anyway, let me show you something."

Twilight got up from her chair and closed her eyes. Her horn began glowing with a fierce purple energy, and she popped out of existence. She reappeared in her room, where she grabbed a wooden box. She teleported back to the first floor, startling Lightning, who sloshed a bit of tea on the floor.

The box was set on the side table and opened with an unlatching noise. Twilight explained,

"It's magically locked from the inside. You have to memorize the combination to unlock it."

Within the box were six gemstones of various colors, each set into a necklace. One of them--which Lightning noticed was shaped exactly like Twilight's cutie mark--was set into a tiara instead.

Lightning was speechless at this physical display of mythical ancient objects. She spoke softly,

"So these gems allowed you to reform Nightmare Moon? And they just happen to be shaped like your cutie marks?"

"No," answered Twilight, "when we first found them they looked like these weird rocks in a circle. They only changed when we all managed to spark them--by Celestia. That means... that means, we were chosen by the ancient magic."

They both sat in silence as this soaked in. Twilight continued,

"No, that's too contrived. That's a common cliche of fictional stories. We can't be the 'chosen ones'. No way does magic work that way. Magic is just a fundamental force of our world which can be studied and explained."

"Well," said Lightning, gesturing in front of her, "explain this. The Elements of Harmony are real, and sitting right in front of us."

"That's a point." admitted Twilight.

"Hey, this is actually really interesting. Let me know if you learn anything else, okay? I need to get a move on to Fluttershy's place."

"I'll do that. It was good meeting you Lightning, will you be back tonight?"

"I don't really have anywhere else to go," she said in response.

She talked to Spike for a while, curious about his ability to teleport scrolls. That could badly affect the jobs of messengers if it were a more common magic and not endemic to dragons.

Lightning walked out into Ponyville, with a stop in mind before visiting Fluttershy. The curious stares were less frequent now and her balance was better. She took the time to enjoy the warm weather and the scenic, cozy little town as she walked south to where the businesses were.

Past the downtown stretch and at the start of where the houses were, Lightning found Rarity's place. It was a building shaped like a carousel, with statues of ponies placed around it. On closer inspection, these were mannequins behind windows, all displaying different attire.

She strode up to the door and knocked with a hoof. A moment later, the white unicorn opened it with magic and greeted Lightning, asking how her morning was.

"Oh, I'm fine," said Lightning, "staying with Twilight at the library. Lovely town you have here."

"Yes, Ponyville is a delightful place. Now don't you mind Twilight, I know that pony can prattle on and on for hours about her reading."

"Oh no, I really found it interesting how much she knows, what with the spells and ancient magic and such. What about you, Rarity? How did you find the adventure with Nightmare Moon and all that?"

"Well come inside, darling, and I'll tell you all about it."

Lightning stepped in. The building was precisely as anticipated. Racks of various clothing and accessories, yards and yards of material, very clean and organized. A fluffy white cat meowed at her from on top of a wardrobe.

Tea was offered, but politely declined. She had already had a couple cups.

Rarity grabbed a measuring tape and started getting measurements as she told her perspective of events,

"Well, it was certainly reckless. I may not be the strongest unicorn or skillful like Twilight, but I am going to be there for my friends. It was a magnificent endeavor. Now that Luna is safely returned to us alongside her sister, I believe that Equestria and the wide world beyond shall be a safer place."

"Oh? How so?" asked Lightning as Rarity finished her measures, and noted them telekinetically onto a blackboard with chalk.

Rarity answered, "Well darling, Princess Celestia by herself is already frightfully powerful. She often protects the land from foul monsters. With Luna by her side, nothing could possibly pose a threat to Equestria."

Lightning agreed with this assessment. She followed Rarity to her shelves full of various material.

"Now then, a cloak for you. Here I have various silks, have your pick dear."

"Rarity, may I request a more durable cloak for the outdoors? I'm considering spending some time alone to think over things. I have a lot on my plate."

"Oh certainly, Lightning. How about a waterproof waxed canvas cloak, with a wool lining? I can also fashion an excellent pack for you, with many pouches and pockets."

"Could you make one with more weight on my left side? I keep losing my balance without... my wing."

"Why yes, I can. Now then dear, you were saying you need time for some soul searching? I believe everypony does from time to time."

"Well, I'm not really a pegasus anymore, am I? From now on, I am Lightning Ridge, the earth-pony. I have to learn how to reconcile that, somehow. I have to find my calling."

"I fully understand. I didn't find my place in the world as a fashion designer until years into being a grown mare. As a young filly, I had dreams of being in the Royal Guard--but that takes a great deal of brawn, you see, and my magic is not all that strong."

"Is it true that unicorns tend to have unique passions and skills in life, which coincide with their magic?"

"Well dear, that is a real chicken and egg question. Personally, I'd have to say that any unique aspect of magic a unicorn is born with does a lot to shape their direction in life, but I know of some who have followed a strong passion even with magic that does not directly relate to it."

"How about you, Rarity?"

"My magic is more precise and controlled than average. I never thought much of it. A doctor, perhaps? But I haven't the stomach for that line of work. It wasn't until I visited Canterlot for the first time and learned the nuance and effect of various clothing that I realized how practical my magic could be for sewing."

"Well I must say, your shop and home here is very lovely. I can see you put a lot of passion into your work."

"That's just it dear, this is my passion!"

Rarity had Lightning relax on a couch while she gathered the materials and set to work on the cloak. She demonstrated a flickering, but precisely controlled, pyro spell with which she applied gentle heat to set the wax in place.

They enjoyed a lunch of vegetable and rice stuffed mushrooms as it cooled and set. Lightning then tried on her new cloak. Rarity gave a bit of exposition on cloak design, how for earth-ponies it buttoned through loops at the side so it could be clasped with the mouth, and for unicorns it was a clasp at the chest which could be handled with magic.

She daintily forgot to mention cloaks for pegasi, which had slits for the wings and a drawstring to tighten them against the wind.

Lightning looked herself over in the mirror, wearing the brown canvas cloak.

She commented, "It's a perfect fit and oh-so comfortable. You do amazing work, Rarity."

The unicorn offered a slight blush and chuckle, "Why thank you, I'm glad you like it. It's not the most fashionable piece, but with the hood up you should stay dry in severe weather. Now the wool lining is magic in nature. The sheep who reside on the Apple's land for free are enchanted in return for that. When it is cold, the wool becomes warmer. When it is hot, the wool cools you down."

"Amazing!" exclaimed Lightning.

Rarity gave her a jar of wax with instructions to apply every several moons and let set into the garment next to a fire. She said the pack would take longer to make and she had other orders to fill, and to come back the next day.

Before leaving for Fluttershy's, Lightning asked how many bits for the cloak.

"Take it, darling, it's a gift," was the response.

"No way, this is the finest item of clothing I've ever owned!"

"And that compliment will suffice as payment. Shoo now, and tell Fluttershy hello for me."

Lightning went her way with a grateful and curious look at this unicorn.

Trotting down the dirt and cobblestone streets in her comfortable new cloak, Lightning felt like a real adventurer. For some strange reason, everyone seemed wary of her, and ducked into shops as she passed. When she took down her hood to get a better look around at why this was, she had this reaction less.

With her missing wing hidden, she had the confidence to talk to ponies and explore some of the shops in town. She gave a chuckle at a place called "Sofas and Quills". She did buy some quills, parchment and an ink vial, but didn't need a sofa.

On to the southwest side of town as it became gardens and houses. A wooden sign had "Everfree Lane" painted on it in white.

Lightning walked through the soft, poofy dirt until she reached the cabin of Fluttershy. The sturdy and imposing captain of the wonderbolts was already there, sitting on the front porch with tea. He was marveling at the way this soft-spoken pegasus hovered by a blooming magnolia tree and inspired a couple young birds to fly.

The birds managed a few moments of flight before falling. Fluttershy caught them, and gently set them back in the nest.

"Ah, Lightning!" said Ragged Edge, trying to keep his voice down so he didn't scare the animals, "I've been talking with your friend here. Equestria needs more pegasi like her."

Fluttershy blushed as she alighted on the ground, and made a sweeping motion with her front leg. "Hello again, Lightning," she said cheerily.

The three of them relaxed on the front porch to chat. Fluttershy lie propped up on her side on a cushioned porch swing, with Lightning sitting next to her. Ragged Edge sat on a bamboo mat on the porch. A flask next to his teacup did not go unnoticed by Lightning. With all he'd been through, it was no surprise he needed a stiff drink.

Ragged took a drink of this spiked tea and then stated his business, "Very nice cloak, Lightning. Now then. Since you were injured in service to Equestria, I am here to offer compensation pay. The full cost of a house here on the ground will be provided for, simply let us know where you wish to settle down. You will also receive a stipend every couple of moons until you find work. Take as long as you need, there is no hurry."

Lightning nodded and said thanks.

"I have another surprise for you too, Lightning Ridge. Wait here."

He stepped off of the porch and out of the garden. He took off into the sky, and returned shortly with a number of dots in the distance. These dots were all pegasi, and as they pulled up for a landing on the dirt path, Lightning saw they were the members of Division B.

Lightning ran over to them. Ragged Edge said,

"They'd like to thank you for what you did."

The pegasi all spent some time chatting with each other, going over the battle and all that had happened. A female pegasus who wasn't a Division B member walked over to Lightning, and gave a bow. She said,

"I am Windbreaker's wife. I wanted to personally thank you for risking your life and well being to save him from the hydra. I know this is a hard loss for you, but just know that it wasn't for nothing and we all appreciate it."

Everyone in division B voiced agreement, saying that it wasn't even really her fault that the tan pegasus had prevented her from getting reinforcements.

Ragged Edge had this to say, "One of the weather control reserves members was flying low enough to see you charge after Wildspirit. He told me what had happened. You flying through dense trees at tremendous speed. Tackling her and doing what you could to stop her."

"Did he see who it was that saved me?" asked Lightning.

"Well, yes, but I'm thinking he wasn't in his right mind with all conditions considering."

"How so?"

"He saw who scooped you up and flew you out of danger. But it wasn't a pegasus. She was a griffon."

The silence in the air was palpable.

"That doesn't, but, how? Everfree? I need--I think I need to sit down for a bit."

The reception stayed grounded, all the pegasi conversing with each other and catching up. Lightning returned to where Fluttershy was. They didn't say a word, but exchanged looks which said everything, and cuddled up together on the porch swing. Fluttershy had a comforting wing over Lightning's back.

Lightning said incredulously, "Ragged says I was saved by a griffon."

After a moment of silence, Fluttershy quietly said, "Griffons are very scary, but I'm sure not all of them are bad. Maybe a few sour apples make all of them look bad?"

"I guess so." said an amazed Lightning.

The pair watched as the highly skilled pegasi gracefully took off into the gray skies until they had all left except for their captain, who walked back to the porch.

"Do you have a place in mind to settle down at?" he asked of Lightning.

"No, not yet sir. I've had a couple days to think, and I'd like to spend some time alone in the mountains. I really need to figure out my place in the world now, as an earth-pony."

"In that case, I'll give you a stipend now to assist with costs. Let me know by messenger when you are ready to find a house somewhere. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Well, all my things are in my old home up in Cloudsdale. I heard there was a hot-air balloon in town and I suppose I could use that, but,"

"Now where would we find a troop of skilled pegasi to move a cartload of furniture down to Ponyville?"

"Oh, right," said Lightning sheepishly. She then added, "If my things could be brought to the town guest house? It's the library too, this big magic tree thing. Can't miss it. I'm staying there for now with Twilight."

"Consider it done. Alright, I need to get back to base. Again Lightning, thank you. You saved the life of one pony, gave everything you had to save a second one, and stopped the most dangerous beastie of the lot. You will go down in history as a legend, you know that?"

"I don't really want the attention or anything..."

"Fluttershy, take care of her for me. She badly needs a shoulder to lean on. You're the best friend she could ever ask for. I'm off."

He took a backwards leap off the porch, snapped his wings open, and accelerated into the sky upside-down.

Both Fluttershy and Lightning watched him leave, then gave each other a puzzled look. Fluttershy thought of something, perking up one ear in thought.

"I think I know a good place for you to go, Lightning. Let me see if I can find my old maps."

Author's Note

Rarity has no idea how wrong she is. It will be a couple years til they meet Discord for the first time, at least.

8. Solace

Fluttershy went inside her cabin, and looked in a trunk in her bedroom. She didn't find the maps there, and she looked in a kitchen junk drawer. Still no. Finally, she looked in the broom closet, and found the maps in a box.

She unrolled them on the dining table, and said,

"I help at the bird sanctuary in Whitetail Woods sometimes. This map has all of the marked trails through the woods. The Smokey Mountains are just past that. It's a much nicer place than Everfree."

Lightning perused the map. A mountain hike did sound like just the thing. It would be tough exercise, but a great way to clear her mind. There was one problem though. She asked,

"Say Fluttershy, if I'm reading the scale right, the woods are way too far to walk to. Does the train go there?"

"Yes, there is a station for the Whitetail wilderness area. Oh, but you have to tell the conductor to stop there. I usually take it because it's faster than flying for me."

"I'll need to buy some supplies then. I'll be heading out to town, want to come with?"

"I'm sorry, but I have some gardening work to do."

Lightning took her leave. She picked up her pack from Rarity, who thought that getting some alone time was a splendid idea. "But be careful darling," she said, "Don't be a stranger. Keep in touch."

It was a saddlebag pack, strapped across her back with pouches on each side, worn over her cloak. Most ponies carried something similar. A regular backpack wouldn't stay on a quadruped properly. As Rarity helped her cinch it on, Lightning had the eerie feeling that her left wing was still there, and hurting her.

Was this weird pain going to be another thing she had to deal with? She shook it off, thanked the white unicorn profusely for her generosity, and cantered into town to gather some wilderness supplies.

In a few days time, after more talks with Twilight and Fluttershy, she gathered her things and walked to the town station. Fluttershy went with her.

Lightning wore her cloak and new saddlebags, with a sleeping bag rolled-up and strapped on. Her old bags were given to Twilight.

The train would be arriving soon, according to the pegasus who worked the ticket counter. From time to time, this pegasus would fly down the line a ways to see how far off the train was.

They enjoyed the lazy spring weather. Sunbeams pleasantly warmed their feathery wings. Lightning had to fake a smile as they talked about woodland flowers and animals and the sights to see.

On her mind was the pegasus worker. Even such a simple task as flying for a short ways was impossible now. She was half a pegasus.

He would be oblivious to her concerns, of course, and that was fine. The cloak served its purpose. She didn't want to talk about things any more than she had to.

A clatter of steel and puffs of steam approached. The Equestria Express slowly rolled into the station. Passengers got off noisily as baggage was removed from the storage car. Lightning noticed an odd thing about the train, and said in an alarmed voice,

"That's an awfully small coal car! I hope it's enough fuel."

"Oh, don't worry," Fluttershy quietly replied, "Princess Celestia used magic on all of the trains to make them run more efficiently. They don't need very much coal now."

Lightning was impressed. She mentioned, "I bet that had a bad impact on mining towns."

"Oh my yes. The town of Dodge Junction is a ghost town now."

"Must be, can't say I've ever heard of it. They had a mine there?"

"I think they still do. It's south of Everfree, out in the desert. Miners and farmers live out there."

"Farmers in the desert?"

"It turns into plains at the southern hills."

"Maybe I could be a farmer. I do love gardening with you."

Lightning got up and approached the train. Fluttershy gave her a hug goodbye, and said, "I'll come visit you with more food and things, Lightning. Meet me at the station every two weeks. If I can't make it, I'll send a care package and a letter. Take care now!"

As Lightning leaned out the window, waving goodbye to Fluttershy, she smiled with a bright look in her eyes. This would be an adventure.

"Tickets, please. Ponyville to Vanhoover."

Lightning presented hers, and it was stamped.

The train steamed on into the sunset. Lightning made sure to let the workers know she wanted a stop at Whitetail Woods, and was informed that they wouldn't make it until morning.

She curled up on the bench within her cloak, and got some sleep.

After a breakfast in the dining car, Lightning got her saddlebags cinched on for the upcoming stop. They arrived at Whitetail Wilderness within the hour.

The station was a sturdy structure made of logs, with a tin roof. A few shrubs had grown through the boards of the platform, but it otherwise seemed maintained.

Lightning stepped down to the soft, quiet detritus of the forest floor. She stretched her right wing under her cloak, and gazed sadly at her left side. The rattle and grind of wheels on steel faded until she was enveloped in a serene and total quiet.

She sat, and looked around. It was very lovely here. Patches of warm sunlight shone through the forest canopy. Occasional birdsong filled the air. It would be beautiful, except that for Lightning, the nicest day was still a muddled gray fog in her mind. She knew it wasn't rational to be so down in such an uplifting place. Her private struggle wasn't a rational thing.

In spite of this feeling of emptiness and loss, she found the resolve to keep making progress. A mild wind rustled branches overhead.

So, I have lost my wing. I am never going to fly again. How can I never fly again? Why?

A glance up, at the shady canopy which imprisoned her. Never again. It echoed, rattling around in her mind. Two weeks ago, she could have burst through this green tent into the big sky above.

The ground below her hooves. She dug at it, scooping up a small mound of dirt and dead leaves. This would be her home for the remainder of her life. And she had to figure out what to do with that.

Lightning always preferred mountain summits for thinking through problems. She traveled north, following a trail away from the station. Trees and rocks marked with blue paint were alongside the path. In places, it was a wide, leafy, flat trail through the woods with many hoof marks. At other points, it crossed narrow bridges and cliff edges.

Only one other hiker passed by that day, saying hello to Lightning as he went.

As sunset was drawing to a close and darkness began to creep across the woods in long, lanky shadows, Lightning made camp at a riverbank. The river came to an oxbow here, and formed a deep pool. A short ways further on, it ran into a rocky slope and became rapids.

A ground pad and a sleeping bag were unrolled onto a clear space which had been swept of rocks and sticks. Lightning drank clear water that had never known chemical pollution. She ate wild grasses, and two apples from her pack.

Being a pony, she was perfectly capable of living off of grass and shrubbery. This was usually avoided, as the ponies had a nice society built up and preferred to cook something. Or at least dry the grass into different types of hay.

This wasn't society and this wasn't a place in life where Lightning cared about the type of food she ate. It was Whitetail Woods, and whatever could fill her belly and give her energy to hike was sufficient.

She pressed on for several more days at a moderate pace. Shrubbery, grass, and berries sustained her. At last, she reached the foothills of the Smokey Mountains. The trail became rugged and steep, swerving back and forth up cliffs. The deciduous trees gradually gave way to pine. Sudden valleys creased the land not far from the trail, posing a hazardous drop.

Lightning kept a good pace despite the terrain. Her heart was stronger than an earth-pony's, adapted to sustained flight. Now and for the first time, it helped her with a long hike.

The mountains rose higher and higher above her now as she drew near. She came to a branching path with a signpost, where the trail split in four ways.

East and west for the purple trail, which was a gentle forest walk. South went the way she came, through the forest, to the station and bird sanctuary. North was a trail marked with a warning sign, advising travelers to expect steep grades and harsh, rugged conditions.

Another look up at the mountains fading away into the sky. Maybe she couldn't fly now, but she could still get close to the place she most felt at peace. A mountain perch had always been her solace. If she had to climb to reach the summit this time, then so be it.

Grateful for her magically augmented cloak in the bitter cold mountain winds, she began her ascent.

At the summit of the trail, stone stairs climbed to a large boulder which had a wooden deck built onto it. Miles and miles of serpentine path weaved down the mountain behind her.

This was a commanding view. The forest sprawled out below like a painting, with lakes and fields here and there. Off in the distance, on another mountain, Lightning could see the vague outline of Canterlot Castle.

Lightning lie on the deck here on top of the world. She stared idly at the scenery below her. Not only did she know what it was like to fly from a perch like this, she could also feel it.

The rush of wind on takeoff as she floated out into empty space, relying on her wings to keep her aloft and safe from the emptiness between her and the ground. It felt very much like swimming out in clear water as the bottom drops out beneath you.

For tonight, she unrolled her sleeping bag here on the wooden deck. She had some trail mix and cold water from her canteen for dinner.

She spent two days camping on the mountain, only climbing down far enough to reach a cascade for water refills. She noticed infrequent fields down below in the valleys and by the lakes. Lonely place to be a farmer, out here in the woods and far from any town.

When she realized it would be quite impossible to fly down and visit these farms, she packed up and began the long hike back down the mountain, feeling defeated.

Farming, that was an idea. A pony had to eat. Maybe she could learn how to raise food. What about raising a family? Lightning had never considered that before, but she could see settling down.

As she reached the forest floor in a final, steep swoop of the trail, she leaned on the wooden railing beside the path to consider the terrain around her.

Using the sun for rough navigation, she left the trail and headed east. She kept track of landmarks and scraped bark off a few trees with her hoof to help find her way back. Since the trails bordered her in on the West and North, it would be hard to get lost if she just went straight back from here.

She reached a forest clearing. A stream flowed past here, and soft clover lined the hill around it. This would do.

Lightning built a lean-to out of branches and rope. She carefully placed pine branches down to make a floor for her sleeping bag, to help keep the bugs off. By the river bank, she dug into the ground with her hooves to make a firepit, which was then circled by rocks.

Night fell. The sky was a canvas of constellations. There was no light pollution here. It felt like falling as she stared into this abyss of tiny lights. What exactly were these stars? It cleared the worries on her mind to puzzle over the idea of objects out there like that.

When the air grew thin far above the cloud level and the color began to shift from blue to inky black, you had no choice but to turn back and descend. Even pegasi using a spell of some kind to provide air to breathe found it drastically cold and extremely difficult to fly that high.

Odd that there would still be things out there in the sky past where any creature could fly to. She wondered what it might be like on the moon or the sun as she crawled into her rough shelter. She dreamed of a cloud city floating out by the moon, and pegasi who lived there to reshape the moon from quarter to half as though it were a cloud.

The following days were spent with hiking, gathering firewood and food, and quiet reflection. When eleven days had passed, she packed up camp and began the hike back to the train station.

She reached it in the afternoon, and the train arrived that evening. Fluttershy stepped off onto the platform, and provided a hug and a package for Lightning.

"It's mostly more food for you, and a couple of books from Twilight," she said.

"Thank you, Fluttershy. It's nice out here, I'm not ready to leave just yet," Lightning responded.

They split ways. Lightning retreated back into the forest as Fluttershy went on to the next town where she could wait for a return train.

Lightning spent a half dozen moons in Whitetail Woods as a hermit. She made up her mind, and decided to give farming a try. It was time to visit the Apples.

She met Fluttershy at the station and joined her for a return trip to Ponyville.

Lightning now felt calmer, and she honestly had no need to rush things. There were two bags of coins for her in Fluttershy's cabin--her compensation pay. It was plenty to get by on for now.

The week was spent in the company of kind and caring friends. She visited Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie, and continued staying in the library. At the close of this week, she walked out to the edge of town towards the floral expanse of the apple orchard in bloom.

A sign next to a long wooden fence announced 'Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres'. Below that in smaller text it read, 'Ponyville founding family. Cider Season: 8 Moons".

This was as rustic and cozy a place as Lightning had ever seen. A dirt path and more finely-built wooden fences meandered back towards a barn and a house.

She reached the house, and knocked. A young filly answered the door.

"Hi, I'm looking for Applejack," said Lightning.

"She's out back gettin ready to plow the garden. You must be Lightning, good to meet ya! My name's Apple Bloom," replied the filly with a little curtsy.

Lightning was welcomed inside. Apple Bloom offered to take her cloak, but she preferred to keep it on. The house was clean, tidy, well-maintained, and comfortable.

They walked to the kitchen, where an elderly pony was busy with cooking and drying out some roots and bulbs on the counter.

When this wrinkly pony noticed Lightning she exclaimed, "Confound it you crazy zebra, I told ya I don't want ya in the house! Beg pardon, you ain't a zebra are you?"

"Uh, no, I'm just a pegasus. My name is Lightning Ridge. What's a zebra?"

"Trouble, that's what. Gets into alchemy and such. Liable to start a fire or make the table grow hair with her potions, I reckon. Now then, Lightning... think my granddaughter told me bout you."

"Could I visit Applejack, or is she too busy right now?" asked Lightning.

"She's out in our veggie garden, getting it all ready for planting. Ought to visit her, it's been several moons since she saw you last."

"I'll do that, miss..."

"Granny Smith. Just call me granny, everyone does."

Lightning made a move towards the back door, but she was blocked from leaving until she had several warm biscuits with apple butter. They were amazing.

Out back, Applejack was straining to plow furrows for the kitchen garden.

When Lightning called out to her, she waved and said to hold on a minute. When Applejack was done with her work, she asked for a bit of help getting unhitched from the plow.

"Phew, that work is always exhausting. Good thing it's only once a year," said Applejack.

Lightning spoke, "It's good to see you again Applejack, we didn't chat much when we first met. So you grow vegetables too?"

"This is just for the family, we sell apples."

"So, I wanted to ask. Could I work for you guys? I think I'll settle down and be a farmer."

"Aw shucks Lightnin', I can respect that and all but we don't keep employees. This is a family-run orchard."

"You don't have to pay me bits then. Just want the experience."

"Tell you what. If you want to help out on the farm, we can give you room and board. Sound good?"

"Sure, that sounds great! Long as your granny is okay with it." Lightning thought of that old pony's distrust of strangers.

"Don't you mind granny. She's a great pony, just, ya know, set in her ways. I'm sure she'll take a liking to you."

They all stepped into the house except for Applejack, who went to draw a bath as she was spattered with mud.

Granny got a guest room ready for Lightning, bringing in a stack of heavy bedding balanced on her back.

A sturdy draft pony lumbered through the front door. He said hi to Lightning and that his name was Big Mac, but didn't say much else. Applejack returned from her bath.

Lightning set her saddlebags and her cloak in her room. No one in the family bothered to stare or ask questions about her missing wing. She was treated only with hospitality. She expected a lot of hard, dirty work ahead.

"Alright," Lightning said, "what kind of work should I do first to earn my keep round here?"

Applejack replied, "Spring is the easy season. Now that we're approaching summer, it's time to start planting, pruning trees, and getting some work done so we have a good fall harvest."

The days passed quickly on the Apple's farm. Lightning was perpetually exhausted. All the farm chores were heavy, hard work. She had gotten better about balance though, even if she couldn't carry buckets of water slung across her back without sloshing some of it.

One evening, as they sat around the table for dinner and talk turned to the Everfree forest nearby, Lightning brought up being rescued by a griffon and if they had seen anything.

They all gave her a surprised look. Big Mac was the one to answer her question.

9. Apples and Griffons

Silence fell among the ponies gathered at the table. The bulky and imposing draft pony with bright red fur sitting at the end cleared his throat. He answered Lightning,

"It's been several moons since we last saw her. Lives out in Everfree, only stopped by now and then to chat and trade. The name was Cobalt, she had gorgeous blue feathers."

Lightning looked up in surprise from her bowl of steamed rice and veggies. She stepped down from her chair and said she'd be right back.

Upstairs in her room, she opened a dresser drawer and retrieved one great blue feather from a stack of three. She returned to the table carrying it in her mouth.

"Like this?" she asked, to which Big Mac nodded.

Lightning then asked, "About how often does she stop by?"

"Well, nope," was Big Mac's reply.

Applejack filled in for him, "We haven't seen her round here since last harvest season."

Lightning thought of her struggle with the creatures of the forest nearby. "I hope she's okay," she said.

Big Mac sheepishly answered, "She... didn't seem none too happy with us."

Applejack said, "Now we didn't mean no offense. Just told her the facts as they stand. It's hardly our fault if she took it personally."

This statement presented a schism for Lightning Ridge. She did want to press for more information about the griffon, perhaps find a way to meet and thank her. On the other hoof, this seemed an uncomfortable subject for these farm ponies who had welcomed Lightning into their home.

She decided to ask, "I really don't mean to pry, but, what exactly did you tell her?"

The answer came from Applejack, "Sugarcube, you have to understand griffons are dangerous. Now, we don't hold anything against Cobalt. For Celestia's sake, if she rescued you that's even more respect due to her."

"Alright," said Lightning as she returned to her dinner.

"The thing about griffons is, even if some of them are nice, they, uh," Applejack lowered her voice to a whisper, "they eat other critters."

Lightning knew this, but she was willing to tolerate this difference. "What does it matter if they eat feral creatures? Maybe they can't eat plants," she said.

"But do ya reckon they make that distinction? What if we're no different than a deer to them?"

"So you were, afraid of Cobalt?"

"Not at all, Lightnin'. Just cautious. See now, griffons ain't all bad, and they're free to settle in Equestria. They just have to wear this magic collar doohickey. Keeps track of their location, I think the royal guard has a magic map to keep track of stuff in the kingdom."

"I'm guessing Cobalt didn't like hearing that."

"Ah Tartarus no. Started spouting off about us judgmental ponies. Sounds like she came here to settle down all peacefully like, and didn't get much of a warm welcome."

Lightning finished her bowl of rice, and put her ears down. "That's awful. I'd really like to go console her, but you said she lives in Everfree?"

"Yup."

"Um, would you and Big Mac mind going with me to find her? I'm not comfortable walking into that place. Too many... memories. It's just too much."

Big Mac interrupted with a loud "Nope", and Applejack gave a worried look at Apple Bloom.

Big Mac spoke, "You should damn well know how dangerous that place is, Lightning. We've got a farm and a family here to worry about. Ain't going back in there unless Equestria depends on it."

"Okay," said Lightning in a calm and defeated voice, "That's fair. Suppose I'll keep helping out here and see if she stops by again."

Lightning helped the Apples with the dishes and house cleaning. Big Mac returned to plowing the garden patch as Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Lightning lounged on the back porch in the sunset.

When Big Mac took a break, almost done with his work, Lightning asked if she could try dragging the plow a bit. The harness, made for Big Mac, hung loosely off her, but she managed to get the rest of the garden plowed.

This proved a mistake. She pulled something in her flank from the exertion, and decided to call it a night. As she limped indoors, Granny Smith noticed her gait and offered a good home remedy.

Granny got up from the sewing machine where she had been making a lacy something, and led Lightning outdoors. She filled a tub here with hot water from a tank which was painted black and heated by the sun. Epsom salts were added, along with some kind of alchemical potion.

It wasn't lost on Lightning that, in spite of her xenophobia, Granny Smith did still trade with 'that crazy zebra'. The water had to cool down a bit before Lightning settled in. The pain in her flank eased almost immediately, and it barely hurt at all when she settled into bed for the night. The other minor bruises and scratches from farm chores had healed up nicely, as well.

As she eased into the fluffy blankets, and fell asleep in this quiet, rustic home where the only noise was the distant tick of the clock downstairs, Lightning found a somber place of peace and gratitude. It wasn't quite happiness--she wasn't ready for that yet--but it was a place of calm and serenity.

The days blended into lunar cycles. The moons blended into seasons. Long, exhausting days became more bearable as Lightning became used to more walking and physical work. The simple, honest, down-to-earth ethos of the Apple family was as pleasant and comforting as a favorite sweater. Before Lightning knew it, winter had fallen.

Thick layers of cloud had been produced and set in place overhead. Snow blanketed the ground.

Lightning found a feeling of immense satisfaction sitting by a roaring fire with a mug of hot cider after the ordeal of harvest season. So many trees to buck, and she was nowhere near as strong as Applejack, Big Mac, or the other family members who stopped by to help with the job of gathering the apples.

She had heavy carts to pull through muddy, rutted fields. There were various other sapient and feral animals who resided on the farm and who all needed tending to for the upcoming cold weather.

After all of that intense work, and with the added hassle of nearly everyone in Ponyville lining up for cider season, even Big Mac was tired. Lightning felt sore all over and exhausted to her bones.

However, it was all honest work, and now they took a well-earned rest. The spicy scent of cinnamon wafted up from her mug as Lightning sipped her cider. A rough wool saddle-blanket was draped over her as she lie on her side near the fireplace, stoking the logs occasionally with a poker.

Sadly, the griffon who saved her had failed to make any appearance. Everfree would be even further dangerous in winter. Without control over the weather, snow could fall in deep drifts and obscure hazards and monsters.

Lightning wondered how Cobalt was getting on with the snow, and if griffons were hardy to the cold. Perhaps the zebra who also apparently took residence in the woods had hot drinks or a potion for the weather.

While Lightning understood the Apples' concerns, she also found it unfortunate that such kind and generous ponies would harbor distrust of outsiders. True, any carnivore was a creature to be careful around, and yet... why couldn't ponies get along with a sapient species that happens to eat meat? Was it really just and proper to regard any griffon, dragon, or such as a monster?

Despite their differences, they got along well and Lightning learned a great deal about farm life. She also found herself in fantastic physical shape.

In the spring, Lightning Ridge took part in a tradition called the "winter round-up", where they all worked to alter the season itself. This was a disaster, until Twilight managed to get everyone organized. Even though this only took place in the immediate vicinity of Ponyville, and other areas were allowed to clear out naturally with the pegasi modifying the weather, it was still a great deal of work.

After this event, Lightning took her leave of the Apple family. She had gained a solid understanding of farm life, some good new friends, and a nice straw hat as a parting gift.

Her course was set and she determined to go into farming. Not apples though, far too much work for one pony. If she was to go into this by herself, she would find a small crop she could tend to by herself.

Hay and grains seemed a good choice. From here, it was a matter of asking around about where established grain fields were. Taking over an existing one would be easiest for starting out.

This led Lightning to the town library and Twilight, who was more than happy to research for her. She also made certain to ask Fluttershy. Within a fortnight, she gathered that the Macintosh Foothills were the main hay and grains spot in Equestria. There were other, more distant hay fields, but this location had the added perk of being not too far from Everfree. Just in case she could ever figure out how to meet the griffon.

She traveled to Dodge Junction along with Fluttershy and Applejack. This was the closest town to the hay farms, if it could be called a town. They all gave an uncertain look at this archaic and dusty settlement.

The ponies who called this place home were mostly ancient, as well. They were friendly enough, though.

The visiting trio walked into the saloon. It was hazy with tobacco smoke from pipes. The floor was a patchwork of replacement scrap wood, with a light dusting of sawdust. The furniture was mismatched and occupied by gruff, ragged farmers and miners.

They each took a seat at the bar, where a surprisingly younger bartender served drinks.

Lightning asked the unicorn bartender what brought him to this town. He replied,

"It's peaceful out here. I have a little cabin of my own. Big change from the rowdy bars and clubs of Las Pegasus."

"What can you tell me about Dodge Junction? Thinking of moving here," said Lightning.

"Honestly? Not much. I just moved here after hearing they needed a bartender. I'd ask the locals."

A couple other, older ponies sat nearby at the bar. They weren't especially talkative. To Lightning's right was a sturdy farmer pony, who was drinking a glass of dark beer. He had brown fur, and a platinum mane and tail.

Lightning said, "Afternoon, sir. Have you lived here for a while?"

He glanced over from his beer, a stern expression on his face, "Eh, me? Reckon I was born and raised here. What brings y'all this far out in the boondocks?"

"Well, I'm looking at going into farming. Thinking I'll buy a hay field."

The farmer finished his beer and ordered another one. Lightning paid for it. The farmer continued,

"If you're looking for farm work, I might just have an offer for you. The name's Barley. Barley Haycart. I've been breaking my back trying to run the farm on my own, and take care of the young'uns."

"My name is Lightning Ridge. That's a lot of work for one pony!"

"I manage," said Barley, "just one day at a time. Y'know?"

Lightning nodded. That was exactly what she had been doing.

"These yer friends here?" asked Barley.

"Oh yes, this is Applejack. She has an orchard in Ponyville. And this is Fluttershy, she's the town gardener."

The two said hello to Barley.

"You have any experience in farm work, miss Lightning?"

"Yes, both of my friends here have taught me a great deal."

"If I may ask, what makes you want the change? Didn't like your work before?"

Lightning hesitated. She leaned in so she could say quietly, "Barley, is there a place we can talk in private?"

Barley nodded, grabbed his beer mug with both hooves, and leaned back to drain the glass. Applejack seemed impressed. Fluttershy wasn't.

They all followed him outside and out of town. This didn't take very long at all, it was only one narrow dirt street.

Further into the desert and up a hill, they found a canyon which had a firepit, empty cart, and a tent. Barley explained, "Home is about a day's travel with the cart. Back when my wife was with me, we could do it in half that time."

"Oh, what happened?" asked Lightning.

"She left," answered Barley bluntly, "What did you need to tell me?"

"Alright," said Lightning, "Applejack, could you help me get my satchel off?"

Applejack helped with the clasp, and Lightning twisted back to unbuckle her cloak. Barley gave a shocked but sympathetic look at her missing wing. He spoke,

"You can't fly no more. That's a hard thing. So you wanna find a new way in life?"

"Yes," Lightning answered weakly.

"Aight. If you wanna come out to the farm, I'll be leaving in the morning."

Lightning decided to go for it. Applejack and Fluttershy had to get back to Ponyville, but not without quietly warning Lightning to be cautious in case this strange pony was a danger.

"I can damn well handle myself, girls. Now get on back to Ponyville, I'll be sure to visit. Okay?" said Lightning in response to them.

Barley had help from Lightning pulling the cart over the rugged hills on the way back home. Most of the weight was from jugs of water to offset the desert heat.

The scenery changed from desert to rocky hills with more plants. As they neared the distant mountains, the foothills became more rugged and more fertile. Spring-fed lakes and streams allowed small trees and shrubbery to become more common. Soon, they came to a valley in the hills.

The air was cooler here, as they overlooked the grand quilt of farms below. Sparkling blue thread ran through this farmland quilt. A dangerous path descended through hardy mountain pine, winding along ridges on the hilltop.

With just enough space for the cart, Lightning and Barley made slow and careful progress. Their hooves slipped on the loose gravel. Ruts and roots in the path jostled the cart around. As they neared ground level and as the sun neared setting, the route become easier. The gravel and rocks were replaced by loamy forest soil, and the sky opened up around them as they stepped out into the plains.

Here, the trees only formed sparse copses. Night fell, and lanterns were lit and hung on the cart.

After several hours of trotting along the country lane, past the occasional island of light from farm houses, they at length arrived at a gate which had "Haycart Farm" painted over it.

The two exhausted ponies unhitched from the cart, stretched, and walked towards a small but sturdy home. A deep quiet enshrouded them. The only sounds were crickets and the mild rustle of wind through the trees.

Inside the house, Lightning was introduced to Barley's children. There were two older colts, and a baby filly.

Barley was so tired he could hardly speak, but he said, "This here is Hayseed, Iron, and Violet."

The kids had gotten a meal ready. It wasn't much, and it wasn't delicious, but it was a filling dish of grits and oats from their stores.

At first, Lightning was unsettled by the abject poverty and the disparity in quality of life. These earth ponies barely scraped by, while everyone in Ponyville damn well depended on them for their daily grains. She decided to grit her teeth, dig her hooves in, and help this family.

Over the moons and seasons, she assisted the boys with running the farm, planting and plowing, handling household chores, and watching the baby. She helped Barley haul the cart to town, and by handling the weight together, they were able to make it out and back in a day.

She found that Barley was a very flawed pony who drank entirely too much, and became unbearable when he was drunk. But she understood. He felt betrayed from his wife leaving him in search of fortune and fame.

In spite of his shortcomings, Barley was an honest and fine father. He instilled work ethic in his sons, and offered strict, firm parenting to keep them out of trouble. Lightning could accept this. She was in no way perfect either, and besides, Barley was very considerate about her lost wing and lost flight.

It came to pass that they married each other, and had two sons. The first, Piney Haycart, was an earth pony. The second born was a pegasus.

As the pegasus grew and gained the ability to fly, with instruction from his mother's past experience, he became more and more distant from farm life. Barley noticed his son gazing out at the clouds and ignoring his chores.

Eventually, the pegasus and his siblings came of age. Iron Haycart left to found a farm of his own, which was well and good to Barley. He would continue the family legacy.

Hayseed Haycart, the middle sibling, had gone into mining. He did well for himself, and became the new manager. He stopped by often to help his folks with the farm, and he kept a fervent hope that some kind of restoration could be brought to Dodge Junction.

Piney elected to stay on the farm and help his parents run it, which made four ponies to take care of the farm. Violet had grown old enough to help with house and some farm chores by now, but she suffered from an unknown ailment. Weak and frail, she could not assist with any heavy work.

Barley's pegasus son just would not listen to reason, however. Only three able-bodied, sturdy ponies to run a farm like this! They clearly needed the pegasus to stay put and help here. His desire to chase after the wind infuriated Barley, who grew more and more neglectful and angry at Haul-Ass.

The time came when his pegasus son was of age to be a full-grown stallion. His mother and he departed for town. Barley cussed him out, and then begged him to stay. It was a futile effort.

His son had scathing words before leaving, "I'm not an earth pony, dad. I'd stay if you could only accept that. You're the one who went and named me Haul-Ass. I'm changing that to Skyblazer, I will gather a fortune, and then I'll give you some money for this stupid farm."

On board the train to Canterlot, Lightning Ridge finished telling the story of how she had lost her wing and come to settle on the farm. She shrugged her cloak back on as her son nodded and looked out the window, pensive.

Lightning took another drink of water from her canteen. She concluded her exposition with, "Please, Skyblazer. Don't go down the same path I did. I love you, and I don't want you to go through what I have, what I've seen. Nopony should have to."

Skyblazer Haycart took a long moment in silent thought before answering. When he spoke, it was in a calm but resolute tone,

"I'm not a farmer, mom. It's just not me, and dad hates me. I'll be careful, okay? I can fly away from danger if I need to," He had an idea, and perked his ears up before saying, "Hey mom? What if I found that griffon you told me about, Cobalt."

"No! Stay away from Everfree, you don't know how dangerous it is!"

"But I do know! I've read all about it! And I'm not going there to get in a fight with any monsters, I can fly up to the clouds if I need to. You know I'm a damn good flyer."

Lightning gave him a defeated, unhappy look. She dug into her satchel and retrieved a faded, worn-out book. It was held together by a leather buckle across it, and not much else.

"This is my notebook from my monster hunting days, before I joined the Wonderbolts," she said, "Take it, and for the love of Celestia and Luna be careful. You know the world has changed so much, there's no telling what might happen."

While Lightning had embraced years of quiet farm life, her visits to Ponyville had been to increasingly haggard friends. The kinds of events they had described were unthinkable. Absolute chaos enshrouding Ponyville from a being that could alter reality itself. Encounters with dangerous magicians mad with power.

The Ponyville library itself had been destroyed when a being managed to escape from Tartarus, and wreak havoc. Lightning had glimpsed the intense battle between Twilight and Tirek when they teleported past her farm. It was only a blur of magic and mayhem as they used rapid teleporting to dodge attacks.

Lightning made a trip to Ponyville soon as she could after that to make sure everything was alright. It wasn't. In spite of their best efforts, Twilight and her friends had not been able to protect everyone. With their ancient magic, they had sent the monster back to its dimensional prison, but at a loss. Ponyville was almost leveled and debris was everywhere.

There was a fantastic, awe-inspiring crystal castle in the place where the library once was. Lightning found Twilight here, consulting an enigmatic map on a crystal table. For the first time in all the years she had known her, Twilight was drinking.

All of these events had been discussed with her family. Skyblazer was well aware that the world had suddenly changed, and was no longer peaceful. He wanted to find out why.

When the train came to a screeching halt at the ostentatious Canterlot station, Skyblazer and his mother stepped out and stared in awe at the building around them. In sharp contrast to Dodge Junction, they departed into a crowded building full of ponies, some of whom sold wares or played instruments for bits. A grand crystal chandelier hung from the arched ceiling, and stained-glass windows let in colorful light.

They stepped out into the sunlight on a cobblestone street of Canterlot. They walked together towards the royal castle, to find the governing ponies who could affect a formal change of name.

Skyblazer had been thinking about his mother's crazy life. He made his resolution: he would find Cobalt and he would see to it that she met his mother on the farm. His dad most certainly wouldn't want a griffon on the property, especially not an unregistered one. His dad could be damnned.

Cobalt deserved to know that she was appreciated and respected by at least two ponies: his mother, and himself. And he wanted to see if she was up for adventure and exploring the world, finding treasure, getting in trouble.

Skyblazer opened his wings in the mountain air which rippled through his feathers. His mother kept her cloak on to conceal her one wing. Maybe it was a crazy choice, but adventure was calling his name and he was ready and willing to answer.

10. Not All Sunshine and Rainbows

Even in the noisy and busy train station, the first day of Skyblazer's adult life felt oddly cold and silent. The chatter of the crowd, the banter of the merchants, an announcement from the conductor; it all faded into the background, leaving only the shrill wind of the high mountain peak Canterlot was built upon.

The train slowly passed out of view into a mountain tunnel. It had a second engine hooked onto the caboose to help with the winding descent to the town of Ponyville below, which was the next stop.

Skyblazer was now alone and free to do whatever he felt like. It was at once exhilarating and scary. He could have boarded the train with his mother, but instead, he had chosen to stay here in this unfamiliar town.

A part of him wanted to fly back home. His entire life up until this point was farming and growing hay, with limited time for flight. After he 'found his wings', as the figure of speech was, he had been a critical asset for their family farm. His mother and father were free to focus on improving the place and patching things up, rather than having to spend time on the long and exhausting walk into town with the haycart.

Did his father ever once acknowledge this? No! Rather the opposite. He expressed contempt at his son bucking tradition and flying the cart rather than walking. It seemed to Skyblazer that he had gotten zero appreciation for saving them so much time and effort.

It had, in fact, occurred that Barley's fear of his son leaving the farm had only further inspired young Skyblazer to do so.

Lightning had encouraged Skyblazer to ride the train back with her, or at least follow along behind in the air. The last thing he wanted, though, was more verbal abuse from his father.

Skyblazer weighed his options. He didn't have very much money or material possessions.

While his family had worked their way out of sheer poverty and up into a more steady, comfortable mode of living, they still didn't have a lot extra. The good, wholesome food on their table came from copying the Apples, and planting a kitchen garden out behind the house. Other food, and most of their furnishings, was from foraging and scavenging.

There was all of fifty bits in his money pouch. Everything he owned amounted to his saddlebags and their contents. He had some rudimentary food: hay wrapped in wax paper, dried fruit and nut mix, root vegetables, a couple bottles of dried spice to improve these bland rations. A sturdy canteen of water.

A sleeping bag with a durable canvas ground pad was rolled up and tied onto his packs. The threadbare notebook from his mother was stored in one bag, with a photograph of his family tucked into it.

He didn't spend long in Canterlot. While he really wanted to see the place and visit the castle, prices in this town were exorbitant. Fifty bits would barely cover a meal and a hotel room for the night.

There was another destination on his mind, a place his mother had feared and not dared to approach in all the years since the incident: The Everfree Forest.

Before going there, he decided to stop by Ponyville and visit the six ponies who had become well-known heroes, and who were friends of his mother. They probably had insight into the forest, its dangers, and if any griffon still lived there.

Skyblazer strolled down the aptly-named Pegasus Lane to where it reached an abrupt terminus at the sheer edge of a cliff. A number of vendors here offered goods to tourists. It mostly didn't interest Skyblazer, but he did spend five bits on a map of the kingdom. Ponyville would be to his south from here, and he could follow the train tracks.

On he trotted past a gigantic sign with garish red lettering that said 'Warning: Road Ends, Sudden Drop. Pegasus Flight Point 3'.

The wide cobblestone lane ended with a sturdy wooden fence to protect those who could not fly from stumbling over into a long, long fall. The town of Canterlot had been magically extended a ways beyond the mountain plateau it was built on. This created an overhang with a vertigo-inducing sheer drop on all sides.

A set of marble stairs climbed past the fence and up to a platform, where pegasi entered and exited the city from. Skyblazer noticed a number of messenger pegasi, all wearing cloaks with an envelope symbol on them. Many of them entered a two-story stone building which accessed both the flight platform and the ground.

Skyblazer decided to stop in and ask about being a messenger.

He approached a tired-looking unicorn behind the counter, who was busy sorting out dozens of letters and parcels. Skyblazer had to duck to avoid a small package that went flying by and into a niche on the wall.

"Can I help you?" the unicorn asked in a bored voice.

Skyblazer asked if they needed any new messengers.

The unicorn, now annoyed, said, "No, we're fully staffed right now."

"Could I talk to whoever is in charge here?" requested Sky.

"That would be me. We're fully staffed right now. I can make a note of it if you want."

"Oh, okay. My name is Skyblazer Haycart."

After writing that down, the unicorn blandly intoned, "You have your flight school certificate on you?"

"What?"

"I need to know your results from flight school."

"I, well, never really went to..."

"We get a lot of young pegasi here looking for work. You simply aren't qualified enough. Have a good day, Skyblazer."

Skyblazer left in an annoyed huff, and went to sit at the edge of the flight platform. The view over Equestria from here was breathtaking.

Canterlot had been built on the highest mountain in Equestria. The southern slope of the mountain descended towards forested hills at the base, which opened out into plains. Far off in the distance, the scattered buildings of Ponyville looked like a scale model of the town.

Skyblazer opened his wings, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath of cool air. He ran towards the edge, and took off into a glide on the strong mountain currents.

He did some spins and loops in a state of deep tranquility. The air became warmer as he glided lower and lower towards ground level. He felt absolutely at peace without a worry in the world, and realized with a thrill of excitement that he could go anywhere he wanted to.

The world below him was a tapestry of forests, farms, rivers and mountains. Behind, Canterlot Peak towered above the landscape as though keeping watch. Ahead of him, far down, he could see the collection of buildings and the rolling orchard which was Ponyville.

Skyblazer descended into town, happier than he had been in years.

The crystal castle stood out in the daylight, gleaming brightly. It was an incredible display of gaudy magic. Distracted by this, Skyblazer had to flap hard to adjust his path and avoid a pegasus who was taking off with a cart.

He settled gracefully on the street with a clatter of hooves on stone, and looked around. It could best be described as a medium-sized town, smaller than Canterlot, but much bigger than Dodge Junction. The times he had visited before had been by train. Seeing the place from the air was a wonderful new experience.

The peace and quiet here was a welcome change from Canterlot. Skyblazer walked past Sugarcube Corner, and continued north towards the crystal castle.

It was always a very somber, humbling experience visiting the castle. He had only been there a few times, with how busy they usually were out on the farm.

The quaint library built into a tree which Skyblazer had fond childhood memories of was gone now. Replacing it was a towering, crystalline structure twisted up in the facsimile of a tree. This crystal castle was Twilight's new home and the town's new library.

It was framed by a perfectly circular, sunken area of ground. The dirt walls had become glass from the sheer heat of the spell which destroyed the library years ago, cast by the monster Tirek.

Skyblazer walked towards the door of this structure tentatively. He knocked, but no one came to the door. He entered.

This was the ideal mansion. Cavernous and majestic, yet cold and empty with far more space than it needed. The glittering crystal halls and arches were tastefully offset by simple furnishings and tapestries in warm colors to help it feel cozier.

More books were on the shelves now than had ever been in the old library before. It was an oddly chilling place to be with very few ponies residing in it. Skyblazer ascended another flight of stairs to a third level where he, at last, found Twilight.

She was sitting alone in a chair next to a massive world map. In spite of the chandelier full of magic lights overhead, Twilight opted to read by candlelight, and the room was dim with flickering shadows.

Skyblazer scuffed his hoof on the floor, and Twilight looked up in surprise.

"Oh, you startled me!" she said, as she took a moment to appraise the young pegasus, "Hmm, you seem familiar, but I can't seem to place your name."

He answered uncertainly with, "Uh, I'm Lightning's son, I'm going by Skyblazer now. We met a couple of times before."

"That's right, you're in the Haycart family. Wow, I'm sorry about that, it's just... you have no idea how crazy things have been here."

Skyblazer cast a glance at the incredible map which was built onto a table. It projected Equestria and some areas beyond that like a scale model. It had to be one of those magic projections which he had read about.

On this map could be seen Ponyville, Canterlot, the railroad tracks curving well around Everfree, Dodge Junction as a forlorn dot, and many interesting looking locations. Also on the map, and close by Twilight, was a stack of worn books, a glass, and a diminishing bottle of strong liquor.

Twilight didn't seem all that steady on her hooves, and she looked rather exhausted and ragged. Skyblazer was concerned by this, and immediately questioned her about recent events.

He asked, "Say, Twilight, I came here to ask you all about some stuff but... is there maybe, anything you need to talk about?"

"It's... nothing you need to be worrying about, Skyblazer. We have it all handled."

"My mom read me all of your letters. I know you've been through a lot."

"We just can't seem to get a break. I'm sure Lightning Ridge told you all about sending Tirek back to Tartarus, and that was just so insane... I still don't want to believe it's real. It's nuts that nopony got killed by all that."

"Yeah," said Skyblazer.

"It hasn't even been all that long since then, and yet here we are. Another serious threat to pony-kind. Did you know we have power-mad wizard tyrants in the world? Because I just took on a power-hungry wizard tyrant."

Skyblazer raised an eyebrow and stood with his jaw dropped in disbelief.

Twilight took another sip from her glass, and said, "Oh, and do you want-to-fucking-guess what? We didn't catch her. She got away. I can't even sleep at night thinking about what she's planning, her magic... honestly she might be every bit as strong as I am."

"When did this happen? My mother never told me about that."

"Only a few moons ago, haven't had time to send off a letter yet. I have had so very many things to take care of, what with being a princess, and saving the entire kingdom again, and trying to make time for my friends on top of that..."

She put her head down on the table, as Skyblazer took a seat next to her and looked at her uncertainly.

To change the mood, he asked, "Say, where are the others? I'd like to say hi to everyone, it's been a long time."

Without raising her head, Twilight answered, "Off doing their own things. This magic map thingy sent Pinkie and Rainbow off all the way to Griffonstone, of all places. So yeah. Now I get to worry about their safety, too."

"I actually came here to ask about a griffon."

Now Twilight lifted her head from the table. She gave Skyblazer a quizzical look as her purple magic ensconced the bottle and refilled her glass.

"I'm looking for one named Cobalt. She saved my mother's life back when the Wonderbolts battled to save this town. I need to know everything you can tell me about the Everfree Forest."

"Well, I've never heard of a griffon living in Everfree, but my friends and I do have plenty of experience with the place. It's pretty dangerous so you'll want to be prepared. But you're a pegasus, so you can just leave up if you need to."

Twilight Sparkle slowly got out of her chair, staggered a little, and led Skyblazer into a reading room surrounded on all sides by a vast archive of books. After several failed attempts to fly up and grab the book she needed, she asked her guest to get the book for her.

"Alright so this is what I have on Everfree," she said, "Now if this griffon still lives there, you'll want to talk with Zecora. She's a zebra, and an arsonist. Alchemist, I mean, don't mind me. It's hard to think right now. But yeah, she would know. I'm going to bed."

"It's the afternoon!" exclaimed Skyblazer.

"I can't--I just can't right now. There has been so much going on, and things just keep getting worse, and what if we aren't powerful enough to save the day every time, what happens then? I need to sleep on it. Good night, Skyblazer. Good meeting you."

Skyblazer watched this alicorn whom he had always idolized stagger her way awkwardly upstairs to her bedroom. This wasn't the same Twilight he remembered from all those many moons ago.

After gathering a few books into his satchel, he decided to visit the map room again before leaving. On the way back to it, he came across Spike, who also seemed more worn-out than usual.

He didn't offer much of a greeting, and said he had a lot of chores and formal paperwork to handle since Twi was out of it.

The giant magic map was by far the most impressive thing Skyblazer had seen in his life. He spent some time looking it over and comparing it with his own map, and made a few notes on his map. With a start, he realized it was almost sunset, and hurried off to visit another close friend of his mother's.

Night had fallen and the lamp-lighters were out as he reached Fluttershy's cabin. He knocked quietly in case she was asleep. She answered the door, and Skyblazer introduced himself. He was invited in.

"So, um, Twilight..." he began, but Fluttershy interrupted him.

"She needs some time to rest. We all do from time to time."

"My mother told me all about how she first met you, back after the, well, the incident."

"How is she lately? It's been moons since I've talked to her last."

"Oh, you know. Farm life is busy. Family to take care of, wheat to grow."

"A lot of things have changed here, and I don't know if it's all for the better... but as long as all the animals are happy and safe and as long as we can keep gardens and tea, I don't suppose it's as bad as all that."

"I think you're a very brave pony, Fluttershy."

She blushed a little and said, "Oh, goodness no. I'm not much help at all when it comes to... to monsters. But I will always be there for my friends."

Skyblazer got settled in with a cup of hot tea, and happily accepted an offer to stay in a chair by the fire like his mother had done so long ago. He asked,

"I'm looking for the griffon that saved my mom."

"Well don't go running into Everfree at night! It's even more dangerous that way."

"Okay, I'll remember that. Thanks. Anything else you can tell me?"

"It has been a long time. Maybe she has moved on to a new place?"

"No, no I really don't think so. My mother said that Cobalt didn't like how she was treated by the ponies, so I bet she's been keeping to herself like Zecora does."

"Zecora has actually been more outgoing lately. She comes to Ponyville all the time."

"That's also good to know! She can tell me where Cobalt is now."

"Why do you want to meet the griffon so bad?" Fluttershy seemed to shiver a bit at the thought of meeting a griffon.

"So my mom can tell her thank you, she needs to hear that someone doesn't hate her. I also want to see if she would maybe want to come explore the world with me, see if we can find a place together where we can belong."

"Oh, well be careful. I'm sure the griffon doesn't have the best impression of ponies."

They had warm applesauce with cinnamon before bed. Skyblazer mulled over visiting the Apples, but decided they probably wouldn't get along that well with a young punk like himself.

Fluttershy asked where he was staying.

"I guess, the world is my home right now," answered Skyblazer with a shrug.

11. The Place that Should Not Be

The next morning, after a shower, Skyblazer set out into town to see if he could find the zebra. She wasn't in any of the shops off the main street, so Skyblazer moved on to see how Twilight was holding up.

He arrived at the crystal castle and stepped in. His hoofs echoed in the glittering chambers. After getting lost in the twisting hallways for a while, he found Spike in the kitchen preparing lunch. Spike noticed him, and said,

"Oh, hi again Skyblazer! Twilight is doing better today."

"Great! Where is she, can I speak to her?" said Skyblazer.

"She's in the reading room, just like always. Hey, your name is pretty awesome."

"Thanks Spike!"

Skyblazer continued to explore a maze of twisty passageways, all alike, until at last he arrived at the cozy reading room. It had to be a chore trying to live in a place like this. At least Twilight had magic to help with the upkeep.

A fire was roaring in the hearth which Twilight sat in front of. The purple unicorn was curled up on a sofa with a blanket around herself and a mug of coffee.

"Morning, Twilight Sparkle," said Skyblazer cheerfully.

"Yes, morning," was Twilight's groggy answer.

Skyblazer took a seat next to her and appraised the room. It was every bit as lavish as the rest of the castle, but cozy chairs and sofas and a dining table here helped to offset that.

Rarity was here as well, putting up some delicate silk curtains on the shelves. When she was done, she used her magic to move a squashy chair over by the fire so she could sit by Twilight and Skyblazer.

She began by saying, "I don't believe we have met before. I am Rarity, your mother told me all about you. She's proud of you, you know."

Skyblazer nodded, "Yes, and it's nice to meet you. I've met all of your other friends."

"So sorry to always be away. I tell you, Haycart, when I'm not saving Equestria from some new form of nightmare or resolving 'friendship issues' from the magic map, I'm busy managing my boutiques. I've had very little free time lately," she sighed.

Skyblazer choked a bit on his coffee, coughed, and said, "Um, I'd rather go by my first name. I'm really only keeping the family last name for my mom's sake."

"Ah, but the thing is, I don't wish to upset your sensibilities and..."

"I've changed it to Skyblazer," he said gruffly.

"And what a lovely name that is! Skyblazer, then. One who tames the skies."

"Yes, exactly. I was kind of hoping to meet all of you," he put his ears down with a forlorn look.

"Yes, darling, but again we have been quite busy. I would say that all of us have our hooves full as of late. Did you hear the latest endeavor the map had for us?"

"I think so. Griffonstone?"

"YES. I mean griffons, really. What could we possibly have in common with those dangerous, bloodthirsty, rude brutes..."

The door to the reading room burst open as Pinkie and Rainbow bounced and flew into the room, respectively.

Twilight, who had been half asleep with her head on the arm of the sofa, snapped awake and slid to the ground. She fluttered back up onto the sofa, embarrassed.

"We're baaaaack!" sang out Pinkie Pie.

"Yes, I see that." intoned Twilight.

Rainbow flew a few laps around the room. She forgot to keep her air null active and the wind from her wings sent a few books to the floor, which Twilight and Rarity promptly levitated back up into their places.

Both of the returned ponies seemed happy and excited. Pinkie began to talk about their adventure at about the same rate of speed Rainbow could fly, and an annoyed Twilight put her in a magic shield bubble where they couldn't hear her.

"Any-ways," said Rainbow Dash with an askew smirk at her pink companion, "This old map sure knows what it's doing. We were just the right ponies for the job, and we actually made some serious changes in Griffonstone."

Twilight sat up now, more alert. Rarity also leaned in, setting down a doily she had been knitting via magic.

Skyblazer interrupted, "I'm looking for a griffon right now, maybe you two heard something about one named Cobalt?"

Rainbow shook her head no as Twilight released Pinkie from the magic bubble. Pinkie lie on the rug on her belly, smirking as always, while Rainbow said,

"Nah-uh, didn't meet any griffon named that. But we did help change their entire society, and that's just so cool! Wow, it's been years since we got to talk last, Haul-Ass."

"I'm Skyblazer now actually."

"That's more like it! With a name like that you can join me in the Wonderbolts."

"Haha--no. I don't think so."

"What? Ohhh-right. Lightning, your mom, I didn't think," she put her ears down and huffed, "I never think, do I?"

"It's okay, Rainbow. I didn't mean to interrupt, I'm listening."

"Alright. Now, Griffonstone is under the rule of these like, strict, awful leaders. Since we all just had this really crazy adventure dealing with a tyrant pony, we have some experience with stuff like that. And you'd think a smart pony like Twilight would make more sense to resolve something like this, but me and Pinkie were actually perfect!"

Pinkie Pie chimed in, a bit calmer now, "Yeah! Rainbow is all tough and bossy and I'm all like Pinkie Pie so I helped keep the peace."

"We convinced the griffons in charge that their whole town would do a lot better if everyone was happier and could have their own roles if they wanted to. It's made a big difference for them."

"And we made friends with mean ol' Gilda again!"

Skyblazer asked again, "But you didn't hear anything about a griffon with blue wings?"

"No, I don't think so," answered Rainbow Dash.

They all returned to the map room, where they were joined shortly by Fluttershy and Rarity.

A more sober Twilight explained the map to Skyblazer, "So this is all magic, this whole castle that is. It came from the Tree of Harmony--but you wouldn't know what that is."

"No, but it sounds cool," said Skyblazer.

"Well, I'm certain your mother told you about the Elements of Harmony. The ancient magic in those has the Tree as its source. Um, the tree was dying and allowing some more of the dark magic from Everfree to take affect, so we gave the elements back to it to restore its power. It flung a seed over to Ponyville and this crystal castle just grew from the ground, with the map."

Twilight teleported a cart of snacks and fruit punch into the room and began passing the snacks out to everypony. Fluttershy took over for her speech,

"We're calling it the Friendship Map. It lets us know whenever there is a very important conflict somewhere. Friendship is the strongest kind of magic, so Twilight thinks that improving friendship will keep the magic at its strongest."

Skyblazer had a question, "Wait, so you mean you can attack monsters with friendship or, like..."

Twilight answered after a drink of juice, "Not exactly. It's a powerful spell, which is fueled by the strength of our friendship. I believe that is why the elements chose us."

"So this map sends you places? How does that work?"

"Our cutie marks shimmer, and then appear over the location on the map where we're needed."

"Huh, so that means it must be the same kind of magic! That's really neat."

Twilight hadn't even thought of that, and was impressed. She said,

"You're every bit as observant as your mother is! Maybe our cutie marks do have something to do with whatever ancient magic it is in the Elements and Tree of Harmony. Speaking of which, I notice you don't have one yet?"

Skyblazer nodded, and asked, "Is that all that strange? I mean, my life has been pretty rural and isolated so far and I haven't met many ponies my age."

"Well yes, it really is a rarity."

"No, I'm a Rarity," said Rarity. Twilight began to speak again, but realized just how funny that was and burst out laughing.

Wiping a tear from her eye, she said, "Thank you, Rarity. I needed that. Now then, most colts get their mark before they become an adult. I've never actually met anypony who hadn't."

"Huh. Well, I didn't need a permanent hay bale on my flank anyways. Hated farming."

"It's not usually a family thing, it's what you are most passionate about. And it's not actually permanent."

Fluttershy spoke up, "Oh my, let's not bring that up please."

Applejack came through the door now, muddy and sweaty. She took a seat in her chair, which had a symbol on it matching her cutie mark.

Skyblazer said hello to her, and then said, "Well, I should be leaving. I'm going to find Zecora, and Everfree is no place to be at night."

"It's no place to be period!" yelled Applejack, "But if you're looking for the same griffon your mother was, the zebra is who you'd want to ask. Just stay away from any vines, they can attack you."

"The vines attack you?"

"Eyup. And the critters, the rocks, the trees, pretty much everything."

"Why would anypony live there?"

Twilight answered, "All that intrinsic magic is great for gathering alchemical materials."

"Right, well, I did ask for adventure then didn't I? Guess I'll be getting some of it."

Rainbow, who had been hovering above the map table, said in an annoyed voice, "I love adventure. Until all your friends almost lose their lives. Oh, and how about Ponyville getting thrown into chaos. Don't forget the changelings, hope to never see them again."

Rarity added, "And dragons, chimeras, hydras, dark magic, your run-of-the-mill wizards hellbent on power."

Twilight broke this up with a stunning flash of light from her horn and said, "Girls! Let's just take some time to relax right now and maybe not talk about all this? You know how hard it is for us to catch a break?"

"Right, sorry," said Rainbow and Rarity in unison.

After some more conversation about his mother and past events, Skyblazer left for the forest, but not without a gift of bits and snacks from the mane six.

He gained elevation over Ponyville with mighty flaps of his wings, and stared at the dreaded forest. He gathered his nerves, exhaled, and took off for the place. It was eerie how easy it was to access. No warning signs or omens of the dangers that lurked within, just a meandering river with a quaint arched bridge over it down below, and a fairly normal looking forest of deciduous and pine beyond that.

Out of simple curiosity, he did the exact opposite of AJ's advice and flew near a clump of strangely wiggling vines. They lashed out at him, and he dove for ground level with a yell.

The forest floor was serene enough by daylight. He walked for a ways, but he felt that something was very wrong and stopped. There wasn't any birdsong or squirrels in this part of the woods. He raised an eyebrow, and kicked a rock ahead. The leafy detritus of the ground suddenly parted, and a gigantic trap-door spider snatched the rock and was gone in an instant.

Skyblazer took off backwards so fast that his wings lost lift, and he skidded through the leaves on his back. He got up, shook the leaves and dirt off, and looked ahead in stunned disbelief.

Cautiously now, he flew at a moderate height between the viny treetops and the unknown dangers of the forest floor. Finding a solitary hut in a place like this could be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

There was a glimmer far below on the ground. Skyblazer circled like a vulture, not entirely okay with the idea of landing. It was just a small, shiny square of metal on a string, looped around a branch. He landed now, curious, and looked at his reflection in the mirror finish.

Glancing around for what, exactly, this might be for, he realized that there were other shiny spots further off into the woods. He flew back up, and scouted for more of these pieces of shined metal. They made a trail through the woods.

He paused to eat a lunch of hay, carrots, and dried fruit, and then followed the shiny trail markers.

After a number of hours flying at a slow pace past the rugged forest terrain and the many small branches and bushes that combed through his fur and feathers as he flew, the trail of shiny markers at last ended at a small hut composed entirely of material from the forest. The walls were logs, the roof mossy thatch, and a rock fence outlined an area of garden. The only signs of it being a modern and occupied dwelling were the glass windows and the smoke from the chimney.

Skyblazer fluttered to the ground and walked up to the door. He paused before knocking, realizing that a hermit alchemist in a cursed forest wasn't someone to sneak up on. He knocked with some trepidation.

The zebra he had heard about answered the door. Unlike the other ponies in Ponyville, Zecora didn't seem at all fazed by the present danger in their world. She was as calm and focused as ever.

Piqued by the rare occurrence of a visitor, she welcomed Skyblazer inside, offered him a chair and a mug of cider, and said,

"I am Zecora, an alchemist by trade. No doubt you already know this, to have come all this way."

"Ah, but I didn't come for alchemical supplies! I came here for, uh, friendship... advice?"

Zecora offered a chuckle, "You should have consulted Twilight in the comfort of her home, instead of traveling these woods where monsters roam."

"So I'm looking for a griffon, her name is Cobalt."

This name brought a warm smile to the Zebra's visage, and she said, "How curious you should know this name when few others do. May I ask your name, and if this griffon may know you?"

"I am Skyblazer Haycart, son of Lightning Ridge. Cobalt saved her life many moons ago."

"Was this during the return of Nightmare Moon, when Ponyville was threatened by an imminent doom?"

"How do you make all these rhymes on the spot? Yes, it was."

"Practice makes ease just as potions appease. Now please, I must ask: What is your purpose in pursuing this task?"

"My mom told me her story, and it sounds like this Cobalt hasn't had a lot of friendly encounters with ponies. I'd like her to meet my mom so she can be properly thanked."

"Cobalt has recently moved beyond Everfree, seeking sanctuary out by the sea. Some time to herself in Luna Bay, for peaceful reflection by the wind and the waves. She desires, more than anything, to cease being alone. But the fires are seething and she cannot find home. I fear her anger may result in bitter despair. Perhaps you could console her and tell her you care?"

"Luna Bay, where is that--let me get out my map," he did so, unrolling it on the coffee table where it stubbornly refused to lay flat, "Oh, on the east coast, at the south edge of the map. Pretty isolated spot, would take almost a week for me to fly there."

"Night will soon fall upon this place. You may rest here and avoid an early grave."

Skyblazer almost dropped his cider, "Yeesh, a bit harsh don't you think?"

She gave him a serious look, and then took a drought of a potion which was glowing in its bottle. After a moment, her eyes glowed and she said,

"Everfree is both cold and dark. Yet sunrise brings hope. Listen for the lark. Willow Park, by the sea. Can you see eternity? Find a place that should not be. Can you hear me? Skyblazer, can you hear me?"

"What? I mean, what?"

Zecora shook her head, and blinked a couple times, seeming unfocused, and her eyes stopped glowing. She said, "Pardon me. Prophecy, instilled by dark alchemy."

"O-kay then. Uh. I guess I'll stay here for the night, you seem to know the forest really well. Thank you for the hospitality, Zecora."

For the second night in a row, he slept in a cushioned easy chair. While he thought it might be hard to sleep with the howling of timber wolves and the strange sounds of some forlorn monsters unknown to him, sleep came to him quickly.

Skyblazer woke up curled on his side, half off the chair. He stretched and yawned, and noticed the zebra in her kitchen. She saw that he was awake, and said,

"There is coffee, fruit, honey, oatmeal. Come have a seat, and eat your fill."

Skyblazer happily trotted over to the table. With low supplies and little money, this might be the last hot meal he had for a while. This was a side to adventuring he hadn't really thought about.

It was a good thing his parents had taught him foraging for plants and mushrooms.

This line of thought brought him to dwell on his mother's warning. It really was a dangerous land they lived in, and it wasn't a surprise that most ponies resided in towns where they had strength in numbers and magic.

He asked, "Zecora, I want to explore Equestria. And then the world beyond it. Find adventure, treasure, secrets in the world. But my mother, the pegasus who Cobalt saved that night, she warned me that it's just too dangerous. So if Cobalt does want to be friends with a pony like me, I'd be all for having company. What do you think?"

Zecora held up a hoof and Skyblazer gave her a moment to think. She said at length,

"Your choices in life are yours alone. Let me tell you about Everfree, my home. Each passing year may be my last. Always on guard, survival is my task. For most, such a life may lead to loss of sanity. For me, beyond diurnal strife I find zen and tranquility. If you wish to see the nation, and face dangerous situations, I would suggest you bring a griffon."

Skyblazer smirked, and thanked her.

Zecora asked, "If you don't mind, may I just call you Sky?"

He shrugged, "Fine by me."

"Let us venture outside and get my cart. I'll show you the forest and show you my art."

Sky perked up his ears at that. They went to a lean-to shed behind the cabin, where he hitched up to the rickety two-wheeled cart. For the first time, he was happy to pull one.

Zecora and he enjoyed an afternoon stroll in the warm autumn weather. Despite this being Everfree, it was peaceful. The trees were full of fall foliage and beautiful. Many kinds of flowers bloomed, many of which Zecora warned meant "certain doom".

The only excitement was when they came across a cockatrice. It wasn't able to take them by surprise and Zecora was ready for it. She had pointed out the distinctive chicken tracks, and after poking around in the bushes for a minute, she had returned with a tiny stone lizard carving. Skyblazer quickly realized it wasn't a carving.

They had walked quietly and cautiously after that. When they encountered the bird, Zecora closed her eyes and flung the satchet of powder she had been carrying. It was a smoke bomb.

Zecora told Sky, "Go well around, stay on clear ground," and he did so.

Once they were a distance away, Sky almost risked a look behind him but Zecora stopped him. She said, "It is stunned for now but don't meet its gaze, or you may be a decoration the rest of your days."

Skyblazer shuddered and moved on.

They returned to her cabin with a wide variety of plants, mushrooms and minerals. The most difficult item to get was thornsap, which was a powerful base for rare potions but which came from a particularly spiky and violent variant of the animate dark magic vines.

Sky went through half a bottle of healing potion patching up a number of criss-cross cuts. Zecora had only been cut once by the vine, and it was a glancing blow.

This night was a more restless sleep, since Sky was sore and unnerved from the creatures they had encountered. The next day wasn't much better. He went on a tour of the woods with Zecora, out to the old castle and back, and learned all about various monsters. It was a very informative and wonderful time for him until they met a small dragon blocking their path.

"Great, one of these for goodness sake," complained Zecora, "Most dragons here are feral, corrupted by magic. The story is long and the history tragic. They are just as arrogant as their sapient kin, so we cannot be lenient and we cannot give in. Put up a fight and they always give flight. If you would be polite and resolve this tonight?"

Sky nodded as Zecora helped him unhitch from the cart. He cricked his neck and took off at the young dragon while doing a barrel-roll.

It growled at him and breathed a pitiful jet of fire. It if it was a grown one that might have been more dangerous, but Sky had no trouble dodging this and swung back around for a firm kick at the dragon's back. It whimpered, and as Sky closed in for another attack, the dragon retreated into the woods, puffing smoke to conceal itself.

He landed, breathing hard and steaming with sweat despite the coolness of the evening.

"This delay isn't right, we shouldn't be out at night."

They both hurried back to her cabin. Zecora and Skyblazer had to fight with hoof and potions against several timber wolves before reaching her cabin and slamming the door shut.

Sky slept quite well that night. In the morning, after taking off a gauze bandage soaked in healing potion to deal with a deeper cut, he contemplated his adventure so far over breakfast.

Zecora, who seemed surprisingly uninjured and cheerful, gave a mischievous smirk as she said, "You desired adventure, and I have given you a taste! Shall you seek it further, or retreat to Ponyville with haste?"

Sky made an arrogant grin of his own. He answered, "I didn't expect everything to be easy, and I do love the excitement. If you could teach me how to make healing potions, I'd like to go find Cobalt."

He spent three more days here, learning the nuance of making and steeping a proper healing potion, and the various mixtures which could be used for the purpose. He also took the time to look through the books in his saddlebags. The ones which belonged to the library were left with Zecora.

Zecora bid him a fond farewell with a rolled-up scroll of useful alchemy notes and a parcel of hay in case he couldn't find anything to eat.

Sky fluttered to the roof of Zecora's cabin, stretched his wings and legs, tightened the straps of his bags, and shot off into the blue. The cabin shrunk beneath him, the shady understory gave way to treetops full of patchy sunlight and grasping vines, and then he burst through a canopy of leaves into bright daylight.

Continuing to gain elevation until he was right below the cloud level, he paused to look at the world. His breath puffed in the cold, frosty, thin air. There was nothing but a clear expanse of sky to all sides, he could fly as long as he wanted and rest on a cloud if he desired, and it was exhilarating.

Dangerous though his world was, it was also a wholesome and pleasant place to live.

Zecora had done well to give him a bitter dose of reality. As Sky plopped down on a soft and fluffy cloud, he drooped over the edge to look down at the forest far below, foggy with distance. Somewhere down there, that crazy zebra would continue living her ideal life, crafting magic potions and evading monsters.

Sky rolled over onto his back and looked at the setting sun. It would be awfully cold to attempt sleeping up here on these high clouds. With the pegasi weather control magic, Cloudsdale and the cloud formations in many areas were kept lower where it was warmer. Not here, not over Everfree Forest. These clouds couldn't be controlled, only used as an aerial resting place.

He shook off some misty condensation which stuck to his side, and launched off to the east. He flew until sunset, and then looked for a place to rest. In the pure and clear moonlight, a lake glittered somewhere far, far below.

With graceful spirals, he lost altitude and speed until he was approaching the water at a leisurely pace. Rows of lights indicated a couple of streets. He used these lights as his own makeshift runway, landing on the street a little harder than he meant to and tripping onto his side. No one saw that, thankfully.

Whatever little village this was, it was asleep and at peace. He walked to the edge of the lake, and knelt to drink some water. There was a tiny island in the middle. On flying over to it, he found it to be tree-lined and full of soft clover to sleep in. This island was his bed for the night. Morning, he'd chat with the locals and see what village he had found.

Author's Note

This story uses the official map as a reference guide, but assumes the map is not strictly to scale and that it only notes named locations seen in canon thus far. It would be logical that there would be other towns and locations the mane six have not yet visited, and since this story considers an alternate version of Equestria, it may not all strictly be the same either.

12. Daydream

Dreams seldom make a lot of sense. Details will be missing, and weird contrasts exist. And yet, they can feel so startlingly real. For Skyblazer Haycart, a young adult pegasus with golden fur and a platinum-gray mane and tail, this dream felt entirely too vivid.

He woke up with a yell that reverberated off of the lake nearby. Disoriented, he stumbled over to the water's edge and splashed his face with frigid water. The dream was fading fast now, but the vision of a fierce and bloody hydra closing in on him, its many heads all spiraling in for the kill, refused to leave so easily.

Sky walked back to his campsite. His ground pad and blankets lie in a disheveled heap on soil which was wet with dew. As he pawed at his bedding with a hoof to straighten it, he noticed something which he didn't have words for.

He walked carefully across the small island, taking about five minutes to cross its length. On the opposite shore from his camp, the world seemed to simply stop working. He noticed nearby rocks and twigs suspended in midair as he approached the edge of the bluffs. He walked a few paces to each side to get a better idea of just what the hell he was looking at.

On either side of this, thing, nature continued as it properly should and a steep, grassy cliff dropped to a rocky beach. But a few paces back in the middle, it was like there was a hole in the sky itself, sharply outlined by the gray and cloudy sky beyond.

Sky looked through this hole. It had to be magic. After some thought back to his reading on magic, the word came to him. This was called a portal.

Sky realized he was still dreaming. It was very real for a dream, he even felt the morning chill and could smell the fresh breeze. There was birdsong now. Something seemed to click in his mind as he realized it was a lone lark on a branch nearby.

He cautiously tossed a branch into the void. It landed on the other side, where the ground was... a tiled floor? With a black and white checkerboard pattern.

Turning back and flying from here like a bat out of Tartarus was still an option.

No, thought Skyblazer, no, this is what I wanted, right? Adventure. Exploring the world.

It was just magic. He had seen plenty of unicorns and plenty of magic use in his life. Twilight had shown him incredible things. This was no different. He gulped, and very nervously stepped through the hole in the sky.

Clink, clink, clink. His hooves echoed on the polished floor, and the temperature went from freezing to warm. The sudden shift felt like walking into a house from the cold.

All around him was a muffled gray, where occasional starlight could be seen. The tiled pathway had a wooden railing. Beyond the rail was a sheer drop into an abyss where Sky couldn't even see the bottom. Was there a bottom?

His heart beating rapidly, Sky approached a set of stairs where an unassuming stone pedestal sat. It had runes on it in an unknown language. On top of this roughly carved pillar, or rather above it, floated a faceted and polished crystal.

Certain it was a trap and this would be a mistake, Skyblazer took the crystal anyways. It was gray, the same color as the skies around. Beneath the runes on the pedestal a word appeared in his own tongue, glowing green: Dream.

As Sky retreated through the portal and found himself back on the island, the space slammed shut behind him. Birdsong and wind rustling through grass could be heard again. And then, everything around him went foggy.

Skyblazer woke up. It was still dark out. He went for his pack to see if his mother's journal had any notes to make sense of the weird dream.

He dug into his pack. He jumped, spread his wings, and shot straight up into the sky above, while dropping an item onto the grass below. He landed on a branch, in shock. After a moment, he settled back down.

Here on the grass, really there in front of him, was a foggy gray crystal.

It was a beveled rectangle, fastened to a thin silver chain. Skyblazer put on this necklace, which felt like the right thing to do with it. He stared into the crystal, where thick fog appeared to ripple within it. Mesmerizing, and surreal.

Sky packed up camp, slung his saddlebags over his back, and adjusted the straps so his wings wouldn't chafe before taking off at a gallop down the beach. He ascended, leaving the sandy island shore behind him. A beautiful sunrise enveloped the water in a soft glow as the village drew nearer. In this light Sky could see that he was not over a lake, but rather a wide river.

A few town ponies looked up at his approach, but most ignored him. As he clattered to a stop on the cobblestone, he decided against asking the folks here about the crystal. Not much use starting his adventures looking like a loony, what with potion prophecies leading to some bizarre artifact which had to be imaginary. Even if it was tangible as the silver necklace it was socketed to.

There wasn't a bar in this village, but it did have a tiny market. Sky walked past the various stalls of sundry goods and adequate produce. This wasn't a colorful, energetic place. It was more somber than that, and quiet as a cemetery. Trade was conducted in a whisper. The atmosphere was gloomy and subdued.

Skyblazer waited patiently behind a half dozen ponies at a produce stand. They all seemed to be wearing any armor they could afford or scavenge, and seemed more interested in watching the sky above than conversing with each other. Curiously, they bartered for food with both coins and with bricks, which were stacked in an ever-growing pile in the middle of the market.

When this line had cleared, Skyblazer asked quietly if any prepared food was available. He exchanged a few bits for fruit and a bowl of hot grits with goat cheese. Bland, but edible and filling. He withdrew one of his healing potions from a saddle bag, and the merchant unicorn told him to quickly put it away before anyone noticed.

Sky asked, piqued, "What town is this, and what's going on with the bricks?"

"Not now," said the merchant in a brash but hushed tone, "Busy, go ask a guard."

"A guard? In a village this small?"

"You ain't from around here. You got your food, now get going."

Sky neatly balanced the bowl on his back, an earth-pony skill he had picked up from years of practice. He retreated from the market a ways, and sat under the shade of a tree to 'enjoy' his meal.

After bringing the empty bowl back, he followed the lone, damaged cobblestone road out of the market as it led to the meandering dirt paths that lined the rest of the town. Couldn't be more than thirty or forty ponies living here. Almost as small a place as Dodge Junction, but better maintained.

At one street corner, where a group of bedraggled and miserable looking colts took shelter under an equally worn-out tent, a bulky pegasus stood guard with a stern expression.

Sky noticed the guard's armor first of all, and lost track of his other questions. He asked bluntly,

"Monster hide?"

"You have a problem with it, stranger? Protects a pony as well as anything else."

"No, no. I understand if you have an emergency here, it's just,"

"Violent? Bloody? Not peaceful like we ponies are supposed to be? Tell that to the damn monsters."

Sky nodded grimly, and jogged his memory for the questions he had dropped. He asked,

"I was just passing through. What town is this, and may I ask what happened?"

"Riverbend. Ain't much more than a stopping-by point anyhow. Used to be a busier place, when folks had reason to travel on to Dodge Junction. Was how you'd bypass Everfree back in the day."

"Dodge Junction is my hometown."

"My condolences."

Sky put his ears down and glared at him, but shrugged it off and said, "Saw ponies trading bricks at the market."

The guard nodded, and said, "Good as gold about now. Need to rebuild the place. Guard tower brought down, Luna rest the scout's soul."

"May I ask what did it?"

"Dragon attack. The dragon lands are due east from here, cross the sea. They've always liked to settle near here, never bothered the town before though."

"I reckon that armor is dragon scale then."

"Yep. I helped bring down the leader of the pack, rest of em lost nerve and scattered back to their dens. Even had one of em apologize, say he didn't really want to be a part of attacking our kind."

"They usually keep to themselves unless you trespass on their territory."

"Equestria ain't their land! They can't just come over here and settle down right on top of mines rich with ore and expect us to leave em be."

Sky raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so you started it?"

"You looking for trouble, son? Those varmints don't have any right to be here."

"Okay, fine. By the by... do you have any more armor like that? Bet it's mighty tough."

"We may happen to have a bunch of material leftover, or we might have used more than we realized. Depends on what your offering."

Sky showed him the hefty bottle of healing potion. The pegasus snatched it up with a wing and looked at the color and consistency. He whistled.

"Stick around, young pegasus. I'll see what I can do for ya."

A thought struck Skyblazer. He said, "Um, can you tell them to craft it inside-out?"

"What? Do you know how abrasive dragon scales are?"

"Less abrasive than confronting a dragon while wearing armor crafted from its kin?"

"Fair point. I'll let them know. Not very effective though."

"I'm not out here just looking for trouble."

"Same here! I figure the opposite. Any other dragon gets the idea to invade Riverbend, they see this," he gestured at his armor, "and they realize we ain't ones to mess with."

"Okay, I can see that. And I guess the scales would be great against fire and fangs."

"And arrows, blades, claws, what have you. Tough stuff."

Sky squinted, more than a little revolted at himself with the thought of wearing armor made from the hide another critter. It wasn't like all dragons were inherently cruel and evil, even if they did often eat ponies that crossed into their territory. Thinking back on that awful animate thorn-vine convinced him to deal with it.

"It's a trade," he said, and the two pegasi shook wings on the deal.

His armor vest was ready the next afternoon. While waiting on it, Sky made productive use of his idle time. He read through his mother's notes from her monster hunting days, which he hadn't even known about until the train ride. He also paged through a copy of the friendship journal Twilight had gifted him, and some notes from Zecora which were written on loose parchment and tucked into the journal.

In an empty field behind the town that evening, he practiced using a magic bracelet the zebra had given him. When he concentrated on light magic, on the idea of a bright, sunny day, the runes on the bracelet would glow and illuminate the area with a flickering circle of light. This wouldn't last long before fizzling out. Magic didn't seem to be a natural strength of his, which he further confirmed by trying and failing to control the weather. After nearly getting zapped by an unintended storm cloud, Sky decided to give it a rest for the night.

The next day was a miserable, cold one. Light rain was soaking the ground and Skyblazer's fur and feathers. He decided to press on in spite of it, and use the time to practice his weather control magic.

Even with the armor of outstanding quality yet barbaric material, it was a very bleak day of adventuring. The cold weather made the deeper cut on his leg hurt. It hadn't completely healed even with potion, but had scabbed over and was healing naturally. Soaked to the skin with rain water, combined with the ice cold wind rippling by, Sky found himself shivering and miserable. Even the warmth from all the energy of flying didn't help offset it--a lot of his momentum was from a tailwind anyways.

He did manage to control the clouds above well enough to create his own personal clear space. All that did was convince a swarm of gigantic mosquitoes to come out of the rain and visit. Along with birds which hunted the bugs by spewing acid.

Sky was able to restore the rain clouds overhead, and he kept it that way. Night fell and the already obscured world became even darker as the storm kept on. He got his magic bracelet to work, and braced for more bugs, but none bothered him.

With the dim light he cautiously approached ground level, trying to feel out the air currents against his wings in a futile attempt to determine height. Maybe a steep hill nearby? He focused harder on magic and not enough on flight against gusts of wind. He had to focus on the wind to keep control, and the light went out.

A deep breath, trying to concentrate on both, and Sky had just enough light to see the muddy ground some fifty feet below. He slowed hard, which was painful on his wings after a long day's flight. It wasn't the best landing, but it wasn't the worst and he didn't trip into the mud. The landscape, or what he could see of it, was mostly rocky and barren. There were canyons, which didn't offer any safe shelter with all this water.

Sky had an idea. He concentrated on shelter, a roof over his head, a fluffy one, on mist rising from the chilly ground and condensing into a cloud. Slowly, one formed above his head. A thin fog at first, growing into a thicker cloud and then into something solid that shouldn't float if not for magic. Most of the rain water ran off the sides, with only a bit dripping down through this personal cloud.

Panting and content with his success, Sky found a soggy stick and set up his canvas ground pad as a makeshift tent. This kept the remainder of the water off. He shook out the storm water from his fur as best he could, and curled up to try and shelter himself from the winds with his wings. Sleep didn't come easily.

The next morning. It had stopped raining, but the ground and sky were both saturated with cold moisture. Sky wanted a hot beverage more than anything, but all the potential kindling was soaked.

It was time to try out the second of the three magic items Zecora had given him. She had called this a hot stone, which usually required a unicorn to use. Sky had objected of course, being a pegasus, and the crazy zebra's words echoed in his mind: 'I see within you a spark that binds together all of pony-kind, like few before within our time.'

Sky nonchalantly tossed the hot stone into the dripping tall grass. He stomped about a bit to flatten this tall grass, and then sat down on the awfully cold ground.

Right then, he thought to himself, to use this you channel fire magic into it. I'm not a unicorn, and I can't just call forth fire. If I could, I'd have a campfire instead of just hot tea.

"Um. Fire!" he yelled, prompting nothing at all to happen. He nuzzled the rock. Yep, still ice cold.

Over the next half hour, he went through a dozen more attempts to get this large, flat rock to glow hot. For all his effort, he was left with a nice skipping stone.

Growing angry with Zecora for her empty words, he lie down on his belly and stared at the stupid rock. His crystal swung down as he knelt, and sparked as it made contact with the stone.

He sat up in surprise, and held the crystal up with a hoof to look at it. The rippling fog within had changed to a spiraling pattern. Sky tried touching it to the rock again, and it did not respond.

Copying his other magical success, he thought about warm, cozy fire. Hearth and home. Heat. Something hot to drink on a cold day. The stone was still cold, but he was growing hot with anger.

The glowing word came to his memory. Dream. Was this one? What was even real anymore? But no, if Twilight's entire castle and cavalcade of friends were united by strange magic crystals, then perhaps other ones existed too.

Sky sat up. What exactly did he dream of? Adventure, treasure, friends? Certainly not fighting monsters in Everfree, and seeing trauma already in Zecora's hardship and the grim atmosphere of the village behind him. Not struggling with the concept of the six "Heroes of Equestria" being simply incapable of being everywhere and defending everypony from danger. Adventure was, in reality, a cold and hard thing. So what motivated him?

He closed his eyes and tried to drift into a daydream. Somewhere out there, by the sea, a griffon. Cobalt. A completely different creature than himself, a predatory one, and one with a distaste towards and, perhaps, a taste for ponies. Going through storms and monsters along the flight to meet her, maybe for nothing. But maybe... just maybe...

Unseen by Skyblazer, the crystal exuded a subtle light.

Friendship. It fuels the most powerful magic in all Equestria. What I wouldn't give for one, single friend, who might understand me...

Uninvited by him, thoughts and pictures of fire in various states flashed through his mind. A campfire. The vague and shadowy image of Riverbend on fire as a grimacing dragon flew past. A lightning strike.

Sky opened his eyes and cried out in pain. The hot rock was hot. Very, very hot. Quickly, he dug a tin mug out of his saddlebag, spilling a half dozen items in the process. The cup was filled with pooled-up rainwater. Set on the stone, the water soon boiled. Sky added tea leaves to the top, and pondered how exactly to handle the red-hot mug.

He stared at the metal handle, and willed it to cool down. The crystal glowed with a dull, grayish light, as though through fog. The handle and the stone cooled, while the mug and the tea stayed hot.

Sky carefully poured out the tea leaves best he could, added a couple sugar lumps, and drank the hot tea in a stupor. First the light magic bracelet, now the fire magic crystal. This was to be kept strictly to himself. No one--whether pony or griffon--would believe that a pegasus had just used magic reserved for unicorns.

The next few days were spent flying over Southeast Equestria. The stone wasn't a one-off event. He now had access to a very puny pyro spell, while he wore the crystal. When he took off the necklace, nothing happened. It didn't conjure up any other mystical arts for him though, which was probably a good thing. He had almost caused a brush fire with the minimal fire he could already control.

After crossing a mountain ridge through thin air that was hard to breathe and fly in, the landscape became mostly arid and cracked badlands. The sheer heat was suffocating, and Sky would almost rather spend time in the freezing air of high altitudes.

At the very least, he was able to draw up just enough moisture from the sky far above the desert to form a dubious cloud that still held his weight through innate magic. He couldn't form a storm cloud, which he realized was more due to the conditions than his own ability. Skyblazer took some pride in his improvement in weather control.

Despite his swiftness by wing, this desert took two days to cross. He had exhausted his water supplies by the end of it, and kept a keen eye out for more.

He could smell salt in the air. The ocean was near. Gradually, the sand gave way to more fertile soil and hardy palms. A coastal oasis shimmered in the heat. It wasn't a mirage, and while the water was muddy and unpleasant, it was at least drinkable. Sky filled his canteens, and set off for the beach which loomed in the distance. Perhaps another day's flight to the water's edge.

The first sign of the ocean was the shift in air currents. Sky found himself battling a strong headwind now, and the air was cooler. Abruptly, the desert changed from scrub brush hills to a level plain full of flowers. Sky flew a bit higher and observed the neat line that was formed between desert sands and pasture soil. This simply had to be magic.

There was a spring-fed lake in the distance. Sky happily deviated from his course in order to reach it. He emptied his canteens, rinsed them both out, and refilled them. He also took a swim to cool off and clean the mud off his vest.

Equipping his saddlebags and flying above the lake, Sky focused his weather control magic to generate a stronger breeze and dry off. He proceeded towards the coast. It wasn't far at all now, but it wouldn't do to attempt flying blind in the dark.

This night was a much better rest than the others before on his trip. It was set to be an ideal evening of camping, without so much as a needing a tent.

As Sky sat on a stump next to his arcane campfire, and roasted cattails and carrots over the fire to munch on, he heard a scuffling noise in the bushes. Just in time, he flew up into the air a ways.

A manticore lept from its ambush, rising a surprising ways into the air. Caught off guard, Sky heard the scritch of claws against his scale armor as he flew a ways higher.

The feline monster circled and growled at him as Sky considered his mother's notes. Manticores hated water. He gathered moisture into a neat little storm cloud, stomped on this cloud a few times, and unleashed a deluge onto the monster. It hissed, and ran back off towards the swamp.

After Skyblazer got the fire blazing again, he nuzzled into his pack for the third item from Zecora. This was a bundle of wooden stakes, each with an inset onyx with runes inscribed. These stakes were untied and placed in a circle around camp.

This time Sky was ready and motivated to get the magic working. He thought of the armor he was wearing. He thought of sturdy defenses such as citadels and city walls. He thought of an overwhelming desire to be more than a treasure-hunting scamp. A lofty goal of being some kind of hero, like Twilight and her friends. A Defender.

At this last thought, powerful magic sparked in each stake and a beam of white light shot up from each rune. These lights fanned out, and connected, forming a solid wall. Sky knocked on it. It made a ghostly plip noise, and held firm.

Now, he slept soundly.

Sky reached the ocean by the next afternoon. The weather was beautiful and the sound of crashing waves just reached his fine hearing. This perfect day of travel was only marred by Sky's first bloodshed. The manticore from earlier had gathered its pack and waited in ambush for Sky to take down the wall.

It wasn't possible for Sky to escape this time without a fight. A strong pyro spell badly singed one of the creatures. Another one lunged at him, but not before he knelt to draw a dagger from a sheath on his front leg. He held it in his mouth and lunged in a slashing arc; the manticore was badly cut, and retreated, along with the others.

A glint of distant light caught his eyes and brought his thoughts back into the moment. The plains below him became sandy beach dunes. Ahead was a broad, flat expanse that stretched to the horizon. Skyblazer couldn't imagine flying that sheer distance even with cloud magic. The griffon had somehow crossed the ocean without it.

He landed in order to unpack his map. He carefully considered the scale on it. Luna bay should be to his south, not far at all now.

Now he flew far up into the blue. From this vantage he surveyed the south against the glare of sunlight on water. Sandy brown became the dark gray of coastal bluffs.

After feeling out the winds and angling his wings against the incoming ocean breeze, he swooped at great speed towards the cliffs. Here, if Zecora was trustworthy, would be the object of both Sky's and his mother's long search.

Sky observed the seaside cliffs below, while also looking ahead to watch out for seagulls. The cliff face reached an indent. This had to be Luna Bay.

His landing on top of the bluffs was graceful and soft. With his vision, as strong as a hawk's, he observed the shoals below for signs of a dwelling. Nothing. He scanned the cliff top. There, towards the middle, was an artificial shape.

He flew closer, revealing the shape to be a house. A shanty, to be specific. It was built out of driftwood and stones, with a roof of palm leaves. There was a dark blue feather caught in a scrub bush nearby. Skyblazer walked up to the door, and knocked.