Obsidian Prophecy

        The blood reigned.

        A stallion stood atop the hill. Below were the streams that flowed effortlessly and endlessly, hurrying to an escape from the oncoming rush of horror that nature seems to always know is on its way. The trees, evergreen painted among the indicators of fall, rustled now by the oncoming winds. The tents began to blow backwards as the winds blew against them.

        “The messenger arrived this afternoon, sir.” The sergeant informed him. He raised his hoof to a salute. “The good news is-”

        “Cut the ‘Good news,’ stuff, alright? Tell me the important stuff, kid. And quit the formalities.” This stallion pulled his coat tightly to him as the chill of the wind passed.

        “Yes, Commander Gaze...” The sergeant cleared his throat and pulled the rolled up paper from his saddlebag, unraveling it with difficulty. He held it up. “ ‘Attention Expendable Camp Three, sight of a horde of Manticores from the northern forest region moving in your direction has been confirmed. Believed to be usual for the migrational patterns of the creature, but nothing can be confirmed as of this time. The movements of the Griffon platoon is still moving as expected and planned. Keep defenses ready for an attack from both flanks. General Pitch.’ ”

        The Commander smiled and chuckled softly, looking to the stars.

        “Sir?”

        “Sit down,” The Commander said, patting the spot of grass beside him. “Blue Sun’s your name, right?”

        Blue Sun nodded and took a seat as he had been offered. “What is it, sir?”

        “Star Gazer, or Gaze. Don’t call me ‘sir’, not now. you weren’t my Sergeant two days ago. What happened to Solar?”

        “He was sent out with a team on recon to scout out the Griffon forces. He hasn’t reported back yet.”

        “Why didn’t they just send out our recon team?”

        “They left a week ago and haven’t reported back.”

        Star Gazer chuckled. “Of course, they haven’t... You know, I never joined this platoon with the intention of leading it.”

        “You didn’t, sir? Might I ask how you came to your rank?” Blue laid down on the grass, attempting to discover which star his leader was looking to.

        “I joined the military because I love the stars, and this is the best job to travel. They always need navigators making maps. We all know the best form of navigation is by following stars, so I joined to make star maps. Then, this whole thing with the Griffons started up. One year ago, I was the lowest member of the entire platoon. Now, I’m leading it. All because the rest died.” He finally turned away from his star and looked to his Sergeant.

        “Sir... what are the chances of winning this battle with the Griffons?” Blue Sun shivered slightly at the end of his words and stared at his superior.

        “The overall war? Yes. By the end of everything, Equestria will stand on top. For our platoon? I won’t sugarcoat it. The best we can expect is a quick death. There’s a reason we are Expendable Camp Three.” Star Gazer removed his cap, exposing his extremely short cut green mane, the same color as his body. Blue Sun felt that it clashed with his black coat.

        “I never did get to finish that star map.” Star Gazer said with a smile.

        The two sat in silence, staring at the stars, at the wonder that they knew nopony would ever truly get to experience, wondering what interesting shapes they could find, and, with more than a note of honest curiosity, trying to remember where Orion’s Belt was.

        There was a brief flash and dying flicker of a red star shooting across the sky. It illuminated the camp in a horrifying red light.

        Star Gazer saw it. He remembered his fallen friends. He remembered how he came to be in this rank.

        Two silhouettes sat atop the hill, looking down the evergreen expanse of the forest, now hidden and blackened by the horrible, yet beautiful, lens of the night. Blue Sun said he saw the stars smiling on them.

Star Gazer corrected him and told him that was Ursa Minor, and it was supposed to frown.

        Sand. Ashes. Blood...

        The stallion, better known as Lone Testament, sat by the river, dipping his cloak into the cool water. He watched those three things float down the river. He watched the bad memories float away. The water carried with it the sound of a sad story. The kind of sad stories that only nature knows. Only the trees would be able to hear the sad tale that the flowing water had to tell. Now it added the tale of Lone Testament’s cloak.

        Lone hung his cloak over the branches of a small tree and looked around. It was only the morning and time seemed frozen. He walked beside the water’s path for a while. That had been the plan. Follow the water. Eventually, there must be some kind of town, or maybe an opening to the ocean, if they happened to be across the sea. Once there, find where they are exactly and figure out the fastest way to Canterlot.

        Not the most solid plan that could have been thought out, but it was all they had. Lone continued walking, on the edge of the forest but still in the expansive plain. He had spent a very small amount of time in the desert, but it felt like a lifetime. Lone reasoned that it was more or less because of his constant mistakes that had been made during that journey. The lack of food. Not enough Water. Dandy...

        He shook the thoughts away. The grass felt foreign. Not just because the land was unknown, but because he had grown used to the constant struggle of fighting to walk against the sand. Lone smiled. There was something so wonderful about being surrounded by the lush green plants and wildlife that almost completely overshadowed the horror of the Tower. He was not frightened.

        He came back to the tree after a time of following the water. He pulled his cloak down and wrapped it about himself. He made his way back to the small camp he and his companion had made.

        “Trixie?” Lone asked, trotting up to her and shaking her shoulder with his hoof. She was still asleep, her own cloak folded to be her pillow.

        “Mmm, what?” Trixie turned over. She rubbed her eyes and squinted to block out the Sun’s light.

        “It’s morning. We need to get ready so we can keep on.” He helped her up and held her steady as she found her balance. “Wanna wash the cape?”

        Trixie shook her head and made her way over to the water. She was still only half awake. She dunked her head into the water with quick force and pulled away quickly, coughing, mane dripping wet. She shook her head quickly, like a dog. Water from her mane sprayed and splashed everywhere.

        Lone watched for a moment or so, but quickly turned his attention back to the camp. He opened his saddlebags and started collecting everything they needed. There was no more need to worry about carrying half burnt firewood or extra hay anymore. The forest they traveled along provided enough flower petals that there was no need to worry about food, and the trees gave them more than enough wood. The only things that were hard to come by were the rocks to start the fire with and to make the fire pit with. The rocks were heavy and weighed them both down, but they were needed.

        Trixie came back to Lone and grabbed her cape. “Are we still following the water?”

        Lone nodded. He pulled the hood over his head and the two started on their way; north.

        “Can we make any assumptions as to where we are? Anything at all?” Lone questioned.

“I can safely say we aren’t in Equestria. I’ve been all around Equestria and I don’t remember any of this.”

“I could have guessed that whatever those things are wouldn’t have made it any easy on us.”

        “Yeah,” Trixie began, staring into the forest. “But I don’t know anything about the places outside of the Equestrian border. I’ve heard of a few, but I know nothing about them.”

        Lone remained silent. That doesn’t help them any! He continued to feel that horrible sense of distance, but he wasn’t sure entirely why. It could have perhaps been the thought of the massive distance that lay between him and Canterlot. The thoughts broke into his mind of what would happen if he didn’t succeed in alerting the Princesses of what was going on. Tell them of the horrors that were hidden behind so many natural barriers. What would happen if those beings completed their plans?

No! Lone testament thought to himself. I will not let that happen. They made a grave mistake in allowing me to leave!

        Lone began to march with more vigor than he had shown in the recent days. He was determined. The stallion would let no being stand in his way to the goal of defeating evil. An evil he would not yet come to know.

        Trixie noticed the sudden courage, the slight change in his step, that seemed to fill Lone Testament. She was about to question it, but felt the sudden idea that she might ruin whatever his concentration was on. She did not want to do anything to damage the relationship with her new friend; she felt the scar that was left across the right side of her face, then the black left eye.

        Since being let free from the spell that the demons at the Tower, Lone was the only pony she had been in contact with. She was not sure of how Lone would respond to suddenly believing he had to be friends with somepony who had nearly gotten him killed in the desert. She was scared that she would receive another anger filled beating like she had experienced at the oasis.

        She was thankful to find that Lone Testament was more forgiving than he had initially let on to be.

        There had actually been some major difficulty when they had appeared on the hill. Not in Lone Testament’s lack of trust, as Trixie had once thought would be the case, but, rather, with Trixie’s lack of ability to forgive herself.

        Lone and Trixie, the stallion and the mare, were under the stars, having just appeared on a hill in an unknown land. They were about to walk down and begin the journey forward. However, the journey was stalled by Trixie.

        The breaking of the spell from the Tower did not erase the memories of what she had done under it. All of the memories of what she had done, from the events at Trottingham to Ponyville and everything through the desert.

        Lone started to walk ahead but turned back when he saw Trixie fall back to her side and sob.

        “Oh Celestia! What did I do?” Trixie said. The words were not directed towards the stallion, but it was the stallion who answered.

        “You didn’t do anything.” He responded calmly.

        “Yes I did! I...” Trixie fell into an uncontrollable fit of sobs and turned away from the stallion.

        “You had no choice. You were under a spell... It said that they were bringing something you loved into this... I would have done all that you did if I could have protected what I love.” Lone responded, leaning down next to her.

        “I knew whatever they wanted of me would be wrong! I shouldn’t have agreed to it... I’m sorry... Just kill me and move on!” Trixie’s sobs made it harder to hear her words. “What’s wrong with you!? Just finish me and go on!”

        She felt the hoof against her cheek. That gentle touch. Lone moved her mane back into place and brought her back up to her hooves.

        “You’ve done horrible things, but you are sorry for them. Right now, I need all the help I can get. I need help to get back to Canterlot.” She noticed that the stallion was speaking so quietly, just loud enough for her to hear. “We will make sure that whatever those things are suffer and wish they never brought either of us into this game of theirs.”

        He forced her to stand straight, fixed her mane, and brushed the dirt off of her cape. “Now, hold your head high and join me. Because I’m on my way to find out how to stop all this.” Without another word, he let go of her and started down the hill in a gallop. He didn’t look back. There was this beautiful silence between them. In this silence, he would never know if she was following until he stopped himself to make camp for the night. He never did know that she kept pace with him the whole way, though more out of fear for herself.

        Trixie couldn’t help but notice that he never specifically said that she was forgiven.

        “When did they put you under their control? When did they start pulling the strings?” Lone finally asked.

        Neither of them talked for a long time. The silence was deafening. The impatience between them grew as the only sound that communicated between them was the sound of their steps as they marched. The stallion wondered if she was thinking it over or was purposefully staying silent. Finally Trixie spoke up.

        “It was that book.” She whispered.

Birthing; Select; 3:12- Let it always be known that thou chosen by the Mysterious Ones will be the bringer of fire. He shall carry the fire from the day of delivery. He shall either bring salvation in death, or bring punishment and sorrow in life. But if he be the wrong choice, there will be more!

        Dust. There was nothing but dust in his room. Nopony ever went in here. It was built as a place for the ponies to continue building their knowledge and learn about whatever it was they wished. It was rarely ever used.

        So, rather than just demolish the building, or move the books and bookcases out of it, Gaze decided to convert it to the commander’s quarters. He enjoyed the massive volumes that he discovered after he moved in. A large number of tales about the journeys of Starswirl and the battle for power between the Princesses and Discord could be found here. Gaze used these tales to pass the time. Of the many books, there were two that he found to be the most enjoyable.

        The first was a book that seemed to be the second book in a new series (this sequel having only been published a year before) called Daring Do. The story of an adventurous pegasus seeking treasure was actually enjoyable. It vaguely reminded Gaze of the stories he had always heard be told about the Equestrian Military.

        The other was actually a series of stories written by Starswirl himself. It was Starswirl’s tale about his adventures in the old Equestrian settlement of Canterbury. It was simply called Starswirl in Canterbury. Gaze had heard about that settlement, but he wasn’t sure if it was still a working, liveable place. The stories were mostly about creatures trying to infest or destroy the town and the clever ways in which Starswirl and his allies defeated them. Everything that Gaze had read so far had been written in verse; a narrative poem. Gaze couldn’t help but notice that most of the good books in the library were written by, or about, unicorns or pegasi, not many by earth ponies. He felt slightly offended.

        Gaze was now at the last story in Starswirl in Canterbury and was preparing his mind to adjust to Starswirl’s difficult use of language and strange rhyming scheme. Then, he was stunned at the sight of it. The last story was written in prose. It wasn’t even a story.

        It was like a journal entry of some sorts. It wasn’t even written in the mannerisms of Old Equestrian, like so many other famous books written about Starswirl. It had been modernized. The language was closer to Daring Do than it was anything by Starswirl!

        The letter seemed to express some form of fear, but it was nearly impossible to be sure of whatever Starswirl was warning them about.

        Gaze was up on his hooves immediately and started looking around the section that he had found the book in. If there were any other books written by Starswirl, they would be here. He threw down and looked through nearly every book on that shelf. Spell books. More tales of a generation long since gone. Nothing separated in the way that the letter indicated. Gaze picked up the book again. He went over every word slowly to make sure he was not missing anything. He took a look at the publisher’s notes as well.

This was my last day in Canterbury¹. The constant battles to protect the new home of some of Equestria’s finest have happily ended. Today, I was going over a few things with my comrades, Flicker and Spark, to make sure it was all prepared before our departure. We inspected the brick workers and the builders as they finished up with the market and the walls. The walls were not as strong as they should have been. We assisted them with the brick laying. The wall should hold against anything that decides to clamor out of the woods. The Princess will be pleased.

Flicker and I went out to the farms to make sure there would be enough food, as winter was beginning to come upon us. The crops were growing fine, with no real signs of disease or weakness. The apples were not ripe, as they should have been, but they were still growing. The food supply for the town should last well into spring before there is more need of farming.

Next on the list was to check out the durability of the weapons. The weapons were a very required part of this settlement. The constant attacks that seem to come from the creatures hidden within the woods cause the weapons here to constantly get dull. The reminders that we always have to give to the ponies here in Canterbury to always keep a ready stock of sharpened weapons to defend back against the evils that seem to only want their destruction. The constant battling that have been faced over the course of the last four years, over which I have documented for the princess, has lead to many weapons being lost and many more going dull quickly because of the constant use.

We were halfway to the place mentioned when we were stopped by Spark. He informed us that something from our younger days of discovery had returned into the eye of conscience. Unsure of what he spoke, we followed pace with him to the square. We could still smell the freshly made brick. The square had only been fully completed yesterday. It was supposed to have been completed a year ago, but the infestation of chimera two months gone caused for an immediate rebuilding, thankfully the base of many buildings remained to make it easier on us all.

The ponies who were making their way through the square had stopped to stare at the spectacle that moved up the street. A parade of darkness. They must have numbered in the hundreds, just above the actual population that remained in Canterbury. They marched down the street, a massive body, like a snake. Each one shrouded in the darkest cloaks I had ever seen. They seemed to cast a darkening effect over the entire area. The sun’s light was absorbed by the beast as it made its way up the street and the beast reflected out a dark radiation that made the three of us step back in fear and pain.

The stallion that headed the beast approached me. His cloak was the only different one. His was a gray color. The gray, mingled with the black, seemed more as though that was where all the absorbed light was going to. As he approached me, I could only wonder what my countenance expressed. Perhaps fear. Or shock. Or perhaps gladness that the day had come. If the latter be what was viewed, it has changed now!

That gray prophet of nothing-that-should-be-true approached me. He extended his hoof and touched my shoulder. I watched him for many minutes. I couldn’t even tell if he was watching me. Then, in a hushed whisper, with a voice that sounded like the rattling of thorns, he told me ‘They have been chosen’ and then began marching forward again, his beast following behind him, and he made his way straight out of Canterbury and into the forest. The beast disappeared into the blackness hidden by the trees. The sun was half in the sky. It was evenfall.

Spark leaned to me when the mob had gone. The eyes of everypony in the square was centered on me. I could feel some overwhelming sense of shame entering my being, strictly from the looks. Did they think me a traitor? I still know not. Spark whispered to me. “Did we not just witness in motion the words written in our apocryphal text²?”  I was struck silent and dumb.

I informed my friends that they would need to finish the preparations for Canterbury and return to the Princess without me. I waited a week with the ponies of Canterbury, after my friends had gone, before setting on my own path. This path has led me to where I am now. I am sitting in the old settlement of Everfree, deep within the heart of the Everfree Forest, many miles away from Canterbury. This failed settlement will provide me with more shelter than any place in the world.

I have been looking over the apocryphal text. It was a mistake to send that book out in the state it was. We found the signs hidden by the old ones, the ones before Celestia and Discord. But we misread them, or so I thought. I thought that the signs were asking us to be prophets! But our prophecies were false. However, I again can not be sure if that is truthful either. Though, most of my review of the text needs to be through memory! My copy has been so damaged after so many years in my career working for the Princess, and I can not go out and obtain a copy, for Spark, Flicker, and I made sure that the copies other than our own were destroyed! I watched Spark and Flicker burn their copies on Hearth’s Warming Eve, but I kept mine if only as a reminder for the younger days of my career.

Among the damages to my copy, the section predicting the mob was, to my memory, in Commanding, which was one of my chapters, along with Towering and Mastery, and has been since ripped from the bounds of my book. I need to remind myself of all the stories of the coming of end times, when the dragon glass shall lay...

Along with my Memoirs, while I put myself into exile, I need to prepare my explanation to the Princess for my sudden leave. I should also prepare my Memoirs to be more easily read. I know the ponies of Equestria. They will not be interested by mere history. I will probably have to novelize and more readily make enjoyable the reading. I do not want to dumb down the importance or greatness by which all the events transpired, but I want to make it so ponies will learn from it. Perhaps by poem.

Perhaps I shall also rewrite that apocryphal text. If I do, I shall make it of an interpretation that is worthy of reading and true to the story of everypony!³

[¹: Starswirl turned all of the history from his Memoirs into full stories. Entries like these were added to all of his stories as epilogues. All of these epilogues were also turned into verse poems, except for this one. It is believed he passed away before he could transfer this entry into verse.

²: The “apocryphal text” mentioned by Spark and Starswirl was never discovered in any library. It is accepted that not just did he never rewrite this tale, if it ever existed, but that he also destroyed his copy.

³: While some continue to believe that Starswirl did experience this strange occurrence and put himself into exile over some kind of long forgotten text, Most believe that he wrote this epilogue as both a parable and an excuse to give to the Princess about his seven year absence.]

        “No!” Gaze shouted and threw the book at the wall. He went back to the shelf. He didn’t know what was coming over him. However, he chalked it up to being honestly interested in the book and desperately wanting to find what would happen next. He started pulling all the books out. One of them had to be the continuation!

        So he spent his whole day in the commander’s quarters, looking through every page of the books about Starswirl and trying to find out what Starswirl was talking about. He found nothing.

        Finally, he grabbed the first book at the end of the case and knocked it to the floor. He turned around and bucked that shelf, knocking all of the books in that shelf onto the floor. The wood shattered in two, sending splinters all around and falling onto the floor with a crash. Gaze stared abjectly into the pile.

        He spotted a book that he had not seen before during his search. There was no author name given, nor any art indicating a hint of the tale within it. It was completely black; black as night. The only difference was the title, stamped in blood red on the side of the book. Dragon Glass.

        He stared at it for a long while. It was like a railroad spike was being driven through his heart, the pain. He knew that inside was the long sought after tale. He didn’t know how he knew, but he knew. He put it on his table and took a seat. He slowly opened it and saw the section that Starswirl had mentioned. Commanding.

        He started reading the section when the door burst open.

        “Commander Gaze,” Blue Sun began, galloping in furiously and pointing towards the front of the camp. “You have to see what happened!”

        “What in Celestia’s name is it?” Gaze carefully closed the book and got off his chair. He followed his sergeant out to the gates of the camp.

        They ran when they saw the massive crowd of soldiers gathered around the entrance. Blue Sun got to the crowd before Gaze and immediately turned around to trot away, gagging at the sight.

        Gaze forced his way to the front of the crowd. “Out of the way! Let me see!” He stopped short when he made out the sight clearly. It was a pile of bodies. Each of them were ponies. They were all bleeding profusely from various wounds, though most were bleeding from the neck. Each of them were missing an ear. At the top of the pile lay Commander Gaze’s former sergeant, Solar.

        “Oh Celestia...” Gaze whispered to himself. He heard the muttering, mumbling, and rumors floating around the crowd. These were his soldiers. He couldn’t have them scared. “Blue Sun! Take a letter to General Pitch. I want reinforcements and I want them now! Not soon, NOW!” He shouted over the crowd and they went silent. He walked away from them, with as much pride and energy as he could muster up in front of his fellow soldiers, and muttered to himself. “Celestia be damned, we’re gonna die.”

        As if on cue, the sound of a Griffon’s roar echoed across the forest.

The Sun has died.

        Fire.

        Fire surrounding. Need to move faster. He galloped. The fire followed. Walls. Walls of Fire.

        Stone. The fire walls became stone. Encircled him. He tackled it. Need to break free. Escape is the only option. Break free from the game.

        Wind. The wind was the only thing pushing him upwards. He fell. Weightless. No regrets. Don’t stop. Let the floor meet you. He closed his eyes. Escape is the only freedom.

        Freedom. Yes. Break away from the game. What game? There’s no game. Only life. The wind stopped. Floating. Desperate to fall again.

        Destiny. That is the game you are playing, Lone. Break from it. Fall. Add your blood to the river of those that have escaped the evil game of destiny. Death. A Game of Death.

        Let go of your memories! Add them to the sea of despair. Nopony wants your sob stories. Boo hoo. Something bad happened to you? What makes you special? Because you wanted revenge?

        Revenge. Lone Testament is alone in the desert. Burning. The desert is lava. Don’t touch the sand. Can’t help it. Sinking. Burning. Melting.

        Home. The sweet smell of baked goods. Cake. Sitting at the dinner table. He looked around. His sister. Asked for something. He passes it to her. She morphs. A disgusting, melting creature. The room shifted. It all became a metal door. Open in front of the creature. It reached out. The door was slammed by the stallion. Blood gushed from it like a flood.

        The door broke open and the blood flew at him in a wall. It stopped an inch from him.

        The Sun. The blood flew away. It formed a circle. Light shone from it. A drop fell from it. Splashed on the ground.

        Tower. A massive tower grew out of it. He watched it. Thousands of miles high. A shapeless creature sat on top. It reached down and grabbed him. Fade away.

        Staring up into space.

        Nothing. That’s what it all means.

Nothing...

        “You giving up on life already, Lone? It’s only been two weeks.” It was only the morning.

        Lone Testament laid there in the soft grass. He stared up at the sun and the clouds. He couldn’t be sure who was speaking to him. The Sun casted a wonderful glow upon the area. It was not an unbearable kind of ray that the desert presented, but rather a warm light that made the area around alive with color. There was something regal and strangely unnatural about the beauty the light actually caused all around him. Who was talking, anyway?

        “Now listen, here. I don’t care if you get up or respond. I’d rather not have a talk. So just listen to me, alright? You’re leading yourself and your friend down the wrong path. When the time comes to make the choice, choose the path less traveled. The paths will be clear when you get to it. Do not think about it. If everypony goes right, go left, and vice versa. Are you getting all this?”

        The stallion nodded.

        “Good. Now that the serious stuff is over, I need to ask you something. What is wrong with your dreams, Lone?” The voice disappeared. He closed his eyes and drifted away again.

        He felt the shaking and brought his hooves to his eyes.

        “Lone? Lone wake up. It’s already the afternoon; we need to start moving. By Celestia! Get up!” Trixie started shaking him roughly.

        He held up his hooves and pushed her off weakly. He was still tired. “I’m up... I’m up!” He stood up and pulled his cloak back over him. His face covered by the hood, like a shield to everything but what was in front of him, he started walking.

        The two continued along the river for a time. They noticed that the river was getting more and more narrow the further they went. They knew it would eventually turn into nothing a small stream. And if it stopped...

        They kept on with their march. They both knew what was going to happen at this rate. A new plan was needed if the river stopped. They could brave the forest, if they had to. They knew the limits to their strength and were confident that they could handle any of the dangers that might lay behind the wall of trees. They might be lucky and find something of use in there. Perhaps the possibility of some form of intelligence out in the wild kept the duo’s minds moving towards the forest. They knew that, as noticed from the massive collection that usually made for their meals, there would be more than enough flower petals, and probably other forms of food further into the forest, to keep them going for quite a long time.

        The other idea would probably have been just as fruitful, if not more so. Turn to the left and run off into the seemingly never ending plain. More grass and flowers to eat than would ever be needed, and the risk of dangerous creatures was less, as they could see them coming from further away and the overall wildlife of the area, to their view so far, had been no more than bugs and birds. The only thing that continued to fight against them and their thoughts of venturing against the plain was the fact that it was so expansive. It looked as though there was no chance of civilization for miles on end. Again, there would be no worry for survival because of the massive supply of easily found food. But, survival was not the intended goal. The goal was getting home. Neither of them had forgotten this yet.

        Speech between the two of them had grown nearly nonexistent. The only words that ever seemed to travel between the harsh, dead air between them were commands. “Wake up,” “Stop,” “We’re gonna rest here,” and “Let’s eat.” These were the only words they ever truly shared. Their relationship was strict, serious, and to the point. No pleasantries. No conversations. Only worry. Only mistrust. Only time to get home.

        And yet, the mare looked to her companion, and to the plains, and to the forest, and could only see some kind of strange, haunting ghosts that seemed to whisper to them.

        “I left a special somepony back in Equestria.”

        “Tell me more about her.”

        “No thanks. I’d rather not, sir.”

        Against all the odds, the indescribable lottery that everypony in the camp knew, but none were willing to speak of, General Pitch sent out a massive force to assist Expendable Camp Three. But, it wasn’t just more rookies, like usual, they were veterans of this kind of stuff. A massive platoon of pegasi had been stationed around the forest, most of which were set up on clouds above the main camp. Many had started forming a huge mass out of the clouds and were setting up a separate camp, with the strict goal of keeping eyes on the Griffons at all times, up on the clouds. Another massive platoon of unicorns and earth ponies had been dispatched with them. The unicorns were currently taking on the task of reinforcing the entire perimeter of the camp. They were setting up heavy wooden spikes, facing outwards towards the forest. The plan was to use strength and magic to force the Griffons into the spikes if they decided to attempt a ground assault on the base. The earth ponies were making the job harder for the unicorns. The earth ponies were expanding the size of Expendable Camp Three. Expendable Camp Three had been built to last, atop a massive hill at the border of the forest, and the Griffon Kingdoms. Now, it seemed to take on the appearance of a military settlement. The furthest extent of the entire camp was actually touching up against a tree, the border of the Griffon Kingdoms. This had all been achieved over the course of only a week. General Pitch made it known that this was not because Commander Gaze requested reinforcements, though.

        “The Griffons ambushed nine different forts. In their territory. On the border. In Equestria. It’s a mess! But, they aren’t going any further. They are coming back to get rid of every base we have set up on the border. This camp was only suppose to be a distraction for them, now it might be our last hope.” General Pitch paced around command room. There were maps of key locations of the Griffon Kingdoms on every wall, and a massive map on a large table in the center of the room. “I have no doubt that Canterlot will be easily able to defend themselves. I would personally prefer if we could just move in with the platoons we have and go right at the army they have in the forests, but we can’t risk that.”

        Gaze was staring down at two things he had placed on the table. One was a map of the Griffon Kingdoms, he was formulating a plan for what needed to be done. The other was a book he had recently found and had also found himself carrying with him more and more often. He used any excuse and chance he could get to read this Dragon Glass book that he had discovered by accident. “Why can’t we just charge the forest?”

“Because, this is the last defence that the border has. The Griffons seem set on destroying all of the outer defence posts before moving into Equestria. If we charge them, and make even the smallest mistake going in, we’ll all be dead and they’ll have free reign to go straight into Equestria!” Pitch started pulls maps off the walls and putting them on the table.

“Have you heard anything yet from Courtier? Celestia said that there was a truce in the works to stop the fighting.” Gaze watched his commanding officer perform the strange task of moving every map.

“Courtier is a pansy. These Griffons are savages! You don’t make peace with savages. You crush them. If only we had the strength to do this. A full frontal assault would be the perfect solution to all this.” He started running his hoof along a river on the map, the orange of General Pitch’s fur was clashing to the light blue of the river. “The unicorns and I will be using some magic spells to put a barrier of sorts over the whole camp, as one last piece of defence. I’m renaming this camp as well. Expendable Camp Three will now be known as Last Stand.” He pulled the map up to his face. “Now please take the time to leave me to this. This is all you needed to know, Gaze.”

Gaze made his way out with a map and his book. He understood what General Pitch was saying. The reinforcements weren’t because of a few dead ponies that turned up at the gates. This was because of the need for defence of Equestria and destruction of the Griffon Kingdoms.

Gaze decided to check on how the new soldiers were getting along with his.

        The mess hall was the ideal place to start. He walked in on the sound of chanting. Two earth ponies, one his and the other Pitch’s, in a hoof wrestling match. The voices of everypony in the room lifted into one loud sound. “Glitter! Glitter!”

        The two earth ponies were in a deadlocked battle. Equal strength and technique. The chanting continued. “Glitter! Glitter!” The two stallions, wearing expressions of tension and possible pain, continued the struggle to the entertainment of the audience. The tide turned in favor of one of the stallions. The other was forced to stand to keep his leverage, while the other one maintained his composure and remained seated. The chants stopped for a moment as they grunted and pushed again with more might. The seated stallion slammed his opponents hoof on the table, and cheers echoed across the hall. That must have been Glitter.

        Gaze walked up to the crowd. “I see everypony here is getting along!”

        Another cheer filled the room as everypony went back to their chatter and fun. A cup of cider appeared in Gaze’s hoof, though he could never remember who handed it to him. He chugged it quickly and joined in the merriment of his soldiers for a time.

        When the fun in the mess hall had been finished, six glasses of cider later, Gaze made his way down the hill to see how the fortifications were coming along. His head swimming as it was, he could still think clearly enough. He was overjoyed by the sight of common brotherhood among his soldiers. He saw the squadrons of unicorns and earth ponies.

        The earth ponies were helping to push the spikes into place. The unicorns’ horns were illuminated in a magic glow, casting the shield over the entire camp, which was a much greater task than can be exaggerated. There was a line of unicorns, all around the camps. The idea was that every hour or so a new group would take over for the current group to keep the shield at its strongest at all times.

        He approached one of the waiting unicorns. “Hey, can you run a message up to the pegasi, very quickly? There’s an urgent matter I need to discuss with their boss.” The unicorn gave a half hearted salute and made his way up the hill.

        Gaze turned his attention to the shield. Glowing and reflecting any bit of light that happened to make a wrong turn into it, thinking it was allowed to escape. He walked up to it and punched it with all his force. It didn’t even shutter. He knew he wasn’t as strong as most Griffons, but at least the shield felt strong. Blue Sun approached him from the line of Earth ponies. “Hello Sir.”

        “Sun. It’s good to see a familiar face here. How’s everything holding up?” Gaze asked, letting his eyes determine how well it all was.

        “So far very well, sir. There is no worry about the Griffons, our defences are more than capable of holding against an attack from them.” Sun took a seat in the dirt.

        “Any messages from Canterlot?”

        “Just an update on that Manticore migration. They are getting closer, but at their current path, they should sweep right past us.”

        “Good. That’s good.” This was the first set of good news Gaze had heard in all these months. He was ecstatic, but he couldn’t show that yet. Happiness was not allowed to show through his countenance until victory through battle, or, less likely, a true peace, could be achieved.

        “Sir? Do you think this whole war is going to end soon?”

        “Can’t give you any news on that front. Why do you ask?”

        “No reason, Sir.” Blue Sun started to trot away, to continue his duties and get prepared for tomorrow.

        “Leave some special somepony back in Manehattan?” He chuckled.

        Blue Sun shook his head, a wide grin spread across his face. “No, sir.”

        Gaze watched his only friend of war walk off up the hill. “And stop with that ‘sir’ crap! I hate formalities between friends.” He walked the opposite way and looked out of the shield, into the darkness of night. The Moon wasn’t shining its ironic light down onto the darkness that it always brought with it. The trees, blanketed by darkness, seemed shapeless and truly, and utterly, without form. They seemed to take on the shapes of horrible creatures, more intent on devouring living being than thriving off the Sun’s rays. He turned his attention to the Moon.

        The stories from his childhood always claimed that Princess Celestia, his faithful monarch, whom he knows more than well he has pledged his life to protecting, her and her kingdom, had a sister. Banished to the moon for her jealousy and true fall from grace, Celestia, named for her birthright to the star of the daytime, had taken the role of the Moon from her banished sister. The thought made him think. Does Celestia’s sister get angry? Being forced to know that the place upon which she lives is controlled and moved by the banisher, He wondered, or knowing that she will never be trusted with royal power if her banishment ever does end?

        The legends said that she was banished just less than a thousand years ago. He started to think to himself if the banishment would ever actually end for Celestia’s fabled sister. What was her name? That was the question which plagued his skull. It had been so long since he heard the fairy tale... What was her name?

        The thought left his head as his attention turned back to the darkness before him. it made him think of the cover of that book. A new thought entered his brain. Not just that question about the sister’s name. It was about his recent dreams. They’d been so horrible. So... strange. He started to ponder the possibility that maybe it was because-

        Then, he heard it.

        The Manticore cried for death!

        “Trixie. Get up,” Lone whispered, harshly. “Did you hear that?”

        Trixie sat up quickly and shook her head. The cast of darkness fell over the entire area. She could barely make out the stallion’s face in the night. “No. What was it?”

        “I... I’m not sure. Sounded like a screech. I don’t think this area is safe. We need to find a village or something soon.” Lone stood up and quickly tied his cloak around him.

        “Do we have to start moving now? It’s late. I can’t even see my hoof in front of me. How would we even know where we are going?” Trixie stayed sitting, vaguely making out the shape of her companion readying himself for a continued, hasty march.

        “We’ll just have to light the way with some magic.”

        “But won’t that just draw the danger towards us?”

        “Not if we’re careful. Either way, I think we can take on whatever danger is out there, but I just want us somewhere safe and soon.” Lone grabbed Trixie and hauled her up to her hooves. He illuminated the area around them and started his walk.

        Suddenly being segued from the safety of her own dreams to the paranoid emotions of her companion, Trixie was barely able to find time to get her bearings. As Lone lit the way with magic, her eyes flashed in negatives and simply refused to adjust to the sudden light at this late hour. It was, more or less, at this time, in the darkest hour of night, being awoken from a wonderful haven within her own mind- the dream had something to dinner, catering from her old show tour- and dragged out into the unknown terrors of night and risking her life for an unknown cause, that the mare realized that she missed home. She missed touring Equestria and putting on her show. So she wasn’t as powerful as it was claimed she was, so what? Everypony was entertained by it. She missed home. Why was she even still here?

        The sound cut through the air like a knife to butter. A shriek that ripped the air and, by the illusion of a gust of wind, seemed to shake the branches high above. The two dropped down to the floor and held their hooves to their ears, blocking out the trailing off of the shriek.

        “What was that?!”

        “Shhhh...” Lone extinguished the light from his horn. Trixie took hold of the back of his cloak and used it as a guide as they continued down the path. Slow, easy steps that would go completely unnoticed, even to those with the most sensitive of hearing. If a single sound wave went passed their own eardrums, they were dead.

        They wondered what had made that shriek. Neither of them was entirely sure. It could have been some creature that wishes to bring them to their untimely demise; perhaps a fellow pony was exploring the forest and fell down a small hill; a newborn foal might have just been born and the cry was its inauguration to the world. Whatever it was, they were horrified.

        The screech went off again, louder.

        “What is that?” Gaze stared closely out into the darkness. That horrible sound was deafening, but he swore that he had seen something moving directly outside the shield. He stepped forward, as close as he could possibly get to it. He squinted his eyes and let them slowly come into focus. The trees were in perfect view.

        the Manticore slammed against the shield and screeched again!

        Trixie couldn’t help but tremble at the sound of that shrieking. As they moved, she couldn’t help but notice that they were going deeper into the forest along this path. They could still hear the water, but the trees surrounded them now. “We’re getting further off the path, Lone.” She stated, worriedly.

        “I know. We’ll circle back around later, but for now we need to stay the course.” He responded quickly.

        They continued on in their silence, hoping that there would be no more issues with the rest of the night so that they could sleep through the rest of it. Then, the sound of the bush rustling beside them made them stop dead in their tracks. Trixie’s eyes weren’t fast enough to follow the next movement. The being that hid inside the bush was about to step out, then, out of either fear or anger, Lone jumped on it.

        She winced every time she heard the sound of Lone’s hoof hit heavily on that being...

        Trixie lit up the area with her magic and grabbed Lone. “Stop! Lone... oh Celestia, what did you do?!”

        Lone stared down at the broken body of the being he just attacked and trembled, unsure. “I... I don’t know... I just...”

        The being was a young deer, no older than a young colt would have been. The young deer was shaking, bleeding, and desperately reached out at nothing. It sounded like it was whispering something, or trying to, inaudible from the blood filling his mouth.

        “Oh damn... What are we gonna do, Lone?!” Trixie desperately yelled at her companion.

        The stallion shook his head. “I don’t know!”

        “W-we could carry him! Go back that way,” She pointed her hoof in the opposite direction of the deer. “and find the group he was traveling with... He must have got cut off from them, or left to find something!”

        “And tell them what? That I nearly beat one of their youngest to death because I was scared? How do you expect they’ll react to that?”

        “I...”

        “You don’t know, exactly. They could kill us if they felt like it!” The stallion stepped away and levitated a large rock above his head.

        “I just think that- Lone! what are you doing?!” Trixie put her hoof on his chest, pushing him away.

        “We can’t help him, and more importantly, we can’t just leave him... He’s too young... I beat him too badly. He won’t make it through the morning, and I won’t let anything from this forest get him. Move, Trixie.”

        “No! I’m not letting you do this.”

        “We don’t have time for this, Trixie. We need to keep moving ahead.”

        “Don’t do this, Lone!”

        The stallion turned away, letting the rock drop to the floor. He turned his gaze back to his companion and smiled softly. “You’re right. I... I don’t know what came over me, you know?” He started scraping his hoof against the dirt in continuous strokes, as if he was trying to dig a hole.

        Trixie gave a slight, worried, sigh of relief. “I’m just glad you snapped to your senses...” She started to walk along past him. Then, noticed he wasn’t following.

        “Lone?”

        Lone turned to her. “Have you ever wondered if everything you do is being moved along by something and you can’t control it?” He asked her. His eyes conveyed some look of determination and strength, yet, at the same time, anger and fear.

        “I’ve experienced it... Those beings from the Tower. Well, that being, I just assume there’s more. It made me do everything. I was like... like a...” Her mind was blanking out on that simile, and she had no idea why. She felt at the bruise under her eye.

        “A puppet on strings.” Lone finished.

        “Yes! It was so strange. I knew everything that I was doing, but when I wanted to run to the left, my hooves would move right...” She leaned against the tree to keep her balance. Between remembering all those feelings and how tired she was, everything was spinning.

        “What are our roles in all this, Trixie,” Lone had stopped looking at her, and was simply staring at the young deer, who had now fallen unconscious. “why is it that we are the ones that got called out and all this stuff?”

        “I... I don’t know, Lone. Maybe we’ll find out, eventually. Until then, let’s just get on the path again and keep ahead.” She kept a close eye on him, trying to decipher what he was doing.

        “You want to know why I’m suddenly talking about all this, right?”

        Trixie nodded, slowly and cautiously.

        “I’m asking about puppetry for the same reason I feel I have no choice but to do something... To end something swiftly before anything worse comes to it...” With lightning speed, the rock was suddenly illuminated with the aura of the stallion’s magic. He turned quickly and harshly, lifting the rock above his head and bringing it down with all the speed and strength his magic would muster up. The sound of the blood and the bones crunching were incredibly audible among the sounds of the ghostly whisperings of the forest.

        All Trixie had time to say was “Lone! No-!”

        “Hold the shields! For Celestia’s sake! For your mother’s sake! For my sake! HOLD THE SHIELDS!”

        They hadn’t spoken to one another the whole day. It was already late evening, and not a single word had gone between them. That silence had returned to them again. It was not the silence of business though, of necessity. It was the silence of quiet hatred, disdain. It was the silence that rang in Lone’s ears louder than any screeching animal.

        Neither of them had slept. Neither could. They had just continued walking since what had happened last night.

        It was a long, hollow, speechless day. Or, rather, neither of them were willing to speak up to one another about the small things they saw as they moved. Night came upon them again and Trixie made the fire.

        She laid down close to it, knowing it would be a cold night. Lone trotted a good ten feet from the fire, curling up inside his own cloak, that blanket the seamstress had sewn together what seemed like so many centuries ago.

        She finally broke that day long, suffering shield of silence. “Lone... Stay near the fire, warm yourself up...”

        He didn’t answer.

        “Please... Look I just-” She stopped at the sound of him bursting into loud, painful sobs. She curled back up by the fire, face turned away from the stallion. She didn’t sleep until he cried himself to sleep first.

The Sun cries blood...

        A stallion. Standing off in the distance. Run to him. Move swiftly. Reach out for him.

        Swords. They come down. blood drips from the now missing hoof. Fall in the dirt. Walls appear.

        Paper. Paper walls. Kick one. All fall down. They cover him.

        Rips free. Black.

        The ground is charred black. Caked with blood and ashes. Step on it. Wind. Blows away with the wind. No platform to stand on. Falling again. Fall forever. Darkness.

        Sounds. Strange sounds. Crying. War cries. Blood. Spitting. The ground painted red.

        Every step sends ripples through it. Ocean of blood. Screeching. He covers his ears. Still hears.

        Swords. In front of him. He grabs one. Slices his ears off. Still hears it. make it stop! Oh Celestia!

        Silence. Looks around. Canterbury. A mob approaches. Dressed in black. Points to him.

        Traitor. He says it. Disappears with the wind.

        Eyes. All around him. Waiting for him. Judging him. He screams. They rush over the hill. Kill them.

        Death. Death everywhere. Oh, make it stop. Glass. He’s in a glass room, being watching. Doesn’t move. They’re shields. Shattering

        Drops dead there. Loses. Wins.

        Gaze jolted upright, panting, desperately trying to catch his breath. “Sweet Celestia... What was that?” The dreams had recently become more frequent. For a time, It had only been happening every other week. Then, they became weekly. Now, they had become a nightly occurrence. Each night these horrible visions came to him. And, each night, they seemed more real. He turned towards his night stand, Dragon Glass sat triumphantly on the empty stand. He turned his attention to the windows, it was still middle of the night, but the bright violet shield glowed and shined into his window either way. He had some time before he was supposed to be awake, but the risk of being forced to see more of those horrible, vivid, time bending visions. He went to grab Dragon Glass to continue to his reading, but stopped his hoof an inch from it. This sudden feeling, unexplainable due to lack of any clear logic, made him decide that it was not yet time to continue reading that.

        He got up off the bed and started looking through the massive bookcases, for no particular reason.

        He grabbed a book with the simple title The Lunar Era. It was some fictional book written by an Equestrian Historian, named True North. The story was an alternate history where Celestia was defeated by her evil sister that Gaze had always heard about in the fairy tales. The story was about the 1000th year in the reign of her sister; seen through the eyes of a Canterlot soothsayer, with the unfortunate, yet very curious, name of Little Mummers. It detailed, in vast varieties of sections in the Equestrian life, all the evils that the Mare In The Moon cast upon Equestria, like a great spectre that haunts over the dying. Gaze read through half of it by the time the Sun was rising.

        He left the book on top of Dragon Glass and quickly took to dressing himself for the duties he needed to have done today. Everything at the camp had become more stressful, and confusing even more so. The Manticore incident from, just yesterday, six months ago now had caused a major upheaval, and continued to do so even now. The massive swarm of the Manticore horse had, after hours of trying, managed to tear open the magical shield. The battle lasted the full day. The casualties ranged up to around two hundred soldiers, and possibly more. While more were scared of the shield going down again. Morale had been low recently.

        Gaze stepped out and made his way over to the mess hall. Blue Sun was sitting next to the door, eating an apple.

        “Sun, how’s everything looking today?” He took a seat beside his second-in-command.

        “The soldiers are fine today, sir. My concerns are once again on General Pitch, though...” Sun looked around to make sure no pony was there to hear.

        “Yes... you mentioned these concerns last week. Never elaborated though.”

        “It’s just that... Have you been attending any of his Report Rallies?”

        Gaze had removed his hat and was examining the medal that had been pinned into it. He started picking at it with his hoof, swearing that there was a stain. It’s right there, he thought. Finally, he responded. “Honestly, no. After the first one, I just kind of started faking hangovers or extra work to avoid going. Why?”

        Blue Sun was shaking, worried about the possibility of somepony overhearing the conversation. “Well, recently they’ve been less about the recent events and reports about the camp and the war, and they’ve been more... him just ranting about destroying the Griffons. He hasn’t mentioned once about the peace talks!”

        Gaze put a hoof on Sun’s shoulder to calm him down. “Blue, buddy, don’t worry about crazy colt Pitch. You wanna know what Pitch is?”

        “What, sir?”

        “He’s a grade A, patriotic Equestrian pain in the flank. Everything Pitch says has to show ultra extreme loyalty to the Princess. I guess he interprets that as trying to win the war ‘at all costs’ or something.” He finally put his cap back onto his head.

        “What do you interpret that as, Sir?” Blue Sun raises his eyes to Gaze, showing great curiosity.

        “I think it means ending this war with the least amount of casualties possible, Blue. And, I told you to stop with that ‘sir’ nonsense.”

        “Sorry, Sir.”

        Gaze punched him playfully in the gut, laughing. “You kill me, Blue, really. I don’t want formalities between friends, I told you that. Call me Star Gazer, or Gaze, or Star. Call me Starry if you really want, just not Sir.”

        Sun nodded his agreement, smiling. “Ok. I will. But, si- Gaze, what about General Pitch? I’m still very worried about the way he’s been... presenting the situation to the soldiers.”

        Gaze held up his hoof to make Blue shut his mouth. “I’ll handle it. I’ll talk to him myself, later. Ok?”

        the second-in-command gave him a soft smile, nodding. “Ok. Thank you, Gaze.”

        “Mhm. Now, did you or did you not leave some special somepony waiting for you?” Gaze leaned closer to him, grinning.

        Sun shook his head, chuckling. “Another time, Sir. When the conversation seems more appropriate, maybe.”

        Gaze ignored that word Blue Sun couldn’t help but say, forced habits die hard. He gave his warmest smile and lifted himself up off his haunches. “Agreed. I’m gonna scope out the rest of the camp. I’ll see Pitch later, he planned a meeting with me. Be good, ok, kid?”

        “You as well, sir.” He said, saluting.

        Commander Gaze, still not entirely certain his hat was rightfully adjusted, made his way down the hill, inspecting the unicorns and the shields. The shields were being opened briefly for a crew of earth ponies to go scouting.

        Star Gazer approached the leader of today’s shields. “What are they heading out for now?”

        The unicorn turned his attention to him. “We’re still finding bodies.” He said, gravely.

        “Still?” Gaze asked. “I thought we found the last of them a few weeks ago...”

        “Nope, seems like there’s still a few unaccounted for. Either bodies or,” He choked on his words and coughed. “...parts.”

        Gaze nodded, solemnly. “What was your name again?”

        “Aurora Flare, sir.”

        Commander Gaze let off a chuckle, patting the unicorn on the shoulder. “If I had a bit for every unicorn I met that had one of those words in their names, by Celestia, I could retire!” He waited for his bout of chuckles to pass before he spoke up again. “Ah, but, you were the one who led the unicorns during that Manticore attack, yes? The one who got the shield back up in time to push them out?”

        Aurora Flare nodded, cautiously. “Yes, sir, I was the one...”

        “You did good, soldier. I just wanted to be sure I had your name for the report, I want you to expect a promotion soon. I’m gonna need you to keep the unicorns in order for this shield. Hell, I could use you to help me re-organize this whole camp, it’s quite hectic right now.” Gaze held up his hoof, gesturing to indicate the entire camp.

        “Th-thank you, sir!” The unicorn said, shocked and gracious. “I’ll do my best, sir!”

        “I expect nothing less from one of my soldiers.” Gaze turned and continued his march around the area. He whispered to himself. “Now, hopefully you’ll get the chance to brag about that if any of us make it back to Equestria...”

        The rest of the day passed by Gaze, uneventfully. The morale, though still low for most of his soldiers, was slowly increasing. He sat in his quarters, looking around at the bookshelves again, and attending and sorting the papers that came with the job; General Pitch had recently ordered that all official mail from Canterlot be sent Gaze, as well. He stamped papers with the seal of the Equestrian Military. Others he tossed into the fireplace to keep the room warm and lit. Paperwork came with the territory of being involved with the military, especially at a rank like his. More so with the fact that he was the second-in-command to the last major camp during this war. He pulled his quill and candle away, staring towards the door.

        Why hadn’t the Griffons made a single, solitary attempt on this camp? There had not been a single charge. Not a single scout had ever been spotted. There was not once where they had attempted to attack. Was it because of the shields? No, the Griffons could have attacked for a straight year before the camp was combined with General Pitch’s camp. Were they waiting for the perfect moment to attack? No, they could have charged, flanked, or loop around the hill when the shields dropped and they were all dealing with the Manticores. That instance goes with the shields too, the Manticores had smashed the shield. Perhaps it was the peace talks... That made sense.

        He quickly dug his way through the pile of papers that sat at his desk. Finally, he found one that he felt would answer his questions, or at least give him a chance to find an answer.

To: Camp Three, Commander Gaze and General Pitch

From: Canterlot, Courtier

At this time, it is of respectable note that currently the commissioning of a treaty to end the hostilities between Equestria and the Griffon Kingdoms are in effect. As it should stand by the time this letter is received, there should be no more need to fear attacks from the Griffon side, as they know that an attack would cease peace talks, and they are just as fearful of that as we are. You are serving Equestria well, and you should be back home within the year, if it proceeds as the Princess has planned.

Your faithful Commander-in-Chief, Courtier.

        Gaze quickly grabbed a quill and ink of his own. The tip of his quill scratched against the paper for a good while, as Gaze wanted to make his clearest intentions known, and not make his hoof writing look so awful. The letter was a simple request. Gaze wanted an annual letter from Courtier, explaining the current terms of the peace talks, and also explaining how the proceedings of the peace talks were going. He took extra care in folding it when the ink was dry and sealed the envelope he slid it into very carefully. He placed it beside all the other things he was going to mail back to Canterlot. He picked up his saddlebag and sat there quietly for a few minutes.

        He gave a sigh and pushed himself out of his chair, leaving his quarters and going to the map room which General Pitch had commandeered. He entered, the first view to his eyes being that of Pitch scurrying around the room looking for something that seemed to be of major importance.

        “General Pitch,” Gaze began to say, but the general held up a hoof. Gaze took a seat at the table and waited for his superior to finish.

        After a few more minutes, and the fruitlessness of a number of drawers be opened, the general turned his attention to his own second-in-command. “Commander Star Gazer, It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance yet again.”

“Same to you, sir. We haven’t had a chance to have these regular talks since the... Manticore incident.” Gaze removed his cap with the surely out of place pin on the front.

“Yes, I had hoped we could see more of each other.” Pitch took a seat at the table, across from the green earth pony. “Ever since that... Ghastly little turn of events, I have been unable in my efforts to make a consistent meeting with you.”

“And, I felt that tonight would be a good time to begin with that.” Gaze reached into his saddlebag and removed a series of papers he placed on the desk. “I’ll start with the simple things I believe we need to write Canterlot about.”

Pitch simply nodded, listening intently.

“First off, the ration supply that we were being provided has significantly decreased since three months ago. It’s enough for the ponies here to get by, but, even more so considering we are the only camp left, I think they should be keeping the supply ongoing and a little larger if they intend to keep us away from home any longer.”

“Those stuck up... Ah! It just annoyed me so to hear that they are cutting something like this off from us. I’ll give them hell about this, trust me,” Pitch removed a sheet of paper, a quill, and a small bottle of ink and took note of this. “Go on.”

Gaze nodded, a smile attempting to form out of his lips. He was glad Pitch seemed to be listening. “Item two, I believe that we should ask for more supplies for the defenses. As the Manticore incident seemed to prove, the unicorn shield is not indestructible. So, I think that we may need to get a new set of defenses lines up, something for the ground level, and something for the Pegasi, as they’re the ones who would probably be attacked first if the Griffons attacked straight on.”

Pitch nodded again, scribbling something down. “Understood. Next.”

“Well, this next one is just something I noticed and personally think should be done.” Gaze thought for a moment and remembered the name. “The unicorn who organized the unicorns and got the shields back up, Aurora Flare is his name, I think we should promote him for his excellent example during that incident.”

Pitch grinned. “Agreed! Any pony who can do such a thing in the face of that great danger should be rewarded. I’ll keep it in mind; he should get a proper reward for his service.” He took another note.

“And, well, the last matter of business, if you would mind, sir, i’d like to keep off the table.” Pitch nodded his leader’s nod, sliding the paper to the side of him. “Thank you, sir. A few of the soldiers have been concerned. I know that you have no love for our commander-in-chief, Courtier,”

The general gave an annoyed snort at the name.

“But, that does not mean that we should avoid talking about the ongoing peace talks. It is important that a treaty is currently being ironed out, and I think you should begin to discuss the possibility of a settled peace arriving, rather than, as I’ve heard, being ready to just fight the enemy.” Gaze watched his superior, carefully.

Pitch stared at Gaze for a few moments. “I understand. I’ll speak frank with you. I don’t think these peace talks are going to work. I was present at the first string of peace talks last year, and they fell through during the final phases. Personally, I think that we should continue the fighting onward until every last one of those disgusting Griffons are completely and utterly destroyed.”

It was Gaze’s turn to stare.

“Those Griffons had the gall to attack a squad of Equestrian troops. They thought they were better than us, and it is our right as ponies of Equestria to show them how wrong they are, Commander Star Gazer.” Pitch said all this naturally, as though he had rehearsed this explanation many times.

“But, sir, you can’t really claim that we are not at least accountable for provoking them. Personally, I don’t think we should have gotten involved with the land conflict...”

“We did it because they had no right to claim it. They were asking for the whole lake at Trottingham from the cattle that were there! We were risking them threatening to take even more.”

“After all the blood that’s been spilled for this war over a dumb lake, though, sir... I think the soldiers would rather hear about a chance to stop the fighting!”

“Why get their hopes up? What if the talks fail? Then they have to expect even more fighting and death and all!”

Gaze nodded again, sadly. “I suppose you’re right... But, please just mention that there is a chance for these peace talks, ok? I don’t know about you, or all of our soldiers, but I want to get home to my family.”

Pitch looked down at the table, then back up to Gaze. His eyes were full of acknowledgement and understanding. “I’ll mention it in my next speech. But, it will not be any major topic. Me, I’m still looking for a good war!” He made sure those final words were emphasized.

“As a soldier, and a fellow Equestrian, I think we can both agree that perhaps it is best to let the soldiers at least believe there can be peace.” Gaze got out of his seat. The commander slid the pile papers over to the general. “This is the mail that is for you to respond to. There’s a letter from Courtier addressed to both of us. I read it, already. The mailpony will be here tomorrow at dawn. Pass what you want along to Blue Sun, my second-in-command. And, sir, I apologize, but I will be staying in bed later into the morning tomorrow.”

Gaze turned his back to his commanding officers, shuffling slowly out towards the door. He stopped at the door and walked back to the table, watching the disapproving eyes of General Pitch bare down on him. He grabbed his cap up off the table, looking at the medal that was surely adjusted the wrong way. He put it back on his head, covering his still drastically cut, short, light green mane.

The commander left the quarters silently, moving with a pace that would not offend his superior, but would also get him out of that room as fast as possible.

        Stuck in a box of shadows.

        The stallion and the mare had made very good time in these last few days. Following the small, flowing river proved to be a perfect choice. They had stumbled onto a dirt road and were following it this last day or so. They had now stumbled across a fork in the path.

        “Which way do you figure would be the best way?” Lone asked his companion.

        She shrugged, thoughtfully. “Don’t know. Both could lead us somewhere, and both could just as easily lead us nowhere.”

        The stallion looked forward at the fork in the road and thought. “Well, we know that we are definitely going somewhere... I suppose it doesn’t really matter which path we use to get there. Just need to get somewhere.” He turned his attention to a bush that was to the side of them. He went to it and ripped a branch free from it. Lone levitated it in front of him. He span in circles as fast as he could, bringing the branch with him, and hurled it high into the air. They waited a second.

        It landed a few feet away from them, on the left road. “Guess we’re going that way.” Lone said matter-of-factly. The two started on their way down the path that had been chosen for them.

        Lone still slept away from the fire at night, ever since that night with the young deer. Lone and Trixie had begun to talk again since it occurred those days ago.

        Lone set himself up a couple of feet away from their camp fire, curling up inside his blanket. The stallion stared silently at the dirt and grass; bright green even in this darkness. He lost his focus at the sound of hoof steps coming towards him. Trixie laid down in front of him, wrapping herself inside of her own cape.

        “I extinguished the fire... It’s warm tonight,” She began softly. He couldn’t put his hoof on it, but something about the inflection in her tone calmed him. “Besides, the fire’s cold anyway.”

        Lone nodded.

        “Lone, are you alright? Truly?” She moved a hoof to him, but stopped short a few inches and simply sat there, listening.

        Lone turned his back to her and wrapped himself tighter in his blanket. “Good night, Trixie.”

To: Camp Three, Commander Gaze

From: Canterlot, Courtier

I am prideful to know that there is one such as you who yearns for peace, while so many that seem to roam the common fields seem to demand war. The peace talks as of this very moment are as this for the moment: Princess Celestia and I are currently attempting to secure a very simple deal in which the Griffon leader, The Great-Claw he likes to be called, can be happy and accept. The current deal I am striving for is that they relinquish any hold they have on their recently annexed land and we will simply end the struggle. We keep our boarder at the forest, and they keep theirs back outside of it, as it was before. While the Great-Claw has accepted that it was within our rights to establish a line of defense when they tried to annex passed the forest to the cow’s lake at Trottingham, he has also accepted responsibility for taking offense and striking the first blow. The terms, as they stand are this: Neither our soldiers, nor his, will attack one another. If either side strikes, the peace negotiations will be shattered. Best of luck,

Your faithful commander-in-chief, Courtier.

        The path seemed to be speaking to them after a certain point. They marched along, merrily and blindly, as they tried to find a way to something that filled the void they both carried. They marched along, solemn and without comradeship in their voices, though they tried. A long two weeks had finally gone by. Months now since both of them had finally left their homes, and now more than two months since they had appeared in this strange land. It had felt like an eternity, yet they could not fully complain. There was fresh water from the stream they followed, and always enough flower petals in the bushes for them to eat. Trixie’s wounds, the wounds that Lone Testament had given her in that unbearable paradise, had come close to finally being fully healed. The sun stretched out far before them, and they knew their lucks were changing.

        Sounds of hooves clopping against a compacted road was the first hint of changing luck. After all the time spent on uncertain dirt roads following the current, this was a welcome change.

        “This has to be a good sign. We must be nearing something.of importance if there’s a road.” Trixie had started to march more willingly and happily since their eyes glanced the road from afar.

        “I’ll start celebrating when we find a place to stay.” The stallion said with a serious tone. There was no need to start getting happy before you knew what to be happy about. He kept that look whenever Trixie was examining him. In the reality of it all, he felt like he could just jump up and touch the sun out of happiness. In his actions he simply said, “Let’s not camp for tonight, let’s just keep moving along this path until we see something,” and continued his march alongside his companion.

        The path stretched out in front of them for a number of miles, but still they went on. The Sun continued to beat down over the cloaked figures, but they barely noticed. Trixie’s focus was entirely on the path before them; Lone’s on the shining green blades of grass beside the path. Something about the grass continued to keep the eyes directed straight on it; that strangely powerful green glow and the pureness it seemed to convey from it. Lone’s thoughts remained on a deer in the forest.

        They continued on further. It was a sudden thing when Lone stopped walking. He stared fixedly at nothing further ahead of them. Trixie spotted that he had stopped walking and turned to face him. “Did you see something?” She inquired, staring ahead trying to see what he was saying.

        She jumped back in surprise at the sound of him breaking into deep, hearty laughs. He clutched his stomach and fell onto his haunches, laughing like a mad pony. “Lone, is something wrong?!” Trixie stood over him.

        The stallion continued to laugh like a maniac, tears flowing on his cheeks from the strain his laughs were putting on him. The ground caught him on his back as he held his stomach and his laughs began to subside; his eyes fixed squarely on the small, innocent, white clouds against the blue backdrop. The laughs ebbed away into light chuckles; then finally it was all gone.

        Lone gave a relaxed sigh and turned his eyes to the mare that stood over him, a concern look wrapping around her countenance. He grinned. “I just remembered a letter I wrote. I sent it to someone of major importance, an eternity ago.”

        “What did you say in the letter?” Trixie held her hoof out to him.

        He gripped it tight and let her help him back to his hooves. “That I wouldn’t go chasing you through the desert.”

To: Camp Three, Commander Gaze

From: Canterlot, Courtier

In response to your recent concerns, you should not bother your mind with putting any worry involving General Low Pitch. I know of his more, shall I say, radical past. He has always held a very prideful, patriotic view of Equestria. I know that your information is incomplete, so I will give you a very basic summary as to the reasons for his removal from the position I currently hold. His views were just, to defend Equestria no matter what, but his methods for post-war was the issue. We had a war with the Changelings only a few years gone, as I’m sure you know. The war only lasted about a year and a half, but General Pitch, at the time commander-in-chief Pitch, felt that the Changelings needed to pay for their unjust war. The terms and controls he put on the Changeling Kingdom wrecked their society, ultimately leaving that young Changeling Filly to rule over the entirety of it, too. Celestia removed him, as she felt his harshness was unwarranted. I pardoned him and made him leader of my armies, for the simple fact that, if nothing else, he knows how to lead troops. I hope that answers your inquiry, Commander Gaze. Best of luck,

Your faithful commander-in-chief, Courtier.

They had to sit down on the side of the road, unmoving. They could not fully comprehend it. It was a large caravan; trading wagons being pulled by a large force of deer. The caravan stopped when they spotted the ponies sitting on the side of the road. The door to the largest wagon flew open from the back and a large buck walked out down a small ramp. He glanced at them slightly. They could not pry their eyes off of his large antlers. Neither Lone or Trixie had ever actually been around deer, except the one from the forest they were trying to push from their minds, and all they could do was sit in silence.

        The buck looked at them dead on, then turned his head back to the wagon and shouted. “Everydoe, take a break for now. We’ve been on all night, rest up some; we’ll resume on my command, or at dusk, whichever occurs first.” His voice was strong and booming.

        All the deer quickly shrugged off the harnesses that attached them to the wagons and many started to climb out of the wagons, and they all quickly began to strike up conversation with one another. The large buck approached them, his antlers taking on the appearance of being even bigger from the silhouetted effect of being in front of the Sun. They could make out a distinctive scar on the front of his nose. He gave a slight grin down to them.

        “Well, what, may I ask, do we have here?” The buck took another step closer, until he was in front of them. Even if they stood, he was still a good foot taller than either of them.

        “I am-” Lone stopped and coughed to clear his throat. “My name is Lone Testament. . . This is, umm, my travelling companion, Trixie Lulamoon.”

        “Two unicorns, very misplaced I’d judge. My name is Sadiviad. That’s Sa-di-vi-ad. I am curious as to why I have the pleasure of finding two unicorns, definitely not of this land, seated on the road.” Sadiviad took a seat in front of them, balancing his head on his hooves curiously and waited to hear their words.

        Trixie started waving her hoof in a circle, grasping at the words. “We are honestly lost. We were travelling with our own group and got separated. We’ve been travelling along the river and the roads for a long time now, and we think they are supposed to be going to catch the fastest way back to Equestria. We would like to get there, but we don’t even know this land, at all.” She managed a lie that came off at least half convincingly.

        Sadiviad gave a light chuckle. “Let me make an assumption. You wish to implore me for the opportunity to join my caravan so that we can carry you across Cervidas all the way to a port town.”

        Lone held up a hoof. “Honestly, that’d be pretty nice if you didn’t mind.”

        The buck gave off a hearty laugh, bringing Lone back to Chief Thunderhooves and the buffalo tribe. “Ok, perhaps I misjudged Equestrians in lacking a sense of humor.” He waited until his laughter had subsided. “Alright, let’s discuss this. What, exactly, do you intend to give me out of this deal? Because unless you can offer me something,” He started rubbing his hooves together greedily, “I don’t believe I could see you as any more than more mouths to feed.”

One of these, Trixie thought to herself. “We won’t just be mouths to feed; we’ll pull our own weight and do whatever you want of us.”

        “The only problem is, I have no work for you both. I have enough wagon pullers and caravan defenders. Yet, I fear for you, because these lands have recently been so dangerous. Why, just a few weeks passed, one of the poor younglings was found with his brain bashed open by a rock!”

        Lone winced. He played it off as being simply disturbed by the imagery, but he had to hold himself back from choking on his words or crying. “That’s horrible,” He whispered.

        “A tragedy. I knew his mother. She was so heartbroken that she refused to continue along with us. We couldn’t convince her to stay and now she’s roaming the forest.” He stood back up, towering over them again. “I suppose I could find a use for you, but if I can not, I will expect payment.”

Trixie reached into an inner pocket in her cape and recovered three bits that had not yet been lost. “This is all I can offer.”

Sadiviad shook his head. “Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. Shame enough Equestrian money is worth about as much as cherry here, but even then, it costs a lot more to get a ride. Especially one all the way to Fawntaine.” He shook his head again, pondering. “Quite the conundrum. I don’t want to leave you, but, as a deer of business, it would not be a profitable venture to bring along two ponies for free.”

“What if we could supply magic?” Lone responded quickly. Sadiviad’s eyes opened wider and his grin returned. He was listening. “Tell me something, how has the morale of your caravan been recently?”

“Frankly, it has never been lower. Many keep deciding to drop the journey across Cervidas because of the danger and the hardships getting across.”

“Okay then. Trixie here is a show pony, and I used to do some tricks in my younger days. Until we get to Fawntaine, what if we held nightly shows for all the little ones,” Lone looked passed the buck to make sure that there were enough little ones. He saw a few crowds of them jumping up and down and giggling. “The little ones are happy; the families of the little ones will be happy; the others who see the families happy will be happy; etc.”

Sadiviad scratched his hoof along the ground for minute, pondering the idea. “Well, it is an interesting proposition, that I will credit you for.” He looked up to the sky, seeming to mull over the idea with the clouds. “You know what, I owe my fellow deer some good entertainment. I’ll agree to this, sure. Mayhaps it shall be fun!”

Lone and Trixie exchanged a smile and finally stood up. Trixie looked up to the buck. “Could we, perhaps, ask you a few questions? I’m interested in a few things involving this caravan.”

Sadiviad raised his hoof, motioning towards the open door to his wagon. “Be my guests, please.” They made their way into his wagon. The inside was insanely spacious, with a collection of quilts and a few barrels here and there, but overall it was more than enough space for them and that massive buck who stayed in this spot. They settled themselves onto their haunches in the corners of the wagon. The caravan leader curled up into a circle in the center of the wagon, watching them. “Ask away.”

Trixie was about to open her mouth to speak, but Lone decided to take the first question. “How exactly did you come to be the leader of this caravan. It’s massive!”

The buck chuckled and sighed slightly. “I always had a way with money. Now, the majority of Cervids in this kingdom believe heavily on the properties of magic, but there are a good amount of them who don’t particularly care about that kind of thing. Some can’t understand, or don’t want to understand, the magic. Me, I am indifferent. Magic has its uses, as do those who don’t care for them. But, every deer can use a little money to back their endeavors. It just so happens that I am the best with money in the whole kingdom. Better than the government even, so of course the Cervid Council tries to shun me away, as do the magic users because of that. But, those in my caravan understand that I can make them money. Sadiviad, The Merchant King! That’s what some of them call me.”

They tossed that title around in their heads for a moment. The Merchant King. Trixie sat forward. “So, you have amassed this massive caravan because...”

The leader finished her sentence for her. “Because they all want to make some quick money, and they know I’m fair. I take a small extra cut from the profits, but that is only to keep my travelling kingdom here in good standing. I warned of the problems in this kingdom. Many of those problems want to see me strung up for interfering with Cervidas’ systems.”

“Sounds like you’re ripping it all apart by the seams.” Lone remarked simply.

“No denying it. I’m not trying to, but when you have a large host chanting ‘Long Live the Merchant King!’ from Concordia to Fawntaine... It can’t be helped. It will settle its own ways one day at a time, I’m sure.” The buck began to laugh again, reaching into a barrel and removing a single flower, taking a bite of it. “Anything else?”

“Yes,” Trixie scooted closer to both Lone and Sadiviad. “How much danger is this caravan actually in while on the move? Also, would it be possible for us to actually get a ship at Fawntaine?”

He blinked for a moment, thinking. “As far as the danger goes, it varies. At certain areas in the kingdom, we may get stormed by attackers; at others, we may find a single deer or two rushing the crowd. As for your ship, that is not my problem. I have never travelled the waters to Equestria after my first trip. The ride is too long, the crossing to rough, and I hear there’s monsters on the route there, though I saw none. Some captains may offer you space. Others might throw you in the water for not paying a price.” Suddenly, he chuckled at a thought. “Or, perhaps an old pirate will grow a heart and willingly hand you a comfy first class space in the captain’s quarters!” He gave a long, bellowing laugh.

It took a few minutes for his laughter to subside. Lone and Trixie sat there awkwardly, looking around the wagon. Finally, the laughter died away in chuckles and the buck looked back up at them. “Apologies, I was just remembering this one pirate,” He chuckled again. “Oh, nevermind me and my blathering on about times long since past. If there are no more questions, I’ll find you both a wagon to take a good rest, then you may plan out this little show. I’ll inform the families that we will hold a show around the fire come night!”

Commanding; Prophecy; 4:9- The signs of the ones that hide themselves for our sake shall become apparent to all those, both the enlightened, the chosen, and unknowing. It shall fall under the consequence of the enlightened to alert our world to their coming. With them, there shall be a great march; a crowd beyond measure. They shall sweep the land like a serpent, in many forms, and the foundation of the kingdom for the fire shall be laid on stone. Like an empire of worker ants, the cauldron of our world shall be built to contain the fire and bring salvation, brick by brick. The foundation shall take much of the time we have, and the serpent’s form shall morph and shift and adapt to its time. Soon! The Dragon Glass will be ready, across their Sea.

To: Camp Three, Commander Gaze

From: Canterlot, Courtier

In regards to your last letter, I can only hope that the readiness in which General Pitch is mobilizing is not in such a drastic way as you described. He knows of the peace commissions, I am certain. I know he can be radical at times, but even he must know that the Griffons may take it as a sign of plotting attack if this continues. Look, Commander Gaze, do what you can, and try to stall him off. I will move myself straight to the front lines if your next letter informs me of any more behavior of the sort from General Pitch. Watch carefully. In regards to the peace talks, the Great-Claw plans to be in Canterlot with his small escort within the month, to more formally talk peace. Good Luck,

Your faithful commander-in-chief, Courtier.

Curled up and dying on the floor. Bones. Smashed bones. Shattered and scattered about. Broken upon the dried ground. Innocent.

Mashed. Bone powder. Surrounded by friendly faces. Pieces. The pieces are sharp. Cut the skin. Blood drips on the desert sand. It leaks.

Oceans. Blood. Ships float in it. Drowning in blood. Sink to the bottom. Touch the ground. Flipping.

The world flips over. Upside down. Standing upside down beneath a tower.

Beneath a hill.

The tower falls. Building. Builds back up. A fort. Armies of shadows. Shuddering. And then the whole world

shuffles.

Griffons. Claws swinging. Dead. Smelling sweet blood. Paper. The blood swells it. It says peace. Burns.

Surrounded by snakes. Dead leaves. Dead leaves have become snakes. Then manticores.

Then the whole world

shuffles.

And they went round in circles for ever and ever.

“You know you’re a clever pony.”

“What do you want?”

“Nothing, nothing. Just checking in. Your dreams are all messed up.”

“It’s why I try not to sleep. Only nightmares.”

“Hey, I’m sorry, I can only imagine the annoyance, Lone.”

“Are you even really here? Or am I still dreaming?”

“Not sure myself, my job is just to keep tabs. Leave notes, remember?”

“Where’s the note then?”

“It’s waiting for you when you wake up, or open your eyes, or whatever I’m talking to.”

“Why did you drag me down into this?”

“I didn’t! They did.”

“I still don’t know who ‘they’ is!”

“It’ll make sense eventually, I’m sure. Fact is, I’m just the tour guide.”

“Well, can you atleast tell me what I’m supposed to do?”

“Just dance on their strings for a while; make the choices that are not made by everyone; and make sure that you trust absolutely no one.”

“Why did you say I was clever before?”

“That whole thing you pulled on Sadiviad. Putting on a show. Very good. Well, I’m needed long ago. See you in time, Lone.”

“Kill yourself, Cryptic.”

“Tried that!”

        Lone slowly blinked his eyes open and looked directly in front of him. It was a single slip of parchment. The word was written in a hoof writing that was far too familiar to him. On it was just a single phrase.

The Sea ↺

He lifted the note up with his hoof and crumpled it up. He turned himself over on his side and saw Trixie. She stared distantly into the stars on her cape. Lone stood up and went over to her. “You alright?”

        She didn’t turn her attention to him. She nodded abjectly. “I haven’t put on a show in a good long time.” She said it so simply and without emotion that Lone put a hoof on her shoulder, possibly for comfort. “Do you remember what you have to do?”

        Lone nodded. “Yeah, make the smoke on cue.”

        She nodded again and then smirked at nothing. “Let’s go give them a good show.”

        Commander Gaze sat at his desk, his eyes set intently on the book in front of him. it was his third time reading this section. The section called Commanding, written by Starswirl the bearded, as only a minor piece to the grander prophecy called Dragon Glass. His hooves gently moved the pages each time they were turned, as to make sure there were no unnecessary tears. He carefully closed the book and looked out of his window. Dusk was slowly giving way to the dark. He was only waiting on the next letter from Courtier. In the recent months, General Pitch had only grown worse in his radicalism. He armed an entire squad and was planning to send them to raid nearby outposts belonging to the Griffons. Gaze, with specific jurisdiction from Courtier, and a large amount of extra paperwork that Blue Sun was willing to take care of, was able to disarm the group before the raid had commenced, but that only served to anger Pitch more.

        After that incident, Gaze had attempted to speak with him. When Gaze entered Pitch’s quarters, he was greeted with shouting. “What do you think you are doing, Commander Star Gazer?!” He demanded.

        “I am doing what is good for my soldiers, my corps! This camp was under my command before you decided we were actually worth more than the dirt we trot on!” Gaze retorted, taking more aggravating steps towards the general.

        “And, now, the majority of the soldiers in this camp belong to me, not you! You had no right!”

        “But Courtier does! What I did was for the good of Equestria. No one wants this war. The changelings was one thing, they attacked first and we had a chance. The Griffons could have slaughtered us all by now!” Gaze stood on his hind legs and slammed his hooves on the table.

        “Are you questioning me on how I fight my wars, Star Gazer?” Pitch kept his voice calm now, not letting his inner rage be seen.

        “I never said that, General. I am just saying that angering the Griffons is not a very wise move.” Gaze started rubbing his hoof across the map that was on the table, tracing the outline of a little blue river. “For the good of Equestria-”

        Pitch leaned forward to him. “For the good of Equestria, those Griffons must be destroyed! Anything that threatens the sanctity of our noble Equestria needs to be cleansed, and wiped from the world. Celestia and Courtier would not let me do so with the Changelings.” He gave a soft chuckle, leaning back into his chair. He was losing himself to old times. “I was so close, though. After the Changeling army was destroyed, I moved on to their people. I took control of their kingdom with an iron hoof, I admit some of my policies were close to being far too extreme, but I feel I was as merciful as was needed. The Changeling king at the time died in battle, you know? He was insane; declared war because he wasn’t invited to a council meeting or some such. I put his son, the next king, to death after the war, because he continued to fight it...”

        Gaze simply stood, listening; his eyes focused on his commanding officer. In this position, with Pitch talking like he was, the general seemed so much older, far beyond his years. The gray in his mane was so much more visible in this very moment, and would never be again.

        “...Then, I wrecked their economy; their way of life; and watched them starve and die beneath my hoof. Celestia, in all her righteous wisdom, felt I was... too harsh on them. She dismissed me from her council, replaced me with Courtier. And that pansy didn’t even have the guts to listen to his Princess’ ruling. He pardoned me! Left some little Changeling filly in charge of the kingdom. Chrysalis was her name, I think.” He chuckled and reached under his table, removing a small bottle of cider. He took a single sip from it. “Would have been kinder to let me destroy them, but they left a child to fix what I destroyed... I won’t make the same mistake again. The Griffons will be a myth when I’m done. They’ll write about me. ‘General Low Pitch, the stallion that made the Griffons go extinct!’ That’s what they’ll say, you know?”

        Gaze shook his head. “Sir, there is no need to even attempt such an extreme measure,” Gaze tried to convince him. “We can just settle this peace. No more ponies will have to die without reason.”

        “But there is a reason! The reason is pride! Pride in our great kingdom of Equestria. Why shouldn’t we prove that we are all powerful and don’t take crap from any creatures?” Gaze left at that. He had no more words, and simply told Pitch goodbye and left the map room. He returned to his library, where he was now.

        He looked to his side and saw the book he had started not long ago, The Lunar Era. He decided to pick up with the adventures of Little Mummers and see what exactly the Lunar Era was all about. He made it about six pages in, while Mummers was exploring the remains of Canterlot, when Blue Sun trotted in. Gaze put the book down and smiled.

        “Sun, glad you could arrive. Sit.” Gaze pointed to the chair in front of his desk.

        Blue Sun took a seat, smiling. “What was it you wished to speak about, Sir?”

        “Why do I have to keep reminding you about saying ‘Sir’? Just sit. I wanted to talk with my friend.” Gaze pulled out two mugs of cider he had kept under his desk and gave one to his companion.

        Sun took a sip and gave a soft grin to his commander. “I know what this is about. You still want me to answer your question.”

        “Yes, glad you’re finally catching on!”

        “Fine, I’ll tell you. I left a special somepony back in Equestria.” Blue Sun reluctantly admitted, taking another sip of the sweet cider.

        Gaze smiled at the openness of his friend, and leaned towards him slightly.“Tell me more about her.”

        “No thanks. I’d rather not, sir.” Sun said simply, curtly.

        Gaze raised two hooves into the air and back away. “Alright, I suppose that much is your business. I’m just glad to know you’re fighting for something, and not just fighting.”

        They sat in silence for a while, drinking their cider. Blue Sun leaned in and opened his mouth, prepared to say something without need of Gaze’s inquiry. Then, the loud shouts and cheers bellowed from outside, echoing around the room. They both sprang to their hooves and charged out the door.

        “Now watch carefully!” Trixie shouted to the crowd of hushed younglings. She removed the large hat she had found for this event and reached into it, then flipped it upside down and shook it. She made the point very clear that it was empty. Then, she turned it away from them and stuck her hoof in. When she pulled it out, a rabbit was on the other end and all the children gasped. She threw the bunny into the crowd and they all cheered and giggled, grabbing at the fluffy, little creature.

        “Pay close attention, as the Great and Powerful Trixie makes herself disappear!” They all let out another gasp and she went back stage. She wheeled out a large wooden box, probably once a coffin. It had been lazily painted over purple with her trademark stars randomly scattered. She slid the box open and casually stepped in, standing on her hind legs and laying straight in it. She gave a slight smirk and let the door close. Suddenly, there was a puff of smoke. The smoke hung there for a moment, moving slowly over the crowd, right above their heads.

        The door opened again. However, Trixie was gone; replaced by her partner, The Silent Hood. Lone had simply just painted the space around his eyes with a few berries they had found in the large food supply and pulled his hood as far over his face as possible to achieve this guise. He lept out of the coffin and held his cloak open like a pair of wings, shouting at the younglings. “Boo!” They all shouted in terror, then giggled when they realized what had just occurred.

        Trixie trotted out from behind them, casually biting from an apple. All the children turned to her, completely astounded. “Whoa,” most of them said.

        Trixie simply smiled softly and trotted passed them, giving a few high hoofs and patting a few heads along the way. “Alright, little ones, that is all we have for just tonight. But be back tomorrow, and prepare for more amazing, awe-inspiring tricks from the Great and Powerful Trixie!” She spun around with her cape and flourished back onto the stage beside her partner. They both bowed and slowly moved behind the makeshift curtain as all the younglings began to clap for them.

        Once they heard the sound of the young ones getting up and leaving, they started deconstructing the hastily put together stage. Lone started by dumping his head in a small bucket of water they had prepared to get the berry paint off. He shook the water off and looked to Trixie. She was humming happily to herself, disassembling the stage, practically dancing from one piece to the next. “Why so happy?” He asked.

        “Because, this is what I do! Put on a good show. This is what I’m meant to do... not save the world or travel across barren deserts and horrible forests. Putting on a good magic show! If only I had a few fireworks...” She pulled the curtain down and saw Sadiviad approaching them.

        “A wonderful show,” He said, smiling. “If it were not for the well made proposition that I not pay to see it, I would pay to see it again! The younglings were quite happy, I saw. It brings me many smiles.” Sadiviad moved to them, making a seat out of a nearby barrel. With his massive size, it was only shocking to them that he did not make the barrel shatter beneath him. “And I won’t even make you reimbursement me for the apple.”

        “I’m glad we could please you, Sadiviad.” Lone said, bowing his head slightly in respect. He continued to help Trixie disassemble the stage, but kept his eyes on the buck.

        “You know, I am very interested in seeing what you plan for tomorrow’s nightfall.” He said simply, watching them intently.

        “How long is the journey to Fawntaine?” Trixie asked. She went to place the hat she was using back where she had found it. It was a good hat; pointy like the one she used to wear during her shows.

        “Depends- you can keep the hat by the way. It depends on a few factors. Whether or not there is a danger lurking ahead, or if the climate takes a sudden turn for the worst. Plus, it would depend on how long it takes us to settle the deliveries in Equadoe. All-in-all,” He looked to the sky for a moment. He blinked a few times, pondering the distances. He had travelled on this path many times, expected how long it would take to settle business, and knew of what sort of dangers might lay ahead, already. “The Merchant King can promise you arrival in the borders of Fawntaine in the earliest of two weeks; latest being a month and a half, but I do not believe that will be occurring.”

        Lone looked at the buck when he saw that the work was just about finished. “May I have a word in private? There is something I wished to ask.” He looked to Trixie and she simply nodded. He didn’t want to do anything without her approval as well.

        Sadiviad stepped down from the barrel and regained his stature, standing so far above the stallion. “You may, and I think I have a few inquiries of my own, for the sake of courtesy to my kingdom.” He started to trot away and Lone quickly followed.

        Sadiviad and Lone walked around the camp, inspecting every inch of the camp. They watched the happy children around the fires and the bucks attempting to repair the wheels on the wagons. After a few minutes, They were making their way down the dirt road, away from the camp. The buck looked down at Lone and said sharply, “Well, what is your question?”

        “Oh, well... You mentioned pirates earlier. That stuck with me... could you explain about that?” Lone looked at him, honestly curious and innocent.

        Sadiviad took on a serious countenance and rubbed the scar on his nose. “I suppose so. Maybe they aren’t common in Equestria, but pirates are common all over this continent. Now, Equestria is generally good with defending themselves, I won’t deny, so I wouldn’t be surprised if pirating isn’t that big an issue north across the sea. However, anywhere else they are a very big issue. Even your Princesses must know of the problems involving them, I am sure. However, they are no longer as they appear in the stories, all swashbuckling and greedy. Many are just ponies, deer, boar, or some such that just wanted to make a living on a ship, but got turned down. They steal from others, but they trade it off at ports, like Fawntaine. I owe a great much of my success to a pirate, in fact.”

        Lone listened in silence. He waited to hear more. When nothing came from the buck, who seemed to be lost in his own recollection, Lone made the first move. “Could you tell me about this pirate?”

        “Oh, of course. On the chance, if it presents itself, I will introduce you to the crew. He was a smuggler, for a time. Then, a robber. After that he wore the guise of a merchant. Now, he’s all three. A dangerous one, if you were to cross him. He doesn’t seem to care about money. He gives it all to his crew, or those who need to be paid, and keeps almost none for himself. Passionate, not greedy. Those kinds are the ones whom you’d best make sure to keep on the good side of. He seemed to have this hatred for government. Found out about all the ruling councils and such; proceeded to start discounting his prices for those who disagreed with them. Now, by this time, I was starting to gain a very good reputation in Concordia for my bargaining skills. I heard about him, and went on my way to Fawntaine.

        “I’ve only met him once face-to-face. He frightened me, no doubt. Jagged scars running down his face. A crimson bandana wrapped around his head. An eye patch hung lazily over his right eye; I could see the meat through where the eye should have been because it was too far over, disgusting.” Sadiviad trailed off for a moment, lost in his memories. “...Right, anyway. He sat me down with him and told me frankly that he wanted a business deal with me. He would supply me with the goods, supplies, and anything I asked, if I could prove it was of use; the flip side was that he ordered me to behave like a merchant, not a citizen.” A soft chuckle. “I didn’t fully understand that, but when he got word that he I was working to the council’s benefit...” He rubbed the scar on his nose.

        “Sounds like an insane man... yet you trust him?”

        “Of course. He made me what I am now. He continues to fund me. it takes me a few months, but I journey across Cervidas; then, rendezvous with him at the dock, meet his crew, and get what I need. A few times he ordered me to do my work outside of this kingdom, took me across the sea to Equestria once as well. I never wished to go back, of course, but I gained a few followers in the time I was there. Most of the foreigners I leave in Fawntaine, as it would be unwise to bring them with my caravan. We are already hunted as it is, and we are citizens. Let alone if we were harboring traders from other nations... But my entire kingdom joins their Merchant King upon my arrival, as you shall see when we arrive. We are a grand kingdom, able to fight a war if needed.” Sadiviad took a quiet breath and sat on his haunches, watching the stars sparkle above. “Now, my question. Why were you really lost in the middle of this kingdom?”

        Lone gulped. “We told you.” The stallion backed away a few steps.

        “If you wish to remain in my kingdom, you will tell the buck that has so graciously allowed you to stay why you were really looking for rescue.” The buck approached him menacingly and backed Lone up against a tree. “Tell me, or you and your mare will be punished to the fullest extent of my power for lying to a king.”

        Yet there was once peace where there is now blood.

        “What are you doing?!” Gaze demanded, marching angrily to General Pitch. Pitch turned to him with a slight glance, then returned his attention the soldiers. The unicorns had opened a hole in the shield. The earth ponies were lining themselves up, all carrying bows and a quiver full of arrows. The pegasi, all equipped with the same weapons, were taking positions in the sky. A few earth pony and pegasi were going around with torches, lighting the arrows on fire.

        Pitch kept his eyes on them. “I used to be a singer. I got a cutie mark in it. Then, I discovered that the best song is the song of battle! I am doing something about this war, Commander Star Gazer! Everypony prepared?” There was a resounding cheer.

        “No! You’re going to burn down the entire forest just to what?! Scare the Griffons out of hiding?” Gaze became dangerously close to Pitch and a few unicorns grabbed him, keeping him at a safe distance. “You’ve lost it, Pitch! i knew you were on the hinges since you came here, but this is over the edge! Think about what you are doing. If you anger them, they will slaughter us! Let alone we lost some of our best during the Manticore incident, but now you want the rest of us to go down because you are desperate to kill?! Because you want to satisfy your Celestia-forsaken bloodlust?!”

        “I do what I do for the good of Equestria. This will smoke and burn them out. I know they set up villages right where I am aiming these arrows. Besides, these are my soldiers, not yours... Archers! Draw!” The sound of a couple hundred bowstrings being notched back made Gaze and Sun wince. “Fire!”

        Shafts of fire flew through the night sky, lighting up the entire area. The arrows seemed to hang in the air, twinkling with the stars. They lit up the forest as they landed, scattered amongst the trees all across it. Suddenly, fires began to burn bright all across the forest. It spread amongst the trees, turning the wonderful, green leaves and tall trees into a slowly growing inferno. The orange and the red and the yellow flickered and bounced off one another as the fire spread. The whole army sat there in silence as the fire lit up the entire camp for them. A great cheer went up throughout the crowd.

        “No!” Gaze attempted to yell over it, but it was lost amongst the chorus of cheers. He threw the two unicorns aside and jumped at Pitch. He charged by a familiar soldier. Gaze was on the floor in an instant; dirt filling his mouth while the strong stallion named Glitter held him down.

        He spit the dirt at Pitch and yelled again. “You’re making a grave mistake, all of you! STOP!”

        Everything went silent. The sound of the fire crackling and the trees falling was all there was. Star Gazer looked towards the fire, swearing that he saw a shadow running out of the forest between the trees. The silence was deafening.

        Then, it was shattered. The sound of a thousand Griffons screeching echoed across the forest. Gaze could have sworn that the sound had cut through the air and was the cause of the gash on his forehead.

        Lone slowly slumped into the wagon late into the night. Trixie was sitting against the wall, gazing at the door with all her focus. She watched him enter and quickly jolted upright to her hooves. “Lone, I was worried... are you alright?”

        “Yes, Yes... I’m fine.” He sighed and sat down beside her, removing his cloak and throwing it over himself. She took her seat again. “He knew we were lying.”

        “Yuh-you told him the truth?” She moved over him slightly.

        “No, I didn’t tell him the truth. But he accepted the story that I did tell. I told him, simply, we were travelling in the desert, found a lake, drank from it, woke up here. He went on about some place to the West, I think, that was one huge desert, so I played along with that. He also seems convinced we are married.” Trixie blushed slightly at that, but Lone couldn’t see. Lone’s tone took on a much more serious note as he curled up more tightly in his blanket. “I removed that thought quick. I didn’t mention the tower, or Ponyville, or Trottingham. We’re safe for now.”

        She simply nodded and laid down beside him again. She wrapped herself up in her own blanket. Her mind was still lost on what they would do for all these performances to fill out the next two weeks or so. The ‘bunny from a hat’ trick was a classic that always got the ponies of Equestria. She would just have to add some flare to it during the show. As she laid there, staring up at nothing in particular while Lone snored, she realized that Sadiviad was more of a stag than a buck, really. Might even be bigger than a stag would be. She didn’t bother her mind with it and turned away from her companion.

        “Good night, Lone.”

To: Camp Three, Commander Gaze

From: Canterlot, Courtier

I can only grant to you my apologies in this matter, Star Gazer. I know about the events that transpired in the forest. The Great-Claw continues to make great pains to remind me of it. Through some negotiating, I’ve managed to stave them off for as long as within my power, but you know the report. Three children, four newborns, and six grown Griffons were killed when the fire spread to their village. I’m afraid they demand blood. I suggest using the time you might have to get away from the camp, because there willbe an attack. Bring as many with you as are willing to go, but from your words, they all want to fight. It’s only a shame that I knew this would be a tragic end. I’m sorry,

Your faithful commander-in-chief, Courtier.

Across the forest. Only death surrounding. Run. Run away. Faster.

        Escape. Break free from the game. Stopped by statues. Crows. Circling the forest. Swoop in. Peck at the dead.

        Free. Break free. Free. Break free.

        Perhaps, in a grander sense, he was the true Merchant King.

        Gaze finished with his letter and set his quill aside. He stood and solemnly walked to the pegasus that was waiting for him in the doorway. He folded it carefully. “No envelope, all out, sadly. Just give it to Courtier directly, from Commander Gaze. Sorry to hold you up for so long, Private Doo.” He handed the letter to him and saluted. The courier saluted back and left the room.

        Gaze returned to his desk. He had read Courtier’s letter the night before, but he knew that the Griffon attack was going to be coming soon. Heck, it would probably be coming on the morrow. Perhaps it would begin even sooner. The dawn was slowly coming, the night fading. He picked up his saddlebags and prepared for his departure. He’d be seen a coward, a traitor, but at least he would be alive. He sat there for a while, contemplating what was important enough to be brought. He found himself packing his bags with books. He was bringing with him Dragon Glass, Starswirl in Canterbury, and The Lunar Era.

        He knew that he would never be returning to these quarters, this far north, ever again. Yet why, of all the things, would he bring books? He just let them be and dressed himself. The black coat and the hat. He looked in a mirror and started fiddling with the medal in the front of the hat, yet again. It was never on straight. He took a brief look at the bandage over his forehead and sighed.

        He started a fire in the fireplace, stacking the wooden bookshelves, and all the books that lay scattered, in front of it. He left the room and locked the door behind him. He decided to make his way over to the map room, to settle one final piece of business. Because of Pitch’s Fire, innocent Griffons were killed. Now, they would finally get to have the war that both sides had been waiting for. Gaze was about to sign over command, in full, to General Pitch. Pitch’s Last Stand would be the camp now. And Gaze could honestly care less whose camp it was, as long as the blood was not on his hooves.

        He entered the map room. Pitch sat in his chair, a smoking pipe in one hoof and a dagger in the other. He turned the dagger slowly in the air, letting it glimmer from the candle light. He continued to inspect it, seeming not to take note of Gaze’s appearance.

        A shriek sounded off. The Griffons, since the fire the week before, continued to consistently sound off a powerful, echoing shriek every hour or so. Each time it sounded off, it was so much closer. That one sounded like it was only a few miles away.

        “Prepare for an attack on both flanks.” General Pitch continued to turn the knife over in his hoof. “Sit down, Commander Gaze.”

        Gaze took a seat. “No longer Commander. I am restoring full control of this army to you, with no more orders from me. I’m getting the hell out of here, with my second, as fast as possible.”

        “That’s desertion. After we win, I could have you put on trial to death for that, Star Gazer.” Pitch looked up from his dagger. His menacing stare seemed to stab into Gaze’s skull.

        “It’s not when it is approved by the commander-in-chief.”

        “Courtier is a pansy! He does not deserve a title such as that, especially if he feels the need to approve of desertion!” Pitch slammed the dagger into the table, into the top corner of the map that said ‘The Griffon Kingdoms.’ He leaned forward. “If he were a real leader, he would be right here. He would be fighting the Griffons with us!”

        “The majority of these soldiers have never even seen a Griffon! Let alone fought one. And you expect to win the battle? It will be a slaughter!” Gaze slammed a hoof on the table, standing up. He kicked the seat over, sending it flying back into the wall.

        “Please, keep a calm mood in my quarters. So what if they die? If we all die? We will be martyrs, inspire more to fight and exterminate the Griffons. We will make Equestrians realize their power!”

        Another shriek, but this was of a crowd. It sounded too close. Suddenly, the sound of hundreds of hooves galloping out down the hill could be heard. General Pitch grinned and stood up, struggling to remove the dagger from the table. “It would appear that our enemy is here. You aren’t going anywhere, Commander Gaze. They’ll slaughter you if you do. We may speak after we fight them off.”

        “You’re a madpony!”

        “And you don’t see reality. Now, you and your Blue Sun play the role of martyrs, like the rest of us.”

        In a blink, Gaze was on the table. In another, he was tackling the general to the floor.

        The visit through Equadoe was a quick one. The climate, as had been the hope from Lone, Trixie, and Sadiviad, proved to be perfect for them. The wares and goods were sold in only the first day. Equadoe proved to be a decently small place. Mostly it was made of large wooden houses. The entire populous of the town were basically all deer, with a few other species roaming about here and there. Lone and Trixie received a few wry looks from the citizens every once and awhile, but overall the trip through the town had no moments of worthy note. All except one.

        Lone and Trixie were being given a tour of the main square by Sadiviad himself. There, in the very center of the square, was a statue made of pure gold. It was a stag, with long antlers that stretched up a good four or five feet high, spanning about ten feet from one tip of the antler to the other. It stood on its pedestal, proud and grand. “Who is that?” Lone asked.

        “That is the God King.” Sadiviad said, bowing his head slightly to the statue. “Show respect.”

        They both bowed instinctively at his words. “What did the God King do?” Trixie asked this time.

        “He ruled over Cervidas for nearly as long as time itself. He made magic as powerful as it is today. Then, he went mad.” Sadiviad put it simply, prayerfully.

        “What do you mean mad?”

        “He had horrible nightmares and visions. Such things that you would never wish upon your worst enemies. He finally lost his mind. His son killed him. Then, his son inherited the visions. When the son went mad, He cast himself into a great, magical fire and turned to obsidian.”

Commanding; Prophecy; 6:5- When those of value are chosen to bring about the greatest days, the days of cleansing and purity, those who stand amongst the ranks of the mad will be there, to help and to hinder their path on the road.

        He struck him, with as much power as he could muster. His cap fell off when he dropped down onto the general with all the force. Gaze recoiled back, prepared to lay down another strike.

        Pitch jerked himself up and slammed his hoof into Gaze’s mouth. He fell back onto the table and Pitch quickly moved over him. The general struck quickly, one swift hit after another. Gaze brought his hooves up in an attempt at defense, but Pitch simply worked his hooves around that defense. Gaze forced himself up enough to gain leverage and wrapped his hooves around Pitch’s lower body. He flipped back, throwing Pitch painfully off of him. Pitch landed with a crack directly behind Gaze on the table. The table could not support that sudden crashing and shattered beneath them, sending splinters flying. Gaze quickly rolled over and picked up one of the legs of the table that had broken off.

        Pitch turned to him and ran with the dagger in his hoof. Gaze swung with all his might and the table leg shattered upon impact with Pitch’s face. The general fell over bodily, gasping between breaths. Star Gazer went over him and went to strike him again. Pitch grabbed onto the traitor’s leg and pulled, making him crash down onto his side.

        He rolled quick and started laying into him with punches in his face and stomach. Gaze attempted to raise up his weak defense again. Pitch was simply the better fighter. Blood dripped down onto Gaze from the wounds Pitch had received during the fight. There were obvious splinters digging into his skin, but he kept punching. Gaze reached up and grabbed onto the short tuft of Pitch’s mane, pulling him down and knocking him back with a quick punch.

        Pitch stumbled backward and Gaze rolled forward, charging as fast as he could. He slammed Pitch into the rack on the wall, where all the maps were. All the maps started falling as Gaze continued to slam his shoulder into Pitch’s stomach. Pitch started punching Gaze’s back, but his punches lost strength with each ram into his chest. He let out a pained gasp and slid down onto the floor. Gaze backed off slightly, looking around. He saw the dagger. He moved quickly and grabbed it. He went back to the general. The general had grabbed Gaze’s cap and was fiddling with the medal. Gaze moved to strike him with the dagger, but suddenly groaned and recoiled slightly.

        Pitch had stabbed him with the sharp back of the medal, in the leg. The pin on the back was not long enough to kill, but it was long enough to cause pain and draw blood. It was also enough to catch Gaze unawares and give Pitch the chance to strike. He jumped up, tackling Gaze to the floor. Gaze tried to keep a grip on the dagger, but now it was out of reach. Pitch was not going to go for the dagger, that would give Gaze an opening. General Low Pitch stabbed him with the medal’s pin again, this time in the chest. Gaze gave another slight groan of pain.

        “I’m gonna put an end to your stargazing, Star Gazer.” He chuckled and held Gaze head steady, setting his hind legs onto Gaze’s front hooves. Gaze squirmed and tried to move.

        Pitch brought the pin down roughly and twisted it left. He scooped it up, ignoring the howls of pain that Gaze was giving off, and smiled softly at the sight of Star Gazer’s eye mounted on the back of his Commander’s medal.

        “We need help!” They yelled at him.

        “The shields aren’t gonna mold much longer at this rate!” The unicorns shouted.

        “I know!” Blue Sun tried to yell back, but they wouldn’t listen. “Aurora Flare, hold that shield for as long as you can. Glitter, are the pegasi ready?”

        “From as far as I can tell, they are all set. What do you want them to do, Sun?” The massive stallion stood a head above Blue Sun. It felt awkward to Blue Sun to be the one giving the orders to ponies so much grander than he.

        “Tell their leader to split the brigades up. One side picks up spears; the other side bows. Then... I guess go raid the armory with your soldiers for all the weapons that are left. Be ready for a frontal assault.” Blue Sun gulped and quickly moved away. He wasn’t trained for this. He wasn’t made for this kind of thing. He was a soldier, not a leader. General Pitch was nowhere in sight, and he could only assume that Commander Gaze had cleared out when the Griffons could be heard. Gaze must have left without him, not that Blue Sun blamed that choice.

        He quickly shook his head. He moved back to the unicorns. Where there was only a small squad, now there was the entire brigade of them. Many were still half-asleep. All their horns were glowing and they were trying to keep the shields up for as long as possible. The Griffons, however, easily outnumbered the entire forces of Last Stand. They continued to attack the shield, and soon it would shatter.

        He started to lay down spears and swords and wooden shields around the unicorns for them to pick up when the shields fell, because they knew that it would. He watched as the ponies moved towards the front of the base where the main attack would begin. Many had dressed themselves, many unsuccessfully due to haste, in the armor of Canterlot Guards, but were now tripping over themselves on their way down the hill. They started to line themselves up along the middle of the hill, the pegasi with spears hovering just above them.

        Blue Sun moved in front of the lines and shouted up to the pegasi captain. “Prepare to fire arrows!” He heard the too familiar sound of bow strings. The sound that got them into this mess in the first place. He looked to the shimmering shield. It was starting to visibly crack. “Hold that shield! As long as possible!”

        Somepony came up to him and handed him General Pitch’s helmet from the armory and sword. “I suppose you’re general now,” He said simply.

        Blue Sun slipped the helmet on. It only barely fit him. He lifted the sword into his hoof and forced himself to get used to gripping it. He took a deep breath and turned to the line of soldiers. “We have been waiting for this moment for more than a year, and I suppose it’s finally come,” He took another breath. “I don’t know many of you, and none of you know me. Either way, it will have been an honor to have served alongside all of you, no matter what happens today”

The sound of the shields slowly cracking and shattering could be heard in the distance. The shattering, and then the sound of Griffons screeching, then charging the shields again. “I will lead the charge! Let us show them why they can not be allowed to simply attack Equestria without payback!” He knew that his words were wrong, were incorrect. However, his words made the soldiers cheer. “Prepare to fire arrows the second you see any Griffons breach that shield, archers.”

As if on cue, The sound of the shields finally giving in could be heard. It shattered and the dome surrounding the camp disappeared. The arrows went flying at the Griffons as they began to swoop in, towards the pegasi and the soldiers on the hill.

Blue Sun shouted, with all the force he could make his lungs give him. “CHARGE!” He galloped forward, far ahead of the rest of his soldiers. He held his sword close as he galloped, shouting the whole way down towards the Griffons. He heard his soldiers cheer when he gave the order, but he hoped and prayed he was not charging down the hill alone to fight the entire Griffon horde.

        Pitch fell back slightly, howling mad with laughter. Gaze’s own howls had subsided into an emotion of sudden rage and strength. He moved upwards with all the might he could bring into himself and grabbed the dagger. He turned in a circle, bringing the blade painfully into Pitch’s side. Pitch gave off a shriek of pain. Gaze quickly jerked upwards and thrust the dagger toward him yet again. This one cut into his neck. The blood started spraying; Pitch was dead in almost an instant. His body fell over, and, in his last dying movement, he grasped at his throat and watched his killer. Gaze jumped on him and continued to slash and stab him, over and over. Pitch was dead after the first two, but Gaze kept going, unwilling to make himself stop. He kept stabbing the corpse, watching the blood spray and the skin rip. It made him feel powerful; he didn’t know why.

        Finally, he made himself stop and stared down at the mangled corpse. He blinked, then winced, suddenly reminded of the gouging pain he was in. He didn’t know what to do. He ran and grabbed a set of bandages from Pitch’s small stash of medical supplies. He wrapped them around his head, diagonally, around the missing right eye. He struggled with it. First, trying to get around the pain; then the problem of getting it on straight and tight; finally, the issue of actually getting them to stay. He felt the bandages become drenched wet. The bleeding was not stopping, but there was little he could do about it here.

        He lifted his saddlebags, which had fallen off during the struggle, and moved to the door. He stopped. He looked at his medal on the floor. His eye was staring back at him in such great apathy. He simply looked at it for a few moments. It was a sight he would never forget, staring at one’s own eye. He rushed out from that horrible world...

        ...And into a world of brutality and death. He saw the shields were broken, and watched the soldiers as they fought the Griffons. He moved down the hill quickly. He went to the corpse of one of his soldiers and picked up a spear, moving quick.

        The soldiers had been forced down the hill, basically out of the camp and into the remains of the forest. Now, they were on lower, unfamiliar ground. They continued the struggle, one brute charge and stab after another, but the Griffons were too agile and too strong to be caught by it. They dodged the spears and swords, then came back around and gave another mighty slash with their claws, sending out blood and severing flesh. Still, the ponies continued, desperately trying to force the movement from defense to offense.

        Star Gazer did not need training or a lot of time to see it, this was lost.They would lose the battle, and undoubtedly every soldier here as well. Still, he found himself charging into the Griffon lines and swinging his spear wildly at them. One charged him. He ducked and saved his neck, swinging up to stab it in the wing, sending it barreling down into the dirt. He saw another raise its claw to strike a turned away comrade; threw the spear and it went through the Griffon’s heart.

        He ignored all the pain, despite the screaming agony. He focused on simply forming with his troops and doing what was needed to save those he could. He ran to the soldier in the helmet, assumed correctly and found Blue Sun. Blue Sun tried to raise his happiness at the sight of him, but Gaze told him to “Shut it, General Sun!” and they simply formed together, back to back, and fought off the enemy wave that would not end.

        Upon reaching Fawntaine, Lone and Trixie had found themselves pleasantly shocked, especially in comparison to the city of Equadoe. They had never seen a port city. The whole city of a clever combination of both wood and bricks, cut and built up into various patterns that attracted the eye. The buildings were higher too. The smallest building that they had seen was about ten floors, and they only got bigger as it went on. It lacked the extravagance that Canterlot or Manehattan had, but it was still an impressive sight. The air smelled of smoke, and the streets were completely empty.

        Then, they got to the dock. The docks were made out of hard, strong wood that was probably standing for years. It extended for some two or three miles along the shore line. Massive wooden ships sat beside the docks. They could hear the sound of the wood creaking from the ships as they all rocked back and forth in the rolling waves. Many had names painted massively onto the side of the ships. Some were extravagant names like the Oblivion, Absolution, Eternity’s Radiance, andFedavis. Others had simpler names like Ol’ Worldly and Celestia’s Light. The sight was impressive. Lone seemed drawn to the ships, continuing to drift towards them while they walked forward, down the port. They found that the streets of Fawntaine were deserted because all the citizens were here, for trading hour. “These ships are only freshly in, so all the goods are up for grabs,” Sadiviad explained. Traders came off their ships clutching massive crates. The merchants, many of whom had set up stands and were selling off those newly acquired goods, went to meet them on the way off the ship and started negotiating prices. One got in the way of the sailor and quickly found himself cast into the sea.

        As they moved into the port, however, Lone and Trixie saw Sadiviad’s words take form. As his caravan passed, every merchant and sailor that knew him would bow or send up a cheer for him and his kingdom. All of different species, but they all came together in admiration of him. He simply smiled.

        As the caravan approached an inn, Sadiviad turned to Trixie and Lone. “Well, this is it. I will pay to have you stay here, out of generosity, but upon my departure from Fawntaine in about a week, you will be forced out. I would suggest finding a ship to take you both home. Tell the clerk inside that ‘Sadiviad pays with his glass, not his gold’ and you will be covered.” He said nothing more to them, simply turning and rushing off down the port with his caravan.

        Lone and Trixie looked up and down the streets, at the reindeers, ponies, elks, moose, buffalo, boars, cows, and so many more, moving between building; a large group joining with the buck’s caravan. They entered the inn and went to the camel who was running the front desk. The camel was leaning over a small bag on the table, counting the gold inside. He looked up angrily towards the oncoming ponies. “What would you like?” He spit.

        “Um.. Sadiviad pays with his glass, not his gold...” Lone watched the camel carefully.

        The camel recoiled, with fear and disgust. He stared at them with anger for a moment; sighed. “Yeah, of course,” he grabbed a key behind him and threw it to them. “Take the Dasi-damned thing.”

        The stallion caught the key and they quickly moved upstairs. He looked at the number carved into the iron key, 234. They went up to room 234. Upon opening the door, their eyes went wide. Trixie quickly jumped onto the item of their shock. “Oh, thank Celestia! A real bed! A warm, soft bed! Yes!”

        Lone laid down beside her. He hugged the pillow behind him and just smiled. This was just perfect, this whole place. “We still have to worry about getting a boat, Trixie.”

        “Tomorrow. Right now, this is probably one of the best situations we are going to be in. So, let’s just enjoy it while we can, ok?” So they stayed that way. They fell asleep on that bed together; hugging one another while they slept. They fell asleep happier than they had been in such a long time.

        “Sadiviad!” The light brown pegasus shouted from across the port. Sadiviad stopped in his tracks and turned to face him. His caravan stopped as well to watch. The pony approached, a deer to his left, a buffalo on his right, and a donkey behind them, whom carried about six small boxes on his back, no doubt filled with their trading goods. The pegasus wore a black coat, a bandana around hi main, and a metal band around both of his right hooves. The deer wore a gray coat with extravagant necklaces hanging around his neck. The buffalo only had a bag, which he wrapped around his neck. The donkey was too burdened by the boxes and his attire could not be seen.

        “Ah! Cloud Racer, Hivust, Bitter Roots, and Mattie! How pleased I am to make your acquaintance yet again,” Sadiviad approached them, grinning. “How has the trading been?”

        “Good,” Cloud Racer answered. The pegasus pointed to Mattie. “He’s been pulling his own weight, and some of ours too!” They all laughed, except Mattie. “How’s the trading with you been?”

        “Excellent, as it happens! My kingdom grows ever more, and my reputation with it.”

        “So we’ve heard. The Council raised the bounty on your head. Still can’t get over that they even made a bounty!” Hivust said raising a disapproving hoof into the air.

        “The world is growing steadily more insane. Steadily more broken. I have found this through all our travels,” Bitter Roots said to no one in particular.

        “Well, onto business, aye?” Cloud Racer announced to Sadiviad. The thought crossed through the pegasus’ mind of the fact he was giving orders to a deer that was twice as tall as he was. “The captain wants to see you.”

        “The Orion’s Belt and Pirate’s Progress are docked? I did not see them in port...” Sadiviad looked around, nervous.

        “Aye, they a’ not docked, but he sent a messenger pegasus ‘head of him. He be docking on the morrow, or next day ‘fter that,” It was Mattie who spoke up.

        Cloud Racer looked back at him for a second; then, back to Sadiviad. “That’s the right of it. This meeting be special: Cap wants to see you directly, face-to-face.”

        Sadiviad gulped. “Face... to... Face?”

        “Yep, that’s what his letter said, dear friend. which means he either wants to congratulate you or punish you, you know?” Hivust said, chuckling. Sadiviad rubbed the scar across his nose. “Aye, Sadi, there be no reason to fear, you done good for us.”

        “Aye, as long as you don’t forget who the real ‘Merchant King’ is, ye won’t have to worry about no issues with him.” Bitter Roots said calmly, removing a hoof full of grass from his bag, throwing it in his mouth.

        Sadiviad nodded, still nervous. He still felt the cold steel along his nose the last time he was suppose to meet the captain in the flesh, and he never even saw the captain’s face; only heard that unforgettable voice. “Yes, yes... I look forward to seeing the captain again. It has been so long since I have seen him that I scarce remember his face. I will prepare.”

Grieving; Travellers; 3:6- ‘Where is the ocean?’ the weary traveller said to the sailor. ‘North,’ said the sailor to the weary traveller. The traveller was confused and said ‘but north is the bloody forest.’ So the sailor saw his confusion and said ‘there is enough blood in that forest to make an ocean. A clean ocean.’

        They stood together, back to back. The song of steel and claws clashing and ripping through flesh could be heard all around them. Gaze lifted up another spear and stabbed at any that flew near to them. Blue Sun swung at the ones that moved on the ground. A few other soldiers moved to them and formed with them, though a few were killed forming this circle that they were now in. The Griffons came at them in packs, charging their defense from every angle, but the soldiers stabbed and slashed their way free.

        Above them, the pegasi and the Griffons continued to fly around each other, slashing at those they could catch. They continued their dance in the skies. The unicorns had reformed at a decent spot midway up the hill. They fired magic blasts at those who came at them from the skies and ground, but were quickly being overwhelmed. “We need to move our way over to them!” Gaze shouted over the clamor of fighting.

        A Griffon gave a cry and a new wave Griffons flew from the tree tops. They swooped down for the kill. Another cry; more Griffons. They were outnumbered four to one now, Gaze could see. The Griffons all charged straight for the unicorns, nearly the entire wave did. The unicorns that stayed in their formation on the hill were quickly lost under the way. Those that didn’t tried to run. The battle was now scattered across the entire field. Any groups that had formed during the fighting were quickly broken and scattered.

        Gaze and blue Sun’s circle of defense with the others started to move steadily towards the camp. Out of view, A Griffon sliced a pegasus’ throat and he spiraled out of control. He fell down, using the last of his breaths to try to raise himself higher. He crashed into the circle, being impaled on a spear in the process, and everypony in the circle fell over.

        The Griffons swarmed over them. Gaze got up the fastest and lifted Sun to his feet. They ran from the group. When they looked back, all the ponies who were in the defense with them were lying on the floor, dead or dying.

        They stopped in the middle of the field, the middle of the fighting. The Griffons on the ground saw them. One quickly finished off the earth pony he was fighting, ripping its claws into the soldier’s stomach. It ran towards them. Gaze moved towards it when it got close and thrusted his spear forward. The Griffon grabbed the spear as it came close and snapped it in two, grabbing Gaze’s skull in its paw and threw him back. Gaze hit the tree with a crack and fell to the floor, blinking slowly, looking to his friend. He tried to force himself up, but fell right back down.

        Sun looked up at the Griffon. The Griffon swung at him. Blue dodged it simply and slashed sword forward. The Griffon shrieked when the blade cut into its wing. The Griffon grabbed the sword by the blade, not caring about the deep cut that was not in its paw. It threw the sword to the side and grabbed Sun by the neck, lifting him into the air. It sliced Blue’s chest and dropped him there, then rammed its claws through Blue Sun’s lower body. The pony gave out a cry.

        Gaze forced himself up to his feet, wobbly. He charged at the Griffon. He needed to protect Blue before it was too late. He screamed and jumped at the Griffon. The last thing he felt were those claws slicing across his face, through his bandages, and somepony else’s blood against his chest.

        Then, the world was silent for the traitor.

        “Don’t move.”

        “What?” Gaze said, his eyes opened slightly; the sun was up now.

        “Don’t move. Go back to bed, traitor. Pretend to be amongst the dead if you wish to live.” The pony was not even a pony, just a shadow.

        “Who are you?”

        “Call me Cryptic, now shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,” The shadow sat on his haunches, in front of Gaze. “You know, the eyeless thing works for you. Makes you look menacing.”

        “How is Sun?” Gaze chose to follow the command and stayed perfectly still, not looking up at the friend he realized he was lying on top of.

        “Not in good shape. Honestly, he’ll be gone by nightfall if no one gets him some help.”

        “And my soldiers?”

        “Dead or dying. You did what you could, and that’s all you could do, but the books will say that General Pitch lost this night.”

        “Please... get Sun some... help,” Gaze blinked slowly, about to let the blackness overtake him yet again.

        “I can’t mess with destiny. Well I can, but only for those who get chosen. And he isn’t the Traitor. His dice fell wrong, sorry.”

        And Gaze was gone to the world yet again.

        Lone and Trixie started their search late in the afternoon, on the third day while being in Fawntaine. They marched up and down the port. They spoke to any captain or first mate that was willing to consider them. They had received three offers. The three offers came from Celestia’s Light, Ursa Majora, and Aurora. All of the offers were more or less the same. Each asked for them to be able to have a certain amount of money by the time the ships were setting sail. The captain of Celestia’s Light wanted them to have fifteen bits by next week for passage. The Ursa Majora wanted twenty-five bits, but would give them amazing quarters to stay in. The Aurora’s offer was so outrageous that Trixie and Lone chose to discourage it. They would have to see about what it was they could find, or maybe steal, to trade so that they could get fifteen or twenty-five bits by next week.

        They discovered a library in the center of town. Out of curiosity, and for the sake of getting some quiet away from the ports, they went to it. When they entered, Trixie immediately ran to go and see if they had the Daring Do series anywhere, as she was so close to being finished with the series. She didn’t even bother to ask the librarian, an elk, whether the books were here.

        The stallion went up to him. “Excuse me, sir. Do you have any books on Equestria here?”

        The elk sat there in thought for a moment. “Well,” He stopped again, thinking. “Nothing of major interest I’d think... Wait here a second.”

        Lone watched the elk leave his spot behind the desk and walk away, to the back of the library. Trixie came back before him, sulking. He didn’t have to ask whether or not they had the books she wanted.

        The elk returned after a few more minutes. He carried two books. He set them down on the table. “These are the only two books on Equestria we have.”

        Lone looked at them. The first book was Starswirl in Canterbury, which Lone didn’t much care for. The other was The Book on Equestrian Military History by True North, some Equestrian historian, who must have been very old by this point, if the information on the back cover of the book could be trusted. The stallion found himself drawn to it.

        He quickly grabbed it and started looking through the pages. “I have no way of actually taking this book out...”

        “Keep it,” The elk said simply. “Take the thing and go, no one will miss it.”

        “Thank you! But, where did you get this book?” He asked because he saw information that was only within the last year.

        “Some ship is always coming in with this kind of stuff from Equestria. Named after a star, or something, I never paid attention. Just keep the book.” The elk made his way to the back of the library with the Starswirl book.

        Lone and Trixie made their way back to the inn. Trixie laid down in the wonderful bed, thinking on how they would get the bits they needed. Lone sat down with his new book. The book was simply a simplified version of all Equestrian Military history. Only some hundred pages, the book covered the main points of wars, and the careers of certain, exceptional ponies, in the space of only a few paragraphs. Lone was drawn to a few certain sections.

Commanders of the Equestrian army

. . .

Commander Low Pitch:

        Generally considered to be the lowest point in Equestria’s history of commander’s was Low Pitch, though it should be noted that Low Pitch was the only earth pony to hold the title. Blamed for being too patriotic, he led a series of rallies in Canterlot about the wonders and power of Equestrian ponies. As a soldier, he fought in the war against dragons [See The Dragon Hunt]. Quickly proving his loyalty to Equestria, Celestia raised him up to the head of the Equestrian Guard. During his time as commander, Princess Celestia was attempting to form the Council of Major Powers, in an attempt to maintain the peace between kingdoms, which was growing weaker in recent times. Due to the over-patriotic Low Pitch, the council took much longer to form. Pitch was generally against the council plans for the entirety of the negotiations. He wanted to fight those who attended the council, not have peace with them. The king of the Changelings, insulted from not being allowed into the council meeting, by Pitch, declared war on Equestria [See The Changeling War]. Over a year and a half, eight major battles occurred, all Equestrian forces, for each battle, led by Pitch. After the battles were done, Pitch attempted to crush the Changelings on their own homeland [See Changeling War’s Aftermath]. From his cruelness, Celestia had him removed from power and replaced with the more kind hearted commander Courtier. Courtier pardoned his cruelty, naming him a general. He was killed by Griffons, in a map room, during his Last Stand [See The Griffon War].

        The sun was setting, and the sound of wings flapping and the Griffons shrieking could be heard. Gaze opened his eyes and watched as the Griffons flew away from his camp. He laid among a group of six or seven dead ponies. They were all missing ears. He felt the pain all over his head. He reached up, found he was also missing an ear. The Griffons had sliced off the ears of everypony who was dead, and he was asleep among the dead. He waited until the sounds of Griffons were gone and forced himself up. He looked around at the soldiers near him. All scarred and dead. Some had injuries that nearly ripped them in half or ripped off a body part. He heard somepony groaning and moved to them as fast as he could. He had to move a few bodies out of a pile to get to the pony, though. Then he saw him.

        Blue Sun looked up at him weakly, bleeding heavily. He groaned with pain again, coughing up blood.

        “Sun! Don’t worry! I’m gonna get you help... you’re gonna be alright.”

        Sun shook his head, tried to chuckle and only coughed up more blood. “This is the... the end of the... line for me...sir.”

        “Don’t talk like that!” Gaze started to look through the dead soldiers’ bags, trying to find something, anything, to patch up the wounds. He found nothing and just went back to Blue Sun, holding Sun’s hoof in his. “I’m gonna get you help, Sun, don’t worry.”

        Blue Sun coughed up more blood. He stared at him and, at the same time, stared past him. He watched the Sun slowly leave to give way to the dark. “Her name is... Rain Taps... a pegasus... really cute...” His voice started to trail off and he tried to refocus his eyes on Gaze.

        “That’s the mare you left behind, eh?” Gaze said. He smiled and held onto his friend’s hoof tighter.

        “She... She’s from Manehattan... We got... married two years ago. Then, this war happened and I volunteered... Sir, if you could find her... weather patrol...  let her know...” His voice trailed off again. He went silent, gazing off at the orange sky with glazed over eyes.

        Gaze watched him sit like that for a long time. He watched him bleed and sweat and die. “I’ll do it, kid...” His own pain was forgotten. He forgot about his missing ear, the scars across his face, and his lost eye. His world was focused on the only friend he had left in this world. His friend was gone now, though. He stared at those glazed over eyes, keeping the tears back. “I told you not to call me ‘sir’ either, kid. You should listen to your commanding officers...”

        He closed Blue Sun’s eyes at night.

Commander Courtier

After the failed command of Low Pitch, the unicorn Courtier was right there to take his place. An exceptional soldier in the Changeling War, Celestia noticed him for his quick wit, strength, and kindness. He attempted to assist the Changelings after Pitch was removed from power. His plans, however, failed due to a much more pressing issue. Within only seven months into his command, there was a war on his hoofs. There have been many, long-fought civil wars throughout the Griffon Kingdoms. During one of these wars, a few tribes went south of their borders and attempted to annex a lake near Trottingham [See The Griffon Wars]. Courtier was able to achieve peace, after a series of brutal clashes that resulted in many casualties. It is generally understood that he could have easily led the Equestrian soldiers to victory, but his health had deteriorated at the war’s start, and when we recovered fully two years later, during the war, it was too late. After the Griffon conflict, he decided that he did not want to deal with another war. He spent the rest of his career working in the background. He continued to keep the peace between Equestria and the kingdoms surrounding it. His most recent events were three years ago. He came together with the Griffon leader and, with Celestia’s approval, had the forest, where the majority of the war’s fighting was, dedicated to all soldiers, from both sides, who died there. The forest is now under neither kingdom’s borders, now simply called the Forsaken Forest. After the return of Princess Luna to Equestria, he announced his resignation, after fifty-two years in service. He passed his title down to Shining Armor, saying “A new era is dawning in Equestria, and I am fifty years late for it. My time is done, and I am too far gone from these days to do anything about it.” He currently lives in relative obscurity in Fillydelphia.

        Gaze found his saddlebag by the trees he had been thrown against. He lifted it up and checked inside it. His books were still there. He put the saddlebag on and made his way back up the hill. He stepped over the dead carefully, trying not to disturb their rest. Many of the buildings had been destroyed or looted by the Griffons. He found the medical tent and went in. There was next to nothing left, except for a few rolls of bandages. He struggled to wrap them around his head, trying to cover both his missing left ear and his missing right eye. He used the extra ones to simply clean the cuts along his face. There was not much else that he could do for it right now. He found a small well of ink and a quill while he was looking through the last of the supplies. He wrote out the words ‘Rain Taps- Manehattan’ on the paper and stuffed it in his bag.

        He started hiking down from the camps, back towards Equestria, when the Sun was beginning to rise. He left the blood, death, and destruction behind him, hoping he would forget it all soon. He looked for some kind of hope and solace in his own mind, but his brain kept flashing back to those dead soldiers, to Blue Sun, to General Pitch, to his eye staring at him.

The Griffon War

Less of a war and more of a small conflict than anything else. The Griffon War lasted for two years, brought on when the Griffons annexed a forest to the south, which before had been free land. The tribe of Griffons, a large tribe led by a king named the Great-Claw, attempted to annex the lake next to Trottingham. Courtier put up his soldiers around the lake to defend it, but the Griffons attacked and killed the squad of soldiers. Courtier, in his currently sick state, placed General Low Pitch in control of the army and had camps built behind, along, and inside the forest. From that point on, the war became a series of small skirmishes between the Griffons and ponies that led to the destruction of the camps. The Griffons were the major offensive power during the war, though the Equestrian army should have been the attackers, due to the circumstances. By the end of the war, the only camp that remained was Camp Three (often referred to as The Expandable Camp Three, due to its placement being so out in the open and easily attackable) [see Camp Three]. The leader of Camp Three, after losing a small force of scouts, demanded some reinforcements, as Camp Three had lost nearly all its premiere soldiers throughout the last year of fighting. General Pitch reinforced the camp, took control of it, and led it for the next eight months.

General Pitch and Camp Three had the only major battle of the entire war. General Pitch attempted to be the aggressor in the war, using fire arrows to light the forest on fire. He managed to kill a few soldiers, and a few more innocent Griffons from a village that was located near the center of the forest. The Griffon tribes demanded blood in exchange for those innocents who died. All of the Griffon forces gathered around the hill of Camp Three. This led to the battle known as Pitch’s Last Stand. He fortified his camp and led the soldiers through the fight while the Griffons stormed the camp. He was ultimately cornered in the map room and killed by a Griffon. At the knowledge of these casualties, Celestia and Courtier met with the Great-Claw in the flesh, determined to negotiate their way out of this situation. An agreement was reached, though some accounts say Courtier threatened the Great-Claw and sword point for the final deal. The forest, where most of the fighting took place, was dedicated to Griffons and ponies alike for their sacrifice in the avoidable war. At the dedication, the Great-Claw and Courtier renewed the Griffon-Equestrian peace; the Great-Claw, even in his advanced age, accepted his responsibility for causing the war, and formally apologized. The forest, though already uninhabited since the war, even called the Forsaken Forest, was officially declared to be under no kingdom’s control, and not up for grabs from any kingdom at the threat of immediate repercussions.

        “Lone, please put that book down, and help me!” Trixie shouted at him. She lifted her hat up and twirled it in a circle for the crowds. A single dove suddenly took flight from her hat. She twirled it back onto her head. Lone stepped forward, lifting Trixie’s cape off of her. He shook it, turned it upside down, and let a few crowd members check it. The cape was completely empty, nothing hidden anywhere. The crowd had grown slightly, curious as to what was going on. She bowed in front of him; he lowered the cape back onto her back. She stood up to the crowd. She held the cape closer to her, like a cocoon. She took a step forward with a flourish, spreading her cape open like wings and fifty doves took flight from her cape, lifting themselves high above the small crowd. As the applause sounded, she held her hat out to them. Those that took the hint dropped a few silver into the hat, while the others walked away.

        She smiled graciously. “Thank you! Thank you! The Great and Powerful Trrrrrrixie appreciates your kind donation and praise!” She sat down against the wall and started counting the coins in her hat. Lone took a seat beside her. “Cheap little... We’ve only managed to make enough worth five bits!” She slid the coins into the saddlebag that was against the wall.

        “Well, that would make eight, right? We aren’t in the worst situation, right?” Lone lifted his book up and continued reading. He felt drawn to this book. Like there was nothing else in the world right now that was more important than General Pitch, Courtier, and the Griffon Wars.

        “We only have three days, though.” Trixie said simply. She sighed. “You keep reading that stupid book. Please, focus on affording a trip home.”

        “I... I mentioned feeling like a puppet on strings a few weeks ago with that...”

        Trixie just nodded, realizing that Lone was distraught about something. “Yeah?”

        “That damned book we both found seemed to tell us something... and I think we both got put on strings. Your strings were just... well stronger, I suppose...” The stallion brushed his light blue mane out of his hair and pulled the gray hood up. “This book is giving me that feeling. i think if we... if we just let the strings carry us now, that we’ll-”

        A young camel had been walking down the road. The camel was a young female, no older than a filly. Walking up the street, she noticed the two unicorns sitting against the wall. They were talking, their attention turned away from the saddlebag between them. They were talking, something that seemed important. The young camel ran up to them, grabbed the bag while the stallion spoke, and sprinted away.

        The stallion cut himself off mid-sentence, quickly jumped up and galloped after her. The mare stood up and chased the stallion. They danced on pretty, weaved strings down the street towards their desire and destinies. The traitor waited for them.

Dancing for our puppet masters!

        Gaze arrived in Manehattan after six months of confusing train travels. In that time, he had received some medical attention for his injuries. The cuts had been cleaned and would soon be replaced by the scars that could never heal. The ear and eye had been bandaged up as best as possible; the doctors gave him a cap and an eye patch to cover both the defects. He took a sigh of relief as he stepped off the train in Manehattan, ready to settle these final matters once and for all.

        He had been considering all the possibilities of what would come afterwards for him. He considered trying to settle down in a town somewhere in Equestria. He was considering it, but was still running against the idea. He was deformed, a deserter, and could only do half a job with his own special talent. He had used the little of his sight that still went to his advantage to draw up a series of star charts based off of stuff he had seen in his time at Camp Three. He had sold all of them between the train trips to those interested, made a good amount of bits. Entering Manehattan, there was some sense of paranoia entering his mind. He felt like something was watching him; started to think that maybe taking the time to see Rain Taps was not worth it.

        Still, he made his way out to the center of the city, where the giant marble and brick buildings loomed over him. He passed through the park in the very center of the city, doing his best not to look up at the trees. He saw the weather patrol building up ahead. Gaze watched the white, fluffy clouds slowly stream out of the pipe that stuck out of the roof. One cloud. Five seconds passed. Another cloud and so on.

        He trotted in through the front doors. There was a pegasus at the front desk. He was shuffling papers from one pile to the other, stamping papers with the weather patrol symbol, and signing a few things here and there. Gaze approached the figure slowly. “Pardon me?”

        The pegasus looked up. “How can I help you?” He said courteously, stamping one last paper.

        “Oh... Well, I’m looking for a pegasus who I heard worked here. Named, uh, Rain Taps.” He looked around at the massive building. The traitor was curious as to the actual machinery that made this facility work.

        “Oh, Rain Taps, she officially resigned two weeks ago.”

        “Oh... Can I get an address, if that’s not too much trouble? It’s urgent.”

        “Yeah, Yeah, sure,” the pegasus quickly took out a sheet of paper and wrote out something with his quill. “It was a shame she left, you know? She was one of our best, I remember, but she was so out of it, recently. How do you know her?”

        “Well, not her. I was a friend of her husband in the military...”

        “Ah... Blue Sun. That stallion, I swear, the salt of Equestria. Not a bad bone in his body, you know? Couldn’t imagine why he would have wanted to join the military.” He reached across the desk and held out the paper with the address on it.

        “Oh, trust me, I ask myself the same thing everyday.”

        The sound of a hoof against the hard oak door echoed through the house. The sound reverberated through the pegasus’ skull, hurting her more than her headache already did. “For Celestia’s sake! I’m coming! Stop with the knocking!” Rain Taps shouted. She stumbled towards the door while the knocking continued. She maneuvered her way around the randomly scattered cider mugs that covered the floor. She grabbed the door handle and opened it forcefully, with anger.

        She was about to yell, but the sight of the earth pony with the eye patch caught her off guard. She stood there in silence for a few moments. Finally, when neither of them broke the silence, she asked him “What do you want?”

        “I...” the stallion at the door looked away, up towards the sky. It was dark, and the familiar setting of under the stars was not yet upon him. He did not have the Orion’s Belt, the Ursas, or the Big Dipper to assist him here. He was on his own now. He looked at her. She was a small pegasus, light blue with a gray mane. “I’m here to speak with you about Blue Sun...”

        Her eyes became ice cold, and she looked as though she was about to slam the door on him. Yet, she did not. She did not have the courage. Nopony had come to talk about Blue Sun. She had not had any prolonged conversation about him. There had been no funeral, as Blue’s body never made it back to her, for one reason or another. She had tried to simply push the thoughts of her fallen husband from her mind. She tried to forget the laughs they shared. She tried to forget the games they played as children. She tried to forget the cider they had drunk together. She tried to forget the love they shared and made. In the end, she just missed her Sun. “What about him?”

        “... Would you mind if I came in?” He said quietly. She barely heard him say it.

        “Please,” She said warmly, opening the door fully for him and letting him trot in. He ignored the cider mugs on the floor and moved to the couch in the center of the living room. The couch was light blue, to match the pegasus. She shut the door and followed behind him. They sat opposite from each other, a good three yards between them. “Let’s start simple, who are you, and how do you know Blue?”

        “My name is Star Gazer, or Gaze, if you prefer. I was the commander of the camp that Blue Sun was sent to. He was my second in command...” Gaze looked around the room. Dust added a dingy feeling to the room, only emphasized by the sadness apparent by the randomly scattered cider mugs.

        “Why are you here to talk about him, Mr. Star Gazer? Did... are they bringing his body back to me, finally?”

        “They haven’t brought him back...?” Gaze shook his head clear of the thoughts. “I’m here to let you know that he did not just die a regular soldier.”

        “What do you mean?”

        “I mean that the whole story isn’t gonna be told, and I’m here to tell it. I’ll start at the beginning... I met your husband very suddenly. Because of an incident, he was moved to the temporary position of my second in command. However, his position quickly became permanent. I developed a form of... comradeship with him. He was a good pony, and I could joke around with him; like me, he, uh, didn’t want the war. The camp was sort of divided between those who opposed this and those who... wanted it. Sun and I were a party of two on that front after General Pitch showed up and... Nevermind that. I won’t bother you with the details. Discord lives in the details. Well, when the Griffons attack, I was preoccupied with General Pitch...” He stopped his words for a moment, looking away from her. He didn’t like remembering what occurred in that room. How he had lost his eye so painfully; worse, how he had to take a life in such a way.

        He looked back to the mare in front of him, who stared at him patiently. He sighed, looking to the floor again. “I joined the fighting later, and it was all lost by then. Sun kept fighting though. I understand that he led the forces at the beginning of it all. He saved me too.” He heard a curious sound and looked up at Rain Taps. She held a hoof to her mouth, looking away from him, sobbing lightly. “Wh-what is it?”

        She shook her head. “No... No...” Her sobbing became heavier and she wiped a few tears away. “I miss him... That’s all.”

        Gaze nodded slightly. “H-he asked me to find you... He wanted me to tell you about his final moments. He died a real hero. More than they try to claim General Pitch was. Blue Sun was a hero, and damned be Celestia if anypony says otherwise!” He cursed. He covered his face with his hooves, trying to conceal his crying, but she could hear his sobs.

        Rain Taps stood out of her seat and trotted to him slowly. She put a hoof on his shoulder and slowly brought him into a hug. Star Gazer and Rain Taps stayed that way for a while, as the Sun disappeared and the stars took its place, with the Moon at the epicenter of the night’s light. They cried together, for lost friends, and for memories that sadly could never be.

        “GET BACK HERE!” The stallion shouted, slowly gaining on the young camel. She sprinted away as fast as her little hooves could carry her, but the pony behind her was simply too fast. She tried to lose him by taking random turns down the streets. A fresh-off-the-boat pickpocket was not expected to be good at outrunning those she stole from, but she could try. She tried to look back behind her to see how much ground she had gained on that stallion.

        Then, she found herself face down in the dirt, her tail being pulled. “owwy!” She squealed. The stallion kept a hoof on her tail and grabbed up their saddlebag before letting her go. “Get a new job kid, this isn’t for you.”

        She stood up and looked to him, worried. Lone sighed and reached into the bag. He lifted one of her hooves up and placed half their money in it. “Don’t spend it all in one place, kid.” She smiled and trotted away, thanking him.

        Trixie arrived on the scene. “Why did you do that?!” She shouted at him. “We needed that money!”

        Lone shook his head. “I don’t know. I just felt like I needed to!” He looked around them. They had returned to being in front of the library. He watched the door close, with somepony, pulling a small wagon, letting the door close behind him. He moved away from Trixie and went to enter the library.

        “Oh, come on, Lone! You waste so much time with that other book, you don’t need more!” She shouted, but followed him anyway.

        “Oh, I see you’re back for one of your annual visits.” The elk said gently, taking the books out of the wagon.

        “Aye! How’ve ye been in these harsher times, Gondil?” The traitor said, happily. He lifted a few more books out of the wagon and placed them on the counter.

        Gondil raised a hoof and shook it slightly. “Could be better. But, I’m not complaining, you know, captain?” They both chuckled lightly. “How has the life been treating you?” The elk moved his hoof over his right eye and motioned it downwards.

        The traitor nodded. He grabbed his eye patch and pulled it down, to better cover the missing eye. “I need to get me a new, blasted patch for me eye! This one, I’ve had verging on fifty years now. I’m scared that it’s only now choosin’ to be breaking on me! Haha,” He stacked the last of the books on the desk. “Is me headband loose too?” He reached up and behind his head, making sure the knot of his bandana was still secured. He tucked a few of the loose hairs in his gray mane back inside it. “Good... It’s not. Last thing I needs is people of certain interests seeing me missin’ two important pieces of me head, aye?” They shared another laugh.

        “Something interesting happened a few days ago, captain.”

        “Aye? What be it?”

        “Somepony took out that military book you brought a few months back. First time any of your books have gotten taken out.”

        The traitor stood there, shocked, for a moment. The elk watched him for a moment, while carefully cataloging the books that had been added by this captain. “Aye? For true? You gots any recollection on who it was?”

        “It was-” Gondil stopped his words and looked to the opening door. He watched the two bickering unicorns come in. “That stallion there.” He pointed for the captain to see. The captain turned his head and watched them enter. The blue mare and the sickly yellow stallion walked in. He felt something push him forward. He walked forward and stopped in front of the stallion.

        “Um, can I help you?” The stallion said politely.

        “Aye, you can be of service. Ye was the one who took out me book?” The traitor looked around them. The stallion reached into his bag and pulled out the military book. The traitor’s eyes bulged and he blinked slowly, unbelievingly. “Which section were ye drawn to?”

        The stallion gulped slightly. “The, uh, Griffon Wars.”

        The traitor smiled. “Well, then ye both be the ones I been waitn’ for. Took ye long enough.” He motioned for them to follow and moved to the table in the far corner of the library. He called back to the librarian. “Gondil! I be commandeering the back corner for me own use for a bit!”

        The elk just nodded as they moved there. The stallion and mare followed him, not entirely sure themselves as to why they were doing so. They all reached the table and the traitor sat across from them.

        “Aye, So I ‘pose we should introduce one another. You first, if please ye.” He grabbed the wooden chair and sat in it, watching them.

        The two stayed standing across the table. “Well, my name is Lone Tes-”

        “Wha’s tha’?” The captain said back to them.

        “L-Lone, Testa-”

        “My apologies, mate!” He lifted the bandana up slightly to remove the covering of his remaining ear. The gray mane fell out with it. “I be old now, and me hearing ain’t what it once was.”

        Lone shook his head, annoyed. “My name is Lone Testament.”

        The mare stepped forward slightly. “And I am Trixie. Trixie Lulamoon.” She bowed slightly.

        The captain smiled slightly. “Good. My name be Star Gazer. Personally, I prefer, simply, if ye called me Gaze.” He extended a hoof across the table. They took it in turn, shaking it slightly, watching him. They had not even begun to trust this strange stallion that had just suddenly dragged them to this spot. Yet, something seemed to be drawing them to him, as something drew him to them.

        “What did you mean that you were waiting for us?” Trixie said quickly. She wanted answers to what was going on. Something in her stomach hurt, and she knew it had something to do with this whole situation.

        “Aye, I’ve been waitin’ for many years. Such a long time, aye, out at sea, looking for the answer. Now, I recognizes ye, Lone, from me nightmares. Ya! I recognizes ye...” They all sat there in silence for a minute. None of them could think of a good way to continue this conversation. Finally, Gaze broke the barrier of silence with a question that simply made Lone’s and Trixie’s hearts drop into their stomachs, bringing on another wave of silence.

        “So, have either of ye ever heard of a book called Dragon Glass?”

        Make way! Make way! Prophets of doom and salvation yet become one in meaning.

        “Ah! Cloud Racer, good morrow to you. How has this glorious day been treating you? The Sun is not too hot, and the wind ne’er too strong to cause an issue among the ships. Yes, a perfect day, would you not say?” Sadiviad smiled at the pegasus as he approached. The days since the caravan’s arrival at Fawntaine had proven fruitful. A pretty coin had been made from the goods that they travelled with. The gold was being distributed equally among the members of his caravan, but, of course, they all, willingly of course, gave a share to Sadiviad, as he was the leader. He was being given an ample amount of time to go out and buy some things for himself during this time.

        The pegasus approached him slowly. “Aye. Sadi, I need to speak with you. It’s about the meeting.”

        “What about it, Racer?”

        “Three days. Captain Gaze has to settle a few matters of his own. He wants to meet you in that room you have reserved, under that dumb, coded phrase of yours-”

        Sadiviad shook his head and interrupted him. “I picked up a few magician unicorns on the road here. I promised them that room until I left, which is still not for another week or so.”

        Cloud Racer waved a hoof of dismissal. “Tell ‘em not to show up, or be gone for that morning. Fact is: you gotta meet the captain. And, I’m gonna give you a warning about the conversation topic.”

        “Warning? That does not sound pleasurable.”

        “It ain’t. Look... Gaze wants something major. You caravan, ‘kingdom,’ has grown very much in the last year. He wants you to take all of your followers and believers, from every city, of every species. He wants you to use your influence and power to declare war on the Council.”

        “What?! That’s suicidal, impossible!”

        The pegasus began to leave. “Three Days. Think on what you’re gonna tell the captain. Think wisely, friend.”

        “...So, Starswirl found out about these things and wrote about it in that book?” Lone questioned.

        “That’s the right of it. Been on ships for ‘little less ‘en fifty years, now. Travelling takes a long time, and I’ve gots more than enough time for reading.” Gaze had led them out of the library. Now, they were leading him to the inn that they were suppose to be staying in. Lone and Trixie knew that there was no reason that they should be trusting this captain. He was filthy, with scars running across his face. He spoke in such a broken form of Equestrian that it was only just understandable. Yet, the mere fact that somepony else knew about the horrors of those puppet masters that lurked behind the tower was enough for them to follow him.

        They led him into their room. He hopped onto the bed and laid his head on one of the pillows. “Ye said something about a tower?”

        “Yes,” Trixie sat beside him. “In the middle of the desert, there’s an oasis. If you jump into the lake there, you appear somewhere else, at the base of the tower’s foundation.”

        “And ye,” Gaze gulped. “Ye saw them?” He looked to Trixie.

        Lone spoke up, not giving Trixie a chance to speak up. “What do you mean ‘them’? You never answered that.”

        Gaze closed his eye. “As far as I can gather from certain phrases in Dragon Glass, there be, at the least, seven of them. I don’t, off-hoof, remember anything about a tower.”

        “But who is ‘them’?”

        “The immortal being! I don’t blasted know who they are! Some things that pulls us all on little strings. The book only talks about what they done, do, and will do. Nothin’ ‘bout who or whats they are!”

        Trixie stepped into this slight argument with her gentle voice. “Well, I met one. Sort of. Called itself Phoenix. It spoke to me through this big...” Trixie stopped herself. She remembered the words about the God King that had been spoken to them by Sadiviad so many weeks ago. “...obsidian statue.” She had blocked a certain memory all this time, but now it was coming to her mind. She remembered that the voice of that obsidian monster had spoken before ejecting them from the tower. She remembered that they were going to hurt somepony close to her, as payment for failing them. Even though, she knew, she did everything that they had asked, exactly as asked.

        Lone held up a hoof. “We both heard it speak. Then, we appeared on a hill somewhere far south from here. Any ideas why that would be?”

        Gaze stared at the ceiling, following the shapes that were made by the cracks. “A single idea, yeah. The book talks ‘bout a group of prophets, tied together to one ‘nother by the great ones. Possibly, they dropped ye’s off in Cervidas cause they knews I’d be coming here.”

        “Our plan has been to get back to Equestria and warn the Princesses-” Lone stopped when Gaze raised a hoof into the air.

        “Aye, what ye mean by ‘Princesses’? There only be Celestia.” Gaze said. He sat up, curious about the reasoning behind Lone’s slip of the tongue.

        “A year and a half ago Princess Luna, Celestia’s sister, returned and the evil was banished from her.” Trixie answered simply.

        “Truly? Aye, this world really has changed so drastically for such an old clown like meself. I haven’t gotten news from Equestria in nearly three years now. Only go back to see an old friend from Manehattan.” Gaze looked at the window, a strange glimmer in his eyes. “My, my... how everything be changing.”

        “So, I feel alerting the Princesses might be a good idea. They might know something about this.” Lone finished.

        “Yes! I’ll bring ye aboard me ship. But, I cannot say I let ye ride free. How much money ye gots?”

        Trixie held up the saddlebag. “About four and a half bits.”

        “WELL! That be more than enough for passage, and room in the captain’s quarters for two!” Gaze said in the most exaggerated voice he could muster. “If ye was to ask me, that was.”

        “Good morning, Sadiviad,” Lone said happily, packing up the books and food for himself and Trixie.

        “Yes, good morrow. Packing, I see. Have the unicorns found some sort of transport for yourselves?” Sadiviad picked up a few things and helped Lone pack.

        “Yep,” Trixie said, looking out the window. “We found somepony.”

        “Might I inquire as to which captain it is?”

        Lone motioned for Sadiviad to hand him his blanket. Sadiviad took it up happily and handed it to him. “Thank you. We managed to pay for passage from a pony named Star Gazer.”

        Sadiviad gulped. He remained silent for a few moments, refusing to make eye contact with either of them.

        “Do you know him?” Trixie asked.

        “Yes, I will admit I am familiar with him...” Sadiviad turned away from them, rubbing the scar on his nose. “Well, I am pleased to know you have found transport across the sea. It’s actually good for us both, for I need this room for a certain meeting I need to have tomorrow.”

        The Orion’s Belt was a smaller ship, in comparison to the others in the port. it was still a massive wooden ship, the long mast flying a good forty feet above the deck, but still that only matched the regular height of the ships around it. The only thing of note was the three large, metal knobs that been placed at the front of the ship to resemble the constellation it was named for. Then, they saw the second ship. The Pirate’s Progress stood thirty feet taller than the other ships in the port, the mast brought its height up another sixty feet. The massive, wooden hulk simply towered over everything in the port, drawing the eye immediately to it. The sound of the ship’s wood creaking every time it teetered to the side from the water overpowered the sound of the other ships. A long boarding plank had been dropped from the side of the ship, currently resting on the edge of the port. Crew members, all of many different species from across the world, were carefully stepping down the plank, carrying massive crates.

        As the massive crowd of them came down, one took a wrong step. The camel fell into the water and started to gasp and flail, splashing the water around. “HELP!”

        The buffalo and the cow that were carrying the crate with him got off the plank and looked down on him. “OY! Wha’s ‘a matter? The desert dweller not used to the open sea yet?!” The cow screamed down at him. He and the buffalo put their hooves around each other’s necks and laughed.

        “Don’t be too harsh on ‘em, buddy! He prob’ly never been any more than hoof deep in water!”

        “If that!” They laughed again.

        “Damn you all!” The camel shouted up to them. “Help me, you bastards!”

        Lone, Trixie, and Gaze approached the boarding plank. Gaze stepped away from them and towards the ruckus. “Say now, what’s all the noise ‘bout here?”

        “The camel fell in the water again, captain!” The cow blurted out.

        “Aye? Did he, now?” Gaze looked down and saw the camel desperately trying to swim towards the port. “Aye... He did. Well, as much funs as I know it is to make fun of Syvis, ye best go in and gets him.” He grabbed the buffalo by the mane and forcefully pulled him forward. The buffalo tripped and fell into the water beside the camel.

        The cow looked at Gaze with question and fear. Gaze grinned at him. “Ye best fetch something to get yer friend, ‘fore they get swept up in the current, aye.” The cow ran away to find a rope of some sorts. “And, if Syvis ain’t back up here with that dumb buffalo, I’ll have ye both keelhauled!”

        He turned and went back to the unicorns. “Sorry ‘bout that. I’m still cap’n after all.” He waited for the last crate to be carried off the plank before leading them up to the deck of the ship. The deck of the ship was a mass of different species. Ponies ran to and fro, making counts of how many crates were left to bring into port. The donkeys carried a large amount of smaller sacks, packing them into the appropriate crates. There were seven small tables towards the aft of the ship. A large group of camels sat at the tables, counting up the money. The cows, buffaloes, and camels, those not counting, where lifting the crates up and carrying them down the plank. The elks and deer were sitting in the middle of the deck, discussing how much certain items should be sold for. A few pegasi and unicorns were making sure the mast was still in good condition.

        “Welcome, lads, to the Pirate’s Progress! My prized ship, this is. Won her in a competition against my old cap’n. Back when all I had was the Orion’s Belt.” Gaze smiled fondly at him memories and motioned for them to follow him. He led them into a cabin towards the back of the ship. There were four rooms in the cabin. “The one on the left be my quarters, where I conduct me business. The next to it belongs to me first mate. The one in the back belongs to a crazy rune maker,” That one made Lone and Trixie look at him like he was insane. “And the one here on the right, smaller than the others, I’ll admit, belongs to you two.”

        They opened the door. The room was slightly cramped, but just big enough for them. It had two bunk beds for them to share; a wooden chest in the back for their supplies. They placed their saddlebags on the floor and followed Gaze back to his quarters.

        Gaze had taken much time in building up his captain’s chambers. The small mattress was cramped into the corner. There were three tables. One of the tables was simply a giant map of the seas of the world, expertly carved into the table itself. THe other was a drawing table that was filled with hundreds of star charts, all stacked on top of the other. The last was a simple desk where he sat to conduct his business. The room was surrounded by bookshelves, all of which were full to capacity with books of all types. At the center of the desk were three books. Starswirl in Canterbury on the right; The Lunar Era, the left; the center held Dragon Glass.

        The two unicorns stared at the center book with fear. Neither had finished reading the book, but they remembered the things they did read. Their lives had moved them towards their eventual meeting only when they saw that book. Gaze took a seat behind the desk.

        “Ye say that our next plan of action should be to alert the...” He still needed to get used to saying that word. “... Princesses. I also feel that we needs to focus on the others that be tied to us through this damned idea of destiny.”

        “How do you expect to do that?” Trixie asked, removing the hat Sadiviad had given her. “They should just be converging with us, if i understood this right.”

        “Aye, they should. But, I waited fifty bloody years for the likes of ye; I gots no ‘tentions of waiting another fifty for the rest. I never asked for this stuff, and I ‘sume you two didn’t either.” Gaze put his hoof on the book to the left. “But, I think I have an idea where one of them is.”

        “AHOY!” The voice pierced into the captain’s quarters. Gaze grinned and jumped off the chair, galloping out of the room.

        The unicorns followed him, confused. They saw Gaze hug a brown pegasus. “Cloudy! I’ve missed ye, ye know!”

        The pegasus hugged him back. “Yeah, captain. I’m glad to see you’re still in one piece.” Gaze gave him a serious look, drawing the attention to his eye and ear. They both laughed loud.

        Gaze looked to the stallion and mare. “Aye! You two! These here be my best mates. The pegasus be my first mate, Cloud Racer. The somber buffalo here be Bitter Roots. The overzealous deer be Hivust. Lastly, the depressed donkey there be Mattie.” He smiled at the group. “This here be my own little council of leaders.”

        “Pleased to make yer acquaintance.” Cloud Racer shook Lone’s hoof. He lifted Trixie’s hoof up and kissed it lightly. “Ye too, m’lady.”

        Trixie blushed slightly and looked away, embarrassed. “Such a gentlecolt for a pirate.”

        “Pirate, merchant, or trader; I see no difference between the three! They all speak pleasant when they have to and rob you blind when they can!” Hivust shouted to them. All of them join in another round of laughter.

        Gaze walked up and put his hoof around Cloud Racer’s neck. “Well, ye two associate yeselves with the members of me crew. I gots some business to discuss with me first mate.” Gaze walked off, leading his first mate into the cabin with him. Trixie walked off to speak with Hivust.

        Lone looked around the ship. “Wow... I’ve never seen so many different species in one place.”

        Bitter Roots walked to him and sat beside him. “Would you care for some grass?”

        Lone nodded and sat on his haunches beside the buffalo. Bitter Roots removed some from his bag and placed it in Lone’s hoof. “Things in this world are different now. Much different.”

        Lone nodded again. “I know that. Damned if I didn’t know that.” Lone chewed on the grass, looking at the crew, and out at the shining, open sea. He looked back at Bitter Roots and smiled. “Have you ever heard of Chief Thunderhooves?”

        “Thunderhooves? Is he really the chief now?” Bitter Roots looked down at him, surprised. He had known the chief many lost years ago, in his youth. “I haven’t been near that tribe in some... Oh, I don’t even know how long anymore. How do you know the tribe?”

        “I went on a search in the desert. Before I set out into the Mild West, I stayed with the tribe. Very good experience.” Lone said earnestly, smiling still.

        “How is old Thunderhooves? I presume he is very old now.” Bitter Roots chuckled lightly. Lone guessed that this was the first time he had truly laughed in a good while.

        “He was fine. The entire tribe was fine... ever heard of Bravehoof?” Lone looked up at the buffalo.

        “Bravehoof? I believe he was the one who ran away into the desert. They sent every tribe member out looking for him.” Bitter Roots looked to the sky, reminiscing. “I miss those old days, sometimes.”

        Lone held up the little clump of grass he still had in his hoof. “To the days of youth.”

        Bitter Roots looked down at the smiling, sickly yellow stallion and smiled. He lifted some grass in his own hoof. “To the days of youth, indeed.” They both quickly shoved the grass in their mouths and chewed, looking out at the sea. “You said that you were searching in the desert. Might I ask for what?”

        “I... I was looking for somepony. And, I suppose I was looking for myself.”

        “What did you find?”

        “I found somepony. I also found a few things I’d rather forget.”

        “Understood. I shall not ask any further. Would you like me to give you the grand tour of the ship?”

        Gaze took his seat behind his desk. Cloud Racer took the seat opposite from him. Gaze removed his bandana and eyepatch. The pegasus, after the years he’d worked with him, had finally grown used to the look of Captain Gaze’s missing ear and eye. What he was not used to was the fact he could look into his captain’s skull and see the meaty flesh that was there. He tried to focus on the rest of Gaze’s face, but his eyes kept finding their way back to the swollen flesh around his eye socket, and the meat behind it. Gaze saw Cloud’s disgust and moved himself in the seat, so that he would only have to look at his left profile. The site of the missing ear on the left side of the skull was not bad, as most of the green fur and white mane covered the hole there.

        “Aye, one day I’ll learn out to put me mane in a way that’ll cover the damned missing pieces, ya know?” Gaze said, chuckling. “Then, I can no longer worry ‘bout wearing this head crushing, annoying patch over me blasted eye.”

        Cloud Racer nodded. “I think the eyepatch is becoming of you, Gaze. it fits your look mighty fine.”

        Gaze gave a bellowing laugh. “Between yer work and flowery remarks on my figure, I never wonder why ye got the title of First mate, Cloudy.”

        Cloud smiled softly. “What did you need of me, Gaze?”

        “My meeting tomorrow. How’s that looking?” Gaze said curtly.

        “Sadiviad is still prepared to meet you. I informed him of the topic of conversation, as far as you have indulged me. Tomorrow morning.” Cloud recited quickly.

        “Good, good,” Gaze nodded slowly. “We be there early, hours before him. Give him a surprise.”

        “Captain, are you sure that this is a good course of action? We get a lot of good money from Sadiviad and his trading. To tell him to declare war on the Council? That’s extreme.” Cloud Racer raised his hooves into the air. “You tried this already. At.. uhh...”

        “At Zebrica, yes, I know. Utter failure. This is different. He has the power for it, here. He can easily crush the council!” Gaze shouted. He kept himself turned, as to make sure his profile was all that was seen.

        “You never answered, Gaze, when I asked days ago. Why should we do this?” Cloud Racer looked away from Gaze.

        Gaze spoke quickly, as if reciting something he’d practiced many times before. “Because, times are changing, and something in me tells me that it is the right thing.”

        Avo Dasi. Behold Dasi. Behold the God King. Farewell

        Trixie entered the room in the back of the cabin, late into the night. Gaze had mentioned some crazy words about a crazed rune maker. The entire ship was dark, except for the small glimmers of twitching candle lights. The back room was lit with red and blue light, like the mixture of crimson blood with the blue sea. She entered and saw thousands of little glass bottles, all filled with different colored liquids. There were two large bottles, about the size of her head. One was filled with a glowing, blue liquid; the other a glowing, red one. Against the wall, there were giant stone slabs, all stacked up against each other. Many had large, square sections cut out of them. There was also an anvil sitting against the wall opposite the glass bottles. There was a chisel and a hammer placed down upon it. Other than these things, there was nothing. No bed or decorations. There wasn’t even a door.

        After a thorough look around the room, Trixie decided that there wasn’t anything worthy of note here, at least not while the supposed rune maker was away from the ship.

        Sadiviad made his way up the stairs of the inn carefully. He smiled and nodded to every citizen he saw on his way into the building. He knew that he was surrounded by believers and friends. The sun was high in the sky by this point; he expected to get to the meeting room before the pirates. He could still not fully grasp the simple idea that those two unicorns had managed to get a ship across the sea from Gaze himself. He had thought about the topic of the conversation these last few days, but the idea of it still shocked him.

        The camel at the desk didn’t even try to stop him. At the very site of Sadiviad, he simply looked away and let the buck go on past him. Sadiviad moved down the hallway slowly, cautiously. His steps became more and more reluctant as he saw Cloud Racer standing outside the door to the room. He took one solid, deep breath and quickly moved to the pegasus.

        “Good morrow, Cloud Racer. Always a pleasure.” Sadiviad said with his manufactured happiness.

        “Hello, Sadi.” Cloud Racer knocked on the door. “He’s waiting for you.” The pegasus pushed the door open for him. He held an inviting hoof up for Sadiviad.

        Sadiviad gulped and slowly stepped into the room. The door slammed behind him. The curtains had been drawn closed and no candles were lit, making the room completely black. Gaze stared out the window, pulling the curtain to the side. When the door slammed, he let the curtain fall and block the light. He turned around and faced the buck.

        “Hello, Captain Gaze,” Sadiviad spoke nervously, trying not to choke on his words. “It has been, truly, far too long since I have seen you.”

        “I scares ye, Sadiviad?” Gaze said, taking a few steps towards the buck. Sadiviad took steps back to keep his distance. “Aye. Take that as a yes, I ‘pose. Your kingdom: How does she grow?”

        “My notoriety increases by the day,” Sadiviad tried to keep all the information spewing from his mind. He did not want to even run the risk of displeasing the captain. “My kingdom grows with it. From others, from different kingdoms, and in mass numbers from the citizens of these cities in Cervidas.”

        “Good. I know me first mate already informed ye of the topic we be discussin’ now, so I won’t repeat it. What is your answer?”

        Sadiviad looked away from the traitor. He looked away from single pony that gave him the power he had now. He could still remember the times when Gaze only trusted him with a single wagon of goods and the contact of a single merchant in Cervidas. He thought back to the journeys that he had aboard the Pirate’s Progress across the sea to all the kingdoms across the world. He thought about the massive caravan of followers that he had amassed during the years under Gaze’s service. He thought about the constant danger that seemed to follow them across the kingdom. He remembered that poor youngling with his brains smashed in while they travelled through the forest only a few weeks ago. He sighed and said the hardest thing he ever had to say in his entire life. “Punish me for my disobedience, but I cannot go through with your command! I would rather suffer the fate of the God King’s son, be purged in wondrous fire, than lead any more of my kingdom to their deaths, Captain Gaze.”

        The denial of his command was not what he focused on. “Wondrous fire?” Sadiviad blinked and stared at the eyepatch. He had lazy placed it on again, making the bottom of the swelling flesh of the socket visible. “What ye talk of when ye say ‘wondrous fire’?”

        Sadiviad shook his head to avoid staring. “The God King is a deity of old times, one that no longer stands up to the test of progressive times. In my... in my travels, I discovered a small group of worshippers. They wore black and worshipped Mysterious Ones. I entertained their sermons and the holy words they spoke, and I found peace in it. The Mysterious Ones that they spoke of were of future times, talking of how those who seek destruction will be brought to justice with the rest of us when the fire turns the world to glass. I do not intrude the thoughts of my kingdom with my own religious loyalties, though the God King still holds a place in my heart. I let the worshippers stay with my kingdom, and did not infringe upon their preachings. I still acknowledge the prevalence of Dasi the God King, but I have found a new place to offer my prayers. I...” Sadiviad held up a hoof and shook his head. “My sincerest apologies. I got lost in my own theological studies and went on a slight rant.” He chuckled slightly, trying to lighten the mood.

        Gaze shook his head, sharing in the laughter. “No, don’t apologize, mate. I can respect a prince who finds reverence in something he truly b’lieves. Even if he speaks in big, fancy words.”

        Sadiviad finally smiled. The tension that he felt on his back was finally lifted, as he felt that Gaze was in good spirits for this talk. “Captain Gaze, I’m sorry, but I do not wish to lead my own people to their unintended meeting with death. I could not bare it.”

Gaze looked up at the buck, gazing deep into his eyes. He ripped off his eyepatch and threw it on the bed. “Did ye ever hear the tale ‘bout how I lost me eye?” Sadiviad shook his head. Gaze grinned slightly, sighed. “Years and years ago, back in Equestria, I was a soldier. I watched all me friends die around me, ‘till I got put in the place of the commander. I tried to keep from making connections with anypony under my command, but this one stallion named Blue Sun did the impossible. He done broke my barrier and I became good friends with the lad. He ain’t that important to this here story, but his message was. He made me decide that fightin’ the war was dumb, pointless. I got overstepped by a superior officer named Pitch. He was mad, that one. I met him face-to-face on the day we was finally attacked by our enemy. He ripped this award medal out of me cap, overpowered me, and ripped me eye, right out of the socket. Might of been the pain, or the anger, or the sudden power, but I picked up his dagger when his guard went down and stabbed him dead!” Gaze stood there for a moment, somber and silent. “I ‘pose that, if I was gonna press you, force you to have war, risk lives, I’d have to rip out yer eye and ye’d have to stab me dead, too, aye?”

“Captain, I could never do that. I’ve never had the heart for truly bringing death by my own hooves. I’ve ordered deaths, but I could never watch it.” Sadiviad looked at the eyepatch on the bed.

“This old eye seen more death than yer little mind can even think. Gonna see more too...” Gaze sighed and walked to the bed, picking up the eyepatch. He stared at it for a while.

“Why would you want me to declare war on the Council? I don’t understand.”

“ ‘Pose I’m just screwed up in me head. This old mind doesn’t understand the world today. I like to think that I go ‘round the whole world, defeating those that seek to cause destruction. I like to think I be leading a world revolution ‘gainst the evil ones...” He put the eyepatch back into its place. “This old brain of mine be old and running out of power, Sadiviad... Think I be nearing the end of my time.”

“Never!” Sadiviad shouted at him. “You have been a mentor to me, a father, for much of my life. Your mind is still strong and possesses more prowess of the world than even you realize. Mayhaps your mind is just overworked after all these years? Some time to yourself, away from this business might be good for you.”

“Me only fear is that this old mind will find it harder to distinguish those that need to be sacrificed, and those that need to lead.”

“You are built to lead! That I know!”

Gaze smiled up at the deer that had been his greatest ally for so long. “Considering how little we actually talk, ye seem to have a mighty respect for this old pirate.”

“All these years, it has been by your hoof that I have led. If I did not have a high view of your resolve, I would need to be among those sacrificed, with no doubt.” Sadiviad said matter-of-factly.

“I have something else to command of ye, then.” Gaze looked up at the buck again, refusing to break eye contact. “Those worshippers. I know of them, and I beg you, do not let them continue their evil preaching, Sadiviad. They might make their message mighty, but the reality is that they seek death and destruction to all, for no reason other than to bring death!”

Sadiviad shook his head. “I’m sorry, again. I have spoken with them many times, and I cannot say that their influence has ever had any adverse effect on my kingdom. Their words are sincere, and I have found no reason to mistrust them. Furthermore, I believe in their words. I find myself sleeping at night, in peace because I have found it in their holy words.”

Gaze sighed. “Alright...” He walked to the door again and lifted the curtain up slightly. “Come look out the window with me.”

Sadiviad made his way across the room. He opened the curtains up enough for him to see out the window. Gaze took a step back to let him look. The window gave a perfect view of the sea. The Sun reflected off of it to make the shining blue water morph into an ever shifting, waving set of never ending patterns. it was the true definition of unending beauty.

“I have read their holy words. I know about everything they have to say. I know the meaning behind the words. I haves a part to play in it all, sadly. I know it, but I wishes I never did. Can I truly not change yer mind?” Gaze spoke softly.

Sadiviad continued staring out at the sea. He simply shook his head, keeping his mind on the beauty of the unending sea.

“Then, I am sorry. So very sorry...” Gaze stepped up to the Merchant King.

Sadiviad began to turn around. “Sorry? Why would-”

The dagger left the leather attached to Gaze’s saddlebag quickly. The steel ripped open the flesh from the Merchant Kings’ neck. The buck fell onto the floor. He grabbed at his neck, but the blood would not stop. He looked up at Gaze, his eyes pleading for help.

Gaze stooped down beside him and grabbed his hoof in his own. “The world is full of horrible beasts, me friend. Ye have to understand... I wish to protect what I love, and...” He looked away as the tears began to fall down his cheeks. “The head of the snake needs to die to quell the threat of the rest of it... even if the snake be me long standing partner, and friend. I’m sorry, so sorry, Sadiviad.”

Sadiviad, between the gurgling blood and gasps of pain, gripped Gaze’s hoof tight. He looked up at him, refusing to look down at the crimson pool that began to form around him. He spoke quietly, weakly, making Gaze lean in to hear the words. “Tell them I died... with honor... keep my kingdom... safe.”

He lifted a hoof into the air, with the last of his strength, and recited the prayer of good fortune. “Be watchful... be bold... behold Mundasi...”

Gaze nodded simply as he felt the hooves go limp, watch the crimson pool grow wider and darker. “Avo Dasi, Sadiviad. Farewell.” Gaze closed his friend’s eyes, ignoring how glossed over the eyes of the dead always become. He lifted the blanket off the bed and laid it over his friend. The buck’s body was so large that the blanket only covered the torso and neck. He wiped himself clean of the blood, wiped the tears away. He walked out the door and looked at Cloud Racer.

“He’s dead.” Gaze put it simply.

Cloud Racer only closed his eyes and sighed sadly.

“Fetch one of yer contacts. Clean the mess and the body up. Have him pin it on a group of worshippers of his kingdom; then, kill him. Inform all his kingdom that the crew of Orion’s Belt will be staying in port to trade with them specifically. Make sure they are taken care of. When ye are sure that his entire kingdom has been sufficiently healed and ready to continue on their own accord, fly out to the Pirate’s Progress at sea.”

        The stallion found the traitor in his chambers that night, when the moon was already high into the sky. The traitor had a large barrel beside his desk and was slowly filling a mug its contents.

        “What are you drinking?” Lone asked him. He took a seat in front of the desk.

        Gaze smiled at him and filled up a second mug he had under the table. He slid it over to Lone. Lone lifted it up and quickly gulped it down. “Ah. Hard Apple Cider. This is the kind of stuff I need.”

        “Aye, It has been a long day. An even longer life.” Gaze said, gulping his drink down.

        “We can agree on that. i was hoping that maybe we could talk about a few things.”

        “Aye, lad. If we gotta be travelling together, I think it be a nice effort for us to talk.” Gaze filled up the mugs again. “What in specific was ye thinking ‘bout talking ‘bout?”

        “Well, I’d like it if you could tell me what you were going to say yesterday. About the other we need to find.” Lone took the mug with a smile and took a sip.

        “Well, As far as i can tell, there be eight of us. No names, just titles that we all have: The Outsider, The Lost, The Prophet, The Tyrant, The Innocent, The Traitor, The Mare, and The Stallion. Far as I can gather, I be the traitor, ‘ccording to that bastard Cryptic.” Gaze took a long sip from his mug. He let out a relieved sigh.

        “Cryptic is nothing but a sick monster that gets his kicks out of watching others make others suffer.”

        “Celestia be praised for that statement that came out of ye mouth, Lone!” Gaze raised his mug up. Lone clapped his mug against it and they both took a long chug of their drink. They sighed in unison. “There’s more to the stories of the book, but nothing I want to focus on tonight, if ye be so kind.”

        Lone nodded. Gaze had been somber the whole day. He had not smiled or joked around with his crew as Lone had witnessed the day before. He simply moved around the ship with his head hung low.

        They sat there for a while, simply tossing back cider. Gaze looked off into the distance, past Lone, at nothing. “Ye ever wonder how the paths of destiny judge that it is ye that needs to be chosen for something certain?”

        “Everyday. Since my family got killed, I’ve been trying to figure this whole thing out. All i get left with is more questions.”

        “Ye loved them, aye?”

        “More than you could ever imagine, Gaze.” Lone looked at the floor. Then, he looked into the foam of his Cider. “I want to know about you, Gaze.”

        Gaze looked at him and smiled. “All about me, or just the important stuff?”

        “Whatever you feel is needed.”

        Gaze looked out of the window out his cabin. “Well, it started this one night, under the stars, in fall, fifty years ago, when me new Sergeant came up to me with a letter...” So he told the stallion his story. He tried to lower the importance of his own impact in the war. He attempted to elevate the likes of Blue Sun and Courtier to the higher levels that they deserved. He used his imagination to help bring a greater sense of drama to the parts with the Manticores and the Griffons. He tried to remember every detail that he could remember. He tried to use this time to bring himself back to a time when thing were, though not really happier, much more simple. He tried to think of some words of great weight that Blue Sun might have said, but he realized that there was none, and he could never infringe upon the memory of his old friend by lying about his final words. He tried to villainize General Pitch to the best of his ability, but could find no way to. in the end, Pitch was simply an insane stallion who was going to lose it sooner or later. He skipped over the gruesome details to how he lost his eye, said nothing about the ear, as he did not even know the story behind it. He spoke about the kindness of Rain Taps and how he continued to be her friend, all these years later. Lone asked about the ship, after a time. “Well, beautiful Rain Taps had a good ‘mount of connections in her position at the weather department. Some were sailors that she knew, whom she’d moved the clouds for on occasion. She wrote a letter; I was on a ship in a few weeks. I bounced from ship to ship for a few years, until I found meself a good ship and captain. I was good with me star charts, even with me missing eye. So, I sold them for a large amount and bought me secondary vessel out there, Orion’s Belt. Challenged the captain of the good ship I had stayed on. Made a wager for his ship ‘bout trading something or some such nonsense. I won. So I took his ship as we agreed, and made it me own, as ye see around ye now!”

        “Why Pirate’s Progress?”

        “Because, well, first off, we alls be pirates on this ship. Also, because I believe that, when ye take a new step, its like a new chapter in yer life is being opened up. ‘Tis the same way every time a ship sets anchor in a harbor; ‘tis a new chapter in the life of the ship and the sailors aboard it, Lone.” Gaze lifted his mug again in a salute and chugged it.

        Lone chugged his own mug of cider. “But, what do you intend to do about all of this stuff we have been drawn into?”

        “Lone, there’ll be plenty of time to discuss the likes of that on the journey to Equestria. Let this old sailor give ye a simple piece of advice on life. Take it all one mug of cider at a time. Let the train of destiny come to ye, and catch it when ye feel it is yer time to catch it. Never lose yer way, though, cause then ye will get the wrong train, and be lost forever, and that’s the greatest shame, it is. Always hold on to what ye started this for, to the thing ye love that holds ye close to this part of yer life. Even when the chapter of yer life seems never-ending, always hold on to the love inside. Look at me, I be deformed, wrinkled, old, and losing me mental strength, but I know I gots to hold on, for me sake and for those I care about. Sometimes, I’ll admit, it be heard, and the ones ye care for fall, but hold them in yer heart, Lone, for yer sake and theirs.”

        So Lone and Gaze, the stallion and the traitor, continued in their cider drinking for the rest of the night, talking about those who have been lost and the ones that they wished to hold onto. They prepared for the growing journey that they knew awaited them, but they knew that they would accept the journey, because the friendship they were building, between Lone, Gaze and Trixie, would be enough to sustain them. Especially in these desperate times.

Birthing; Dragons; 26:9- The bond between the ones that are chosen will be important, for the Mysterious Ones, in their preparation of the world for the coming of the scorched glass, will need the bond of an eternity of destiny’s work to truly break free from the prison that we sadly see them in.

END OF PART 2