It was a moonless night, and thestral sorcery she barely comprehended wrapped the aerial vessel in yet more even stealth. Even with her talent for spotting hidden things before becoming Luna's chosen, she doubted even she could have pierced the concealment.

The deck of Luna's storm ship was packed. Luggage, cases and boxes of all shorts had been shrunken by her magic, and they were still stacked two ponies high.

With just a glance, her mind started inventorying it as if it were a crime scene, and in a way, it was. Just the seals on some of the box's told her exactly where they came from. The fact that three of them carried the scent of blood did not bode well for those that were meant to guard them.

The biggest heist in Equestrian history, and here she was, an accessory to it. Yet the ponies around her were no mere bandits. No thieves or criminals. Retributive range and violent zeal shone with umbral light in their eyes. The worst thing was the same thing lurked inside her own heart.

How dare Celestia do this. How dare she, after hobbling the guard, lying to RGIS and leaving Equestria so weak or could not defend itself against a real threat, and then she attacked the Sovereign's betrothed.

Even the winding rivers of enthralling umbral colours were not enough to distract her on this moonless night. All the wonderful colours did was paint the destruction in different hues.

That Celestia had turned on both her former student and her sister was not in doubt. Celestia was the only one with the correct aspects and the sheer power to scar the land like this.

Even as the savage edge that Luna's icey magic granted her craved vengeance. Her keen mind still had to know one thing, Why?

Shadow stepping was an interesting talent, a useful ability and one that any undercover agent would at least consider selling their horn for. Never in a thousand years would she have considered even the possibility of shadow-stepping a whole airship.

Yet, as the storm ship skipped another part of their journey, she could not deny it. The dozen thestrals that had opened the way followed through after and slumped to the deck as the next group prepared for their turn.

If only I had more time to train… She was one of Luna's chosen, and even if she was born a unicorn, she had more of the umbral sorcery than ever, the most powerful of non-chosen thestrals. In a way, the laboured breathing of the aged mares and stallions was her fault. She was not an agent mare, she had an accurate opinion of her own abilities, and she knew by the feel of the energies she could have powered one of those shadow steps on her own.

Instead, she was reduced to offering water and helping the overtaxed ponies get comfortable.

The next group took to the air. In this darkest of night, they did not need to find shadows, for all was shadow. They formed a ring head of the ship. The umbral colours shifted and flowed like a whirlpool past them, and with a lurch of acceleration, the storm ship was dragged in.

Yet more ponies ended up in her care and they were closer still to their destination.

The magenta glow could be seen before the mountain peak up over the horizon. Its steady mage light was almost too bright. Its conventional colours were the only normal light she had seen for what felt like days. The harshness of its luminance stole away the beauty of the umbral tapestry around it.

Even though it marked their safe harbour, seeing any of the enchanting darkness destroyed brought a tear to Moonlight's eye.

This was not the griffon lands as they had been before the blight. The lands below were little more than ash for as far as the eye could see. It was yet another humbling example of how destructive a single Alicorn could be. If two fought here, would it all be nothing but glass?

The warmth and scent were the only signs of the pony that moved up beside her. "So, this is to be our new home." The old mare words were not a question.

It was an impressive fortification. It was almost mind-boggling to know Twilight had conjured it in a single moment. As impressive as it was, there was still doubt in her heart. "Would it not be better to hide somewhere with no ties to Twilight?"

"You doubt the Sovereign's choice?" The edge of challenge was unmistakable. The anger at recent events sharpened the mare's words keener than the points of the deadly fangs she showed.

Moonlight stood tall and fixed her narrowing eyes on the mare. "It's my job to doubt everything."

The mare snorted. "So not a coward then."

"No, I just respect what line of sight magic can do… and atop a mountain like this…"

"Fear not. The Sovereign has her ways."

Moonlight looked out to her new home as her hoof rubbed her throat. "I know…"

Author's Note

1/2 for today