Starlight Glimmer and the Runekeepers

Chapter Theme

The traffic in Canterlot was heavy. Zeppelins surrounded the capital like a bumblebee swarm. Despite the incident with the train, the situation remained calm, because no ponies were harmed.

Twilight Sparkle in the carriage didn’t diminish this strange feeling. This attack was a clear sign. No one was safe anymore. They were all targets of murderers whose names remained in the shadows.

The golden carriage drove quickly to the hospital. Captain Tempest and her guards guided it in fast pace. Twilight hated presenting herself like that. She felt like a caricature in a tight armor; a laughingstock of her subjects.

Her face appeared cold in the darkness, with the curtains down. Her whole body shivered, not just because the moving carriage. She thought all about Rainbow Dash and Applejack. The reports of the guards were vague. She had to convince herself, if they were really safe.

“We’re almost there, Princess!” said the guard at the harness.

“Good!” Twilight said, “Please take me to the back entrance.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.”

Twilight wasn’t alone in the carriage. In front of her sat a unicorn stallion with a cane and white fur. He wore a dark red robe, the uniform of the highest archmage of Canterlot. This title he received after Starswirl the Bearded had retired.

“When all the representatives of harmony are together, we will do our best to protect Equestria,” he assured.

“Yes, Archmage Neighsay!” she said while she was absorbed in thoughts.

Twilight wished someone else had become archmage, but the majority voted for him. In a room with this stallion the mood was unbearable. Luckily, her advisor Spike was also there, who looked at his statement critically. “These are Twilight’s friends you’re talking about!”

“Yes, that’s what I meant!” he said clarifying.

This stallion slowly grew old. Wrinkles appeared on his face. He still had a look of a static sculpture, like during the conflict with Twilight’s school few years ago. The position as a royal archmage divorced him from reality. But he was indispensable and respected Twilight’s decisions; those of Spike as well. It was said he had helped in the battle against Tirek, Cozy Glow and Chrysalis, and his magic was quite comparable to his predecessor.

After the carriage had stopped, Twilight was the first to step out. As ordered, they held behind the hospital. Captain Tempest and the guard secured entrance and cleared a small corridor for the princess.

It wasn’t the worthy entry for a regent, but Twilight didn’t care. She didn’t want to engage more prying eyes. With rapid trots and tensed wings, she stepped through the double door. Two guards held the entrance, while two others guided the high visit along the hallways.

The medics knew about the princess’ appearance. Therefore, the head doctor came to her in person. “Your Majesty, your friends are recovering well. They were very lucky. Follow me, please.” He opened the patient room while bowing.

Twilight saw Applejack lying on the floor. She bent carefully back and forth while crossing her front legs over her body. Rainbow Dash propped herself up on her wings, sweating, holding her own weight. Both were bandaged and covered with plasters. When Twilight crossed the door, her friends noticed her. “Twilight!”

Their joy was out of bounds and let Twilight’s huge wings embrace them. The doctor had no time warning the two mares to take easy.

“I’m so glad to see you back safe,” cried Twilight in relief. Spike, Neighsay and Tempest greeted the patients one by one.

After the happy reunion, the archmage stepped forward with his wooden cane. “Greetings, Mrs. Applejack and Mrs. Dash!” He bowed and continued. “I must say, it was a heroic feat, the way you saved the train with all its passengers.”

Applejack stretched her neck, and Rainbow Dash relaxed her wings. They just looked tired, like telling him there was no room in their flanks. Twilight frowned a little. Her friends saved so many ponies in a huge risk. Still, it seemed like this action was planned weekly on schedule.

Finally, Rainbow Dash spoke, “This credit also goes to the passengers. Every creature did their part.”

“And the train brakes made sure it didn’t rip me into apple halves,” Applejack added.

Rainbow Dash hissed at her quietly from the side, “We’ll talk about that later, AJ!”

Neighsay cleared his throat, accepting their humility with a smile. “Yes, I have heard that. Unicorns and Kirins used their magic to stop the train, and every other creature supported them mentally. This is indeed the power of unity, learned in the School of Friendship.” Then he turned to Twilight, “I heard Starlight Glimmer had closed this school because of an attack, hm?”

The princess gave Nighsay a meaningful look. The archmage knew everything about the attack and the assassins. He didn’t need to know more.

“Well, one more question,” he finally said.

“Archmage,” Tempest interrupted him, “We should discuss this in the palace.”

But Neighsay ignored the captain’s suggestion. “What spells did the attackers use against you? Were they from darker nature?”

Rainbow Dash and Applejack gazed at each other to make sure they understood this question correctly. Then Applejack nodded with confidence, “Yeah, there was something mighty scary. His eyes lighted up and… and two magic claws crawled out of his horn.”

Neighsay stroked his chin beard with interest. “Obviously he wanted to capture you in his pocket dimension. This is practical, but forbidden. You can change into another pony like a changeling, but restricted in one form. I think, I understand the assassins’ plan. They just didn’t count with your strength.”

Rainbow Dash concluded this thought with sweat on her face, “Does that mean they want to take our place?”

Neighsay nodded with a deep expression, “Exactly! So it’s easier to reach Twilight Sparkle.”

Applejack gasped in horror, “But why? Why do they bother? And why do they want our friend dead?”

Neighsay walked with his cane to the window and stared at the palace battlements. He proclaimed the supposed goal of the assassins like a dark prophecy, “It is quite clear! You are the example of all friendships. You do not harm each other and will be friends until the end of all days. But what is this gruesome irony when the Princess of Friendship gets murdered by her own friends?”

He knocked the cane tip on the ground. Suddenly the room darkened. Archmage Neighsay cast a spell which allowed everyone present experiencing a simulation of his imagination. In this case it was a vision in which the assassins were successful.

They still stood in the same room, but instead of the window an enormous hole gaped in the wall. From there a completely different Canterlot appeared. Palace battlements and towers had collapsed. Houses and stores burned in a sea of flames. The sky had turned into an ugly orange brown, and war was taking place in the distance. Pegasi, Griffins and Hippogriffs fought against each other. Yaks stormed the streets, looted the still intact houses and trampled everything in their way. Niriks with burning manes pounced on the dark changelings trying to defend their territory. Meanwhile, huge dragons circled the sky and sent firestorms down on the city. A seething fire wall raced through the alleys and devoured ponies forever. It was a terrible image that Neighsay created. This kind of magic showed only one of many possible futures.

Twilight Sparkle saw her destroyed Canterlot. Her hair waved in the simulated storm. In this world she had been murdered by an assassin who faked one of her friends. With full of sorrow, her heart became so heavy and Years of work and effort ware in vain, like nothing had happened, like she had never existed. She closed her eyes to spare herself the details. Sparks flew by, the destruction rolled relentlessly upon her.

“Stop this!” Tempest shouted.

The magician noticed Twilight’s silent reaction and ended the horror scenario immediately. Humbled, Neighsay stepped back and bowed. “I am sorry, Your Majesty! I… I went a little too far.”

The captain stomped forward to the archmage with glaring eyes. “This idea from you doesn’t surprise me! You forget we will never let that happen!”

Spike’s shoulders seemed tensed with a great desire to punch this stallion in the face. “The leaders of the nations would never make war among themselves! We will see to that!”

Tempest crowded the stallion, which was actually smaller than her. But suddenly Twilight answered in a calm and composed voice, “Let it go, Tempest! Even if this vision didn’t reflect reality, an assassination would indeed cause a strong quake. Every creature would question the Magic of Friendship, all the knowledge; all my words would lose their meaning. The Princess of Friendship murdered by her own friends. This won’t end up in the history books.”

A small determent spark flickered in her eyes. “Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy are in grave danger. Although it’s a bit early, I call upon the Council of Friendship! We must make sure that my find their way safely to Canterlot. That’s why we need a capable team escorting them.”

Rainbow Dash jumped up full of energy. She probably heard the adventure calling. “Alright! Let’s go! I volunteer!”

Applejack grabbed her colorful tail and pulled her back. “Ma dear sugar cube, ya kinda forgot something.”

Twilight had to agree. Sending Rainbow Dash and Applejack out meant putting them in danger again. “It’s for your own good to stay in Canterlot, really.”

Tempest made another suggestion, “How about a task force? Mercenaries who are up to this mission.”

But Twilight had to disagree again. “They may not stand out, but we need someone with confidence. When my friends receive the message, they would trust strangers less.”

Suddenly Spike hit on his palm. “I got it, Twilight! Let me handle this! I know the right six-pack for the job!”

The princess gave her assistant a bright smile, already guessing who he meant. “Then don’t hesitate! Call them to the palace!”

The archmage tilted his head confused. After Spike had left the room, Neighsay asked, “Who is he talking about?”

“That’s not your business right now. I have another assignment for you: Find out who’s behind all this. Go through the criminal files. Bring in Stygian as backup. If you find something, report it to me immediately,” Twilight ordered harshly.

The Archmage bowed once more and left the hospital room like a scared mouse.

After Applejack and rainbow Dash had gone ahead, Twilight looked back at the city’s shining panorama once again. She asked herself a last question in the empty room. How long will this peace last?”

Spike soared to the palace, heading directly for his balcony. He stomped into his room, which had been Luna’s sleeping chamber. Thanks to the wallpaper, it was a bit gloomy here, but Spike didn’t bother. Illuminated candles with green fire gave enough light. They were carried by dark branches sticking out of the ground. The room was indeed an interesting place, because he could sleep well, which was probably a result of remaining magic.

Spike sat on a dark iron chair and started a letter. After finishing his message, he fanned the ink dry and rolled up the parchment, then sealed it with the royal sign of the advisor. The recipient would recognize from where the letter came from.

He spits a green flame on the parchment. It caught fire and dissolved into magical particles that floated through the open balcony window. Any dragon could send letters by fire breath with a little practice. Spike already had thought this a certain dragon, and this letter flew straight to her.

The particles flew over the treetops of a dark forest to a weathered ruin known as the Castle of the Two Sisters. From there grew a crystalline structure, which was a large tree with pink leaves that swayed gently in the wind. Its trunk was actually a massive house made of crystal.

In the building, Smolder, Yona, Silverstrean and Ocellus sat on the floor, playing a board game. Since they were done with learning, a break inside the Tree House of Harmony was a good idea.

The board game they had borrowed from Starlight Glimmer was called, “Dragon Pit.” Unfortunately, only four creatures could play it, so Gallus and Sandbar just watched them.

Smolder groaned when she saw the dice number. “Oh great! My figure has fallen into another trap!”

She had to watch how the sphere rolled on a switch and her playing figure fell in a trapdoor. The dragon roared in frustration, “This game offends my kind!”

Gallus laughed and slapped his lion’s thighs. The dragon girl puffed out smoke in indignation, but then she realized, how funny the last sentence was and had to laugh along. Suddenly she choked. Grabbing her throat, she coughed hard as a crumb was stuck in her windpipe. Ocellus jumped up at once, but the dragon lifted her finger. The changeling should wait for a moment.

With all her strength she spat out a glaring flame and cremated the game in the process. A parchment rose from the fire and landed on the floor. Sandbar lifted his hooves in shock. “You charred Starlight’s board game!”

“I noticed it, and I feel much better already,” the dragon girl croaked and picked up the scroll.

Gallus looked interested at the paper. “I thought only Spike can do that.”

“All dragons can do this theoretically, but a unicorn has to cast a spell on us, like Starlight did it on me. With a little practice, you get the hang of it,” Smolder explained and noticed the shiny symbol. As it recognized the presence of the students, it flashed and unfolded itself.

At the same time a purple creature flow on Silverstreams’s back. A creature mixed out of a chicken and a snake with two claws and small, leathery wings.

“Hello, Edith! Did you hear Smolder coughing?” asked the hippogriffin, and fondled the cockatrice on the neck, which cooed calmly.

Smolder read aloud, “My dear, loyal students! I have a task of utmost urgency for you! Please come to the Palace at Canterlot as soon as possible! Your old friend, Spike!”

Sandbar had to sit down to process this. He held his head tight with dizziness. “Oh, dear. A mission from above. We hadn’t that for a long time.”

Smolder rolled up the letter and burned it. Ocellus shrank and held her hooves in front of her face. “Wow, you like to burn things today. Why did you do that?”

“Well, it’s obvious,” Smolder replied shrugging. “We are called to the palace. That is not a matter of course. We have a huge responsibility to bear. In burned the letter, because it should only involve us.”

Gallus spoke to the dragon, tapping under his beak, “Not a random thought. Do you mean, then, we have a special secret mission?”

Silverstream grabbed her cheeks and squealed. Her cockatrice crowed in unison, “Oh! Almost like in those Power Pony Comics?”

Yona laughed and looked at the shelves where some volumes stood. “This makes Yona curious!”

With pure confidence they left the ruins together. Silverstream said goodbye to Edith and instructed her to continue looking after the tree house.

They crossed a hanging bridge and overcame the plateau where the ruin stood. Their way led through the Everfree Forest, which was not without danger, but over the years it had lost some of its magic, since the tree house creation.

They must stay on the path of harmony in order to avoid falling off course. It was, so to speak, the main track of the forest, which was sometimes covered by roots, moss coatings and other overgrowths. The six students already knew this way so well that they could follow it blindly.

They arrived at a river which had to be crossed. While Sandbar and Yona waded through the shallow water, Gallus, Smolder, Ocellus and Silverstream simply flew over.

Suddenly Yona stopped and pointed on something big on the other side. “Hey, what’s that?”

Everyone looked over to the shore. Gallus narrowed the eyes. His sharp vision recognized what it really was. “There lies a manticore!”

This lion-scorpion hybrid seemed to sleep on the riverbank, but it was known, these creatures preferred taking a nap in caves rather outside in front of a rushing river.

“Something’s fishy here,” the griffin noted and flew towards it, the others followed. The manticore didn’t move a bit, and even when Yona stumbled clumsily over the stone bank, the animal didn’t seem to hear her.

Ocellus flew over and observed it with her facetted eyes. Gallus took a stick, to poke it carefully. No reaction. From then on it became clear, what was wrong with this creature.

Ocellus stroked its frayed mane. Silverstream also touched it on the belly and spoke with deepest sorrow, “Rest in peace, poor soul.”

Smolder puzzled what had killed this manticore and examined every side. Meanwhile, Yona lay down and moaned, “Oh! Yona’s not doing well now.”

Sandbar also wanted to touch the lion being, but flinched. “Guys, we’d better wash our claws and hooves. Who knows, if this thing died of some disease.”

“It wasn’t…” called Smolder in earnest, pointing to the head. Everyone gathered around and recognized a large piece of skull was missing. A deep, bleeding hole gaped between it half-closed eyes.

Gallus croaked a choking griffin sound. Sandbar took a new guess about the death cause. “This looks like a precise magic beam.”

Gallus seemed unsettled and turned away from the sight of this grotesque wound. “Magic, in what way?”

“Well, an extremely strong beam with the horn. I’m not a unicorn, but I know there are very powerful spells that can do such thing.”

Ocellus shivered by this thought, “Brr! This makes my chitin shake.”

Gallus didn’t want to stay here and looked around. “Okay, we still have an appointment with the princess! Let’s go, nothing to do here!”

“Just wait,” cried Silverstream, who apparently held some kind of mourning ceremony. She placed stones around the manticore and built a road into the river. Then she tried to push the body inside, but didn’t have enough strength. Gallus sighed. Silverstream clearly had something in mind.

Without further questions, everyone helped. Only when Yona started pushing, the carcass moved. Just before it touched the water, something spouted out of the river. The large head of a mustached sea snake appeared, and the six students leaped back. Smolder and Gallus prepared for an attack. This sudden appearance splashed water over the friends. “Well, hello there? You’re not going to push that poor thing into my river, are you?” warned the sea snake.

Yona shook her fur dry, spreading droplets over the friends. After everyone had overcome the yak’s splashing attack, Silverstream folded up the front claws. “Oh! We are terribly sorry! We hippogriffs are used to bury our deceased in the water.”

The sea snake understood what she meant. “Oh, yes! You are living in the sea, too. I should have known that. But sweetheart, as much I appreciate your empathy for this unfortunate creature, you must understand, even a dead manticore keeps its deadly venom. It wouldn’t do the river and me any good, if you know what I mean.”

Silverstream nodded and let the quick funeral idea be forgotten. The sea snake smiled gratefully, “By the way, my name is Steven Magnet, the most beautiful sea snake in all of Equestria.” He twirled his beard around with a beaming smile.

“I am Smolder and these are my friends Gallus, Ocellus, Silverstream, Yona and Sandbar. Can I ask something? Do you know who did this to the manticore?”

Steven Magnet raised his head, “I have seen it. When I showed up, it was already gone. Two ponies were running up the river and one cursed things, I didn’t dare to say. These words were horrible.”

Everyone looked upriver. If these unicorns acted so brutal with this animal, it was certainly not a good idea following them. Sandbar shook head in resignation, “It’s depressing that such ponies still exists, even in Twilight’s era.”

“Not every creature understands friendship,” Smolder said, turning to the dead manticore. “And besides, we have something more important to do…”

“But what about that poor creature there?” Silverstream asked.

Smolder stood in front of it, stretching her knuckles. “I’ll bury it in the good old dragon way.”

Ocellus’ face became blank. “Let me guess… You’re burning it.”

“Damn straight!” She took a deep breath and let her fire simmer, till stomach began to glow. Then she spat out a huge fire burst. The manticore vanished behind the flames and the others covered their faces, while Smolder knelt down with fist on the ground. There she stared quietly into the fire for one minute long. As the flames devoured the whole creature, she stood up and marched past her friends. “Let’s go, the princess is waiting for us!”

The friends waved Steven goodbye, washed their claws and hooves, and continued the way. Behind them the smoke rose into the sky.

The two assassins in their robes rested farther upriver in the middle of the forest. In front of them lay three glowing stones, which did not burn like fire, but shared the same heat. The red-faced Quartus scolded as he used his magic to sew the scratches on his flank, “Curse this manticore! I hope it burns in hell and suffers agonizing pain!”

Septimus drank a calming tea that he had placed on the glowing stones. It was pure bad luck. After being launched off by Tempest, they landed right in the middle of the Everfree Forest, on top of a manticore. The creature had probably tried quenching its thirst at the river. It hit Quartus badly, and Septimus had just enough time to fire a magic beam, after that he had to listen to his friends cries for an hour long.

“You’re lucky he didn’t use his sting. Then you would be a goner,” he said and took a sip. Only the tea saved Septimus from madness. Quartus’ wound looked worse than it really was. It will leave scars behind and give his cutie-mark, three curved daggers in circle, a certain touch. Only his right flank was affected. “He shouldn’t fuss about it,” Septimus thought and swirled the tea to spread the aroma.

Quartus continued complaining. “If Quintus… Ouch! Didn’t screw up… Ah! Then we wouldn’t sit here! Hnggh!”

Septimus had to agree. Quintus had taken a simple-minded approach. It should have been the captain of the Royal Guard. A unicorn with broken horn and they were both defeated by her anyway. There couldn’t be a greater shame.

“Do we actually know anything about the real bearer if the wither mark?” asked Quartus in passing.

Septimus shrugged, finished drinking the tea with relish and said, “Not that I know of! If the wither touched a pony, it should already have bitten the dust.”

Quartus finished the last stitch and bit off the thread. Then he sat down and also sipped his tea empty. “Isn’t that good? This could mean, it has become a wither pony, and might try another attack.”

“Not if Quintus messed up the ritual, too. Then the wither pony would do what he wants and this could be bad for all of us,” Septimus explained and looked thoughtfully at the treetops. Catching Rainbow Dash and Applejack had failed as well, thanks to Tempest. Without her, the job would have been a success. He thought hard about other possibilities. Septimus could create a wither pony on his own, but he needed a victim and a lot of blood to write the spell.

Smoke wafts rose above their heads and Septimus stopped short. “What the hay?”

He stood up and ran to the river. Quartus limped after him with astonished looks. They saw a smoke column rising downstream, where they had come from. The assassins galloped along the river, while Quartus groaned in pain, because of his wound. As they arrived, the manticore burned before them.

“Dude! How did that happen?” asked Quartus aloud. “Is this typical for manticores? Do they catch fire when they die?”

“No! That would be new to me,” Septimus replied and sniffed. The fire smelled odd to him. “Do you sense that?” he asked his companion.

Quartus also began to sniff. “Phew! It smells like puke!”

Septimus explained, while scanning the fire, “Not just that. You smell diethyl, an important ingredient in dragon fire.”

Quartus snorted, “Whew! A dragon did this?”

“That’s right!” said Septimus, searching the ground. If he was lucky, he might find more clues. His sharp eye rewarded him, tracks on the sandy half of the shore lead right into the forest. They were from different creatures. “A dragon, a yak, a changeling, a griffin, a hippogriff, and a pony.”

Quartus chuckled, “That’s quite a motley crew!”

Septimus followed the trail. Then he raised his head sneering and pointed in the direction the creatures had run. “Let’s see what this troop is up to. Maybe we can rough them up a bit, what do you think?” Quartus grinned sardonic. He wouldn’t mind.

The six students hasted along the path. Smolder hoped reaching the train to Canterlot on time. They had already lost time and were determined to catch up.

The forest was peaceful during daytime. Nevertheless, they had no time, because evening would soon dawn. Sandbar still seemed to remember the burial ritual of the dragons and asked Smolder, “So you burn your deceased?”

“Yes, we make a big celebration, and sing and tell stories about him, if this dragon was very popular.”

Silverstream caught up with them. “That doesn’t sound like mourning.”

“Why should we? We prefer to celebrate because he was among us. Okay, we mourn a little bit,” Smolder said with a touch of pride.

Silverstream thought about something and said, “We hippogriffs, on the other side, are very dramatic. We cry about the dead and let them float out into the sea until the sun goes down. Then a green light flashes on the horizon. After that the family fasts for three days.”

Gallus spoke, as the topic has become interesting to everyone, “Sounds really frustrating, but just wait until you now the Griffins’ ceremony, because we don’t have one. We just bury them and the end.”

The others were shocked at this flappy way of burial. Ocellus asked him, “No tears? No funeral feast? No farewell?”

Gallus shook his head and sighed, “I wish it were different, but we are very reluctant showing such feelings. We like to mourn alone.”

Ocellus thoughtfully placed her hoof under the chin. “I remember Chrysalis had transformed the empty chitin shells into a slimy mass that was used for the larvae. I don’t know how we do this today. Until now no changeling after Chrysalis has died. Somehow we are living longer and as soon the time comes, we have to think about a new ceremony.”

“Yaks mourn silent!” Yona began to tell. “Yaks build mounds for dead yak and add property.”

Finally, it was Sandbar’s turn to contribute his part. He hesitated a bit, because thinking about it was hard. “Well we also bury our deceased and mourn for them. We also eat afterwards, but not in a cheerful way. The family shares the property. Sometimes we get into fights over it.”

“Sounds pretty dull if you ask me,” commented Smolder.

“What does that mean?” sandbar asked the dragon confused.

The dragon girl backed up a bit. She didn’t want to offend him. “Oh, don’t think about it. We live here and right now!”

The students crossed a fallen tree trunk, connecting two cliffs. Only Yona and Sandbar had to walk over, and Gallus must make sure, the yak girl didn’t fall off the trunk. It was always the same place she had difficulties with it.

They reached the other side without problems. There stood a light gray pony with red braids and a robe. He greeted smiling, “The sun salutes you, dear travelers!” He bowed. The accent of the stranger sounded like from Saddle Arabia.

“Hello!” the students greeted back.

“Do you have a moment?” I’d like to ask a question!”

Gallus crossed his arms skeptic and answered, “Actually, we are really in a hurry!”

“Just a moment! I want to know if this is the right way to Ponyville.”

Ocellus nodded kindly, “Yes! You are right!”

The unicorn boewed deeply once again und continued, “Thank you, dear friends! I am an old schoolmate of Princess Twilight Sparkle. I’m here to visit her.”

“Is that so?” buzzed Gallus with frowning eyebrows.

The stallion put on a bright, friendly beam, like had payed attention in Flutteshy’s lessons. That melted the ice, especially for Yona. “Yak trusts you. Pony Smile is really good!”

“Call me Gün Batimi! Tell me my friends; are Twilight and the others still good fellows?”

The students walked on with him and continued the small talk. Ocellus started, “You really have to be careful here. Many dangerous creatures are living here, Timberwolves, Pukwudgies and Manti…”

“…cores?” Gün Batimi ended. Smolder and Gallus shared a frowning look.

“Right! Do you know these beings?” Ocellus asked.

“Only read about them, but you haven’t answered my question, yet. What about Twilight’s friends?” the traveler recalled.

Silverstream just decided to reply, “Oh, they’re very scattered right now! As far I heard Rarity is in Manehatten, Pinkie is at a convention and Fluttershy usually hangs out with Discord. No idea what Applejack and Rainbow Dash are doing. Maybe they’re still in Ponyville.”

Gün Batimi seemed surprised, “Oh, aren’t they friends anymore?”

“Oh yes! But everyone has a lot to do right now,” Silverstream said giggling.

The traveler nodded and smiled, showing a sparkling gold tooth.

A dark shadow rushed over Sandbar and floored him. He was surrounded by a smoke cloud, making him immobile. Quartus materialized and held a knife to his throat. Sandbar cried out and kicked in the air, but the assassin pressed the blade harder against him to make clear, he’d better keep still.

The other five couldn’t react. The alleged traveler dropped his acting mask and conjured a dome around them. All were trapped. “Ah! Too easy! Your little fire was just magnificent!”

Smolder hissed with anger, “So it was you! I just knew it!”

Septimus cackled and bowed playfully, much like his old role as a peaceful traveler. “Quite right! Great perception! A pity this talent will be lost to the world!”

Gallus clenched his fists. “What do you want?”

Septimus wandered around them like a predator. “You’ll find out soon enough. First of all, I want to thank you for sharing such great information about Twilight’s friends.”

Silverstream quailed, kneeling down bitterly. With watery eyes she clasped her chest like this deception crushed her.

At last Septimus lifted his head and showed glowing blue eyes. “Now witness a ritual you’ll never forget!”

Quartus started a growling laugh and cut a red line in Sandbar’s throat, who screamed loud. Yona cried for him with stretching hooves. The students faced a real nightmare.