Scarlet: Broken Pedestal

by Skijarama

Rating: teen
Tags: Sad, Main 6, Changelings, Original Character, Spike, Adventure, Sex, Twilight Sparkle, Profanity, Gore, Violence, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Death, Alternate Universe
Length: 40478

Princess Twilight Sparkle has returned to a world that has gone without her for over four hundred years. With the aid of Scarlet Frost, she and her friends set out into the world, heedless of the changes, good and bad, their return has put in motion.

THIS STORY HAS BEEN CANCELED. Click here for the blog post explaining why.

It has been a long and arduous journey for Scarlet Frost and her found family, and they are all ready to settle down in their new home, Sanctuary, for a quiet, peaceful life. Unfortunately, fate is a mistress seldom sated, and all too soon, the peaceful life Scarlet yearns for is ripped away from her. When Princess Twilight Sparkle, a legendary mare seen as a goddess, calls on her to aid in a mission to right the wrongs of the Fall, Scarlet feels compelled to heed the call.

With the return of the Princess and her five friends, the world stands on the brink of sweeping and irrevocable change. Whether or not those changes are for the best, however, remains to be seen. What is certain is that the world has ever been unreceptive to change, and the ghosts of Scarlet's blood-stained past shall cry out for justice before the day is done.

A special thank you goes out to my editors, Mister Hypothetical and Chromio!

Published 2020-08-07 15:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2020-10-06 01:47:32 UTC

Spectator

Author's Note

THIS STORY HAS BEEN CANCELED.

Click here to learn why.

Spectator

This night is proving to be a wearisome affair, Nocturn mused as he stared down into the verdant mountain valley. His leathery wings twitched at his sides in irritation as he perused the sight of the great fires that burned near its center, swallowing a large and impressive orchard and reducing much of it to little more than blood-stained ash.

“This shouldn’t have happened…” he growled under his breath, resisting the urge to kick a stray stone by his hooves. He kept a firm hold on his composure, however. One in his position could never afford to lose focus. The still-burning welt on the side of his temple where he had been struck several times by a stone from some nights prior was evidence enough of that.

From within the roiling flames, a flash of purple light suddenly erupted, causing the inferno to billow out like a tattered dress under an intense updraft. Trees that were unfortunate enough to be nearby toppled and Nocturn’s keen thestral ears could just make out the thunderous clap of the explosion, along with the tell-tale crack and rumble of falling lumber. He could just barely see a figure, blue and red, flying back from the blast, ablaze, and leaving a trail of smoke in its wake.

Scarlet Frost.

Nocturn’s brow furrowed. He had been watching her fight for a while now; watching as she resorted to ever more desperate and even self-destructive tactics against her sole enemy, who had yet matched her blow-for-blow, keeping her on the defensive. Nocturn’s eyes returned to the inferno and the great pillar of smoke left in the wake of Scarlet’s spell, looking for any sign of her adversary.

There was movement, and the pegasus revealed himself: burned, battered, but still ready to fight. Nocturn watched Silent Edge fly down from the smoke, only for Scarlet to hurl something at him, striking him in the face and sending him falling to the ground in a rolling heap. Nocturn winced. He had to imagine that hurt.

Silent rose to his hooves, facing Scarlet down. Neither of them moved, however. Nocturn figured they must have been taking a moment to catch their breaths, size each other up, and maybe even exchange words. They had been friends, once upon a time, after all…

The lull in the action afforded Nocturn a chance to reflect on all that had happened leading up to this point; he looked down, his ears drooping as a small part of him recoiled with shame and disgust at his own role in the tragedies of the last twenty-four hours. If he had known that Silent would be so brazen and insane as to hire a small army of mercenaries just to get at the filly…

“...I should have acted sooner,” Nocturn mumbled, returning his gaze to the fight as the two combatants lunged for one another again. “I never should have allowed it to come to this…”

“Sir…” a voice asked from behind him, drawing his attention. Nocturn turned to see a squad of four Nightblades standing behind him, waiting patiently, though for what they did not know. One of them, a female unicorn, had stepped forward to speak with him. “With all due respect, if you believe you should have acted sooner, then what is it holding you in place now? Should we not make our move now, while the traitor is alone?”

Nocturn stared down the unicorn, narrowing his eyes with scrutiny. She quickly backed away like a frightened puppy, her ears folding back. Satisfied, Nocturn turned back to observe the battle unfolding below. “...Scarlet Frost wages battle with Silent Edge,” he stated matter-of-factly. “She is a wanted criminal, while Silent Edge is, as you said, a traitor. We are holding back so that they may destroy each other. When they are done, only one will stand, and that shall be the one we dispose of. We are allowing them to do part of our job for us.”

“But, sir, the longer we wait, the longer those griffons will be running loose,” the unicorn tried, though her words carried far less strength than before. “Should we not do something?”

“You were there as well as I was when that feral swarm attacked Scarlet and her comrades,” Nocturn pointed out simply. “And you know as well as I how effortlessly ‘Hraesvalgr’ was able to dispose of the lot of them. The griffons are a problem, yes, but against the combined might of the First Dragon Sentinel, and an Alicorn besides, they will be little more than bothersome gnats on the wall.”

“And the changelings?”

That gave Nocturn pause. He looked down, his brow furrowing in thought as he recalled how Silent had led the band of griffon mercenaries to attack this secluded valley and its many hidden inhabitants. He had been able to hear the screaming of the drones that had been tending the fields with unsettling clarity. It was as if he had been back on the front lines of the war all over again…

He shook his head a moment later. “Our sole objective is the elimination of Silent Edge. Anything else we do is to be in service to this objective,” he said reluctantly. “Even were it within our orders to aid them, how would we? Skilled as we are, we are but five, and the griffons are many. Our direct interference would only complicate the situation in unwanted ways. Besides, the Lunar Council will wish to know of the existence of this ‘Sanctuary,’ what the Lamp means to it, and its divine leadership. I will not act on something so important without their guidance. We hold back.”

“...Yes, sir,” the mare finally relented, withdrawing into the shadows. Nocturn grunted in response before falling silent, keeping his gaze fixed on the battle. It was becoming apparent that Scarlet was on the losing end of the fight, now. She was on the defensive, forced into a perpetual retreat, while Silent was still going strong. Nocturn predicted she would not last much longer.

A prediction that was proven correct when Scarlet’s magically manifested swords were dispersed after one last clash against Silent’s single remaining wingblade. He struck her down, and that was the end of it. Scarlet was defeated. Nocturn hummed, watching as Silent reared back, preparing to thrust his blade down into the fallen unicorn.

“Rest in peace, Scarlet Frost,” Nocturn thought. “For all your wrongdoings, I do not believe you a villain.”

“Silent! STOP!”

“What?”

Nocturn’s eyes darted to the mouth of the cave, his ears twitching as they only just picked up the sound of a familiar filly’s voice screaming at the top of her lungs. Primrose, a small, earth pony unicorn—and secretly a changeling—came galloping at Silent and Scarlet, throwing a dagger at the former with her magic.

Nocturn’s nostrils flared as he took in a sharp breath. “This just became more complicated,” he thought. He had been primed and ready to give the order to move in and take Silent down, but doing so now would make this delicate situation even more troublesome.

Primrose was joined by another pony: a grown unicorn stallion. Sharp Lens. In his sky-blue magic was clutched a curved sword of griffon design, plucked from the fallen body of one of Silent’s hired sellswords, no doubt. He charged at Silent with a series of swings, battling the injured pegasus back before withdrawing to stand protectively in front of Primrose and Scarlet.

Nocturn strained his ears, but he could not make out their words. They talked back and forth for a short time, with Silent visibly appearing hesitant. Then, however, the pegasus lunged forward, batting Lens aside and charging for Primrose. It was now that Nocturn began to hear them; Primrose screaming in terror as she backpedaled away, Scarlet crying out in desperation for Silent to stop. His wings flared, and he opened his mouth to give the order to move in.

“NO!”

Scarlet suddenly vanished from her place on the ground in a flash of light. When she emerged, she stood protectively over Primrose, just in time for Silent’s blade to plunge into her back. Nocturn winced. He could not hear it from here, but he could imagine it.

A deathly chill fell over the mountains, and somewhere in the distance, thunder rumbled in the clouds. Nocturn watched Silent withdraw his blade, and Scarlet fell to the ground, seemingly lifeless. Nocturn slowly folded his wings up at his sides. “...And so it is done,” he whispered. He glanced back at the others, opening his mouth to speak.

He stopped when he heard Primrose crying.

He paused, his brow furrowing as the unfamiliar sound invaded his mind. He turned and looked down, watching the scene continue. Lens battled Silent back once again, using his magic to form a sky-blue barrier to keep the former Nightblade at bay. He then charged back to Scarlet and hovered over her, both himself and Primrose working to do something with the body. “Save it, perhaps?” Maybe Scarlet was somehow still alive, in spite of her injuries.

Nocturn’s gaze fell, his wings folding back up at his sides. Now more than ever, he knew he should have acted sooner rather than later. Primrose may have been a changeling and potential threat, but she was still just a child. It did not take a genius to see that in Scarlet, she had found a new mother to look after and love her after her untimely separation from Sclera.

“No child should be made to grieve like this… So young.”

And then, something unexpected happened. Primrose’s cries went silent. A chill ran down Nocturn’s spine, and his eyes snapped back to the scene. Primrose had just stepped out of the barrier, ignoring Lens’ shouted protests. For a moment, she just talked with Silent, the pegasus flaring out his wings in preparation to cut her down.

Then, Primrose changed.

Nocturn’s eyes widened as Primrose was consumed in a rapidly-expanding swirl of green flames. When they parted, a giant, ice-blue scorpion emerged. Nocturn’s stomach churned in shock as the monster lunged for Silent, giving him no chance to evade or fight back. The otherwise silent air became filled with agonized screams and the audible tearing of flesh and snapping of bone. He could hear his subordinates shuffling uncomfortably behind him. They recognized Silent’s voice. They had all known him at some point.

To hear him begging for his life like this...

Soon, it was over. Silent was torn to pieces by the scorpion, his dismembered remains painting the earth in a macabre work of art. The scorpion then returned to being Primrose and sluggishly dragged herself back to Scarlet’s side as Lens dropped the barrier. They knelt over the body, and their grieving cries tickled his ears.

“...They have suffered enough...” Nocturn decided, turning back to his comrades. “Withdraw, all of you. We make our return to Newcanter come the morrow. The Councils must hear of this.”

“But, sir-”

“I will hear no protests,” Nocturn shot down immediately. “Find a secluded place and get some rest. You will all need your strength for the journey back to Newcanter, and one of you will be remaining behind to keep tabs on matters here. I will be along shortly. I would watch them for a while longer.”

His subordinates glanced uneasily amongst themselves before turning and making their exit, soon vanishing from sight. Nocturn waited to ensure they had all gone before he returned his attention to the valley. The alicorn he recalled seeing before—none other than Flurry Heart, one of the Five, if he had to guess—had emerged from the cave. She was speaking with Lens and Primrose now.

Minutes passed. Eventually, Nocturn began to think it was time to return to his troops. As he was about to take his leave, he noticed the alicorn’s horn light up with magic, as did Lens’ horn and Primrose’s eyes. Nocturn watched curiously as streams of magic flowed into Flurry’s horn, growing in brightness to the point it was almost blinding.

“What are you up to…?” he wondered to himself.

Suddenly, Flurry lowered her head and directed a pulse of magic into Scarlet’s broken body, filling the air with a bassy hum and another wave of golden light. Nocturn squinted against that blinding radiance, trying to make out just what they were doing.

Slowly, the glow died down. The trio of standing ponies went into a flurry of motion, lifting Scarlet up and bearing her swiftly into the cave. If the frantic nature of their movements was anything to go off of, she was alive, and they meant to save her.

They vanished into the cave, and the valley fell silent. Nocturn gave a quiet hum, his wings shifting on his back. “...I see,” he mumbled before turning around. “So, it truly is Flurry Heart then… Who else but a goddess among ponies could hope to save somepony as broken as her?”

He flared out his wings and took to the skies, slit pupils scanning the world below for his comrades. He found them soon enough and made his descent. “I do hope you survive, Scarlet Frost. I have the feeling there will be need of you in the days to come…”

With that sentiment, Nocturn vanished from sight into the darkness of the night, even as the clouds overhead parted, allowing the moon to cast its pale glow upon the land.

Past

Four hundred years ago, tucked far away to the north of Equestria, sheltered on all sides by a perpetual blizzard that sucked the warmth and life away from all it touched, the Crystal Empire stood as one of the few remaining bastions of pony kind. A great dome of magical energy had been erected over the ancient city-state, the color of its surface shifting between a deep purple and vibrant cyan.

Under that arcane dome, a population of thousands dwelled, huddled fearfully in their homes, while yet thousands more lined the streets—refugees who had been displaced by the devastation that had befallen their once-proud land. Those that walked the shimmering crystalline roads turned their eyes southward without thinking of it, their heart withering in their chests at the thought of what was surely coming for them.

Their only solace was the towering spire of sky-blue crystal that rose from the heart of the city, emanating with the magic of friendship and love. A light of hope that hinted at the possibility of a dawn where, once the dust settled, the ponies would emerge victoriously.

On one of the many balconies that emerged from the spire’s walls, looking down on the city with a distant, faraway look in her eyes, stood the Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle. Her eyes traced the intricate, snowflake-themed streets of the great northern empire, her heart heavy with dread and anxiety as a thousand and one thoughts raced through her mind like the winds of an almighty hurricane.

She wasn’t sure how long she had been standing out here, watching the city below. It had felt like hours to her; hours of looking, watching, waiting, fearing, doubting, and regretting. Her eyes fell on one of the many groups of refugees working their way through the streets. Their movement hinted that they were searching for something. Food stalls, maybe, or perhaps shelter. Maybe they were looking for loved ones they had lost in the initial chaos of their sudden and frantic relocation.

Twilight sighed. If that was the case, then a new, cynical corner of her mind doubted that they would find them. She had tried her best to save as many as she could, but even with the help of her friends and the other princesses, it had amounted to so, so few. These refugees were all she had left. They were all that remained of her subjects. Or, at the very least, they were the last of the ones she had any chance of defending.

The rest? Lost. Either left behind in the retreat or torn apart by a swarm of ravenous, feral, brainwashed changelings. She shuddered, her wings ruffling at her sides as an uncomfortable chill filled her veins. She screwed her eyes shut, but she was unable to force out the images of the cities being rent into ruins: Manehattan, Baltimare, Fillydelphia, Canterlot. Any of them. All of them.

...When had it all gone wrong? When had the magic she had devoted her life to spreading become so painfully inferior?

“Princess?”

Twilight startled as a gruff, two-toned voice spoke to her from behind. She spun around to find Pharynx looking back at her. He was taller than her by several inches and, unlike the swarm that loomed to the south, his chitin was not littered with holes, nor was it colored a threatening shade of black. He was a dark shade of bluish-green, with orange antlers rising from his head in place of a typical horn. He was one of those lucky few changelings who had avoided the curse; one of only a thousand, if Twilight was remembering correctly, and now all of them were under her care, hidden among the refugees down below.

Quickly collecting herself, she cleared her throat and held her head high. “Yes? What is it?” she asked, trying and failing to mask the quiver in her voice.

Pharynx jerked his head back toward the door. “Starlight wants to talk to you. And everyone else. She says it’s urgent, and everypony’s already gathered in the throne room.”

Twilight blinked. “O-oh. Uh, what about?” she asked, walking after Pharynx is he stepped back inside.

The tall drone shrugged his shoulders. “She didn’t tell me, only asking that someone get you quickly. I volunteered.”

Twilight’s ears drooped, looking away. “Right…”

Pharynx snorted but did not say anything else. His gaze was locked fiercely forward, his lips formed into a perpetual, ugly frown. In the short time Twilight had known him, she didn’t think she had ever once seen him smile.

“It’s not like I can blame him,” she thought despondent, barely stifling a sigh. “He’s lost everything… his home, his people… his brother…”

The two didn’t speak another word. Every so often, a squad of heavily-armed guards walked by on patrol, giving the duo respectful nods of their heads as they passed. Soon they came to the throne room, with Pharynx throwing open the towering doors with his emerald green magic.

Twilight blinked in surprise. When Pharynx had said everypony was gathered here, he meant it. Princesses Celestia and Luna stood off to the right, tired and disheveled, but no less determined. To the left, she could see her friends Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, and even Ocellus, yet another changeling lucky enough to evade the spread of the curse.

On the raised platform where the crystal throne resided, Princess Cadance and her husband Shining Armor stood on either side of their young daughter, Flurry Heart. Twilight’s heart warmed a small amount at seeing her niece there. The filly had grown considerably since all of this madness had started; five years old and going strong.

Then, finally, standing at the base of the throne, was Starlight Glimmer. The lilac unicorn turned to face Twilight as she stepped into the room, an odd look on her face.

“Here she is,” Pharynx said bluntly, gesturing back at Twilight before joining Ocellus off to the side.

“Thank you, Pharynx,” Celestia said with a short nod.

Twilight nodded to him as well before looking to everypony before her. “S-so…” she began, stammering at the start before finally subduing that damned tremor. “What’s going on? Did something happen? Is everypony okay?”

“For the moment, yes,” Starlight said with a slow nod, her ears folding back. “But… well, none of us knows if that’s going to last. And… that’s why I called all of you here.”

Twilight winced. Something about the way Starlight had said that did not resonate well with her. “Wha… what do you mean?” she asked hesitantly.

Starlight took a long deep breath, her gaze drifting lazily from one set of eyes to the next as she collected her thoughts. After a moment, she began to speak. “Look… I don’t want to be ‘that mare,’ but we’ve all seen how this war has been going for us so far. At every turn, Chrysalis has been three steps ahead of us. We’ve lost almost every battle against her swarm, and without the Elements, without Discord, I don’t see a way for us to turn it around. Not without a miracle.”

She turned to Cadance and Shining, both of whom had placed their hooves on Flurry’s back to comfort the now-fearful filly. “...I know that’s not what any of us wants to hear. Believe me, I know. But we can’t keep praying that we’ll magically find a solution this time. It just… doesn’t seem like it’s going to work that way.”

She turned back to Twilight, her ears drooping. “We all know Chrysalis’ goal. She wants to destroy everything. Whatever happened to her when she was out there, alone in the wilderness, it broke her. She doesn’t care about survival anymore, or about feeding or protecting her subjects. All she wants is for all of us to die, and we all know she is more than capable of pulling it off. Even if we have the power here to take her down, she won’t make it easy, and we know she won’t go down without taking seven specific ponies with her…”

“Ugh, can we skip the preamble and get to the point?!” Rainbow suddenly blurted out, stamping a hoof against the floor. “We get it! The situation sucks! Stop rubbing it in and tell us why you pulled us all away from what we’re supposed to be doing!”

“I agree,” Celestia added simply. “We are all aware of the situation, miss Starlight Glimmer, and the recital is not helping the morale of the young ones present…”

Starlight grimaced, her eyes flicking between Ocellus and Flurry, both of whom were visibly upset by her little speech so far. She took a deep breath. “I… I’m sorry, but I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page. So that you’d all know why I’m coming to you all with this idea…”

Her horn lit up, and from her saddlebags, two curious objects emerged. One was a lamp, not unlike what one might expect from Somnambulan legends of wish-granting genies, crafted from softly glowing blue crystals. A collection of arcane runes had been painstakingly etched into the base, confirming it to have some manner of potent enchantment. It was accompanied by a collection of three scrolls.

“This,” she said, holding up the lamp for all to see. “Was crafted from the roots of the Tree of Harmony, with its granted consent. I have Ocellus to thank for securing that.”

Twilight blinked, taking a few, tentative steps forward to get a better look at the lamp. A faint whisper of a memory tickled the back of her mind, of Starlight and Ocellus embarking on an expedition into the Everfree when things were really beginning to get bad. She had come back with slabs of the tree’s roots and had since tinkered with all of them. “...Weren’t you using those pieces of the tree to try and find the Elements?”

Starlight sighed and shook her head. “I was, but I never had any luck. Wherever Chrysalis hid them, I never got a chance to pinpoint their exact location. They’re somewhere south, but beyond that…?”

“Even if we had a precise location,” Luna noted carefully. “It would require moving past Chrysalis’ swarm, an all but impossible task. With her connection to the drones, it would take but one to spot us for the entire mission to grind to a total halt.”

Starlight nodded along. “Right. The Elements are beyond our reach now…” she said softly before lifting her gaze to Twilight’s friends off to the side. “But… their bearers aren’t.”

“What are ya gettin’ at?” Applejack asked inquisitively.

Starlight stepped forward, bringing the lamp back down so they could all inspect it closer. “As I said, Chrysalis may be after ponykind as a whole, but there are seven ponies she wants to kill above everypony else… The ponies who wield the Elements… and I,” she explained slowly and tentatively. “...And I don’t think we have the power to stop her.”

“So what are you suggesting, darling?” Rarity asked incredulously. “That we turn tail and flee? We’ve already done that! We’re as fled as we can be!”

“Yeah, there isn’t much else to the north,” Pinkie lamented softly. “Just more snow… I mean, maybe the Yaks, but I don’t wanna run to them if it means bringing Chrysalis down on them. They’re too nice for that. I don’t wanna get our friends hurt.”

“Exactly,” Starlight confirmed, backing up. “Either Chrysalis is stopped here, or her reign of terror will never end. But I don’t think we can do it without losing at least some of us… Which is where this comes in.”

“The lamp?” Shining asked with an eyebrow going up. “What about it?”

Starlight hesitated for a moment, taking in another deep breath. “...If one of the wielders of the Elements dies, the rest of them become useless until the Tree picks new wielders, which could be centuries from now for all we know. We can’t afford to let that happen. Maybe we can stop Chrysalis here, end her control of the swarm, stop the curse. But… if we lose even one of Twilight’s friends or, heavens forbid, Twilight herself, it will have been for almost nothing.”

She turned back to Twilight and moved the lamp up to her, along with one of the scrolls. Twilight took both in her magic, examining the lamp and then unrolling the scroll. Her eyes widened as she saw the diagrams and writings of perhaps the most elaborate sealing spell she had ever seen written on the parchment. “This… it’s a spell of sealing.”

Starlight nodded. “It is…”

“So, what, are we sealing Chrysalis in a magic lamp or something?” Rainbow asked with a grin. “Cause that sounds like fun!”

Starlight shook her head. “No, we’re not. She’s amassed too much power by now. She’d be able to resist any attempt without much effort…” she said regretfully before looking up to Twilight.

Twilight swallowed heavily. A pit of dread was forming in her stomach. “I… then, who is being sealed? Or what?”

Starlight stepped forward, placing a hoof on Twilight’s chest. “...When the dust clears, we are going to need you and your friends to put the world back together, Twilight. And so… to make sure you’re there, alive and well… I think it might be for the best if we sealed you and your friends inside.”

Twilight’s heart felt as if it had just stopped in her chest. Her eyes went wide as saucers, her pupils shrank to pinpricks, and her nostrils flared alongside a sharp, sudden inhale. Her mind went back to her subjects: the ponies she was sworn to defend that were waiting for her right outside.

“WHAT?!” Applejack demanded, throwing her hat down. “Y’all can’t be serious! THAT is yer plan?!”

Starlight went on, undeterred. “The lamp is basically indestructible, and the spell is loaded with enough fail-safes and intricacies that, even if Chrysalis found it, I doubt she’d be patient enough to figure out how to open it. Assuming the worst comes to pass, and… and she wins, she would probably just discard it as a pointless bauble and be on her way. You would all be safe and alive, preserved within.”

“But you’re asking us to HIDE!” Rainbow snapped, darting over and shoving her face into Starlight’s. “Well, you can take that stupid plan and shove it right up your magic ass! I’m not leaving these ponies hanging!”

Starlight tried to nudge Rainbow back, but the pegasus held firm. “I’m asking you to live! If you die here, you’ll be leaving them hanging until the end of time itself! You’ll die, and then so will they!”

“I’m not running!” Rainbow snapped, shoving Starlight back. “Ever! I’m done running away!”

“Look, just think for a minute, okay?!” Starlight pleaded, shrinking back. “I… I know that I’m asking a lot of you. Trust me, this isn’t an idea I feel all that comfortable with either. But what other choice do we really have?! If we can’t preserve some of us, then even if we win here, there is a high chance that the survivors won’t be able to put anything back together! They need leaders! They need heroes they can depend on to guide them through the recovery process! If too many of us die here, they won’t have that!”

“But if we tuck our tails and hide in that lamp, everypony left behind won’t have us here to help!” Applejack barked.

Starlight sighed, screwing her eyes shut. “I understand that Applejack, but you have to understand… most of us aren’t fighters!”

A heavy silence fell over the room at that. She lowered her hoof and pointed to each pony in turn. “You’ve all been through a lot. Saved Equestria many times. Yes, I know, everypony knows. But… you never had to fight or kill to do it. The times you did fight, you lost. Pinkie’s a baker, Fluttershy’s a veterinarian, Ocellus is a student in school, and Flurry’s just a scared child!”

Rarity frowned. “Starlight!”

“I’m sorry, Rarity, but it needs to be said!” Starlight shot back. “You aren’t warriors. Hay, I’m not a warrior! I know combat spells, sure, but I never once had any real training in how to fight! Neither has Twilight or Applejack, for that matter. We can defend ourselves, maybe, but we are way out of our league here. And so if we all go charging in there when the final battle starts, what can we realistically hope to accomplish?”

Silence. Those she was addressing opened their mouths to offer some sort of rebuttal, but none came. Starlight sighed and turned to Twilight. “Look… I know, okay? This is a desperate idea and the number of things that could go wrong… it’s a tremendous risk. But if it pays off, the reward at the end is the survival of you and your friends… and I know, firsthoof, just how important all of you are to the future of Equestria. You showed me that, Twilight… so if anypony should be given the guarantee of survival… it’s you.”

Twilight stared at Starlight for several moments, her expression blank. “I… I can’t,” she choked out, her ears folding back. “Those ponies out there… I can’t… I can’t leave them… I promised to protect them. It’s my duty as a princess!”

“I know,” Starlight offered gently. “But if you die, you won’t be able to protect them anyway… at least this way we know there’d be a guaranteed chance of recovery. You and your friends can work miracles, Twilight… but only if you’re alive.”

Twilight mouthed like a fish for several long seconds, her heart racing alongside her mind. There had to be some other way. She could join the fight, go up against Chrysalis with everypony else, stop the swarm! Maybe she’d get lucky, find an opening, and… and…

“...Who am I kidding?” that cynical part of her thought in defeat. “She’s had us outclassed from the moment this war began. And it’s not like I’ve been of any use to anypony since it all started… how many have died because I couldn’t protect them? How many lost their homes and their loved ones because I was too weak to lead them?”

She looked past Starlight to stare at everypony else. Judging by their expressions, most of them were in the same boat, sharing that same train of thought: trying and failing to find some counter to Starlight’s plan, some idea where they would be sure to win without having to remove themselves from the battle in the first place.

“How would they be let out?” Shining Armor suddenly asked.

Cadance blinked, turning to her husband with a gaping mouth. “Shiny! You can’t be-”

“I’m trying to be realistic, Cadance,” Shining shut her down gently. “Starlight has a point… as much as I hate to admit it. And if there’s a chance we can save my sister’s life and make sure she lives, then… I want to at least hear her out.”

Starlight turned to the throne with a small nod. She gestured to the scrolls in Twilight’s magic. “Those scrolls contain the spell to seal them inside, and detail the counterspell needed to release them. I only made three copies so that Chrysalis would have a hard time finding out about what we did.”

She turned and gestured to several ponies in the room. “Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Flurry, and myself. We would all know how to undo the seal and let them out. Anypony else is either too weak with magic, or the spell isn’t compatible with them.”

Pharynx snorted. “Tch. Of course, it isn't.”

“I’m sorry, Pharynx. Changeling magic’s difficult to work with. I tried to find a way, I did, but…”

Silence fell over the room again. Spike stepped forward, tapping his claws together over his heart. “So… what happens if we do this? What do we do with the lamp?”

Starlight turned to him. “We put it somewhere safe, somewhere where Chrysalis won’t find it if she wins, and we go from there.”

“And where would that be?” Pharynx asked doubtfully. “That harlot has been sickeningly thorough so far. Where could we hide it where she wouldn’t look once she realizes that her targets aren’t here?”

Starlight turned to answer him next, but the words did not have a chance to be spoken. A terrible tremor suddenly rocked through the castle, along with the distant rumble of an explosion. Cadance and Shining both gasped, their horns flickering with magic.

“What has happened?!” Luna demaanded, her wings flaring out.

“Something’s attacking the barrier!” Cadance gasped, forcing herself to her hooves. “A lot of them!”

Pharynx scowled, even as Ocellus whimpered and cowered behind him. “...It’s Chrysalis,” he spat, his wings buzzing on his back. “She’s here.”

“Already?!” Spike asked in terror. “But… but! I thought we had a few days!”

“Clearly we were wrong!” Pharynx shot back, turning to the nearest window. All eyes followed his, and sure enough, just through the multi-colored barrier, they could all see a swarm of tiny black dots amassing at the edge of the barrier, peppering it with spellfire. A sickening buzz began to fill the air as more and more arrived, each one adding their wings to the chorus.

Twilight ran to the window, her heart plummeting with terror. Her eyes darted down to the streets, and she could see the ponies below scrambling to the safety of the castle while the soldiers rushed to get into position to combat the advancing swarm.

“Oh, no… oh no no no!” she exclaimed, starting to walk frantically in place as panic consumed her. “What do we do?! What do we do?! We don’t have our defenses set up, yet! We’re sitting ducks! How did she get here so fast?!”

“Who cares?!” Shining demanded, rising from the throne and stepping forward. “She’s here now! We have to keep her at bay as long as we can!”

“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness,” Fluttershy whimpered, cowering into Rarity’s comforting embrace as another tremor rocked the spire.

Pharynx snarled before turning and kneeling down to face Ocellus. “Stay here,” he ordered her firmly. “Do what they tell you, and for the love of the Hive, live. Thorax gave his sanity and free will up for you, and I won’t have you squandering that sacrifice, do you understand?!”

Ocellus gave a weak, timid nod. “I… y-yes, I understand. But what about you?”

Pharynx stood and turned for the door, his lips peeling back into an ugly snarl. “...This monster… this demon has taken everything from me. It’s well past time she gave something back, and I mean to take it!”

“Pharynx!” Shining called after the changeling as he went galloping for the door. When Pharynx looked back, Shining gave him a solemn nod. “Thorax was my friend. I’ll join you soon. Let’s give em hell.”

Pharynx got a sickeningly eager smirk on his face. “Oh, I plan to!” he declared before charging through the doors.

“What are we supposed to do?!” Pinkie asked, her mane deflating.

Starlight bit her lip before turning to speak to the room at large. “We’re out of time! If we’re using the lamp, we need to do it now!” she called out.

Twilight turned to Starlight, the color draining from her face. “N-no! There has to be some other way! I… I can’t…”

Starlight marched up to her, her eyes burning with the ferocity of her gaze. “If you have a better plan, then now is the time!”

Twilight racked her brain desperately for any alternatives, but nothing came. She looked desperately to her friends, to the princesses, to her brother, for any advice. Alas, none of them had any better plans either, if the torn looks on their faces were any indication.

Finally, Twilight turned to Starlight. They locked gazes for several seconds. Another explosion went off somewhere in the distance, and the castle rocked. Starlight placed her hoof over Twilight’s heart and stared imploringly into her eyes. “I won’t do this if you don’t agree to it,” she said in a whisper. “But you saved my life… and you showed me how much Equestria needs you… So please, Twilight… let me save you, this time.”

Twilight swallowed heavily. “I… I…” she stammered, looking past Starlight to her friends for a moment. “...What about you?”

Starlight smiled. “...I’ll give my all to the fight. I may be powerful, but I know Equestria can survive without me… and so can you.”

“Starlight…”

Before the discussion could go any further, another larger explosion went off against the barrier, and a small portion of it shattered inwards. Cadance and Shining both grunted, but they were quick to pour more power into their spell and repair the damage. Only a few of the countless black dots managed to slip in before it closed.

Twilight swallowed heavily, then, at long last, gave a stiff, hesitant nod. “Okay… okay, fine. Just… make sure we come out soon, okay?”

“Twilight!” Rainbow protested, but hers was the only voice of dissent.

Starlight nodded, relief flooding her eyes. “I will…”

Twilight took another breath and made her way over to Celestia and Luna. They looked down at her with unreadable looks, though the affection in their eyes was unmistakable.

“Worry not, princess Twilight,” Luna said softly once she was close enough. “We will ensure there is yet an Equestria for you to return to.”

“I… I know… I just…” Twilight hesitated, her eyes affixing to Celestia. Barely stifling a sob, she threw herself against the taller alicorn in a hug, burying her face in her chest fur. “Please survive… all of you.”

“We will do our best,” Celestia assured her with an affectionate nuzzle. “I promise.”

Twilight withdrew from the embrace and turned to face her brother and sister-in-law. Flurry was still between them, clutching tightly to her mother’s side with wide, terrified eyes. Twilight approached them next, her ears drooping. “Flurry… Shiny… Cadance.”

“Auntie Twilight,” Flurry whimpered, sniffling. “What’s going on? Why is everypony so sad? Is the bad lady attacking?”

Twilight nodded, her heart twisting with guilt at seeing the small child so distraught. “She is… I’m going to be away for a little while to stop her. You stay safe and listen to your mommy and daddy, okay?”

Flurry nodded, accepting a soft nuzzle from Twilight with a quivering hum.

“Are you sure about this?” Cadance asked softly as Twilight pulled back. “This plan, it’s…”

“I don’t like it either,” Twilight aknowledged with a frown. “But… Starlight’s right. What other option do we have?”

“No good ones,” Shining lamented, shaking his head. He gave her a comforting smile, reaching out to ruffle her mane. “But we’ll manage. Just you wait. When we pull you out of that lamp, we’ll be primed and ready to put Equestria back together again.”

Twilight managed to get a tiny ghost of a smile from the presence of her brother’s hoof. She brushed it away after a moment and looked into each of their eyes for a moment. “...Take care of each other. And her,” she added, gesturing down to Flurry.

“We will. She’s our daughter,” Shining assured her. “I’d tear the world apart myself if it meant keeping her safe and happy.”

“That’s not funny,” Twilight said.

“No. It’s true.”

They were quiet for a few seconds. Twilight pushed forward and gave her big brother a hug. She could feel Cadance joining her from the side, enveloping both of them in her wings. “I love you, BBBFF,” Twilight choked out.

“We love you, too, Twily,” Shining whispered back, giving her a squeeze.

Twilight pulled away a moment later, barely holding back tears. She then turned to Spike and her friends, who had all clustered together near the base of the stairs. She stepped down toward them.

Rainbow landed in front of her, eyes wide and pleading. “Twilight, no, we can’t do this!” she stated emphatically. “We CAN’T! We gotta stay and fight! We can’t just run like this!”

Twilight looked away, her ears folding back. “I don’t want to run, Dash. But… we’re in a corner here…”

“I just… I don’t… GUH!” Rainbow slammed a hoof into the floor to go with her shout of frustration. “This all blows!”

“To put it mildly,” Applejack added regretfully.

Twilight sighed, her eyes falling to Spike. She then looked past him to Starlight. “What about Spike? What’s gonna happen to him?”

Starlight sighed. “I’m sorry, but the spell won’t work if we include him. I did my best, but the lamp just doesn’t have the capacity for more than six ponies. Even one dragon added to the mix would be too much. If I had time, maybe I could increase the capacity, but...”

“We’re out of time,” Twilight echoed Starlight’s earlier words with a sigh. “Right…”

“Twilight…” Spike whispered as she knelt down in front of him.

“We’ll be okay, Spike,” she told him softly, trying her best to believe her own hollow assurances. “Everything is going to be okay.”

Spike took a deep breath, then jumped forward, wrapping his arms around her neck in a tight hug. “You come back soon, you hear me?!”

“We will,” Twilight promised, patting him on the back. “I know we will.”

Another explosion echoed in the distance, drawing a grimace out of Cadance. “They’re giving it everything they have out there… we won’t be able to withstand this battering for long. A couple of hours at most.”

“That gives me time to do the spell and make sure everypony can undo it,” Starlight noted quickly.

Shining winced as another explosion filled the air. He then looked down at Flurry, who was whimpering quietly into Cadance’s fur. His expression hardened, and he looked down at Spike. “Spike, when the barrier goes down, I want you to take Flurry, Ocellus, and the lamp, and take them as far away from here as you can.”

“Shining?” Cadance asked.

“The city isn’t going to be safe. The moment that barrier drops, it’s going to be hell in here, and I can’t protect my daughter and the city at the same time,” he said simply. “If my attention is divided, I won’t be of any use to anypony.”

Spike looked past Twilight to stare, wide-eyed at Shining. “What?! Me?! Are you sure?!”

Shining nodded. “I am. One last hurrah for Spike, the Brave, and Glorious, huh?”

Spike swallowed the lump in his throat before giving a stiff nod. “I… I’ll do my best.”

A few seconds of quiet fell over the room. Twilight took the chance to hug Spike closer t her chest, savoring the contact. “...Take care, Spike.”

“I will…”

Starlight cleared her throat after a minute, drawing Twilight’s attention. “We need to get started,” she said firmly.

Twilight gulped. Every instinct in her body was screaming at her to hold onto Spike and never let go, but she knew well enough that there was no stopping the train that had just been set in motion. All she could do was hold on and hope it didn’t crash before it reached its final stop. So, with a sigh, she relinquished her hold on Spike and stood up.

“Okay… I… are we ready, girls?” she asked quietly.

“As ready as Ah can be,” Applejack grunted, replacing her hat on her head. “Though Ah don’t like it one bit…”

“None of us do, Applejack,” Rarity pointed out. “But… yes, I suppose I am.”

Rainbow growled, scuffing a hoof across the floor. “Guh! Fine, whatever. Just leave a few bugs for me when we get out! I ain’t done with em, yet.”

“We’ll be back soon, right?” Pinkie asked in a timid whisper.

“I hope so,” Fluttershy added in an equally quiet voice.

Starlight nodded at that before taking a few steps back and spreading her stance. “Okay… everypony relax,” she commanded before lighting her horn.

Twilight took a deep breath. The light grew brighter and brighter, and she soon turned away from it to look at everypony else. Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Shining, Flurry… all of these ponies who meant so much to her. Some small part of her screamed out to go and hug them again, but she stayed in place. All she did was offer them a smile. “We’ll be back soon…”

She turned back to Starlight and closed her eyes, awaiting the spell to take hold. She could feel the energies starting to trail along her body as if to measure her shape and form. She felt a warmth begin to seep into her, soothing her stress, fear, and dread into something more manageable. A few moments later, she opened her eyes.

Starlight was staring directly back at her, smiling. “We’ll see you on the other side.”

Twilight returned the smile. “Yeah. Good luck, Starlight,” she said to her student, her eyes glistening over with tears. “I’m proud of you.”

Her eyes then wandered down to Starlight’s side. Spike was there, and next to him, Ocellus. Twilight’s gaze lingered on both of them for several seconds.

The light became blinding. All sensation faded away.

And then she knew no more.

Twilight gave off a long, tired groan as she returned to the waking world. A feeling of sleepiness the likes of which she had never felt before had settled into every part of her body. She tried to think about what had just transpired, but her mind and body were too relaxed to rightly care. She was warm, content, and comfortably resting on what felt like the softest, most welcoming pillows she had ever felt.

Several moments passed before her faculties really began to come together. As they did, her heart beat faster as dread and concern filled her heart. Had it worked? Was it over? Were they inside the lamp now, or had they been asleep for their entire time within? Were her friends and family fighting right now, or had they already claimed victory against Chrysalis, and were now setting her free to put the world right?

Or, even worse, had they lost? Had Chrysalis won? Were they now being released, not to save the world, but to avenge it? Or was that tragedy still to come?

With a grimace, Twilight opened her eyes. She was afraid to know the answers to her questions, but she didn’t have a choice. Everypony was counting on her.

She blinked several times as the darkened chamber she found herself in began to come into focus. The fog over her thoughts was still thick, making it difficult to make heads or tails of her surroundings. There was a subtle blue glow against the far wall and some vaguely familiar shapes in the center of what she recognized as a cavernous chamber. Beyond that, though, the scene was wholly unfamiliar to her.

With another groan, she pushed herself up to her haunches, and the scene became sharp and clear. She was with her friends, who were all starting to come to their senses as well. They were resting atop a mound of soft, colorful pillows that had been arranged in the back of the room in a sort of pyramid shape, saving them from sleeping on the cold stone floor.

The chamber was large, its walls made of dark stone that looked to have once been melted down into lava before being sculpted manually while they were still soft. The long marks left in the walls and roof suggested that the claws of a massive dragon—an adult, most likely—were responsible. In the center of the room was a round table made of carefully-carved obsidian, surrounded on all sides of by seven painfully familiar thrones made of the same material.

This was a recreation of the map room from her castle in Ponyville, painstakingly recreated down to the smallest details.

Twilight looked around for any sign of the others, alicorns or otherwise, but, to her dismay, she found nopony. It was just her and her friends. Not even Starlight was present. There didn’t appear to be any way in or out of the room, either. No doors or tunnels to slip out through.

Her eyes were drawn away from the walls when she caught sight of a bunch of bright colors that clashed intensely with the rest of the chamber. There was a large stone bowl filled to its bursting point with fresh fruits and vegetables resting by the side of the mound of pillows, implying that somepony had left it here for them not long ago.

Letting out a final groan, Twilight stretched her stiff wings, then opened her mouth to speak. “Ugh… everypony okay?”

An assorted collection of groans and grumbles, not unlike her own, answered her call as the others stirred, slowly pulling themselves up.

“Whoo, nelly. Ah feel like Ah just got done tryin’ to out-drink RD at Cider Fest…” Applejack moaned. “Minus the headache…”

“Tell me about it,” Rainbow murmured as she lifted her head. “Guh… how long were we out? And where are we?”

“I’m not sure,” Twilight said, rising to her hooves and stepping down from the mound of pillows.

“Do you think it worked?” Pinkie asked after a second. “And everyone else kicked queen McMeanie Pants' butt?”

“Uncouth as it may be to say it, Sweet Celestia I hope so,” Rarity added drowsily.

Fluttershy whimpered quietly, clutching to Rainbow Dash for protection. The blue pegasus helped her up and draped a wing protectively over her back, her eyes darting around the chamber for any sign of danger.

“This place… it looks like the old throne room in yer castle, Twi,” Applejack pointed out after a moment of looking around.

“I noticed,” Twilight acknowledged with a slow nod. “But... we aren’t in my castle. The chairs and map weren’t made of obsidian, and the ceiling wasn't shaped like this one. This isn’t a natural cave, and it’s not made of crystal… Somepony made this to look like the throne room...”

She turned to Pinkie. “I know this was always more Maud’s thing, but Pinkie, do you know enough about rocks to have any idea where we are right now? Something about the geology maybe?”

Pinkie looked around for several seconds, inspecting everything with a critical eye. “Well, I can’t be entirely sure, but judging by what I am seeing here, I would have to say that we… are underground.”

A silence fell over the room, and Twilight was confident a cricket chirp sound would not go unappreciated after that. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting really, but it didn't come as much of a surprise. Just a disappointment. She cleared her throat and sighed. “Right. Of course. Underground…” she mumbled before returning her attention to the room. Her eyes found the source of the blue light from before, and she recognized it as a series of magic runes etched into one of the walls.

Curious, she approached and gave the sigil a closer look. The way the symbols were arranged gave off the impression of a detection spell of some kind, or perhaps a link? Somepony would connect themselves to it in order to make something happen. But what?

Curious, Twilight reached her hoof out to the wall.

Rarity must have spotted what she was doing and called out anxiously. “Twilight, are you sure you should be touching that-”

Just before Twilight’s hoof could reach the wall, the runes suddenly flared, and a circular hole sprang into existence, swelling rapidly outwards to stand over twenty feet tall. Twilight leaped back with a startled yelp, her horn lighting up with magic and her wings flaring out.

“What the?! Twilight! You’re... Y-you're awake!” A deep, rumbling voice exclaimed in shock, causing Twilight to falter. Her eyes widened as she took in the figure that resided on the other side of the newly formed exit.

It was a dragon, towering in size. No doubt the very one that had carved out the walls of this chamber. But there was something familiar about him…

Her heart sank as it clicked with her. She recognized those emerald green eyes, those purple scales, and those spines running along his back. She'd know them anywhere. She had grown up with them. Raised the one they belonged to as her baby brother.

Spike stood before her, a towering adult of a dragon, easily thirty feet long from the tip of his muzzle to the tip of his tail. His body had contorted into a serpentine shape over time, making him appear far more lithe and muscular then she remembered him being. He stared back at her, his eyes wide with shock.

A long, heavy silence blanketed the entire chamber. Twilight's eyes never once left those of Spike as she tried in vain to figure out what she was looking at. How could Spike be so large?! It didn't make any sense! He was small, smaller than her! Even when he had grown wings he was small enough to comfortably ride everywhere on her back! But when compared to the creature in front of her, she was tiny. Insignificant. Her and all of her friends could easily be perched on this dragon's back with room to spare.

She gulped heavily, her wings lowering and the light on her horn winking out. “What…? Spike…?” she choked out in disbelief.

"What?!" Rainbow asked from deeper in the chamber, her voice raised with shock. "Spike?! You're kidding! Nuh-uh, no way!"

Spike did not seem to respond to Rainbow's exclamation. His eyes remained glued to Twilight, a storm of emotion not unlike her own raging within. He tenderly reached out one his collosol claws, extending a single digit to Twilight as if to ensure she was real. She held perfectly still, holding her breath as he drew near.

The very tip of his claw brushed against her chest fur. Gentle, careful. IT was as if he was afraid she might crumble into dust at the slightest disturbance. But she didn't. She was there, she was real, and so was he. Spike's eyes lit up with a new wave of emotions, and for a moment, Twilight could have sworn they were shimmering with fresh tears. "Twilight..."

Spike blinked up at him, her ears folding back. She lifted a hoof up to rest atop his claw, a reflexive motion she put no thought into. "...Spike?"

Suddenly, without warning, the towering dragon reached down and ensnared Twilight in both his massive claws. She gasped in alarm as he lifted her up, and for a moment she thought she might have to start fighting against his grip. But then, to her confusion, she was simply pressed up against his chest, where she could feel his heart beating through his thick, armored scales.

“Twilight… you’re awake,” he whispered in a deep rumble. “You’re finally awake…”

“Spikey wikey?!” Rarity shrieked, galloping up to gawk at the new arrival. “Oh, PLEASE tell me you didn’t get greedy again! I don’t have any rubies to pacify you with this time!”

Spike blinked at her as if he did not understand. Then he laughed quietly under his breath, his voice deep from both size and age. “Ha… I had forgotten about that,” he admitted before releasing Twilight. She drifted back down to the floor, feeling light-headed, as Spike stepped into the room on all fours. “No, Rarity… I… I didn’t get greedy again. I learned my lesson the first time,” he told her.

“Wowee, Spike! You’re, uh… Bigger than I remember!” Pinkie chirped, trying and failing to sound cheerful.

“Spike? What… what happened to you?!” Twilight asked, her mind overwhelmed with a flood of questions. She spread her wings and leaped up, flying to be at his eye level. “Why are you so big?! What did we miss?! Are you okay? What about Celestia and Luna?! Cadance, Shining Armor?! Flurry?! Ocellus?! Did we win!? Is Chrysalis dead?!”

Spike flinched back from the onslaught of questions, his spines drooping. He glanced back over his shoulder for a moment. “It’s… it’s a long story…” he said quietly.

Twilight swallowed heavily. Dread had an icy grip of her heart and refused to let go. “...How long?” she asked softly. “How long were we gone?”

“I…” Spike hesitated, his now enormous claws tapping anxiously over his chest. He worked his jaw up and down as if fishing for words, but nothing came. He looked down at the ground, unable to meet Twilight's gaze.

A new voice answered for him, however, accompanied by somepony else trotting into the room. “Too long.”

Twilight looked down at the new arrival. The color drained from her face as a worryingly familiar alicorn walked into view, taller than her by several inches and staring back with a tear-filled smile.

Twilight dropped back to the ground, her jaw agape. There was no way. This was impossible. “What…? How… how can this…?” she stammered, her mind growing heavy with the implications.

“No, way. Is that…?” Rainbow asked under her breath.

“Oh my goodness,” Fluttershy whispered.

The alicorn stepped forward until she was right in front of Twilight. Then, with no warning and a barely stifled sob, she pulled the smaller alicorn into a crushing hug. Twilight squirmed for a moment until she heard the other mare whisper to her.

“Aunt Twilight… I’ve missed you so much…”

Twilight’s heart almost stopped in her chest. A horrible feeling of coldness spread throughout her body as if ice had been injected into her very soul. She withdrew from the hug and stared into the eyes of her niece, now all grown up, with horror and confusion.

“Flurry Heart? Is... that you?”

Flurry nodded. She sniffled and brushed some of her curly mane out of her eyes. “It is…” she whispered in a barely-audible squeak of a voice.

A heavy silence fell over the room. Spike sighed and looked back to the hole in the wall, which slowly sealed itself shut behind him. He turned back to face the others, all of them staring back at him in confusion.

Twilight looked up to him. “Spike, what happened?”

Spike took a long, deep breath, then let it out in a heavy sigh. He gestured at the mound of pillows. “You might want to get comfortable, everypony. This might take a while…”

Summons

Scarlet Frost grunted with effort as she, with the aid of Sharp Lens and a few changeling drones, set down a collection of large, broken stones to one side, adding them to an ever-growing pile. The drone overseeing the work nodded to himself from his place high in the air, his crimson eyes surveying their hard work. Then with a smile and a nod, he waved down at them.

“That should be sufficient!” he called out. “Go and get some rest—you especially, Scarlet!”

Scarlet heaved a sigh of relief, taking a few steps to one side to be out of the way of the repair crews and falling to her haunches. They had been at this for a few hours now, and the strenuous labor was beginning to take its toll on her. Her horn throbbed to remind her of this fact.

She turned to look at Lens. He didn’t appear to be in much better straits than her. If anything, he looked like he was doing worse. His coat was smeared in a thin layer of sweat that made him look surprisingly glossy in the dull green light of Sanctuary’s entrance. His chest was heaving as he took several deep breaths, and his eyes stared down at the floor, distant and unfocused from the exertion.

She felt a small bit of pity for the stallion. Ever since she had woken up from her near-death experience about a week ago, he had dedicated himself to her to an almost-worrying extent. He was running himself ragged trying to make sure she didn’t overwork herself or agitate her wounds, which, while mostly healed, were still proving a nuisance.

She snorted and shook her head. “Oh, please. Like I’m one to talk,” she grumbled internally. “I’m the one who can’t stand to sit still…”

She lifted her gaze from Lens to survey their surroundings. They were in the main entrance chamber of Sanctuary, and it was practically buzzing with life. Changelings of every color were flying this way and that, shouting to be heard over one another as they worked to clear away the last of the rubble from the homes that had been broken or damaged. Most of the rubble was already cleared away, leaving only a few smaller piles for follow-up crews to deal with, and the homes were already undergoing reconstruction.

Scarlet’s gaze fell on one such home and the circle of eight or so changelings who were surrounding it. They all stood in a loose circle, their horns glowing with a uniform emerald light and angled towards a spot on its floor in the middle. Slowly, but surely, Scarlet could see the stone floor shifting and rippling, almost like the water of a pond. The beginnings of the new walls for the building were already rising up from the surface, filling the air with a slow, spine-tingling scrape of rock on rock.

Most constructs in Sanctuary were made like this. Every building, corridor, hallway, and lamp post was created by shaping the very stone of the mountains these caves resided in. They were twisted and molded like clay into the desired shape and filled with whatever the inhabitants needed or wanted.

Scarlet had no idea how far this ability to mold the caves went, or how far that influence reached, or even how it worked. All she knew is that it had something to do with being ‘attuned to the Hive,’ a process she and Lens had yet to undergo. As a result, whenever they wanted to travel from one chamber to another, they needed to be accompanied by a changeling drone.

It made sense, even if it was somewhat degrading. Hraesvalgr—or Spike, rather—had not once made any secret of his distrust in Scarlet and Lens. He had allowed them to live in Sanctuary as a gesture of gratitude for bringing him and Flurry the lamp, however unintentional that favor may have been. That did not, however, mean he trusted them or liked them to be left to their own devices.

Really, she could not blame him. The night she, Lens, and Primrose had arrived in Sanctuary, it had been attacked by a small army of griffon mercenaries led by a psychotic renegade Nightblade. The proximity of those two events would be enough to make anyone leery of the foreigners that now lived here.

As if to prove her point, Scarlet took notice of a collection of changelings staring at her from a little ways away. She glanced over at them with a neutral expression and a simple nod of acknowledgment. Their immediate response was to look away sheepishly and carry on with whatever they had been doing before.

“You okay?”

Scarlet jumped at Lens’ voice, speaking up to her side. She looked over to find the stallion staring back at her with a frown of concern. She smiled back at him and nodded. “Yes, I’m fine. Just…” she gestured vaguely. “Tired. A little sore. Nothing serious.”

“You sure?” Lens pressed, shifting a little closer on his haunches to be closer to the red-maned mare.

Scarlet nodded, placing a hoof on his shoulder. “Yes, I’m sure.”

Lens eyed her for a few more moments. Inwardly, Scarlet squirmed under that scrutinous gaze, and she feared he may press the matter further. Then, to her relief, he smiled and nodded. “Okay, if you say so,” he relented, placing one of his hooves on hers on his shoulder and giving it a firm squeeze.

Scarlet nodded thankfully to him before looking ahead, trying to hide her inner relief. Lens had been fawning and fussing over her relentlessly since she decided to stay here with him and Primrose. It was pretty clear to her that he was still worried about her, be it physically or mentally.

“Not that I can really blame him,” she thought inwardly with a barely disguised frown. She had been on death’s door for a while there even after he and Primrose all but crippled their magic trying to save her, and not long before that, they had both been forced to watch her unraveling at the seams as more and more stress was placed on her mind. Her meltdown in the mountain valley just before they met Spike had been the most extreme example of that.

“But I’m better now,” she told herself with a slow, subtle nod. “Maybe not all the way, but I’m better than where I started. I’m not some helpless foal that needs to be doted on.”

No longer wanting to follow that line of thought, Scarlet returned her gaze to the cavernous entrance chamber of Sanctuary. It eventually settled on a group of nymphs running across the grounds, giggling merrily amongst themselves and kicking what looked to be a ball made of green changeling resin around.

She smiled. “Huh… you know, when I decided I wanted to settle down somewhere with you and Prim and live a nice, quiet life, this isn’t exactly what I had been picturing,” she mused, leaning back slightly and soaking in the view.

Lens glanced at her from the side. “Heh. You think Prim and I thought any differently?” he asked, stifling a small laugh. “I was imagining we’d be planting our roots in a small village, like Twinwood Canopy, or New Lapiz, or even Hoofrest Shire. Never in a million years would I have thought we’d even see a city of Free Changelings, much less settle down with them and live with them.”

Scarlet nodded, her eyes continuing to follow the scampering nymphs. “...Me either. Even now, I labor to believe it…”

How much had she once hated these creatures? It hadn’t been long ago that she had seen changelings as a whole as the worst monsters on the face of the world, little more than savage demons to be slaughtered on sight. She had loathed them with every fiber of her being...

Then she met Primrose, and everything she had learned from that filly served to liberate her of her ignorance.

Scarlet’s smile grew as her eyes drifted from the playing foals, landing on one in particular. Primrose, in her pony form, curiously, was presently sitting on a piece of rubble not far away. There was another nymph sitting next to her, in his true form. His chitin was a neon green, while his eyes were a deep and vibrant shade of crimson.

Larynx was his name if Scarlet remembered correctly. The colt had taken a remarkable shine to Primrose the day they had met a few weeks ago and had apparently become something of a friend to her while Scarlet was unconscious.

“Hmm. What do you think they’re talking about?” Scarlet asked, nodding toward the duo curiously. Lens followed her gaze, then offered a noncommittal shrug.

“I don’t know. Probably something silly,” he said casually. “They are foals.”

“So they are,” Scarlet acknowledged with a slow nod, though she doubted that such a sentiment would truly apply to Primrose after everything she had gone through over the last five years, especially these last few weeks.

Though the filly hid it very well, it was plain as day that the sting of losing Sclera had not yet passed.

Scarlet watched as Larynx spoke, leaning forward slightly as if to get a better look at Primrose’s face. He opened his mouth and said something to her, while one of his hooves wandered up to lightly touch her long purple mane.

Primrose leaned back and shook her head, saying something in return. Several red flags went up in Scarlet’s mind immediately when she saw Primrose’s body language. She was retreating into herself, unable to meet Larynx’s gaze. Something was bothering her. Maternal instincts flared into life, and in spite of the soreness in her muscles, Scarlet pushed herself to her hooves.

Larynx spoke again, more insistently. Primrose withdrew even more, pulling her tail up to her chest as if it were a protective blanket. Larynx raised an eyebrow, seemingly confused by Primrose’s behavior. Scarlet was about to start cantering over when, to her surprise, Primrose suddenly leaped down from the rock she was sitting on and broke into a sprint away from Larynx.

“What the?” Lens asked, also rising to his hooves with a groan of effort. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Scarlet said quietly, her eyes narrowing in disapproval. Her gaze remained locked firmly on Primrose as she ran across the room and soon vanished through the gaping hole in the wall that led to the outside world. Scarlet grimaced and glanced over at Lens. “But I mean to find out. Come.”

“Right behind you,” Lens nodded without hesitation, falling into step behind Scarlet.

The duo set off at a brisk trot after the nymph, ignoring the confused and concerned glances sent their way by the changelings that remained in the room. As they went, Scarlet’s mind raced, trying to decipher what she had just seen. What could Larynx have said that would send Primrose running? Some small part of her wanted to approach the colt and get the answers from him by any means necessary, but she was quick to burn that desire down. They were only allowed to stay here at the sufferance of Spike and Flurry, and she had no intention of jeopardizing her place here by acting inappropriately against their subjects.

Besides, she knew just how vicious Spike could be in defending this place. Inciting his wrath was the last thing she wanted to do.

They passed through the long, wide passage that connected Sanctuary to the outside world. The soft, emerald green glow of the changeling’s resin lamps faded into darkness, allowing the first bit of sunlight Scarlet had seen in days to guide their path. She could already feel the cool mountain air brushing against her face and coat through the cave mouth up ahead, soothing her senses.

It wasn’t long before they emerged. Scarlet stopped briefly to admire the view, her muscles relaxing at the sight. The mountain valley that Sanctuary resided in was just as breathtaking as ever in its natural beauty. While the damage from Silent’s incursion was still visible, that did not detract from the rest of the view: the sweeping plains, the rolling foothills, and the majestic, snow-capped mountain peaks that encased the valley, shielding it from prying eyes. What might as well have been a million flowers occupied the fertile grasslands, stray petals blown free by the wind dancing freely across the picturesque environment.

All of it was bathed in the warm glow of the late-morning sun. Scarlet took a deep breath through her nose, allowing the fresh, sweet-smelling air to fill her lungs and chase away her soreness. If she could have, she would have stayed in this spot for an eternity to just enjoy the scenery, but alas, that sort of time was not a luxury she and Lens had at the moment.

Refocusing on the task at hoof, she looked around for any sign of Primrose. To her dismay, there was no sign of the filly. A small pearl of anxiety began to grow in her chest, and the phantom of a memory best left in the past threatened to creep up on her. She turned to one of the sentries stationed outside of the cave mouth and cleared her throat. “Excuse me, but did you happen to see a little foal running through here?” she asked hopefully. “Pony form. Teal fur, purple mane?”

The changeling turned to face her and nodded. “Aye, I saw,” he said before pointing with his horn at something behind Scarlet. “Went scampering up the path back there. Looked pretty upset. Is something wrong?”

Scarlet followed his eyes. She wilted when she caught sight of a path farther down along the base of the mountainside that wound up through the crags, disappearing around a bend. Her eyes drifted up along the stones until they landed on a natural balcony that jutted out from the mountainside some distance up.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Lens answered for her. “Just a personal thing. Thank you.”

Scarlet nodded and set off at a slower trot for the path. It had been a while since she’d last ascended, and the fact that she was doing so now did not inspire confidence in her. She could feel Lens pressing up against her side as they went, either to offer her his support or ask for hers.

They made the climb in silence. The path was surrounded on either side by natural walls of jagged rock. Every so often, a mountain flower or growth of moss disrupted the grey, lending some much-needed softness to the climb. Scarlet’s ears swiveled on her head as the sound of the mountain valley was dulled by the walls, leaving only the gentle howling of the mountain wind.

The silence was suddenly broken when Lens spoke up. “Say, Scarlet… is it just me, or has Prim been quieter than usual?”

Scarlet came to a stop and glanced back at him over her shoulder. “...What do you mean?”

Lens paused as well, taking the chance to lean against the wall and rest his legs. “Well, ever since the fight against Silent, she’s just been really… I dunno. Distant, I guess? She definitely isn’t as talkative as she used to be.”

Scarlet sighed, looking up the path again. “...It comes as no surprise,” she said regretfully. “That attack was an unmitigated disaster. A tragedy she was not ready to face. She lost her mother that day, mere days after getting her back. And she almost lost both of us. Not to mention she took a life for the first time.”

“More than one,” Lens noted with a grim frown. “There were a couple of griffons she killed during all of that, too…”

“And the first lives you take will always weigh on you,” Scarlet added with a soft nod. “I am not surprised that she’s been this way…”

“Well… what can we do about it? I mean, there has to be some way we can make her better,” Lens pointed out, reaching up to adjust his glasses, only to be reminded that they had been destroyed in the battle.

Scarlet hummed. “The only thing we can… We’ll be there for her for as long as she needs us. We’ll support her, and we’ll help her work through it. It’s what parents do,” she said plainly before resuming her ascent. Lens opened his mouth to reply, but the words did not come, and so he resigned himself to following her up.

When they reached the top of the path, they stepped out onto the natural balcony she had seen earlier. It overlooked the entirety of the valley from an elevated position, affording an even more breathtaking view, making all of it seem so much smaller. At the edge of the balcony, staring over this sheltered land for the rest of eternity, was a lone gravestone: Sclera’s gravestone. As the pair expected, curled up on the ground in front of her mother’s grave, was Primrose.

Scarlet and Lens shared an uneasy look. They gave each other a soft nod, then began to approach, Scarlet taking the lead.

“Hey, Prim,” she called out gently, causing the foal’s ears to swivel towards them. “Are you okay?”

Primrose shifted on the ground for a moment before turning around to look at Scarlet. “Scarlet… hey,” she mumbled. She returned her eyes to the grave and heaved a quiet sigh. “I’m okay. Just… I needed to get away for a little bit.”

“From Larynx?” Lens deduced.

Primrose winced. “Er… yeah… you, uh… you saw that?” she asked, her voice growing quiet and timid.

“We did,” Scarlet replied, sitting down by Primrose’s side and draping a foreleg over her shoulders. “Though we don’t know what happened. What did he say to you?”

Primrose was quiet for a few moments, her ears drooping. “Uh… h-he… um… n-nothing,” she finally said, shaking her head.

Scarlet frowned. “Nothing?” she asked slowly.

“That’s right. Nothing,” Primrose insisted. She leaned into Scarlet’s embrace and heaved a quiet sigh. “I just… I just wanted some fresh air. And I wanted to visit mom…”

Scarlet frowned. It was pretty evident that Primrose was lying. Larynx had said something to upset her. What could it have been that she would want to stay quiet about it, though?

“Well, whatever happened,” Scarlet whispered, leaning down to give the foal a gentle kiss on the top of her head. “You know you can always tell us if something is wrong. We’re here for you, no matter what.”

“That’s right,” Lens joined them a moment later, sitting down on Prim’s other side and adding his foreleg to the mix, enveloping the filly in warmth and love. “No matter what.”

Primrose hummed at that, and Scarlet could feel the filly starting to relax in their embrace. A few seconds passed before she gave a whispered reply. “Thank you, you guys…”

“It’s our pleasure, Primrose,” Scarlet whispered back to her, giving her a gentle, loving squeeze.

The trio fell silent after that, basking in the peace and the quiet, and the warmth of each other. A gentle breeze washed over them, whistling faintly in Scarlet’s ears. She opened her eyes and looked out over the valley again, losing herself in the sky. Her eyes caught a stray cloud as it slowly drifted by overhead.

After what felt like an eternity of peace, however, their solitude had to be interrupted. A distorted voice cleared its throat behind them. Scarlet turned to see a changeling drone dressed in the armor of a Praetor—one of the most elite soldiers in the colony—standing before her. His helmet was held under one of his forelegs, and his eyes stared at her with a mixture of severity and solemn hesitation.

Scarlet was quick to compose herself. “What is it, sir?” she asked, being sure to show proper respect to who was, in every respect, her superior.

The soldier nodded at her. “I’m sorry for interrupting, I truly am, but I have a message for you from Lord Hraesvalgr,” he said simply.

Scarlet frowned, glancing at Lens and Prim. They stared back at her for a moment, clearly disappointed by the interruption to their moment, but offered no protest. Scarlet took the lead, turning back to the drone. “I see… what does he want from us?” she asked carefully.

The drone paused for a moment as if he were unsure how to say it. A few seconds passed before he found his words and spoke up. “...He wants all three of you to report to the Thrones at your earliest convenience. Princess Twilight Sparkle has personally requested to speak with you.”

Primrose’s eyes flew wide. “What?! Twilight wants to talk to us?!”

Lens blinked in confusion before his face lit up with a giant, glowing grin of excitement. “Wow, she’s finally awake! What does she want to talk to us about?! Do you think she’d be okay with me asking her some questions about what life was like before the Fall?!”

Scarlet meanwhile merely stared at the guard in wide-eyed shock, her brain taking its sweet time to process this revelation.

The Praetor fastened his helmet back to his head before backing away. “I am afraid she is likely to be the one with the questions, you three…” he said before turning away. “I have other duties to which I must attend. You may wrap up your business here, but I would encourage you to not delay for very long. Lord Hraesvalgr did not seem keen on keeping her waiting.”

With that, the changeling’s shell sprang open, and his wings carried him into the air. Scarlet watched as he flew over their heads, vanishing over the edge of the overlook and fading from view. A heavy silence hung over them, leaving them with nothing but their thoughts.

“...What do you think she wants with us?” Primrose asked a few seconds later, her voice quiet and timid. “It isn’t anything bad, is it?”

“I don’t think so,” Lens said softly, giving her a reassuring smile. “She’s the Princess of Friendship, remember?”

Scarlet looked down at the ground, her ears folding back as the duo began to chat amongst each other. She had been hoping to avoid interacting with Twilight, if at all possible. As much as she looked up to and even revered the once-thought-to-be goddess, she didn’t want to get dragged into her business. Scarlet just wanted to live her quiet life with her newfound family…

All the same, there was no refusing a summon from an alicorn princess, goddess, or not. So, with a resigned sigh, Scarlet pushed herself up to her hooves. “Well, I say we get this over with sooner rather than later,” she said, dusting herself off with a few quick flicks of her tail. “It’s not polite to keep royalty waiting, and it’s plain stupid to keep a dragon waiting.”

“Right, right,” Lens said, rising to his hooves as well. He did an admirable job of containing his scholarly excitement at the prospect of meeting Twilight, finally, though the way his mouth twitched and wriggled like a caffeinated earthworm in the rain did wonders to give away the game.

Scarlet rolled her eyes at the stallion before gently lifting Primrose in her magic. She deposited the filly on her back, savoring the familiar sensation of Primrose’s hooves curling into her mane as her warmth seeped into Scarlet’s fur. Once her passenger was settled and secure, Scarlet nodded to herself and set off at a brisk trot back down the path, Lens sticking close by her side.

They had a goddess to meet.

History

The journey to the Thrones was long and quiet. Though the activity of the changelings around them was the same as it had been since they arrived, Scarlet could not shake the crawling sense of uneasiness that had settled into her skin. It was a feeling not unlike when the air is filled with a rich, earthy smell just before the rain hits the ground. She just wasn’t sure if this was a downpour she wanted to be caught in.

Soon enough, with a changeling praetor opening the way to let them through, Scarlet, Lens, and Primrose emerged into the long, dark corridor that served as the antechamber to the Thrones. The signature blue glyphs that indicated the entrance stood ahead, faintly glowing as if in anticipation.

Scarlet took in a long, deep breath, trying to steady her quivering nerves. This was it. She was about to meet Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Goddess of Magic and Princess of Friendship. The member of The Five that she had always looked up to and revered the most, ever since she was a starry-eyed foal in Swanrun with unrealistic dreams of war and valiant heroes…

“I would have thought you’d be more excited,” Lens suddenly commented from the side, startling Scarlet out of her anxiety-induced silence. He was giving her an expression that sat somewhere between amused and concerned. “I mean, it’s Twilight Sparkle. I would have thought you’d be bursting at the seams to meet her. I mean, I am.”

Scarlet sighed and shook her head. “I know you are, Lens… I’m just worried,” she said, looking up at the glyphs. They were far larger than she was and loomed intimidatingly over her like a mighty dragon. Not unfitting, given that a dragon used it on a routine basis. “I do not doubt that Twilight and her friends will be setting off into the world soon to try and, as Spike put it, ‘make things right.’ I don’t want to get caught up in all of that…”

She turned to Lens, then glanced back at Primrose, who was still nestled comfortably on her back. “We’ve only just settled down and gotten comfortable… and that’s how I like it.”

Lens frowned, stepping forward. He gave Scarlet an affectionate nuzzle before whispering in her ear. “It’ll be fine, Scarlet. I’m sure it’s nothing too serious…”

Scarlet returned the gesture of affection before nodding, trying to take what comfort she could from Lens’ assurance. “I hope you are right, Lens… truly, I do,” she whispered back before turning to face the glyph. With that, she closed her eyes, lit her horn, and fired a small bolt of magic at it. The glyph pulsed with light as the glyph made contact, the sound reverberating up and down the corridor for several seconds.

Scarcely had the echo faded into silence before there was the grinding and scraping of stone as the glyph disappeared, a circular hole opening up in the wall, large enough for Scarlet and her company to step through without issue. Scarlet took another deep breath and stepped forward, staying close to Lens’ side all the way.

“Good, there you are,” Spike’s voice came from the left as they stepped inside, drawing Scarlet’s eye. The enormous purple dragon was presently laying against the wall, his head held high to keep an eye on the room. “Thank you for not making us wait.”

Scarlet nodded. “We are here by your allowance. It would be rude to ignore your summons,” she replied professionally before lowering her gaze. She spotted Flurry Heart sitting on Spike’s back, a solemn frown on her face. Turning her eyes further downward, she saw there, on the ground in front of him, were six mares Scarlet had never thought she would see save for in old religious scriptures.

Twilight Sparkle and her five friends stood before her, each one looking back with a different expression on their face. Scarlet recognized each of them, though she noted that they were all very different in many ways from how they had been depicted in the scriptures. Even Twilight was different, standing far shorter than Scalet had thought. She was shorter even than Flurry Heart.

Rainbow Dash wasn’t looking at her. Her eyes were glued onto the floor, face largely hidden by her absurdly colorful mane. Pinkie Pie sat by her side, mane resting flat while her bright cyan eyes stared back at Scarlet, hollow and solemn. Applejack tilted back her hat to meet Scarlet’s gaze, her emerald-colored eyes hardened and focused, though Scarlet did not doubt she was just as shaken as the others.

Rarity was looking particularly distraught, her mane disheveled and dark lines running down her face from where her mascara had followed her tears. Clutched in her hooves against her chest was a quivering, silently weeping bundle of yellow fur and pink hair that could only have been Fluttershy.

Finally, at the front of the group, Twilight Sparkle faced Scarlet directly, her expression solemn yet resolved. She took a step forward and cleared her throat. “Um… hello,” she said, her voice shaking slightly.

Scarlet blinked. Somehow, that had not been what she had been expecting the legendary alicorn to sound like…

Twilight went on a moment later, shaking herself as if to send away her doubts. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. I am- ...I was the Princess of Friendship in O-Old Equestria. These are my friends, um-”

“I know who you are,” Scarlet softly interrupted her, bowing her head respectfully. “I grew up on the legends and stories about you and your accomplishments. You were one of my greatest inspirations when I was little, Your Majesty. It is an honor to meet you.”

“O-oh! Eheh, well,” Twilight chuckled nervously, one of her eyes twitching slightly. “I guess that saves me a bit of time. So… You’re Scarlet Frost, right?”

Scarlet nodded. “That I am. This here is Sharp Lens, and this,” she gently removed Primrose from her back with magic and set the filly down by her side. “Is Primrose.”

Twilight nodded at each of them in turn, her crooked smile becoming slightly more genuine. “It’s nice to meet all of you… Spike and Flurry told us that you are historians. Is that correct?”

Scarlet blinked, taken by surprise by the request. She hadn’t known what she was expecting Twilight to ask, but that certainly wasn’t it. Before the silence could drag on, she cleared her throat and nodded. “Uh, ahem. Yes, in a sense. I received no formal education in history, but I studied it for around eight or nine years.”

“And I’m a trained archeologist,” Lens added with a nod of his own. “I did a lot of delving into long-abandoned ruins and piecing together bits of the past based on what I found, from the Fall and before.”

“Why do you ask?” Scarlet added curiously.

Twilight bit her lip for a moment. She glanced back at her friends before she spoke. “Well… it’s just that we’ve all been gone for a… a really long time, and Spike and Flurry Heart don’t know a whole lot about what’s happened in our absence.”

Primrose raised an eyebrow. “Huh? That doesn’t make any sense. You guys have been watching New Equestria for four hundred years, haven’t you?”

“That’s what I said!” Rainbow Dash suddenly exclaimed with indignation, making Scarlet wince from the grating rasp of her voice along with the sheer volume. The pegasus shot the towering dragon an irritated glare, though he did not seem fazed in the slightest.

“And as I said to you, Rainbow, we’ve hidden from the world for four hundred years,” Spike clarified with a snort. “Barring Flurry’s occasional expeditions to find new residents for Sanctuary—all of which were made during only the first century of Sanctuary’s existence, I might add—we have had little to no contact with the outside world.”

Flurry nodded, leaning forward a little. “Everything we know has come from those changelings who managed to find our clues and make it here. But most of them moved around a lot, never staying in one place for long. They led nomadic lifestyles for their own safety, so their knowledge of the world’s history was, typically, less than up-to-date.”

“Like mine…” Primrose uttered, her eyes widening somewhat. “My family wandered all over the country while mom and dad looked for clues about Sanctuary… we never stayed anywhere for long.”

“Exactly,” Spike said with a slow nod. He returned his gaze to Scarlet, glaring into her eyes. “Scarlet, Lens, you two are the most knowledgeable on modern history in all of Sanctuary. That is a simple fact. By your own admission, you have both studied it, and I don’t plan on letting Twilight or any of my friends leave this city until they know exactly what sort of hell they are walking into.” Spike stated plainly after a moment.

“Spike,” Rarity quietly spoke up, lifting her eyes from Fluttershy. “Language.”

Spike snorted but otherwise did not speak in protest.

Twilight winced from the harsh sound before refocusing on Scarlet and Lens. “The point is, we… we don’t know anything about what’s happened while we’ve been in the lamp. But I heard about you three, and I wanted to not only thank you for helping set us free but also ask you some questions about the history of New Equestria.”

Scarlet blinked a few times, processing this request. It didn’t take her long to put on a small smile and give a nod. “Very well… What do you want to know?”

Twilight paused, her expression going blank. “Um… uh…”

“Everything?” Applejack asked for her, dryly.

Twilight managed a stiff nod at that. “Er, yes, that. Everything, please.”

Scarlet and Lens shared an uneasy glance. The stallion reached up to adjust his glasses, yet again discovering that they were absent. “...Oh boy,” he muttered.

Scarlet turned back to Twilight. “Well… that is an exceptionally broad question, Twilight. It’s been four hundred years. A lot has happened…”

Twilight’s smile became strained, one of her eyes twitching. “I… see… then, uh…”

“How about you just give us the short version?” Rainbow spat, once again making Scarlet wince, though this time it was from the venom in her voice rather than its roughness. “Bullet points or whatever. I don’t wanna be sitting here forever, we’ve got stuff to do!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity chastised, glaring sideways at the pegasus. “Control your tone!”

Rainbow bristled at that, but a second later took a deep breath and looked away.

Scarlet swallowed heavily. It was becoming painfully evident that the mares in front of her had not yet fully grasped the full gravity of their situation: how much time had passed, how much the world had changed… The fact that everypony they knew and loved, save for those that now stood in this room, were all but certainly dead. How could she expect them to truly fathom with such a tremendous loss, especially when it had all happened in one unceremonious instant?

The weight would hit them soon enough.

She licked her lips a moment later and nodded her head. “Right… Of course. Lens and I can give you an abbreviated history of New Equestria. It took me years to gain the in-depth understanding I have now, and to think we could tell you everything in one sitting is nothing short of lunacy.”

“Right. Which just leaves the question of where to start,” Lens pointed out, frowning.

Applejack tilted her hat back some more to focus on the discussion some more. “Well, Ah say ya start by talkin’ bout what happened to the rest of Equestria after this ‘Fall’ thingie.”

“Seeing as that’s where we… left the stage,” Rarity added, her ears drooping. Fluttershy convulsed in her hooves, and she pulled the pegasus closer. “...It would be the most logical place to begin, I should think.”

Scarlet nodded her head. “Alright, I think I can manage that… Although keep in mind, I was not around during that time,” she said. She then nodded her head at Spike and Flurry. “They were. I can give only vague information on that day and age.”

“I’ll share stories about what it was like later,” Spike added slowly. “Flurry was a little too young at the time… she was still afraid of the dark back then.”

Twilight smiled back at him. “Thank you, Spike,” she said before turning to face Scarlet and the others again. “We’re listening…”

Scarlet nodded. She looked around for a second until she caught sight of the mound of pillows against the wall. With a quick flick of her magic, she pulled a few of the pillows over so everypony had a seat. They were going to be here for a while.

“Well, following the battle in the Crystal Empire, to my knowledge, there was no formal government, nor any traces of it left to unify ponykind. Equestria was reduced to a battle-scarred wasteland, almost, with many ponies struggling just to survive day by day. Slowly, small communities began to come together, and they oft bickered among themselves over territory and resources.”

“We saw a lot of that,” Flurry commented, frowning. “I was young, but I still remember some of what I saw…”

“Ponies driven to desperation can do terrible things,” Spike confirmed with a slow, grave nod.

Scarlet paused, wondering just what exactly the two venerable figures had endured in those early days. She knew of their constant attacks from the Ferals, of course, and their fruitless hunt for Ocellus, but other than that…?

She shook her head, chasing the thought away. It was a question for later. For now, she had stories of her own to tell. “Well, eventually, the sundered remains of the old kingdom of Griffontstone managed to unify under a new ruler. A conqueror king, in essence, who began an invasion of what used to be Equestria, seeing as the old mountains the griffons lived in was far from hospitable.”

“And with Equestria more or less gone,” Lens continued, briefly glancing down. “There wasn’t a whole lot the scattered ponies could do. Those small communities that sprang up were quickly overrun and subjugated. And so it was that Talonreach first took root…”

Scarlet nodded. “They did not stop there, unfortunately. Over time, Talonreach spread far and wide, and before long, all of Old Equestria was taken into their control. The last bastion of ponies trying to cling to their independence, a settlement called Gallant’s Hope on the western border of Old Equestria, was unable to hold the invading griffons for long.”

“Oh my goodness,” Twilight breathed, lifting a hoof to her mouth in shock. “What happened after that?”

“Well, some ponies, several hundred of them, as I recall, fled far to the west,” Lens answered with a slow nod of his own. “Into what was then called the Undiscovered West. There, they discovered long-abandoned ruins from the three tribes era and soon stumbled across a great lake surrounded by lush, fertile fields. On the shores of that lake, they began a new settlement.”

“And they called it Newcanter,” Scarlet said simply. “The beginning of New Equestria. Little more than a refugee camp for ponies who did not wish to be dominated by foreign invaders.”

“Ah’m guessin’ it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbow after that, though, was it?” Applejack deduced after a moment, her brow furrowing.

Scarlet shook her head. “Alas, no. Talonreach was ever covetous of more land and power, but it would be several decades yet before they would venture to the west. This was in part due to the sudden death of their first king, and also due to an act of open, violent rebellion from many of the ponies the griffons had subjugated. They were led by a mare named Violet Storm, whose beauty and charms are legendary to this day.”

“With her magic and clever mind, she was able to effectively seduce victories right out of griffon claws,” Lens stated, glancing sideways at Scarlet, no doubt pondering her own half Violstan nature. “And they managed to keep Talonreach guessing for a long time before, finally, the new griffon king eventually agreed to a treaty that afforded Violet Storm and her followers the northwestern corner of Talonreach. They would be granted their independence, although as protectorates under Talonreach.”

“And so it was that Violsta came to be, and their leader founded the city of Lover’s Shade, where my mother is from,” Scarlet finished off that part of the story with a nod. “It wasn’t long after that, however, before the griffons’ greed returned in force, and they set their sights to the west.”

“Newcanter had grown a lot in that time,” Lens picked up. “And many more ponies had come there in the form of a mass exodus from Gallant’s Hope and other scattered pony villages, using the chaos of Violet’s rebellion as cover to hide their escape. Their population swelled, their city grew—its influence with it—and the newly formed Solar and Lunar councils were quite pleased with their progress.”

“Solar and Lunar Councils?” Rarity asked, perking up.

“Makes sense,” Rainbow grumbled. “With Celestia and Luna gone, they had to think of some way to fill in the gap.”

“Precisely,” Scarlet confirmed. “As it stands, Talonreach came into contact with New Equestria, and soon, a new conflict broke out. Talonreach did not recognize New Equestria as its own sovereign nation. Merely as a band of open rebels to be brought to heel.”

“And so another war broke out,” Lens stated, a grim frown coming over his face.

“Another one?” Twilight breathed, her ears drooping all the way. “They couldn’t find a peaceful solution…?”

Scarlet winced, looking down. “...I believe that they tried,” she said after a moment of hesitation, only a partial lie. The truth was, she was choosing to believe that they had tried, although there was no evidence one way or the other. But Twilight didn’t need to know that just now.

A heavy silence fell over the room. Twilight eventually cleared her throat and lifted her head. “Well… I’m assuming the New Equestria won?” she asked hopefully, though there was no missing the strain and tension in her voice.

“At great cost, but yes,” Scarlet replied slowly. “They were able to defend themselves long enough to exhaust Talonreach’s strength. The griffons were still worn out from their battle against the last open rebellion with Violsta, and so eventually had to concede defeat. As a result, New Equestria was officially recognized as its own nation.”

A wave of relief washed over the six mares in front of Scarlet, and a small smile crept onto her face at the sight. Twilight, in particular, seemed glad to hear this. “So… was that it, then?” she asked carefully, taking a step forward. “There weren’t any other wars, right?”

Scarlet winced, looking away. It was Lens who answered. “Well… not for a long time, at least.”

“I’m sensing a very loud ‘but’ in there,” Rainbow grumbled tiredly as if she wasn’t surprised.

Scarlet sighed and nodded her head. “You’re not wrong. There was another war… relatively recently. New Equestria, Talonreach, and Violsta all enjoyed a prolonged period of relative peace for a few centuries before things began to deteriorate once again. New Equestria spread its borders, trade was reestablished with the hippogriffs down south in Eris, and Violsta grew and prospered in its own right. There was something of a technological revolution with the advent of Arcane Engineering, thanks to the magical crystals that were found growing all across the world.”

“Which we now know are the roots of the Tree of Harmony,” Lens pointed out with a small bounce. “Which, might I add, is immensely fascinating.”

Applejack’s eyes flew wide. “Say what, now?! The roots of the Tree of Harmony spread all the way out here?!”

“They spread everywhere,” Spike clarified with a slow nod. “I’ve seen several growths over the centuries. The largest one is in a New Equestrian city called Shimmervale. It’s enormous, larger than the Tree itself.”

“Those crystals serve as the batteries for a wide range of technological inventions and innovations, including lamps to light the streets and homes of big cities at night and construction equipment for assembling larger, more intricate buildings that would otherwise be impossible,” Scarlet furthered with a slow nod. “And it’s seeing innovations all the time.”

“It’s still a long way behind what we used to have, though,” Flurry lamented with a grim frown. “Haven’t seen a train in years.”

Scarlet blinked. Somehow, she had totally forgotten about that. “Oh. Uh, well, there is actually an arcane train. It connects a few of the cities in the northwestern corner of New Equestria, including my home city of Swanrun. The tracks haven’t quite made it to the capital yet, though, unfortunately. Progress is slow due to how expensive it all is to maintain. It’s mostly used to shepherd important ponies from one point to the other, though. Civilians seldom get to use them.”

“They’re noisy,” Primrose grimaced.

Twilight blinked a few times. “Okay… That’s fascinating, and I would love to hear more sometime,” she said, clearly nudging the conversation back on track. “But this newer war?”

Scarlet frowned again, her mood dropping. “...Right. The War of Retribution, it’s come to be known as in pony circles.”

“Sounds charmin’,” Applejack muttered.

“It sounds dreadful,” Rarity corrected grimly.

Scarlet nodded, shaking her head to try and dispel the haunting phantoms of her time in that conflict. “It was dreadful, Lens and I can both attest to that firsthoof. Bloodiest war since the Fall.”

“What happened?” Twilight asked, her eyes boring into Scarlet intensely.

Scarlet hesitated. Her mind wandered back to her time in that bloody conflict, and the scars it had left her with. For a moment, the memory of a young griffon with his throat slit on the ground in front of her flashed before her eyes. She screwed them shut and shook her head sharply to banish the memory, ignoring the sounds of screams and rending flesh as well as she could.

“Scarlet…?” Primrose’s voice suddenly spoke up from her side, the foal’s hoof nudging Scarlet’s leg. She blinked and looked down to see the filly looking back up at her with a concerned frown. “Are you remembering, again?”

Scarlet swallowed heavily. “Y-yes. Forgive me,” she apologized weakly before returning her attention to Twilight, who now appeared to be confused. “My apologies, princess. But… I fought in that war myself. It was a harrowing experience at the best of times, and… it is difficult for me to speak of it without getting lost in the memories.”

Twilight’s eyes flew wide as saucers, her jaw hanging open. “It was that recent?!” she asked in disbelief.

Scarlet sighed. “It was, yes. It all began with the newest king in Talonreach, Glorion. He was a lunatic, absolutely insane. But as the king, he was rarely questioned, and when he was, those that dared speak up typically did not live long.”

“He was paranoid,” Lens added, placing a hoof on Scarlet’s back to comfort her as he took over the discussion. “He saw plots and threats against him wherever he looked. Especially in non-griffons. Ponies, in particular, received abhorrent treatment under his regime. The list of atrocities he had committed against his own subjects grew by the year, especially in Violsta. He felt slighted by Violet Storm’s victory, even though it was centuries ago, and spread propaganda that the ponies there and in New Equestria were just, and I quote, ‘witches and warlocks, one and all’.”

“...Huh,” Pinkie mused, her ears drooping. “So that’s what that feels like… Neighsay really was a big meanie.”

Scarlet blinked. “...What?”

“Nothing,” Twilight dismissed with a shake of her head. “Just… something from our time. You were saying Lens?”

“Right,” Lens nodded and continued a second later. “Well, eventually, he was persuaded to let the Violstans try to convince him otherwise. Some level-headed griffons in his court managed to talk him down from his radicalization, and so he sent a contingent of griffon nobles to Lover’s Shade to talk to the Countess there and see what she had to say. Unfortunately… it didn’t go well.”

Scarlet sighed, her ears drooping. “My mother told me the story herself, as my grandmother was in the city when it happened. Apparently, one of Glorion’s closest advisors and friends, who had been part of the delegation, was found dead in an alley, his throat sliced open by a sharpened blade. The remaining members of the delegation cried assassination, and peace became little more than a pleasant yet unachievable dream.”

“Someone killed him?!” Rarity asked, horrified. “Who?! Why?!”

“Nopony knows. The assassin—if 'assassin' is the right word—was never found, and the Violstans have claimed at every turn to have no knowledge of who the murderer was,” Lens admitted regretfully. “All we know for sure is that Glorion was beyond enraged, and soon enough, he sent his forces marching into Violsta to raze it all to the ground, intent on getting revenge for his fallen friend while also claiming he was stamping out the ‘threat of the witches.’”

“Violsta was able to hold them, for a time,” Scarlet went on. “And in that time, many things changed: several Talonreach cities in the northeast of the kingdom broke away in open rebellion of their own, becoming what is now known as Freewind, while New Equestria and Eris, both sick of Talonreach’s evils, declared war on the griffon nation with the intent of aiding their kind within its borders. Talonreach was assaulted on all sides, but it nevertheless fought with a ferocity unmatched.”

Her eyes went distant as the memories once again began to creep into her mind. She felt Lens’ hoof on her back, and Primrose’s curling around her own, and she used their touch to ground herself in reality. When she spoke next, her voice was quiet. “...The war lasted for several years. There were countless losses and atrocities on all sides… but in the end, the war was ended when a pony… a Nightblade named Silent Edge, who had been undercover in Talonreach’s capital, snuck into the castle and assassinated king Glorion.”

“That was around eight or nine years ago,” Lens finished with a slow nod. “Since then, Talonreach has struggled to recover from the damages they suffered in the war. Their new king is struggling to hold it all together, while Violsta and Freewind have both enjoyed their newfound complete independence.”

“And veterans who fought in that damned war are still trying to leave it behind them,” Scarlet concluded the recount with a deep sigh. “Some have been more successful than others.”

A heavy silence fell over the room. Scarlet kept her head down and her eyes closed, waiting for the princess to speak to her again. Eventually, she heard Twilight give off a long, quiet sigh.

“...I see… T-Thank you, Scarlet Frost, Lens. You’ve been a big help,” Twilight said quietly before turning back to her friends. “B-but, um… I think we need a little bit of time to process what you’ve told us.”

“Of course,” Scarlet said quietly, grateful for the chance to leave. She gently took Lens’ hoof in her and began to retreat for the exit.

“B-but,” Lens protested weakly, looking between Scarlet and Twilight in disappointment. “I had some…”

“Lens,” Scarlet cut him off, gently placing Primrose on his back with her magic. “We’ve been dismissed. Let it go.”

Lens mouthed like a fish for several seconds before, eventually, he clamped his jaw shut. “...Right, okay,” he muttered in defeat, allowing Scarlet to guide him for the exit. A pulse of magic came from Flurry’s horn, and the wall peeled open to let them pass through.

“Thank you again,” Twilight called after them, making Scarlet pause briefly. She looked back to see Twilight giving her a weak, broken smile. “For all of your help… We wouldn’t be here now if it weren’t for you three…”

Scarlet hesitated at that. Eventually, she put on a smile of her own and gave a small bow of her head. “You are welcome, Your Highness… I wish you luck in the days to come,” she said.

“Me, too!” Primrose chirped from Lens’ back, lifting her head. “I carried the lamp around for a long time! Make it worth it!”

Scarlet did not wait for Twilight to speak again. She saw herself out, being sure to pull Lens along with her before the alicorn could say anything. The moment they were passed the threshold, the hole in the wall snapped shut with an echoing crack.

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay, folks. Not just on this, but on my other stories of mine, too. One of my editors has a lot of irl stuff going on right now, it seems, so getting him around to edit for my stuff is taking longer than usual. This is, in turn, slowing down my entire rotation, as I tend to want to go in order, and if something blocks one chapter, the others grind to a halt behind it.

Meeting

“Are you coming to bed, or what?”

Scarlet twitched in place, startled by the sudden break in the long, peaceful silence. She turned back to smile at Lens, who was in the process of pulling back the sheets on the bed they shared. “In a moment, Lens,” she said before returning her eyes to the slumbering bundle in front of her.

She was in a small room that had only recently been carved out of the mountainside and furnished. A single resin lamp was attached to the ceiling, providing a gentle green glow that had been dulled to accompany the coming of the night. Two beds occupied the room, each with their headboards pressed against the back wall. A few other rudimentary furnishings were scattered around, with a stone table in one corner and a series of shelves carved into the opposite wall.

It was a room that had been carved out for their personal use per Flurry’s request during Scarlet’s time unconscious following the battle with the griffons. It was nothing fancy, and it was far from what Scarlet had originally been picturing when it came to a home to live in with Prim and Lens, but she was not about to complain. It had started feeling more and more like home as the days dragged on, and they deposited their various supplies onto the shelves, content to leave them there to collect dust. Their adventure was over, after all.

What truly made this space feel like home, though, were the two whom she shared it with; and right now, Scarlet was hard-pressed to pull her eyes away from one of them. Primrose was slumbering peacefully in her own bed, curled up into a ball with her tail clutched tightly in her hooves. Every so often her ear would flick, or some near-silent murmur would slip past her lips, but otherwise, she was totally still and wonderfully peaceful.

Scarlet’s ears twitched and flicked back as she heard Lens drawing closer. A moment later, he settled down next to her, draping a foreleg over her shoulders to join her in watching Primrose sleep. Instinctively, she leaned over to rest her head against his shoulder. She breathed a quiet sigh, closing her eyes.

“She’s not going anywhere,” Lens whispered into Scarlet’s ear, his breath tickling its interior.

Scarlet snorted, ear flicking in response. She leaned back and glanced over at Lens. “I know that, Lens. I’m just…” she sighed and turned back to the foal, her ears drooping. “...I’m worried about her.”

Lens hummed, focusing on Primrose as well. “Yeah, so am I… She hardly talked when we were seeing Princess Twilight,” he mused, his brow furrowing. “And if anypony was going to have an avalanche of questions, I assumed it would have been her, given everything she’s lost because of the lamp…”

Scarlet hummed in turn with a slow nod but did not speak for now. Lens had a point: Primrose had been stunningly quiet for the entire meeting, and only spoke up infrequently. If she had been quiet and unwilling to speak during that sort of meeting, then who knew what was going on in her head? Scarlet’s thoughts drifted back to her prior incident with Larynx; how she had fled from him and swiftly went to Sclera’s grave as if seeking her late mother’s protection.

“Maybe she’s just as ready to be done with all of this as we are,” Scarlet eventually mused, though the tone in her voice made it abundantly clear that she did not truly believe that sentiment. “Kept her words to herself…”

“Maybe…” Lens added, similarly doubtful. A few minutes passed in silence before he placed a hoof on Scarlet’s back and gave her an affectionate nuzzle. “But it’s not important right this second. Prim’s sleeping well, and so should we. We still have work to do in the morning, remember?”

“I remember,” Scarlet nodded, slowly rising to her hooves. With one last longing look to her filly, she turned and made her way into bed, Lens climbing in shortly after her. Once the two were comfortably nestled in each other’s hooves, Scarlet closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her muscles began to relax, and the tension from the day's trials bled out into the mattress and blankets. A content smile spread on her lips, and it didn’t take long before she felt herself starting to drift off to slumber.

“So… what do you think Twilight and her friends are going to do?” Lens suddenly asked in barely even a whisper after a few minutes.

Scarlet’s content smile faded, her eyes drifting open to find Lens staring back at her curiously. She had been trying to not think about that ever since they left the Thrones earlier. Giving off a quiet sigh, she helplessly shrugged her shoulders. “I do not know, Lens, truly. Your guess is as good as mine. But, in all honesty, I do not care.”

Lens blinked. “You don’t?”

Scarlet shook her head. “No. Or, to be more accurate, I do not wish to know. I am no fool; I know full well that the world is soon to change in profound ways. But I hold no desire to keep track of their travels or be involved… I have something far more important to concern myself with.”

“And that would be…?” Lens asked, though it was pretty clear he knew exactly what she was referring to.

Nevertheless, Scarlet decided to humor him. She leaned in and pressed her lips against his, giving a quiet, satisfied hum as she did so. Lens returned the affectionate gesture immediately and with no hesitation, and both of their eyes drifted closed.

When they parted a few seconds later, Scarlet opened her eyes to gaze deeply into Lens’. “...You,” she breathed. “You and Primrose…”

The corner of Lens’ mouth twitched up into a crooked, goofy smile. “Heh… lucky us, huh?” he asked.

“Yes, lucky,” Scarlet murmured, snuggling closer to her stallion while closing her eyes. “Very lucky…”

Lens wrapped his forelegs around her, pulling her closer against him. She sighed quietly, basking in their shared body heat. She felt him nuzzle the top of her head, drawing a content hum out of her. A second later, she readjusted to get comfortable.

“Now go to sleep…”

“Right… Goodnight, Scarlet.”

“Goodnight, Lens.”

Scarlet’s slumber was mercifully peaceful. Though she did not recall the specifics of the dream, she knew that it was peaceful and serene. She remembered that Lens and Primrose were with her, and they were just happy. She remembered a field of flowers, a giant lake, and a simple log cabin by the water’s edge. She recalled bright rays of sunlight and plenty of laughter, warming her heart and her soul.

Unfortunately, the serenity had to end. Whatever was causing the laughter ended, and in its place, there came a heart-chilling whimper. The sunlight became enshrouded with darkness and the fields were soaked in rain. The whimper grew in volume to join the thunder, evolving into a terrified wail of grief and guilt.

Scarlet’s eyes snapped open, a chill running down her spine. Yet even as she woke from her dream, the screaming persisted. Primrose. Scarlet’s pupils dilated at the memory of Silent Edge standing over her in the dead of night, his wingblades poised to pierce into her chest and gut.

“Primrose!”

Spurred on by the memory, Scarlet leaped out of bed, her swords materializing in the air in bright flashes of light. She searched the room frantically for any sign of the threat but found none. She blinked in confusion before her eyes fell on Primrose. Her swords vanished, her ears drooping. The filly was thrashing violently in her bed, her eyes screwed tightly shut, tears running freely down her cheeks to accompany her panicked shrieks.

“Prim!” She called again, rushing to her filly’s side. She gave her several harsh shakes, but for a moment, it did not seem to work. “Primrose, wake up! You’re having a nightmare!”

Finally, after another harsh shake, Primrose’s eyes snapped open, and she shot bolt upright in her bed. One of her hooves reached out in front of her as if to grab at something. Or someone. “NO!” She screamed, her voice going raw from the volume. “NO! Please, S-stop! I’m… I…”

Primrose blinked several times, her chest rising and falling in a series of heaving gasps as her eyes darted around. They soon found Scarlet’s. She swallowed heavily, her eyes shimmering with yet more tears. She sniffled. “S-Scarlet…” she choked out in a broken whimper.

“Prim,” Scarlet called to her again, gently placing her hooves on Primrose’s shoulders and pulling the foal into a warm embrace. Every motherly instinct she had was kicking into gear at once, her body acting on autopilot. She ran her hoof down the back of the foal’s mane to try and comfort her, and she shielded her from the world with her body.

“It’s okay, Primrose,” she cooed, nuzzling the filly’s mane. “It’s okay. It was just a bad dream. I have you. It’s alright. You’re okay.”

Primrose sniffled, her eyes squeezing shut. “S-S-Scarlet…” she choked out again, clinging tightly to Scarlet and burying her face into the mare’s chest fur. “I thought…”

“Sshh,” Scarlet shushed her quietly, giving her an affectionate squeeze. “It’s okay. It’s alright. Let it out. I’m here.”

With that gentle nudge, Primrose stopped holding back. She openly sobbed into Scarlet’s chest fur, dampening it with her tears while her small, skinny form was ravaged by horrible tremors. All the while, Scarlet comforted her to the best of her ability, drowning out the rest of the world. It didn’t matter just then.

At the same time that her instincts dictated her actions, her mind was flying into overdrive with confusion and concern. Primrose had been the victim of nightmares before, yes, but never once had they been so intense as to drive the foal to awaken in such a frightened state. She had never gotten beyond quiet whimpers or shudders in her sleep in all the time Scarlet had known her.

Could it have been the death of Sclera? It would make sense, if so. To lose her mother all over again just after getting her back, and this time with no chance of a surprise return… For one so young, and one who had suffered so much already, it must have been beyond traumatizing.

No answers came from Primrose, however. All that came was Lens, wandering into view a second later, appearing similarly groggy and confused. He briefly met Scarlet’s gaze. Without a word, he understood and leaped up to join them. He added his body to the mix and joined his voice to Scarlet’s in softly shushing and comforting Primrose.

The trio remained like that for far, far too long. Though it may have only been a few minutes, it felt like an eternity to Scarlet. At last, though, Primrose’s cries quieted down as the last of her energy was spent. She leaned back, still shaking, but able to speak and focus. She looked up at Scarlet. “...Th-thank you,” she whimpered.

Scarlet smiled and gave her another nuzzle. “You’re welcome, Primrose,” she whispered.

“I’m guessing it was a pretty bad nightmare, huh?” Lens asked, patting the foal on the head.

Primrose sniffled, offering only a slow nod in response. Scarlet glanced up at Lens, then knelt down to look into Prim’s eyes with a gentle smile. “Do you want to talk about it, sweetie?” she asked.

Primrose did not answer. After a moment, she merely shook her head.

“You sure?” Lens asked, sliding his hoof up to her shoulder. “We’re here to listen.”

Again, Primrose shook her head. Scarlet sighed at that, glancing up at Lens. His eyes stared back at hers, pleading for her guidance.

A few seconds passed before Lens sighed and withdrew somewhat. Scarlet took this as her cue and spoke up. “Okay, Prim… just do not forget that we are here for you. If you need to talk about it…”

This time, Primrose nodded, but she still did not say anything. She shuddered again, as if some memory from her nightmare was resurfacing, and quickly latched onto Scarlet with another frightened whimper.

Scarlet clutched her close, her brow furrowing. She glanced up at Lens to see him staring hopelessly back at her. Evidently, he had no idea what to do in this situation. Not that she could really blame him. This whole parenting thing was brand new for him. Scarlet was the expert, relatively speaking.

Judging by the intensity of Prim's quivers, there was no way the filly was going to get back to sleep right now. To try and make her was an exercise in futility, and with Scarlet’s own mind still reeling, she didn’t imagine she would be able to get much rest either. So, with a grimace, she looked down at Prim and met her gaze once the two pulled away. “Hey… what do you say to taking a short walk?” she asked softly.

Primrose blinked. “Huh? A walk?” she asked quietly.

Scarlet nodded. “Yes. It will help you work whatever is bothering you out of your system, help you clear your head, and help burn off any of the energy your fear’s given you. It should help you feel better, at least a little, and make it easier to sleep when we come back.”

Primrose was quiet for a few seconds before nodding her head. “O-okay… sure, that sounds… that sounds nice,” she mumbled half-heartedly.

Scarlet smiled before leaning down to give Prim a kiss on the forehead. “Alright. Let’s go, then,” she said, easing off the bed.

Lens followed after her. “I’m coming, too,” he said definitively.

Scarlet frowned at him. “Lens… I appreciate it, but-”

“Nope, don’t even try,” Lens cut her off with a raised hoof. “You’re still tender from your wounds, and Primrose needs all the support she can get. I’m coming.”

Scarlet opened her mouth to protest, but after a moment, conceded that Lens had a point. One of her hooves drifted up to her chest. A scar was still visible where Silent’s wingblade had pierced through her back and broken through her chest, and the fur where her own artillery blast had burned her was still thin and short compared to the rest. She winced as her hoof grazed against the injuries before nodding.

“Very well. Let us be about it, then.”

Lens relaxed at that, visibly relieved by the answer.

Scarlet turned back to Primrose just as the foal hopped down from the bed. She came up to Scarlet’s side, her head still down, hiding her face behind her long mane.

Scarlet frowned at her, her concern swelling even more. She placed a hoof on Prim’s back, hoping that she would sense and take comfort in Scarlet and Lens’ affection. Then, without a word, the trio took their leave of the room, passing through the circular tunnel that led out into the rest of Sanctuary.

Their path soon led them into a large chamber, larger than most of the others. Scarlet looked around, taking note of countless other holes all across the walls and domed roof, each leading to one or more rooms and homes just like the one they had just left. Along the ground level were vaguely egg-shaped constructs of darkened stone: larger homes reserved for larger families. The closest thing to a street was a series of paths dug into the stone floor that wound between the buildings, wide enough for ten stallions to walk abreast but only a few inches deep. At every intersection or corner, there were posts topped with resin lamps, all of which had been darkened to accompany the night. The only bright light source came in the form of a singularly large resin lamp that hung from the ceiling like a colossal chandelier, and even it was darker than usual.

Scarlet was not used to this chamber being so quiet. She had never been in it at such a late hour, and to see the streets so quiet and devoid of activity was unsettling. Where there were a few changelings going through the streets, they appeared to be little more than guards on patrol, ensuring nobody—or nopony—was acting out of line.

Those guards nodded at Scarlet’s group as they passed, often with quietly uttered greetings. Though she could sense the curiosity burning being their glowing eyes, they were polite enough to not pry into her business just now. As a result, the entire residential chamber was bathed in silence, save for the echoing clacks of chitinous hooves on the cold stone, like the muffled ticking of a hundred broken clocks.

The group did not have much of a destination as they walked. They meandered aimlessly, allowing their thoughts to wander. Scarlet’s gaze routinely drifted to Primrose, always hoping to see a more relaxed look on the foal’s face or to see her ready to speak about what was plaguing her mind. Every time, she was met with little more than silence and a curtain of purple hair.

They soon left the residential chamber. A guard was kind enough to open the way for them, and their hooves soon carried them into the entrance chamber. Scarlet briefly paused, her eyes sweeping across the still lingering damage left in the wake of Silent’s mercenaries. She grimaced at the sight, her chest tingling at the memory. Maybe this wasn’t the best place to bring Primrose…

“I wanna see mom,” Primrose’s voice suddenly spoke up in a weak whisper.

Scarlet almost jumped at the sudden sound. She looked down to see that Primrose had finally lifted her head, her eyes gazing distantly toward the exit. Scarlet frowned and looked to Lens. He frowned as well, but a moment later, he shrugged, deferring the decision to Scarlet’s judgment.

Scarlet looked down at Primrose, her brow furrowing. For a moment she wanted to politely and softly decline, not wanting to stimulate any more of Prim’s bad memories tonight, but then she remembered how she had gone running to the grave when she got upset earlier. She had sought comfort there, and it seemed to work if only a little.

Scarlet smiled after a moment and gave a nod. “Very well. I think we could do with some fresh air,” she confessed.

Primrose perked up just a little, her pace picking up a little. Scarlet and Lens fell into step behind her, walking side by side. The two guards stationed by the exit nodded at them as they passed, offering hushed warnings to not wander too far. Lens assured them in a similarly hushed tone as they passed.

Scarlet’s groggy mind began to feel refreshed as they emerged from Sanctuary, once again greeted by the sight of the valley. The moon sat high in the sky, casting its pale glow over the land. Scarlet shivered slightly as a chilly breeze of nighttime mountain air washed over her coat, assaulting her still tender flesh.

Primrose did not seem deterred. She simply turned and continued leading the way for Sclera’s grave. As they made their way up the path, though, Scarlet began to frown. Something didn’t feel right… Some instinct in her was making a fuss, trying to warn her that they weren’t safe.

“Do you feel that?” she asked in a whisper, glancing over at Lens.

“Hm? No?” he answered in an equally hushed tone, leaning closer. “What is it?”

Scarlet’s frown deepened. She set her jaw and narrowed her eyes, focusing directly ahead. “I don’t know… something just feels wrong…”

Lens frowned, looking directly ahead as well. He focused and Prim, who had pulled far ahead, and called after her. “Hey, slow down, Prim! Don’t go too far ahead!”

Primrose stopped and looked back, shying back sheepishly. “Oh, uh… sorry,” she apologized. She waited for Scarlet and Lens to catch up.

“It’s alright,” Scarlet told her once they were caught up, Primrose sticking close to her side now. “But remember, it’s dark out, and we don’t want to lose track of you.”

Primrose nodded at that, wrapping one of her hooves around Scarlet’s.

Giving the child’s hoof a firm squeeze, Scarlet returned her attention forward, her senses on alert for any signs of a threat. She was probably just being paranoid, but she would rather be safe than sorry after what had happened last time she felt like this.

They came to the top of the path, and Sclera’s grave came into view. However, they were not alone. Scarlet came to a stop and quickly pushed Primrose behind her when she caught sight of another figure, dark and shadowy, kneeling down in front of the grave. He was clad in the dark armor of the Nightblades, and two leathery wings were tucked neatly against his sides.

The Nightblade’s ears perked up, revealing they were topped with a noticeable tuft of fur. Their owner looked back over his shoulder, revealing vibrant purple eyes against a charcoal black coat that fairly glowed in the moonlight. Two sharp fangs jutted down from his lower lip. A small smile spread on his face. “Ah. I had not expected to see you here at this hour…” he said in a silky, silvery smooth voice.

Scarlet growled, her horn sparking to life. She should have known other Nightblades would take Silent’s place. The Lunar Council weren’t ones to give up that easily. She quickly spread her stance, summoning her swords protectively in front of her.

“Nocturn?!” Lens yelped in alarm, taking several steps back. “What the hell?!”

“You know him?!” Scarlet demanded though she dared not take her eyes off the thestral for even a moment.

“We have met,” Nocturn answered in Lens’ place as he slowly rose to his hooves. “But allow me to properly introduce myself nonetheless. I am Nocturn, Spymaster of the Lunar Council. Now please, Miss Frost, put away your swords. I did not come here to fight you.”

Scarlet’s eyes widened as she caught sight of a thick blue ribbon tied around Nocturn’s foreleg, which he slowly lifted to show it off to her. A blue banner. He was here to negotiate, then.

She snarled and slowly lowered her blades, though she did not dispel them outright. “Is that so?” she asked slowly, not making any effort to hide the resentment in her voice.

Nocturn nodded, lowering himself to his haunches. “It is. I am here to speak with Lord Hraesvalgr and Flurry Heart on behalf of the Lunar and Solar Councils. If you would be so kind as to show me to them-”

“If you would trade words, you will trade them with us or not at all,” Scarlet shot down without missing a beat, peeling her lips back to show her teeth. “As far as I am concerned, you are the enemy, so you will forgive me for not bringing a master assassin face-to-face with the leader of the city I now call home!”

Nocturn shrugged in defeat. “Very well. All I ask, then, is that you convey what I have to say to them when I take my leave.”

Scarlet snarled. “...Fine. Now out with it. What do you want?!”

“And how did you even find us?!” Primrose demanded, poking her head out from being Scarlet’s legs.

“I’d rather like to know that, myself,” Lens added, stepping forward to stand by Scarlet’s side, his own horn lighting up just in case. “This valley isn’t exactly easy to reach, and it blends it quite nicely with all the others. How did you find us?”

Nocturn paused for a moment as if he were considering how best to answer. A moment passed before he sighed, his eyes falling on Primrose. “...Silent Edge. I followed him here...”

Primrose’s ears drooped at the mention of that name, and she quickly withdrew.

Scarlet bared her teeth. “Is that so…?”

Nocturn nodded. “It is. You see, Scarlet, when word was brought to the Lunar Council of your accusations against him, they saw fit to place him on trial then and there, by way of a dream trial. I was present, and I was able to watch as all of his abhorrent crimes were brought to light before the eyes of the Council…”

Scarlet’s eyes widened in confusion. “A… a dream trial?” she echoed, unfamiliar with the term.

Nocturn nodded. “They are an exceptionally rare form of trial, only conducted in special cases where there is no room for error, and the truth must be ascertained: internal cases of those with a high rank, or any case that could have a profound impact on New Equestria as a whole. Were you to be placed on trial, Scarlet, you can rest assured that your trial would be conducted in the Dream Realm as well, for your list of crimes is extensive and severe.”

Lens frowned. “So they just dug through his memories?”

Nocturn turned, glancing up at the moon. “They did. A morally questionable violation of his mind, of that there can be no question. But in such cases as his and those like him, the alternative would be permitting a monster such as him the opportunity to carry on to commit more atrocities, which I believe is the greater crime.”

A moment passed before Nocturn continued, his tone dropping. “As such, the truth of his traitorous actions was ascertained. However… by my request, he was not given the death penalty that his actions would otherwise warrant.”

“So YOU spared him?!” Scarlet demanded, her horn flaring up. Her eyes drifted past the thestral to stare at Sclera’s grave, and her blood began to boil. “If so, then you had a hoof in the tragedy that befell this valley!”

Nocturn actually winced guiltily at that. He was quick to compose himself, however, his tone unchanging. “I am aware… You have my assurance, it was not my intention to allow things to go as they did. But circumstances were not in my favor…”

“Oh really?” Scarlet spat incredulously. “I call bullshit!”

Nocturn frowned. “Your call is false. My intent on requesting Silent live was so that he be stripped of his rank and titles within the Nightblades. The Council granted my request, and so it came to pass that he was banished from Newcanter, forever an outcast from that city. I knew him very well, and I knew that his pride would not permit him to walk a new path. I knew full well that he would continue his hunt of you, Primrose, if only out of spite. And as such, it was my intent to follow him as he gave chase. He would lead me to you, and I would intervene before he could commit any further atrocities. Then, I would attempt to attain the lamp in a more peaceful manner…”

He lifted his eyes to look up at the mountains, no doubt imagining what it was like within Sanctuary itself. “Alas… I was unable to stop him in time. My team and I were caught up in the swarm of feral changelings, just like you and Silent. In the chaos, we lost track of our target, and by the time we located him again, it was no longer possible to intervene without causing more harm.”

“How so?” Lens asked skeptically.

“He had already enlisted the aid of the griffon mercenaries that attacked Sanctuary,” Nocturn clarified. “And as he had paid their fee, they would be loyal to him. It was no longer possible to intervene without potentially getting myself and the surviving members of my team slaughtered. And even were we to succeed, the friction such an incident would cause between the Lunar and Solar Councils would be difficult to manage and potentially damaging to innocent ponies.”

“We were forced to observe and wait for an opportunity. None, however, presented themselves, until it was far too late. Silent’s assault began, and we learned of the truth of Sanctuary - at least, in part.”

“In part?” Primrose questioned.

Nocturn nodded. “We bore witness to your meeting with Hraesvalgr and Flurry in the valley. We heard your conversation, and so we learned that the lamp was of some significance to the First Dragon Sentinel and one of the Five. Such a revelation rendered my original mission of acquiring the lamp… no longer advisable. When the battle ended, I chose to withdraw back to Newcanter to report my findings to the Lunar Council, that they might decide how best to proceed.”

Scarlet blinked, becoming increasingly taken aback by the spymaster’s openness. He was a spy, after all, but here he was, telling her everything. She frowned, a new wave of doubt coming over her. “...Why are you telling us this?” she demanded.

Nocturn paused, and finally, his stoic expression softened with guilt. He looked down at Primrose, his posture sagging. “...Because you are right. The tragedy that transpired here was my fault… and that includes the death of your mother, Primrose. Her demise came as a result of my decision to spare Silent, and though I had no way of knowing it would happen the way it did, it does not undo the damage he did due to my negligence… during the attack, and for so many years prior.”

Primrose’s eyes widened. “W-what…?”

Nocturn sighed, his wings adjusting fitfully against his sides. “...There is a saying in the Nightblades that I coined when I assumed the position of Spymaster. ‘We are only as evil as we need to be.’ Only as evil as is needed of us to preserve our home… but Silent Edge… he ignored such a notion. I see now how truly selfish he was, and the countless evils he wrought upon you and those you loved is… it is unconscionable. As his superior, the responsibility for his actions falls upon my shoulders. I did not see the monster he was turning into, nor did I see the path of blood he left in his wake. Innocent ponies died who never should have… all in the name of killing you… a mere child.”

Nocturn then closed his eyes and bowed his head low. “I do not expect you to ever forgive me or my order for all of the suffering you have been forced to endure because of us, Primrose… I see now that we were wrong to hunt you as we did… But even if forgiveness is forever beyond me, on behalf of New Equestria and the Lunar Council, I am sorry… And I swear, upon my life, that I will not rest until the last weeds of Silent’s evil and corruption are purged from my order, and I will not allow any others like him to soil the ranks of the Nightblades until death grants me leave to retire. It shall be my penance…”

Scarlet’s jaw dropped open in shock, and she did not doubt that Lens and Primrose were matching her expression. Of all the things she had been expecting when she had seen Nocturn’s blue banner, this was nowhere on the list. She mouthed uselessly for several seconds, trying in vain to find some response.

Primrose was the one to respond, however. She stepped forward until Scarlet grabbed her to keep her back, focusing on Nocturn with an unreadable frown. Several seconds passed before she looked down at the ground. “...You let Silent kill my family,” she whispered quietly as a chilling breeze washed over the mountains. “Every family I ever had… And you tortured my mom in those dungeons for… years. You hurt her. You hurt me. You’re right... I can’t ever forgive you… I won’t.”

Nocturn nodded in understanding, before slowly rising back to sit upright. “I can hope for no better…” he muttered. With slow movements, he reached into his saddlebags and withdrew a scroll with what Scarlet recognized as the seal of the Solar and Lunar Councils. “Now… for the official reason I am here… the Councils bade me bring this message to Lord Hraesvalgr and Flurry, but as my meeting is with you, I can only request you deliver it to the dragon and goddess in my stead.”

Lens, who had been struck into gobsmacked silence, gingerly took the scroll in his magic, bringing it over to him and Scarlet. “W… W-what is it?” he asked quietly.

Nocturn nodded at it. “It is an invitation. The Solar and Lunar Councils desire to open diplomatic relations with Sanctuary… They believe that, in light of recent events, the time for conflict has passed. In part due to my insistence, they desire to make amends for the damage their paranoia has done to the Free Changelings over these centuries.”

Scarlet glanced at the letter. This night was giving her surprise after surprise, and she was starting to have trouble keeping them all straight. Diplomatic relations between Sanctuary and New Equestria? She had not believed that would ever happen… and indeed, it still might not. Spike was notoriously protective of his subjects and guarded Sanctuary’s secrecy with a ferocity Scarlet had not seen before.

A few moments passed before Nocturn stepped back. “One last matter before I depart… I know that Twilight Sparkle and her five saints have returned.”

“What?!” Scarlet asked, focusing on the thestral again. “How?!”

Nocturn spread his wings as if to show his hand in a game of cards. “I will confess, I left a member of my team behind when I left for Newcanter, that he might monitor the situation here and learn more. He overheard changelings excitedly speaking about their release from the lamp, and he regaled me with all he knew upon my return. Rest assured, I ordered him to make his return to Newcanter upon the conclusion of his report. If he yet lingers and is discovered, then Hraesvalgr has my permission as the commander of the Nightblades to do with him as he sees fit, for he will be acting against my orders and my wishes.”

“That is incredibly trusting of you,” Lens noted skeptically, finally regaining some of his senses. “Why would you do that?”

Nocturn turned his back on the trio. “There are innumerable crimes for which I must atone… if I am to do that, then I must earn your trust.”

A gentle breeze washed over the gravesite. A second passed before Nocturn glanced back at the others. “And thus, my message is delivered, and my mission accomplished. The rest I leave to you. Farewell… and again, Primrose… I am truly sorry.”

Primrose looked down, her ears drooping. “...Just go away,” she whispered in disdain.

Nocturn frowned but offered up no protest. Without another word, he gave his great bat-like wings a flap and leaped from the cliffside, flying up to disappear into the night. Scarlet watched him go until he faded from sight, which was far quicker than she had been expecting. She practically blinked only to find that he was gone... He was the spymaster for a reason, she supposed.

She quickly knelt down next to Primrose, draping a foreleg over the filly’s back to comfort her. “Hey… you okay?” she asked softly.

Primrose nodded. “Y-yeah… yeah, I… I’m okay,” she whispered, though her voice was distant and hollow.

Scarlet grimaced her concern from earlier swelling even more. She glanced up at Lens, who was still looking over the scroll with a stern frown. He turned to Scarlet and wiggled the scroll in the air for emphasis. “Well… what do we do now?” he asked carefully.

Scarlet eyed the scroll. She gently took it in her magic and gave it a critical examination. Some small part of her wanted to burn it to cinders and be done with all of this, to spit in the offer the Councils were putting forward. What right did they have to request an audience with those they had been routinely harming for centuries? Did they truly believe they could actually make amends after all they had done?

A second passed before a heavy sigh escaped her lips. It wasn’t her decision to make… She stood to her full height and turned to look back the way they had come. “...We deliver the message to Spike,” she said plainly. “After that… we let him deal with it.”

Lens frowned, but after a moment, gave a nod. “Right… should we do that now?” he asked, glancing back to Primrose. “I mean… some of us still need sleep…”

Scarlet nodded. “The sooner we pass this off to the ones it concerns, the sooner we can be done with our part in this,” she said. “Once the letter is in Spike’s claws, we can go back home and get back to sleep.”

Lens nodded. “Alright… lead on, I guess.”

Scarlet hummed. She placed Primrose on her back with her magic, taking a moment to ensure the foal was comfortable. She then set off at a brisk trot, eager to be done with this and get back to simpler matters. She had no desire to get wrapped up in this ordeal anymore.

With that thought burning in the forefront of her mind, Scarlet led the way from Sclera’s grave, heading back for Sanctuary.

Author's Note

Bada Bing Bada Boom, we got another chapter already! I figured I'd yuck this one out to all of you as an apology for prior delays and get you all up to what is, in essence, the incendiary incident for the rest of the story after this point.

Revealed

A sound, distant and muffled, tickled Twilight’s ears, stirring her from her already fitful and restless slumber. She winced, trying in vain to shut the noise out and return to the void. It came again a moment later, louder and clearer. It was a voice… Fluttershy’s voice. She was calling out for something.

The third time, Twilight sighed and opened her eyes, resigning herself to the fact that, for now, sleep was beyond her. She lifted her head and looked around, finding that she was laying down on the mound of pillows that had been arranged in the Thrones. The rest of her friends, sans Fluttershy, were similarly scattered about on the mound, resting as well as could be expected, given the circumstances. Spike was slumbering against the far wall with his tail being used as a makeshift blanket by Flurry Heart.

It was a cute sight… though it was far more unsettling and upsetting, given the implication, and what Twilight knew about the lives those two had led since she had been sealed in the Lamp. Her eyes fell, as did her ears. Another cold shiver passed through her, and her heart clenched tightly in her chest. She screwed her eyes shut, fighting back another wave of tumultuous emotion.

When Scarlet, Lens, and Primrose had left them earlier, to say that Twilight and her friends had taken the news poorly would be an understatement. Rainbow Dash, in particular, had flown into what had to be the most volatile emotional meltdown any of them had ever seen from her. Twilight shuddered as she recalled Rainbow’s shouts and denials, how she had even gone so far as to slam her head into the wall in some delusional hope that it would wake her from a terrible nightmare.

Fluttershy’s whimpers had grown into full-on sobs, and even Rarity’s fragile but steady composure had shattered into a thousand brittle pieces. Applejack and Pinkie had been remarkably quiet, though the hollow, empty looks in their eyes made it clear that they, too, were struggling to fully accept the reality of their situation. Of the terrible fate that had been thrust on them…

Amid all of it, Twilight could only look on and watch. Watch as her friends, her best friends, the ponies she had saved Equestria beside so many times before, fell into despair and grief the likes of which she had not yet seen. Were she not in such a state of shock herself, she might have joined them…

She wasn’t sure what had happened after that. It was all just a blur… judging by where they were, though, she could only assume that their emotional turmoil had taken its toll, and eventually they had all driven themselves into an early slumber, with Spike and Flurry standing guard over them in silent vigil until they, too, drifted off to sleep.

Twilight stared at the large dragon, her mind’s eye replacing the image in front of her with that of a small, smiling, baby dragon with a scroll in one claw and a pen in the other. His large emerald eyes shining back at her with a desire to please and a warmth that could only belong to a child. She could even imagine Owlowycious perched upon his shoulder, staring at the scroll in his grasp with that ever-unreadable look.

Fluttershy’s voice cut through the silence of the chamber yet again, dispelling the image of better times. Twilight blinked as the grizzled, cynical dragon her Spike had turned into came back into focus. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself before following the echoing sound of Fluttershy’s voice. She was somewhere beyond the exit of the Thrones, which stood open.

Worried for her friend, Twilight dragged herself out of the pile of pillows and slumbering bodies. She stepped out into the hall, seeing Fluttershy a ways ahead. She was looking up, her ears drooping, and her posture sagging. As Twilight drew closer, she could see Fluttershy’s body shaking ever so slightly in the cold of the cave.

“Discoooord!” Fluttershy called out again, her voice echoing up and down the tunnel. Twilight’s eyes widened in surprise, and she held her breath, waiting for the infamous master of chaos himself to make his grand reappearance.

Several seconds passed.

“...Discord?” Fluttershy whispered again, her voice barely even a whisper. “Please… please answer. I know you’re out there… somewhere…”

Twilight looked down, repressing the urge to sigh. She closed her eyes, recalling with a heavy heart the last time she had seen him. He had gone off to find Fluttershy after she went missing. Then, a few hours later, he had returned, appearing out of nowhere in the middle of her castle in Ponyville...

“Discord?!” Twilight shouted in alarm, her heart spiking with fear at the sight on her castle’s floor. Discord lay there, his serpentine body curled protectively around Fluttershy. His eyes were wide and frantic, his chest rising and falling in heaving gasps. Both of them were covered in blood…

Discord’s blood.

“What happened to you?!”

Discord’s eyes turned to Twilight, his lips twitching into something that could charitably be called a rueful smile. “Ah, Twilight. There you are. Don’t worry about me. Just a few little dings- Gh!”

Discord’s attempts at reassurance ground to a halt as he struggled to contain a hiss of agony. Twilight’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly galloped forward to make sure Fluttershy wasn’t injured. “Oh my gosh, you’re hurt! How?!”

Discord grimaced again, slowly uncurling from around Fluttershy. The pegasus was pale and shaking like a leaf, her eyes distant. She slumped forward, Twilight barely catching her in time. Discord winced, placing a talon against a large gaping wound that had been cut into his side. “Ugh… I got careless,” he admitted despondently. “But, on the bright side, I found out who took Fluttershy. Fifty bits if you can guess who.”

Twilight blinked. Oh, she knew who it was. There was only one it could have been. “...What did she do?”

“Chrysalis found a way to counter my magic. Some piece of her stupid throne thingie,” Discord explained, screwing his eyes shut. “I was so focused on helping Fluttershy that I didn’t realize… until she’d rammed a spear tipped with the cheap stuff into my chest.”

Twilight’s eyes widened, the color draining from her face. Her eyes fell on the wound, and she had to force herself to not shudder in revulsion. Discord was the Spirit of Chaos for a reason, and his internal organs and shocking lack of bones made that plainly clear. She didn’t even want to attempt to describe what she was seeing in there.

Why did his intestines have smiley faces stickered onto them?!

Discord chuckled weakly, shaking his head. “Heh… I guess I had it coming,” he said, slumping onto the ground. “Too much time spent egging you all on to be the best you can be. Didn’t realize I was neglecting myself… I was barely able to get far enough away to regain my powers to teleport...”

“Please, stop talking like that,” Fluttershy suddenly spoke up, turning her eyes back to Discord. She wiped the blood from her face, only succeeding in smearing it, and moved forward, placing her own hooves over the wound. “Save your energy… We need to… need to… oh my goodness…”

Discord groaned, looking down at the wound again. “Oh, Fluttershy… somehow, I doubt this is an injury you’re equipped to treat…”

“You’re the Spirit of Chaos, though!” Fluttershy protested, moving her hooves up to his chest and shaking him. “Can’t you just magic the wound away?!”

“Normally, yes. It would be as simple as snapping my talons and twerking my hips, and I’d be good to go,” Discord replied with a small smile. “But… contrary to popular belief, I do have my limits. When my injuries are this severe and caused by something that cancels out my magic, matters become irritatingly complicated… and time-consuming.”

A lump formed in Twilight’s throat. She stepped closer, placing a hoof on Fluttershy’s back. She didn’t want to ask this next question, but she felt she had no choice. “...Are you going to die?”

“NO!” Fluttershy exclaimed, turning to Twilight in abject disbelief. “Of course he isn’t! He’s Discord! The only thing that can… d-do that to him is if he acts normal for too long!”

“Oh, please, don’t remind me of that,” Discord grumbled while rolling his eyes. “Loolaroo still won’t let me live that down.”

“Loola… huh?” Twilight asked.

“Talking lampshade,” Fluttershy replied automatically.

“Yeah, that makes about as much sense as I was expecting…” Twilight admitted, able to put on a small smile for a moment. She quickly sobered up and focused. “But Discord… are you-”

“Ugh, no, Twilight, I’m not going to die,” Discord interrupted her with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. “It will take a lot more than this to keep me down. But… I am going to be out of the picture for a little while.”

Fluttershy blinked, turning back to Discord in confusion. “What…?”

Discord slowly sat up, groaning as he did so. “Oof, youch that burns… Okay, look, just like a pony whose hurt needs rest to recover, when it comes to problems like this, so do I. No big deal, I’ll just jump into my realm for a few weeks and let the chaos there stitch me back together. Shouldn’t take very long.”

“Oh, thank goodness…” Fluttershy sighed in relief, stepping forward and throwing her forelegs around Discord in a warm hug; one he immediately returned. Twilight similarly relaxed. Discord would live. Good. They needed him if they were going to keep Chrysalis at bay until they could find the Elements. Hell, it had been the plan for them to go and pick them up as soon as Discord got Fluttershy back.

However, as as it was, they weren’t going to have him, were they? Not for a few weeks, at least. Twilight’s relief peeled away to reveal the underlying dread, and it soon made itself apparent on her face. She cleared her throat and stepped forward. “Discord… you’re going to be gone for weeks?”

Discord hesitated, actually looking reluctant. He nodded a second later. “Well… yes, of course. I know it’s not exactly the best outcome, but, well…” he pointed his lion claw at his wound, and around six different neon light arrows appeared to draw attention to it as well. “This isn’t gonna go away overnight, as much as we may want it to.”

Twilight swallowed heavily. “But… but-”

“Look, you’ll just have to hold out until I get back,” Discord cut her off matter of factly. “Which, considering who I’m talking to, should be child’s play. You’re more than capable of holding the line for a few weeks, Your Highness. I doubt Celestia would have chosen you to be her and Luna’s successor if you weren’t.”

Twilight closed her eyes, looking down at the floor. Discord had been wrong. He had been totally wrong. Not even a few days after he had returned to his realm to recover, the swarm swept over Ponyville. Every effort to slow and stop them ended in failure and the village had been all but turned to dust. Even her castle had been desecrated. They had barely escaped the village with their lives, and by the time they arrived in the Empire…

She shook her head, forcing herself to not think about it. Twilight lifted her head a moment later, just as Fluttershy took in a deep breath.

“Discord! Answer me!” she called out, louder than before. She hunched forward slightly from the force of the shout, even if it was still quieter than most pony shouts.

“Fluttershy…” Twilight called gingerly, snapping Fluttershy from her increasingly desperate calls. Fluttershy spun to face her, tears clearly visible in her puffy, bloodshot eyes. That look killed Twilight a little on the inside, forcing her to glance away. If they had just held out a little longer, then maybe…

Fluttershy took in a shaky breath. She looked up and away. “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t wake you up, did I?” she asked quietly.

Twilight put on a small smile. “It’s fine… I wasn’t really resting anyway,” she said as she drew up to the mare’s side. She looked up where Fluttershy was, searching for any sign that Discord had heard Fluttershy’s shouted plea.

There was nothing.

“...He isn’t answering,” Fluttershy whispered, her voice laced with sorrow and longing. “He should be answering. He said it would only take him a few weeks…”

Twilight looked down, her ears drooping. She wracked her brain for an explanation. Maybe he couldn’t hear her from where he was? No, that didn’t make any sense. Discord had always known when someone he liked was calling out to him in the past. He routinely ignored them, most of the time. But not Fluttershy.

Not Fluttershy.

Another possibility entered her mind, this one far grimmer. Discord had been exceptionally wounded when he left, and the amount of blood he had left behind had been staggering. Almost comical. Maybe his wounds were worse than he had been expecting? Maybe the cancelation of his magic extended to his realm as well when he went there.

Maybe, Discord was just… gone.

Twilight turned to Fluttershy. There was still a tiny spark of hope in that mare’s eyes. If Discord were still around, he could probably put everything right with a snap of his claws. One moment and this horrible nightmare would end, and they could all go back to the life they were all missing so dearly… But if Discord was gone, then…

Could Twilight really bring herself to say it? To even breathe the idea in front of Fluttershy? Could she willingly put forth the notion that her hope was doomed to end in disappointment?

“...No,” Twilight finally decided, looking away. “I’ve failed everypony enough… I can tell her later. When things are better…”

Before the two could speak again, the silence was suddenly and violently broken. Twilight jumped in her skin and spun to the side as a large hole opened in the wall to her left. A praetor drone stood there, with Scarlet Frost, Sharp Lens, and Primrose all trailing along behind him, all of them looking tired, but with an air of seriousness about them.

“Scarlet?” Twilight asked in surprise, stepping back to give the suddenly arriving group some room. “What’s going on? Is something wrong?”

Scarlet glanced at her, and it was only then that Twilight noticed her horn glowing with magic and a tightly bound scroll of parchment floating in the air next to her. “...That’s up to Hraesvalgr,” she said after a moment.

“What’s going on?” Fluttershy asked, stepping behind Twilight to watch the proceedings with fearful eyes.

The Praetor nodded respectfully at them. “There is a letter for Lord Hraesvalgr. We need to deliver it at once.”

With that, the group of four moved for the Thrones. Twilight was quick to fall into stride next to them, her eyes fixated to the scroll. The red ribbon that bound it was reminiscent of the ones Celestia would use to bind hers, and there was even a gold seal, although the insignia was very different from the one she knew.

“Lord Hraesvalgr!” The Praetor called out as he entered the room, drawing an agitated snort from the slumbering dragon.

“Mmph. What do you want?” he asked in annoyance, opening one reptilian eye to glare at the new arrivals. “In case you hadn’t noticed, we have ponies sleeping in here.”

“A thousand pardons, My Lord,” The Praetor apologized while dipping his head low. “But the ponies behind me insisted that this matter could not wait, and in light of recent events, I felt it would be unwise to ignore them.”

“Ugh, could you all shut up?” Rainbow asked, clearly roused from the sudden accumulation of noise. “Some of us are trying to sleep.”

“Manners, Dash,” Rarity half-heartedly chastised.

While the slumbering ponies were pulled back to wakefulness, Spike lifted his head and snorted. “Ugh. Fine. This had better be really important, Scarlet,” he snarled before lifting his head. “What is it?”

Scarlet stepped forward, holding the scroll in the air so he could see it. “We received a visitor tonight,” she said plainly. “Outside, near Sclera’s grave, we met the Spymaster from Newcanter.”

Twilight blinked. The Spymaster? Newcanter? She recognized the name of the city as the capital of New Equestria, but had yet to hear anything about the "Spymaster." She had also been under the impression that Sanctuary was completely unknown. That had been what Spike and Flurry discussed, at any rate.

To say that this revelation angered Spike would be an understatement. He lifted his head up higher, his nostrils flaring. “What?!” he asked in a bellowing shout, causing Twilight to wince and fold her ears down over her head. Well, if the others hadn’t been awake yet, they sure were now.

“He spoke with us at length under the Blue Banner,” Scarlet went on, lowering her head so as to not look the angered dragon in the eye. “When he departed, he requested we deliver this to you.”

Spike snorted angrily before snatching the scroll out of the air. It was tiny in his claws. He carefully unrolled it, seemingly trying not to accidentally rip the paper. He squinted at the words for several seconds. Slowly, his lips began to curl into an ugly, almost embarrassed grimace.

“What is it, Uncle Spike?” Flurry asked drowsily as she woke up, oblivious to the presence of not just Scarlet’s entourage, but also the Praetor.

Spike’s purple scales flushed slightly at the use of his name. He pointed at the Praetor in question. “You. Leave us.”

The Praetor nodded his head and quickly excused himself, the wall sealing up shut behind him. Once Spike was satisfied, he glanced down at Flurry and lowered the scroll in front of her face. “Uh… you read it.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Flurry, I’m a four-hundred-year-old, thirty-foot dragon,” Spike pointed out with a frown. “I can’t read it. The letters are too small for me now.”

That drew a small giggle out of the sleepy alicorn. Twilight watched as Flurry plucked the scroll with her magic, gave a big yawn, and began to read.

“Okay, okay, let’s see what we have here… uh… hm… oh my…”

“What? What is it?” Twilight asked, a sense of unease filling her stomach the longer Flurry read the message.

“It’s… an invitation,” Flurry eventually said, leaning back with an uneasy frown. “It says that the Solar and Lunar Councils, having learned about Sanctuary’s existence from their Spymaster, want to invite Spike and me down to Newcanter to meet with them and open diplomatic relations. They say that they ‘want to make amends for the damage they have caused’…”

Twilight blinked. That didn’t sound all that bad, actually. It would be a good first step in making the lives of free changelings happier. If they were being genuine, then they wanted to make up for their mistakes.

Spike, however, did not seem to share that sentiment. His pupils dilated, and a guttural growl emanated from deep in his throat. Twilight’s eyes widened as, in the darkness of the chamber, she could see his chest glowing a soft shade of green as flames swelled within. He lifted a fist and drove it into the nearest wall with considerable force. A deafening boom echoed throughout the chamber, making Fluttershy squeak in fear.

“Oh, that is rich, coming from them!” Spike bellowed, smoke billowing from his nostrils. “Four hundred years of bigotry, four hundred years of putting innocent creatures to death, forcing them to live lives of seclusion and isolation just so they can avoid having their heads taken away, four hundred years of willful ignorance! And now they think they can make up for it?!”

Twilight shrank back with every infuriated word Spike spoke. She glanced toward Scarlet, who had taken several steps back, keeping her head down low. The rest of the mares in the room were similarly shocked by Spike’s ongoing outburst, shrinking back into the mound of pillows in fear.

Suddenly, Spike’s tirade came to an end when Flurry shot up into the air and floated in front of him. “Uncle Spike! Stop it! That’s enough!”

At once, Spike’s words died in his throat. He watched Flurry for several seconds. Flurry smiled gently back at him, placing her hooves on the tip of his muzzle. She didn’t say anything else, though. She just leaned in and gave him an affectionate nuzzle.

Twilight’s eyes widened as Spike began to visibly calm down. Her eyes fell on Flurry, and she found herself wondering how long it had been like this. She had never seen that sort of rage from Spike before. She would have struggled for words against such an intimidating rant. But Flurry had been utterly fearless, and with her mere presence alone had quelled Spike’s rage.

“Well… at least he had someone,” She thought regretfully, her ears drooping. “I just wish I could have been there, too…”

“...For what it’s worth,” Lens chimed in carefully. “As a pony who only learned the truth a few weeks ago, there is a reason ponies have been acting the way they do.”

“I… I know that,” Spike relented, gently brushing Flurry aside with a claw. “I’m sorry for yelling, everyone. But… well, you haven’t had to hear the same stories I have, nor seen the same horrors Flurry has…”

Scarlet looked up at him, her ears drooping. “...When we first met you in the mountains, Spike, you told us that your faith in our kind was spent… is that true?”

Spike hesitated. A moment later, he nodded. “...In a sense, yes. I have long given up on New Equestria as it is right now. What little I have seen and heard has made it painfully clear that it is a far cry from the land I once called home. They have propagated more evils than I care to count…”

“Spike…” Twilight breathed, taken aback. A few moments later, she cleared her throat and spoke louder. “Well… if the letter is anything to go by, it sounds like they’ve figured out that they were wrong. And if they’re willing to make amends for their mistakes, I don’t see why you should deny them that.”

Spike sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Twilight… you don’t understand…”

“Maybe I don’t,” Twilight conceded a moment later. “But I do understand friendship. And I know that hatred and fear won’t do anything to make this world better.”

“That’s right,” Flurry agreed with a nod.

“Maybe… but what if it’s a trap?” Spike asked slowly. “It could very well be that they’re luring us into Newcanter just to get rid of us, leaving Sanctuary vulnerable.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Scarlet’s voice suddenly cut in. All eyes turned to her. She stepped forward, a more intense frown on her face.

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Is it, though?”

“Yes, it is,” Scarlet confirmed. “Though I agree with you that the ponies of New Equestria have perpetuated countless evils against the changelings who evaded the curse, I must point out that they themselves are not evil. Until only recently, as Lens pointed out, we did not even know that there was a difference between Free Changelings and Ferals. Most ponies have been raised on the belief that changelings are demons to be killed on sight, and with good reason, considering the events of the Fall, and the feral packs that still roam the wilderness, terrorizing small villages wherever they can. And while Silent Edge was a monster and a murderer, I can claim with certainty that the leaders of the Solar and Lunar Councils are good ponies. Stubborn and self-absorbed, perhaps, but far from evil. And besides…”

She turned to Flurry next, her expression softening. “What reason would New Equestria have to kill you two… when both of you hold such high places in the New Equestrian pantheon?”

Twilight blinked in confusion. She turned to scarlet. “Pantheon?”

“You guys are worshipped like gods,” Primrose piped up quietly from Lens’ back, lifting her eyes to meet Twilight’s. “When Scarlet and I were traveling, we stopped in a small village with a church devoted to you. We went in, and there were these colorful windows showing off all the alicorns. Even Spike and your brother were in them.”

“Right. We call you The Five,” Lens clarified, stepping forward somewhat. “For a long time, the dominant religion in New Equestria has been centered around, well… Like Primrose said, the Five Alicorns of your time. In the scriptures, your friends are considered saints. Spike is the First Dragon Sentinel, a prominent figure in the scriptures, as well.”

Twilight stared at them for several seconds, her mind reeling. She lifted a hoof up to the side of her head. “We’re… Ponies worship us?”

“Yeah… Scarlet and Lens bowed pretty deeply when they first met me,” Flurry added, lowering herself back down to the ground.

“To kill you two would be to kill two of the gods that the ponies look up to and worship,” Scarlet picked with a slow nod, looking between Spike and Flurry. “And believe me… the Councils would never be able to try something like that. Even if there are agnostics like myself on the council, the population at large is devoted significantly to that faith. Killing you would throw everything into absolute pandemonium… And, for better or for worse, the councils desire order above all else. So your lives are in no danger from them.”

A heavy silence fell over the room. Rarity spoke up a short time later, clearing her throat. “Er, well, then… While I am not sure how I feel about being idolized as a saint in a new religion, if they are inviting you, then I don’t see why you should say no. After all, what better opportunity could you ask for to start setting things right?”

Spike frowned, looking to Rarity with uncertain eyes. “Rarity…”

“If nothin’ else, it’d be a good chance to get the truth out there,” Applejack agreed.

“Yeah, and maybe they’d even throw a big party to welcome us back?” Pinkie suggested, though her voice was uncharacteristically weak.

Rainbow snorted. “...Whatever.”

Several seconds passed in silence. Spike looked down at his claws, his brow furrowing in thought. Eventually, he sighed and closed his eyes. “...I always knew that, someday, Sanctuary would have to be revealed to the world…” he grumbled dejectedly. “I guess I was just hoping it wouldn’t be so soon… On the heels of the biggest tragedy this city has ever faced.”

Twilight looked away. She had heard about the attack from the griffons. From all accounts, it had been a horribly bloody affair, with many changeling lives lost. With that in mind, it made perfect sense for Spike to be so on edge and protective. He had devoted himself in his entirety to defending this place while it was still a secret.

If they accepted this invitation, then Sanctuary and its inhabitants were bound to quickly become common knowledge. And if that happened, and undesirable individuals caught wind of it… if the Ferals caught wind of it…

She shuddered at the memory of Thorax’s hive. She hadn’t been there, but she had heard the story from Pharynx and Ocellus. So many changelings, turned into mindless savage beasts overnight… she didn’t want to imagine that happening here.

Of course, without a queen, that was very unlikely to happen. But even so, it would only take one…

Eventually, Spike lifted his head. “Fine. I’ll accept this invitation and go to Newcanter to speak with the Councils. You, Flurry, will stay here to keep tabs on Sanctuary and make sure nobody tries anything stupid.”

“I’m coming, too!’ Rainbow suddenly shouted, standing up and rising from the mount of pillows.

Spike blinked. “Dash?”

“I’m not hiding or running anymore,” The pegasus insisted aggressively, her nostrils flaring. “We ran and we hid from Chrysalis, but I’m not running or hiding from ponies. I’m coming with you, and that’s that.”

“I, too, must insist I accompany you,” Rarity agreed, stepping daintily down from the mound with a nod. “If nothing else, to see how the world has changed, and do my part in making things right.”

Applejack sighed and stepped down from the mound as well. “Ah, shoot. What the hay could it hurt?” she asked with a shake of her head. “Count me in.”

“Me, too,” Pinkie agreed, hopping up beside her. “I wanna go wherever you girls do and try and make ponies smile again. Sounds like they could use it!”

“Heh… Well, you’re not wrong about that,” Lens acknowledged.

Twilight turned to him, having frankly forgotten he was there for a moment. As she did, she made eye contact with Primrose. There was something odd in those teal orbs. Twilight couldn’t quite place her hoof on what, though, and before she had a chance to ponder it, Spike turned to her. “Well, what about you?” he asked bluntly. “I mean, I’m assuming you’re coming.”

Twilight jumped in surprise. She looked up to him, her brain stalling for a moment. The revelation that she was, apparently, worshipped as a literal goddess in Newcanter had left a terrible taste in her mouth, and she was still struggling to even comprehend the scope of the changes the world had undergone. For a moment, she was afraid she’d have to decline if only to get her thoughts in order.

After a moment, though, she steeled herself. She had been keeping the world waiting long enough. It was well past time she set forward and did her part to set things right. She nodded up at Spike. “Yes. I’m coming.”

“Um… me, too,” Fluttershy agreed from behind her. “I don’t wanna be alone, here…”

“Hmph. Quite the delegation,” Scarlet mused absently. “The First Dragon Sentinel, one of the Five, and the five saints. To say that your arrival will shake Newcanter to its core would be, I think, a grotesque understatement.”

Twilight turned to Scarlet, meeting her gaze. If she could help it, there were two more ponies that would be coming with her on this trip. “On that note, Scarlet… why don’t you come, too?”

Primrose’s eyes widened. “W-what?!”

Scarlet frowned. “...Go with you?” she asked slowly and dubiously.

Suddenly, Twilight’s confidence shattered. She shrank back somewhat, an uneasy frown on her face. “Well, I mean… It’s just that we’re still strangers here, you know? We could really use your and Lens’ help to fill in the blanks of what we know. I mean… we don’t want to make total fools of ourselves and blow the whole thing because of our ignorance, right?”

“But…” Primrose whimpered, glancing over at Scarlet. “We… we just got comfortable…”

Scarlet was quiet for several seconds. Lens turned to her with an expectant look, as if there were no other answer she could give but ‘yes.’ However, after a moment, she shook her head. “No, Twilight. I’m not going with you.”

“Wha… but-”

“I just got done with an adventure of my own,” she went on, interrupting Twilight before she could protest. “One that took me from one edge of this country to the other. All the while, I was relentlessly hunted by a bloodthirsty assassin. I all but gave my life to see that journey end… all so we could enjoy a quiet, peaceful life here…”

Scarlet turned to Primrose, a gentle smile appearing on her face. “And now that we have it, I won’t give it up. Not for you, Twilight… not for anything.”

A heavy silence fell over the room. Twilight looked down, quietly cursing her own stupidity. She should have figured that Scarlet wouldn’t want to come. A few moments later, she nodded and stepped back. “Alright… We could really use your help, but I understand.”

Scarlet hesitated for a few seconds as if she weren’t actually sure of what she had just said. She gave a stiff nod a moment later before turning back to Lens. “Come. We should be getting back. It’s late, and we’ve been up rather longer than I had intended when we set out,” she said plainly.

Lens looked back to her, opening his mouth as if to protest her decision. The words did not come, though, and a few moments later, he gave a reluctant nod of his own. “Alright… If you’re sure.”

Scarlet tilted her head. “...What is that supposed to mean?”

Lens shook his head. “Nevermind,” he dismissed, not at all elegantly. He shifted his shoulders slightly, drawing attention to Primrose, who was still laying on his back. “What do you think, Prim? Wanna head home?”

Primrose was quiet for a few seconds. She lifted her eyes to look at Twilight and her friends. There was something in her gaze that gave Twilight pause. She knew at least some of Primrose’s story. She knew that she was Ocellus’ distant granddaughter and that she had spent the last several years protecting the lamp with her life against a dangerous assassin.

Eventually, Primrose’s eyes fell on Twilight in particular. She lifted her head, making direct eye contact. “...Um, Miss Twilight?” she suddenly called out.

Twilight jumped a little, having not expected her to speak. She nodded and put on a warm smile. “Yes?”

Primrose hesitated, her ears drooping. After a few moments, she gave a weak smile of her own. “...Good luck.”

Flurry took that as the right time to see Scarlet and Lens out. With a quick flicker of magic from her horn, the wall beside Scarlet’s entourage peeled open with the scraping of stone. Scarlet glanced back at Twilight, gave her a reassuring look, and then stepped out with Lens close behind her.

“So, when are we leaving?” Applejack asked. “‘Cause Ah dunno bout all of y’all, but Ah’m mighty eager to get down to business.”

“A couple of days, I say,” Spike said, lowering his head back down as if to get some more rest. “We can discuss it more in the morning. But, in case you all forgot, it is the middle of the night. Too early for us to be making any serious plans.”

As if to punctuate that remark, a loud and frankly unattractive yawn escaped from Rainbow Dash. “Ugh, yeah, I guess we can wait a little longer,” she grumbled, hauling herself back onto the mound of pillows. “I mean, the world’s waited four hundred years already. What’s another night?”

Twilight grimaced at that before shaking her head. “Fair enough. Let’s get some sleep, girls,” she said, though her eyes did not leave the hole in the wall.

A moment later, with another grind of stone, it sealed shut.

Passion

It was the following morning, and Scarlet’s sleep had not been as restful as she'd hoped it would. Between her own anxieties over what they had been told by Nocturn and her concern for Primrose, who hadn’t uttered a single word after they departed from the Thrones, there had been little time for a peaceful slumber.

Luckily, she had a cure for at least one of her ailments. The quarters that Spike had seen fit to grant them was connected to what was, in effect, an artificial hot spring. Through some clever use of changeling magic and Spike’s fire breath, a pit had been dug into the floor of this extra chamber that could house seven to nine ponies, depending on how tight of a squeeze they were comfortable with. The waters that filled it were subtly colored with minerals, and streams of steaming hot bubbles rose from the far corners, permeating the air with the strong scent of sulfur and a thin haze of steam.

As Scarlet stepped into the chamber, the smell filling her nostrils and the steam already dampening her fur, she couldn’t help but give a relieved sigh. Lens and Primrose were still asleep, so she had plenty of time to be alone with her thoughts and get cleaned up. Moving slowly so as to let her body get used to the high temperatures, she stepped into the water.

At once, the tension that had filled her ever since they crossed paths with Nocturn began to seep away. Her muscles began to relax, and her heavy eyelids drooped of their own accord. A pleased sigh slipped past her lips as she fully immersed herself in the waters. She remained there for several minutes, allowing herself to get lost in her mind, the gentle, soothing feeling of the water lapping at her barrel.

Eventually, she set to work cleaning herself off, taking her time with it. She probably spent more time thinking than cleaning, if she were being wholly honest. In time, her mind inevitably wandered back to Twilight and her friends, and their plan to head to Newcanter to see the councils.

It was, probably, the best course of action for them right now. They would have Spike there to defend them, of course, but more than that, once in the city that served as the nation’s capital, they could begin working to clear the name of the free changelings that yet wandered the land as nomads. Most ponies knew of the nomads, of course, but none knew of their true nature; or, if they did, they were exceptionally few in number and very good at keeping secrets.

Setting the record straight about them and their nature would be a huge boon to the changelings as a whole. If they could begin to integrate with pony society without fear of losing their heads, then who knew what sorts of roles they could help fill in everyday life? Their powers of empathy and shapeshifting made them uniquely suited to a whole range of professions that other ponies would struggle with. Therapists, actors, construction. Hell, even soldiers, for those capable of turning into creatures of greater physical might.

“Like Sclera did to defend her child.”

Scarlet shook her head to dispel the memory. She tried to focus on the good that could come of such a revelation. She knew well enough that the changelings were, save for the ferals, a good bunch. Her time here in Sanctuary had taught her that. Though she was still the black sheep within the hive, often eyed with fascination and even skepticism, she had seen their compassion and tolerance firsthoof. They would fit right in.

Assuming, of course, that the ponies of New Equestria would accept the truth. Scarlet’s brow furrowed, and her expression darkened as her thoughts wandered back to one of her encounters with Silent Edge.

“A family of changelings capable of thought, speech, and reason without a queen to guide their actions? A family of changelings in possession of a magic relic that predates the Fall itself? Of course, I attacked them. Who knows what kind of threat they could pose if they were allowed to continue breeding? Who knows the damage a race of intelligent changelings could cause? Need I even tell you how alarming it was for the Council to hear of this? If the word were to get out to the public that there were intelligent changelings, ones capable of actively infiltrating our lives and our homes, the panic and paranoia that would spread would be nigh impossible to control.”

For all of Silent’s misguided arrogance and psychopathic malevolence, on that point, Scarlet had been of a like mind. The ponies of New Equestria hated changelings so intensely because of the Fall, and more so because of the packs of Ferals that still harassed and violated smaller communities. Even if the word were to come from the Councils themselves about the distinction, there would be many who would refuse to believe them, for one reason or another.

Then there was the clergy. Scarlet’s frown deepened as her mind wandered to the Church of the Five, and the countless ponies who were a part of that faith. While it was by no means required by law to worship the Five, it was nevertheless the expectation. The norm. Ponies like herself, who had distanced themselves from the religious side of New Equestria, were few and far between.

She didn’t doubt that many ponies would herald the arrival of Twilight and her friends as the beginning of the world’s salvation. However, there would yet be those who question things. Those who would doubt Twilight and her friends. Doubt their legitimacy, doubt the truth of who they were, and in turn spurn their messages of peace and harmony as those of pretenders, of false prophets.

She shuddered at the thought. If Twilight and her friends did not tread carefully…

“Oh!”

Scarlet jumped in place when she heard Lens’ voice exclaim in alarm from behind her. She spun around and saw him in the doorway, a fierce red blush on his face. His eyes quickly flicked up to meet hers, and he began to back away. “I am so sorry, I had no idea you were in here. I’ll just, uh-”

Scarlet fought down the urge to laugh at him. She simply shook her head and gave him a reassuring smile. “No, no, it’s alright. Please, come in,” she said, beckoning to him.

Lens hesitated for several seconds, his blush magnifying. “Are… are you sure?”

Scarlet rolled her eyes. “Lens, this is hardly the first time you’ve seen me bathing, and it isn’t like we usually wear clothes like some other creatures. Come on, the water’s great.”

A few seconds passed before, finally, Lens smiled, his blush abating somewhat. With slow motions, he stepped into the pool, also relaxing once he was fully submerged in the water and approached her. “I didn’t see you in bed when I got up,” he said. “I thought you’d gone for a walk or something.”

Scarlet shook her head. “No. I didn’t sleep well. Figured a bath would be good to help me relax,” she said. She glanced past him at the entrance. “What about Prim?”

“She’s still asleep,” Lens answered simply. He came to a stop by her side, and she caught how his eyes very briefly roved over what was visible of her body above the water. “I think last night really took a lot out of her…”

Scarlet sighed, looking down into her reflection in the water. “As do I. Had I known what we would find out there, I never would have suggested we take that walk.”

Lens placed a hoof on her back, giving her a reassuring smile. “Hey, you had no way of knowing, and I think you handled yourself pretty well, all things considered.”

Scarlet hummed softly, leaning toward him slightly. His hoof felt good on her back. Maybe she could get him to give her a massage later. She returned the smile a moment later. “Heh. Thank you, Lens. You were pretty calm and collected, yourself. I was impressed.”

“Well, I learned from you,” Lens said, withdrawing his hoof a moment later, much to Scarlet’s dismay.

Scarlet raised an eyebrow. “You did? Odd. I was under the impression that, until recently, I was an emotional wreck,” she shot back with a hint of mirth in her voice.

Lens did not seem to find it funny. “I meant back during the war,” he clarified. This time, his hoof landed on her chest, right over her beating heart. His voice lowered somewhat. “You were collected all the time, back then. You never let it show if something was bothering you. You were an inspiration to all of us.”

Scarlet hesitated, her smile fading at the memory of her time as his superior. One of her hooves absently lifted up to clutch at his on her chest. Eventually, she looked away and sighed. “...It isn’t like I had much of a choice, you know,” she said quietly. A few seconds passed before she managed to give him a tiny smile. “But I thank you for the kind words nevertheless. Now, enough of that. This is a bathing chamber. We should clean up before we set out.”

“Set out?” Lens asked, raising an eyebrow. “What do you mean, set out?”

Scarlet paused, frowning. That had been an odd choice of words on her part, hadn’t it? She shook her head a moment later, moving to splash some water over her back with her tail. “I mean that we still have work to do, do we not? Repairing the damage in the entrance chamber. We’re still volunteering for that.”

Lens actually appeared disappointed by her answer. He looked down and away, his brow furrowing. “Ah… that. Right.”

Red flags went off in Scarlet’s mind. Lens had clearly thought she was talking about something else. Concerned, she reached her own hoof out to lift his chin until they were eye to eye. “Lens… what is it?”

“Huh?”

“Do not try to hide it from me,” Scarlet pressed gently, smiling as she stared into his eyes, allowing herself to get lost in them. “I may not do much to hide my feelings from you, but I never lost my touch with seeing if others are bothered. What’s troubling you?”

Lens blinked for a few seconds before sighing. “I… I thought you were talking about Twilight,” he confessed. “I thought maybe you had changed your mind about going with them.”

Scarlet blinked. While she had been worrying over them, sure, she had not given the idea of joining them a second thought. She had no reason to go with Twilight. She had everything she wanted here in Sanctuary. Well, almost everything, but she had no desire to discard it. A quiet life with Lens and Primrose, a safe place to call home, and a great deal of lost history to uncover and learn. What reason could Lens have to be disappointed by the desire to stay here instead of hurling themselves headlong into another adventure?

“What made you think that?” she asked after several seconds, leaning over to start sloshing water over his back so her hooves had something to do.

Lens shrugged, not paying her ministrations much mind. “I don’t know, honestly… I guess, in the end, I was hoping we’d get to help them,” he admitted helplessly. “I mean… it isn’t every day a goddess returns to the world, now is it? Every day a window to help shape the future of the land opens up in front of you…”

Scarlet frowned. As she spoke, she continued rinsing him off. “Lens, we are still wanted fugitives in New Equestria. Several counts of treason, several counts of murder, and even counts of terrorism and arson after that debacle in Shimmervale. If we went with them, we would only make things harder on them, and we’d be putting our own lives in danger.”

“Would we, though?” Lens asked, raising an eyebrow. “I mean, yeah, you’re not wrong about us being criminals. But if we went with them, it would be in the company of seven highly revered figures from our history, all of whom are seen as saints and heroes at a minimum. Combine that with what’s recently been brought to light about the changeling race and the curse, and do you really think the Councils will still want to punish us?”

Scarlet leaned back, taken by surprise. In truth, she hadn’t really thought about it that way. It would require taking advantage of the status of Twilight and her friends, but Lens did make a point. They could probably get their names cleared, or at least have their sentence greatly reduced, if they went that route.

“...Perhaps not,” she eventually relented. “But that does not change the fact that the world is on the precipice of sweeping and lasting change. I cannot know if those changes will be for better or for worse. It’s a rocky road those mares have ahead of them, with who knows what dangers lurking by its edges. I don’t want to put you in danger again…”

“I know that Scarlet, I know,” Lens said quietly, nodding his head in understanding. “And honestly, I can’t blame you… You went through a lot. But… I dunno. I just thought you’d want to do your part to make sure those changes were for the better… I know I do.”

Scarlet raised an eyebrow. “Huh?”

“If Twilight and her friends screw something up, there’s a very real possibility that things for Sanctuary, and by extension, us, will get worse,” Lens clarified. “The secrecy of this place is already pretty much doomed to go out the window in the coming days. The Councils know, and for good or ill, we all know that soon, New Equestria as a whole will know about it. But with Spike’s complete lack of experience with the politics of the modern world and Twilight and her friends being mares out of time by four hundred years…”

He sighed and looked back the way they had come. “...I’m just scared, Scarlet. If something goes wrong, and these peace talks go poorly… what then? Will New Equestria send armies to wipe this place out? What will happen to us? To Primrose?”

He turned back to face Scarlet directly, his eyes boring into hers. He raised his hoof to her chest again. “...To you?”

Scarlet’s heart skipped a beat. There had been such a wellspring of emotion behind those two words.

“I don’t want to run the risk of that happening,” Lens went on, pressing his hoof into her chest more before sliding it around her neck so he was holding her in a loose half-hug. “And… we were given a chance to do something to make sure it doesn’t.”

Scarlet hesitated for a second, mulling his words over. Now that he mentioned it, he had a good point. Neither of them wanted the other, or Primrose, to get hurt. It was simply their solutions that differed. While Scarlet desired distance from the coming changes, Lens wanted to do all he could to make sure those changes were desirable.

A short term solution versus a long term one. There were risks with either route, big and small.

The more Scarlet thought about it, though, about the possible future that lay in wait, the more her own conviction in staying out of things began to shake. She had seen how deeply their new lot in life troubled Twilight’s friends, and she had seen how jittery the alicorn herself was. They were woefully unprepared for the world around them, for what they were to face beyond the gates of Sanctuary.

Without a hoof to guide their way, to make sure they kept their heads up and didn’t fall for the cruel tricks this world would inevitably throw at them, they would fail… and the results could be calamitous.

She looked up into Lens’ eyes, so close to her own by this point. She saw the fiery determination burning inside them, the driving desire to do his part to keep his family safe. A passion she shared. It resonated within her, sending her heart fluttering in her chest. She swallowed heavily, her heart starting to beat heavier in her chest.

Her mind wandered to Primrose, sleeping peacefully in the other room. For a split second, she imagined a future in which the peace talks failed, or some other unforeseen disaster came to pass… And she saw Primrose, back pressed to the wall of her own room, as ponies who simply did not know any better came forward with weapons drawn…

“...Scarlet?” Lens asked softly, drawing her out of her morbid reverie.

Scarlet blinked and looked away to hide her face behind her mane. “I… forgive me, I just… I was thinking…”

Lens hummed and gently pulled Scarlet’s wet mane back with his hoof. “What about?”

“What you’ve said… I see where you are coming from, I do, and I cannot deny that helping them would increase the chances of a favorable outcome. But…” Scarlet turned back to him, a war raging within her heart. “I just… I don’t know. Is it truly worth the risk to ourselves? To you and Prim? I gave up everything for you two… Even with the possible promise of an even happier ending at road’s end, I just… I don’t know if I could walk it, with or without you, when it is so wrought with peril. If something were to happen to you two...”

The two fell silent for several seconds. The sound of bubbles breaking upon the water’s surface and the lapping at the pool’s edge were the only sounds for several seconds. Then, with a gentle smile, Lens drew in and locked his lips to hers in a soft, but passionate, kiss. Scarlet was briefly taken aback by the contact, even more so when the foreleg he had curled around her pulled her in. Their chests pressed together close enough that she could feel his heart beating through his chest against her own.

A moment later, she returned the kiss, her eyes fluttering closed. She couldn’t help but notice, with some small hint of amusement, that neither of their lips were in particularly good shape. They were dry and rough after all those days on the road, creating a strange sort of friction as the kiss deepened. It was a strange feeling, but… also somewhat intoxicating. They remained locked together like that for some time before they eventually came away for breath, their separation marked by a gentle smack.

Lens’ cheeks were flushed, and his breath had gotten a little heavier during their contact. He smiled at her. “That’s what I’ve always loved about you…” he whispered, his breath tickling her nose and her lips. She felt his other hoof find her shoulder under the water, brushing gently against her. A shudder passed through her from the feeling. “When you love something, you love it with everything you have… You give it your all… with so much fire, determination… and passion.”

Scarlet could feel her own cheeks heating up from the whispered praise. All of this sudden physical contact and intimacy… it was waking something up. Her tail flicked behind her a few times, a warmth she had not felt in some time blooming to life in her core. She stared into his eyes, subconsciously licking her lips in a search for anything that remained of his taste. When she spoke next, her own voice had dropped into a similar whisper. “And that’s what I have always adored about you,” she echoed, wrapping her own forelegs around him to return the embrace. “Your thoughtfulness, your intelligence, your knowledge… You were always the reason to my passion, weren’t you?”

Scarlet shuddered again. She dove in for another kiss, pushing him back somewhat. Lens grunted in surprise before reciprocating the gesture. Scarlet felt his hoof under the water rise up to start caressing her cheek, and the warmth within grew even hotter. A few seconds passed, and she pulled back and lidded her eyes at him, lowering her voice into a sultry purr. “...Not to mention, you are just so cute when you squirm.”

Lens gulped, the flush in his cheeks spreading to his neck. He opened his mouth to say something, but Scarlet did not give him the chance to even begin. She darted in again, locking her lips to his yet again. This time, though, her tongue pushed forward to invade the inside of his mouth. Lens’ eyes shot wide open in shock, and already she knew that he would be putty in her hooves. What little resistance his tongue gave died in a moment, as did the rest of him.

Scarlet pushed him back, and back, exploring the inner confines of his mouth eagerly and almost desperately. It had been a long time since they had kissed like this. Not since the war, when they had taken each other by the water’s edge. A needy moan escaped her, and she gave him one more push. His rump met the edge of the pool, forcing him up onto his hind legs so he was pinned completely against it by her weight.

As she felt his hooves coiling tightly around her, exploring her body, she moaned into his mouth. It had been far too long since she felt like this, since she had indulged in these feelings. They had some time to kill right now, and they were alone. She was going to savor every part of it. Every part of him. She pulled away from his lips a second later, panting for breath and staring into his wide, dumbstruck eyes for several seconds.

“Well? What say you?” she asked, licking her lips and wiggling her brows at him. She leaned forward again, though not to kiss him. She let her lips come to rest right by his ear before whispering directly into it, being sure to press against him even more as she spoke to drive the message home. “Shall I make you squirm?”

When she pulled back, she found Lens staring at her for several seconds. Then, with a crooked smirk spreading on his lips, he gave her a janky nod. “Uh… y-yes? Yes please?”

Scarlet giggled at his nervousness. He must have gone just as long without this as her, then. That was just fine with her. It would be fresh and new and wonderful for both of them. Without another word, she lowered her head, planting her lips against his chest in a gentle kiss and working her way slowly but surely down, drawing a soft sigh out of him that only spurred her on.

Soon enough, the rest of the world faded from their minds. It could wait.

Author's Note

And now you know what the sex tag is for. ^^

Decision

Scarlet gave off a content sigh. She was still in the pool, now resting against the edge with her hooves curled around Lens’ body, her ear pressed against his chest. She could hear his heartbeat through his flesh and felt every slow intake of breath he took. He had a foreleg of his own curled tightly around her, holding her close as they came down from their shared high.

Scarlet wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but frankly, she also could not find it in herself to care. It had been far, far too long since she had allowed herself to feel like that; since she gave herself over to primal instinct and desire. Too long since she had let her passion dictate her actions. She hadn’t taken a single stallion since she and Lens parted ways at the end of the war, and while she surely loved the stallion she held with all her heart and would prioritize him until the end of their days, she almost felt a small amount of regret over not looking for others in the interim. Even if only to help her scratch an itch she did not realize she had.

Though, that did not matter anymore. She had Lens now. She took in a long, deep breath through her nose. She could still smell their sweat permeating the air, just noticeable under the sulfurous smell of the chamber, along with other, far more erotic aromas. Her tail swished about under the water at the smell, and she gave off a quiet hum.

She felt Lens’ lips against the top of her head a second later. “I love you,” he whispered to her once he pulled away.

Scarlet giggled. She lifted her gaze to meet his, her eyes still lidded. “Given how much you and I just made…” she cooed quietly with a waggle of her eyebrows. “I believe you.”

Lens blushed, averting his eyes. Scarlet couldn’t help but chuckle at that. Even after the act, he was still shy and sheepish. “W-well, I mean…” he stammered awkwardly. “You didn’t exactly give me much of a chance to rest…”

Scarlet purred quietly in response, pulling herself up so her face was right by his. “Lens, I haven’t had a stallion in years. I had a lot of pent up frustration to work out.”

“Well, yeah, I get that, but still…” Lens shrugged helplessly.

Scarlet rolled her eyes. She licked Lens’ cheek in a display of affection before snuggling closer to him. “Oh, stop talking and let me enjoy the afterglow, you silly colt,” she shushed him.

“Heh. Yes, ma’am,” Lens acknowledged, giving her another squeeze with his leg.

The two fell into a comfortable silence after that, continuing to come down from their high and allowing their sweat to be washed away by the water. Time began to melt away for them, and Scarlet’s weary mind drifted off. Not to sleep, but into a cozy, gentle doze where her thoughts became formless and her worries became distant.

Eventually, though, she had to be roused from that quiet serenity when Lens asked a simple question. “So… we’re going with them, aren’t we?” he asked, slowly, as if he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer.

Scarlet frowned and opened her eyes. She did not answer immediately, instead taking the time to ruminate on the question. Lens had raised some very valid points earlier about how Twilight and her friends might need their help, and really, there was nopony else in a position to lend that help. It was just them.

She gave off a quiet sigh a few moments later. “...Perhaps,” she answered before gently pulling herself out of Lens’ grip. “But… what of Primrose? If we go with Twilight, what will happen to her? Are we simply to leave her here, without any guardians in an unfamiliar city?”

Lens blinked before looking away, his ears drooping. “...Ah. I’m sorry, I… I hadn’t really considered that part…” he admitted in shame.

Scarlet sighed, looking down at her reflection in the water. For a moment, she wanted to be mad at him for letting himself be so neglectful in his planning, but she had to stop and remind herself of something important. “It’s fine… you’re not an experienced parent like I am,” she said quietly. “It’s only natural some things might slip your mind.”

“Right… well, what do you propose?” Lens questioned after a second. He turned to face her with a solemn look. “You’re the one with experience here… What do we do?”

“Well, we are not leaving her here all by herself,” Scarlet said with finality before turning and hauling herself up and out of the pool. She was clean, by now. “She’s been all on her own more than enough. I am not about to abandon her for a mission that could possibly end in us getting hurt—or worse.”

“But can we really risk taking her with us?” Lens asked, following her out. “She’s a strong filly, but she’s still just a filly. She’s only ten years old!”

“Not to mention, we only just got away from that city,” Scarlet added as they began their trip back to their room through the connecting tunnel. “And she is still in mourning after losing her mother… who we rescued from Newcanter, to begin with. I doubt she would be happy to return there anytime soon, if ever.”

The warmth and light of the bathing chamber soon gave way to the cold darkness of a long, narrow tunnel. It had been designed like this, if Scarlet had to guess, for the purposes of affording privacy. Even if that was not the intended design behind the length of the tunnel, she did have to admit, it served that purpose wonderfully. If it hadn’t been for the length involved here, she probably wouldn’t have felt comfortable doing what she and Lens had just finished.

After a short while, they emerged back into their quarters. To Scarlet’s surprise, Primrose was already awake. The foal was sitting up in her bed, looking down at her hooves with a faraway look in her eyes. She was so focused on herself that she didn’t even notice as Scarlet and Lens entered the room.

Scarlet frowned. This was unusual. She hadn’t seen this behavior from Primrose before. Of course, there had been a lot of behavior from Primrose lately that hadn’t been usual. To top it off, too, she was still in her pony form. Even when she slept, she chose to keep to fur and flesh over chitin and resin.

A few moments passed before Scarlet stepped closer and cleared her throat, putting on a warm, mothering smile. “Primrose?”

Primrose jumped as if she had been startled. She whirled to look at Scarlet while quickly shoving her hooves down to support her weight as if to hide that she had been staring at them. “S-scarlet!” she yelped in surprise. A few seconds passed before she regained her composure and smiled. “Ah… good morning.”

Scarlet raised an eyebrow. “Prim… are you okay?” she asked gently.

Primrose hesitated, then nodded. “Uh-huh. I’m okay,” she replied. She then looked to Lens, and then to the tunnel that sat just behind them. Her muzzle scrunched up in thought, putting a sinking feeling in Scarlet’s gut. “Uhm… were you guys both in the bath?”

“Uuuhhh, yes, we were,” Lens replied, his friendly smile quickly becoming broken and crooked. “Just, uh, you know… cleaning each other off and talking about grown-up stuff.”

Primrose eyed him for a second before nodding in understanding. “Okay. Gotcha.”

Scarlet had to resist the urge to sigh with relief. Though Primrose was fully aware of sex, that did not mean she was at all comfortable admitting to the foal that she had just got done having it with the stallion behind her. Thankfully, it seemed Primrose had enough tact to know not to press the subject right now. Scarlet coughed into her hoof a moment later and quickly moved to change the subject.

“Ahem. Well… Primrose, there’s actually something important we need to talk to you about,” she said.

Primrose frowned, shifting to face them fully. “Huh? What is it?”

Scarlet took a deep breath before hopping up onto her own bed and settling down on her belly. Lens joined her, settling down by her side to face Prim as well. Once they were comfy, Scarlet began. “Well… while Lens and I were bathing, we started talking… about Twilight and her friends, and about their coming venture to Newcanter.”

“You remember how she asked us to come along, right?” Lens asked softly.

Primrose nodded, an uneasy look on her face. “I remember, yeah… but you guys said no.”

Scarlet frowned. “We… did. Or rather, I did. I told her that I was wholly unwilling to accompany her on the grounds that I did not want to abandon this quiet, peaceful life we’ve finally found. And I meant every word of that. I did. I don’t want to go with her on another adventure. I don’t want to sacrifice this. Just us, together, safe and sound…”

“But when we got to talking,” Lens picked up, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “We both eventually realized that we might not really have a choice.”

Primrose tilted her head. “How come?” she asked, looking between them. “I mean… The councils want to make up for everything that they did wrong, don’t they? I mean… even that Nocturn guy apologized… even if I can’t ever forgive him.”

Scarlet nodded. “Yes, that is true. Silent Edge is no more, and so the immediate threat to our lives is ended. However, that does not mean that our troubles are over…”

“We might be able to live safely here in Sanctuary,” Lens added. “But I’m not so sure that it will last forever. You’ve seen how cruel this world can be, Primrose. I daresay you know it better than Scarlet or I ever could. You’ve lived through things no living thing should have to. You grew up doing it…”

“But Twilight and her friends have not,” Scarlet said. “They come from a time when the world was an idyllic utopia compared to now. They knew neither war nor strife in those days, not until the Fall and, as evidenced by their admitted defeat, they were unprepared for that… just as they are unprepared for the new world they have stepped into. If they are allowed to proceed without proper guidance then there is every probability that this world will chew them up and spit them out.”

“But why?” Primrose asked, her brow furrowing, and her voice rising slightly in disbelief. “Why would that happen?! They’re strong and smart! Ponies basically worship them, don’t they!? If anypony can make things better, it’s them!”

Scarlet sighed, lifting a hoof. “Prim… yes, ponies worship them, and that is a huge part of the problem,” she explained.

“How come?”

Lens reached up to adjust his glasses, frowned when they were missing, and went on. “Well, a lot of ponies are intensely devoted to the faith. There are some who are practically obsessed with it. Ponies like that will be quick to notice the discrepancies between what was written in the scriptures and the reality that stands before them…”

“And ponies like that will be far more likely to choose the religion they were raised on than the cold hard truth right in front of their eyes. The overzealous may decry Twilight and her friends as pretenders, or accuse them of some other manner of sacrilege. Others outside the church may instead try to manipulate them with honeyed words into furthering their own insidious agendas. Others still may simply try to kill them for any number of reasons, including simple psychotic rage.”

Primrose looked down as the reasons were spelled out to her, hiding her eyes behind her mane. For several seconds she did not say a word, simply soaking in the grim reality of the situation.

Scarlet felt a pang of guilt in her chest at making the filly look like that, but forced herself to continue. “If something like that were to happen… then do not doubt that the world would soon be plunged into chaos. If Twilight and her friends were to be killed so soon after their return, utter pandemonium would sweep pony society. There would be those who would celebrate the death of a heretical pretender, a false idol, and they would be fiercely contested by those who believe her to be the genuine article. The unrest could become catastrophic…”

“And if that happened,” Lens continued for her. “There’s no doubt that the carnage would spread here. Twilight is going with Spike to help him represent Sanctuary. This place’s secrecy isn’t going to last long. If things go bad, then who knows what could happen to this city? What if it gets attacked again? Or what if some ill-intentioned ponies slip in to try and cause harm out of simple, blind hatred for the changelings who live here?”

Primrose shuffled on her hooves but did not speak.

Scarlet swallowed heavily before she went on, adding a gentle layer of hopeful reassurance to her voice. “But it does not have to come to that. Lens and I are uniquely positioned to prevent such an outcome. If we went with them, we could be there to guide them away from such dangers and help keep them from blundering into a situation they are ill-prepared to resolve. We could defend them from those who would seek to do them harm or take advantage of them. In doing so, we would be able to guarantee our happiness, and yours, here in the long term.”

“Not to mention, we’d be helping to make the world a better place in general,” Lens pointed out. “And we’d be making things easier on the other nomadic changeling families that are still wandering the wilderness.”

Scarlet nodded at that. A few seconds passed where she simply stared at Primrose, waiting for the filly to move and say something. But she didn’t. Primrose was completely and utterly silent. Eventually, Scarlet sighed and stood from the bed, crossing the gap. “But Prim… no matter how much good we might be able to do…”

Primrose finally looked up in surprise as Scarlet slid onto her bed with her. Scarlet smiled down at her and drew her into a warm embrace against her chest. “I could never in a million years bring myself to leave you behind… not after everything you have been through… You’ve been alone for too long already. You deserve all the happiness and the world and more for how brave and strong you have been. So, no matter what, I won’t leave you… But at the same time, I do not want to bring you with me if it means placing you in danger again. You mean so much to us, Primrose, and if something were to happen to you, I...”

Scarlet was unable to finish the sentence. She did not want to even ponder the possibility. Even if she had, though, she was quickly interrupted when Primrose returned the hug, burying her face into Scarlet’s chest. Several seconds passed where nopony spoke. Then, with a shudder and a deep breath, Primrose looked up into Scarlet’s eyes with a surprising amount of conviction burning in her own. “...I wanna come.”

Scarlet’s eyes widened. “Wha… Prim?”

“I wanna come,” Primrose reiterated, this time with more force in her voice as she found her resolve. “I want to come with you. I wanna help.”

“Are you sure?” Lens asked, crossing the gap and joining them on the bed. “You heard what Scarlet said. It’ll mean going back to Newcanter… being surrounded by ponies who hate you simply because you’re a changeling. You'll be in danger again.”

“I don’t care!” Primrose rebuked with a shake of her head. “I carried Twilight and her friends on my back for five years. I protected them then, and if you wanna keep protecting them now, then so do I! And I wanna help all the other changelings who are just like me! I want them to be able to walk around and talk and laugh and play with ponies without getting chased out of town! I want them to be happy and free to just live! I don’t… I don’t…”

She looked down, her ears drooping as her voice tapered off into something far more somber. “...I don’t want what happened to my family to ever happen to anyone ever again… Especially not to any other changelings. They don’t deserve it… I wanna help them however I can.”

Scarlet looked at Lens, meeting his gaze. The two stared at each other in stunned silence for several moments. Then Scarlet smiled. Her heart swelled with pride and adoration for the filly in her hooves after she had a chance to process those words. She leaned down to plant a gentle kiss atop Primrose’s head. “Oh, Primrose… our brave little girl… You truly are too good for this world… Thank you.”

Primrose glanced up at her in confusion. “Huh? For what?”

Scarlet’s smile grew, and she brushed some of Primrose’s long mane out of her face. “For being you.”

Primrose managed to smile at that and dove back in to hug Scarlet some more. Lens watched them for a few moments before nodding to Scarlet. “So… I take it that means we’re going for sure, then?”

Scarlet nodded a moment later. “Yes, we are,” she confirmed before gently nudging Primrose back. She hopped down from the bed, shaking her head to readjust her mane. “Come. We should find Twilight and the others before they leave. They’ll not wait on us if they do not know we have decided to join them.”

Primrose leaped from the bed to land on Scarlet’s back. She quickly got comfortable and nodded. “Right. I’m ready.”

“That fast?” Lens asked with a chuckle as he fell into step beside Scarlet. “You’re an eager one, aren’t you?”

“I really wanna help,” Primrose confirmed with a sharp nod.

“Well, then...” Scarlet said as they slipped out of their room and emerged into Sanctuary’s streets.

“...Let us not keep the princess waiting.”

Author's Note

And so the decision is made, and a new mission lies ahead for Scarlet and her new family.

Company

There was a pensive atmosphere in the streets of Sanctuary. The drones that were out and about at this relatively early hour spoke amongst themselves in hushed tones, and the unease and concern written on their muzzles was clear as day. Scarlet did her best not to eavesdrop on the conversations, but it wasn’t hard for her to deduce what they were probably talking about.

“Everyone’s so… anxious,” Primrose observed from Scarlet’s back, glancing about with a frown on her face.

“Hardly a surprise. If Spike and Flurry spread the word about these peace talks with New Equestria, then chances are they are afraid things won’t go over very well,” Lens said, mirroring Scarlet’s thoughts almost word for word.

“Oh…” Primrose muttered, lowering her eyes.

Scarlet slowed for a moment, glancing back at the foal on her back with a worried frown. A second later, she put on a warm smile and added a bounce in her next step, jostling Primrose from her solemn stupor before she could get lost in it. “Well, that’s what we’re going along to prevent, is it not?” she asked, slipping an edge of confidence into her voice.

Primrose’s ears perked up, and a genuine smile crept onto her muzzle. “Right!”

The trio fell quiet as they approached the end of the road. The cave wall stood before them, acting as an impenetrable barrier to any unattuned to the hive. A guard drone stood off to the side. “Passing through?” he asked once they were within earshot.

“Yes, please,” Scarlet said.

“Right. One moment.”

The drone turned to the wall and lit his horn. A moment later, the wall gave off the spine-tingling grind of stone scraping against stone as a large circular hole opened up, revealing the entrance chamber on the other side.

Scarlet smiled at the guard as she passed. “Thank you, sir.”

“You’re welcome.”

The entrance chamber was surprisingly quiet, compared to the rest of Sanctuary, especially given it often served as one of the noisiest sections of the city. Or, at least, that had been the case for Scarlet’s stay here thus far. Between farmers coming and going with supplies and the constant chattering of drones working to repair the damage left by Silent’s hired thugs, there was almost never a time where things were quiet and peaceful.

Save for right now. While there were a few drones out and about in the chamber, they were all keeping to their homes. If Scarlet had to guess where the others were, they were already inside, no doubt to give the seven mares and colossal dragon their space. Spike stood in the center of the room, Flurry by his side, while Twilight and her friends were scattered around them, chattering amongst themselves.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack were off to one side, talking quietly to themselves in hushed voices. Pinkie Pie was pronking along the perimeter of the chamber, humming a little tune to herself. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity were all parked in front of Spike.

“Well… there they are,” Lens pointed out in a hushed voice. “Looks like they’re getting ready to go already.”

“Unsurprising,” Scarlet noted with a frown. “They’re no doubt eager to get to work… Come on.”

She didn’t wait for Lens to respond. Holding her head high as she approached, she soon drew Spike’s attention, the dragon having noticed them first. Spike gave off a quiet snort before nodding in their direction. Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy all turned to face her at that, all of them appearing surprised.

Twilight took the lead, stepping forward to meet them. “Scarlet? What are you all doing here?” she asked curiously. “Do you have work outside or something?”

Scarlet shook her head. “No. I hope you have room for three more on Hraesvalgr’s back because we’re coming with you.”

The faces of Twilight and her friends morphed with confusion. Rarity coughed into her throat before leaning forward. “Ah… pardon me, dear, but… what?” she asked.

Scarlet raised an eyebrow. “Did I have a rock in my throat? I said we’re coming with you.”

Rarity leaned back at that, her muzzle scrunching at Scarlet’s tone. She glanced up at Spike, who in turn merely quirked an eyebrow. Twilight gave Scarlet a curious frown. “Well… I won’t say no to an offer to help, but I remember how emphatic you were when you said no last night… You said you wouldn’t give up your time here for anything. Not even for us... What changed your mind?”

Scarlet glanced over at Lens, her resolve faltering for just a moment. This was it. Her last chance to really consider her options, last chance to think through whether this was really what she wanted. She couldn’t lie to herself; the fact that she was here now was filling her with an unquestionable sense of anxiety. They’d be jumping right back into danger so soon after leaving it...

Then her eyes drifted from Lens to Primrose on her back. The filly smiled and nodded, no doubt able to sense Scarlet’s hesitation. A completely unfair advantage, really.

In spite of that, that one look was all it took for Scarlet’s resolve to harden, stronger than ever. She turned back to Twilight and jerked her head back towards Lens and Prim. “...They did,” she said softly. “We talked it over for a long while, and eventually we agreed that it would be better for everypony—especially us—if we came with you. If only to ensure you didn’t go stumbling into any situations you aren’t prepared to handle.”

Lens smiled back at her before stepping up and lifting his head. “Right. With our shared knowledge of the modern world and its history and customs, we’ll be in a position to really help you along.”

“And I wanna help other changelings,” Primrose added, hopping down from Scarlet’s back and stepping forward herself.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Oh my goodness! You’re coming, too?! But… you’re just a foal!”

Primrose pouted at her. “I know… but I don’t care. I’ve taken care of myself for a very, very long time. I guarded the lamp for half of my life! And I wanna help other changelings! The ones that are out there in the wilderness. They have to stay away from ponies so much because they don’t wanna get killed. They’re scared and alone and they don’t have anywhere to call home because most places would chase them out… That was how it was for my family. I don’t want that to keep happening. It’s wrong!”

She lifted her head up high, allowing her eyes to flash green. “So I’m coming. I wanna do my part and help them out. And I wanna help Scarlet and Lens. I… I owe them everything. They saved my life. They let me into their family when I had nopony else left. I wanna help them, no matter what.”

Twilight leaned back in surprise from the impassioned explanation. Rarity’s eyes widened, then shimmered with a degree of admiration and respect. Fluttershy, meanwhile, had her hooves held up to her heart, a conflicted grimace on her face.

“Well, gotta hoof it to the lil’ miss,” Applejack’s voice called out from the side. Scarlet turned to see her approaching with Rainbow Dash by her side. “She’s got courage.”

Primrose’s smile widened.

Twilight looked between them for several seconds. Then she smiled and gave a curt nod, her eyes shining with gratitude. “Thank you, everypony. It means a lot to me.”

Rainbow snorted dismissively. All eyes turned to her, and the sharp frown on her face made it painfully clear she did not share that opinion. “So we’ve been gone for a long time. Big deal! We can take care of ourselves, thanks. Don’t need you babying us.”

Applejack shot a disapproving scowl at the pegasus in question. “Dash!”

“What?!” Rainbow protested, her nostrils flaring. “I don’t like being treated like a helpless kid! I can look after myself just fine!”

Scarlet turned to face Rainbow directly. She could already tell she probably wasn’t going to get along very well with this one.

Before she could say anything, though, Twilight beat her to it. “That’s enough, Rainbow. She isn’t treating us like foals! She’s just right, we’re out of our depth here. If we’re going to make things right, we’re going to need her help!”

Rainbow grunted in agitation. She turned her head off to one side, ruffling her wings. “Guh. Fine, whatever.”

Scarlet’s ears folded back, her muzzle scrunching up with offense. Twilight turned to her with an apologetic smile. “Eheh… sorry about that. We’ve all been taking the news differently… some of us better than others. Try not to hold it against her, okay?”

Scarlet hesitated, then nodded. “Very well. I understand.”

There was a lull in the conversation after that. A moment passed before Spike lowered his head to look at Scarlet more closely. “Hmph… If you want to lend us your aid, then fine, I can let you come. But before I do, answer me this: aren’t you all wanted fugitives in the city we’re going to?”

Scarlet flinched as if struck, unable to meet Spike’s gaze. All eyes turned to her, and she felt her resolve wavering somewhat under the scrutiny. A second passed before she cleared her throat. “Er… ahem. Yes, Hraesvalgr, that’s correct.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Oh my goodness! Did you do something wrong?!” she asked, an edge of fear entering her voice.

“That would depend on who you asked,” Scarlet replied simply. “But it is a very long story… Simply put, yes, Lens, Primrose, and I broke many laws in our journey leading up to your release.”

“What did you do?” Twilight pressed, her own expression becoming more skeptical. “And why?”

Scarlet paused. After a few seconds, she sighed and looked down. “It is a long story… Very long. Too long to be told here, I am afraid. To give you the short answer, the New Equestrian Lunar Council sent the assassin I mentioned before to acquire the lamp at all costs. Primrose carried it, and I defended her. This placed me in direct opposition to an agent of the Council, effectively making me a traitor. I clashed with Silent and his Nightblades numerous times, and each encounter left more damage than the last in our wake… And I do not doubt that there may have been innocent casualties along the way…”

“It was all done for a good reason, though!” Primrose piped up, jumping in place slightly. “Scarlet and Lens are good ponies! They never tried to hurt anyone unless they really had to! They even exposed Silent’s crimes when trying to rescue me from the castle!”

Flurry nodded her head in agreement. “Yeah. I mean, I wasn’t there for most of that, but I can vouch for the quality of their character. Scarlet basically gave her life for Primrose and Sanctuary as a whole. If it hadn’t been for Lens and Prim’s love for her powering my healing magic, she would have died defending us. They’re good.”

Flurry’s testimony seemed to quell any doubts in the group. Twilight relaxed, her smile slowly returning. “Alright… I’m trusting you, Scarlet.”

Scarlet bowed her head slightly. “Thank you, Your Highness.”

Spike’s eyes narrowed. “Very well. We’ve established that you aren’t evil. But that wasn’t the part that had me worried, Scarlet. Tell me, if I bring you, will your status as a wanted fugitive and traitor to the Councils create problems for the rest of us?”

Scarlet glanced back to Lens and nodded at him to take the lead. He caught her meaning and stepped forward. “It might… but given who we’re traveling with, I don’t think it will be much more than a small hiccup.”

“Whaddya mean by that?” Applejack questioned with a tilt of her head.

Lens nodded at Twilight, then at Flurry, who had been silent the entire time. “Well, as we discussed before, Twilight and Flurry are part of the New Equestrian Pantheon. So are you, Spike. Twilight and Flurry are seen as goddesses, while Spike and the rest of you are viewed as heroic figures or outright saints. You’re all deeply respected and highly revered, so if we came along as, say, a part of your personal escort and bodyguards, then the Councils would basically run out of reasons to cause us any trouble.”

Spike snorted in amusement. “Huh. A bodyguard for me? That’s cute.”

Primrose frowned up at him. “The rest of you aren’t big dragons, though.”

Spike opened his mouth to retort, then frowned. A second later, he grunted in resignation. “Ugh. I hate it when kids are right,” he grumbled.

Twilight smiled at that before turning to Lens. “So, you’d be serving as our bodyguards, then?”

“That would be the plan,” Scarlet replied with a simple nod. “Or at least, I can’t think of anything better. If nothing else, like Lens said, it would keep the Councils off our back in any violent sense. They may still want to address our prior… misdeeds, but if we impress on them the priority of friendly relations with Sanctuary, then they will have to wait until all of that is sorted and we are discharged from our duties as guards.”

“And given we’d be a part of your entourage, under Spike’s protection,” Lens went on, gesturing up at the dragon. “Then any actions taken against us could become a diplomatic incident, and somehow, I doubt the councils are going to want to piss off a big purple dragon while he’s inside their city.”

“So we have that going for us, then,” Rarity added with a nod.

“All the same, it would be for the best if we brought a Blue Banner with us. Just as a precaution,” Scarlet pointed out, a frown adorning her muzzle. With the difference in Spike’s appearance compared to that of the scriptures and the fact that they would likely be arriving before word got out about Sanctuary to the general public, it would be almost suicide to approach on dragonback without one.

She was jarred from her thoughts when Rarity cleared her throat. Scarlet looked back up to see Twilight’s friends staring back at her in confusion. Rarity caught her attention and frowned. “Excuse me, darling, but a what?” she asked.

Scarlet resisted the urge to slap herself on the face. Of course, they wouldn’t know about the Blue Banners! That practice hadn’t existed in their time. She put on a neutral expression and explained. “A Blue Banner is a universally recognized symbol across the known world. When a Blue Banner is presented, it functions as a call for parley and negotiation. When two opposing parties meet under one, it is a universally accepted rule that there is to be no violence at all until the discussion is complete, and violating that rule is tantamount to a minor war crime.”

“And do you truly believe the ponies of Newcanter respect that?” Spike demanded doubtfully.

Scarlet nodded. “Silent Edge respected it during his assault on Sanctuary, and he was a traitor to New Equestria’s values himself. So long as we are presenting those colors clearly on arrival, we will have naught to fear.”

“Although, there is a problem…” Lens suddenly spoke up, rubbing at his chin. “That being, how do we get a Blue Banner? I don’t think Sanctuary has really adopted that practice, has it? Being the isolationist city-state it is.”

At those words, Rarity’s eyes suddenly lit up, and an eager grin split her muzzle. She turned to Spike and Flurry. “Oh, please tell me you have blue fabrics in this place!” she said, her voice rising by an octave or two.

Spike and Flurry shared a glance. It was Flurry who answered. “I think so… why?”

Rarity turned back to Scarlet and Lens. Somehow, the look of raw excitement in the pearly mare’s eyes sent Scarlet’s nerves into a state of unease.

“Just leave it to me, dears! Rarity is on the case!”

Author's Note

Fun fact: This blue banner that keeps getting brought up was actually inspired by and more or less directly lifted from the game 'Tyranny' by Obsidian.

(MAP)