At the southeastern foot of the Everfree Mountain Range, a rumbling crash shook the ground, causing a flock of birds to flee from the trees.

In the deafening silence that followed, Adagio Dazzle stood stock still in the freshly fallen snow.

Everywhere she looked, she saw him.

Buck was coming at Adagio as a small vanguard, smiling with calculated accuracy, arms wide to embrace her, promises of forgiveness and comfort echoing between the clones.

Sunburst was behind Adagio, eyes closed as a ball of flickering pink energy gathered in his outstretched hand.

Adagio could taste it in the air. It was a flavor so familiar by now; something like a bathtub filled with boiling hot chocolate.

Buck’s energy.

She couldn’t taste its source under the rocks that had fallen. One moment it was there, and the next it was gone.

Adagio expected to be furious, but that wasn’t quite the right feeling.

It’s not as if this was the first time it had happened; that someone she valued had met an unfortunate fate after getting involved with her. Normally, Adagio would take a day to mope about it and then move on.

This was different.

Adagio didn’t feel fury or heartache.

All at once, her chest ached with a sudden pressure, and her face was devoid of any emotion.

The frigid grip of Home closed around Adagio’s throat and lifted her slowly to her feet.

She tried to sing, but all that came out was a hitch of the breath that was somewhere between a gasp and a sob.

The changelings wielding Buck’s face charged at her, dropping their comely facades to try and dogpile Adagio, but every marauder that came for her head fell bleeding into the snow as she moved at a funeral march.

Her attention was focused on a singular point; a dark purple arm sticking out from beneath the fallen boulders.

It was only a matter of time, Adagio thought, but now was the least convenient time possible. She still had so much to do with him. Adagio stopped in front of the sealed cave and fell to her knees.

The hairy, burly arm was unmistakable, the hand turned up as if offering a greeting at a royal ball. Had Buck ever kissed Adagio’s hand? She couldn’t quite remember.

Sunburst was shouting something, but Adagio was only distantly aware that the rest of the world existed as she searched elbow deep in her memory.

He had.

On their first night, minutes after meeting, Buck had taken Adagio’s hand and kissed it. He had taken his time, Adagio remembered. He had squeezed her fingers just the slightest bit.

His smile.

That was the first time she’d tasted him; his mana had blown against her like a warm summer breeze, and he had driven her crazy since that moment.

Driven to drink, driven to embarrassment, driven to vulnerability, driven to distraction. She could not believe how much he had distracted her.

It wasn’t hopeless. Whatever the source of power truly was at Camp Everfree, surely it would be enough. It had to be now. This wouldn’t set her back for long, she would make do like she always did.

She touched his hand. It was cold.

Here lay everything Adagio had worked towards for half a year.

This project was the path to her power, her future, and her sisters, and yet the hot tears she felt was not for the plan.

“It’s Buck. You’ve lost Buck, you fool.” Adagio said.

Pink light flashed behind Adagio. She rose to her feet and turned, hoping to see the man that energy truly belonged to, but instead, she saw Sunburst, his brow furrowed with effort as he held aloft the small changeling platoon in a prison of force.

“Star Swirl’s Amniomorphic Alteration!” Sunburst shouted.

A sound like a raging forest fire swept through the quiet mountainside.

Adagio watched as the attacking insects writhed and twisted in the pink flame, transforming into a herd of shaggy sheep.

Buck would have laughed.

Sunburst fell to one knee, and the aura flickered out of existence, dropping the fluffy farm animals into the snow.

Adagio turned back to Buck’s hand jutting out of the rocks.

“Buck? Say something, please. Tell a stupid joke, or call me a rude bitch. Please, just say something, Buck. Anything.” Adagio whimpered.

Buck’s hand shriveled into a dark, gnarled shape, pocked with holes. Adagio shrunk away in disgust, then felt a hand on her shoulder. Sunburst was smiling, hooking a thumb at the rubble.

It was quiet. Adagio strained to hear.

It was faint and clearly muffled, but it was unmistakable.

*Brap*

Adagio heard a fart noise coming from just past the rocks.

“Buck! Can you hear me!?” Adagio shouted at the boulders.

*Brap*

Another fart noise.

“Starlight? Are you two okay?” Sunburst said.

Adagio looked over and saw Sunburst talking into his phone. His concerned expression shifted to a smile.

“Yes, that’s not ideal, but it’s a good thing you aren’t hurt! Can you put Buck on for a second?”

“Buck?” Adagio said.

“Hey, brother.” Sunburst said. He smiled at Adagio, who got to her feet quickly and looked at him pleadingly.

“Let me talk to him.” Adagio said.

“No, we’re okay over here, thanks to that bit of mana you gave me, I was able to make up a quick fix. Yes, a quick fix to murderous bug monsters. I know, it sounds like a trash quest for a level one party, doesn’t it? Could’ve been rats. I know, right?”

“Sunburst!” Adagio whined.

Sunburst smiled at her and made a gesture of taking a deep breath.

Adagio blushed, wiped her face with the arm of her hoodie, and sniffled her way into a semi–composed expression.

Sunburst gave her a thumbs up.

“Hey, Buck? Adagio wants to talk with you. Is that okay? Okay, I'm putting you on speaker.” Sunburst said, before handing Adagio the smartphone.

Adagio squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, summoning all the poise she could muster.

“Buck? Buck, Buck, Buck, are you okay, Buck!?” Adagio stammered.

“Oh wow, when you say my name that many times in a row, you sound like a chicken,” Buck said.

“Hahahah! You are such an idiot~!” Adagio chirruped, before covering her mouth.

“No, but I’m okay, at least physically. Me and GlimGlam got outta the way. Mentally, I’m still sorta grappling with having to fight everyone I know in Canterlot, some of them very naked for some reason. I guess that’s just changelings. Good luck sleepin’ tonight, right?” Buck said.

"Are you unharmed, or not?" Adagio said.

"I'm pretty sure I'm good. Especially since the gummy I took on the way over just hit." Buck said.

"The what just what!?" Starlight said.

“No changelings over here, either, though I’mma go ahead and guess it won’t stay like that for long. Enemy territory and all that.” Buck said.

“I’m coming over there. Cover your ears.” Adagio said.

“Say what now?” Buck said.

Adagio gathered her energy and unleashed a banshee shriek at the wall of fallen rocks, shuddering the ground with a violent, warbling vibration.

"Holy shit, STOP!" Buck shouted over the phone.

The ghastly scream caught in Adagio's throat.

"What do you mean, stop!? I'm trying to get you out of that cave!" Adagio said.

"Anymore'a that and the whole damn mountain's gonna come down on us in here! Yeah, GlimGlam?" Buck said.

Adagio heard Starlight Glimmer chattering angrily in the background.

"Yeah, GlimGlam is saying that the sensing stone was pointing northwest-ish while we were outside, so we'll go through the mountain while you go around it, and we'll meet at the hive." Buck said.

"Absolutely not! What if you two get captured along the way!?" Adagio said.

"Then we'll make it to the hive earlier, I guess. Pretty sure they won’t try to kill us." Buck said.

There was a brief pause.

“Okay, pretty sure they won’t try to kill me. Jury’s out on GlimGlam.”

"Adagio, can you track Buck's energy? I think you're the most familiar with his mana signature." Sunburst said.

"I assure you, Sunburst. No one knows Buck's length, girth and flavor better than me." Adagio said.

"Holy shit." Buck said, over the phone.

"But I can't track it through solid rock." Adagio finished.

There was a sound like swearing from the phone, and then Starlight Glimmer’s voice came through it.

"Buck and I will go to the hive, and look for an exit from the cave along the way. I'll call you as soon as I can and tell you our status, but we have to get going. We'll definitely get attacked again if we don’t keep moving." Starlight said.

"That's fine!" Sunburst said, taking the phone. "Whatever happens, we'll meet at the hive!"

"Roger roger!" Buck said.

"And Starlight? I love you." Sunburst said.

Adagio heard Starlight Glimmer bleat something to the effect of an affirmative, and she snatched the phone from Sunbursts' hand.

"Buck! Are you still there?" Adagio said.

"Yeah?" Buck said.

Adagio glanced at Sunburst, who shrugged at her.

"Remember your training." Adagio said.

"I’ll be fine." Buck said.

The phone creaked in Adagio's hand, prompting Sunburst to carefully, gently slide it out of her death grip. The call ended, and Adagio stood there, failing in all respects to remain poised and composed.

"Sunburst, move the rocks! Use your unicorn magic!" Adagio said.

"I can't. That polymorphing spell took most of the mana I had, and I’ve only got…let me see…two pieces of quartz and some eagle feathers. Besides, they're fine." Sunburst said, turning away from the cave.

"What do you mean he's fine!? He's trapped in a dark, cold space that's crawling with dangers!" Adagio said.

“Well, sure.”

“And without me, he’s helpless!”

"Buck is Buck. If he knows how to do anything, it's survive."

“He barely survived fighting a single ghoul on his own!”

“He’s survived you for half a year.” Sunburst said.

The sheep stared dumbly at Sunburst as he turned for the tree line.

After thinking about committing a murder for a little bit too long, Adagio trotted past him with exaggerated swagger.

"He's fine. Of course he's fine; why wouldn't he be fine? Oh, a cave-in? No, that's perfectly normal, let's get high and make little jokes about mental scars! No, of course Buck is fine. Why would I think he wouldn't be fine?" Adagio said.

"Adagio? Can you do me a favor?" Sunburst said.

"What?" Adagio said.

Sunburst put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Take a deep breath. You're in shock."

"I am not in shock! Everything is fine, I'm not worried about him, in fact right now it would be best if I forget that he exists, so I can focus for a change!" Adagio said, shrugging her shoulder out of Sunbursts' grip.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"That's right! With Buck out of the way, I can stop being distracted and focus on the mission! Let's go, Sunburst, there’s not a moment to lose!" Adagio said, flipping her hair.

"...actually, you’re right. We should get moving. Quickly." Sunburst said, trotting ahead.

"Hm?" Adagio said. Sunburst leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"I'm going to have to be very careful with my resources going forward. I don’t have many components left, and I just burned through the mana Buck gave me." Sunburst said, urgently.

"Yes, and?" Adagio said.

"I cast a polymorphing spell. On changelings. How long do you think it will take for them to figure that out?" Sunburst said.

There was a flash of green light behind them. Adagio and Sunburst didn't look back; they simply ran for the trees and hoped they could get lost fast.

On a ridge overlooking the mouth of the cave, Queen Chrysalis stood, a calculating expression on her face as she watched Sunburst and Adagio Dazzle flee into the snow-speckled woods.

"So that could've gone better!" Minuette said.

"Their group is cut in half, and they are clearly weakened for it."

"I thought we were going to capture them?" Minuette said.

"We are. Adagio Dazzle is apart from her precious little power source, and now all we need do is let her tire herself out as she avoids capture. We changelings may be ambush predators, but we can hunt with persistence when pressed."

"How're they gonna do that when they're stuck in the snow?" Minuette said, pointing.

The platoon of changelings moved with a stiff, shivering gait through the white slush.

"You know that changelings don't fare well in low temperatures. Without a sufficient energy source, we freeze up in the cold. They need help." Chrysalis said.

"So what?" Minuette said.

Chrysalis’ grimace swapped to a quick smile as Minuette turned to her.

"You could give them a stipend of mana. That would allow them to better control their forms and hunt more effectively."

"Hmmm….nah."

"What?"

"I'm not giving them any more mana. They've done their bit!" Minuette said.

"We need more manpower. Adagio Dazzle is skulking around in those woods."

"Yeah, you're a little obsessed with her, huh? Did you guys date or something?" Minuette giggled.

"Adagio Dazzle is the most dangerous creature that you could possibly encounter in this world. She is not to be trifled with in any situation. The fact that she's here at all means she's after the hive, and I’m not going to let her bring death to my children a second time!"

"Relax, Chryssi, relax! I'll take care of her for you, don't worry!"

"You? You alone? Didn't you try that once?" Chrysalis said.

"Chryssi, don't get testy, it's super not cute. So maybe she cut my head off! So what? I've gotten way tougher since then, and thanks to you, I know how to push her buttons! Why don't you go and deal with the other two in the caves?" Minuette said.

"It’s foolish to underestimate her." Chrysalis said.

"Are you underestimating me?" Minuette fixed Chrysalis with a grin that made her blood run cold.

Chrysalis's eyes drifted away with a shudder.

"What's that on your back?" Minuette said.

"What? What is it?" Chrysalis said.

"I've never seen a spell like it." Minuette said.

The changeling queen’s head spun around with a sickening crack as she glared down to examine herself.

A thin arrow of force jutted from the small of Chrysalis' back, a near-invisible thread of green mana leading down into the stone at her feet.

"It looks like they're tracking you, Chryssi." Minuette said.

"They’re not targeting the hive…they’re targeting me." Chrysalis said.

A look of fear gripped her face, but after a moment's contemplation, it twisted into a sadistic grin.

"I can use this."

"Great! Good! You do your thing and I'll do mine, and we'll meet back at the hive!" Minuette said.

"Wait, what exactly are you going to-"

"Byeeee~!"

Minuette waved cheerily at Chrysalis, and with a bright, chilling smile, the zombie dropped off the edge of the outcropping and into the trees below.

"...I despise that creature." Chrysalis said.

Far off the beaten path, beside the towering wall of rock that made up the mountain's eastern face and beneath the white-pocked canopy, Adagio and Sunburst strode purposefully through the snow; Sunburst in front, Adagio behind, humming a gentle tune.

The footprints they left in the snow slowly filled in, leaving no trace of their travel.

“Sunburst? For a unicorn, you’re surprisingly quiet and introverted.” Adagio said.

“Uh, I’m a human.” Sunburst said.

“Oh, you know what I mean! I didn’t mean it in a bad way.” Adagio said.

“Ooookay then.” Sunburst muttered, flipping through Stygian’s spellbook.

“It was a compliment. Most of the unicorns I’ve interacted with have been absolutely infuriating.” Adagio said.

“Sure. Adagio, I’ve been meaning to ask. Do you know anything about this?” Sunburst said.

“About what?” Adagio said.

Sunburst offered the dark leatherbound tome to Adagio, showing that several pages had been clearly torn out.

“Ah. That. Even I believe that certain spells shouldn’t be shared. I had to remove some pages, in the event that the book fell into more devious hands.” Adagio said.

“More devious than yours?” Sunburst said.

“Anything is possible.” Adagio smirked.

“Hm. I wonder when the next attack will be?” Sunburst said.

“Who’s to say? Do changelings track by scent?” Adagio said.

“Not that I know of.”

“Well, we aren’t leaving any tracks—you’re welcome—and we’re staying in the treeline, so they probably won’t find us easily. If any get close enough to strike, I’ll be able to taste them. Even going that far, those drones were clearly falling apart, and there can’t be many more.” Adagio said.

“That’s good. I don’t know how useful I could be in another fight. With the components I have, I might be able to give you some support, but big spells are out of the question.” Sunburst said.

“Who cares? I’m more than capable of handling this mission on my own. If you want, you can return to the car and wait.”

“I’m not letting you do this alone, Adagio.”

“Just don’t get in my way, Sunburst, and everything will be fine. Frankly, I’m still worried about the other two.”

“Starlight and Buck? I’m sure they’ve got everything under control.” Sunburst said.

“I don’t think they can get along very well in a high stress situation.”

“Oh?”

“Scratch that. I don’t think Starlight Glimmer is capable of cooperating with Buck. The two of them always seem to be an inch away from each other’s throats. Normally I find it amusing, but not when their lives are in danger.” Adagio said.

“I don’t think you give her enough credit.” Sunburst said.

“I’ve fought at her side. No offense, Sunburst, but your little girlfriend doesn’t play well with others.” Adagio said.

“Adagio, I know that last fight left you rattled, but you don’t have to worry. Starlight is a genius, and Buck can get along with anyone. If anything, they’re probably making faster progress than we are.”

In the shadowy depths of the Everfree caves, a small group of changelings scuttled down a corridor, leaving behind a spotty trail of green mucus.

A few seconds after the sounds of their clumsy feet faded away, a pulsing red light illuminated the stony space.

“That was fuckin’ close.” Buck said, sweat rolling down his purple cheek.

“We could have taken them. The more changelings we take down, the less we’ll have to contend with when we catch up to the queen.” Starlight said.

“You’re outta your damn mind. We gotta play this careful. We don’t have the action economy to go barreling through a whole-ass bug army!”

“We would if you could get control of your mana!” Starlight hissed.

“I tried! It just don’t wanna work with you.”

“And how is that my fault?”

“I didn’t say it was! Magic’s a weird, silly, sorta sexy thing. Maybe its because I'm tired, or maybe it's because I haven't gotten laid in what feels like a million years, I dunno! I’m doin’ my best here!”

“Well, your best needs to go run some laps before you get us both killed.”

Starlight said it flippantly as she looked away from Buck, scanning the environment for any hostiles. She didn’t notice Buck’s chill facade slip suddenly into genuine anger.

“Know what? Maybe you are the problem.”

“What!?”

“You’ve been given’ me shit since the second we got in here. I’m supposed to be true with my feelings or whatever to make this work, but you’re such a fuckin’ Type A personality, I can’t care enough to charge you up with the pink stuff.”

“Type A?”

“That’s a capital ‘A’ for capital asshole.”

“Fuck you.” Starlight said.

“No, fuck you!” Buck said. The red light floating over his hand intensified.

“FUCK YOU!” Starlight said.

“FUUUUUCK YOU!” Buck said.

The cave suddenly shook with a cacophony of stampeding feet and excited hissing.

“They’re fine. I’m sure.” Sunburst said. “Frankly, I don’t think it’s their safety that you’re really worried about.”

"Do I detect a hint of animosity?" Adagio said.

"Where? Are we under attack?" Sunburst looked around.

"I meant from you, Sunburst. You seem frustrated, and I can't imagine why." Adagio said.

"You can't?"

"Yes. I’ve been nothing but a boon to your cause since I decided to lend my expertise.”

“And you don’t think that you could have handled things differently? At any point at all?”

“Since I’ve been your greatest asset in this fight, no. I think I’ve more than made up for any previous slips.”

“Adagio, I’m not talking about the mission.”

“Well then I have no idea what could have you so bothered.” Adagio said.

"You don't have to be defensive with me, Adagio. I know you're a living thing with feelings; you don't have to hide them."

"I'm not hiding anything."

"And there's nothing you want to talk about? Nothing important?"

"Nothing at all."

"Wow.”

“What is it now?”

“I think I'm starting to understand how Buck feels about this whole situation." Sunburst said.

"What exactly are you inferring?" Adagio said.

"Every time anyone tries to communicate with you on an emotional level, you twirl your cape and dance away." Sunburst said.

"I think capes are gauche, actually. Why would I need to wear a cape when I have this magnificent mane to flutter on the breeze?" Adagio said.

"Adagio."

"Sunburst?"

"No, that's fine. I'll just say it; Adagio, pretending that nothing is wrong between you and Buck isn’t going to solve anything."

"Me!? He's the one pretending I barely exist!”

“He’s treating you like a co-worker. It’s a healthy distance.”

“If anything, he's keeping me at arm's length because he's scared that the big bad monster might teach him something about himself!" Adagio said.

Something rustled in the treetop overhead. After a moment of tense silence, Sunburst and Adagio relaxed when they saw that it was just a squirrel.

"He's not scared, he's exhausted." Sunburst said.

"He needs rest, certainly, but he’s no less energetic than ever." Adagio said.

"Have you ever seen Buck in a state where he didn't seem tired?" Sunburst said.

Adagio opened her mouth to speak, but the retort died on her lips.

"Do you know the feeling of soreness you get after you spend a day really exerting yourself? The kind of tired where all you can do is lay down and feel the tingling in your limbs?"

"Yes of course I do."

"Well, Buck feels that all the time, in his head. He's sick, Adagio."

She recalled the number of times she had to tell Buck to lay down and rest, his persistent yawning during sessions, and the bags under his eyes.

A cold wind blew through the trees, giving Adagio a bit of a shiver.

“The Buck you know is operating at minimum capacity, and he has been the whole time. When I moved to Canterlot and I reconnected with Buck, he just seemed lost and empty. I told him to go for therapy, but he couldn’t afford it. The second he could, he gave that money to Ditzy Doo, so she could go in his place.”

“He’s a fool.” Adagio said.

"He hates seeing people suffer; that’s just the way he is. But he doesn’t seem to realize that he counts as people. Sometimes I want to just…grab him by the shoulders and yell at him to take care of himself; to get away from this city and go be with his Mom and just rest, because for the longest time, I felt like I was watching my best friend kill himself, and there was nothing I could do.”

Adagio tasted a bubbling, bitter sadness. She turned and saw the beginning of tears in Sunburst’s eyes.

“But then he met you.” Sunburst said.

“Sunburst-”

“Let me finish. He met you, and he just came alive. He was scared of you, at first. Starlight told me she saw you, and then Buck explained what happed on that first date, and he was terrified. But then later, he said you came to his work, and the two of you talked, and he was excited. More excited than I had ever seen him. He really, genuinely thought you were trying to court him and form a bond with him, and Buck was over the moon. I was at Donut Joes', you know? I came to check on him during your second date, and I saw how you two interacted, and I knew it was going to be okay. I knew, because I saw how you made each other smile, and its the same smile I see on Starlight’s face when we’re alone. But I was wrong."

"Are you trying to make me feel guilty? Is that what this is?"

A sudden spike of anger. Sunburst gritted his teeth.

"No, Adagio, I'm trying to get you to see what I see. I see two people, two very scarred, very hurt people, who were forming a special bond. I saw you building Buck up, and I saw Buck giving you warmth and patience. I thought you were helping each other to become more complete versions of yourselves. I know that you have feelings for him, even if you want to pretend otherwise."

"You don't know anything about how I feel." Adagio spat.

"I know you didn't bring that hoodie because you thought you'd be cold."

Adagio stopped and stared at her feet. Somehow, during the course of the conversation, she had crossed her arms as if to hug herself. She had been cold at some point, hadn’t she? But now, as she thought it over, she felt warmth rushing into her cheeks.

His warmth.

“...this hoodie still has a bit of his energy in it. I brought it because I thought I might be able to tap it.”

“His energy? From months ago?”

“...it’s comfortable.” Adagio said.

Snowflakes fell into Adagio’s hair.

“Who are you trying to fool, Adagio?” Sunburst said.

“Who are you to interrogate me?” Adagio said.

“Your friend!"

"I don't have any friends, Sunburst."

"If this is too much for you, I’ll let it rest. But I’m not going to let you keep picking at Buck. He was right to reject you; you don’t respect him.”

“Excuse me?”

“You keep trying to pull his strings, and when he won’t let you do it, you get angry and push him away. But then he forgives you, and the second he lets you in, even a little bit, you try to take advantage of him. You’re emotionally manipulative.”

“I’m a monster. Haven’t we been over this? It’s in my nature to do as I please and take as I please.” Adagio said.

She was walking from Sunburst, through the crunching snow. Or was she running?

“No.” Sunburst said, moving in lockstep.

"No? What do you mean, no?"

"That excuse isn't going to cut it with me. If you don't stop playing him like a game you can win, he's going to cut you out completely, and I'll support him because it’ll be the right thing to do."

"Are you threatening me?"

"I'm warning you. Do you remember when we met? The conversation we had?"

"Of course I do."

“Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then why aren't you respecting his boundaries?"

"...I got overzealous."

"That's what you said last time."

"So I got carried away! We were alone, and we were talking, and he..."

"What?"

"He didn't do anything to me. I was frustrated, okay? Sometimes I just…he makes me crazy!”

“What do you mean?”

Now Adagio rounded on Sunburst, a red glare in her eyes as she spoke.

“Every time he comes to my suite, he’s a little bit more worn down, a little more frustrated. I'm sick and tired of watching that man fold himself into a smaller shape just to make Ditzy Doo THINK that she can handle him."

"But Ditzy makes him happy, Adagio. You have to see that."

"No, he only thinks she makes him happy because she's dull and simple! He wants Ditzy Doo the way you want for a plain doughnut. She's easy and unchallenging and, and, vanilla!"

“Oh, so you think he should have someone ‘challenging’ who punishes him for trying to form a genuine connection?”

“I never tried to do that! What we had-what we have is complicated! He’s the one that made it complicated! If he would just stop overthinking my every little motivation and just trust me, things would be so much simpler!”

“Do you really think you’re worthy of his trust?”

“Are you trying to make me angry, Sunburst? Was that your brilliant plan for today?” Adagio growled, but Sunburst stood his ground.

Somewhere in the distance, a quiet chime rang. A thin ribbon of red force floated out of Adagio’s back and into the trees.

"Look, Adagio. I would like to be on your side, but I can't. Buck is my best friend, and you aren't good for him. You're not treating him right, and it might be the case that you don't know how to."

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW HOW TO IF HE KEEPS ME AT ARM'S LENGTH!?” Adagio bellowed, throwing her hands into the air. “How am I supposed to give him what he wants if he shrinks away from me when I try to get closer? I don't know what he wants, Sunburst, and since he won't just tell me, I don't think he knows either!" Adagio snarled.

Sunburst stared at Adagio for a moment, but then his serious facade crumbled and he started to chuckle.

"Don't you dare laugh at me, human child!"

"Adagio, Buck said the exact same thing about you. Every time Buck gets close to you and tries to love you, you deflect. So why do you take offense when he chooses another woman who actually tries to communicate with him?"

“She’s holding him back. She’s not enough for him, and soon enough, she’s going to scamper away for fear of his rising power.” Adagio turned and began to walk again.

“Well, soon enough is now, since Ditzy and Buck are taking a break.”

Adagio stopped, her foot risen in mid-stride. She turned her head to Sunburst, who looked like he was about to staple his own mouth shut.

“...come again?”

“I shouldn’t have said that.” Sunburst said.

Up in the canopy, just within earshot of Adagio and Sunburst, a pair of green slitted eyes narrowed with focus.

“What do you mean, taking a break? Were those the exact words? A break?” Adagio said.

“Adagio, that’s none of your business.”

“It is very much my business to know why Buck is so cold today! It could interfere with his magic, and thus our plans! It could put him in danger!”

“Ditzy Doo was attacked by a changeling in the park.” Sunburst sighed.

“And?”

“And when she realized that Buck and I were in that park containing a magical mishap, she told Buck that she can’t be around him. She said they need to spend some time apart until Buck is confident he can control his magic.”

“More like repress it, I’m sure. So now she’s running scared from Buck–just as I thought–and she’s broken up their relationship and his poor little heart.”

“Adagio, they aren’t broken up, they’re just taking a break. Don’t mess with him.”

“Ah, yes, a classic human move! ‘Oh, darling, it’s not you, it’s me! I just think we need a little space!’. Adorable. He’s like a puppy that’s grown too big and unruly for her to handle. She’s tied him to a post outside so he won’t make a mess in the house. Is that about the long and short of it?”

“Adagio, they are still very much in love.” Sunburst said.

“Oh, certainly, but for how long? ‘I need some space’ can very quickly turn into ‘We should see other people’ and then “Don't worry, we’ll work this out later’ and then my personal favorite ‘Oh. It’s you.’” Adagio said, barely containing her mirth.

“She’s not like that, Adagio. Ditzy cares about Buck, but she doesn’t feel safe with his magic being the way it is.”

“Yes, and now that she’s out of his way and mine, we can all move on with our lives!”

“You’re being cruel.”

“I’m being realistic! Good for her, honestly! She never could cut it as a rival to me. She’s better off focusing on butchering poodle skirts and tending to her little brat! A shame she put a collar around Buck’s neck before scampering off, the greedy little thing, but that won’t be enough to hold him back, believe me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Without Ditzy Doo around to make him feel self-conscious, Buck is finally free to embrace his own power! He can be exactly who he is without reservation! Frankly, I thought you’d be excited.” Adagio said, practically skipping through the snow.

“And you think he’ll come running back to you?” Sunburst frowned.
Adagio’s smile faded as she came to a stop.

“If he’s smart, he will.”

“Even though you push him away at every turn?”

"No I do not!"

"We are literally having this conversation because Buck was trying to have a genuine dialogue with you, and you made it about sex."

"I was…I was just trying to connect with him! Buck loves sex!"

"He has a complicated realtionship with sex." Sunburst said.

"Which I've only just found out about!" Adagio said.

"Because he was afraid you’d use it against him! Which you did! Immediately!"

"I didn't mean to! I wasn't trying to hurt his feelings, I thought we could connect about sex, because I thought that he...I…UGH! This is ridiculous! No matter what I try with him, it comes out wrong!"

"Well, at least we're on the same page. This feeling right here? That's how Buck feels when he tries to reach out to you."
Adagio was quiet then, and blessedly, Sunburst let her sit in her silence as they slowly made their way around the mountainside.

Unbeknownst to them, a pair of scraggly wings buzzed away, bearing a sadistic grin and some juicy gossip.
Beyond the treeline, Adagio could see a grown-over path snaking its way upward. To the north, there was a wide valley dotted with young, short trees, and at the far edge, nestled in the mountain's cleft, was a speck of a building.

Snowflakes drifted down from the dark grey sky.

“Woah. That’s interesting. I didn’t think there were any buildings between here and Camp Everfree.” Sunburst said.

“I think I saw mention of an inn on the map that Buck and I looked at.” Adagio said.

“Can you taste anything from here?” Sunburst said.

Adagio pulled out her phone, and with a stroke of the fingers, she zoomed in on the building.

“No. But if I had to make a guess, I would say that’s our destination.”

“How do you know?” Sunburst said.

Adagio beckoned, and Sunburst leaned over to look at the image on the phone.

It was a resplendent hotel with art deco architecture, but its angular columns and grand arches were scarred by a pale, stony substance that crept along the walls like an invasive vine.

“Call it a hunch.” Adagio said.

Thunder boomed over the valley, and the world flashed.

"Thaaaat's not normal." Sunburst said.

"I'm beginning to think there's a reason why we haven't been followed." Adagio said, eyes scanning the shade surrounding her.

A sudden sharp chime caused Adagio to jump.

She spun, sword drawn, to see Sunburst holding his phone to his ear.

“What are you doing!?” Adagio whispered.

“I’m getting a call.” Sunburst said. “Starlight? Yes, I can talk. You managed to find some wifi in there? That’s amazing! Yes, Adagio is here with me. Yes? Yes.”

Sunburst poked at the phone.

“Okay, you’re on speaker.” Sunburst said.

“Adagio, are you there?” Starlight said.

“Yes, Starlight, what do you want?” Adagio said.

“You have to help me. Buck is driving me crazy, and he’s going to get us both killed.” Starlight said.

“What? Buck is far more capable than-”

“No, I mean he’s high, we’re lost, and now he’s singing.”

“What?” Adagio said.

“The krusty krab pizza! Is the pizza! For you and me!” Buck sang somewhere in the background.

“I’m in hell. This is hell.” Starlight said.

“How are you lost? I thought you had the sensing stone?” Sunburst said.

“The sensing stone isn’t working! Or it’s working too well! The beam is flipping all over the place! I think the queen is on to us and she’s flying around out there to keep us lost!” Starlight said.

“Hah! I bet she looks ridiculous.” Adagio said.

“Look, we’re running in circles down here, and Buck’s magic has been basically no help.” Starlight said.

“How is that possible?” Sunburst said.

“I don’t know! Not only is his mana hard to wield, it’s having a weird effect on the changelings!”

“Weird how?”

“I think it’s making them stronger. If we keep running around down here, we’re just going to tire ourselves out and get caught.”

“You’re still getting attacked by scouts? How many are crawling around down there?” Sunburst said.

“Like way more than you’d think!” Buck laughed.

“That’s a lot of energy to go around. They may have a stockpile of people hidden away.” Adagio said.

“Have you two made any progress?” Starlight said.

“Well, we found the hive.” Sunburst said.

“Great! Which direction is it in?” Starlight said.

“It’s some sort of hotel in the valley between two of the mountains.” Adagio said.

“Above ground?” Starlight said.

“Yep.” Sunburst said.

“Great, just great! We came down here for nothing!”

“Woo! Pointless!” Buck said.

“Adagio, please I can’t stand this. What do you do when Buck starts acting unreasonable?” Starlight said.

“I encourage him.” Adagio smiled.

“Oh, you are no help at all! Okay, okay, I think I’ve got an idea. With any luck, you’ll see us at the hive very soon.” Starlight said.

“Okay, I love you!” Sunburst said.

“I love you too! Starlight out!” Starlight said.

“This isn’t a radio, you don’t need to say that.” Adagio said.

“KRUSTY KRAYAYAAAAB-” Buck sang loudly, then there was a loud crash before the line went completely dead.

Sunburst and Adagio looked at each other for a moment.

“...they’re probably fine.” Sunburst said, dialing another number.

"What are you doing now?"

"A little due diligence." Sunburst said.

In a cozy condo somewhere on the west side of Canterlot, daylight crawled across a plush and shaggy carpet.
It was a modestly appointed bedroom with light blue walls and a line of vibrant potted succulents on the windowsill.
A wide closet was half-filled with trendy ensembles and nearly identical business suits, and across from it was a queen-sized bed hosting a thin, feminine form.

A cream-colored hand bumbled blindly until it managed to grab a buzzing phone on the bed stand.

"This better be good." Sweetie Drops said.

"Ooh, sorry. Were you asleep?"

"I sure was, Sunburst, I sure was. What's going on?"

"We’ve found the hive. It's some sort of old hotel in the mountains. Can you ping my phone?"

Sweetie Drops sat up and scratched at her bedhead, frowning at the sheen of sweat on her arms.

"We can, yes. What's your status? Any injuries?"

"Underpowered, but we'll manage. There may be victims in the hive, so we might need an airlift."

"Consider it done. Is Adagio behaving?"

"As best as we can hope for." Sunburst said.

"I heard that," Adagio said distantly.

"Sweetie Drops, something strange is going on out here. It's snowing."

"Have you seen any rifts?"

"I expected to, but no. Somehow they've altered the weather, but without expending a whole lot of mana."

"Well, that's weird. Sunburst, I need you to prioritize recon. Get us as much information about this situation as you can salvage, and leave the heroing to Starlight if you can help it."

"We were separated, actually. She's with Buck."

"And you're alone with Adagio? Is that safe?"

Back in the snowy woods, Sunburst stared at Adagio for a few seconds.

"I trust her." Sunburst said.

"Well, that's good enough for me. Stay sharp out there, Agent Sunburst. Stay warm."

The door creaked open. Sweetie Drops shoved her phone under a pillow, hands raised in defense, only to see a smiling mint green face poke into the room.

"Bon Bon, are you up? We gotta get ready if we're going to catch that concert!"

"Lyra! I'm not decent!" Bon Bon said, covering her chest.

"What? You wear pajamas to bed!"

"Just give me a little privacy!" Bon Bon said.

"Such a prude, geez."

A pillow thumped against the cracked door.

"Look, I'm gonna go without you if you take too long! I wanna get some primo bench seats in the front row!" Lyra said.

"Just give me a few minutes! I need to make a few calls for work, and I'll be right with you." Bon Bon said.

"Yeah, yeah, work work work! You gotta loosen up a little sometime!" Lyra said from behind the door.

"What, and be as loose as you?"

"Hey, it pays the bills!" Lyra peaked in again with a grin. Another pillow came flying, this time rebounding off her face.

"Yipe! Okay, okay, no lookie! Just wrap it up as quick as you can and catch me in the car!"

The door shut.

"Sure thing! I'll be down soon."

Bon Bon's grin slipped off her face, and the serious scowl of Agent Sweetie Drops returned.

"...get the lift going first, then we’ll work from there." She said, dialing a number.

"...Sweetie Drops?" Adagio said.

"What, you didn't think her real name was Bon Bon, did you?" Sunburst said.

"It is a silly name in retrospect. I mostly try to ignore her when I can."

"Then I guess she's doing her job well!" Sunburst said.

"Hm. Let's think about our approach. It seems like there's only one path up to the hotel, and not much cover on the sides.

"There might be something in Stygian's book that can get us over there. Maybe a levitation spell?" Sunburst said.

"And fly us directly into the changeling's line of sight?" Adagio said.

"That's a point."

"Any invisibility charms?" Adagio said.

"No, that's more Starlight's bag. Hmm…maybe we can make a diversion?" Sunburst said.

"You see, this would be much easier with an army of hypnotized teenagers to use as fodder." Adagio smiled.

"Oh, very funny." Sunburst said, stowing his phone away.

"Yes, I'm hilarious." Adagio said. "If we can't make it an ambush, we may have to find a back entrance."

Adagio heard another chime, but this one was quiet and muffled. A text on Sunbursts’ phone, probably.

"Honestly, this is where Buck would come in handy. He's an idea man." Sunburst said.

"Starlight said his magic was making the drones stronger. What could that mean?" Adagio said.

"I have a hypothesis about that, actually." Sunburst said, once again perusing Stygian’s book of spells. "But one thing at a time. Changeling hives are notoriously difficult to sneak into unoticed, but I think there’s a spell in here that’ll do the trick…ah! Here it is! Okay, I’ve got something. We’ll have to go one at a time, but I think-"

*THWACK*

A sound like a butcher's knife striking a cutting board came from nearby, and then a tree came crashing down.

Sunburst and Adagio scrambled through the snow, then zig-zagged out of the way as another tree fell, followed by another, and then more.

Adagio was mortified. As she and Sunburst ran from the falling lumber, all she could think of was how brutally embarrassing this whole situation was. She had been on the back foot for so long that it bordered on parody.

Adagio’s huffing breath came out as a pale fog, and a shiver ran through her as she charged through the snow, rushing under tree after tree as they toppled down.

And then suddenly, there were no trees left. Sunburst and Adagio were out in the open, standing back to back beneath the rumbling grey skies.

More snowflakes drifted down into the valley.

"Nowhere to hide, kiddies!" Giggled a voice from somewhere nearby.

"What the? Whossat!?" Sunburst panted, clutching his postman's bag to his chest.

"Oh, it's this bitch again." Adagio groaned.

"Who?" Sunburst said.
The snow stirred around the pair, rising from the ground and rolling into hand-sized balls before sharpening into floating icicles.

"Move!" Adagio said.

Sunburst ducked down just as the icy projectiles came flying from all directions. Adagio yelped as one slashed her leg at the surface, ducked under another, and finally managed to knock one away with her rapier.

Sunburst and Adagio ran, barely avoiding a skewering as best as they could, but everywhere they turned, the snow formed more spikes to hurl at them.

"Aww, are you running away again? I heard you do that when things get tough!" The voice cackled.

"I'm not the coward hiding out while tossing snowballs!" Adagio said.

A literal snowball plastered the back of her head in white frost.

"Cute. I seem to recall you being the one to flee the last time we met!" Adagio said. "Did you come here looking for a repeat performance? Or perhaps your hair is a bit too long and you want a little more off the top?"

Adagio looked to and fro, searching for any hint of her foe. She hummed softly and twirled a finger behind her back. The snow she and Sunburst were standing in took on a pink glow and began to melt.

"Oh, you've got jokes! I love jokes! Here, I've got one for you! Knock knock!" The voice said.

Thunder boomed over the valley.

"Uh…who's there?" Sunburst said.

A figure burst from the snow, clad in a dark cloak. A short blue horn protruded from her forehead. Her pearly teeth glinted in the flash of lightning as she lunged.

"ME!" Minuette shrieked.

Time slowed in Adagio's mind, her eyes darting rapidly around as she took in fine details.

She tasted cold, unfeeling malice.

The ghoul's right hand was encased in a spear of ice. The other was reaching for Sunbursts' throat!

Adagio brought her blade around, her thoughts racing. Stabbing and slashing were probably useless, and conserving mana could be the difference between life and death, which meant the best option was a blunt physical offense.

Adagio's rapier rang as it batted the blade of ice away, then Adagio delivered a swift kick to the cloak's chest, knocking her backward.

"You may as well give up now! I'm more than a match for you, even without my associate here!" Adagio said, gesturing at Sunburst.

"Gaah! Ah, get this thing off me!" Sunburst wailed. A pale blue arm was scrambling all over him like a panicked spider. Sunburst grabbed it and threw it into the snow, but it simply floated off the ground and flew at him, fingertips glowing with a familiar green light.

"Sunburst, don't let it touch you!" Adagio said.

The marauding zombie lunged again, leaving Adagio to do nothing but parry and block the blade of ice with her rapier.

"Oopsie doopsie! Did you forget you lopped off my arm?" The ghoul said, slashing at Adagio with wild abandon. "You think you can protect yourself and that cutie at the same time!?"

"I’ve already killed you once, and I’ll do it again!" Adagio smirked.

She'd done this dance before; use the rapier's reach, stay just out of range with persistent jabs.
Adagio pierced the zombie's shoulder, then followed up with a punch to the face, which seemed to crunch into Minuette's cheek as if it were made of porcelain.

"Hah!" Adagio laughed.

The ghoul smiled and stepped forward, taking the blade in deeper. Adagio hopped back and just barely dodged a slash that would have taken her eyes.

"Ooh, I'm soooo scared of your little pointy bit! What're you gonna do, poke me to death!?" The zombie said, but then her laughter turned into a shriek.

The disembodied arm fell into the snow, completely lifeless.

Sunburst kicked the arm away. He held the changeling stone necklace in one hand.

"Phew! I've got to thank Buck for this later!" Sunburst said.

"Sunburst, get out of here!" Adagio said. "She's trying to read your mind!"

"Yeah, that's not good! That's not good at all!" Sunburst said, running for the trees.

"That hurt. That's not supposed to happen. Nothing is supposed to hurt." The ghoul said.

"Oh, really? Tell me, does this hurt!?" Adagio said, and the puddle that formed in the snow at her feet reared up like a lashing cobra. It wrapped around the zombie's form and constricted her to the ground, pinning her legs. The strands of water squeezed, and Adagio could hear the sound of bones cracking.

"Hmm…nope!" The ghoul said. The horn jutting from her head lit up with a bluish-black glow.

More spears of ice rose from the snow.

Adagio hummed, and the watery tendrils rippled, growing sharp like razor wire.

"Call off your attack, or I'll slice you into pretty little pieces." Adagio said.

The ghoul grinned, and all of the floating spears pointed at Sunburst.

"You don't have to do this, Minuette! You're not a killer!" Sunburst said.

"You know my name?" Minuette said.

"After we fought that last zombie, I decided to look at the Canterlot obituaries! Your name is Minuette, you're thirty-three years old, and you used to attend CCU!"

The spears extended slowly.

"Let me go, or your little friend is done for!" Minuette said.

"He's not my friend." Adagio said. "If you kill him, all you'll do is annoy me."

"Oooh! That's almost as cold as me!" Minuette said.

Sunburst glanced at Adagio in desperation. She ignored him.

"From what I read, you were kind and well-loved! I-I-If you let me go, the Pillars can fix whatever has been done to you! We could get in touch with your friends! Don't you think they'll be glad to see you?" Sunburst said.

"Oh, you don't know me at all. I don't have any friends." Minuette smiled.

The spears flew. Adagio closed her hand, and the watery wires cut Minuette into motionless pieces.

The icy spears melted into slush and fell into the snow.

"Fool." Adagio said. "Had you been a bit more amicable, we might have come to an arrangement, but now you're no good to anyone."

“Adagio…what the hell was that?”

“What?”

“You were willing to gamble with my life, just like that?”

“Oh please, Sunburst.”

“This isn’t even the first time!”

“Yes, and both times you managed to survive. Congratulations and you’re welcome.” Adagio said.

Sunburst looked at his feet and shook his head.

“What is it now?”

“I thought you’d changed.” Sunburst said.

“People don’t really change, Sunburst. Regardless, we’re out here together, so we may as well work together. Is that enough trust for you?”

Sunburst stared at Adagio for a few moments. Adagio tasted him cycle through anger, then recognition, and finally resignation.

“Is this really who you want to be?”

“What?”

“Is this the person that you want to be? The kind that would sell out your allies at a moment’s notice? Do you really think that’s the kind of person Buck wants to be with?”

“And who are you to criticize my methods?”

“Your friend.”

“Hmph.”

“I know you have your pride, and I know you have your goals, but if you do this to everyone who tries to get close, you’re going to wake up one day and wonder why you’re so alone.”

Adagio wanted to slap Sunburst across the face. She wanted to call her sisters and demand their presence. She wanted to hold Buck.

More than anything, she wanted to argue, but she couldn’t. She had been waking up alone for far too long already.

“...are you hurt?” Adagio said.

"Just my pride." Sunburst sighed. "What was that spell she tried to touch me with?"

"A mind reading spell. I saw quite a bit of it at the G.G.A.A."

"Really? What for?"

"Cheating on tests, mostly. She must have pegged you for a scholar."

"It's a good thing she didn't get me, then, since knowledge is kind of my thing."

"Regardless, that's not a skill she had the last time we fought; neither is ice-based transmutation. Mana manipulation, telekinesis, and some sort of cold, withering beam are what I remember. She's a unicorn, certainly."

"Well, maybe she learned new spells while she was dead?" Sunburst said. He looked over the body, then covered his mouth and tried not to vomit.

The horn that protruded from Minuette's head disappeared.

"Not likely. It would take years of study to do what she did at even a basic level." Adagio said, sheathing her sword.

"I guess she's also the reason for the season." Sunburst said.

The light snow whipped around the pairs' heads, carried by a stiff wind.

"And that makes even less sense." Adagio said, turning for the trees.

"You're telling me! I mean, changing the weather? She's not a Pegasus, so doing this with spells is…the mana consumption alone would tear a rift open, if she could get it at all!" Sunburst said.

"Well, it doesn’t matter right now. The hive must have heard the commotion, so we should get to cover before we get swarmed." Adagio said.

"Uh, Adagio?" Sunburst said.

"Brilliant move trying to appeal to a monster's sensibilities, by the way." Adagio said, walking away. "Maybe we should ask Chrysalis to play nice, and see where that takes us!"

"Adagio, listen."

"Your manipulation skills could use some work; that's all I'm saying. I could tutor you, if you want!" Adagio said.

"Adagio, listen to me for just a second! She's not being teleported away like Burnt Oak was!"

"Ah." Adagio said.

A chime sounded across the valley. Minuette's horn faded back into reality, then her jaw dropped into a banshee scream.

The sky boomed in response.

"I may have miscalculated." Adagio said.

"We should run!" Sunburst said.

"BUT TO WHERE!?" Minuette howled.

The world went white. Adagio stumbled in the buffering winds, yelling for Sunburst to stay close, to make for the trees, but it was lost in the screaming winds, then the handfuls of snow that struck all over her body in a barrage of frigid blows.

Buck’s hoodie could not keep the cold out; soon, Adagio would be soaked to the bone.

All the sound faded away, smothered under a blanket of unrelenting, paralyzing cold that surrounded Adagio at all sides.

Adagio had almost forgotten how it felt to be truly alone. Cold and crushing and comfortable. Safe.

Adagio was Home, and she felt fine.

“Adagio? Adagio, wake up!”

Adagio’s eyes snapped open.

She was curled up on the ground, and standing next to her was Sunburst, clutching a couple of feathers in his hand. A topaz wind swirled around the two of them, tossing away the violent hail as if struck from all directions.

“Sunburst?”

“We don’t have much time! I can’t hold this wind wall spell for much longer!”

“Sunburst, I’m sorry.” Adagio said, numbly.

“That’s great, that’s great, but we’re going to be covered in snow any second now, and I don’t think I know any spells that can protect us from hypothermia!”

“That’s fine. I deserve to be buried.”

“Adagio! Look at me! Why did you come out here!?”

The yellow-orange winds swirled with a tinkling noise. A snowball fell through and hit the ground at Sunbursts’ feet.

“I…I wanted to capture Chrysalis!”

“Why?”

“To take that uppity roach down a peg, and to defend Canterlot!”

“Why do you want to defend Canterlot, Adagio!?”

“Because one day my sisters will come back to me, and Canterlot will be their home!”

“And what else?” Sunburst said. His teeth were gritted, and his knees were shaking.

“Because…because Buck lives there!”

“Once this spell is up, I’m not going to have much mana left! Do you think you can get us through this!?”

“Not…not without a plan. That thing is still out there, and dismemberment won’t stop it. It must be getting mana from somewhere, or these spells wouldn’t be possible.”

“Right, right, that’s good, that’s good! What do we do, then!?” Sunburst said.

“We need to find the source of her power and separate her from it. Then we can stall her out as she burns through her remaining mana.”

“Do you think we can win a war of attrition with a blizzard?”

“...not with the paltry mana I have right now. I'd need a very powerful spell to wear her down.”

“Okay, Adagio? I have an idea.”

“An idea?”

“A theory! I think you have more mana in you right now than you think!”

“What are you talking about!?”

Something battered against the wall of wind and snapped away. Another heavy blow struck the barricade, and Sunburst fell to a knee. Adagio could taste that cold, thoughtless malice again. Minuette was out there.

“When Buck and I did that mission the other day, something miraculous happened! I think you can get a burst of mana, but you’re going to have to trust me!”

“What do I need to do!?”

“You still have some of Buck’s mana in you from the spell we cast, right!?”

“Yes!”

“Think about Buck!”

“What!?”

“Think about what you like about him! Think about the time you’ve spent with him and what it meant to you! Think about how you feel about him!”

“Sunburst, this is no time for couple's therapy!”

“And there’s no time to argue! Think about how it feels when Buck holds you! His face when you study magic together! Think about that hoodie you're wearing!”

And there it was. Adagio had been so flustered that day; the day she met Ditzy Doo properly. All the blustering and baking left her precious little time to spend with Buck. They’d had a sweet moment in the kitchen, but it was fleeting; a silly song and some sweet nothings interrupted by Buck’s quiet dread of being abandoned. His voice in her ear and his roaming, tender hands and his eyes, always his eyes, filled with jubilant sunlight one moment and lost in despair the next.

Adagio remembered it all at once, and a gentle warmth spread from her fingertips through her numb arms.

Sunburst was still talking, and the winds were still howling, but Adagio couldn’t hear. She remembered his stupid jokes and his loud, drawn-out laughter that was never far behind. She remembered his excitement as he talked about his silly children’s cartoons, his roleplay, and his books. The unfinished, slightly grainy tarts he had made and his relief when told they were good. The watery shine in his eyes as Adagio kissed him at the aquarium. And just before that, the sound of him grunting behind her, demanding that Adagio tell him the truth just once, to be honest and moan his name. She thought of their first night and the look on his face when she opened her door for him and how he stayed the next morning to make her breakfast.

A hot tear rolled down Adagio’s cheek as she rose to her feet.

He could be dying in those caves. Captured and drained due to Starlight Glimmer’s incompetence or taken advantage of due to his gentle heart.

That gentle heart that was the only reason he could be bothered to associate with Adagio after all she’d done.

Adagio felt her heart sink, but she couldn’t get distracted now. Pink flames flickered along her arms, twisting and curving like solar flares as they traveled upward to her chest.

Sunburst yelped. It was suddenly cold.

Focus!

His hand stroking her hair, holding her hand, grabbing her ass. His lips. Horns and flame. His mark, floating above a hand wreathed in pink and red. The feeling of his arms around Adagio. His lips on her neck.

The sight of him serenading her with a cheap microphone in his hand as every eye in a little bar fell on the two of them.

The sparking pink flame sank into Adagio’s chest, and ignited.

It was not the roaring red flames of hell’s own passion, but the flickering, certain heat of a fireplace.

In Adagio’s head, a distant, cruel voice cursed her for her weakness, screamed for her not to catch, not to be set ablaze, but Adagio couldn’t hear it over the song that slipped between her lips.

“In every heart, there is a room…

A sanctuary safe and strong.

To heal the wounds of lovers past…

Until a new one comes along.”

Adagio sang, and the snow blushed and melted into a pink pond that rose around her and Sunburst, forming a bubbling dome that held strong against the blizzard.

The snow kept coming, but it steamed against the bubbling shield, which filled with warm steam.
Adagio opened her eyes.

“I don’t…what is this spell? I’ve never seen a forcefield like this.” Adagio said.

“I have.” Sunburst said.

“Where?” Adagio said, distantly.

“In a book from Equestria. It’s a school of magic that isn’t especially well studied or understood. The last time it was used was in Canterlot, during a changeling invasion.”

“It feels like he’s here with me. Like he’s holding me. This isn’t right.”

The bubble of steaming pink water wavered. Sunburst flinched as a few hailstones fell against the bubble, nearly perforating it.

“Wait wait wait wait, this is good!” Sunburst stammered.

“Sunburst?” Adagio whimpered.

“Adagio, we have a plan, remember? With this power, we can navigate the blizzard, and maybe you can sniff out the source of Minuette’s power!”

“This isn’t me.”

“Adagio, I know this is frightening and strange, but you’ve held this power before. Remember when you fought Chrysalis?”

“This isn’t the same as then. This isn’t…what I took from you was conflicted and a bit messy. This isn’t that. This is…it’s easy. It’s warm, and simple. This isn’t me.” Adagio said. Tears were flowing from her cheeks.

The bubble shimmered and shook. The battering from the ice outside didn’t let up, the hailstones rebounding off the pink shield like a storm of drumbeats.

“Adagio, listen to me. You have to reach out through the shield and try to sense Minuette’s energy. Do you think you can do that?”

“I can’t. I can’t think of anything but him. Oh gods, Sunburst. What did he do to me? I thought I was acclimating to his power. I thought I was ready. I need to get this out of me!”

The bubble shrank.

“Adagio, take a deep breath. If you can’t find Minuette’s power source, I’ll look for it while you fight! I know you can do this!”

“GET IT OUT!” Adagio screamed.

The mountain shook. A blazing pillar of pink flame ignited the sky, burning a hole in the snowy cloud cover.

At its origin point, Adagio knelt, arms around herself, hands on her shoulders as she shivered. Sunburst stood next to her, an expression of concerned confusion clear on his face.

“Adagio, it’s okay. You’re okay. Buck’s mana isn’t-”

“This is a nightmare! This isn’t how it was supposed to be!” Adagio said, tears on her face.

“It’s not like that, Adagio, I know this is scary, but you can take control of this. You just did!” Sunburst reached out to touch Adagio on the shoulder, but she snapped to her feet and raised her sword at him.

“DON’T TOUCH ME! You don’t understand! They need Adagio Dazzle, and Adagio Dazzle isn’t this simpering, heartsick ninny!”

Somewhere in the snowy valley, a gentle tone rang.

“Who? What are you talking about?”

“Aria and Sonata! They need me! If I change, if I’m not the leader that they need, they’ll never come back!” Adagio shouted.

“Adagio, that’s not true. If they love you, they won’t just abandon you!”

“WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW!?” Adagio’s eyes gleamed red. “You could never understand! You don’t know what it means to be abandoned! You don’t know what it means to lose everything!”

The snow beyond the dirt they stood in shifted slowly, drifting away from them.

“Ooh! Is it story time? Did you lose somebody important? Or maybe you’re about to!? Fun!”

Minuette rose from the snow, piece by piece. Her torso had been separated from her body at the waist, both of her arms were in a few sections, and the top of her head was split right below the ears.

The unicorn horn had returned to her forehead with a pair of equine ears.

Despite being disembodied and lacking a lower jaw, Minuette’s cheery voice giggled as her parts floated through the air, each covered in a sheen of ice.

“Oh, will you just lay down and die, you disgusting little mongrel!?” Adagio snarled. Sunburst cowered behind her, watching carefully as Minuette’s head floated around like a drunken dragonfly.

“Is it your little boy toy? Are you all angy because he’s super done with you?”

“Be quiet!” Adagio said.

A hand encased in a sharp blade of ice darted at Adagio’s throat, but she deflected its flurry of strikes with calculated precision.

Adagio yelped as a cold, stinging pain tore across her thigh. Minuette’s other hand was slashing and stabbing at her.

“No way! We’re like twinsies! Here; since you’ve been blabbing about your feelings and junk, I’ll tell you a little about myself! Once upon a time!” Minuette said.

“Shut up!” Adagio screamed, fighting frantically against the onslaught of frozen death.

"She's manipulating the ice to move her body!" Sunburst said.

“Once upon a time there were six little girls who were the best of buddies!” Minuette said.

As Minuette spoke, the snowfield sculpted itself into statues of ice, each one resembling a human girl.

“There was the smart one!”

A somewhat familiar girl with large spectacles and her hair in a bun appeared, examining a beaker with vigor.

“The sweet one and the skittish one!” Two girls with nearly identical curly hairstyles emerged from the ice, one smiling and the other cringing.

“The talented one!” A slender girl with feathery hair, plucking a lyre.

“The edgy one!” A corpulent girl with thick eyebrows appeared, the glasses on her frowning face pointed down at a book in her hand.

“Is that…?” Adagio mumbled.

“And me! The loud one!” Minuette cheered. For a moment, her head, arms and torso came together as she posed with the statues as if it were a photo op.

A strangled cry came from behind Adagio. She turned to see Minuette’s legs crushing Sunburst's neck.

“Sunburst!” Adagio brought her blade around, intent to hack the attacking limbs off, but as one leg tightened around Sunburst’s throat, the other kicked forward with a spike of ice at the heel, deflecting Adagio’s strike.

“These six girls were totally inseparable for a long time! Then one day, the smart one got a note that she’d been accepted to a super prestigious school with a big, dumb reputation! All the other girls were super happy, but they knew it meant they wouldn’t see her anymore if they went to different schools, so they made a study group so they could nail the entrance exam together!”

Minuette’s hand flew off once more, slashing a line of pain across Adagio’s back as she tried to free Sunburst.

“Sunburst, the stone! Use the stone!” Adagio barked.

Sunburst reached for his bag frantically as the grip around his neck tightened.

“And you know, it’s the silliest thing! When they all worked together, it seemed like they could do anything! But they were wrong~! Everybody got into the fancy school! Everybody but the loud one!” Minuette said with a smile.

“I have had enough of your prattling!” Adagio brandished her sword with a flourish, and the snow melted into a tendril of water that warped around the blade.

Adagio swung the tendril around like a whip, trying to remember Sonata’s particular form.

It lashed at Minuette, but her skull popped off her bottom jaw, letting the attack sail harmlessly through the space between.

“Whoopsie! Missed me again! So, everybody made it into the school but the loud one, because the loud one was poor and the school was expensive! The smart one suggested a bake sale or something, but that wouldn’t be enough for four years of super expensive, premium schooling, so the loud one had to go to a cruddy public school in the city that no one cared about! She got to watch all her friends go to a fancy school with fancy uniforms while she stayed in the gutter! Oh, they said nothing would break them up, that they would still be friends, but one by one, all of the girls started to drift apart!” Minuette said.

The ice sculptures slid through the snow, moving to form a rough circle around Sunburst and Adagio, whose lashing strikes grew more frantic with each passing second.

Sunburst grabbed his bag and started rooting around, but the legs leapt from his neck, taking the bag’s strap with them.

Somewhere nearby, Sunburst heard a slight ringing noise.

“Where is that coming from?” Sunburst gasped as the legs kicked the bag away, then sprinted at him again.

“The talented one didn’t like the music department at the fancy school, so she transferred to a nice one in the suburbs! She made a new friend; a best friend apparently, and then she was gone!”

Minuette laughed, her head and torso lazily drifting out of Adagio’s reach. The statue of the lyre-carrying girl moved in front of Adagio and was lashed in half as the siren charged.

“The smart one got wrapped up in some crazy triathlon thing and almost destroyed another school! I think she transferred over there too, but she never called the loud one after that!”

The bun-haired statue moved to intercept Adagio, who pierced it with the tendril of water and ran past as it crumbled.

“The school made everybody compete, and the edgy one didn’t like it, so after a couple of semesters, she dropped out to be home schooled!”

The familiar, frowning statue fell apart as Adagio came screaming at Minuette, eyes glowing, teeth sharpening.

“Get back here!” Adagio snarled.

The two curly haired statues skidded in front of Adagio.

“The sweet one and the skittish one hung out with the loud one on the weekends, all the way up to college! But then one day, they both died! In a car crash!”

The statues exploded into smithereens, kicking up a cold, misty haze.

“Where are you? Where are you!?” Adagio screamed.

“Adagio! Adagio, you have to get out of there! Follow my voice!” Sunburst shouted from somewhere nearby, but he was suddenly muffled.

“See, the loud one went to the funeral. It was snowy and dark, but she was almost excited to see her friends again. She thought that this would be sort of a good thing! It was super sad, but at least they’d have each other, right? So she waited, and waited, and waited some more! And you know what happened?”

“Sunburst? I can’t see!” Adagio said, trudging through the frigid mist. The comforting cold was biting into her again, creeping into her chest.

“None of them showed up.” Minuette said, right next to Adagio’s ear.

Adagio whirled around, but found nothing but empty air.

“So the loud one laughed. She laughed, and she laughed until tears ran down her face. And then, one day, all of a sudden she smiled, and there was nothing behind it!” Minuette said.

Adagio shuddered and saw a pair of figures in the mist. She ran toward them.

“See, the moral of the story, my fishy, bitchy friend is this! Don’t ever hold on to people, because sooner or later, they’re gonna leave you!”

It was Aria and Sonata. Their icy faces were sculpted into a look of total contempt. Beyond them, Adagio saw a statue of Buck, turned away and retreating into the distance.

She reached out, and the statues crumbled.

Sunburst scrambled through the snow, wrestling with the attacking legs as he dragged himself to his bag. He struggled and flailed until the changeling stone was in his hand. He touched it to Minuette’s legs and they fell to the ground, lifeless once more.

Minuette twitched in sudden pain, but her smile didn’t let up.

“But wait, we know all about you! You’re a user! You use people until you can’t anymore, and then you throw them away! How long until you throw away your big, cuddly boytoy? Is it soon? I bet it’s soon!” Minuette giggled.

“SHUT UP! SHUT YOUR WRETCHED, SEVERED MOUTH!” Adagio screamed, lashing out with her rapier, only for Minuette to catch it with a blade of ice.

Adagio tried to wrench her sword free, but the ice crept along its length, sticking it fast.

“And he knows that too, doesn’t he? Is that why you’re so bummed? Is he finally sick of you and your games? I guess it’s fine, right? It’s not like you ever actually cared about him!”

“SHUT UP!” Adagio screamed.

“Adagio, no!” Sunburst shouted.

Adagio’s fist came around and connected with Minuette’s face, which didn’t budge in the slightest.

“Whoops! What was it you were saying before? That you’re gonna drain me dry? Well, come on then! Have a little sip!”
Minuette’s horn flashed with a bluish black light, which blasted into Adagio’s mouth like a torrent of oil.

Adagio’s scream became a shuddering gargle as the dark, abyssal magic flooded her throat. It was like the ocean was being forced into her body, freezing and shattering every thought and emotion until there was nothing but cold, unfeeling hate.

Hatred for this world, hatred for her enemies, and hatred for herself.

It was frigid and isolating and safe.

Home.

Minuette’s assault ceased, and Adagio fell to her knees, her heart freezing over.

“Why do I always push away the people that try to care for me? Am I broken? Was I always broken?”

“Yes…but its okay. My master is the best at fixing broken things.” Minuette said.

“They find me, they help me, and I use them until I can’t. They…they try to hold me close, try to help me and then I abandon them. It’s the same, every time. Maybe they were right to leave. Maybe its better if I’m alone. I’m a monster. Monsters don’t change.” Adagio said.

"Why don't you come with me? He can give you a purpose. He'll put a smile on your face, and you'll never have to feel this hurt again."

Adagio’s color faded. Her soft yellow skin and bright orange hair went dull and grey. Her quivering lips turned up in an empty smile.

A note rang out, quiet and nearby. Sunburst looked up and saw Minuette’s disembodied hand floating above. It was holding something. Sunburst had to squint to see it.

It was a bell.

A bronze bell with some strange runes carved into it.

The same bluish-black mana that shimmered on Minuette’s horn came streaming out of Adagio and into the floating bell.

“Adagio! Adagio, listen to me! You’re not alone! I know you’re scared that Buck might change you- that any of us might change you, but change isn’t always bad! People are always changing! They learn and they grow and they find good people to help them along! You’ve done some awful things, but that doesn’t mean you have to be an awful person! I know you’re not!” Sunburst said.

“And that’s enough outta you!” Minuette rolled her eyes.

The chime rang again, and the snow around Sunburst rose as a wave and battered him down, freezing him to the ground.

“Adagio, I know you’re scared of Buck’s power, but I also know you want to see what he can become with it! That’s not the kind of feeling a monster would have!”

“Sunburst?” Adagio whimpered.

The snow tried to muffle Sunburst, but he thrashed his head around, shouting through his chattering teeth.

“I told you I had a theory, right? Haven’t you wondered why Buck’s mana is so difficult to control? Why it swaps between two signatures? You told him that his main emotion is passion, and that’s true, but there’s another source of power in him! The same one you’ve been struggling with since you met!”

“What? What is this? What are you talking about? Shut up!” Minuette said.

Sunburst muttered a brief incantation, and the snow around him flew away in a shimmering orange aura, only to come grabbing at his ankles to trip him up. His face smacked into the ground, but even with a bleeding nose, he kept trying to crawl to Adagio, to speak with her and be there for her.

“I don’t understand it, Sunburst. It’s never made any sense.” Adagio said, staring off into the distance.

“It’s love, Adagio! Buck’s pink mana is filled with his love! His love for me as a brother! His love for Scootaloo as a friend! And his love for you! He wants to love you so badly, it surges into you every time you touch! And that’s why he’s so angry, because all he wants is for you to love him back!”

Adagio’s eyes went wide. Her heartbeat suddenly kicked up, almost painfully hammering in her chest.

She was on that wretched bus into the city again, in pain, upset and exhausted. And then he was there, sitting next to her, singing to her.

His heat warming her as he protected her from the noise.

“His power? So for me to use it, I have to…Oh.”

Warm tears pooled in the corners of Adagio’s eyes, spilling down her cheeks. The color returned to her form, and she smiled genuinely and gently.

“I’ve been a fool. I knew it all along, I must have. I just couldn’t accept it.”

“What the heck? Get back down!” Minuette said.

Power gathered at the tip of her horn and fired out as a stream of darkness, but a sudden crackle of pink fire intercepted the spell. A blanket of warmth settled over Adagio, shielding her from the cold hatred.

“I finally understand. His love is like a flame. Passion is the fuel that fans it.” Adagio said, eyes glowing pink. A pair of ears popped from the top of her head, and purple fins extended from her back.

“Uh-oh.” Minuette said. She raised a hand, and a volley of icy spears rose from the snow.

“How does that song go? If I fall in love…it will be forever.” Adagio said.

“No, no, no! None of that!” Minuette said. The spears flew.

“Or I’ll never fall in love~!” Adagio said.

A blast of pink flame erupted from Adagio's whole body as she crooned, engulfing Minuette in a blazing inferno. As Adagio pressed the note, she outstretched her hand to direct the song.

“OOOOHHHH THIS REALLY ACTUALLY HURTS! EEEEEAAAAAGH!” Minuette screamed like she’d been locked in a furnace, thrashing and rolling on the ground.
Adagio grabbed at her own wrist, sweat pooling on her forehead. The pink flames licked up her arm and into her hair, threatening to swallow her up at any moment.

“Sunburst, I can’t control it!” Adagio said.

“That’s okay! That’s okay! You don’t control it!”

“What do you mean I don’t control it!?”

“It’s love! You just have to trust it and let it do its thing!”

“How do you know it won’t burn me to a crisp!?”

“I don’t know!”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON’T KNOW!?”

The flames swelled. The heat was unbearable. Adagio’s heartbeat got faster and faster, so fast it shook her chest.

“It’s going to be okay, Adagio! I’m your friend, remember? Whatever happens, I’m here! I’ll help you through it!” Sunburst said.

“The stone! Touch me with the changeling stone before I burn up!” Adagio said. Her hair had caught ablaze, twisting with pink fury.

“I don’t know if that’s a-”

“NOW!” Adagio screeched.

Sunburst ran up and lowered the changeling stone around Adagio’s neck. He shut his eyes, expecting to be toasted, but though the flames rolled over his body, he was not burned in the slightest.

The second the stone touched Adagio’s breast, the flames wavered, sparking and bursting like fireworks. The changeling stone shook and cracked, and Adagio gritted her teeth until the flames finally guttered out.

When the smoke cleared, Minuette was charred to a crisp.

“Well…that put a smile on my face.” Adagio said.

A pillar of obscene orange and black light engulfed the zombies’ form, signaled by a chorus of unearthly wails. It howled with a senseless fury, then thinned and vanished, leaving nothing but a scorch mark on the ground.

With her foe defeated and departed, Adagio finally slumped to the ground, exhausted.

“Adagio, are you alright?” Sunburst said.

“Do I look alright?” Adagio snarled.

She was covered in bloody scratches and slashes. The hoodie she had worn; Buck’s hoodie was tattered, and her chest was heaving as if she’d just run a marathon.

“Okay, dumb question. Hold on. I’ve got you!” Sunburst said, reaching into his bag.

“Get this thing off me. It’s strangling my mana.” Adagio wheezed.

Sunburst quickly removed the changeling stone necklace and dropped it to the ground.

He moved with the speed and care of a nurse, producing a piece of emergency quartz and gently reciting an incantation over Adagio’s body.

“I’m going to ask you not to get all banged up again. I’ve only got the one piece of quartz left.” Sunburst said.

Adagio didn’t say anything. She lay face down in the snow, shaking.

“Adagio? Are you crying?” Sunburst said.

“This isn’t me. This can’t be me. They’ll never accept me like this.” Adagio said.

“What are you talking about?” Sunburst said.

“My sisters won’t follow anything less than the perfect monster. Adagio Dazzle is control and precision, poise and power.” Adagio said.

A gentle yellow light twinkled across Adagio’s wounds, which began to knit back together.

“I think Adagio Dazzle needs to rest up a bit before we even consider storming the hive.” Sunburst said.

He tried to meet Adagio’s eye, but she seemed lost in her thoughts.

“I’m not supposed to make mistakes like this, Sunburst. What am I supposed to do now? He hates me.”

“No, Adagio, no he doesn’t. He’s just wounded right now. You need to give him some time to think things through.”

“Do you think he’ll forgive me?” Adagio sniffed.

“I don’t know. What I do know is that if you feel the way I think you do, you need to tell him.”

“But he’s in love with a stupid, small-minded human girl!” Adagio sobbed.

“He has a big heart, Adagio. There’s room for you in it, but only if you tell him how you feel.”

“Why would I do that if he won’t come back?”

“Because if you don’t, you’ll spend the rest of your life wishing you had.”

“That’s impeccably harsh, Sunburst.” Adagio said.

“That’s tough love.” Sunburst said, but then his head snapped back as a dark, hole-filled foot connected with it.

“That’s pathetic.” Queen Chrysalis said.

Sunburst, his bag, and a single piece of quartz lay sprawled out in the snow, motionless.

Chrysalis towered over Adagio's prone form, dark ashen skin gleaming in the light coming through the hole in the clouds. She was flanked by a small squad of changelings, who at a wave of her hand coughed up a round of phlegmy slime that pasted Adagio to the ground.

“You finally learn to properly harness that fool’s energy and you have to go and spoil it with touchy-feely nonsense. You disgust me. I can’t believe I ever considered you a threat.” Chrysalis said.

“I’m going to rip your wings off and make your children watch.” Adagio snarled.

“Gag her. I’m tired of hearing her talk.” Chrysalis smiled.

A wad of slime-covered Adagio’s mouth, leaving the siren to do nothing but seethe as the changelings approached her.

“That was surprisingly easy. Let’s move these little morsels to the dining room. And put out the nice plates. We have two other guests to attend to.” Chrysalis said.

The drones grabbed Adagio by the hair and began dragging her thoughtlessly through the snow.

Adagio tasted a sudden rush of grim determination, and before any of the changelings could respond, Sunburst was muttering and clutching his last bit of quartz.

“What are you doing!? Stop him!” Chrysalis barked.

“Star Swirl’s Instant Ingress!” Sunburst shouted.

In a flash of yellow light, Adagio disappeared.

Chrysalis grabbed Sunburst by the collar of his cape and snarled in his face.

“You little worm! Where did you send her!?”

“Heh…no rest for the wizardly, huh?” Sunburst smiled and then promptly passed out. Chrysalis dropped him to the ground with a sneer.

That sneer changed to a curious glance, and then a dastardly grin as the Queen of the Changeling’s gaze fell on a number of treasures that lay before her.

A dark, leatherbound book, a familiar-looking stone on a thin chord, and perhaps most elusive of all, a snatched tuft of curly orange hair in her minion's hand.

“You two, take this one to the kitchen. Wait.” Chrysalis plucked a hair from Sunbursts’ goatee. “Go.”

“The rest of you go and put the hive on high alert. I’ll be along shortly.”

High above in a circle of summer sky that had been burned into the gloomy clouds, a tear in reality shuddered and spread. It went entirely unnoticed as Queen Chrysalis looked over her loot and started to scheme.

“This day might be perfect after all.”

A few hours previous, Buck and Starlight Glimmer walked in lockstep through the canterlot caves, their only light source a red orb of glowing mana bobbing just above Buck’s finger.

Starlight squinted into the darkness just ahead, an earthen spear serving as a walking stick in one hand.

“Hrrnnngh…” Buck grumbled. The light twitched.

“What are you doing now?” Starlight said.

“I’m tryna see if I can make this thing float over my head like a plumbob. My arm’s fallin’ asleep.” Buck said.

The orb of light moved slightly and shook with effort as Buck strained.

“Don’t do that. That’s stupid.” Starlight said.

“Why? What’s stupid about that?” Buck said.

“You’ll make yourself an easier target. God, I wish I was trapped in here with Sunburst.” Starlight said.

“Yeah, me too. If he was here I’d ask him just what the fuck he sees in you.” Buck chuckled.

The cave opened up unto a corridor with several paths. There had been a wooden sign in the middle, but it was destroyed.

Starlight lifted her sensing stone and found that the needle was wiggling to and fro.

“Oh, brilliant.” Starlight groaned.

“Well, that sucks. You wanna flip a coin?” Buck said.

Starlight tensed as she heard a rustling sound, but frowned when she realized it was coming from Buck.

“There’s six paths in here, no I don’t want to flip a coin!” Starlight said.

“How ‘bout a d6? Think I got some dice in one’a these pockets.” Buck said with a full mouth.

“No! What are you eating back there?”

“Trail mix.”

“Why did you bring trail mix!?”

“Thought we were gonna be hikin’ a mountain, for real for real. I was kinda right, since we’re hikin’ under it instead’a over it.”

“That’s…whatever Buck.”

“You want some?”

“No Buck, I don’t want a sweaty handful of trail mix, especially not from you. Did you bring anything that's actually useful?”

"Lemme see here." Buck said, going through his pockets. "I got...my wallet, my house keys...a condom, a bubble gum flavored dum dum, and my book of yo mama jokes."

"So no, then. You're about as useful as ever."

"Wow. Are you always this flirty or am I special?”

“Ugh, are you going to be like this for the whole mission?”

“Pretty much, yeah. I’m havin’ fun.”

“Well, stop it!”

The cave chirped.

“Light, behind.” Starlight said, her grip tightening on the spear.

Buck pointed the red orb back the way they came. For a few seconds he squinted into the darkness. Nothing moved.

“See? We’ve got this! No problem.” Buck said. He turned to gesture at Starlight, illuminating the dark space behind her and the several sets of eyes within it.

“Oh, sweet Christmas.” Buck said.

Starlight didn’t turn around. She reached into her pocket and produced her last bit of quartz as the changelings buzzed behind her.

“This day is going to be awful.” Starlight groaned.

Author's Note

Hoo boy! It's trauma o'clock! Bet you guys thought I died after that last chapter, huh? Turns out that drafting and editing gets really difficult when a heatwave keeps flipping your breaker and/or causing power outages.
Also, as of the 18th of July, I've officially been writing this project for a full year, so happy anniversary!
Get ready for some nonsense, because next time we're going spelunking with Starlight and Buck.
Song Review: Comfortably Numb is a certified classic, coming from the infamous concept album The Wall by Pink Floyd. It allegedly describes a performer who must be anesthetized before going on stage. A performance carried out where you can't feel your hands and can barely lift your arms, yet no one in the audience can tell that anything is wrong.
The cure for pain is not numbness. Many medicines treat symptoms but not the illness itself. You can get addicted to numbness, smiling and shining and receding beneath the waves like a sinking ship. The song speaks on the disconnect between the performer on their true self, and what it can take to keep the performance up.
It may sound cruel, but though the waters are cold and turbulent, it is better to struggle and swim in the surf than to bury your heart in numbing ice and hope you float.