Tempo wandered the streets of the crystal empire, not randomly of course. She had a very specific plan to engage in a precise search for dangers. There was no telling where the creature that had attacked her earlier could be.

"Tempo!" That came from behind her, a stallion with his wings beating hard. He landed before her as she turned and gave a salute. The pegasus was wearing the armor of a guard, giving away what he might be.

She saluted back to him. "What do you require?"

He took a scroll from his saddlebag and then produced it. "I have orders from Captain Shining Armor." He handed it off to Tempo, giving her a smile. "Good luck." He took right back to the air without pause, off to whatever else he had to do.

Tempo brought the scroll up, small manipulators reaching from her hooves to aid in the delicate task of unfurling and turning the scroll as she read it.

"Tempo," it read. "A guard claims to have seen something similar, please discuss with him and verify you both saw the same thing."

It included his name, a portrait, and where he'd usually be found. "Mission received." She trotted towards that place, the barracks where many such guards rested, at a good clip. On the way, she tucked the scroll away to put more attention on her movement. Soon enough, she reached the barracks and knocked on the door. It was opened by another unicorn mare who peeked out. "Where can I find," she checked the scroll, "Private Blue Moon?"

There was some chatter inside before a stallion was shoved from behind. Tempo had to back up to avoid colliding with the roughly ejected pony. "Your peers are not gentle." She inclined her head, not looking too surprised at that. "I was told you potentially encountered the same creature."

Blue Moon blinked at Tempo a few times before he shook his head, then smiled awkwardly. "Well, I saw something weird. And it sounds similar." He looked away suddenly. "I didn't realize it happened to anypony else."

"Let us verify." Tempo nodded once, looking completely sure of it. "Their appearance coincided with a complete loss of visual information. I was blinded. Did this occur to you?"

Blue Moon nodded. "It sure did!" He smiled at her. "What was that, anyway?"

Tempo's head tilted back and forth, uncertain as the rest. "I am unsure. I have only encountered it once. It had a voice, and could speak ponish. Did it say anything to you?"

"I didn't hear anything. What'd it say?" He leaned in, as if eager to hear the details.

Tempo frowned deeply at that, but gave her answer, "It demanded, 'Leave, do not come back.' It then departed. I did not feel endangered, but it clearly had the capacity for harm."

Blue Moon nodded at that, then pointed down the road. "It came from that way. Maybe we could look around, find out where it came from?"

"Let us begin the search." She folded one ear back, doubting it had lingered. "Are you certain it said nothing to you?"

Blue Moon closed his eyes. "Nothing at all!" He sighed. "I wish it'd talked. I don't have any clues but the direction it came from."

Tempo turned and looked down the path. "Then we proceed with the information we have. Whatever it is, it has control over ambient light levels, which is a danger by itself. It also has the capacity for language, meaning it has intelligence. It should be a target of investigation."

He blinked, surprised. "Is this like, a real thing? It felt more like a bad dream."

She put a hoof on his side. "What you saw was real. I was certain I was not asleep." Technically, she could skip sleeping entirely, but she at least knew when she was in idle mode or not. Her screen savers were less worrisome.

Blue Moon stood, smiling a little nervously. "Well then, I guess I can help out?" He waved down the street. "You go first?"

Tempo nodded to him. "Very well. But we will need to separate for ideal searching efficiency. I am not worried." She started off along the road, keeping a brisk pace up as she looked about for any details out of place.

Blue Moon followed behind, taking notes as he walked along.

She looked back over her shoulder. "If you follow me, our searching efficiency will be at least halved."

"Oh!" Blue Moon jerked, startled. "Right, well. I've got to go this way anyway. Don't worry about me!"

Tempo blinked once at him, then resumed her sweep, looking for anything out of the ordinary as she turned aside from the main road and down an alleyway. It was dark and gloomy, stuffed between two buildings. They were bright and cheerful from the street, but the light had a harder time pressing between the two, leaving a shadowy space that felt smaller than it really was.

The darkness closed in around her as she pressed deeper into it. Her ears twitched as she listened carefully, but there was nothing unusual to be heard. Until there was, "If you won't leave." She whirled to find the source of the voice, knocking over a bag of junk to crash to the ground. "I will take care of you first. You and your 'children' as if a toy could do that."

Tempo frowned. "Do not threaten my children." She stepped forward, head raised proudly. "I have not threatened you. Please, allow me to do my duty." She listened for a response. Nothing came. Agitated, she resumed her sweep and made a mental note that she had made contact a second time.

A few hours passed before she found herself back in front of the palace. There she sat, considering her options and possible ways forward. After a while, she rose and started into the castle.

A guard stopped her on the way in, eyeing her dubiously.

Tempo blinked at the guard. "Are you new here? I am Tempo, a hero of the city, sister of Cadance, princess of this city." Her head tilted in a slightly quizzical manner. "Do you require additional information?"

The guard smiled awkwardly, but nodded. He raised his voice to carry through the halls. "Can somepony vouch for this, uh, pony?"

Shining Armor appeared a moment later, nudging the guard aside. "Forgive him. I asked Celestia for some backup and they just arrived. They don't know the locals very well." He gestured to Tempo. "She's one of our greatest guardsponies, don't give her trouble." That said, he stepped back with a smile for Tempo. "Sorry about that."

With the obstacle removed, Tempo strode in as if nothing had happened. "I have a report for sister if she is available." She turned, looking to Shining Armor. "Your response?"

Shining Armor shrugged lightly. "You can go see if she's available. She's not holding court right now."

Tempo nodded once, then headed off to find Cadance. Entering the court, she saw Cadance speaking to a few guards. They broke up as she approached, leaving Cadance to close with her. "Sister! Always a delight. You look like you have something to share."

Tempo nodded once more, precise. "Affirmative. I have encountered the creature again, and it engaged with me in conversation. It indicated it did not want me here, and used insults. It posed no immediate physical threat, but implied potential future harm to my family. Do we know of any creature with light negation capabilities?"

Cadance thought about it. She sighed after a moment. "Not any I can recall." She looked at the door, thinking. "But maybe he did. Tempo, I grant you authorization to search—" She leaned in. "—Sombra's libraries. He may have a book or two on the topic. Sounds like something he would have a hoof in."

Tempo frowned lightly at that as she considered. "Very well, I will go search for the information." Her head tilted back up as she looked at Cadance. "The area is secure?"

"As it ever was. Only you and Shining Armor have access anyway." Cadance made a gentle shooing motion. "You won't find any books about it out here, I feel certain of that."

Tempo nodded and turned, trotting towards the door. It was labeled in big bold letters, 'Forbidden Books' as well as several warnings to keep out. She opened the door easily and went inside, closing it firmly behind herself. She reached up, which wasn't technically required, turning on her eye-lamps to spill two bright beams into the gloomy room. "This feels like an ideal habitat for the target. I should check." She began a search of the chamber.

***

It was evening before she exited again, carrying a small selection of books within her hooves. She had found no sign of the creature in question, but had located a collection of works that mentioned 'shadow ponies' as they seemed to be referred to, at least by Sombra, or those who had written it for him? "Sister, I am retiring for the evening, but will read these at home." She waved with the books.

Cadance blinked at Tempo, then nodded. "I hope they're useful, and informative." Her smile turned sad as she reached out to embrace Tempo. "I wish he hadn't been quite so evil."

Tempo paused, confused. "Sombra?"

"I can't do much about him." Cadance laughed at the idea of it. "I mean this new creature. I would rather make a friend, given the choice. But it seems to have chosen the opposite direction. You should be careful." She gestured with a hoof towards Tempo's face. "I know you're sturdy, but we don't know what that thing is capable of doing."

Tempo went in, touching noses with her. "I will protect you." An audible click came from within her. "I will protect my children in addition."

Cadance smiled warmly. "Of course you will. I have all the faith in you. And I'll be there as well." She sighed softly. "I just hate to think about this being another war."

"Error, a war involves many creatures. We have only encountered one. A war seems improbable." Tempo blinked at that. "But I will not allow harm to come to our city. You are safe with me."

Cadance laughed gently at that. "Okay, you win that one. Not a war. Now, go on home. I bet your husband's looking forward to seeing you."

Tempo nodded once. "Affirmative. And my children also." She waved with a forelimb before turning and making her way out of the palace. Trotting down the street, she passed several guards who saluted. She nodded to each, but didn't slow her lively trot through her front door. In the living room, she deposited her books in a neat pile. "Blueblood, are you present?"

Blueblood came from the bedroom, dressed only in a pair of loose slacks. "Welcome home. How did it go?"

"Progress made. I have several books to analyze." She wrapped a forelimb around him and pulled him close. The two shared a warm moment of contact.

He glanced around her towards the books. "I say, quite the collection you have there. What's the occasion? It's not our anniversary, is it?"

She released him, looking at the books herself. "They are not a gift. They are for work. But." She turned towards her stallion. "I would not forget important holidays. They are saved." She looked them up to be sure, sure that she had not forgotten any. "Today is a special day." He froze. "Because you are in it." He relaxed.

"Of course." Blueblood laughed. "You always have a good answer." He rubbed at her neck, the two standing close together again. "Oh, the foals told me to tell you they're going out with their friends tomorrow."

She processed that with a frown. "If you see them before I do, advise caution. A potentially hostile creature is within the city. Threat level: Unknown."

Blueblood's face fell. "What?" He backed a step with shock. "You don't sound worried." His head tilted. "Should I be?" He gestured to himself with both hooves, as if asking what he should do.

She turned and went right into her work. "The children should be fine if informed. I must have some amount of trust in their abilities. They have proven resourceful every time we've allowed them to be."

Blueblood nodded with some hesitation, his expression still worried. "I'll see that they know." He reached towards her back. "It's just a bit unsettling. I've become used to you protecting us all."

"I will attempt." She flipped to the next page. "That is why I am conducting research." She smiled when he made contact, but continued her reading. "I will protect us as best I am able. We will be safe."

Author's Note

Focus has settled fully upon Tempo, where it had started.

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