The Crystal War Book II: Heart of an Empire

Chapters

Ch.1 A New Routine
Ch.2 Lending a Hoof
Ch.3 Days Gone By
Ch.4 Looking Up
Ch.5 A Plan of Action
Ch.6 Confessions of a Conflicted Mare
Ch.7 Betrayals
I. Discipula Star

Ch.1 A New Routine

~Chapter 1: A New Routine~

A bead of glistening sweat trickled down Discipula Star’s brow and dripped from her clenched jaw, falling to the frosty ground at her hooves as she concentrated on a paper target nailed to a fence post nearly twenty yards away. Her short, black horn radiated a focused point of white magic at its tip as the young mare narrowed her violet eyes. Suddenly her magic flared brightly. Buzzap! A beam of pure magical energy lanced out towards the target, catching the side of the paper and disintegrating nearly half of it as it passed by. The beam continued for a good distance more before slowly dissolving as the spell broke apart harmlessly in the air.

“So close,” Star sighed, before blowing a breath of air up towards her horn, which had a thin trail of smoke drifting off of the tip. The talented mare decided to end her practice session for the day and trotted across the empty field to grab her belongings before heading back to Canterlot Castle, where Inferno, her adoptive daughter, would most likely be in the process of sorting through enchanted gems. The dragon had been indispensable over the past week, providing her keen eye to Alexia Lynn Sapphire, who was using the jewels to build flying chariots for the military. Star lent her assistance to the hyperactive earth pony as well, but there wasn’t much call for her talents, unless she wanted to count lifting and moving heavy parts, which the mare knew any unicorn worth their weight could have done. That’s why she had taken up practicing combat spells every day after finishing up at the shop.

Star bent down and picked up her saddlebags, tossing the stained white bags over her waist with a casual surge of magic. After only a week of practice, the studious mare still hadn’t learned much more than a simple spell that focused magical energy into a beam, which could pack a fair punch when properly used, but that was mostly because her other duties didn’t leave her with much time to practice. The hardest part for her was aiming the spell accurately, but with practice, the unicorn knew it would become easier to do. A small sigh escaped her slender lips as she glanced up towards the cloud laced sky and saw that the sun would be setting soon. Curfew would be going into effect, not that it mattered, because she hadn’t been planning on leaving the city anyway.

“Star, we got a letter from Nature Spark!” The familiar voice of her daughter caused Star to drop her gaze from the sky. Inferno was running across the frozen ground, her scaled feet making a soft crunching sound with each short stride. “He said that he finished with his business and will be returning to Canterlot before heading north, to the Crystal Empire,” the dragon huffed breathlessly as she came to a quick stop in front of her mother. “He… should be… he-here… any day now.”

“Thank you for telling me, Inferno,” Star laughed, “but you could have waited for me to return to the castle. There was no sense in you running all of the way out here.” Inferno had crouched over as she tried to catch her breath and the little dragon waived a clawed hand into the air dismissively. Her mother smirked as she rolled her eyes. “We should get back to the castle, before you get into trouble for breaking curfew,” Star said as she tightened the straps on her bags and started walking in the same direction that her daughter had just come from.

A sort of routine had developed in the week after Star’s friends had departed from Canterlot. Each of them had left the capitol on various missions, given to them by the immortal rulers of Equestria. Princess Luna had asked her student to remain behind however, so that the studious unicorn could assist her friend Axel with building the many vehicles that the military would require to procure victory over the Red Eyes mercenaries under Duke Doré Langue’s command. It wasn’t the most exciting of tasks, but Star committed to her work as she did with her studies, with steadfast determination. The fact that her mentor also had other jobs for her to do elsewhere in the city did help break the monotony of the small mare’s routine though, for which she was grateful.

Star stirred from her silent musings as her hooves connected with the stone path, which lead up from the lower field of the castle grounds to the main yard. Nopony used the far parts of the castle property during the winter months, so it provided the unicorn with ample space for practicing her magic. Up ahead, Star could see a pair of stallion’s walking along the fence line of the property, clad in the glistening armor that signified them as Princess Celestia’s royal guards. If they were outside patrolling, then that meant that the elder princess would be somewhere nearby. The violet eyed mare peered about the dead garden, but saw no sign of her sun marked ruler.

“Discipula Star, I see that you have been practicing some new magic,” Celestia said as she descended from somewhere above Star’s head. “I would have allowed you to use the military training areas, had you only asked. There was no cause to keep your private practice sessions a secret.”

“Oh, it isn’t like that at all, Princess Celestia,” Star replied as she bowed low to the white alicorn, who was just touching down on the cold stone walkway. “I had no intention of keeping secrets, but I am a bit self-conscious when it comes to performing new spells, so I like to be alone while I’m learning.” Star stood up and was met with Celestia’s mildly amused gaze fixed on her.

“As if you have a reason to be worried,” Celestia laughed. “My sister has told me time and again how well you take to new magic.”

“I told her the same thing,” Inferno added as she also bowed to the princess. “She is the most talented unicorn that I have ever met, but she never listens.”

“What brings you out this evening?” Star asked in a feeble attempt to change the subject. Whether it worked or not, Celestia saw fit to steer the conversation away from the tired looking little pony’s activities.

“I was just out stretching my wings,” the princess replied as she unfurled her sleek, feathered appendages to their full size. “All of this busy work I’ve been attending to in the castle has left me with very little leisure time, you see.” Star just nodded knowingly, as she too had been kept busy since the princesses had officially declared war on the Crystal Empire. The sweat covering the black mare’s hide was beginning to cool in the evening breeze, sending a shiver along her spine and causing her to continue walking up the path while she conversed with the alicorn beside her.

“Yes, I can only imagine how bothersome it must be to deal with the politics of a situation such as this,” Star said as she passed by the princess, who fell in step with the much smaller mare’s stride. “It probably doesn’t help much to deal with ponies breaking the new curfew,” she added as they approached the rear of Canterlot Castle. The garden had all but died as winter wore on, but most of the hardier shrubs still remained, though they were far from exuding their full glory, as they did in the spring months.

“‘Tis true I suppose,” Celestia admitted, “but the curfew is in place for a reason and I have no qualms about dealing with the extra effort of maintaining the safety and harmony of the Equestrian citizens.” The princess shot a slightly haughty glance in Star’s direction, but the unicorn was far too exhausted to care much at that moment.

“I meant nothing ill by that, your highness. It was just a logical observation of the current situation,” Star apologized, though Celestia knew full well that the perceptive pony had been on her sister’s side of the debate over whether or not to place a nationwide curfew. Princess Luna had opposed the suggested law from the first time it had been mentioned, so the royal sisters had put it to a vote. The law had caused quite a bit of resentment between Celestia and Luna at first, but with much bigger problems to deal with, the siblings had put aside their petty disagreements for the time being, a fact for which Luna’s student was very thankful.

“Have you heard any word from Downpour and Backdraft?” Inferno asked, effectively diffusing whatever tension had begun to build between the ponies walking beside her. “I’d imagine that their group will be breaching the walls of Cloudsdale soon.” The princess met the red serpent’s questioning gaze and shook her head.

“I have yet to hear from them,” Princess Celestia replied. “I can only hope that the siege will be over soon, because the innocent citizens have been in danger for so long, but Cloudsdale is a veritable floating fortress and it may take some time for my loyal soldiers to break Rainbow Strike’s defenses.” The former sergeant had been tipped off as to the princesses’ plans to capture him, just in time to seal off the pegasus city. Downpour and Draft were supposed to sneak into the city and take the traitorous stallion out quietly, with the help of the military, but they had been forced to change tactics. Now the pegasus brothers were laying siege to the weapons manufacturing city in the sky, along with a sizable portion of Equestria’s winged soldiers.

“What will you do once he’s been brought back to Canterlot?” Star asked, though she already had a fairly good idea of the princess’s intentions.

“If he is brought back alive, then Rainbow Strike will answer for his crimes and my sister and I will decide upon a suitable punishment,” Celestia replied, much to the unicorn’s surprise.

“I see,” Star mumbled. She had been expecting the princess to have the former sergeant executed, as she would most likely have done in the past. Though it was possible that Celestia was trying to change her ways, Star would only believe it when she saw it. “Well, let us hope that your soldiers bring him back alive then,” the smaller mare added as they approached the doors at the rear of the castle. She paused momentarily to pull open the doors with her magic, allowing Princess Celestia and Inferno to enter before her.

“Good evening,” Celestia said in passing, as she strode by two unicorn guards who were standing to either side of the entrance. Despite being a bit drafty, the Canterlot Castle was still much warmer than it had been outside and Star let out a contented sigh as she followed the alicorn into the ballroom. “It has been most pleasant conversing with you, Discipula Star,” the princess said with a polite nod in the smaller mare’s direction, “but I must retire for the night, lest I’m too exhausted to read papers after raising the sun tomorrow.” Celestia grinned as if she had told a joke, but whatever humor might have been in her words passed over the unicorn’s head as she absentmindedly bowed.

“It was a pleasure speaking with you as well, Princess Celestia,” Star replied.

“Good Night,” Inferno added before the princess had left the dimly lit ballroom behind. The dragon yawned once she knew they were alone and a moment after, Star found herself yawning too. “It’s about time for bed,” the tired dragon commented.

“Mhmm,” Star mumbled in agreement as she started walking towards the hallway, which would lead her to the main hall, the stairs and eventually, her room on the second story. It seemed like such a long distance when she thought about it, but that was probably just because she’d worn herself out again. Every day since her friends left, the unicorn had been working hour after hour, with only the necessary breaks to eat and sleep. Maybe this was what her life would be as long as Equestria was at war, she thought, as she entered the expertly designed room and made her way over to the large bed, where she shoved the decorative pillows off of the edge and sprawled out carelessly, finally allowing herself to relax a bit. Inferno joined her a moment later and pulled out the letter from their friend, Spark, so that her mother could read it.

To Star,

I’m going to be leaving Dodge today, so by the time that this letter reaches you, I should be nearing Canterlot. Things at home are much the same as they were before all of this happened, though I will admit that there is a certain heir of fear hanging about the place. Suri and I took care of the business I needed to attend to, which was mostly checking in on our mother and little brother. That was quite the reunion for my sister and after some hugging, bickering and crying, Suri decided that she wanted to stay here, so that she could reconnect with our family. I can’t say I blame her, though I will miss having her company during the trip, but only a little bit. There are a few subjects that I need to discuss with you and the princesses when I arrive, but I’d rather not get into them through a letter, so until then, take care of yourself and I’ll see you soon.

Sincerely,

Spark

P.S. I’m so sorry that I won’t be seeing you for awhile, Star. I hope that you can understand why I am staying here. It has nothing to do with what happened the last time we spoke and I hope that you can forgive me for not saying a proper goodbye before I left. I do care for you a great deal, but I need to sort out my own life right now.

Your Good Friend,

Surinam

“I’m sure,” Star mumbled as she set the letter aside. Just like the last letter that she’d gotten from the two siblings, Suri had obviously written this one for her brother and had added her own message at the end, most likely without his knowledge. Star was happy to hear that one of her friends would be returning soon, but finding out that Suri, who she had very strong feeling for, would not be joining him stung quite a bit. All in all, it was a fairly bad way to end another stressful day, she thought.

“Are you alright?” Inferno asked, as her mother crawled under the covers and rolled onto her side, facing away from the chubby dragon.

“Yeah, I’m just exhausted,” Star replied, doing her best to choke back the sadness creeping into her voice as she spoke.

“Oh, okay,” Inferno said as she joined the unicorn underneath the warm blankets. “Goodnight, mom,” she yawned as her horned head hit the soft pillows.

“Goodnight, sweetheart,” Star whispered back, as she closed her heavy eyelids and let sleep push away her morose thoughts for the night.

~-~

Nature Spark had already left Canterlot by the time that Star awoke the morning after she and her friends had been given their various missions by the princesses and the blind stallion had taken his sister, Surinam Cherryblossom along with him. Both of the unicorns, Star had read in the note she’d found stuck to the outside of her door, were heading home to Dodge and then they would be returning to the capitol before Spark left for the Crystal Empire. Though she had still been half asleep when she found the short page, Star was wide awake and on the verge of tears by the time she’d finished reading it. Spark, she had expected that sort of action from, but she had hoped that Suri had forgiven her for trying to change their relationship. Disappearing without talking face to face was a bad sign though and obviously confessing her feelings to the actress had been a poor choice.

Star dried her eyes on her foreleg as she crumpled the note up with her magic and tossed it into the trash. She’d cried enough the night before, though the copious amount of cider she and her friends had consumed earlier that same night held most of the blame for her tears. Still, weeping wouldn’t solve any of her problems, so the unicorn walked back into her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She took a seat on the couch and groaned as she slowly fell onto her side. Sleep sounded like the best course of action to her as she sank into the plush cushions.

Knock. Knock. Knock. The sound of somepony’s hoof rapping against the door shattered Star’s peace and forced her up from the couch with an annoyed grunt. The night spent drinking hadn’t left the normally pleasant mare in the best of moods and she could feel the first signs of a migraine trying to form in the front of her skull. Star reluctantly got to her hooves and ambled towards the fancy wooden door for the second time that morning. Before finding Spark and Suri’s note, she had planned to go downstairs and grab breakfast for herself and Inferno, but being abandoned had left her rather gloomy. Now she cracked open the door and saw her mentor standing on the other side.

“Sorry if I woke you from your sleep, my faithful student,” Princess Luna apologized, though it was well after morning and her student should have been awake already anyway. “But we have decided to hold a meeting with the ponies of Canterlot in a few hours, where Celestia and I will be announcing the declaration of war on the Crystal Empire.” Star pulled the door open further as she listened and rubbed the sleep from her puffy eyes, hoping that the princess couldn’t tell that she’d been crying part of the night. “As well as addressing the curfew issue,” the midnight blue alicorn added sourly.

“Then I will prepare for the day right away, Princess Luna,” Star replied with a quick bow, which her twinkling maned mentor answered with a smile and a nod of her head.

“Good, then I will see you on the veranda overlooking the castle courtyard in an hour,” Luna commented before turning away from the bedroom. “Try not to be late.”

“Of course, princess,” Star agreed, before retreating back into the welcoming warmth of her bedroom and closing the door behind her. An hour left the mare with enough time to bathe and she seized the opportunity. Star crept quietly to the bathroom, doing her best not to wake her sleeping daughter as she closed the door behind her. A quick flash of magic got the water running and it wasn’t long before a cloud of steam had filled the small room. The unicorn sighed contentedly as she slipped into the soothing bathwater.

Between the heat and her receding headache, Star nearly fell asleep again as she soaked in the tub. The small mare yawned as she pushed herself up from the liquid embrace of her bath and began scrubbing her body with licorice scented soap. Though she hadn’t been doing anything to get very dirty the day before, Star still felt much more refreshed as she stepped back out of the bath, pulled the drain plug and floated a towel off of the rack hanging on the wall.

“So the princesses are formally declaring war today,” Star mumbled aloud as she dried her dripping mane and damp hide. “I suppose that means we failed Spark’s mission then,” she added quietly as she ran the soft towel across the white owl on her flank. The herbalist stallion had tasked himself with trying to prevent the conflict from escalating to the point it had, but it had been an insurmountable task, even with the help of his friends.

“Mom, are you in there?” Inferno called out from the other side of the door, just as the unicorn had begun to comb out the tangles in her three-toned mane and tail.

“Yes,” Star replied, “I’ll be out in just a minute.”

“Okay, because I have to use the bathroom,” Inferno called back. It was just over a minute later before Star exited the bathroom, with a newfound smile on her face.

“I’ll go get us some breakfast,” Star said as her daughter rushed by her in a blur of red scales. “Then we have to meet the princesses, because they have a few announcements to make.”

“Don’t you mean lunch?” Inferno mumbled from inside the bathroom. It might as well be breakfast for them, since they’d just gotten up, the unicorn thought, as she turned from the door. With her daughter already awake, there wasn’t anything else for Star to do, so she straightened up the messy bed and then headed for the dining room.

Celestia wasn’t around as Star gathered a simple breakfast for her and Inferno and she hadn’t seen many servants either. The small mare assumed that everypony was preparing for their rulers’ meeting. It would explain the lack of activity in the castle anyway. Just as Star was snatching up a couple of pastries though, she saw a familiar face approaching her from across the open room.

“Well, good morning,” Axel greeted Star with her usual bubbly voice. “Did everypony already leave?” The earth pony must have just woken up, Star realized, so she didn’t yet know that Spark and Suri had left before sunrise. Downpour and Backdraft had most likely headed off already as well, but the unicorn couldn’t be sure.

“I know Spark and Suri took off already, but I’m not sure about the Ursa, Strata and the pegasus brothers,” Star replied.

“Oh, Spark didn’t wait around to say goodbye,” Axel commented morosely. “I mean, I know we all said our farewells last night, but I was hoping to see all of our friends off.”

“Yeah, so was I,” Star agreed, “but I’m sure we’ll see them again in no time,” she added with a forced smile. In truth, the unicorn couldn’t be certain that their friends would make it back to Canterlot safely. The missions that the princesses had tasked them all with had inherent dangers, but Star held out hope that everything would turn out alright in the end.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Axel said as she bounced over to the buffet of food on the table beside her friend. The rust colored pony’s previous cheerfulness had returned as quickly as it had disappeared. Sometimes Star envied her friend’s ability to brush of depressing feelings so easily. “So, what are your plans for today?” the earth pony questioned as she plucked an apple from the table and took a large bite.

“Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are holding a meeting in the courtyard later, so we need to attend that,” Star explained. “That’s about as far as I’ve planned for today though.” Axel nodded her head up and down understandingly as she peered at the breakfast spread.

“Do I have enough time to eat and take a bath?” Axel asked.

“We have about thirty minutes or so,” Star told her, “but I suppose if you can hurry, then you’ll have the time.” The point was probably moot, the smaller mare realized, since everything Axel did, she did at a fast pace, but it couldn’t have hurt to mention.

“Sure thing, Star,” Axel replied.

“I’m going to head back to my room. I have to make sure that Inferno gets some breakfast before we head over to the meeting,” Star said as she hefted two plates of food with her levitation spell. “I’ll see you on the veranda overlooking the main courtyard?”

“Mhmm,” the earth pony mumbled around a full mouth. Star couldn’t suppress a grin as she turned towards the doors of the dining hall and trotted out. At least one of her friends was still with her, the unicorn mused. There was still a chance that Downpour and Draft hadn’t left yet, but Star wasn’t counting on it. The pegasus had most likely joined the soldiers that they would be working with around the time that Spark and his sister had left the castle. Now it was just her, Inferno and Axel that remained in the capitol.

Star balanced the food effortlessly as she made her way back to the bedroom and shoved open the door, calling out a greeting to Inferno as she carefully entered. The young dragon was lying on the bed again, having apparently finished up her business in the bathroom, but the smell of food caused the serpentine girl to stir from her half sleep. Star walked in and set the plates on the table near the red couch at the foot of their shared bed, just as her daughter was rolling off of the comfortable mattress. Inferno ambled over slowly and flopped on the couch with very little grace.

“My head hurts,” Inferno groaned as she pressed her hand on either side of her head and sank into the couch.

“That’s why you don’t need to be drinking,” Star flatly stated, as she scooted one of the plates in front of her daughter. Inferno snorted a small cloud of smoke in reply. “Eat some fruit, it’s good for you,” the unicorn said as she took the first bite of her own delicious breakfast. The banana nut muffin was warm, but crumbly and she made a bit of a mess as she ate.

“I’d rather have a nice gem,” Inferno huffed in reply as she began to gently massage her temples, “Like a crisp ruby or maybe a tasty sapphire. That would hit the spot.” Star roller her eyes as she swept the crumbs from her fur onto the table. Somepony would stop by to clean the room later, of course, but the polite young mare saw no reason to make extra work by dropping food all over the lush carpeting.

“Well you can worry about that later,” Star told the dragon. “We only have a little while before we need to meet the princesses, so if you want to eat something, then right now would be the best time to do so.” Inferno let out one last protesting grunt before reluctantly sitting up and examining the food her mother had brought. The hungover dragon wasn’t very hungry, but she did manage to peel and eat a plump orange before the time came for the two of them to head over to the veranda, where the princesses would be preparing to address the doubtlessly large crowd of Conterlotians.

Just as Star had expected, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were in the midst of conversing in slightly hushed voices as she approached, with Inferno and Axel trailing close behind her. The unicorn had decided to put on the clothes that Suri had picked out for her during their last shopping excursion; a white skirt with beautiful gold trim that was a bit shorter than what Star normally wore and a matching low-cut blouse. Though she wasn’t certain it was the proper attire for attending a war declaration, it was the nicest outfit she owned and this was a very important day. In just a matter of minutes, the rulers of Equestria would officially start a war with the Crystal Empire and the intelligent little pony knew that the world would never be the same for it.

“Discipula Star, you look positively lovely this morning,” Princess Celestia complimented as she noticed the black unicorn walking up with her two companions.

“Thank you very much, Princess Celestia,” Star replied as she and her friends each dipped into the customary bow. “It’s just a little something that Surinam picked out for me.”

“It is quite the becoming attire,” Princess Luna admitted as she turned around to face her loyal student, “as is your gown, Alexia.” The earth pony had decided do don her own dress when she’d seen Star wearing hers. It was dark brown with green trim and a much more appropriate length than the short skirt her friend was wearing.

“Thank you for the compliment, your highness,” Axel replied. “I don’t normally wear long dresses… or dresses of any sort really, but I figured that I should try to look proper for this big meeting.” The rust colored mare swayed back and forth self-consciously as she glanced down at her own clothes, causing the light fabric to flutter at the hem.

“I see that Inferno chose not to doll herself up along with the both of you however,” Luna observed. The unclothed dragon rolled her yellow eyes in reply.

“I’m not much of a clothes wearing kind of girl,” Inferno responded dryly. The headache she had developed that morning was putting a bit of a damper on her mood still, Star noticed, but neither of the alicorns seemed to pay the fact much mind. The princesses had more pressing concerns to fret over at the moment.

“I assume that Star has already informed the both of you about the nature of this announcement we will be making,” Celestia said, turning the conversation in a more somber direction. Axel and Inferno nodded their replies. “Though you three are already privy to the plans my sister and I have made, I wanted you here to observe, first hoof, the effect that our words will have upon the population.” Star was about to ask what she meant by that, but Luna began to elaborate before the unicorn could form the words.

“A declaration of war, while it may seem to be no more than a useless statement considering that battles have already been fought, will no doubt cause a rift in our citizens,” Luna explained. “While most ponies will detest going to war, especially after the effects of our struggle against Discord, many will also see the necessity of it.”

“So long as we have performed our duties properly,” Celestia added.

“I think that this will be a good lesson for you to learn, my faithful student, because the most difficult aspect of wielding the power to lead, is being forced to choose between two evils,” her sister continued. “You have grown into a very mature young mare over the years, but I know that you struggled with taking the life of that mercenary who attacked you.” Star nodded her head slowly, eyes fixed on the ground as she tried to ignore the screams of a burning griffon that sounded in her mind just as clearly as the day she’d first heard them.

“From this moment on, every decision that we make and every action that we take will create a far-reaching impact on the world,” Celestia said, seamlessly continuing her younger sister’s speech. “Lives now hang in the balance and we have no doubt that more difficult choices will be presented to you. We just want to make sure that you will be able to live with the consequences of those choices, Discipula Star. For better or for worse, you and your friends have gotten entangled in this twisted plot and we want all of you to be prepared for what is to come.” Celestia’s voice fell silent and the room quieted with it as the three girls pondered their matriarchs’ words.

“I imagine that everypony is getting anxious out there,” Luna sighed as her gaze lingered on the doors leading out to the veranda,” so I suppose we should get this over with.” There was no pleasure in the princess’s tone as she spoke, only an overwhelming feeling of displeasure at what she was about to tell her subjects. Her elder sister’s face held the same kind of sorrow as they took their first, slow steps towards the large balcony.

The busy sounds of a couple hundred restless ponies greeted Star’s ears as the princesses pushed open the doors and stepped out into the cool winter day. Star was unsure of what she should do with herself, until her mentor glanced back and motioned for the unicorn and her friends to join them. Star tentatively obliged, though she only walked out far enough to be able to see most of the gathered crowd without being observed in kind. It wasn’t shyness as much as the crushing weight of the moment that caused her legs to shake slightly as she stood, but she managed to stay upright and neither Inferno nor Axel appeared to notice her unease.

“What’s going on!” a voice shouted from somewhere below.

“Yes, why have griffons been attacking our cities!?” another pony chimed in.

“And why have your guards begun to enforce a curfew?” yet another cried out.

“CITIZENS OF EQUESTRIA, PLEASE GIVE US YOUR SILENT ATTENTION,” Celestia commanded, as she peered out over the colorful crowd with sad, purple eyes. The crowed quieted at the princess’s behest and then she began to explain the reason for their meeting. “’TIS WITH HEAVY HEARTS AND MINDS THAT WE HAVE GATHERED YOU ALL HERE TODAY,” she told the restless ponies.

“AS EACH OF YOU ARE WELL AWARE, THE EMPRESS OF THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE HAS BEEN TAKEN PRISONER,” Luna continued, using the same booming, Canterlot voice that her sister had spoken in. “AND THE PONY RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS ABHORRENT CRIME IS THE SAME PONY WHO HAS BEEN GIVEN POWER OVER THE EMPIRE IN HER ABSENCE, SINCE THE EMPEROR HAS FALLEN ILL AND CAN NO LONGER LEAD HIS COUNTRY!”

“THIS STALLION, DUKE DORÉ LANGUE, HAS OPENLY ATTACKED OUR KINGDOM AND EVEN PAID MERCENARIES TO SET FIRE TO ONE OF OUR VILLAGES,” Celestia informed the crowd. Star took a few small steps forward so that she could better see over the smooth, white railings that surrounded the large balcony on which they stood and tried to gauge the reaction of the ponies standing in the frosty courtyard far below. She had witnessed the result of the Red Eye’s attack against Ponyville and had seen the destruction and death that the griffons had wrought at the monstrous duke’s bidding. He was just as responsible for the murder of Spark’s old friend, Chestnut, as the Red Eyes were. “EVEN NOW, THE TOUCH OF HIS HOOF CAN BE FELT OVER ALL OF EQUESTRIA AND WE BELIEVE THAT THERE IS ONLY ONE SUITABLE RESPONSE FOR US TO GIVE!”

“What are we to do?” somepony questioned the alicorns.

“Yes, are we even safe in our own homes?” The crowd was growing frantic as they shouted out their concerns, but the princesses remained calm as they waited for the silence to resume.

“Luna wasn’t able to prevent Ponyville from burning to the ground during the night, so why should we trust her to protect us now?” a mare asked.

“What will you do to protect us?”

“WE WILL ANSWER HIS CALL TO WAR,” Princess Luna stated in a thundering voice, which caused the crowd grew eerily silent once again, completely absorbed in their rulers’ speech. “HE WOULD ACCUSE US OF THE VERY TRECHERY THAT HE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR, SO WE WILL RESPOND IN KIND!” The younger alicorn spoke with a steadfast conviction that Star admired greatly. It was comforting to her, but would have been utterly terrifying to the princess’s enemies, the small mare imagined. “THERE MAY WELL COME A DAY WHEN DISHARMONY PREVAILS AND THE BONDS BETWEEN PONYKIND ARE IRREPARABLY SEVERED, BUT IT WILL NOT COME WHILE WE STILL DRAW BREATH!”

“WE WILL ATTAIN PEACE THROUGH HARMONY,” Celestia announced as her horn began to glow, “AND IF NECESSARY, WE WILL PROCURE HARMONY THROUGH FORCE!” The elder princess’s words were accompanied by a blinding flash of magic from her slender, white horn, which caused the shining sun to flare brightly behind the thin clouds that covered it. The crowd grew hushed as they observed the sudden show of celestial power. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna always acted so down to earth around Star, that she often forgot about the immense powers that they wielded. “I KNOW THAT SOME OF YOU MAY CONSIDER THE IDEA OF GOING TO WAR UNSETTLING,” Celestia continued in a more docile, but still powerful voice. “WE STILL VIVIDLY RECALL THE MANY YEARS SPENT BATTLING THE BEAST, DISCORD, MY LITTLE PONIES AND THE HORRIFIC BLOODSHED THAT CAME WITH THE FIGHTING AND CHAOS, BUT NOW A NEW FORM OF DISHARMONY HAS ARISEN, IN THE SHAPE OF THIS PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A STALLION, AND WE MUST UNITE AGAINST HIS DARKNESS!”

“’TIS A VERY DIFICULT CHOICE THAT WE HAVE BEEN LEFT WITH ON THIS DAY,” her sister added, taking control of the conversation as seamlessly as ever. “WE MUST EITHER CHOOSE TO RELENQUISH CONTROL OF OUR HOMELAND TO OUR ENEMY AND HOPE THAT HE SEES FIT TO RULE OVER ALL OF US WITH AN HONOR AND DIGNITY WHICH HE HAS YET TO HAVE SHOWN OR WE CAN STRIKE A BLOW AGAINST HIS TYRRANNY!” Judging by the slowly building cheers coming from the shifting mass of ponies below, Star was fairly certain of what the citizens would have chosen were it left up to them. “MANY OF THE CITIZENS OF THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE ARE INNOCENT IN ALL OF THIS OF COURSE AND WE WILL WEEP FOR EVERY POOR SOUL LOST IN THIS TERRIBLE WAR,” Luna explained.

“BUT DUKE DORÉ LANGUE HAS UNLEASHED A STORM OF PAIN AND BLOODSHED UPON OUR BORDERS, FAIR CITIZENS, AND HIS EVIL WILL SPREAD TO THE FARTHEST REACHES OF THE WORLD IF WE DO NOT STAND TOGETHER NOW,” Celestia expounded. “SO WEEP FOR THE INNOCENT LIVES THAT ARE TAKEN, BUT ONLY AFTER WE HAVE CLAIMED VICTORY IN THEIR NAME AND IN THE NAME OF ALL PONYKIND!” The crowd’s low cheer had grown into an uproar of stamping hooves and impassioned shouts as the princesses approached the end of their speech. Star stared at the alicorns, her feelings caught somewhere between amazement at how well the princesses had addressed the ponies under their rule and sorrow that she’d been around to witness them declaring war on another country.

“JUSTICE WILL BE HAD,” Celestia and Luna assured the crowd, their words perfectly in sync as they spoke. “ON THE THRONES OF EQUESTRIA AND THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY, WE SWEAR THIS TO YOU!” If Star considered the cheering an uproar before, then she would have been forced to classify the new wave of screams and thundering hooves, which rose up after the princesses had finished speaking, as nothing less than deafening. The unicorn peered out over the stone railing and was met by the gazes of a couple hundred loyal Canterlot civilians as they cheered for their matriarchs.

“Your words certainly appear to have inspired them, princesses,” Star observed as she returned her attention to the alicorn siblings. “I suppose that after a few thousand years, I should have expected nothing less.”

“Yes, but it is they who will face the most difficult challenges during this war,” Celestia replied as she continued to gaze down lovingly at the ponies she ruled over.

“What do you mean by that?” Inferno asked; the first words that either of Star’s friends had uttered since the princesses had invited them onto the veranda.

“It is the soldiers who will fight to retain the harmony of this land,” Luna elaborated, “and it is the families that survive the inevitable fallen who will be forced to endure the hardships of life after their loved ones have passed.”

“A pain that we know all too well,” Celestia added somberly, as she and her younger sister raised their hooves to the crowd to signify the end of their decrees and allowed their subjects to slowly disperse from the castle grounds.

“I’m sorry,” Star replied quietly, as she contemplated the pain behind the princess’s words. Immortality could very easily be both a blessing and a curse, the small mare decided. A life eternal would allow a pony to achieve many great things, but at the cost of watching all those that they truly cared for die, leaving them to carry the sorrow in their hearts until the end of existence. It was a sobering thought.

“Do not be, my faithful student, for we both accepted our destinies long ago,” Luna told her. “Now come, let’s return to the castle so that we may discuss our plans for these coming days.” Star noticed the slight tremor in her mentor’s voice and it sounded to her as if Luna were troubled by what the Conterlotian ponies had said. They seemed to at least partially blame the younger princess for the destruction of the small village known as Ponyville, but Star knew that there was nothing that could have been done to prevent it. Nopony had been expecting such a sudden and brutal attack to occur inside Equestria’s borders, so they had no right to hold Luna responsible for the damage that had been done. Surprisingly though, the princess seemed to be taking everything in stride, a fact for which her protégé was very grateful.

“I suppose that this means I should get started on my designs for the fleet of chariots that the military needs,” Axel commented as she pranced alongside Star and Inferno. “It’s going to be very, very exhausting work, so the sooner I begin, the better it will be for everypony.” Star nodded her head absentmindedly as Axel turned the corner and walked off, too busy fretting over everything to remember that she’d been asked to stay behind so that she could assist the mechanically inclined mare. It was useless for the unicorn to worry about things that she held no power over, but that is exactly what she did as she followed the princess of the night, with her daughter by her side.

“Ha- have I failed the citizens of Equestria, Star?” Princess Luna asked her faithful student, as they sat in her sparsely lit bedchambers. The question was a bit sudden, but not terribly unexpected for Star, because the young mare had noticed the gradual change in her mentor’s poise and visage when they left the courtyard behind. The princess’s blue eyes had been fixed on the ground by the time Inferno had wandered off to lend her skills to Axel and they’d arrived at Luna’s bedroom, as if the spotless floors held some hidden truth which the alicorn wished to divine. It was only now, as she asked her question, that Luna pulled her gaze up from the matte colored tiles. “I must admit that I do hold some blame for what happened in Ponyville and the loss of every innocent life. I should have been able to prevent the mercenaries’ attack. The nighttime world is my domain, after all.”

“You cannot do that,” Star replied as she gazed towards the twin windows, which had been covered with thick curtains that were just a couple shades darker than her mentor’s hide, in order to block out the late afternoon sunlight.

“Do what?” Luna asked, her sour expression melting away into simple confusion.

“Blame your self for the actions of a wicked pony,” the unicorn explained. “It was not you who paid the Red Eyes to burn down a peaceful community nor was it you who took the Empress, Serenade, from her palace.”

“Perhaps not, but failure to act against evil is a form of evil in and of itself,” Luna stated with a renewed scowl.

“You speak as if you could have prevented what happened and didn’t,” Star retorted. “Is that the case, Princess Luna?”

“Of course not,” the princess replied haughtily. “You know well that I would have done anything in my power to prevent that horror. How could you even suggest such a thing, Discipula Star?” Star just smirked at her starry maned mentor.

“You’ve said it yourself, princess,” she replied. “You would have done whatever you could to stop those griffons, but the fact is, that there was no way for you to have known their plans and nothing you could have done to change the fates of those Ponyvillians, so stop blaming yourself.” Star may have spoken more boldly than she’d originally intended, but seeing her ruler in such a mood was unsettling for the young pony.

“Once again, you have proven yourself to be wise beyond your years, my faithful student,” Luna told the young mare, as she dropped the scowl from her countenance.

“Well, I did have an excellent mentor,” Star replied with a grin, which the princess soon matched. “Now, I think that it is about time that we discuss our plan of action.” Luna nodded in reply and cleared her throat, as she shifted into a more comfortable position on the couch where she sat.

“Yes, there is much to be done if we are to be prepared for this war,” the alicorn admitted. “Foremost for you and your friend, Axel, will be the manufacturing of sky chariots. With that bloodthirsty clan of griffons controlling the skies above the empire for Duke Doré Langue, we would be hard pressed to claim victory without a fleet of the vehicles on our side. Though the pegasus in our service are courageous soldiers, capable of dealing with a band of mercenaries, the military’s attention has been divided due to the traitorous actions of the disgraced sergeant, Rainbow Strike.”

“Yes, with him in control of Cloudsdale, Equestria’s ability to forge the weapons it would need to form an offensive will be severely hindered,” Star agreed. “But why would he have broken his oath to the throne to begin with?” The very idea of somepony turning against the princesses made no sense to the unicorn.

“A lust for wealth or power maybe,” Princess Luna replied, her tone growing more venomous with each word she uttered. “We can speculate all we like, but the only one who truly knows is Rainbow Strike himself. I assure you though, that if our soldiers are able to take him alive, I will discover the reason for his treachery and he will pay dearly for it.” There was no trace of forgiveness in the princess’s voice and for a moment, Star actually felt a pang of sorrow for the former sergeant, because he had so stupidly brought the wrath of the immortal ruler down upon himself.

“I am sure he will,” Star agreed as she banished the piteous thoughts from her mind. “Have you and Celestia procured a suitable place for Axel to begin her work then?” she asked a moment later.

“We have, actually,” the princess replied. “The crystal pony, I believe Ursa is the name he goes by, is already there readying the building for us.” Star had nearly forgotten that Draft’s coltfriend had been left behind. An earth pony could do little to help with a siege upon a pegasus city, so he had offered to lend a hoof in Canterlot before setting up a rendezvous with the Crystal Resistance, a group of ponies who’d rebelled against the corrupt duke’s leadership. Though Star didn’t know the stallion as well as her winged friends, she was still glad to hear that he had remained in the city for awhile longer.

“I can only imagine that the place will be prepared by the end of the day,” Star said as she got up from her chair. “Ursa certainly seems like the type of pony who would be a hard worker. I should find Axel and Inferno, so that the three of us can see if he needs any assistance,” she added, after catching sight of her mentor’s questioning eyes.

“Hmm, you may be right,” Princess Luna replied. “I suppose that there is little else that you can do at the moment and I would like to have a few private words with my sister.” The alicorn got up from the couch and gave her large wings a good stretch before folding them back to her sides. “Just do what you can to help your friends over these next few days, my little pony. Plans may well change in the future, but for now, the construction of those flying chariots takes precedence over your other duties.” Star nodded her head in reply as her horn began to glow. The unicorn shoved the bedroom door open with her magic and the princess followed her out into the hallway, where they soon parted ways.

Star wandered through the castle for a short time before finally stumbling upon Inferno. The red dragon was just walking out of Axel’s room as the black mare came walking across the carpeted hall. Star flashed a smile, which Inferno quickly returned before beckoning her mother over with a wave of her clawed hand.

“What do you need?” Star asked as she stood in the open doorway of her friend’s room. “Ursa is already busy setting up the shop that we will be using to build the chariots and I’m sure that he would appreciate a bit of help.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize that he was still here,” Inferno replied, with a look of mild surprise on her scaly face. “I was just going to see if you wanted to see the designs that Axel drew up for the military sky chariots, but I suppose that can wait until we meet up with Ursa.” The little dragon took a few more steps into the room before shouting, “Axel, grab your stuff! We’re going to the building that the princesses set aside to be your shop.”

“And hurry up, because Ursa is waiting for us,” Star added, following her words up with quiet giggling at the thought of the earth pony doing anything slowly.

“I’m ready!” Axel shouted back as she bounded over to the door with her over packed, brown saddlebags in tow. The rust colored mare was in such a hurry though, that she tripped on the thick rug sitting just inside the doorway and would have landed face first on the hard tiles, had Star not been there to catch her with a simple levitation spell.

“I didn’t know I needed to say ‘be careful’ too,” the unicorn giggled as she gently returned her friend to her hooves. Axel just laughed her almost-crash off and continued down the hallway with a bounce in her step, despite not knowing where exactly they were supposed to be going, but she had happened to take off in the right direction, so Star and Inferno followed after her, albeit at a more measured pace.

The building that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had set aside for Axel to work in was one giant mess, though Ursa assured them that it had been much worse before he started cleaning it up earlier that morning. Its previous function had been as a large storage facility for the military’s stockpile of weapons and provisions, but that was years before. Now, most of the windows were boarded up and those that weren’t sported fractures along the grimy glass. To go along with the dim lighting and chipped walls, there was a fine layer of dust and, what Star believed to be, animal feces of some sort. She cringed at the thought of what the place must have looked like before the emerald stallion had begun his work.

Currently, Ursa was taking a break from the monotony of moving empty crates and rusty hunks of metal, so that Axel could show Star, Inferno and him the rough designs she’d come up with for the new chariots. Having no military experience however, the blonde haired mare was left swishing her tail back and forth from one side of her wheel marked flank to the other in frustration, as she tried to figure out how to allow for the best mobility without sacrificing the speed and strength of the vehicles. Star could almost picture the various mechanical pieces working together in her friend’s head as the earth pony argued silently with herself. After a few minutes of watching the display of quiet aggravation though, Star decided that it might be best to find somepony to help with Axel’s little dilemma and she knew just the two pegasus to ask, if they hadn’t been sent out on another mission anyway.

“What’s the problem?” Inferno questioned, as she peered over at a few of the rough sketches in the earth pony’s grasp.

“Ugh, why does this have to be so complicated!?” Axel whined as she slumped to the floor in defeat. That was all that the unicorn needed to hear before suggesting her idea to the frazzled mare.

“I wouldn’t know.” The dragon shrugged.

“My friends, Brass Heart and Glory, could probably lend some assistance tomorrow, if they’re not busy,” Star told her friend.

“Those pegasus guards who told the princesses about what was happening in Cloudsdale?” Ursa asked. Star nodded her head in reply and it seemed to perk her friend up a little bit.

“That would be great,” Axel admitted as she got back to her hooves. “The only reason I was able to work out the kinks in my prototype was because Draft helped me, so having another pegasus to work with would make things much simpler, otherwise I’d probably be here all night, trying to figure out how to make this work.”

“Well we wouldn't want that,” Star replied as she helped the rust colored mare pick up the papers that had fallen to the floor when she’d dropped to the ground. The unicorn gave the drawings back to her friend, who immediately stuffed them back into her saddlebags. “Besides, it’s getting late and we should try to get a decent night of sleep in before we start the real work in the morning,” she added.

“Yeah, I am pretty tired,” Axel yawned in response, as she took a few steps towards the open doors of the makeshift shop. “I think we may have gone a bit overboard with the drinking last night.”

“Definitely,” Inferno stated, most likely recalling the hangover that she’d been forced to suffer through that afternoon.

“Mhmm,” Star mumbled in agreement, as she followed the earth pony out of the building, “but that was probably the last batch of hard cider that we’ll be drinking until next cider season.” If we live to see another cider season, she thought afterwards.

“Hey, are you coming, Ursa?” Axel asked, after she’d taken notice of the fact that the emerald stallion wasn’t walking beside them. Both mares and the dragon glanced back to see where he was, but the crystal pony waved a dismissive hoof in reply.

“Not quite yet,” he told them. “I want to get a little more work done before I call it a night.” Axel just shrugged and continued on her way out of the musty smelling building, with Inferno trailing after her, but Star stood where she was, because something about his mood seemed a little off to her.

“Are you okay?” she asked the shaggy, blue maned stallion.

Ursa just nodded his head and replied, “Yes, I just want to get this finished.”

“Okay, well I guess I’ll see you in the morning then,” Star said, as she met his reserved gaze. There was obviously something else on his mind, the unicorn observed, but she didn't know Ursa well enough to press him for the truth yet, so she let it go for the time being. “Goodnight, Ursa,” she said as she started walking away.

“Night,” he mumbled in reply as she walked out into the cool, evening air.

“Hey, mom, get a move on!” Inferno called out from a block away. “Axel’s freezing over here.” Star had to admit that the breeze held quite the icy bite as it gently caressed her exposed body and made her regret not changing out of her short skirt and into a warm cloak before leaving the castle.

“I’m coming,” the unicorn replied as she quickened her pace into a slow trot to catch up with her friends. At least it isn’t snowing right now, Star thought, as she walked up beside her daughter and noticed Axel shivering slightly in her own dress.

“I wish winter would end already,” the earth pony sighed as she resumed her journey back to the castle, which was only a short walk away.

“Yeah, but it wouldn’t be so bad if we could actually enjoy ourselves for a bit,” Inferno replied. “I like playing in the snow.” Her simple statement caused Star to falter in her gait for just a moment, as the unicorn lamented the fact that her daughter was being deprived of the childhood joys of the season. It was just one more small loss brought on by the war, she mused.

It didn’t take long for the three of them to reach the castle gates, where the two stallions standing guard opened the doors for them to enter, but because the two mares had been focused on how cold it was, they hadn’t said much during the trip, causing it to seem like a much longer distance. Star was just glad to be back where it was warm and sighed with contentment as she stepped out of the natural elements and into the slightly cozier building. The castle wasn’t generally known for being well heated, but it was still sheltered from the winds, which was enough for everypony inside during the long winter nights that held the city in their cold embrace.

“I’m going to grab some dinner before bed,” Axel told them as they walked through the main hall. “Would either of you like to join me?”

“I’m not that hungry,” Star told her. The late lunch she had eaten, along with a quick snack before meeting up with Ursa, had been enough for the unicorn, but the rumbling of Inferno’s stomach suggested that the dragon didn’t share that sentiment.

“Yeah, I could use a bite to eat,” her daughter replied.

“Alright, well I’m going to head up to the room, just try not to wake me up when you come in,” Star said, before heading towards the spiraling staircase that lead to the upper floors of the castle.

“Okay,” Inferno replied as she followed Axel to the dining hall, leaving her mother to walk the quiet halls in peace.

Star entered the dark bedroom and immediately stripped off her clothing, allowing the finely crafted garments to fall carelessly to the floor. She was too tired to be bothered with picking them up. The maids would do that for her in the morning. Though she was usually a very neat mare and had always tried to tidy up after herself in the past, Star’s recent activities had left her with very little time to worry about trivial matters such as picking up her room that night. She imagined that the cleaning ponies would forgive her that small indulgence, considering the work she was going to be helping with would protect not only them, but the entirety of Equestria as well.

A few seconds after discarding her skirt and blouse, Star shuffled her way over to the bed, yawning as she pulled back the thick layer of blankets and slipped in between them. It had been a very short day for the small unicorn, but the heavy drinking she had done the night before, combined with the stress of worrying about everything that was happening around her, had sapped what little strength she’d had and the next day promised to be a busy one. Star’s soft snores began just moments after laying her head down on the comfortable pillows and falling into a deep slumber.

Author's Note

Chapter one opens with Star doing some personal training and then flashes back to the day after the last book ended. I hope I made that clear enough. I'm very happy to be writing again, because I've missed telling this story. I've grown more attached to my characters than I ever thought I would... and I love it. I hope this was a satisfying way to resume the book and I hope you enjoyed the first of many chapters to come.

Ch.2 Lending a Hoof

~Chapter 2: Lending a Hoof~

Soft white flakes of snow drifted down all around Discipula Star as she walked through the mostly empty streets of Canterlot on her way to Brass Heart’s house. There was a fine layer of the natural icing enveloping the city already, causing the unicorn to shrink further into her cloak as she tried to keep warm. Still, Star was glad that she hadn’t worn the skirt that she’d donned the day before, which hadn’t offered much resistance from the cold bite of the winter winds. The tranquility that had fallen over the sprawling metropolis was a welcome relief from the usual hustle and bustle that tended to permeate the streets in the warmer months at least, she thought, as she focused on the rhythm of her hooves crunching softly along the cobblestone sidewalk.

It was still early, but Star had decided to find Brass Heart and Down Glory soon after finishing her breakfast. Both of the pegasus soldiers, she’d been told by Princess Celestia, who had just finished raising the sun, were on a short leave after returning from Cloudsdale. They had been the ones to discover Rainbow Strike’s treachery and had apparently managed to escape by the skin of their teeth, so the princesses had offered the two stallions some time off to recuperate before being sent off on another mission. Sadly, Star was on her way to interrupt their short vacation, because Axel needed some assistance designing the new flying chariots and they were the only soldiers that the unicorn knew well enough to feel comfortable asking for help.

Brass Heart’s residence was the closest, though it was still a good distance from the castle property, so Star had left right away, leaving Inferno sleeping in their bedroom while she took care of the simple task. The little dragon had been dealing with a mild hangover the day before, so her mother figured that she could use the extra sleep. A few extra hours of rest could have done the unicorn some good as well, but there was so much left to do before the first battle was waged against the Crystal Empire’s forces, that she’d been unable to get back to sleep anyway and keeping herself busy helped take Star’s mind off of the fact that some of her friends would be facing down dangerous enemies while she was safe in the capitol. It didn’t seem fair, but Luna had assured the worried mare that Canterlot is where she was needed most and Star had accepted the alicorn’s words, like the faithful student she was.

A few other ponies passed by as Star crossed the last street before reaching her destination, but they all seemed to be in just as much of a hurry as she was, so they didn’t even bother sparing a second glance at the small unicorn. It was most likely the cold that put the pep in their step, Star assumed. It had certainly quickened her pace as she had left the castle that morning. The cloak shrouded mare rounded the last corner and walked up the short, brick path leading up to the doors of a small brick home. As far as she could remember, this was Brass Heart’s house, so she knocked on the door a few times. The white pegasus pulled open the door a moment later, blue eyes blinking in surprise as they adjusted to the early morning glare glinting off of the crisp snow in the front yard.

“Star?” Brass Heart questioned with a yawn. “What are you doing here at this hour?” The confused stallion glanced up at the grey skies, as if to make sure that it was indeed morning and he hadn’t lost a few hours somehow.

“I needed to ask you for a favor,” Star replied. “May I come in?”

“Oh, excuse my rudeness,” Brass Heart apologized. “Please, come in.” The pegasus stepped back from the door and Star walked inside, eager to get out of the freezing wind for awhile. Her nose had begun to sting it was getting so cold during the walk. “Would you like something warm to drink?” the pegasus asked, as he led her through the small home to the plainly decorated living room.

“Some tea would be lovely,” Star told him as she took a seat on one of the two mismatched seats. It was obvious that the house belonged to a single stallion, because even though it was fully furnished, not one thing seemed to compliment the colors of another and there was certainly a bit of tidying up that could have been done.

“Alright, I’ll be back in just a moment,” Brass Heart said, before leaving to start the process of making a pot of tea for them. Star occupied herself by examining the room around her, but unfortunately there wasn’t much to see. One window, with wrinkled, blue curtains framing it, took up one wall, the small fireplace another and a few shelves with various knickknacks, as well as a couple of the soldier’s medals, took up yet another. The chairs were worn, but comfortable, despite one being green and the other dark blue. A frayed, burgundy rug tied the mess together with its various muddy hoofprints. It was apparent that the guard pony didn’t have much free time to spend cleaning, but it wasn’t the worst place the unicorn had been in.

“I’m sorry to bother you on your vacation,” Star shouted out, confident that her friend would still be able to hear her voice in the small home.

“Don’t be,” Brass Heart replied. “I’ve mostly just been sleeping anyway, so it’s probably a good thing for me to get up and do something with myself.”

“Well, I might have something to help keep you busy,” Star replied.

“Oh, what’s that?” the pegasus shouted back.

“My friend, Axel, needs help designing the flying chariots that the princesses requested her to build and I thought that working directly with a pegasus soldier might make her job easier,” Star explained. “It shouldn’t take too long and it would really help us out.” The winged stallion walked back out of the kitchen a moment later, balancing a tray containing the teapot and two cups between his wings.

“Yes, of course,” Brass Heart replied as he carefully set the scratch marked tray down on the table and took a seat opposite the young mare. “I would be more than happy to help with whatever I can.” The pegasus picked up the teapot as he spoke and poured a steaming cup of the beverage for each of them before setting it back down again.

“Thank you so much,” Star said as she delicately lifted her cup with a levitation spell, bringing it to her lips, whereupon she blew softly into the hot drink before taking a small sip. It was a rather cheap tea, but he had sweetened it with honey and it was the perfect way for the formerly shivering mare to warm up. “Do you think that Dawn would be willing to help us as well?” While Brass Heart was a corporal in the military, his long time friend, Dawn Glory, had only reached the rank of private, but both were well versed in combat and would be invaluable assets.

“I don’t see why not,” the pegasus replied.

“Great, then I suppose we should head over there next,” Star commented as she waited for her cup to cool a little more.

“Sure, but there’s no need to be in so much of a hurry,” Brass Heart chuckled. “I think that we can afford to sit here and enjoy our tea for at least a few more minutes.” He followed up his statement by taking a long sip from his cup and then sinking back into the faded blue chair with a contented sigh.

“I guess you’re right,” Star replied with a smile as she tried to relax a bit more. “So, how many days of leave do you have left before your next mission?”

“Well, I guess that all depends on what my superiors say,” Brass Heart said, as he absentmindedly ran a hoof through his blonde mane. “I had been hoping to be a part of the mission that your friends were given. I’ve always found Sergeant Rainbow Strike to be insufferable, but Princess Celestia insisted that Dawn and I take some time off, so here I am,” he sighed, with a casual wave of his hoof. “I would imagine that it won’t be long before the princesses send forces up north though, so I’ll most likely be a part of that, whenever it happens.”

“I’m… glad to hear that?” Star replied. Brass Heart was one of the few soldiers the magical mare had actually developed a rapport with, so she wasn’t very accustomed to ponies actually hoping to be involved in something dangerous. Although her friends seemed to constantly be facing some form of hostility, none of them tried to find it and most of them, with the possible exception of Downpour and Strata, tried their best to avoid it. “But if you like conflict so much, then why are you always escorting me around, instead of facing actual enemies?” the curious unicorn asked the soldier.

“Princess Luna told Dawn and I that she didn’t trust anypony else with your protection and who am I to argue with one of the princesses?” Brass Heart shrugged before tipping back his head and downing the remained of his tea in a single swallow.

“Oh, I hadn’t realized that you weren’t given a choice in the matter,” Star quickly replied. “I would be more than happy to speak with Luna and let her know that I would be perfectly safe with one of the other gua-”

“No, no, it’s not like that at all,” Brass Heart interrupted, before the apologetic mare got too worked up. “If I truly didn’t wish to be your escort all of the time, then the princess would not force me to do so. I actually enjoy traveling all around Equestria with you, but it isn’t everyday that the country is going to war and I feel that I would serve the princesses better out in the middle of battle, rather than sitting here in the city.”

“Are you certain?” Star asked. She had just finished her tea and was contemplating pouring herself some more, but decided that they had spent quite enough time sitting around. “I meant it when I said that I could speak with the princess for you. It wouldn’t be any trouble,” the unicorn continued. “I don’t blame you fo-”

“Star!” the pegasus exclaimed, with a clap of his hooves for effect. “There is no need to worry. I am more than happy to be your guardian for Princess Luna and perfectly content to help build the chariots Equestria will need to win this war.”

“Oh,” Star sighed, “okay then…” The blonde maned soldier smirked at her as he shook his head and then chuckled softly. He stood up a moment later and gave his wings a good stretch before folding the feathered appendages against his sides once more.

“Now, if you’re about done worrying over nothing,” Brass Heart chuckled, “I think that it is about time for us to make our way to Dawn’s house.” Star smiled back at him and nodded before getting up from the chair and shooting the stallion a questioning glance, as she set her empty cup on the scratched up tabletop. “Yeah, you can just leave it there. I’ll pick it up… eventually,” the soldier told her before turning towards the door. Star gave a small shrug and proceeded to follow him out, back into the freezing Canterlot winter that awaited them.

The shining sun hadn’t even managed to crest over the thick cover of clouds that blocked the sky from view before Star and Brass Heart had made their way to Dawn Glory’s home in the middle of the mountain city. The pegasus let the two visitors in and it wasn’t long before Brass Heart had talked him into helping them with the chariot designs. The light blue maned stallion seemed just as eager to keep his hooves busy as his superior and readily followed them out into the frosty streets of Canterlot. Both of the soldiers asked Star questions about the work that they would be doing, but the unicorn didn’t have much information to give, aside from the fact that they would be working on vehicles for the military. Between the two of them though, Star imagined that it wouldn’t take Axel long to solve whatever problems she had been grappling with over the flying chariots.

Inferno wasn’t in their bedroom by the time that Star finally returned to the castle, with the pegasus in tow, but that was no surprise to the unicorn, considering it had taken them a good portion of the morning to reach Dawn’s house and then make it back afterwards. She led the two soldiers around the upper halls for awhile once they’d arrived, before eventually finding her daughter in Axel’s room, where they were having a late breakfast. Axel ushered the three newcomers in right away, with all of the overexcited charm that Star had come to expect of the energetic mare and not long after, the group was joined by Ursa, who looked as if he hadn’t gotten any sleep the night before. The crystal pony had dark bags under his eyes and his shaggy mane was even more unkempt than usual as he crossed the small room in a few long strides.

“How are things looking down at the shop?” Axel asked, after offering Ursa one of the few available seats in the crowded bedroom. “I’ll bet that you have that place looking pristine now, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Ursa replied, as he sank into the couch beside Star. “There are still a few things left to do, but it should be ready for you to start your work,” he added with an exhausted yawn.

“How long were you working out there?” Inferno asked him, having picked up on his rather obvious lack of sleep. Ursa rubbed a hoof against the side of his emerald face and blinked a few times, as if he was having difficulty just staying awake long enough to answer the question.

“Uh, I actually just got back a little bit ago,” he sheepishly replied.

“I could tell,” Star said, as she took in his disheveled appearance. “You know that you didn’t have to work yourself that hard, right?” The large stallion waved off the question with his hoof before releasing another drawn out yawn into the air.

“It needed done,” he finally replied.

“Well you should at least take the morning off,” Star told him. “There is no sense in working yourself to death and besides, Draft wouldn’t be too happy with me if I let you keel over while helping us out.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ursa chuckled dryly. “It would take much more than a night of cleaning to kill me.” The earth pony leaned back in his seat with a groan after he had spoken. Star was still certain that there was something bothering the reserved stallion, but didn’t want to question him further while everypony else was around, so she dropped the subject once again.

“Oh, Ursa, you remember Private Glory and Corporal Heart,” Star said, gesturing towards each of the soldiers in turn. It wasn’t often that she used the proper titles when addressing the pegasus, but since this was a business meeting of sorts, the small mare figured it best to be formal.

“You’re the stallions that told the princesses about what was happening in Cloudsdale, right?” Ursa asked, as he eyed the pegasus from across the table with his bloodshot gaze.

“That’s right,” Dawn said, with a nod in the crystal pony’s direction. “Not the best circumstances to meet under, but it’s a pleasure all the same.”

“Likewise,” the emerald pony replied.

“These two have agreed to help Axel design the new chariots,” Star explained, “so I guess that means that we will all be working together for the next couple of days.”

“Oh, about that,” Brass Heart interrupted, “I was just wondering exactly what you’ll need us to do. I don’t know a whole lot about building wagons and the like, but I will certainly lend whatever assistance I can.” Axel giggled at his confusion and shook her head quickly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be the one actually building the chariots, at least until I can train some other workers,” the scarlet mare laughed. “I just need to figure out the amount of weight the average pegasus soldier can pull comfortably, while still retaining enough mobility and speed to effectively fight back against other aerial forces.” The earth pony took out a short length of ribbon as she spoke and haphazardly tied her blonde mane into a messy ponytail, so that it wouldn’t hang in her eyes, then she began searching around for something. “You see, when I built the prototype, I had the help of Ursa’s coltfriend, Draft, but he and his brother aren’t here right now,” she continued, “so I need two other pegasus to test out harnesses and take the machines for test runs, just to make sure I’m on the right track with my designs.” The earth pony finally found what she had been looking for, her various sketches and plans, which she held with her smiling mouth as she cantered back to the couch and flopped down.

“Okay,” Dawn slowly replied, “I… think that I actually see what you mean now.” Axel’s eyes questioned him from across the table, so he elaborated. “As an earth pony, you have no idea what issues come with trying to fly in general, let alone while trying to pull a suitable armored chariot, therefore, we just have to tell you what improvements need to be made before the military begins using them.”

“Mhmm,” Axel beamed, “easy as pie.”

“Well, we will certainly do what we can,” Brass Heart assured everypony present. “When do we need to begin our work?”

“Right after we leave here,” Axel replied. It was a rather sudden proposal, but Star could understand her friend’s eagerness to get started on the task. They had already wasted one day and in a war, one day could mean the difference between victory and defeat. “I just have to grab a few things and then I’ll be ready.”

“I suppose anypony who hasn’t eaten breakfast should probably do so now,” Star stated, as she got to her hooves. She wasn’t actually hungry and Axel had eaten breakfast with Inferno, but the unicorn hadn’t seen either of the guards eat anything that morning, so she figured they would want to grab a bite before heading over to the shop. Ursa, Star assumed, would most likely be going to bed, since he had been up working all night, but to her surprise, the crystal pony looked as if he would be joining them. “Ursa, shouldn’t you try to get a couple hours of sleep before you finish cleaning the shop?” she asked.

“I can sleep when I’m dead,” Ursa humorlessly replied.

“Damn right!” Dawn exclaimed.

“I wish the other soldiers in my platoon had that attitude,” Brass Heart chuckled in agreement, “because then we would have probably won this war already.” The pegasus didn’t know Ursa well enough to see that he wasn’t acting like himself, but the fact was painfully obvious to Star, who decided to get the stallion alone to talk, as soon as the opportunity to do so arose.

“Well, I am going to go get something to eat really quickly,” Dawn said. The pegasus stood up from his seat in the crowded room and impolitely scratched his flower marked flank as he headed out the door. Everypony seemed to ignore his rude behavior; either that or they didn’t find it as uncouth as Star did. The unicorn wasn’t sure which.

“Yeah, I guess I should get a little something in my stomach before we leave too,” Brass Heart groaned as he stretched out each of his flawless white limbs, as well as his elegant wings. “We’ll meet you in the main hall as soon as we’re done?”

“That works for me,” Axel replied with a grin. The soldier nodded his head and then turned to leave, his light blue tail twitching back and forth slightly as he left the cozy bedroom behind. Ursa let loose another large yawn after the two pegasus had left and Star decided that it was about time to confront the earth pony about his recent mood.

“Ursa, do think we could take a walk for a minute?” Star asked him. The exhausted stallion fixed her with a questioning glance, but shrugged his shoulders and nodded as he slowly forced himself up from the plush chair.

“Where are you two going?” Inferno questioned. The little dragon had been so quite the whole time they were in Axel’s room, that her mother was surprised to hear her raspy voice calling out as they walked towards the hallway.

“I just need to talk to him about something,” Star replied. “We’ll meet you in the main hall in just a few minutes, Inferno, so just help out by making sure Axel doesn’t forget anything that she needs to start working.” The serpentine girl snorted a cloud of smoke in a huff, but nodded her head in agreement none the less. Star turned back towards the open door, which Ursa had already exited through, and trotted off, so that she could get to the bottom of the crystal pony’s mysterious issues.

“What did you want to talk about?” Ursa asked in a slightly annoyed tone as the unicorn caught up with him.

“Actually, I figured that you were the one who might want to talk,” Star replied hopefully, as she peered over at the sullen stallion.

“What would I need to talk about?” Ursa picked up his pace a bit, as if trying to outrun Star’s concern, but the small mare wouldn’t let him get away so easily and began trotting just to keep up with the earth pony’s long strides as they walked through the ornate halls of the castle.

“Well, how about the reason that you’re working yourself so hard,” Star suggested. “That may be a good place to start.”

“I just want to do my part,” he flatly replied.

“So do all of us,” the shorter pony responded, “but that doesn’t mean we’re going to work day after day without rest. That’s just stupid.” It may have been a bit blunt, but Star was finding out that ponies often listened better when she didn’t mince words. This time proved to be no exception, as the emerald stallion stopped in his tracks and turned to face her, his bloodshot eyes brimming with tears.

“I- I’m just worried about Draft,” he admitted.

“Of course you are,” Star replied, “but that still doesn’t explain why you refuse to take a break, for Celestia’s sake.” The unicorn waited for his answer patiently for a few moments, until the earth pony finally took a deep breath and began to open up to her.

“I tried to talk Draft out of going to Cloudsdale, but he wouldn’t listen to me,” Ursa explained. “He just kept saying that he wanted to fight for his country and it didn’t help that his damn brother was there egging him on the entire time. I just, I- I lost somepony very close to me once and I never want that to happen again, but now Draft is out there, in harm’s way, and I’d rather not think about it anymore. Staying busy is the best way to accomplish that.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” Star quietly replied. The earth pony’s actions over the past day and a half were beginning to make much more sense to her. “Was it somepony in your family that you lost?”

“No, well, not really,” the large stallion said, doing his best not to let the lump in his throat choke off the words that he spoke. He took another deep breath and wiped his watery eyes as he elaborated. “He was the last coltfriend I had before Draft and h- he died while exploring the Crystal Mountains. I hadn’t wanted him to leave, so I didn’t stick around to see him off a- an- and I never got the chance t- to say goodbye.” Star lifted up a hoof and hesitated for just a moment before placing it against the emerald pony’s broad shoulder, as she tried to convey a little comfort through the simple touch.

“I’m so sorry, Ursa, I had no idea,” Star replied, as he squeezed his eyes shut. She could tell that the heartbroken pony was fighting back tears, but wasn’t sure what else she could say to give him peace.

“How could you have?” Ursa asked rhetorically, as he opened his dark green eyes once again. “You don’t even know me well enough to have learned my real name.” Laughter bubbled up from underneath his tears as he stopped fighting and let the torrent of emotions have their way with him.

“You mean Ursa isn’t your real name?” Star asked as she wrapped her forelegs around the earth pony’s neck. It was a strange turn for the conversation to have taken, but she did always enjoy learning new things about the ponies around her.

“Nope,” he chuckled, tears still glistening in the corners of his vision. “My actual name is Verd, Verd Monts. Everypony just started calling me Ursa when I was younger, because of how big I am; that and the fact that I wear my mane pretty damn shaggy.”

“Verd Monts.” Star whispered the words just to get a feel for them. “Huh, that’s a really nice name. You should use it more often,” the unicorn told him and then she finally released his powerful neck from her warm embrace.

“Do you really think so?” he asked, as he scratched a hoof against the back of his messy, blue mane awkwardly. “I mean, I suppose I could start going by my real name, but ponies have been calling me Ursa for so long that it sounds a little strange now.” Both ponies laughed at the absurdity of his words. Star couldn’t imagine having her own name sound foreign, but she also had never had anypony give her a nickname before, aside from Luna calling Star her student of course.

“That’s just my two bits,” Star replied. “It all comes down to whatever you’re the most comfortable with I suppose. Now, let’s get down to the main hall before everypony leaves without us,” she added, as Ursa wiped the remaining wetness from his cheeks with the front of his foreleg. The crystal pony glance down at Star a second later and silently nodded his head in reply before following the smaller pony down the gleaming halls.

“Hey, Star,” Ursa suddenly spoke, causing the smaller pony to look back in bewilderment. “Thanks,” he said with a sincere smile that Star happily returned and then they continued on, as if the exchange had never even happened, though the unicorn was fairly certain that she had helped her newest friend, at least a little bit.

“By the elements…” Brass Heart uttered in mild horror as he gazed at the dilapidated building in which they were expected to work. “This place should be condemned.” The pegasus walked around as he spoke, examining every cracked window and rotted out floorboard. His face was contorted with obvious distaste.

“Oh, don’t be such a little filly, Brass Heart,” Dawn laughed, as he followed the higher ranking stallion around the large, badly lit building. “It really isn’t all that bad. There is plenty of space and if we clean up some of these windows-”

“What windows are left,” Brass Heart interjected sourly.

“Then there will be plenty of sunlight shining into the place,” his friend continued, completely ignoring the fact that he had been interrupted.

“If you say so,” Brass Heart sighed, as he stepped over a large puddle of black fluid. “Just watch where you step, okay?”

The shop was actually in much better condition than it had been in the last time Star had seen it. Ursa had managed to clean out most of the trash that had collected in the abandoned building and had also swept away the majority of rat feces that had once littered the scummy floors. All of the large crates and barrels that he hadn’t thrown away were pushed back against the far wall, where they would be out of the way, and he had even erected a few makeshift tables for Axel to work at in the center of the open space. There was still a bit of work to be done, of course, but Star was pretty impressed with what the crystal pony had managed to do in one night. It made sense for him to be exhausted after so much work, she thought, as she evaluated the remaining mess.

The floor of the shop needed the most attention by far, thanks to the rainwater that had settled on the boards under the broken windows, causing mold and rot to form. Thankfully that was all contained to the back though, so Axel could start her work near the front, until the major repairs had been taken care of. The windows themselves would be the smart thing to fix next, otherwise everypony was going to freeze to death trying to work out in the cold shop. Judging by the pile of wood and nails, Ursa had intended to board up whatever windows were broken, but Star had a better idea. She knew a spell that was fairly trusty when trying to repair old pottery and assumed that it would work just fine for repairing the windows, so long as they were merely cracked and not completely decimated.

“What are you doing over there?” Inferno called out, once she noticed her mother wandering around near the rear of the spacious building.

“I’m going to try fixing up these windows,” Star called back. Her horn began to radiate white light, as she started to weave the simple spell. The unicorn focused on the window, no more than a yard above her head, and it was soon enveloped by her magic as the fractures along the glass slowly disappeared from view. “Whew… one down,” she sighed, as she peered up at her work. The window looked as good as new, although it still had a fair bit of grime built up on it, but that was easy enough to deal with, now that she had taken care of the hard part.

“Good job,” Ursa said, as he walked up behind the black mare. “That works much better than boarding them up like I had planned on doing.”

“Yes, well, after seeing how much you’ve done around here,” Star replied, “I felt like I should do something to help out too. At least we’ll be able to see better, once we wash these windows off anyway.”

“It looks to me like you both have things under control here,” Axel called out, as she bounded over to her friends, with Inferno following just a few paces behind her. “I need to go meet with Gentle Gem at his shop and see what he can do to get me a supply of enchanted stones. I’m going to have to clear out his stock just to get a small fleet of chariots built.” The rust colored mare came to a halt beside Star and she stared up at the window that the unicorn had just finished repairing, nodding her head in satisfaction as she inspected the work. “That’s some quality repairing.”

“Thanks,” Star laughed. “Make sure that Gentle Gem knows that the princesses will be paying for whatever supplies you will need, so he doesn’t have to worry about getting reimbursed,” she added, as she turned away from the window to face her friends.

“Will do,” Axel replied with a smile. Brass Heart and Dawn took that opportunity to wander over to the others, just as Axel was tightening her saddlebags and preparing to leave. The pegasus seemed mildly surprised that the earth pony was headed elsewhere, especially after Star had gone through the trouble of getting them down to the shop in the first place. It didn’t make much sense, but the mechanically inclined mare already had a plan for them to follow while she was gone. “I need you to go get me a chariot,” Axel told the soldiers, “just like the ones that you would use in the military right now and I’ll start designing from there. It will be good to have a base to start working with.”

“Yeah, we can do that,” Dawn readily agreed.

“Does it matter if it’s an old, broken down chariot?” Brass Heart asked, intending to find a vehicle that had been retired. There were some of them sitting behind the barracks building, awaiting repairs, that wouldn’t be missed by anypony.

“Yeah, that’ll be fine,” Axel replied, as she began trotting towards the open doors of the shop. “I just need to figure out how to reduce some weight without stripping away its entire defense. We can worry about making it fly after that.”

“Wait,” Inferno called out, as she hurried across the dusty, wooden floor, her claws scraping slightly with each quick step. “I’m going to help you with the jewels. I have a pretty decent eye for them,” the dragon explained.

“Are you sure that Star doesn’t nee-”

“We’re fine here,” Star said, cutting off her friend’s words. “And Inferno would probably be a big help for you, because she is very good at finding flaws in gems.”

“It’s a dragon thing,” Inferno agreed.

“We if you don’t mind, then sure, I’d love to have some company,” Axel replied. “Let’s get going.” Inferno nodded her head and wrapped her mother up in a quick hug before bounding after the energetic earth pony, who had already trotted through the open doors of the dilapidated storehouse.

“And while they do that, I suppose we should haul that chariot back here,” Brass Heart stated, as he turned his attention back to Star and Ursa.

“That sounds like a plan,” Ursa said with a nod. “Star and I will keep cleaning up here for now, I guess,” he added, with a questioning glance in the small mare’s direction.

“That works for me,” Star agreed.

“Okay, we’ll be back in a little while then,” Dawn said, as he rose into the air on well toned wings. Brass Heart lifted into the air beside his friend and then the two stallions took off for the open skies of Canterlot to retrieve the chariot Axel would need. Star stared after them for a moment before turning her attention back to the task at hoof. There were still a number of windows that she needed to fix and a large pile of junk for Ursa to haul out before they could focus on cleaning.

“Let’s get this over with,” Star sighed, as she walked over to the next window in line. Ursa nodded his head and headed over to the pile of broken boards and empty crates where he began to tie ropes onto one of the larger pieces of junk. Star’s horn started to glow again as she cast the spell on the next piece of cracked glass. Within seconds it had reformed, still covered in filth, and the unicorn moved further down the line. She could hear the shrill sounds of scraping as Ursa began to pull some of the scrap wood across the old floors and out of the building, but she closed her eyes and focused her attention on the magic slowly growing in her horn.

Star and Ursa continued on in that manner for the majority of the afternoon, stopping only to eat a quick lunch as the sun crested in the cloudy skies above. It wasn’t long before the unicorn had finished fixing the windows and the earth pony cleared out the last of the trash. They started cleaning right after, each of the ponies content to work in silence and let the monotony of the job allow their attention to wander as they worked. Star lost track of time as she scrubbed window after window, while her companion did the same to the floors. If only every problem could be cleaned up with just a bit of soapy water and some hard work, Star thought, as she vigorously rubbed a wet cloth against the cold glass before her, until a crystal clear reflection stared back at her. The world would be so much better off if the darkness and filth could be scrubbed away so easily, allowing the light to shine through. Life was never quite that simple though.

The repetitiveness of washing a window, dunking the washcloth and scrubbing the next window continued on, helping Star to take her mind off of the fact that her friends were somewhere out there, possibly in danger, that Suri had left without saying a genuine goodbye and most of all, that somewhere out there a hippogriff family was missing one member, because of her. The screams were still sharp in her memory, but focusing on the simple act of cleaning alleviated every one the unicorn’s worries for awhile and she relished in the escape.

After a few hours had passed, Star heard the sound of hoofsteps coming from the front of the building, accompanied by the squeaking of rusty wheels as Brass Heart and Dawn Glory returned with their prize. The old chariot certainly needed some maintenance, but the unicorn imagined that it would serve Axel’s purposes well enough. She dropped the washcloth from her magical grip and trotted over to greet the pegasus as they shirked off the harnesses binding them to the vehicle. Ursa noticed the other stallions return and walked over to join them a moment later.

“You two have been pretty busy I see,” Brass Heart noted, as he peered around the shop in astonishment. Star hadn’t actually taken the opportunity to admire their work yet, but was pleasantly surprised as she followed her friends gaze about the open room. There were still a few windows left for her to clean, but all of them that had been cracked were now repaired and those that could not be repaired were boarded over for the time being. Even Ursa had made quite a bit of progress with the floors, though there were still a few spots that needed patched up. All in all, Star thought, it looked as if they’d be able to get started on the real work in the morning.

“Yeah, it’s looking pretty good in here,” Dawn agreed, as he walked over and took a seat in the back of the chariot.

“Thanks,” Star replied with a smile.

“Have Axel and Inferno gotten back yet?” Brass Heart questioned, joining Dawn on the chariot bench, where he immediately flopped down with a sigh of relief.

“Not yet, but they’ll probably be back anytime,” Star replied.

“Speak of Discord,” Ursa commented, as he noticed the girls walking up from behind everypony else.

“That was great timing,” Dawn called out, as he turned around on the worn bench and waved at them. “We just got back too.”

“Sorry it took so long,” Axel apologized, as she walked up to her friends. “Gentle Gem sold us what stock he had and said that he’d be more than willing to make more if Inferno doesn’t mind helping out.”

“I told him that wouldn’t be a problem,” the dragon added from where she was leaning against the side of the slightly rusted vehicle.

“Okay, great,” Star replied. “Ursa and I have this place mostly ready for you to work in, but there are still a few things that we’ll have to do tomorrow.”

“I can see that,” Axel commented, as she began to pace about the room, inspecting the few worktables and the windows that had been mended. “It’s perfect,” she added a few moments later with an approving smile. “Now I can’t wait to get started.”

“We do still have a couple of hours until it gets dark out,” Star observed. “What can I do to help?” The earth pony shook her head, sending her blonde ponytail bouncing around behind her.

“No, no, no, you should head back to the castle and get some rest,” Axel replied. “You and Ursa have both been working pretty hard today and all that I can do for now is to take a few measurements with Brass Heart and Dawn’s help, so there isn’t much else you could do anyway. I’ll just be another hour at the most and then I’ll meet you back at the castle,” she continued, as she ushered her friends towards the door. The rust colored mare was talking so fast that Star didn’t even get the chance to argue before she found herself outside of the shop, along with Ursa. Inferno was also ushered out just a few seconds later.

“Okay, I suppose we should head back to the castle,” Ursa stated with a shrug. Star nodded her agreement as she turned her sights on the cloud cover above, where snow continued to fall in a gentle breeze. Drifts of the fluffy stuff had settled in piles all around the city, though most of the major roads had been cleared earlier in the day. Star sighed as she took her first few, careful steps across the ice slicked sidewalk. The wind picked up around her as they crossed the street and the small mare pulled her old cloak tight as she involuntarily shivered. Large wet flakes of snow clung to her hide wherever it was exposed and her every breath came out in puffs of vapor.

“It has been unseasonably cold this year.” Star complained as she stared up at the oncoming downfall of icy droplets. “Don’t you agree?”

“It does seem to be snowing more than usual,” Inferno observed, “but that’s probably just because the pegasus are too busy with the war to worry about managing the weather.” The dragon’s yellow eyes glinted in the dull light of the sun shinning mutedly from behind the thick storm overhead, as she tilted her head back. Inferno snaked her forked tongue out to catch a couple stray flakes soon after, which immediately dissolved at the warmth of her breath. “It’s not so bad though, when you actually have the chance to enjoy it.”

“That’s exactly right,” Star agreed, her face breaking apart into a sly smile as she used her magic to discreetly roll up a ball of snow while her daughter’s attention was elsewhere. She raised the finished product up a moment later; a small, perfectly round ball of snow that hovered just in front of her violet eyes, as she tried not to give away her plan with premature laughter. “Hey, Inferno,” she called out to the serpentine girl.

“What is i-” Thump! Inferno’s voice was muffled by an explosion of powdery snow as Star’s magic flung the ball into her face. Pffft! The dragon brushed off the icy assault and immediately dove for the ground, while her mother finally released the pent-up laughter she had been holding back.

“Hahaha, I got you,” Star teased playfully as she got to work, making another perfectly shaped snowball with her magic. It had been quite awhile since the unicorn had made time to play in the snow. She usually spent her winters doing research or practicing magic, but had to admit that the childlike thrill of throwing snowballs was a welcome break from the recent stress she’d been enduring and her daughter’s laughter was heartwarming. Whoosh! Thump! The black mare’s thoughts were cut short as she was struck by a large ball of snow flung from Ursa’s direction. Whoosh! Thump! Another ball struck the surprised pony from her daughter’s direction, as her two companions teamed up against her. “That’s not fair!” Star giggled as she took off galloping away from them.

“It’s completely fair,” Inferno argued. “You can make snowballs way quicker with your magic, so Ursa and I are on a team.” The red dragon scurried over the freezing ground, gathering up a decent sized pile as she made her case.

“That sounds fair to me,” Ursa agreed, between hardy bouts of his own laughter.

“Alright, but I’m not going to hold back then,” Star called back from behind the snowdrift where she had taken refuge. Every so often, another few snowballs would impact in a scattered pattern around the mare, but she ignored the attacks as she busied herself with creating a stockpile of snowballs. Once she was satisfied with the large pile, the unicorn lifted them all in the white glow of her levitation. “This is your last chance to run!” she shouted, a moment before jumping out from behind her cover and launching the barrage of cold projectiles.

“Woah!” Ursa exclaimed, as he dove out of reach. Inferno saw the attack coming just a second too late and was unable to escape her fate. Whoosh! Thump! Thump! Thump! The first few snowballs struck the ground around her scaled feet before a black torrent of flames shot up into the sky as she fended off the volley. Every single projectile was consumed by the magical dragon fire.

“Hay, now that is definitely cheating,” Star stated, as she watched the cloud of resulting steam dissipate into the air around her daughter. Inferno’s laughter was the only reply that the unicorn received and just as she was about to start throwing another volley of snowballs, one of Luna’s night guards descended from the sky to break up their evening games.

“The curfew will be going into effect,” the bat winged stallion called out, as he touched down on the snow packed street. The fact that Luna’s personal soldiers were left to enforce a curfew with which the princess of the night was in disagreement was not lost on the black mare and her smile slowly faded.

“We’re already in the city,” Star retorted, “so we aren’t breaking any laws.”

“Yes, but all children are to remain indoors after curfew,” the night guard replied, “and that includes young dragons.” Star was about to argue the point, but quickly realized that the effort would be wasted, even for the princess’s protégé.

“Alright, we were just getting ready to leave anyway,” Ursa said, as he dropped his large snowball on the ground. “Come on, Inferno, it’s time to get back to the castle.” The red dragon snorted a cloud of acrid smoke in protest before reluctantly dropping her last two snowballs on the ground as well. It looked as if their brief bout of winter fun was over for the night.

“That’s so unfair,” Inferno huffed, as she walked up to her adoptive mother.

“I know,” Star replied, placing a hoof on her daughter’s black spiked head, “but it’s for our own safety… I guess.” The guard nodded his head and offered an apologetic smile in return.

“It won’t be long before this curfew is lifted,” the dark coated pony assured them, “and then you can enjoy the night as much as you want again.” He waited until the three companions were prepared to leave and gave one last nod of satisfaction before lifting back into the air on silent, leathery wings, leaving the snow splattered ponies to take the young dragon back home.

“Can we do this again tomorrow?” Inferno asked hopefully, as they started down the icy sidewalk once again.

“We’ll have to wait and see,” Star replied. “It all depends on what time we finish up at the shop tomorrow and how much energy we have left.” Even the brief period of running around in the snow that they’d just done had left the small mare fairly winded, but she considered it an acceptable price to pay in exchange for her daughter’s smiling face. “I’m sure we’ll get the chance again soon though, one way or another.”

“Yeah, it’s been awhile since I’ve played in the snow like that,” Ursa chuckled. “We will definitely have to do it again sometime.” Inferno smiled up at the two ponies, content with their answers, and then she gave a small yawn as she rubbed her tired eyes.

“Now come on,” Star said, noticing the young serpent’s exhaustion, “we need to get you something to eat and then it’s off to bed. We have a busy day ahead of us.” Ursa nodded in agreement as he too yawned and shook himself awake. Star’s mouth formed a slight smile as she gazed up the road, at Canterlot Castle, where the lights from inside could be seen glowing faintly through the falling snow, off in the distance. Tranquility had fallen over the large city and it was silent all around, save for the soft sounds of the cold wind blowing around the three friends and the soft patter of their feet over the frozen cobblestones as they walked.

Princess Luna was pacing restlessly back and forth across the front of the dais on which her and her elder sister’s thrones sat. The midnight blue alicorn had been waiting for Star’s return and now her young student was walking down the isle of the throne room, accompanied by Ursa and Inferno. Upon seeing them, Luna finally decided to take her seat, beside Celestia, who had been waiting patiently in her throne unlike her younger sister. Star walked up to them and stood before the royal sisters, wondering what they needed to speak with her about. If the stallion who had ushered her and her companions towards the throne room had known the purpose of the princesses’ summons, he certainly hadn’t informed the young mare. Then Celestia cleared her throat and addressed them quietly, while Luna cast a silencing spell over the room, as she had done just a few nights before, in fear of prying ears.

“Good evening, Discipula Star,” Princess Celestia greeted the unicorn and then nodded to her friends in turn. “Inferno, Ursa, I trust you are doing well.”

“Of course, Princess Celestia,” Ursa replied, as he bowed low to the ground, with only a slight grimace to betray the fact that every muscle in his body was aching from working himself so hard. Star and Inferno bowed as well, the unicorn’s violet eyes never leaving her mentor’s face as she tried to sense the reason behind the alicorn’s distress. “It is a pleasure to see you both, as always,” the emerald stallion added, standing up with a slight groan. Princess Luna cleared her throat and began to speak, obviously eager to get to the point of the discussion.

“We have called you here tonight because we have just received some troubling news,” Luna explained. “It seems that Rainbow Strike has sealed off Cloudsdale, before Downpour, Backdraft and the soldiers could get inside. That leaves us with no choice left, except keeping the city under siege, until we can find a way in or until the former sergeant surrenders himself.” The younger princess’s tone was calm at the moment, but her blue eyes held a glint of anger in them that only her student appeared to notice.

“We hope that it is the former, because there is no way of knowing what Rainbow Strike may do to the innocent ponies in the city,” Princess Celestia continued. “If he is willing to betray his country and our rule by selling weapons to the enemy, then I can’t begin to imagine what other treachery he will perform.”

“That is very troubling,” Star acknowledged, “but I don’t believe that there is anything we could do to help.”

“No, you are correct,” Celestia replied. “There is nothing that you can do to solve this problem. We must all rely on the soldiers to take back the city and bring that criminal to justice. We just assumed that you would want to know any news about your friends as soon as it is received.”

“We are very grateful for your consideration, your majesties,” Ursa assured the princesses. The crystal pony had very refined manners, Star noticed, which was a welcome improvement over Nature Spark and the pegasus brothers. Both of the alicorns seemed to appreciate the respect which the foreigner showed them as well, with Celestia addressing him normally instead of snapping orders as she commonly did while speaking with Spark, though sometimes the blind unicorn did for it with the tones he used.

“Tell us, Star,” Luna said, as shifted in her throne, “how has your work been going? I don’t believe that I have seen you since yesterday.” Luna paused for a moment as she thought. “You must have been keeping very busy.”

“All is well, Princess Luna,” Star assured her mentor. “The building that you gave us has been made suitable for Axel’s work and she has begun taking measurements and drawing designs, so I am quite certain that the first few military chariots will be manufactured very soon.” Both princesses smiled at the news. They appeared thankful that at least one aspect of their plan seemed to be working out as it should have been, though Star imagined that they would have preferred the situation in Cloudsdale to go smoothly instead. “We had actually just left the shop and were on our way back to the castle when we stopped to play in the snow for awhile,” the raven maned unicorn added, as she blew a few stray strands of purple and blue hair out from her eyes.

“I am sorry to hear that, Star, but the curfew applies to everypony,” Celestia told her, “even my sister’s personal student.” Inferno opened her mouth to expand on what her mother had said, but a nudge in the side from the unicorn effectively silenced her.

“I am aware, but we were just a few blocks away from the castle and Inferno was with me,” Star argued, fully intending to make her displeasure with the new law known. “It isn’t like anything was going to happen to her right then.”

“I am sorry, my little pony, but if we start making exceptions for you, then we will have to make them for every citizen,” Luna sighed. The younger alicorn seemed just as unhappy with the curfew as ever, but she also appeared to have accepted that it was her duty to see that it was enforced, whether she liked it or not.

“I see,” Star said quietly, “then I am sorry that I brought it up,” she added a moment later. Arguing further would serve no purpose it appeared.

“Is there something else?” Inferno asked, doing her best to suppress a yawn as she rubbed her yellow eyes. The long day spent working had finally caught up with the dragon.

“That was all that we needed to speak with you about,” Celestia told them. “We will inform you as soon as we receive any further word from Spark or Downpour and Backdraft, but I don’t expect to hear anything over the next few days.”

“Thank you again, Princess Celestia,” Ursa said, as he dipped into another bow, “Princess Luna,” he added, turning to the younger alicorn as well.

“Good night, your highnesses,” Star added, immediately following the stallion’s lead. Beside her, Inferno also bowed, nearly falling forward as she fought off the encroaching exhaustion taking its toll on her small form.

“Good night, you three,” Celestia replied with a nod.

“Sleep well, Star,” Luna added, before turning her attention to the large, white moon which hung in the cloudy skies beyond the stained glass windows. Star noticed that her mentor’s attention had been elsewhere during the meeting, but it didn’t come as a surprise. Recent events would no doubt leave anypony distracted.

With nothing left to be said, Star and her companions turned away from the raised platform on which the immortals sat and returned the way they had come, across the thick, red carpet lining the center isle. Silence followed their hoofsteps as they exited the throne room and Star didn’t break it until the doors had slammed closed behind her.

“I suppose it wasn’t the worst news that we could have received,” Star admitted, “though I must confess that I had been hoping for something better.”

“I’m so hungry,” Inferno whined. The dragon hugged her mother’s foreleg as she slid to the tiled floor, clutching her stomach for emphasis. “I want to eat and go to bed.”

“Go right ahead,” Star replied, shaking her leg to dislodge the clinging child. “Get something for the both of us and take it to the bedroom. I’ll meet you up there when you’ve finished getting it.” Inferno inhaled sharply, as if trying to muster the energy for the task, and then she got to her clawed feet and marched away, muttering something that Star didn’t catch.

“How are you doing?” Star questioned Ursa, as she watched her daughter turn the corner on her way to the dining room.

“Uh, I’m alright,” Ursa replied with a perplexed glance in the mare’s direction. “Why do you ask?”

“I know you were worried about Draft and I just figured that after what Celestia and Luna told us,” Star began.

“Oh, that I might be more worried,” Ursa finished. “To be honest, I was at first, but I think part of me is happier that Draft is stuck on the outside of Cloudsdale, further from danger,” the earth pony explained, as he and Star made their way towards the stairs that would lead them up to their rooms. “I know it’s probably selfish of me, considering that they’re trying to save an entire city of innocent ponies, but I can’t help how I feel.” The shaggy stallion sighed deeply, before shoving open the large doors of the main hall.

“I don’t know if that’s selfish or not,” Star replied honestly, “but I can tell you that I’m sure I would feel the same way if our situations were reversed.” The stairs rose in front of the two ponies now and the mare took her first step up as they continued to speak. “I’m sure that Draft will be fine when they do finally breech the walls, especially with his brother and Strata watching his flank.”

“Hmm, well I suppose.” Ursa grunted. “I know that Downpour will look out for his brother, but I’d still rather be there myself.” Star couldn’t hold back a giggle at the very serious expression he wore when talking about the older of the two brothers.

“That wouldn’t do very much good, considering you don’t have wings,” she snickered. The crystal pony rolled his dark green eyes in response.

“Maybe you could cast that cloud walking spell that I heard about and then both of us can go to their rescue,” Ursa jested.

“I’m sure the princesses would love that,” Star replied sarcastically, “and I wouldn’t want to leave Axel and Inferno behind anyway.”

“So they can come along as well,” Ursa said, as his large hooves connected with the top of the stairs. “We’ll make a wonderful team of wingless warriors to siege a pegasus city.” Both ponies broke out in laughter after that, the joyful sound echoing throughout the second floor halls as they continued walking.

“I’m sure that we’ll get our chance to help soon enough,” Star sighed. The unicorn also yearned to be out there, with the rest of her friends, even if she despised violence. They had grown so close since Spark and the pegasus brothers had shown up at her door all those weeks ago and Star couldn’t remember ever being happier, despite the terrible circumstances under which they had met. “Nature Spark will be returning soon and perhaps Celestia and Luna will grant us permission to go with him.”

“Otherwise we may have to leave without their blessing,” Ursa added. Star thought the emerald stallion was joking at first, but his face held no hint of a smile.

“Yeah,” she mumbled with a dry laugh. Star wasn’t sure whether she would be willing to disobey the princesses’ orders and leave if the earth pony did or not. On one hoof, she would love nothing more than to be by Spark’s side when he confronted the stallion responsible for so much evil, but on the other hoof, she had never gone against Luna’s wishes in the past and was afraid of betraying her mentor during such a precarious time in Equestria’s history.

“I guess that it’s about time to get some sleep,” Ursa commented, pausing by the door to his room. Star hadn’t even realized that they were standing there, because she had been lost in thought. The shaggy maned stallion pushed open the door to his bedroom and yawned, as he turned back to the small mare behind him. “I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow,” he assured the unicorn before leaving her alone in the hall.

“Leave without their blessing,” Star mumbled, as she shook her head dismissively. Chances were good that fate wouldn’t see fit to test her on her willingness to defy the alicorns, as far as the small mare could see. “Princess Luna would surely allow me to leave at least,” she tried to convince herself, “but maybe I’ll show her that I could defend myself in a fight, just to be certain.”

There were many books in the Canterlot athenaeum that Star could learn battle magic from. Hundreds of books on the subject had been written during the course of Discord’s chaotic rule, if not thousands, so there were bound to be some useful spells that she could teach herself before the time came for Spark to leave for the Crystal Empire. It would take quite a bit of extra work, but the unicorn made the decision to go through with her plan, as she stepped over the threshold into her dark bedroom.

Star let out a small yawn and then lit a candle with her magic, while simultaneously shrugging off her damp cloak. The tiny flame let off a flickering light which was just bright enough for her to navigate around the room without any problems. Completely drained of energy, the mare wandered over to her welcoming looking bed and crawled atop the blankets, intending to merely rest her eyes for a moment while she awaited her daughter’s return. Sleep soon took hold of the unicorn however, and she sank into the dream world before Inferno made it back with their dinner.

Author's Note

Normally I will try to get a chapter posted every five days, but once in a great while I do make plans and lose a day or two of free time, so I can't always meet that self imposed deadline. This chapter was one of those times. Though this chapter was mostly for character building, I assure you that excitement will be coming into the story very soon, I just have to develope the relationships between everypony along the way.

Ch.3 Days Gone By

~Chapter 3: Days Gone By~

Discipula Star had sensed a familiar presence as she’d fallen asleep waiting for Inferno to return with their dinner. Princess Luna was waiting for her student in the dream world and somehow the unicorn always received a certain hard to explain feeling when that happened. She drifted down from the surreal skies of the dream and could see Luna waiting for her at a small table below. The princess glanced up as her hooves touched the ground, sending a barely perceptible ripple across the illusion of ground as the walls of Star’s home in Dodge began to materialize around them. It had been weeks since she’d actually been home, the small mare realized, as she walked over to the only other chair and took a took a seat, foregoing the customary bow since they were having an informal visit, or so it appeared.

“Princess Luna.” Star greeted her mentor with a smile. “I’m surprised to see you here, seeing as we just finished speaking a short while ago.” The alicorn nodded her head, causing her twinkling mane to flutter even more than it naturally did.

“Yes, and I am sorry to be pestering you again so soon,” Luna apologized. “I know that you must be quite exhausted after everything that you have done today.”

“Oh, it is no bother, I assure you,” Star replied with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “Although I suppose I did fall asleep waiting for Inferno to return.” The unicorn summoned a cup of tea for herself as she spoke and then did the same for her mentor, because tea seemed to go hoof in hoof with late night discussions, as far as she was concerned. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“I just wanted to check in with my protégé,” Luna replied, though Star sensed that it wasn’t the whole truth. “I know that it must be difficult for you, being separated from all of your friends at a time like this.” The unicorn sighed softly and nodded her head in reply as she swirled around the cup of tea resting between her hooves.

“It is,” Star admitted, “though I know that it is for the good of Equestria,” she added a moment later. “Spark and Suri will be returning from whatever business they had to take care of though, so I’m sure that we will be seeing them in just a few days time.” Heart Charm, the mare that Spark had fallen in love with, was most likely the blind stallion’s destination, the young mare assumed. There was a bit of jealousy present in her mind as she considered this fact. Though Star was still in love with his sister, Suri, she had to admit that she held a certain respect for Spark, which may have bordered on genuine admiration. In spite of the countless trials placed before him, Spark seemed to face the oncoming storm with a silent resolve, though Star had to wonder how he would deal with explaining his typhlosis to his marefriend. It was a conversation that she was glad to be far removed from.

“I would imagine so,” Luna commented, stirring her student from the thoughts in her mind. “I am more worried about the success of Downpour and Backdraft’s mission, personally. That traitor, Rainbow Strike, is obviously receiving something in return for the weapons he has been selling. Most likely large sums of bits or possibly even the promise of his own soldiers and territory should Doré Langue succeed.” The princess paused in her speech long enough to take a sip from her steaming cup, though it was purely habitual and not because she was actually thirsty.

“I understand why the duke would have tried to kill the empress and her husband,” Star said, as she stared into the shimmering liquid inside her own cup. There was no reflection in the dream world, the unicorn remembered, which was one of the few surefire ways she had to tell it apart from reality those times when her subconscious wove a frighteningly convincing lie during her nightmares. “Their deaths would be the only path for him to take in order to rule the Crystal Empire, but I don’t see why he would have blamed you and started this war in the first place. I can’t imagine that contending with the Equestrian military will move his plans along any faster.” She pulled her violet eyes away from her lack of reflection and saw her mentor, staring at her with a weary gaze. For the first time since Star had known her, the princess of the night looked tired.

“You should not trouble yourself with trying to decipher the inner workings of such a stallion’s mind, my faithful student,” Luna replied. “If there is any semblance of sanity buried in his subconscious, then I fear it has been drowned out by the hatred and disharmony which caused his hooves to start walking down the path of corruption. Contemplating such evil will only lead to madness and confusion, I assure you.”

“I suppose you are right, princess,” Star admitted with a sigh. “I guess that I was just thinking that if I could understand the reason, then maybe I could end this.” It was a foalish though of course, because nopony who was willing to betray their country, take innocent lives and cause such disharmony in the world would ever be able to be stopped by mere words alone. “The only way I would ever learn the reasons would be from Doré Langue himself, I know, and there is no chance of that happening peaceably… is there?” She stared hopefully up at her mentor, but knew the answer deep down, before the alicorn had even responded.

“No, Star, I am afraid that the duke may have fallen much too far for us to be able to pull him back up again. Even if we were able to cleanse the twisted thoughts from his mind and somehow reform him, ponies from here clear to the farthest edges of the Crystal Empire would demand justice for what he has already done. The only acceptable price for him will be his lifeblood.” Only a few weeks ago, the young mare would never have dreamed her teacher could even think such thoughts, let alone voice them to her, but now, in the wake of the trials they had all faced, the revelations made to her and the loss they had all suffered, Luna’s reaction seemed perfectly at place.

“At one time, I believe I would have argued over that fact,” Star sighed as she gazed up into the nightscape. “I would have said that the duke should be given the chance to change and that peace could be reached between every country once again, but now… after everything that I have seen… that I have done…” The horrors of the Ponyville fire flashed through her mind, as well as the screams of the griffon whose life she had taken and, consequently, shades of those memories played themselves out in the background of her dreams. “I- I think that I’ve changed. I think that the whole world is changing, but I don’t think it is changing for the better.”

“Calm yourself, Star…” Princess Luna urged her, having noticed the shift in her student’s consciousness. The small mare took a few deep breaths and complied. “You are correct, my little pony,” the princess continued, as she too stared up into the heavens. “You have changed. You were forced to grow and mature so much in such a short time and I am sorry for that and for the terrible experiences which caused it, but I am not sorry for the pony that you are becoming. In the face of so much pain and suffering, you have remained strong and your heart has remained untainted.” Star’s gaze dropped back to her mentor’s face, where a sparkling tear was rolling down the midnight blue mare’s cheek as she spoke. “I only hope that I can say the same when all of this is over,” she added as she used the tip of one wing to flick the droplet from her countenance, “and that you can say the same of me.”

“Whatever do you mean, princess?” Star asked in bafflement. “You lived through discord’s rule and emerged from the flames of his defeat the way you are now, so you have nothing to fear from a mere mortal.” Luna closed her eyes and took a deep breath before replying to her student.

“Discord caused disharmony, that much is very true, but he was not the embodiment of evil that the history books would have you believe,” Luna finally responded. Her eyes opened a moment later, revealing a stoic gaze that made Star sit up rigidly in her chair as it rested on her, though her mentor’s eyes seemed to be looking past her place at the small table and into the past. “I would not argue that he was villainous by nature, because nopony can live in a world of chaos, but I do not believe that Discord was genuinely monstrous.”

“But I don-” Star sputtered.

“Please, allow me to finish,” Luna replied. “Yes, he indirectly caused the deaths of many ponies and who knows how many other races suffered loss, but never did the draconequus end a life with his own claws. He simply changed the world so rapidly and in such a frightening way that everypony was overcome by the disorder and turned on one another as well as the embodiment of disharmony himself.”

“So you mean to tell me that Discord wasn’t evil?” Star asked, aghast at the immortal’s revelation.

“Not quite, Star. I’m telling you that life isn’t always as simple as good and evil,” the princess explained. “While what Discord did was terrible and ruined many lives, he was simply acting in his nature as a being of chaos. That is why my sister and I used the Elements of Harmony to turn him into stone, rather than completely destroy him. History, however, is always written by the victors.”

“So there is hope for Doré Langue after all?” Star asked, trying to make sense of what her mentor was saying. “Just like there is for Discord.”

“I am not certain,” Luna replied with a soft sigh before draining the last of her cup and banishing the object from the dream. “I would like to think so, but even if his reasons were pure, his methods are not, as we have all witnessed. Perhaps he can still be saved one day and if so, then Celestia and I will turn him to stone just as we have done with Discord in hopes of someday finding away to reform his wicked ways, but I fear that the duke is playing with a power that he does not fully understand, a power which will soon push him over the edge of the abyss and into true evil.”

“You mean the book, don’t you?” Star questioned. Luna’s surprise quickly turned to understanding as she stared back at her student.

“You overheard Celestia and I talking the other night,” Luna commented. Star nodded her head and looked away from her mentor, focusing her gaze on the nearly empty cup in her hooves, even as she felt the princess’s gaze on her. “Yes, the duke has somehow managed to get his hooves on Starswirl the Bearded’s book of spells,” the alicorn admitted. “Starswirl was a brilliant magician, as you know, and he discovered many wonderful spells that have helped to shape Equestria into the place it is now, but he also believed that no spell was truly evil. He was convinced that any form of magic could be used with pure intentions, but I am not so sure that he was correct.”

“And now the duke has access to Starswirl’s power,” Star replied.

“Yes, but that power will soon corrupt him completely I’m afraid,” Luna told her. “Even an immortal such as I would fear that much power, because it has the potential to consume the user.”

“Much like the Alicorn Amulet,” the unicorn commented.

“Precisely,” Luna agreed. “Imagine, Star, the power of the amulet magnified tenfold. That much raw energy used for such a terrible reason…”

“I see,” Star whispered as her cup vanished from its surreal existence. She was no longer in the mood for tea. “Then his madness will only be countered by his death.”

“It would seem so,” Luna responded.

“I’m not sure what to make of everything that you have revealed to me,” Star admitted. “Nothing seems right anymore, as if the world I knew never actually existed.”

“Do not think that way, my faithful student, the world that you believed in is still all around us and though a shadow has begun to consume it, I still believe that harmony can prevail once again.” Luna stood up from the table as Star absorbed her words. “These things that I have told you are merely my observations and it is up to you to divine whatever wisdom they truly contain, but I must go now, there are many ponies whose dreams are turning into nightmares in the wake of these tragic events and they all require whatever comfort I can give them.”

“Of course, Princess Luna,” Star replied. “Thank you for your wisdom and your concern.” The princess nodded sympathetically before pushing off of the ground and ascending into the dark skies as her student continued to ponder on their conversation. Luna had condemned a mortal stallion and defended a creature of chaos, but her student still couldn’t fathom the reasons. Both of them seemed evil to Star, but perhaps it wasn’t all that simple. Morning came before the unicorn had reached a final conclusion.

A gentle nudging on Star’s shoulder woke her from her sleep in the morning. As the unicorn’s violet eyes fluttered open, she expected to see Inferno’s clawed hand resting on her, but the dragon was still snoring peacefully. Star blinked in confusion a few times before gasping in shock as she noticed the lumbering presence to the side of her bed. It was only a split second after that she realized it was only Ursa, there to wake her up for their day of work down at the shop. The now wide awake mare placed a hoof against her chest as her heart continued to hammer from the shock of her friend’s unexpected appearance.

“You startled me,” Star huffed, as she kicked off her blankets.

“I’m sorry about that,” Ursa apologized. He was obviously trying to hold back his laughter so as to not wake the sleeping girl beside her. “I honestly didn’t mean to. I just thought you might want to get up and when I noticed that your door was unlocked, I assumed it would be better for me to wake you quietly instead of pounding on the door and waking up Inferno as well.”

“No, it’s fine,” Star assured the emerald stallion. “I just wasn’t expecting to see you there is all. Thank you for thinking of my daughter.”

“Yes, of course,” Ursa replied. “Well, now that you’re awake, I am going to grab some breakfast. I’ll meet you downstairs whenever you’re ready to leave.” Star nodded her head and yawned as she slowly forced herself up from the cozy mattress.

“Did you already make sure Axel was up?” she asked as she made her way towards the bathroom. Brass Heart and Dawn Glory the unicorn wasn’t very worried about, since they were more accustomed to strict schedules and early mornings, but the rust colored mare was a different story.

“I have no idea where that mare ran off to,” Ursa admitted. “I went to her room just a few minutes before I came here, but she was already gone and so were her bags.”

“Hmm,” Star mumbled as she used her magic to turn on the sink faucet in the small room beside her, “I guess that she already left for the shop. She must be eager to get started on building the new chariots.” Ursa shrugged his broad shoulders in response as she excused herself to the bathroom.

“I’ll be in the main hall when you’re ready to leave,” Ursa reminded her before leaving. Star mumbled a response from her side of the door and then listened to the heavy steps of the crystal pony as he left her bedroom.

“I can’t believe that Axel got up earlier than this,” Star said aloud as she grabbed a cloth and wetted it down, so that she could scrub her face before combing out her mane and tail. Exchanging sleep for a conversation with the princess wasn’t as helpful as it could have been, she mused, as she grabbed the small comb and got to work on her mane. It didn’t take long for the unicorn to finish up her morning routine and then she set about the next task on her new mental list for the day; writing a note for her daughter, telling the dragon to head over to Gentle Gem’s store after she’d eaten breakfast.

The glow of Star’s horn faded after she had placed the quickly written note on the nightstand near Inferno’s face and then she scooped up her cloak and trotted out the door, choosing to struggle with the garment as she walked down the halls rather than stopping long enough to properly slip it on. Doing so caused her to graze against somepony, whom Star assumed was one of the maids busy cleaning the windows, as she passed by. She muttered an absentminded apology, but the cloak over the unicorn’s eyes had obstructed the fact that it was actually Princess Celestia whom she had nearly knocked over.

“Ah, Discipula Star, I was hoping to bump into you before you left for the day,” Celestia said, startling the black mare for the second time that day, “though not quite so literally, I must say.” The princess laughed at the joke, a sound that ponies seldom got the opportunity to hear anymore, Star realized. It was a joyful sound, like the gentle rays of sunshine that warmed the earth once winter had been wrapped up.

“I am terribly sorry, Princess Celestia,” Star apologized with a quick bow, as she finally managed to get her cloak on properly. “I was in such a hurry that I failed to see you walking there.”

“’Tis quite alright, I assure you,” Celestia replied. “I was just wondering if you had gotten the opportunity to talk with Luna lately. She seems very troubled these days.” Having to deal with a country at war, horrible accusations and the new curfew might be the reason for that, Star thought. She refrained from voicing her opinions however and waited for the princess to continue. “At first I was under the impression that it was the stress of the war causing her to be so sullen and agitated and I am aware that the curfew hasn’t been easy for her to accept either.”

“That’s very true, princess,” Star replied as she stared up at the alicorn’s mane, which was in perpetual motion caused by some unseen magical force. Every color of the sunrise could be seen waving behind the regal mare. “I’ve spoken to her briefly on the subject, but she has evaded most of my inquiries.” Celestia nodded knowingly as she began walking down the hall. The small unicorn took her lead and continued on her way to the stairs. “Perhaps if you were to remove the curfew it would help ease her stress.”

“It very well may, but I am not willing to go against my citizens decisions, nor am I willing to place them at risk just to satiate my younger sister’s perceived affront to her nights,” the princess replied. “Though I suppose I should have a conversation with her in an attempt to alleviate some of her concern,” she added a moment later, as both of them began to descend the spiraling staircase.

“I think that is a wise decision, Princess Celestia,” the unicorn agreed. “The sun does tend to cast a far reaching shadow on everything beside it after all.” Star didn’t wait to hear Celestia’s response, if the princess had even been considering one, because she noticed Ursa waiting for her near the front gates of the castle, looking anxious to leave. “I am sorry, but Ursa and I must be getting to the shop now. Axel is already down there waiting for us,” the small mare stated with a hurried bow.

“Yes, of course, Star,” Celestia mumbled, her thoughts obviously dwelling on something that had been said earlier in their conversation. “I must be leaving as well. Duty waits for no mare.” With those final words, the flawlessly white alicorn turned in the opposite direction of Star and walked away, her gold clad hooves tapping gently across the gleaming floor, though she was of such large stature.

“Did you need to grab something to eat?” Ursa asked upon noticing Star’s approach. The unicorn shook her head and quickly tied the sash on her cloak, preparing for the inevitable snowy march towards a day of hard work.

“It’s a good thing that we finished boarding up windows yesterday,” Star commented as they stepped out past the guards and into the early haze of sunrise. The large clouds overhead were still pregnant with snow, despite the fact that it had been falling all through the night. It seemed that even the ponies responsible for maintaining the castle grounds were having some troubles clearing the white blanket that had shrouded the yard. “I can’t imagine having to work all day in this cold.”

“I know what you mean,” Ursa agreed. Though the crystal pony had a shaggy mane and thick fur, he had still decided to don a thick cloak, but it appeared that he had chosen not to wear any boots or had forgotten them just as Star had. “It still won’t be that warm in the old warehouse, but it will be a blessing to get out of this accursed wind.”

“I wonder how bad the weather is up north,” Star said as they left the front gates behind and started down the slippery sidewalk. Downpour and Backdraft were just outside of Cloudsdale and the unicorn knew that the weather there was often times more severe than it was further south. She hoped that the pegasus would be fine out in the elements, but was still worried about their health.

“Yeah, I was wondering the same thing,” Ursa replied. “It’s just one more reason that Draft should have stayed here with me, instead of going off to take on that despicable sergeant.”

“You’re still upset about that, huh?” Star questioned. It sounded to her as if the earth pony wanted to talk about it more and the fact that conversation helped take her mind off the cold was a bonus.

“I’m trying not to be, but it’s difficult,” he told the unicorn as they passed by one of a number of shops that had been closed due to the foul weather. Not many ponies appeared to be out and about at the early hour, which was a little strange considering how busy the city usually was, but Star couldn’t blame them for wanting to stay inside their homes, where it was warm. “I’m sure that he had his reasons for wanting to go. I just wish he had told me what they were,” Ursa continued. “We may have only known one another for a short while, but I was under the impression that the feelings I had for him were mutual.” Star sighed as she continued to struggle with matching the large stallion’s long strides as they traversed the icy streets.

“I have seen the way that you two are around each other and I can say with very little doubt that Draft loves you,” she assured the crystal pony.

“I know, I know,” Ursa responded. “He’s told me as much before, but I- I guess that I just want us to have more time to spend together, because I feel like we hardly know one another and that doesn’t seem like a good foundation to build a relationship on.” The large stallion scowled as he thought about it.

“No, but I’m sure that you’ll get the chance, once all of this…” Star said, as she gestured around at everything, “shit gets sorted out.” It wasn’t the most elegant of replies, the unicorn realized, but it did seem to help ease Ursa’s concerns, which was all that truly mattered.

Axel was indeed at the shop already by the time that Star and Ursa shoved open the front doors of the derelict building and walked inside. Brass Heart and Dawn Glory were present as well; the former standing in front of the chariot while the rust red mare fiddled with the various straps and latches connecting him to the vehicle. Dawn stood to the side observing and making the occasional suggestion as Axel worked. Star shouted out a greeting as she and Ursa headed over to their friends to see what sort of assistance they could offer and the soldiers waved to them, though the mechanically inclined mare was too absorbed in her work to have noticed their presence.

“How early did you get here?” Star asked her friends as she came to a stop beside Dawn. “The sun is just rising,” she added after.

“I’m not sure about her,” Dawn replied, as he pointed to Axel, “but last night she told us to meet her here and we arrived about an hour ago.”

“The eawly biwd gesh the wom,” Axel mumbled around the pen in her mouth, which she was using to furiously scribble notes down on a sheet of parchment.

“I’m pretty sure that whatever birds are still hanging around here wouldn’t be dumb enough to go out in this kind of weather and especially not at this unholy hour,” Dawn chuckled in reply.

“At least you aren’t the one stuck standing here while miss machine here pokes and prods you all morning,” Brass Heart retorted. Star had to smirk at the annoyed expression that the corporal wore as he followed Axel’s directions. The blonde pony had her hair up in the usual messy ponytail as she watched Brass Heart unfurl his wings and move them around a bit.

“Oh, quit your whining,” Dawn scoffed. “I already told you that I would take the next turn whenever she needs me.” Brass Heart rolled his light blue eyes at his subordinate and friend.

Ursa decided to move the conversation along by asking, “Is there something that we can help you with or should Star and I just get started on cleaning up the last of the mess?” There wasn’t much left for them to finish, Star noticed, but it would still take them a good hour at the very least.

“Not at the moment,” Axel replied. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready to start the next part of my work though, because I will need some help with that, although I could probably manage it on my own, but that would be a pain in the flank.”

“Okay, just call us over when you need some help,” Ursa replied as he slowly shook his head. The rust colored mare seemed to be more animated than she had been the past few days, most likely because she was enjoying her work, Star assumed.

“Great, let’s get to work then,” Star said before heading off to finish scrubbing the last couple of windows that were still marred with years of dirt and grime.

“I’m right behind you,” Ursa replied as he followed the black mare to the back of the building, to resume his vigorous cleansing of the worn floors.

“It’s going to be another long day,” Star sighed quietly to herself, while she mixed up a bucket of soapy water using one of the spigots conveniently placed throughout the former warehouse. Once she had her cleaning solution and an old rag, the unicorn was ready to begin her work and proceeded to the window she had been in the process of washing the day before. There were still thick streaks blemishing the clear pane of glass and with a little help from her levitation spell, Star set out to rectify that problem. It wasn’t long after readjusting to the simple pattern of scrub, rinse and scrub some more, that her thoughts began to wander from the task.

Spark and Suri had taken a flying chariot when they’d left Canterlot, which made Star wonder exactly how far they had already traveled. It would really depend on who was pulling them, a fact which the unicorn hadn’t had the forethought to learn yet. If Ponyville was their destination, as she assumed, then they would most likely be returning any day, but then another thought crossed Star’s mind. Spark would probably want to check in on his family before leaving for the Crystal Empire, since there was a distinct possibility that he wouldn’t return. They had all left Dodge over a month ago, with no intention of being away for so long. It was a long time to be away from ponies you cared about, especially without them knowing where you actually were.

While moving on to the second, or possibly third, window along the wall, Star’s thoughts turned from the blind stallion to his alluring older sister. She and Star had shared a moment of wonderful passion and those few minutes were forever burned into the unicorn’s mind, along with the dying screams of a mercenary and a few other memories she would have been more than happy to forget. Having her affection spurned by the beautiful older mare had hurt more than she had expected, but maybe time would prove to heal the wounds, though it wasn’t helping anything right then. Star was fairly inexperienced at love, having had very few coltfriends and no marefriends to speak of, but she was fairly certain that the feelings she had for the white unicorn were genuine and not just some naïve infatuation that could be easily dismissed. Obviously the pony of her affections hadn’t felt the same way though.

The rest of the morning passed in the same general way, with Star doing her best not to over think the problems which she had no control over, but failing miserably. Eventually she absentmindedly dipped her washcloth in the now murky water to rinse it, only to realize that the final window was already sparkling in what little light managed to peek through the grey clouds outside. The unicorn sucked in a deep breath and let out a satisfied sigh as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. It hadn’t taken all that long for her to finish the job and a quick glance around the shop revealed Ursa to be working on the last patch of filthy wooden floorboards, so she decided to lend a hoof.

“Wow, you’re just about done with that,” Star commented as she strolled over to where the earth pony was crouched down on the floor.

“Mhmm,” Ursa mumbled without glancing up from his work. “You would have been done long before me if you had actually been focused on washing windows.” The smirk on his face gave away the friendly jest.

“Yeah, well, I had some things on my mind, okay,” Star told the emerald stallion as she picked up her washcloth and crouched down beside him. “I’ll help you with the last of this to make up for being so slow though.”

“I was just joking, Star,” Ursa replied as he busied himself with wringing out his rag. “I really don’t mind taking care of this last bit by myself if you wanted to take a break. It’s not like it would take me too long.” Star just shrugged before dropping her damp cloth on the dirty floor and using her magic to vigorously rub the dirt off the boards.

“It’s no trouble,” she assured her friend. “Washing windows isn’t exactly the most mentally or physically exhausting task in the world.”

“Ha ha, yeah, I suppose it’s only about as bad as scrubbing floors, which isn’t really saying much,” Ursa chuckled.

The work went much faster with both of the ponies working together and Star even found it a bit easier to keep her mind on what she was doing while Ursa was there by her side. The crystal pony’s low humming as he tended to the boring job helped make the experience a bit more enjoyable and passed the time fairly quickly. When they put their washcloths away for the final time, Star was practically beaming as she inspected their work. The satisfaction of a job well done made the whole process a success in the unicorn’s eyes and her companion seemed to agree.

“I guess we should go see if Axel needs our help now,” Star sighed as she turned away from the windows and relatively clean floors. Ursa simply nodded his head in reply.

Their assistance wasn’t really required for the next part of Axel’s work, Star realized, as she sat in the back of the old chariot while the energetic mare hurriedly strapped Dawn into the harnesses at the front of the vehicle. It was up to Star and Ursa to ride in the chariot while Dawn and Brass Heart pulled them around for awhile and then the pegasus would give a detailed analysis of how well the harness worked for each of them. While Axel’s first two sky chariots had been operable by a single pony, the military models would boast thick plating to shield against attacks and would also need to support the weight of a battle ready earth pony and/or unicorn. Still, a few sacks of grain could have done what she and Ursa were supposed to, Star mused.

“Alright,” Axel stated as she finished checking the new riggings, “that should just about do it. I really hope this works, I mean, I know that this is only my first attempt, but I’d rather not have to waste anymore time on the harnesses when I have so much work to do on the actual rebuilding. I suppose that it’s just a part of mechanical work though.” Star watched as the soldiers exchanged an amused glance at the blonde mare’s antics.

“I’m sure it will work just fine,” Brass Heart replied.

“Can we start pulling now?” Dawn asked as he fidgeted impatiently with his wings. Axel gave him a big grin as she nodded her head and motioned for the stallions to begin pulling the chariot. It took a moment for them to gain momentum, but once they had, it seemed like everything was working smoothly enough as they left the shelter of the shop. Granted, they weren’t actually flying through the air at the moment, Star thought, but so far the new harness designs looked fairly promising.

“It isn’t too heavy with the both of us in here, is it?” Ursa asked. The earth pony was obviously aware of the fact that he had quite a few pounds on most stallions, even other earth ponies, but neither Brass Heart nor Dawn seemed bothered with the task.

“No, it’s actually going quite a bit more smoothly than I expected,” Brass Heart admitted, as they turned the corner and started down the snow covered street towards the center of Canterlot.

“I agree,” Dawn added, “though I’m sure it would be even better without all of this Luna blessed snow everywhere.” The light blue maned pegasus huffed in annoyance as he and Brass Heart avoided another large drift of the icy substance, their breath coming out in foggy plumes that were quickly lost in the breeze.

“Well, I’m sure Axel will be happy to hear that when we get back,” Star commented. They had all decided that the pegasus would pull her and Ursa over to Gentle Gem’s shop, so that the unicorn could check in and make sure her daughter had actually arrived in one piece. Even the capitol of Equestria could be dangerous for a young dragon once in awhile, especially with how much worse the weather had gotten since that morning. It looked unsafe for full grown ponies to be out in for an extended period, let alone Star’s beloved little girl.

“I can only imagine,” Ursa chuckled and then he pulled his cloak around him more tightly as the wind picked up again. Star also took a moment to make sure that her own cloak was firmly tied together before crouching down on the bench and hugging herself to keep warm. Winter in Canterlot had never seemed so cold before.

The wind and snow continued for the entire bumpy ride to the enchanted gem store, with the sun making only brief appearances whenever a gap formed in the dense covering of clouds, but whatever heat it tried to grace the ponies with was lost amidst the icy breeze. Star hardly saw anypony outside during the whole trip and those few that she did happen to notice outside the comfort of their homes seemed to be shopkeepers who had decided to return to their families in lieu of a day’s wages. The unicorn couldn’t blame them in the slightest, because if Axel’s work wasn’t so important to the princesses she wouldn’t have been outside that day either. Even after less than an hour of being in the snowfall, the black mare’s nose had gone completely numb and she couldn’t keep her teeth from chattering.

Ursa was holding up better than Star, since he had a thicker coat and was much larger, but even the crystal pony, who had lived at the foot of the Crystal Mountains most of his life, began to rub his large hooves together for warmth by the end of their ride. Brass Heart and Dawn didn’t seem to be suffering as much as their companions, because they had been moving at a slow, but steady gallop the entire time. It had kept the cold from seeping into their bodies, but they were obviously quite winded. Star could hear the stallions practically gulping down the frosty air over the muffled sound of their hooves against the snowy streets. Both soldiers looked positively relieved when they finally pulled up outside of Gentle Gem’s place of business.

“Do you think that he stuck around to work today?” Ursa asked as he slowly got up from his seat. “I remember somepony saying he is an older gentlecolt, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he stayed in his house where it’s safe.”

“I really hope he is,” Star replied, her jaw moving like molasses after being exposed to the harsh elements for so long. Having the ridiculously cold wind blowing against her constantly hadn’t helped any, she thought, as she rubbed her hooves against her numb face. “I would rather not have made this trip for nothing.” Ursa nodded in agreement as they both carefully crawled down from the chariot. Star had to pick her way over to the sidewalk delicately so that she wouldn’t slip on the ground and eventually found her self standing beside the emerald stallion, while they both waited for Brass Heart and Dawn to undo the straps tying them to the vehicle.

“Can I get a hoof over here?” Brass Heart asked exasperatedly as he fiddled with one of the latches to no avail. “Everything below my fetlocks feels like an ice cube.”

“Yeah, give me just a second,” Star replied with a smile. Her horn began to glow white as she yanked off the last few straps holding the pegasus in place. Dawn asked her to do the same for him right after and once she had finished the four ponies walked up to the doors of the gem shop, which was aglow with inner light.

“Well, it certainly looks like somepony is here,” Dawn commented. Ursa reached out his hoof to tug open the door and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was unlocked.

“Mhmm, somepony’s definitely inside,” the crystal pony agreed.

“What a relief,” Star replied, as they all followed Ursa into the store. Each of the four ponies’ smiles blazed at the warmth that washed over them as soon as they’d gotten out of the freezing wind. “Hello! Is anypony here?” After receiving no answer, the slightly shivering mare decided to make her way past the various display cases packed with glittering stones and to the back door of the building.

“Where are you going?” Brass Heart asked, after noticing the unicorn leaving them all behind.

“I’m just going to see if Inferno and Gentle Gem are back here,” Star replied.

Knock. Knock. The sound of Ursa’s heavy hoofsteps got closer as Star waited for somepony to answer the door. Both of the soldiers came walking up behind them just a few seconds later and then the door finally opened. A flash of red scales was all that the black mare needed to see before she quickly scooped her daughter up in a tight embrace. Inferno’s feet drug against the floor as her mother began spinning around while she squeezed the chubby dragon tightly.

“Ack, that’s… kind of tight,” Inferno gasped, before her adoptive mother finally set her all of the way down. “What the hay was that about?” she asked once she had caught her breath again.

“Inferno, who is that at the door?” a friendly sounding voice questioned. The shopkeeper, Gentle Gem, poked his bearded face out in confusion. “Oh, you’re Axel’s other friends.” His dark blue eyes lit up with joyful recognition as he spied Star. “I’d remember that cute of a face anywhere.”

“Mhmm, it’s very nice to see you again, Mister Gem,” Star said as she tried not to blush at the compliment he had given her.

“Please now, mister makes me sound so old,” the blue unicorn replied as he walked the rest of the way out of the back room. “I’d much rather have you call me Gentle,” he added with what he must have thought was a seductive wink. Star had to bite her tongue to keep from snickering, but she could here a few chuckles from the stallions behind her. “Now, what brings you to my humble store?”

“That’s what I was just wondering,” Inferno told him.

“We were just out testing the new harnesses for the chariot and I thought it would be a good idea to come check on you,” Star explained. “The weather is so nasty that I wasn’t sure the shop would even be open.”

“Is it really that bad outside?” Inferno asked, as she stood up on the tips of her toes and peered out the front windows of the building, gripping one of the wooden display cases in her clawed hands for balance. “Wow. We’ve been in the back room sorting through his stock of gems since I arrived. I didn’t even know that the snowstorm had worsened that much.” The dragon’s yellow eyes glanced away from the scene outside and back to the ponies gathered around after she’d spoke.

“That’s why I was so glad to see that you’d made it here in one, unfrozen piece,” Star reiterated, her face graced by a warm smile.

“You four came all this way,” Gentle Gem stated, “so the least I could do is offer you each something warm to drink.” The old unicorn’s eyebrows rose questioningly as he looked to each of his guests, who all nodded in turn. “Splendid! I hope everypony is fine with hot buttered rum, because I’m afraid that I am all out of tea at the moment.” Star caught a glimpse of the opal marking the stallion’s flank in the corner of her eye, just as he was returning to the storage room to fetch the beverages in question.

“We probably shouldn’t stay here for too long,” Brass Heart mentioned while waiting for the shopkeeper to return. “I’m sure that Axel will be getting impatient before long.” Dawn opened his mouth as if to protest, but then the pegasus quickly shut it again.

“I’m sure she’ll forgive us for taking a few extra minutes to share a drink with the old stallion,” Ursa said.

“Mhmm,” Star mumbled in agreement. “He’s her friend after all.”

“Really?” Brass Heart asked with genuine surprise. “But he’s a little bit of a pervert and Axel is… Well, an odd mare, but a mare none the less. I would think that he would make her sort of uncomfortable.” Inferno scoffed at the blonde maned soldier.

“This is Axel that we’re talking about,” the dragon replied. “Don’t take this the wrong way, because I love her as much as the rest of our friends, but I’d imagine that pony gets so excited when she comes here to shop for new enchantments for her creations that she doesn’t notice anything more than the stones in front of her face.” It was probably true, Star realized, as she held back a smirk.

“I just assumed he would be constantly flirting with her, like he was doing with Star,” Brass Heart said with a shrug.

“Oh like you’re one to talk,” Dawn chuckled at his superior officer. “The way you’re always staring at S-”

“I just realized that you might not want Inferno drinking alcohol,” Gentle Gem called, interrupting the pegasus, as he peeked out from the storage room.

“No, it’s fine if she has a little bit to keep warm,” Star replied, “but I don’t want you drinking more than a cup,” she added, her attention focusing on the chubby dragon, who feigned a look of ignorance. “Now, what were you saying, Dawn?”

“Oh, I was just- ouch!” The green eyed pegasus shot a glare at Brass Heart for some reason that the unicorn wasn’t following. “Never mind,” he mumbled a moment later. “It wasn’t that important.”

“Mhmm,” Ursa grunted before he wandered away from the other ponies. “Is there somewhere that we can all sit or are we stuck with this cold floor?”

“What’s that?” the old shopkeeper shouted back.

“Do you have somewhere for us to sit?” the earth pony questioned more loudly than before. “I’d rather not have to sit on the cold floor.”

“There are some extra chairs in the back room,” Inferno informed the emerald stallion. “We might as well all head back there. It will be a bit crowded, but it’s fairly warm and besides, I want to show you all how much we’ve gotten done since this morning.” The serpentine girl gave a big stretch of her arms and underdeveloped wings before taking off for the storage room. “Gentle Gem and I spent all morning sorting through his inventory, but there is still quite a bit to do,” she said while leading the others to the back.

Inferno hadn’t been joking, Star acknowledge, upon seeing the mess of glittering stones in a hue of colors scattered about a large, well lit table hugging the far wall. There were boxes of the precious stones stacked just to the side of the workstation. Boxes stacked up taller than Ursa and each one containing more of the gems. Even with the impressive pile of discarded jewels that the little dragon hadn’t approved, there was still a couple of days work to be done at least. Inferno’s toothy grin and bright eyes made it clear that she was proud of herself however and Star swelled with pride at the excellent job her daughter had done.

“Yup, your little girl certainly has a very keen eye for this job,” Gentle Gem commented as he used his magic to levitate steaming cups of hot buttered rum to each of the ponies who were slowly crowding into the small room. There was enough room for them to each sit down in a chair, but doing so took up what little space there had been. “After all of this nonsense is over and done with, I would love to have her come work for me,” the grey bearded stallion continued, “but only if you don’t mind of course.”

“He says I have an eye for gemstones like he used to have when he was a young stallion,” Inferno said, her scaly mouth still curled up in the corners, “but enough about how impressive I am,” the dragon giggled. “How are the sky chariots coming along?”

Star and her companions spent more time than they had originally intended visiting with Gentle Gem in the back of his shop, but between the soothing warmth of the hot buttered rums they were drinking and the carefree laughter coming from each of them, the unicorn decided that it was all worth while. The vicious snowstorm that had been raging most of the day subsided by the time that the four ponies, plus one dragon, headed out the front doors of the old unicorn’s store. It was a welcome relief for Star and even more so for the pegasus, who were going to have to pull them all back to the shop with the added weight of Inferno to contend with as well.

Everywhere Star turned her gaze she could see nothing but shut up buildings and thick blankets of freezing snow. The city looked eerily peaceful after such harsh weather and she had to admit, quite beautiful as the few sunbeams that poked through the cloud cover were reflected off the icy surfaces, causing the whole scene to sparkle majestically. It almost made up for the intense shivering she had been forced to endure on the first ride through the city, she thought. Almost.

“Can you help us with these straps again?” Dawn asked, as he and Brass Heart once again wrestled with the ice slicked metal clasps connected to the thick ropes. Hooves were not conductive to delicate work.

“Sure,” Star replied with a sympathetic smile. It only took the small mare just a moment to get her friends ready to pull using her magic and then she, Ursa and Inferno all piled into the old vehicle. The dragon chose to snuggle up next to her mother, since she hadn’t donned any protective clothing of her own before leaving. Normally foul weather didn’t concern the naturally warm serpent, but today’s cold proved to be an exception and even she could feel the icy embrace of the crisp air against her hard scales.

“Are you three ready to go?” Brass Heart asked as he peered over his muscular shoulders to check on his friends.

“I believe so,” Ursa replied with a nod of his blue maned head.

“Then let’s get going,” Dawn said, as the two pegasus began to pull against the fully loaded weight of the chariot. Once they got moving the chariot was easy enough for the soldiers to pull, especially now that they weren’t fighting the wind. Star leaned back in her seat, one foreleg wrapped around her daughter as they prepared for the trip back. Axel would be happy to learn how well the harnesses had held up to the task they had been forced to endure, the unicorn thought, as she felt Inferno hug her back.

Snow capped buildings and empty streets passed by, each one almost indistinguishable from the last as the cart half rolled and half slid over the slick streets of Canterlot, while the three occupants of the chariot tried their best to ignore the bumping and jostling of the vehicle’s wheels over the weather beaten terrain. Star was perfectly content to sit back and relax as her wandering violet eyes took in the sights of the city and for awhile her two companions seemed just as happy to do the same. Eventually however, her daughter fell asleep and Ursa decided to bring up a topic that the unicorn wasn’t very eager to discuss; her current feelings concerning a certain pony whom she had been pining over for the last week or so. How the burly stallion had even picked up on said feelings was a mystery to her, but he was obviously more intuitive than the unicorn was concerning those matters.

“Have you heard from Suri since she and Spark left?” Ursa asked nonchalantly, though the fact that he had specified the white mare and pony of Star’s affections should have been a red flag of the conversation to come.

“Nope,” Star replied flatly. She was still upset about the fact that Suri hadn’t had the common decency to break her heart face to face and the pain had only festered in her over the past couple of days. “I would imagine that she and Spark will be back within a week though. Time is of the essence, after all.”

“I take it from your tone that she doesn’t share your feelings then.” It was a statement of fact, not a question and the black mare realized that the crystal pony knew more than she had expected, which was a bit disconcerting. The small unicorn checked to see if her daughter was paying attention before answering, but to her relief, Inferno was still sound asleep beside her.

“What makes you think that I have feelings for Suri?” Star asked with a fair bit of irritation in her voice.

“Well, I know I may not be the smartest stallion to have ever walked the world, but I like to think of myself as suitably learned in the ways of attraction,” Ursa told her. His reply was accompanied by a wink and slightly cocky smile that made the small mare groan and hang her head a little lower.

“No,” Star admitted sadly. “I told her how I felt the night that we all met with the princesses, but she just played it off as a harmless crush.” The memory made the unicorn’s heart ache. “As if I don’t know what real love is,” she scoffed.

“I have to ask,” Ursa began, “and I mean this with no disrespect, but do you know what genuine love is?” Star was about to snap back at the earth pony, but the sincerity in his dark green eyes gave her pause to consider his question carefully.

“Of course I- I mean…” Star began to falter in her response as she actually gave her answer some thought. “I… I think I do,” she finished, but there was obvious uncertainty in her voice.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if you didn’t,” Ursa replied. “You strike me as somepony who has always been better with magic and studies than personal relationships.” Star had no arguments to make. She wasn’t good with other ponies, namely stallions. Her father had seen to that when he started drinking, though whether or not he had intended to leave those sorts of scars the unicorn couldn’t be certain. Regardless of her late father’s intentions, the damage he had done left his daughter with a few issues when it came to dealing with the opposite sex, which was to say that she avoided getting too personal. That only served to make the current conversation even more difficult for her.

“Who in the hoof are you to tell me that I don’t know what love is?” Star questioned angrily, her violet eyes beginning to fill with tears as she lashed out at him instinctually. The emerald stallion wasn’t even the focus of her pent up frustrations, but he had unwittingly opened the floodgates upon himself never the less. “Just because you happened to find Draft and seduce him, that doesn’t make you any better than me,” she retorted in a voice that was slowly building in volume. “Maybe I haven’t had it so easy and sure, maybe I struggle with relationships, but I’ll be bucked before I let you talk down to me!” The small unicorn broke down after that and her head sank into her waiting hooves as her body was wracked with frantic sobbing. Ursa stared at the scene in shock for a moment and Star saw him out of the corner of her eye, but it was too late for her to regain her composure.

“Star, I’m so sorry that I upset you so much,” Ursa apologized, as Brass Heart and Dawn tore their eyes away from the road long enough to see what all of the commotion was about. “I was just trying to get you to open up, like you did for me. I though it might help you to talk about what you’re feeling, but I- I guess I just didn’t realize-”

“It’s not your fault,” Star interrupted once she had found her voice again. Tears were still rolling down her wind burned red cheeks as she stared up at the large stallion, but she managed to get her wild emotions in check long enough to speak. “I shouldn’t have exploded like that,” she whimpered as she dried her watery eyes. “I guess the wound is still tender.” The unicorn’s voice was a mixture of sobs and strained laughter now, which only served to confuse her friend even more.

“Hey, are you alright back there?” Brass Heart asked, while he and Dawn slowed their pace down to a trot, so that they could split their attention between pulling the cart and checking on the ponies they were chauffeuring around.

“Yeah, I’m fine Brass Heart,” Star assured him with a tear streaked smile that the pegasus seemed wary of. “Ursa and I are just talking about some… sad stuff.” The soldier shot a cold glare towards the large earth pony before reluctantly turning his attention back to pulling the chariot across the last few blocks separating them from the old warehouse, where Axel would most likely be waiting.

“Did you see that?” Ursa asked once they had picked up speed again.

“Did I see what?” Star asked in confusion.

“The way that he glared at me,” the earth pony explained. “That is what real affection looks like.” Star’s face clouded in puzzlement. Ursa seemed to be suggesting that Brass Heart had intimate feelings towards her, but that was ludicrous of course. Star knew that if that were the case she would have picked up on it… most likely. Then again, he had chosen to be her personal body guard of sorts for the past few years, even though there were far more rewarding jobs he could have taken, the unicorn mused, as the chariot rolled through the drifts of snow and they approached the weathered shop. Still, there were far more important things for her to worry about, like surviving the Celestia damned war, to begin with. Love could wait.

Axel hadn’t been in the decrepit old warehouse when they’d arrived and at first Star had begun to panic, until the others assured her that the energetic mare had most likely gotten sick of waiting in the drafty building and had returned to Canterlot Castle. It had seemed like the most probable scenario, so Star, Ursa and Inferno bid farewell to the winged soldiers for the day and headed back home on hoof. The goodbye that the unicorn had given Brass Heart was decidedly awkward since she had begun to over think what Ursa had suggested to her, but she managed not to blush too furiously as the hansom corporal pulled her into a quick embrace, where she could feel the warmth radiating from his muscular frame. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice how flustered it made the small mare or if he did, then he chose not to mention it.

The walk home didn’t take long for the three friends, although Star did find herself beginning to shiver by the time they passed the wrought iron gates surrounding the sprawling, snow covered property. Ursa didn’t appear bothered by the cold now that the wind had died down, but Inferno’s toes got numb enough that the dragon asked to be carried for the last half of the trip; a request which the crystal pony happily accepted so that Star wouldn’t have to. Inferno seemed reluctant to ride on the large stallion at first, but the feeling of ice against the soles of her small feet outweighed her personal pride and she eventually climbed up on his shaggy back.

“Good evening, Miss Star,” One of the guards said, as he and his partner quickly pushed open the front doors of the castle so that they could enter. The black mare nodded politely to each of them as she followed Ursa’s large hoofsteps inside, where a wave of welcome heat immediately washed over all three of them.

“Ah, it’s good to be out of the cold,” Ursa sighed contentedly.

“Absolutely,” Inferno agreed as she hopped off of his back. “I’m ready for some dinner. How about you two?” The rumbling that came from the large stallion’s stomach was answer enough for him, but Star wanted to check in on Axel first, to make sure that the earth pony had made it home without any trouble.

“You two go ahead,” Star replied. “I’ll go look around for Axel.”

“Suit your self,” Inferno replied with a shrug of her narrow shoulders, which caused her small wings to flap a bit involuntarily. “I’m not bringing you food again if you’re just going to fall asleep on me though.”

“That’s fine, Inferno,” Star replied with a smile. “I’ll get my own dinner if I’m hungry.” Ursa chuckled as he walked past the smaller pony, following Inferno to the dining hall. The two began talking animatedly as they passed through a set of doors along the wall to her right. “Now, where could that mare have galloped off to?” Star mumbled the question under her breath as she made her way to the spiraling staircase, with its polished marble railings. Checking her friend’s room seemed like a good place to start, so the unicorn headed up the stairs and to the right, down the second floor hallway, until she found herself outside of the blonde mare’s bedroom door. There was no answer when she knocked, so Star tested the doorknob and found it unlocked. The room was dark when she peeked in, but the unicorn could see her friend’s sleeping form upon the large bed, her chest rising and falling with shallow breaths as she slept. Star smiled sweetly as she back out of the shadowy room and carefully closed the door behind her.

With nothing else to do and little appetite to speak of, Star decided that it was as good of a time as any to start learning some offensive spells, should the need to defend herself ever come up, which it undoubtedly would. It was a simple task to find a book of basic attack spells in the castle’s athenaeum and once she had what she needed, the studious mare headed back to her room, where she could hopefully study in peace for awhile before her daughter returned and started asking too many questions. There was no need to worry the young dragon by telling her that her mother was practicing combat magic, after all.

The first part of learning any spell was, of course, reading the proper way to perform it, so that is where Star began her work. She decided on a simple spell that would require her to focus her magical energy into a single point at the tip of her horn and then, once it had grown to the desired intensity, all that the unicorn needed to do would be to release said energy in a beam pointed at whatever target she was focused on. It seemed easy enough and after running through the spell in her head multiple times to get a feel for it, the unicorn decided to put her new knowledge into practice.

Star closed her eyes and focused on the magic that flowed through her. She could feel the raw energy begin coursing into her horn as she steadied her breathing and clenched her jaw in concentration. Soon enough, there was a distinct pulsing coming from the very tip of her magical appendage and the small mare grinned with confidence. It had been even a simple task to perform the spell.

“Huh, well that was easier that I tho-” Buzzap! Star’s focus slipped momentarily as she had been talking and the spell launched itself straight up into the ceiling where it immediately ricocheted off. “Oh, shit!” Star cursed as she dodged the white beam, which hit the floor and exploded in a shower of sparks and smoke. A large black mark remained behind afterwards, with a thin trail of smoke drifting up from the scorched tiles that she had just marred with her carelessness. Obviously practicing attack spells indoors was a bad idea, she mused, but there was plenty of unused space out around the castle property that would make a perfect shooting range. “I guess I’ll hold off on practice until tomorrow,” the unicorn sighed as she levitated the book over to the nightstand. It would be better than accidentally destroying the castle anyway.

And so Star’s new routine came into being. The studios young mare would wake up every morning and grab a quick breakfast before leaving for the shop. Once there, she would help with whatever Axel needed that day, which usually meant holding parts and tools for the mechanically inclined earth pony. It wasn’t a fun job, but it was what needed done and Star was happy enough to lend her assistance. The fact that she stayed so busy every day, compounded with the fact that Axel didn’t need any more assistance from Brass Heart and Dawn Glory until the next stage of the vehicle’s development, meant that whatever connection might have been developing between her and the corporal was left uninvestigated for the time being. The unicorn had too much on her mind to worry about that though, because right after she would finish up her work at the old warehouse, she headed straight for the back fields of Canterlot Castle, where she could work on mastering her new spell alone.

The first time Star had run off to practice, Inferno questioned her about what she had been up to all evening, so the unicorn had been forced to explain her actions, because she despised lying to the dragon. Her daughter had accepted the truth easily enough and even helped cover for her over the next couple of days, while the committed young mare honed her skills. The new routine she had adopted was exhausting to maintain, but it was for the good of Equestria and Star took to it like a fish to water, until the day after Inferno brought her the letter that Nature Spark had sent. That was the day that her new routine finally got a few unforeseen wrenches thrown into the works.

Author's Note

Well, even though I think Star's naivety is adorable, I figured it was about time somepony told her what was up and who better than Ursa? Their conversation and Gentle Gem's dialog were probably my favorite parts of this chapter, because who doesn't like writing dialog for a pervy old guy? I'm starting to get back into the swing of things, so updates should start coming regularly every five days now, but no promises if the chapters are longer than usual.

Ch.4 Looking Up

~Chapter 4: Looking Up~

The morning after Discipula Star received the letter from Nature Spark started the same way that the previous days had, which was to say that the tired unicorn forced herself out of the warm comfort of her blankets and reluctantly dragged her body to the bathroom where she splashed some freezing water in her face to wake up. After that was taken care of, Star returned to the side of the large bed, with its enticing, velvety soft blankets and gently nudged Inferno awake. It took a few tries, but eventually the young dragon opened her yellow eyes and yawned as she sat up. No words were exchanged between the two as Inferno wandered over to the bathroom, just as her mother had done only moments before. Their routine was practically second nature now and they each knew what the other would be doing next, so talking was unnecessary for them.

While Inferno was busy in the small bathroom, Star tended to the business of getting them both something to eat before they had to leave. The small mare threw on her cloak without a second though, as well as her boots this time, before leaving the cozy room behind in exchange for the slightly drafty halls of Canterlot Castle. Thankfully, her clothing kept the cold off well enough while her body adjusted to the change in temperature, so the unicorn wasn’t too bothered. Ursa spotted her just as she was taking her first step down the winding staircase and lazily waved a hoof, so she stopped in her tracks long enough for the crystal pony to make his way over to her.

Ursa’s eyes looked a little red and there was a noticeable darkness under them from waking up so early. The large stallion was also sporting an impressive mess of shaggy blue hair atop his head to go along with the disheveled appearance of the thick cloak he was currently struggling to get on. Star didn’t bother mentioning any of this however, because he was most likely aware of it already and she knew that she probably didn’t look much better at the moment. The long days were beginning to take a toll on both of them it seemed. They had more serious concerns at the moment though.

“G’morning,” Ursa yawned before giving his head a quick shake to help clear the sleepy fog from his mind. “Did you sleep well?”

“Ugh, well enough I guess,” Star replied with a slight scowl as they both started descending the stairs. “I could have used a couple extra hours though.”

“Yeah, and ponies in the desert want water,” Ursa chuckled dryly. Over the last week that they had been working together, Star had grown fairly fond of the crystal pony. He wasn’t only somepony for her to make small talk with; he also genuinely understood what she was going through, because he was right there with her most of the time. Axel was there too, of course, but the energetic mare was so used to working in such a way that the long hours and tedious tasks didn’t seem to faze her in the same way that it did her friends. It was probably for the best, Star thought, considering that the blonde pony was in charge of everything that happened in that old warehouse that they called a shop.

“Too true,” Star replied with a weary smile. “I wonder if Axel got any sleep last night. I know she stayed behind after we left.”

“Yeah, she has a habit of working all night,” Ursa acknowledge as he and Star stepped off the last stair and turned the corner on their way towards the dining hall, where a warm breakfast would be waiting, just as it always was. “I don’t know how she manages to function on so little sleep. I can barely keep my eyes open while I’m carting around scrap metal all day.”

“I know what you mean,” Star replied and then smiled at one of the maids busy cleaning the polished pillars spaced along the hallway. The castle was always kept in pristine condition, though Star figured that it was done more as a way to provide jobs for ponies, rather than because either of the princesses cared that their large home was always spotless. “This job is so boring that I can barely keep my eyes open most of the time too, but at least she has nearly finished the first of the chariots, because that means she can start training other ponies to manufacture them, which also means that our work is almost over… I think.” She couldn’t imagine that the princesses would want them both working down at the shop if their talents could be utilized elsewhere, but that still remained to be seen.

“Mhmm,” Ursa mumbled in agreement. “As soon as Brass Heart and Dawn deem it fit for air travel we’ll be ready to start making more of them.” With all the time and effort that everypony had been putting into the vehicle, Star didn’t doubt for one second that the chariot would float through the air like a feather when the pegasus came to test it. “How is the corporal doing?” Ursa asked with a sly smile as he held open the dining room door for the small mare.

Star blew a few stray purple and blue hairs out of her eyes with a huff before replying, “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t seen either of them for a couple of days now.”

“Really?” Ursa’s face held a look of genuine surprise as he followed her over to the table, which was heavily laden with all sorts of delectable looking breakfast items. “But… Then who in the hoof have you been running off to see after we leave the warehouse every evening, because I know you don’t head straight to the castle when we finish up. I would have seen you at dinner least once.” Star’s mouth curved up in a smile and soon she was trying to stifle her giggling so as to not disturb the few other ponies who were eating at the table on the far side of the room.

“I suppose there’s no reason for me not to tell you,” Star said, while the emerald stallion scratched the back of his head and stared at her. He seemed to be genuinely dumbfounded until she explained what she had actually been up to over the past few evenings. “I actually have been going back to the castle after work, but I head to the back of the property to practice my magic, instead of grabbing dinner with you and Inferno.”

“Really?” Ursa questioned. “That’s all that you’ve been up to?” He didn’t seem very convinced.

“Yeah,” Star assured him. “I’ve been teaching myself a self defense spell, in case I ever have to fight again.”

“Well, that’s not very exciting,” the earth pony scoffed. “I was hoping that you’d been having a passionate fling with Brass Heart, so you could tell me all about it.” The burly stallion began to chuckle and the unicorn blushed crimson.

“I’m sorry to disappoint,” Star replied with a fair bit of sarcasm. She then busied herself with grabbing an apple which she immediately took a large bite out of. “If the time comes when my love life does devolve into a sordid affair though, I promise that you will be the first to know.” The crystal pony shot her a grin which she returned before swallowing her mouthful of the juicy, red fruit and then taking another bite.

“I’ll hold you to that,” Ursa chuckled as he snatched a warm bagel from the table.

“Fair enough,” Star replied. She soon overheard the sound of metal tapping against the tiles behind her. The small mare glanced back to see Princess Celestia approaching them with all the poise that one would expect of an immortal ruler. Ursa quickly dropped into a bow, mouth still full of food and Star did the same just a moment after.

“Good morning, Discipula Star,” Celestia greeted with a warm smile and nod of her crowned head. “Ursa, it is good to see you both.”

“And you as well, Princess Celestia,” Star replied as she rose up to her full height, which still only put the tip of her horn level with the princesses withers. Nearly every morning since they had begun their work on the flying chariots, Celestia had greeted them during breakfast, though appearances by her younger sister seemed to be becoming far more infrequent. Star almost as if she was the only pony to see Princess Luna anymore and even then, it was usually within her own dreams.

“I see that Miss Sapphire is not with the two of you this morning,” the princess commented as she cast a quick glance about the large room, giving a polite nod whenever she met the gaze of one of the other ponies dining at the far table. “I take it that she spent another night working on the sky chariots?”

“I believe so,” Star responded, while Ursa did the best he could to finish his breakfast as quickly and politely as possible. “We are very close to finishing, so I would venture to guess that it’s the reason for her extra effort these last two days,” the small mare continued.

“That is splendid news,” Celestia replied, practically beaming with pride as she floated one of the bananas up from behind the two ponies into her waiting hoof. The yellow fruit seemed to be one of the alicorn’s favorite breakfast items, Star had noticed. “I want you both to make sure she doesn’t work herself too hard though. We wouldn’t want her collapsing from exhaustion, after all.”

“Yes, of course,” Ursa agreed. “Do not worry though, because Star and I will make sure that Axel gets some sleep tonight.”

“Be sure that she does,” Celestia said. “Now, if you will excuse me, I must attend to my duties.” The princess nodded to each of the smaller ponies in turn, to which they responded with polite bows before she left them to finish their early morning meal.

“I suppose we should get going,” Ursa commented as he quickly poured himself a glass of juice and then downed it in one swig. Star nodded her head and soon after the two set off side by side to meet their friend down at her workshop.

The walk through town was pleasant enough for Star and Ursa since the foul weather had calmed down a bit over the past couple of days, although there was still a fine sprinkling of snow that had fallen overnight. They reached the old warehouse just after the sun had peaked over the horizon and Axel was already hard at work taking measurements and jotting down notes, just as she had been doing the last time that Star had seen her. The rust colored mare was still moving nearly as quickly as she had been when they started the project, despite the fact that her friends hadn’t seen her sleep for the last two nights. It was actually quite the amazing feat, the unicorn thought, as she and Ursa walked over to the chariot, where the earth pony was crouched down near the wheels.

Axel’s blonde mane had begun to come loose from the ribbon that she had tied it back with and every few seconds she would absentmindedly brush it back from her face so that she could see what she was doing. She looked a little worse for wear, but they had brought some extra food down just the other day so that she wouldn’t forget to eat. Whether or not Axel had actually stopped working long enough to ingest some sustenance, Star couldn’t be sure, but the machine savvy mare had been doing this sort of thing long before coming under the princesses’ employment, so the unicorn wasn’t too worried about her bad habits.

“Good morning,” Star said as she and Ursa came to a stop behind their friend. “It looks like you’ve made some progress since we saw you yesterday.” It appeared as though Axel nodded her head, but the unicorn couldn’t be sure. The chariot looked as if it was nearly completed to Star, with its newly fabricated parts and polished finish gleaming in the early morning light. There were still a few pieces missing from it of course, mainly the magic infused gems that would make it fly, but all in all the vehicle looked as if it was ready for its first flight.

“Is there something that you need our help with,” Ursa asked as he watched the crouched over mare use the quill in her mouth to scribble some numbers on a sheet of paper at her hooves.

“Um, now that you mention it,” Axel mumbled as she wiped the sweat from her brow, “I think that I’m ready to plug in the jewels we need to get this old girl airborne, if you wouldn’t mind grabbing them from the table over there.” The rust colored mare gestured quickly to one of the tables behind her and Ursa headed in that direction, while Star continued to observe her friend’s work.

“The princess wanted us to make sure that you get some sleep tonight,” Star told her. “I assured her that wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Okay, I’ll be sure to do that,” Axel replied and then slowly stood up, her joints quietly popping from having been in the same position for so long. “I just want to see this baby fly and I’ll take a break after that.”

“Do you promise?” Star asked.

“Mhmm,” Axel mumbled as she stretched out each of her aching legs and then arched her back while yawning quietly. “What day is it?” she asked a few moments later.

“It’sh Thurshday, Axshel,” Ursa said as he walked back over to the two mares, carrying the three gems that he had been asked to fetch in his mouth. He spit them out on the wood floor, where they bounced once before coming to a rest near Axel’s hooves.

“Really? I guess I was a little focused for the past couple of days, huh?” Axel bent over and scooped up the gems, grimacing slightly at the strain on her already overworked muscles. “I do that once in awhile.”

“So we’ve noticed,” Star sighed as she slowly shook her head. “Have you at least been taking breaks to eat?” Axel’s tongue stuck out of her mouth as she stopped to consider the question. It was the same look she always got when she was thinking hard.

“I’m pretty sure that I have,” she replied a few seconds later. “I remember eating something last night anyway, although I’m not sure what it was… dumplings, maybe?” Star and Ursa both groaned audibly at her answer.

“We didn’t bring you any dumplings,” Ursa replied.

“No?” Axel asked as she scratched the back of her head. “Well, it might have been a sandwich then. Anyway, all that I know is that I don’t feel very hungry right now, so I’m not going to starve.” It was clear to Star that they weren’t going to get a much better answer, so she reluctantly dropped the subject, intending to watch her friend eat some lunch when they time came. “For now though, I need somepony to go get Brass Heart and Dawn, because I’ll be ready to have them take the chariot for its virgin flight in about an hour.”

“I can do that!” Star replied more eagerly than she had intended to. Axel didn’t seem to notice the intensity of her outburst, but she saw Ursa smirking in her peripherals. “I mean, I don’t mind heading over there if you don’t need my help with anything.”

“I don’t think that I’ll need any help getting these stones into their fittings,” Axel replied. She slowly sat back down on the cold floor of the shop. “I can always have Ursa help me anyway,” she added.

“Yeah, I can manage everything here, so you can go find Brass Hunk, I mean, Brass Heart,” the emerald stallion teased. He shot Star a wink which caused her cheeks to burn with embarrassment as she turned away.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Star called behind her as she hurried towards the door of the warehouse, her cozy boots thumping against the floorboards with every step. The fresh air helped relieve the warmth radiating from the unicorn’s blushing cheeks as she stepped outside and soon enough she was actually forced to tighten her cloak to keep the cold off. The wind wasn’t raging like it had been only days before, but the snow that had already fallen around the city was more than enough to be an inconvenience as she traveled the streets on her way to the corporal’s home. “I just hope he hasn’t been deployed somewhere already,” Star said aloud as she rounded the first corner.

“Mom?” The sound of Inferno’s voice startled the unicorn and she jumped back in surprise, only to slip on the slick cobblestones and land squarely on her owl marked flank with a grunt. “Omigoshareyouokay!” the little dragon sputtered as she reached out a clawed hand to help her mother back to her hooves.

“Inferno,” Star giggled as she hoisted herself up again. “Yes, you just surprised me. I wasn’t expecting to see you until tonight.” The smiling mare used her magic to brush the snow off her rump before fixing her violet eyes back on the serpentine girl. “Why are you out here anyway?” she asked with a puzzled expression.

“I was just on my way to the shop,” Inferno replied. “Gentle Gem and I finished sorting through the entirety of his current stock, so there wasn’t anything left for me to do today. I figured that I would head up here and see if you three needed a hand.” She shrugged her scaly shoulders and then scratched behind her orange ear flaps. “Wait, why are you out here?”

“Oh, well I was just on my way to get Brass Heart and Dawn,” Star explained. “Axel says that she’s just about ready to have them take the chariot for its maiden flight, so she sent me to find them.”

“Do you mind if I tag along?” Inferno questioned.

“Not at all,” Star replied, though she had been hoping to have a few minutes alone with Brass Heart, so that she and the reserved soldier could talk about their relationship, whatever it might be. Ursa had insisted that the attractive stallion had feelings for her and though Star hadn’t noticed herself, she had to admit that she wasn’t the best at picking up on that sort of thing. “You won’t be too cold though, will you?”

“Nope,” Inferno replied as she patted her scaly hide and grinned. “As long as there isn’t a sudden blizzard, I should be fine.” The cold weather had rarely ever caused the little dragon problems, but her mother still worried, as mothers often did.

“Alright, if you’re sure that you won’t be too cold, then follow me,” Star said and then started walking down the sidewalk once again. Inferno took up a position right beside the unicorn and the two continued on their way to the pegasus’ houses. It was wonderful to spend time with her daughter, Star thought, since they hadn’t seen much of each other lately, except upon waking up in the morning and when they had a few minutes together before bed. Still, there were definitely better situations for family bonding than a cold walk through the city.

“I was just thinking,” Inferno said from her place beside her mother. “What are your plans for after Axel has fixed up the chariot? Are you planning on continuing to assist her or are the two of us going home?” she asked. Star hadn’t really given the situation much thought, but she assumed that it would depend on what the princesses expected of them.

“Actually, I wasn’t thinking about going home,” Star replied, the memory of her cozy house near the center of Dodge seeming almost foreign to her as she spoke. “I guess that is really up to Luna to decide. If she says that she wants us to return to Dodge then I will, but I would much rather do my part to help Equestria win the war.” The young dragon nodded her black spiked head in agreement as she carefully hopped over a frozen puddle in the middle of her path.

“I thought you might say that,” Inferno replied. She had always been quite the precocious child, Star had to admit, and so it was no surprise that she had already given the question some consideration.

“Why, what would you like to do after we’ve finished our work here in Canterlot?” Star asked her adopted daughter, who didn’t have to think long before giving her answer.

“I want to stay with our friends, wherever they end up going,” Inferno replied.

“Yes, so do I,” Star agreed with a smile.

A small shiver ran along Star’s back as she and Inferno stood outside the door to Brass Heart’s house and waited for the pegasus to answer. Knock. Knock. Knock. The unicorn pounded her hoof against the door with a bit more force this time, on the off chance that the corporal had foregone his usually strict schedule in favor of getting some sleep. It was unlikely, but still possible, Star thought, as she stepped back from the entrance to continue her waiting. A few more minutes passed with no response, while her daughter shifted from foot to foot impatiently.

“I don’t think that anypony is home,” Inferno stated in an annoyed voice.

“You might be right,” Star agreed, though she rapped against the wood a few more times just to be sure. “Well, I guess we can go to Dawn’s house and see if he’s still around, although I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of those stallions go out on a mission without the other.” The small dragon simply shrugged and turned around to leave, while her mother let out a defeated sigh and followed after, but the sound of somepony pulling open the door caused both of them to pause in their tracks.

“Star!” Brass Heart called out as the black mare whirled around to face him. “I’m sorry, I was just in the bath and it took me a minute to get to the door.” The white pegasus was indeed sparkling clean, his dripping blonde mane pushed back behind his ears casually. Despite the icy chill of the early morning wind, Star still found her body feeling rather warm as she tried not to stare at the handsome stallion’s well toned chest. “You two must be freezing out there. Please, come in,” the soldier invited. The unicorn’s mouth opened to reply, but she couldn’t seem to form any words. Thankfully her daughter was with her to pick up the conversational slack.

“Thank you very much, Brass Heart,” Inferno replied with a grin as she gently shoved her mother back up the stoop and through the corporal’s front door. “It was getting a bit chilly out there.” Star managed to sort her thoughts out enough to follow her friend into his unkempt home, without any further help from her daughter. The mare was a little unsettled by how flustered she had gotten by the simple sight of him and vowed to keep her focus strictly on business for the time being.

“So, what brings you over to my humble abode this early in the day?” Brass Heart questioned as he took a seat on the plush, dark blue chair. Star and Inferno both squeezed into the slightly larger green chair beside him and got comfortable, or as comfortable as they could get sitting side by side in the well worn seat.

“We’re actually here to bring you back to the shop,” Star replied, finally finding her voice. “Axel is finishing the last few touches on the sky chariot and we need you and Dawn to test it out so that she can make her last few adjustments before they can start being produced on a larger scale.” Brass Heart’s light blue eyes lit up at the good news and he seemed genuinely impressed by the quick progress.

“Wow, that mare certainly knows her trade, doesn’t she?” he asked rhetorically, shaking his head back and forth in mild disbelief. “I thought for sure that it would be another week before she got the old chariot to this point, but I guess that there’s a good reason why she was the first pony to build a vehicle that could fly.”

“Axel is quite the mechanic,” Star agreed.

“”Oh, pardon me,” Brass Heart suddenly said. “I should have offered you both something to drink or eat. I think there might be some food in the kitchen that hasn’t quite gone bad yet.” He started to get up, but Star held a hoof up to stop him, because they didn’t really have time to waste. Axel was probably getting impatient as it was.

“We should probably leave for Dawn’s house,” Star explained.

“Can I at least have a glass of water first?” Inferno asked. “That was kind of a long walk and I’m pretty parched.”

“Oh, do you mind, Brass Heart?” Star asked with an apologetic smile.

“No, of course not,” the pegasus replied. “That’s why I offered in the first place.” Brass Heart quickly got up from the chair and headed back into the kitchen, taking care not to step on the various pieces of clothing and other random objects strewn about his home. Star couldn’t help thinking that he was a little messier than she had expected, considering how formal and straight lace he was while on duty, but she couldn’t really blame him either. Working as a guard for the princesses didn’t leave ponies with much extra time on their hooves, after all.

“Ahem.” Inferno audibly cleared her throat to get her mother’s attention. “I couldn’t help noticing that you seem to be staring at Brass Heart a bit more intensely than usual.” She followed up the statement with a toothy smirk. Sometimes Star wished that her daughter wasn’t so perceptive, because she hadn’t even realized that she was being so obvious and it made her wonder if the corporal had picked up on the extra attention.

“What?” Star asked, feigning ignorance rather poorly. “I have no idea what you are talking about.” The little dragon shot her a look that conveyed the disbelief she was currently experiencing as she rolled her large, yellow eyes.

“Well, he’s certainly better than the last stallion that you dated,” Inferno admitted. A unicorn named Apropos, who fancied himself a poet, had been the last stallion that Star had been infatuated with. The relationship had only lasted a week, because that was the length of time that it took for her to realize he was completely self absorbed. Needless to say, they hadn’t been very compatible as a couple and he had taken their break up poorly. That was almost a year ago and the unicorn had lost interest in pursuing anymore intimate relationships since then, barring her encounter with Surinam, of course.

“Even if I did fancy Brass Heart, which I am not saying that I do, I’m not even sure how he feels about me,” Star replied dejectedly.

“Please,” Inferno scoffed. “With the way he’s always checking you out when he thinks nopony is looking?” Apparently everypony except Star was aware of the connection that she hadn’t picked up on until Ursa had pointed it out for her. The thought caused the young mare to mentally facehoof.

“Here you are,” Brass Heart said as he brought out a glass of water for each of his guests. “I don’t have any ice, but I didn’t think that would be a problem considering the season.” The pegasus chuckled as Star and Inferno each took one of the offered glasses.

“That’s perfectly fine,” Inferno told him. “I’m pretty sure that ice is the last thing that either of us need more of right now.” She took a long drink of water after she had spoken, draining the glass before she set it down on the table and let out a satisfied sigh.

“Do you feel better now?” Star asked after she had taken a few sips from her own drink. Her daughter nodded enthusiastically and then hopped up from the old chair.

“I suppose that we should get going then,” Brass Heart said as he gazed through the part of his living room window that wasn’t covered by frayed, blue curtains. Snow had begun to fall once again, though not nearly enough to be problematic, Star noticed, when she followed the gaze her friend’s blue eyes to the view beyond the glass.

“Yes,” Star replied, “and preferably before it gets cold enough to start bothering Inferno, who didn’t think to bundle up before she left.” The chubby dragon stuck her forked tongue out in response, which only made her mother smile.

“You two can head on out,” Brass Heart told them. “I need to dry off a little more so that I don’t freeze out there and then I’ll be right behind you.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Star replied as she followed Inferno back through the hallway to the front door. The unicorn cast a furtive glance back at the stallion’s taught flank, admiring the detail of the heart shaped shield on his side, before hurrying out the door with only a slight reddening of her dark cheeks to betray her quick peek.

“Okay, now we can go,” Brass Heart stated a few moments later as he joined the girls on his front stoop. He had seen fit to throw on a thick cloak, much nicer than the one Star always wore, which he quickly tied it before they began their walk. It was a light grey color with a much darker grey trim and matching boots. Star gave the stallion an appraising look before turning her attention to her own, worn out clothing and groaning internally at the impression she must give ponies while wearing it. Perhaps it was time to take Suri’s advice and get some sexier outfits, the unicorn mused, as she and her daughter began to follow the corporal down the icy sidewalk.

“So does this mean that we’ll be going back out in the field?” Dawn asked as he walked alongside Star, Brass Heart and Inferno, “Because I’m afraid I might start loosing my edge if I don’t see some combat here soon.”

“Implying that you ever had an edge to lose,” Brass Heart chided, which earned him a punch in the shoulder from his only slightly shorter friend. The trio had picked up Dawn Glory from his house and then immediately turned around and headed back towards the old warehouse, where Ursa and Axel would undoubtedly be waiting on them. Between the earth ponies, Star imagined that it probably hadn’t taken long to attach the gemstones and make whatever other last minute adjustments that needed to be done.

“Harsh words coming from a stallion who can’t deal with a little bad weather,” Dawn teased back, referring to the fact that the corporal had worn boots while he had gone without. The two soldiers had been off duty for so long that Star was beginning to forget what they were like when they were being serious, but jesting may have just been their method of coping with the tragedies that had befallen their country lately.

“The fact that you’re not bright enough to think ahead does not make you tougher than me,” Brass Heart argued. “It just means that you’ll never move up through the ranks like I have.” The blue maned stallion snorted in response to his superior’s statement.

“Thanks for the tip, but I think I’m better suited for following orders anyway,” Dawn retorted. “All I have to do is go where I’m told and take care of business. I don’t have anypony breathing down my neck or watching my every move… well, except for you of course, but that doesn’t really count,” he added with a smirk. Star and Inferno watched the exchange with amused expressions as they neared their destination.

“Yeah, it’s probably for the best that you stay a private, otherwise we’d never win this war,” Brass Heart replied, chuckling at his own words.

“Right you are,” Dawn agreed as he joined in on the laughter. He was the first one to walk through the open door of the repurposed warehouse and then commented, “The chariot certainly looks like it’s finished, but where did those two earth ponies run off to?” His light green eyes scanned the dim building for a moment, until he received his answer.

“It’s about time you showed up,” Ursa called out from somewhere in the rear of the open room before stepping out from behind a large pile of scrap metal that had been brought in days before. Star saw Axel following behind him as she and her other two companions followed Dawn inside.

“We finished this over twenty minutes ago, but there was no sign of you four, so I asked Ursa to help me sort through the scrap metal for when we start building the next chariot,” Axel explained as she and the emerald stallion began dragging over a thick sheet of iron plating using a couple of ropes tied around their midsections. It created a terrible noise as it scraped across the dusty floorboards and Star cringed at the sound. “Brass Heart, you and Dawn can start getting strapped in and we’ll get this old girl airborne!” Axel shouted to be heard over the grating of metal against wood. Thankfully, Ursa had repaired the floors himself, putting his natural born talent to good use, so there was no chance of the heavy material breaking through on them as they pulled it.

“Come on, I’ll help you two get strapped in,” Star offered. She headed over to the armored vehicle, which had been detailed with polished bronze and reinforced with some sort of metal that Axel had found to be light enough for air travel. The pegasus followed her over and stood motionless in front of the chariot while she fitted them in with a little help from her magic. Inferno stood back and watched, while the earth ponies finished pulling the sheet of scrap to one of the nearby worktables and quickly untied the ropes that they had secured around themselves. “That should do it,” Star said, taking a couple of steps back to admire the full effect of the almost battle ready sky chariot. It certainly looked formidable with both of the soldiers standing before it.

“Very nice,” Axel commented as she walked over to admire her hard work. “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s take this thing out for a flight.” Both of the winged stallions nodded their heads in agreement and began to pull the vehicle to the front of the building. It didn’t appear as if they were having much trouble with it, but Star wouldn’t know for sure until they finished the tests.

“Which one of you is going to ride with us?” Dawn asked as they emerged from the musty shop. Even with all of the cleaning and repairs Star and Ursa had done, some aspects of the old building were ingrained it seemed. No matter how long they left the front doors open, the smell of old wood and rot permeated the inside.

“I’ll be the one going up,” Axel replied as she climbed into the chariot and took a seat on the wooden bench. “If something goes wrong, then I want to go down with my ship.” If the earth pony was joking, Star certainly couldn’t tell by her expression.

“Uh, sure,” Brass Heart mumbled as he and Dawn exchanged slightly worried glances. If the vehicle did happen to fall out of the sky, then it would be difficult for the pegasus to shirk their bindings off in time to catch the earth pony before she hit the ground. Axel didn’t seem very concerned about that, which was fine, because the unicorn was worried enough for the both of them. “Alright, we’re going up,” the corporal said as he and his best friend began pulling the chariot down the front walk of the building.

“This is actually kind of exciting,” Ursa said as they watched the pegasus slowly building up speed. The white stallions were moving at a full gallop by the time that they reached the streets and just a moment later they began flapping their powerful wings.

“Yes it is,” Star agreed, “and a little nerve wracking too,” she added when the vehicle rose a short distance off of the snowy ground before dropping back down as the soldiers tried to time the beating of their wings together.

“That’s only because you don’t want Brass Heart to get hurt,” Inferno teased, her eyes fixed on the sight of the chariot as it rolled further away from them.

“First of all, I don’t want anypony to get hurt,” Star corrected, violet gaze completely transfixed on her friends as the cart began to lift up once again. “And secondly, shush.” She could see her daughter smirking out of the corner of her vision, but the chariot had finally begun to rise up through the air, so the unicorn ignored that fact.

“Hay yeah!” Ursa let out a thundering cheer as they watched the pegasus clear the roof of the building on the far side of the street. The ribbon that had been binding together Axel’s flowing, blonde ponytail tore free because of the cold winds and was carried off in the breeze as Star and Inferno joined the crystal pony in a round of whistles and hollering. “I’ll be bucked if that chariot isn’t soaring like a bird!” A flash of white teeth graced the large stallion’s face as he beamed up at the snowflake speckled skies, where Brass Heart and Dawn were slowly climbing higher and higher, the chariot following smoothly behind them.

“I’m just glad it’s not me up there,” Inferno said, but even the acrophobic dragon couldn’t hold back a joyful grin at seeing the new sky chariot working so well.

“What, you don’t like flying?” Ursa asked without looking away from the grey sky. “I find that hard to believe, seeing as how you are a winged dragon and all.”

“I can ride in one of those if I have to,” Inferno explained haughtily. “I took the first one Axel built all of the way to the hippogriff settlement of Sahclawi. Granted, I had a few panic attacks whenever I thought too hard about the fact that the little collection of homes was sitting way above the ocean, but all in all, I like to think that I coped with the circumstances fairly well.” The crystal pony’s blue eyes finally left the sky as he stared down at her in surprise.

“I know that I listened to you, Spark and Strata tell the story about your trip, but I guess I hadn’t really considered exactly what traveling to the hippogriffs entailed,” Ursa replied. “That has to be one of the bravest things that I have ever heard,” he admitted, which caused Inferno to awkwardly swish her scaled tail back and forth in embarrassment.

“Uh, thanks… I guess,” she replied quietly.

“Hey, who is that?” Star asked upon noticing a cream colored pony heading down the hill towards them. “Is it somepony we know?” She hadn’t been expecting a visitor and none of her friends had mentioned that they were waiting for somepony either.

“I have no idea,” Ursa replied with a dismissive shrug. The emerald stallion turned his attention back to the sky soon after, though the chariot had already disappeared from view by then.

“I think it’s one of the mares who works up at the castle,” Inferno said, her yellow eyes squinting as she utilized her superior vision; the same skill that she used to detect minute flaws in gemstones over the past couple of days. “Yeah, it’s definitely one of the maids. I remember seeing her around.”

“I wonder what she’s doing around here,” Star said as the mare drew closer and closer. It didn’t take long for the unicorn to receive her answer though.

“Discipula Star,” the cream colored pony called out as she trotted over the snow packed sidewalk on her way to them. “Princess Celestia wanted me to find you and let you know that you have a visitor waiting for you back at the castle,” the earth pony explained in a huff as she finally reached her. The mare couldn’t have been more than a few years older than Star, but she was still out of breath, most likely from trotting all of the way to the shop, the unicorn assumed.

“Oh, well thank you for telling me,” Star replied before turning to Ursa and Inferno, who were both observing the exchange with peaked curiosity and then back to the newcomer. “Do you have any idea who came to visit me?” Star asked, considering the possibility that Spark had already arrived.

“Sorry, Celestia didn’t tell me,” the mare replied as she swiped a few sweat soaked strands of pale pink mane out of her burgundy eyes. “I was just told to have you return to the castle as soon as possible, although the princess did say that it wasn’t a dire emergency.” It was a good chance that the visitor wasn’t Spark then, Star thought, because his return would have most likely resulted in the royal sisters calling a meeting with her and her friends.

“Okay,” Star said as she turned back to Ursa again. “Make sure to tell me everything that happens,” she told the crystal pony, who simply nodded his head as he watched the two soldiers emerge from the thick cloud cover with the flying chariot still in tow. “Inferno, did you want to come back to the castle or stay here and watch them test the chariot until I get back?” Her daughter tapped a short claw against her cheek a few times as she considered what would be more exciting.

“I suppose that I’ll just head back to the castle with you,” Inferno eventually replied. “I don’t think I can be much help around here anyway, now that Axel only has to fiddle with the finishing touches.” It was true enough, her mother figured.

“Alright, we’ll see you later, Ursa,” Star said before she and Inferno took off up the street, with the earth pony who had been sent for them casting a curious glance above her before following after. The unicorn cast one last glance up into the sky as well, where she could just make out the shape of the sky chariot heading back above the clouds.

The pink maned mare whose name Star had found out was Ribbon, didn’t have much to say during the walk home, mostly because she was already fairly tired from the journey down to the shop, which was fine with the unicorn. Star was enjoying her speculations as to who it might be that had come to the castle to see her. She had a few guesses, but considering the strange turn her life had taken recently, anything was possible. Ribbon had told her that Princess Celestia said it wasn’t an emergency, so she wasn’t too worried about getting bad news at least and the answer actually proved to be a rather welcome one, as she found out soon after stepping through the large double doors of her home away from home. A familiar face graced her with a joyful smile.

“Star, it’s so good to see you again,” Doctor Suture greeted her as she stepped into the main hall, where the light yellow mare was waiting.

“Suture, so it was you who came to visit,” Star commented as she embraced the middle aged unicorn in her forelegs. “How have you been,” she asked as they parted. The doctor shrugged her narrow shoulders as she gave a weary look.

“As good as can be expected, I suppose,” Suture replied. She wore a plain looking robe that looked better suited for a slightly warmer climate, but her old boots certainly appeared warm enough, Star noted. “I haven’t been quite as busy these past couple of days, although I was swamped with work for awhile, doing checkups on all of the soldiers before they were deployed,” she explained. “How about you? I hear that you have been working on an important project for the military.” News traveled quickly even in such a large city it seemed.

“I guess you could say that,” Star replied, “though I’ve mostly just been assisting my friend, Axel, while she does the hard work,” she added with a laugh.

“And Inferno, I trust that you’ve been doing your part as well,” Suture said with a nod in the red dragon’s direction.

“Of course,” Inferno replied with a smile of her own. It had been awhile since Star had seen the doctor, the last time having been while she was assisting the older mare with the disaster relief in Ponyville, but she had written a letter to her. No response had come back, but the younger unicorn knew that it was only because of how busy her friend had undoubtedly been. “What brings you up to the castle?” the little dragon questioned as they started walking through the large hall on their way to the stairs.

“I actually had some free time today, which doesn’t happen very often,” Suture explained to the dragon, “so I thought that I would drop by and see if your mother had made any progress finding the gems we need to repair Nature Spark’s vision.”

“For the love of Luna, I haven’t even been looking!” Star replied as she mentally kicked herself for putting off something so important. “Between meeting with the princesses and helping Axel build the new sky chariot, I just haven’t gotten the opportunity.” Although skipping out on magic practice to go look for them after working would have been possible, she mused.

“She may have been too busy,” Inferno said as they began walking up the stairs, “but I’ve been working in an enchanted gem shop… I haven’t found anything suitable though.” The little dragon’s head sank at the confession, but Star was just heart warmed that her daughter had the presence of mind to have been looking while she helped the old stallion sort through his stock. “I did have another idea though, if you’d care to hear it,” she continued in a slightly more chipper tone.

“Yes of course, Inferno,” Star replied. Any chance was worth taking if it meant that they could restore Spark to his former glory.

“Well, what if we go down into the caves below the city and ask my mother if she has the gemstones that we need?” Inferno questioned. Both mares were confused for a moment, but realization slowly washed over Star and she stopped in her tracks, midway up the winding staircase. “I just thought tha-”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that, Inferno,” Star quickly replied as she banished the very thought from consideration. The red dragon had never gotten along with her biological mother and most of their brief visits ended with Inferno either crying or spending the remainder of the day in a foul mood. “Besides, what makes you think that she would even help us?” she asked as she continued up the stairs again, her brown boots muffling the sound of her hoofsteps against the gleaming floors.

“I’m sorry, but I must be missing something,” Suture stated with an expression of utter bewilderment. Star had spaced the fact that the older mare had no clue that there was full grown dragon living in the mountain. It wasn’t exactly common knowledge and even the black unicorn wasn’t certain of why this was the case, but it also wasn’t a secret as far as she knew. “I thought that you were Inferno’s adoptive mother.”

“I am,” Star replied, her voice falling into little more than a hushed whisper, “but she was talking about her biological mother.” Suture’s orange eyes sprang wide open in surprise and her mouth hung agape as she tried to process the revelation.

“Am I supposed to believe that there is a full grown dragon living beneath Canterlot?” the doctor asked as she followed her companions up the last few steps and down the hall towards their bedroom, where they could continue their conversation away from anypony who might accidentally overhear. “That’s impossible,” Suture stated.

“Yes, I thought the same thing when I first head about it,” Star replied as she held the door to the bedroom open while Inferno and Suture walked in. “I assure you that Inferno’s mother does dwell in this mountain though and she is not the friendliest of serpents either.” Her daughter nodded her head emphatically in agreement. The room was dark, but a quick flash of magic from the tip of the black mare’s horn effectively pulled back the frilly purple curtains, allowing the early evening glow to light the room naturally as she kicked off her boots and got comfortable. She chose to keep her cloak on however. “I would prefer that you didn’t tell anypony about this, Suture. I don’t believe that the princesses would reprimand me for alerting you to her presence, but I’d rather not test that theory.”

“Uh, yes, of course,” Suture replied, her soft orange eyes still radiating a mild bafflement. “Why would a dragon choose to live beneath Canterlot though?” she asked a moment later as they each took a seat. Star and Inferno shared the couch at the foot of their bed, while the doctor took one of the fancy chairs opposite them.

“I’m quite sure that I don’t know,” Star replied.

“She’s never actually told me,” Inferno added. “Not that she tells me much of anything, even though I keep going back to visit her every couple of months.” Even if she wasn’t close to her biological mother, Star could still see a shimmer in the little dragon’s yellow eyes before blinking back a tear.

“Then what makes you think that she would give you the jewels that we need?” Suture questioned, “And how do you know that she even has two flawless gems of equal size and cut?” Inferno gave a knowing smile as she laughed humorlessly.

“Believe me, Incendiaura has ten times the number of gems that would fit our criteria, if not more,” Inferno replied coldly. All of the talk about her mother seemed to be putting the serpentine girl in a bad mood, so her adoptive parent decided to change the subject to something a bit lighter.

“Enough talk about that though,” Star said with a smile. “There is nothing that we could do tonight anyway.” The black mare turned to her friend and asked, “What are your plans for the next few days? Do you have anything important that you will be taking care of?” The yellow unicorn’s flat expression melted into a warm grin as she thought for a moment.

“Well, to be honest, I have been thinking about assisting the military out in the field,” Suture replied. “Tending to the sick, mending broken bones and that sort of thing, you know.” It wasn’t quite what Star had been expecting to hear, but the news also didn’t come as much of a surprise to her either.

“That sounds awfully dangerous,” Inferno commented as her previous unhappiness began to dissolve. “Won’t that put you in serious danger, being so close to where the battles are being fought and all?” The doctor nodded slowly, her wavy orange mane falling over her face before being pushed back in place.

“It does pose a greater set of risks than working in the hospital,” Doctor Suture admitted, “but I think that my particular skills as a surgeon will be most beneficial to our troops’ well being and besides, I have missed doing actual doctoral work quite a bit. The time Star and I spent in Ponyville reawakened that old need to help ponies as I once did.” The black mare could see a sort of fiery passion in the doctor’s eyes as she spoke of her plans. It was the same look that she had seen in her friends’ eyes during the last meeting they’d all had with the princesses.

“I am sure that what you do in the hospital is quite indispensible and saves many ponies’ lives as well,” Star replied, “but I can see how strongly you feel about doing this, so I will wish you the best of luck and perhaps we will see one another in the midst of the danger that lies just outside the city walls.” One of the doctor’s eyebrows rose appraisingly as she gazed at Star from across the low table.

“Are you planning on lending you medical assistance as well?” Suture asked with a pleased smile. “I must admit that you do have quite the knack for that sort of magic, though I suppose you just have a talent for magic in general.”

“Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of accompanying my friends with their missions, namely Spark, as he journeys into the Crystal Empire to put an end to this conflict,” Star explained unwaveringly, though giving voice to her plans made her realize how terribly dangerous they really were.

“I would argue that doing so is a good way to get your self killed,” Suture sighed, “but I can already see that the point would be moot, much like if you tried to convince me to stay at the hospital.” The black maned mare gave a half smile as she nodded her head. “I do hope that you will be very careful though, Star, because things are growing more and more dangerous every day. The ponies hiding in the protection of this city may not see the truth so clearly, but you and I have seen first hoof the horrors that this war has brought. I hope that your resolve stays as strong as it appears to be now.”

“You and I both,” Star agreed in a quiet voice.

“What about you, Inferno? I would assume that you have already made your stance known,” Suture said as she turned to the young dragon. “I can only imagine that you will refuse to leave your mother’s side, no matter what tragedy befalls her because of the path she has decided to travel.” Inferno offered no smile, but only a silent nod. “As much as I hate to see one as young as yourself being put in danger, I suppose that it is for the best. You two share a strong bond and it may help to drive back the shadows that will undoubtedly try to ensnare you along the way.” Star wasn’t really sure what to say to that, but appreciated the sincerity of her friend’s words.

“You make it sounds as if-” Fwoosh! Whatever the dragon had been about to say was interrupted as black flames suddenly spurt forth from her mouth, bringing with them a letter from one of the princesses. “Ugh, sorry about that,” she apologized as her mother snatched the letter from the air in a white glow. “Why wouldn’t they just come to the room and talk to us?”

“It’s from Luna,” Star said as she quickly scanned the page. “She says that she wishes to speak with me. Suture, I’m sorry to cut our visit short, but you are more than welcome to wait here while I see what the princess needs,” she added as she stood up from the couch. The middle aged mare shook her head as she too rose to her hooves.

“No, that is alright. I should be getting back to the hospital anyway,” Suture explained. “I have to get everything in order before I head off. There are plenty of papers to fill out and ponies to speak with before then.” Star nodded her head understandingly as she held out her forelegs for a hug. “I will try to visit you again before I depart though.”

“It was good to see you,” Star said as the yellow unicorn wrapped her up in an embrace. “I will send you a letter if we do happen to get the gems that we need.”

“Goodbye, Suture,” Inferno said as both of the mares headed to the door.

“Until next time, Inferno,” the doctor replied before leaving the room, with Star following behind her. “Take care of your self,” she before they had parted ways.

“Princess Luna,” Star called out from the other side of the alicorn’s bedroom door, which was locked, just as it had been for the past few days. The princess, it seemed, was turning into a bit of a recluse since she and her elder sister had officially declared war on the Crystal Empire. “Princess, you wanted to speak with me,” the unicorn called again. The clicking of a lock being disengaged sounded out just a moment later as Luna opened the door and welcomed her student inside. The young mare didn’t even try to mask her curiosity as she stepped back from the entrance.

“Star, thank you for coming to see me so quickly. I do hope that my summons wasn’t too much trouble for you,” Luna said as the smaller pony walked into her unlit room. “I know how busy you must have been down at the warehouse, but there is something on my mind and the sooner I can get it off, the better.”

“Actually, Axel has gotten the new chariot airborne already,” Star replied, “so there isn’t much left for me to do as of today, although I was visiting with a friend when I received your letter.”

“I am sorry to have interrupted you then,” the princess apologized as she shut the door behind them and lit a few candles with a flash of her magic.

“Don’t be. It was nothing of grave importance,” Star assured her mentor. “Doctor Suture happened to have some free time and wanted to tell me that she would be lending her assistance to the soldiers being sent into battle.” Star followed the dark blue alicorn over to a pair of chairs and took a seat facing her, noting the pallor in the princess’s normally flawless skin. It didn’t look like she had been getting much rest over the past few days.

“The dean of the hospital,” Luna commented. “Well, she will be an invaluable asset to our cause.” The room grew quiet in the few seconds after the immortal mare had spoken and Star could feel a tension in the air as she waited for her to continue the conversation. “I haven’t been sleeping well,” the princess finally admitted. “Many of the ponies throughout Equestria have been suffering from nightmares lately and try as I might; it is difficult to relieve their fears every night.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Star replied. “I have no doubt that their fears will only grow worse as this war progresses, but you shouldn’t forget to take care of your self as well as your subject, princess.” Luna seemed to brush her concern aside, but the way she had been acting recently truly worried the young mare.

“Has Nature Spark returned yet?” Luna asked, seemingly to dodge her student’s remark. Star noticed this, but she decided to let it slip for the time being.

“I’m afraid not,” the unicorn replied, “although he should be arriving any day now, barring any unforeseen circumstances of course.” The alicorn nodded in silent acceptance of her answer. “What is it that caused you so much trouble that you needed to see me though?” Star’s mentor gazed in her direction, but the princess’s mesmerizingly blue eyes seemed to stare past her at something else entirely as she opened her mouth to speak.

“I was worried because I’ve been th- I, well… I suppose that it had just been some time since we have had a conversation face to face.” Star was about to interject, since they had spoken just the other night. “Outside of your dreams, that is,” Princess Luna amended when she noticed her protégé’s expression.

“You have been showing a rather serious aversion to making contact with anypony lately,” Star observed. “I hope that you have at least spoken with your sister about your concerns.”

“Celestia,” Luna scoffed, “as if she has any answers that will assist me in this time of need. She doesn’t understand the importance of the night or how dire the tortured dreams of her subjects can be.” The princess’s wings shifted behind her in agitation as she spoke and Star could hear a distinct pain beneath the insincere anger directed toward the elder alicorn.

“I still wish that you would converse with her,” Star restated. “I know that she loves you and would be most displeased to see you in such a state. She has brought up her worries with me already.” The faithful pony’s concerns were well founded, she knew, but there was a delicate balance between a making a strong suggestion and full blown nagging, which would most likely be detrimental to the situation. “I heard that she tried talking with you about said troubles, but she never told me how that went.”

“She believes my current plight would be corrigible if I were to just push through the unhappiness I have been feeling, but I don’t think that it would make much of a difference as long as our subjects are suffering through fighting, night terrors and that ill-advised curfew,” Luna replied a bit heatedly.

“I am sorry to hear that,” Star admitted and her mentor’s expression softened a bit, revealing more of the hurt she felt. “If there is anything that I can do to alleviate your burden, please, let me know. It is the least I could do after everything you have done for me.” The unicorn actually caught the briefest flash of a smile on the alicorn’s face before it was replaced by worry once again.

“There is one thing,” Luna replied quietly. “No matter what happens, even if we somehow fail to stop the duke and Equestria falls, please don’t leave me alone, my faithful student. I feel as if you are the only pony who truly knows me and I do not believe that I could face the future without your friendship.”

Star was stunned for a few breathless seconds, but then swore, “I would never stop being your student and your friend, Luna. I promise.” The immortal didn’t smile, but she did nod her approval, the tears forming in her blue eyes conveying the thanks that she was unable to give voice to. “Would you like me to stay here with you for awhile longer?” the unicorn asked after awhile.

“No, Star, I am sure that you must be tired and I would much rather have you well rested for whatever tomorrow brings and besides, I must away to tend to the shimmering moon and restless dreams,” Luna explained. “You can go and get some sleep now. Thank you for consoling this immortal fool.” The princess laughed quietly, but there wasn’t much joy in the sound.

“Anytime,” Star replied sincerely, giving a polite nod as she stood up from the chair, “and please, never hesitate to call for me whenever you need a compassionate ear,” she added as she gave a glance back at her mentor, who simply nodded again.

Star left Princess Luna alone in her bedroom and decided that it was late enough for her to retire to her own chambers for the night. Inferno would most likely be sleeping peacefully already and she had no doubt that Ursa and Axel had probably returned awhile before and gone straight to bed. Hopefully he had seen to it that the blonde mare had actually eaten something before going to sleep, Star thought, as she traversed the noiseless halls of the castle. Her hooves were the only thing to break the tranquil silence. Clip. Clop. Clip. Clop. The halls echoed as the tapped a melody against the cool blue and white tiles on her way to her room.

The painted, wooden door squeaked faintly as it swung open on its hinges when Star applied just a touch of magical force. Not loud enough to awaken the slumbering dragon inside, thankfully. The black mare entered the pitch black room and navigated to the bed from memory, dropping her clothing to the floor and carefully picking her way along the carpet. She could hear her daughter snoring softly as she gently climbed up onto the large bed, relishing the smooth feel of silky sheets against her hide as she delicately slid between them. It didn’t take more than a few minutes for her to calm down, each breath becoming softer and more uniform by the second. Soon after, she had drifted off with one foreleg wrapped gently around Inferno’s chest as they slept side by side.

Author's Note

I love writing the awkwardness that Star exhibits most of the time, although it can be a little painful when I go back and read it all together, but it's supposed to be. Hahaha. I must say that I had some trouble deciding what to name Inferno's mother, but 'Incendiaura' sounded pretty cool and I'm happy with it. She will be in one of the upcoming chapters, although I'm not sure if it will be chapter 5 or not. We'll just have to see.

Ch.5 A Plan of Action

~Chapter 5: A Plan of Action~

Bad dreams lingered. It had been a couple of weeks since Discipula Star’s last nightmare, but it seemed that her conversation with Princess Luna had caused them to return. She couldn’t remember specifics as she lay gasping between the sweat soaked sheets, but the feeling of terror lasted for a few agonizing seconds after she had awoken. As the frantic beating of her heart slowly returned to normal and her eyes adjusted to the low light of the room around her, she slowly crawled out of bed. Her hooves touched the thick rug below and she stood there for a moment, trying to push the disorientation that had lingered after she’d awoken out of her mind. The comforting repetitiveness of her daughter’s soft breathing patterns helped quite a bit and the unicorn was soon feeling much better, though still a bit sleepy.

Star yawned as she shuffled across the cold, tile floors and into the even colder bathroom, where she quickly began to run a bath. It had been awhile since the small mare had time to soak in the tub and relax, but since she had awoken so early it seemed as if there would be time to do so now. The water warmed up quickly and she stepped into the bath while it was still filling up, eager to make the most out of her early wake up. The heat nearly buckled her short legs as her tired muscles began to relax. A blissful sigh escaped Star’s delicate lips as she sank into the bath and closed her violet eyes. By the time that the tub was full, she was so relaxed that it took multiple tries for her to summon the magic to turn off the faucet.

“Oh yes… I’m never getting out of here,” Star moaned in pleasure as she slipped further into the hot liquid, stopping only when it had reached her neckline. Unfortunately for the unicorn, she could feel the enticing tug of sleep against her eyelids and it was beginning to pull her back into her dreams again. She slipped a litter further into the bath as her eyes drooped closed. The welcoming peace of sleep surrounded her as the steaming tub faded from view and soon after the darkness followed.

The world around her was inky black, without even the faintest trace of light to break its oppressive darkness, but Star could see something else as she peered around. Shadowy tendrils reached for her, even darker than the pitch black nothingness in which she was stuck. Somehow she could see them, despite the fact that she could see nothing in the darkness and she could feel them as well. The closer they slithered toward her from out of the nothingness, the colder the unicorn felt. Before long the shadows had surrounded her, threatening to consume every part of the mare’s body as the terrifying coldness gripped her heart and began to squeeze the life out of her.

“Mom, are you in there?” Splash! The sound of Inferno’s voice combined with the sudden feeling of water against her face caused Star to sit up suddenly, sending a good amount of the now less than room temperature bathwater splashing to the white tiles below. She had fallen asleep in the tub it seemed and it had been long enough that she could feel that her skin had begun to prune up. That could have been dangerous, she thought, as she carefully stood up and used her magic to wring most of the water from her mane and tail.

“Yes, I’ll be out in just a minute, honey,” Star called, just hoping that her daughter hadn’t heard the frightened wavering of her voice as she spoke. The reason that she hadn’t been able to recall the nightmares that had plagued her through the night was clear to her now, as she stood there with beads of cold water running down her fur and dripping into the slowly draining puddle at her hooves. Darkness and fear had been the only thing in her sleep and it had frightened her terribly. If Luna had spoken the truth and everypony else was having such dreams, then it shed new light on why the princess of the night had seemed so distraught during their last conversation.

“I’m going to go downstairs and grab some breakfast then,” Inferno called back, shaking the unicorn from her silent musings.

“Alright, Inferno,” Star replied as she stepped out of the tub and levitated a clean towel from the rack on the wall. “Could you bring me back some tea?” she asked a second later. Her stomach didn’t feel up to eating anything at the moment, but some relaxing tea sounded as if it would do wonders to calm her back down again.

“Yeah, I can do that,” her daughter called back, before the sound of claws tapping against the floor signified that she had left the room. The muffled sound of the bedroom door shutting confirmed as much and Star began vigorously drying her damp mane while she waited for the little dragon to return.

Once Star was satisfied with how dry she was and after combing out the tangles in her hair that had developed sometime during her restless slumber, she walked out of the bathroom and over to the window, where she could see the sun trying to force its life giving light through the haze of dark fog that drifted just above the castle spires. The weather was anything but pleasant, yet it was still far better than it would have been had the unusually heavy snowfall started again. At the very worst it would mean that the unicorn would be forced to wear her ratty cloak for another day, but that was a small price to pay in exchange for remaining warm and dry.

It took just a few seconds for Star to gather up her boots, which she had left lying on the floor in a sort of trail leading away from the entrance to her bedroom and just a minute longer to put them on. She donned her cloak soon after and then took a seat on the couch where she immediately sank down into the comfortable, red cushions. Her eyes stayed open this time though, because the memory of the encroaching darkness hadn’t faded after her last awakening. Sleeping and by extension dreaming, was not something that she cared to do for the rest of the day. Granted, when she went to bed that night, the unicorn would be forced to deal with her nightmares, but that was hours off and could be pushed out of mind, for awhile at least.

The sound of knocking on the painted, wooden door in front of her forced Star back onto her boot clad hooves, whereupon she made her way over to the sound, assuming that Inferno needed help because her hands were full. It wasn’t her daughter on the other side of the door as she pulled it open however; she was met with the milky brown eyed gaze of Nature Spark instead. The blind stallion’s metal covered horn began to glow with a faint green light as he tried to figure out who had opened the door. Star was stunned for a short time, but seeing the smile stretch across his face as he felt out who was standing there caused her to break from the trance.

“Spark!” she cried happily as she pulled the lanky stallion into an overexcited hug. “I didn’t expect you o get here so early,” she added as they broke apart again.

“Neither did I, but flying sure seems to make traveling much, much easier,” Spark laughed as he continued to grin back at her. “I wasn’t sure that you would be awake, but I saw Inferno downstairs and she assured me that you were already up and about, so I decided to come to your room instead of waiting around for you to go downstairs.”

“I’ve been up for awhile,” Star replied, while simultaneously grabbing her friend’s shoulder with her magic and pulling him into the dimly lit room a little more forcefully than she was aware of. “I couldn’t really sleep, but now I’m glad for that.”

“You too, huh?” Spark asked. “I was having some problems for a little while there,” he explained, much to the smaller pony’s surprise. She had wondered just how widespread the nightmare phenomenon was, but Spark had been dealing with a less severe problem. “It’s okay now though, because I harvested what plants I could from my house while I was in Dodge.” The herbalist’s gleeful smirk caused the mare to roll her eyes, though he was unaware of that fact.

“Of course you did,” Star said as she led him over to one of the chairs and then took a seat on the opposite side of the small table. “Why does that not surprise me?” she asked with a smile of her own. The brown stallion shrugged his shoulders and chuckled.

“So, what did I miss while I was gone?” he asked in a slightly more serious tone, though Star could tell that he was already a bit intoxicated from smoking. It was evident in his laidback demeanor, which she hadn’t gotten to see in weeks, since before he returned from the hippogriff settlement. “Did it take long for Downpour and Draft to bring back that traitor, uh, what was his name?”

“Rainbow Strike,” Star replied.

Spark smacked the table lightly and said, “The sergeant, that’s right! Did he put up much of a fight when they went into Cloudsdale to get him?”

“Apparently he did,” Star replied unhappily, “because they’re still outside of Cloudsdale.” Spark seemed to take the news in stride, but it was hard for her to be sure, because his eyes weren’t nearly as expressive as they once had been. The observant mare assumed that it was because he had gotten used to functioning without any help from his sight, but that was pure speculation on her part. “I was told that the former sergeant caught wind of the planned attack and sealed up the city with the majority of its innocent population trapped inside. With him having so many hostages it has made capturing Rainbow Strike difficult, to say the least.”

“I see,” Spark mumbled softly as he stood up from the fancy chair and began to pace casually while continuing their conversation. “That is a most unfortunate turn of events, but I suppose that we should have expected something like this, considering how much damage the sergeant wrought before he was exposed.” Star nodded her head and then suddenly remembered her mistake.

“Yes it is,” she replied. “I don’t believe anypony has heard from the brothers, Strata or the soldiers that they’re with since the city was sealed, but that most likely just means that the status quo has remained unchanged for the past few days.”

“You’re probably right,” Spark agreed as he continued to take measured steps around the room. “Either way, there isn’t much that we could possibly due to assist them from here, so I suppose that there’s no use fretting over it,” he added soon after. “What about your work with Axel?”

“Oh, well it has been proceeding very quickly,” Star replied. “In fact, yesterday was the first test flight and as far as I know the test was a complete success, which should mean that Axel will be ready to start having more of the sky chariots manufactured within a few days.”

“At least something seems to be going our way,” Spark sighed, “which reminds me, I should probably apologize to Princess Celestia for being so uncooperative with her during our last encounter.” Star was glad that she didn’t have to hold back the knowing smirk on her face, though she was forced to stifle a few giggles. “I know that she was only trying to do what was necessary to help Equestria, but being ordered around like a pawn seems to be one of my pet peeves and it didn’t help that I was so damned sober.”

“I’m sure that the princess would really appreciate an apology,” Star agreed, “but you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself either. Even Celestia has made a few mistakes of her own before.” I’m fairly certain that we all have, she thought afterword.

“We should probably all try to set up a meeting with the princesses,” Spark said as he sat back down on the chair, having apparently gotten rid of the excess energy he’d been retaining. Star noted how lively her friend seemed at such an early hour and wondered if he hadn’t taken some other drug to go along with his herbs, although it was just as likely that he had woken up much earlier because he couldn’t tell where the sun was and therefore, had no way of keeping to a natural sleeping cycle. The thought was intriguing, but Star was too busy listening to Spark to give it more consideration. “I know that Axel will be busy building chariots or at the very least, supervising their construction, so I can’t imagine that she will be changing plans anytime soon,” he continued, “but considering what you just told me about the situation in Cloudsdale and my current plans, Celestia and Luna may want to rethink their strategy.”

“What are your plans?” Star asked.

“They’re really more like poor ideas,” the stallion replied. “There will be plenty of time for that later though. I think Inferno is outside the door.” Sure enough, a knocking sounded out just a minute after he had spoken. Star got up from the couch and went to answer the door, wondering exactly how he had known that the dragon was even there in the first place. Something to do with his magic no doubt, the mare figured.

“I don’t have any free hands,” Inferno called from the hallway. “Hello, can somepony get the door, please?”

“I’m coming,” Star answered as she pulled the door open, much to her daughter’s relief. The unicorn assisted the over encumbered dragon by lifting the pot of tea from her small hands and floating it over to the table, where she heard Spark sniff the air a few times out of curiosity.

“Thanks,” Inferno said as she walked past her mother. “Why is it so dark in here? You can barely see a thing,” the serpentine girl commented before gasping as she glanced over at the blind stallion with a look of unease. “Sorry, I didn’t mea-”

“That’s okay, Inferno,” Spark interrupted with a chuckle. “I’m not going to take offense because you happened to mention something about not being able to see. That would be a little much, don’t you agree?”

“I guess,” Inferno replied as she hopped up onto the couch across from him. Her mother joined her after closing the bedroom door. “Sorry though.”

“It’s okay,” Spark said before sniffing the air once again. “Did you bring in some tea? I would love a hot drink right now.”

“Oh, yeah,” Star told him. “I had Inferno bring me some, but there’s plenty. Let me just pour you a cup.” The black mare quickly floated a cup over from the tray that her daughter had brought breakfast on, but it was the only one. She decided to let Spark have the cup, because she could always have some tea later.

“While you’re doing that,” Spark replied, “I guess I can take this opportunity to tell you how my trip was.”

Princess Celestia had readily agreed to another meeting between her and Star, along with the rest of the unicorn’s friends who were still in Canterlot, though Axel seemed to have already made her way down to the shop for the day. Whether or not Princess Luna would be joining them remained to be seen, but her student was fairly sure that the alicorn would make an appearance considering the importance of the occasion. On the way to the throne room, Star, Spark and Inferno stopped by Ursa’s bedroom to let the crystal pony know what they would be doing. He was already awake by the time that they arrived. Everypony had gotten an early start that day it seemed.

“Ursa, it looks like you didn’t get a wink of sleep last night,” Star commented as the emerald stallion stepped out into the hallway, still fumbling with his clothing as he walked. “Bad dreams?” she asked, already fairly certain of the answer.

“Mhmm,” he mumbled. The sour expression on his face quickly turned around when he saw Spark standing behind the smaller pony though. “Spark, when did you get back?” he asked with a smile.

“Just a little while ago,” the brown stallion replied. “I’ll catch you up later, but we have a meeting scheduled with the princesses first.”

Ursa yawned and then replied, “That’s a great way to start the day,” before finally getting his cloak adjusted just right. Spark just chuckled as he turned in the direction of the stairs. “How did you sleep?” the larger stallion asked Star as they all began to follow Spark down the hallway. The fact that he couldn’t see didn’t seem to be slowing the blind unicorn down as he utilized the extrasensory abilities of his magic to feel his way through the castle. It was a strange sight to behold.

“Not great,” Star admitted. “Nightmares seem to be going around.”

“That’s too bad,” Ursa replied, “because I was really hoping to catch up on the sleep I missed out on while helping Axel.”

“You and me both,” Star sighed.

“So what is this meeting about?” the crystal pony asked as they approached the spiraling staircase and began to descend into the main hall.

“We thought that it might be a good idea to reassess our options and figure out the new plan for each of us,” Star explained. “Spark thought that Celestia would want to change tactics, especially since things in Cloudsdale have been going so poorly.”

“Yeah, I still wish that I could have gone with Draft and helped out,” Ursa replied. “Although, I think I would have preferred that he leave it up to the soldiers, who are trained for that sort of thing,” he added right after.

“I’m sure that there will be another way for you to help out,” Star replied. “We still need to get in contact with the resistance movement in the Crystal Empire and you’re the only one who here who has seen them before.” Ursa’s stomach growled before he had the chance to reply, but the throne room doors already loomed before them, so he was forced to ignore his hunger for the moment as Star grabbed the door handles in a white glow and shoved them open.

Princess Celestia sat upon her golden seat of power and beside her sat Princess Luna in her own throne, each of them wearing flat expressions that contrasted with their mystical, flowing manes as they watched their subjects approach the dais. Star could tell that her mentor had tried to mask the fact that she had been so troubled lately, but her eyes still held the same look of weariness in their dark depths. Her smile seemed thin as well, but the unicorn was fairly certain she would be the only one of her friends to notice that something was amiss. Each of the alicorns nodded politely as the ponies and dragon all bowed before them before coming to a rest just a short distance away.

“Nature Spark, I am glad to see that you have returned to us without any troubles,” Celestia said, her face finally breaking into a smile as she spoke. “Discipula Star, Ursa, Inferno, it is good to see you three as well, but I see that Miss Sapphire has not accompanied you all here today.”

“No, princess,” Star replied. “She is already down at the warehouse, working on the chariot no doubt.” The princess of the sun nodded understandingly before continuing.

“Very well, that is where she is needed most anyway,” Celestia admitted. “I suppose the first order of business should be deciding on Spark’s course of action in these coming days. The situation in the Crystal Empire will not right itself, after all.”

“Of course, your highness, but first I would like to formally apologize for my uncouth behavior during our last conversation,” Spark replied. “I should have stopped to consider the situation that you were in more carefully before speaking to you in such a way. I will do my best to correct that mistake in the future.” The princess seemed genuinely surprised by the stallion’s apology, but he couldn’t have known.

“That is quite alright, Nature Spark,” Celestia assured him. “I understand that we are asking much of you and I shouldn’t have expected such an easy response to our requests. It will be your life that is put in danger, so the decision must yours alone to make,” she continued. Her sister nodded in silent agreement with the statement. “The same can be said of your companions.”

“I understand that very well, Princess Celestia,” Spark replied, “but I also understand that there will be many more lives jeopardized if we fail to act, including my own. It took me some time to accept the fact that either way I will be a part of this conflict, but now that I have, I decided that I would much rather die trying to bring back peace, rather than cowering away from Doré Langue’s tyranny.”

“You sound just like your father,” Celestia replied slightly wistfully. “He said something along those same lines at one time and I am eternally grateful that he did.”

“We all are,” Princess Luna agreed. It was the first words that the younger princess had uttered, but doing so seemed to breathe some life into her, Star noticed. “He was a great stallion and I have no doubt that he would be proud to see your resolve in the face of such adversity.” After Luna had spoken, her student took the opportunity to let her own decision be known.

“I would like to accompany Spark on his journey to the Crystal Empire,” the black mare stated. A glimmer of what Star could only assume was fear flickered across Luna’s face for a moment, but her student would not be swayed in her choice. If her friends were willing to take such risks then it was only right that she should be by their side when they faced the consequences.

“I see,” Celestia murmured. “Well, I must say that this doesn’t come as a surprise to me. The bonds you have developed with your friends are strong and it is apparent that you’re mind is already made up, but it is not my place to give you permission. You are Luna’s protégé, after all.” Luna nodded sagely. “It is up to her to decide,” Celestia continued as she looked to her sister for an answer. Star’s breath caught in her throat as she too waited for a response from her mentor, whose expression had grown unreadable.

“Star, I- I would do anything to avoid putting you in danger,” Luna finally replied in a soft voice, rife with sorrow. Star exhaled slowly as she prepared for what was to come. “You have grown into a mare that anypony would be glad to call their friend and it would pain me too much to lose you… but I understand why you want this and if it is truly what you wish, then you have my blessing,” she finished, blinking back the tears that had begun to form. To Tartarus with proper etiquette, Star thought, as she took a few steps forward onto the raised platform.

“Thank you, Princess Luna,” she replied as she reached her forelegs out and pulled her teacher into a tight embrace. “I will do my best to return to you unscathed.”

“I should hope so,” Luna replied with a strained laugh before the small unicorn released her and stepped back from the throne once again.

“I’m going with her!” Inferno suddenly added, much to her mother’s dismay. Star knew exactly how Luna felt at that moment, because she would do anything to keep the little dragon from harm, but she also knew how hard it would actually be to deter her daughter, especially after what Suture had said to them the day before. “I will go with them to face the duke.”

“No,” Star reluctantly replied. “I’m sorry, but I can’t put you in such danger, Inferno.” Her daughter’s yellow eyes filled with a panicked resistance as she stared over at her. “I won’t allow it.”

“But you already said-”

“No,” Star reiterated.

“You can’t- It’s- that’s not fair,” Inferno argued as anger began to replace her initial feelings of hurt. “It’s not your decision. If the princesses want me to go then-”

“I’m sorry, Inferno,” Luna interrupted, causing the red dragon to whip her spiked head back towards the thrones. “It is not our place to contradict Star’s wishes for you.”

“I agree with my sister,” Celestia added. “If Star has deemed it too risky for you to go along, then we must respect her decision.” Inferno stared up at the alicorns with a defeated expression which soon clouded with tears before she turned away.

“That’s not fair!” Inferno screamed as she took of down the carpeted aisle, running full speed towards the large double doors. Bang! The sound of them slamming closed behind the dragon echoed throughout the throne room as Star stared after her with tears running down her cheeks. It had hurt to watch her leave, but the unicorn would endure that pain ten times over if it meant that she would be safe.

“You should go to her,” Luna said after a few silent moments. “If you explain your reasoning then maybe she will begin to understand and possibly even accept your choice.” Star nodded as she wiped away the salty streaks from her black cheeks and took off after her daughter.

Inferno wasn’t waiting in the bedroom when Star arrived, nor was she any other place in the castle, as the unicorn soon found out. She had checked the dining hall, the athenaeum, her friends’ rooms and every other place she could think to look, but her daughter was nowhere to be found. After descending back down from the tallest spire of Canterlot Castle, Star decided that it was time to widen her search area. The warehouse was the next place she would look, followed by Gentle Gem’s shop and every other building in the city if that was what it took. Star needed to make Inferno understand why she needed to stay and what she needed to do before they returned from the Crystal Empire.

“You still haven’t found her?” Spark asked as she came trotting down the narrow staircase, leading to the third floor. She hadn’t even noticed his approach because of how frantically she had been running around.

“No, I haven’t,” Star replied as she continued past him on her way to the lower parts of the castle.

“Well, I’d help, but…” Spark shrugged his shoulders; because obviously he wouldn’t be able to see Inferno unless she was right somewhere close by.

“That’s alright, Spark. I have a couple of other places left to check,” Star told him as he followed her through the mostly empty corridors. “You stay here and get all of the finer details of our trip sorted out with Ursa and the princesses, if you happen to require their help. I’ll take care of the situation with my daughter.”

“Okay, but if you change your mind, you know where to find me,” Spark replied as his long strides tapered off, allowing Star to continue her reckless gallop around the corner and to the next flight of stairs. A pony could stay in fairly decent shape running all around the castle, the short mare thought, as her hooves continued to beat a steady tempo over the gleaming tile floors.

It didn’t take long for Star to reach the front gate at the speed she was moving and soon after she was out in the crisp morning day, relishing in the fact that she had already gotten bundled up that morning, because it looked as if snow was soon to come. Her old cloak flapped behind her as she followed the path that lead through the front yard and out the wrought iron gates that marked the property. It was joined by her dark mane and tail which showed flashes of purple and blue as they whipped in the icy wind. A few guards noticed her passing and most likely called out greetings, but her mind was preoccupied and her momentum to great to bother stopping to be polite. Somewhere in the capitol her daughter was hiding and the unicorn couldn’t leave without comforting her.

Stone faced buildings and icy streets passed by in an indistinguishable parade of dull colors as Star raced towards the old warehouse, where Axel would be working on the sky chariot, hopefully with Inferno by her side. If she hadn’t taken such a long time searching in the castle then the unicorn knew she would have been able to catch up to her young daughter fairly quickly, but the little dragon had gotten a good head start and could have very easily made it to the shop already. It may not have seemed like a dire situation to ponies looking in from the outside, but Star hated it when Inferno was mad at her and the fact that she would be leaving soon only made matters that much worse, so she ran.

“Inferno!” Star shouted before one of her front boots hit a particularly slick puddle that had iced over, sending her foreleg sliding out from under her at blinding speed. The fall was completely unexpected, unavoidable and just plain painful as her chin hit the cobblestone street. Thwack! “Cockatrice swallowing, hoof sucking whore!” Star cursed as she came to a grinding halt on her newly bruised stomach. Normally she found swearing to be unbecoming of somepony who was so learned, but the fall had really hurt, so she forgave herself that minor slipup.

“Oh my, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” Axel asked as she walked outside, most likely to investigate what had caused such a commotion.

“Not recently,” Star replied, completely missing the rhetorical nature of her friend’s question as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. “Have you seen Inferno today?” she asked as she gingerly touched her chin with the tip of her boot. A bit of blood stained it, she noticed.

“I can’t say that I have,” Axel replied as she offered a hoof out to help the unicorn up. “Why, is she not with you?”

“No,” Star sighed as she allowed her friend to hoist her back up to her hooves. “She got mad when I told her that I didn’t want her coming with us to the Crystal Empire.” The earth pony looked confused for a moment, but soon put the pieces together.

“Spark must have come back,” she said with a nod of her head, which caused a few stands of her blonde mane to fall loose from the ponytail she wore it in. “You’re going with him to face the duke then?”

“Mhmm,” Star mumbled as her horn began to glow. A quick healing spell sealed up the scrapes on her chin and stomach just a moment later.

“I’d offer to join you two, but I still have quite a bit of work left to do here,” Axel replied as they started walking back to the shop.

“We figured as much, but that’s okay, because this is where you’re needed,” Star commented. “Ursa is going with us too though.”

“Oh, well that’s good,” Axel replied. “Why don’t you want Inferno to go along though?” she asked as they entered the musty old warehouse.

“It’s much too dangerous and besides, Gentle Gem may need her assistance again, plus there’s something that I need her to do while we’re gone,” Star explained. The earth pony would probably benefit from the dragon’s help as well, but that was a given.

“I see,” Axel said as they walked over to a few rickety chairs sitting around one of the tables in the middle of the room. The chariot was just a short distance away and, as far as Star could tell, it looked to be finished. “It makes sense that she would be upset, but she didn’t come here. Have you checked around the castle?”

“Yes, that was the first place I looked,” Star replied, her tone slightly annoyed at the obvious nature of the question. “Maybe she went to Gentle Gem’s store though. That’s the only other place I can really think of.”

“It’s a good possibility,” Axel agreed as she took a seat. “I can help you search for her if you’d like.” The unicorn shook her head in reply. “Are you sure?” Axel asked.

“Mhmm,” Star replied quietly. “You should just worry about your work. I’ll go find my daughter. Thanks for the offer though.”

“Alright, well I’m here if you change your mind,” Axel told her as the smaller mare got up and turned back towards the entrance.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Star called back as she left the workshop behind.

Gentle Gem’s shop wasn’t far, but Star’s previous spill had left her a little more reluctant to gallop around so haphazardly and it took her a little while to traverse the distance at her new pace, but that did give her an opportunity to contemplate the best way to convince Inferno that it would be good if she stay behind. Nothing the unicorn could say would make her daughter enthusiastic about the decision, but the little dragon would come to accept her mother’s choice when she heard the full explanation or so her mother hoped. Realistically, the little dragon may not respond very well at all, but harboring such an expectation would do nothing to make the task any easier.

Eventually Star found herself staring through the windows at a seemingly empty shop, but the lamps were burning, so she knew somepony was inside. She pushed open the doors and entered, passing by display cases of jewels as she headed to the back of the building, which led to the storage area where her daughter had been sorting through gemstones only a couple days before. As she got closer, the sound of the shop owner’s voice became louder and soon enough another voice joined his. It seemed that Inferno had indeed come to the store to get away for awhile. Her mother was about to enter, but something caused her to pause and listen in on their conversation for a moment.

“…and I know that she’s only worried about my safety, but I don’t think that it’s right that I should have to stay behind,” Inferno said as Star pressed her short ear closer to the closed over door. “They’re my friends too and this is my home as well, so why shouldn’t I be allowed to help save them, save it?” There was silence for a few seconds and the sound of something being dropped on something wooden.

“Listen here, little dragon,” Gentle Gem sighed. “I know that you only want to help, but you have to understand that your mother only has your best interests at heart. What you must realize is that the thought of losing you must outweigh her desire to have you by her side and that’s only because she cares for you so much.” Star smiled a she continued to eavesdrop on them.

“I’m not a child anymore though,” Inferno argued. “I know that I can help them.”

“No, you aren’t a child,” the old stallion agreed, “but to her you are a daughter and no matter how big you get, she will always see you as her little girl.” It was very true, Star agreed silently. Inferno would grow to be a very large and intimidating serpent, but until the day she died, Star would always see the chubby little dragon that gave the warmest hugs and had a fear of heights. The unicorn shifted slightly as she tried to keep from leaning too far forward and her cloak brushed against the wooden door, causing an audible noise that alerted them to her presence.

“Hello, Miss Star,” Gentle Gem called out, much to the unicorn’s red faced embarrassment as she pushed her way into the back room.

“Hi,” Star replied with an awkward smile as she glanced at him and then to her daughter, whose expression was caught somewhere between surprise and indignation. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I was just looking for Inferno and this was the last place I checked,” the mare explained.

“I just needed some time to think,” Inferno replied softly.

“Do you think that we could go somewhere and talk about this?” Star asked hopefully. Her daughter sat quietly, refusing to respond.

“I think that it would be good for you two to talk, Inferno,” the aged unicorn urged. That seemed to work well enough, because the little dragon got to her feet and slowly walked past her mother and out into the main part of the small building. Star followed behind her, after casting an appreciative glance in the blue unicorn’s direction.

A cool breeze carried large flakes of snow in its wake, which peppered Star’s cloak as well as her daughter’s bare scales. The pair had decided to take a walk through the city as they spoke, without any specific destination in mind. It had taken awhile for Inferno to start talking and hot tears followed her first words, splashing to the frosty ground and sending up tiny plumes of steam in their wake. Star just listened intently and waited for the right opportunity to explain herself.

“I can’t believe that you would ask me to stay here,” Inferno said as they crossed one of the many streets on their walk. “You know that there’s a good chance that you might not come back, but you still want me to stay here… What if I never see you again?” The red dragon choked back her sobs and wiped her bloodshot eyes as she waited for her mother’s answer.

“That is exactly the reason why I’m asking you to stay,” Star replied. “I couldn’t live with myself if something were to happen to you, Inferno.”

“And you think I could?” the dragon responded, sounding very wounded by her mother’s reply.

“No, of course I don’t think that, but there’s more than just fear keeping me from allowing you to come with us, although I will admit that is the main reason for my decision.” The dragon’s large, yellow eyes looked up at hers questioningly. “There is something that I need you to do while we are away,” Star explained, “well, two things actually. One is very important and the other is also important, but not quite as intimidating, I’m sure.”

“Oh, and what would those two things be,” Inferno asked, sounding as if she thought the unicorn was trying to make something up to placate her ego.

“The less intimidating job will be looking after Axel and lending her whatever assistance she will require to continue her work,” Star replied. “I’m afraid that she would work herself to death without somepony keeping a close eye on her wellbeing. Not to mention that Gentle Gem may need you again.”

“I suppose that’s true,” Inferno admitted. “And the other thing?” Star stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath to calm her nerves, which only made her daughter wary of what was about to be asked of her.

“I need you to get the gems that Doctor Suture and I will need to fix Spark’s eyes… from Incendiaura,” she reluctantly replied.

“I see,” Inferno mumbled, her expression growing stoic in a matter of seconds.

“I understand if you don’t want to, bu-”

“No, I realize how important this is, to you even more than Spark,” Inferno interjected. “I’ll do it, but there’s no guarantee that she will give me the gems that we need.” Her mother nodded slowly.

“I realize this, but I’ve run out of other alternatives,” Star said as she began walking again. “I know that your mother-

“Please, just call her by her name.”

“Right. I know that Incendiaura may not be the most giving of dragons,” Star continued.

“If you’d like to put it so mildly,” her daughter stated sourly.

“But maybe if it’s you asking then she’ll help,” the unicorn finished.

“I guess it’s worth pursuing,” Inferno admitted as they crossed another street and found themselves just down the hill from the castle. Maybe it had been their destination all along, Star thought, as they started the slow trek up to the ice covered gates.

“Thank you. This means more to me than you can imagine,” Star said as she placed a booted hoof gently on the dragon’s winged back. “What I did to Spark, even though it was an accident, was terrible and I must find a way to make it up to him.”

“I know,” Inferno replied before nodding politely at the guards standing on either side of the snow covered walkway leading up to the castle doors. Spark was waiting for them just inside the main hall and his bright smile flashed across his face as he sensed that Star had brought Inferno back.

“Did you two come to an understanding?” he asked as he walked up to the pair of girls and gave them each comforting hugs. Star looked to her daughter for the appropriate response and the little dragon returned a gentle smile.

“Yes, I think we may have,” Inferno replied.

“Wonderful,” Spark stated with a chuckle. “Ursa and I have been going over the rough ideas of our plans,” the brown stallion continued as he led his friends to the dining hall, where the crystal pony was waiting for them. “There are still a few of the finer details to work out, but we both agreed that meeting up with the resistance on the other side of the Crystal Mountains would probably be the best course of action.”

“I am inclined to agree,” Star replied. “Have either of you thought of a way to get in contact with the resistance though? I would hate for us to be forced to wander around hostile territory just hoping to bump into allies instead of enemies.”

“You and me both,” Spark chuckled.

“All we need to do is make our way to The Full House up in Calvary,” Ursa explained as he walked over to join in on the discussion. The large stallion flashed a quick smile at Inferno before continuing. “There’s a stallion who goes by the name Spade and is a part of the resistance. He’s the one who owns that bar and if we can get a hold of him then we can get some help sneaking into the capitol city.” It sounded fairly risky to Star, but she knew that they didn’t have many other options. “I am afraid that the most difficult part of getting to the capitol will be crossing the Crystal Mountains however. Do you remember what happened to Downpour and Draft when they first tried to cross?”

“Of course,” Star replied.

“They said that they nearly froze to death because of Windigos, didn’t they?” Spark asked with a note of disbelief in his tone.

“I know how that sounds,” Ursa replied. “I had thought that they were nothing more than a myth, but something had frozen those two half to death and I know it would take more than a little inclement weather to do that to them.” Inferno nodded her head in agreement as they all sat down around one end of the long dinning table that stretched most of the way across the large hall. There were a few other ponies scattered about the room, but none of them seemed to be paying the four friends much interest, which was for the best.

“If Windigos are more than a myth then why did you three not run into them on the way back here?” Star asked. Even though she knew for a fact that myths were often rooted in some sort of truth, the studious unicorn had never actually heard of anypony dealing with the spirits of ice and wind before, aside from the tale of Hearth’s Warming Eve that is.

“We weren’t fighting,” Ursa explained.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Inferno scoffed.

“Windigos are said to feed on conflict or something like that,” Spark replied. It seemed as if he had at least paid some attention to that course of study while he was still in school, Star noted.

“Basically,” she agreed, “which means that we will be just fine. I don’t believe any of us are planning to fight amongst ourselves.” Her violet eyes flickered between the two stallions questioningly.

“No, of course we aren’t planning to fight with one another, but think for a moment,” Ursa urged the small mare. “There is already a terrible conflict growing between our countries and it gets worse with every day that passes. I believe that it is for just that reason that the Windigos have been drawn to the northern borders and I fear that they may have gained enough strength since my last crossing to warrant every possible precaution we can take.” Inferno’s yellow eyes grew wide with fear as one more worry was compounded with the rest of her concerns.

“I hadn’t thought about that,” Star admitted.

“So what will you do?” Inferno asked quietly. “Is there some other way that you can get to Calvary?” Star had no answer to give her daughter, but it seemed that Ursa had given the subject some thought already.

“We should be safe if we can go over seas,” the crystal pony replied. “That would keep us from having to cross through the treacherous mountains, though it will delay our arrival by a few days or more.” It was a brilliant plan even so, Star thought.

“Assuming that there will be ample cloud cover to land the sky chariot on each time we need to rest,” Spark commented. “Can we be certain that will be the case?”

“No,” Ursa admitted, “but there are a few islands scattered off the western coast of both countries. With just a little forethought, I believe that we can island hop our way to the empire. What do you think?” Both Star and Spark grew quiet as they contemplated the viability of their friend’s plan, but neither could come up with a better course of action to pursue.

“I think that it would be worth the delay,” Inferno chimed in. “I believe that Ursa is correct in thinking that avoiding the Windigos should be your primary concern for the time being. You three have no way of knowing how strong they’ve grown. Downpour and Draft barely made it across the mountains before things had grown this bad.” The little dragon turned to her mother and added, “I can’t let you put yourself at even more risk than you already are going to, mom.” Star smiled down at her and held out a hoof which her daughter gently grasped.

“Of course, Inferno,” the young mare replied. “So we will go around the mountains and then fly in from the west coast, until we reach Calvary. There we will only have to hope that the resistance can indeed lend us the assistance that we will need.”

“Is there anything else that we will need to plan for?” Spark asked, his sightless eyes staring off into the distance as he rhythmically tapped a hoof against the tabletop. “What about Downpour and Draft? Should we stop by Cloudsdale on our journey out and see if there is something that we could do to help their cause?” Ursa’s deep blue eyes lit up at the thought of seeing the stallion he loved before setting out to risk his life.

“If you two wouldn’t mind another small delay, then I would love to see Draft once more before we depart,” the emerald stallion replied.

“It is quite alright with me,” Star said with a nod. “I would want the same were I placed in your situation.” Spark nodded in agreement.

“Thank you,” Ursa replied with a smile.

“Well, now that that’s taken care of, what say you three to getting something to eat?” Spark asked, “Because I am famished.” His three friends snickered as they got up from the table and followed him over to the far table, where a generous lunch was waiting for them.

Star wandered the halls of Canterlot Castle at a lazy pace, trying to waste away the rest of the evening while she waited for the next meeting with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, where she and her friends would relay their new plans. Before long she had made her way to the dusty room that they had used during the last night everypony had been together. The large painting of them all that the pegasus, Twinkey Doodle, had created was still sitting on its easel, waiting for the day that Star finally got around to finding a place to hang it. The unicorn had briefly considered putting it up in the room she stayed in while visiting Canterlot, but she had decided that it would find its home at her house in Dodge, if and when she ever returned.

Twinkey Doodle had captured the essence of that night perfectly in her painting; each of them looking rather drunk and cheery while gathered around one another. Star stood in the middle of the picture with Inferno and Spark standing to either side, the former with her hand placed lovingly upon her mother’s back, while the latter stared slightly off center with a crooked smile on his face. Downpour and Strata stood slightly behind the little dragon, limbs entangled in an unsteady embrace with faces full of laughter. Draft and Ursa were on the opposite end, hooves clasped together as they beamed sweetly for the picture. Suri was behind them, the taller mare’s captivating green eyes reproduced with amazing perfection that the black unicorn couldn’t help but to admire. It brought a wistful tear to her eye as she stared longingly at the portrait, wishing that they could all be together again. The sounds of somepony coughing drew her gaze away from the painting and over to the balcony, where she could hear somepony shifting from hoof to hoof a few seconds later.

“Hello,” she called out as she headed in the direction of the open doors. “Is somepony out there?”

“Star?” Spark called back. “It’s just me.”

“Oh, hey,” Star replied as she joined her friend, leaning against the stone railing in the cool, open air. “What are you doing out here?” she asked, though the pungent smell of burning herbs wafting about the stallion’s messy, brown mane answered the question for him.

“I’m just trying to unwind a bit before we go to see the princesses,” Spark replied before taking another drag off of the thin roll of paper being held aloft by the green glow of his magic. “What about you?”

“I was just admiring the painting of us that Twinkey Doodle did,” Star explained as she took up a position standing beside him. The slight breeze that caressed her face felt refreshing after the day she’d had and the small mare sighed contentedly as she stared out at the snow covered city far below.

“Oh… is it nice?” Spark asked, his calm tone giving no hint as to his feelings about not being able to see it himself, though Star was fairly certain of how she would be feeling in his place.

“Yes, I’m sure that you will approve when you get the opportunity to see it yourself,” she replied. The corner of her friend’s mouth turned up in a slight smirk as he let out a humorless laugh. “I will fix your vision when we return from the empire,” Star tried to reassure him.

“You mean if. If we return, then you will do what you can to repair my eyes, despite the fact that I’ve already told you that I won’t risk another attempt,” Spark sternly responded, but a moment later he laughed again; a more cheerful sound the second time. “That’s what makes you such a good friend though, I suppose,” he added. She watched him puff on his joint a few more times, allowing some of the smoke to waft up into his face before inhaling the trail into his nostrils and holding it in.

“Do you mind if I have some of that?” Star asked him, which caused the stoned stallion to cough and snort with surprise.

“Um, no,” he wheezed, “but I thought that you were done after the last time.” Star shrugged her narrow shoulders out of habit before taking hold of the remaining herbs with her own magic. Spark released his grip upon sensing that she was taking it from him. “What changed your mind?”

“Well, last time I ate so much that I got a terrible stomach ache, but we already had lunch earlier and I have awhile before dinner, so I should be fine,” Star explained. “Besides, I could use a little unwinding too,” she added as she pressed the end of the paper to her soft lips, the strong smell of slightly skunk-like burning tickling her nose. She took a small drag and quickly released it and then, having found her resolve again, she took a longer drag and held her breath while she passed the joint back to Spark.

“It’s a little cold out,” Spark commented, “but it feels nice.” Star watched him take another couple small puffs as she exhaled a cloud of smoke that was carried off by the breeze. “Can you see the stars yet?” he asked as he passed the burning herbs back to the mare by his side.

“There’s a few,” Star replied as she inhaled more of the mind numbing smoke. “Most of them are covered by the clouds though.”

“That’s a pity. I think that, aside from the faces of the ponies I care about, the stars are what I miss most.”

“The stars, huh?”

“Yeah. It’s funny though, because I never really gave to much thought to how beautiful they looked, twinkling up there, amidst the endless void of the nighttime sky,” Spark replied before feeling Star’s gentle tap against his shoulder as she tried to give him back the last of his joint. The blind stallion just shook his head slowly. “You can finish it. I think I’ve had enough for tonight.”

“If you insist,” Star replied with a smile. She took the last few drags and then dropped the remainder off of the edge of the balcony, watching the glowing tip as it spiraled down to the ground below, where the snow it landed in finally snuffed its ember.

“I accidentally let Inferno get high a few days after we left for Sahclawi,” Spark said, seemingly out of nowhere. “I had dropped some herbs on the floor of the chariot and thought I’d snuffed it out, but she picked the joint up and smoked it… and then ate her weight in food later that night.” Star could tell by his tone that he was trying to apologize, but the mystical properties of the herbs the mare had smoked were already beginning to work on her brain and she could only laugh at what her friend was telling her.

“You, haha, yo- you let my little girl get high?” Star giggled. “You are by far the worst dragon sitter I have ever met.” Spark just sighed as he turned his face back towards the serene cityscape in front of him

“That’s exactly what Strata said,” he replied before laughing at himself. Star’s giggling continued on along with his and soon the two were practically doubled over on the balcony, their cheerful sounds filling the evening air as they held each other for support. It felt really good to laugh, Star thought, as she tried to catch her breath again.

“I- I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that she, uh, that she… oh hay, I forgot what I was going to say,” she mumbled as she wiped tears of joy from her violet eyes.

“Haha, that’ll happen,” Spark replied with a grin as he stood back up, bracing himself against the cold railing for support. “I’m sorry that I let that occur though,” he added as his chuckling died down.

“Well, I suppose that I can’t be too mad,” Star replied with a sigh as she stood back up to her full height. “I did let her drink cider with us the night before everypony separated and I’m supposed to be her mother.” Star took a deep breath and regained her composure, although her mind still felt like it was shrouded in a cozy haze as she crossed her forelegs on the top of the stone banister and laid her chin upon them. “I’m still not sure that I’m suited to being a good role model though,” she admitted as her smile faded, leaving her cheeks aching as the strain upon them vanished.

“Is anypony?” Spark asked, much to her surprise. “I mean, think about what you’ve just said seriously for a moment. Everypony makes mistakes, hay, even the princesses have made their share of poor decisions and they’re supposed to be role models for all of Equestria.” It was a true enough statement, Star thought, as she listened to her friend. “I have a little brother that I practically raised for the first part of his life and look at me…” His hooves gestured animatedly as he spoke. “I am far from the most responsible pony in the world, but I like to think that I’ve done fairly well with being a good big brother to Sugar.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Star admitted. “I’m just worried that I’m going to mess her up somehow.” Spark laughed, though she couldn’t see anything humorous in her statement.

“Please. Inferno is a great girl and besides, aren’t we all a little messed up in our own ways?” Spark asked as he placed a hoof on the smaller unicorn’s shoulder. “My parents weren’t the best and I turned out alright.”

“That’s what you think,” Star joked, causing him to shove her playfully.

Spark just shook his head dismissively as he turned his face up to the cloudy skies and replied, “Don’t take life so seriously, Star. You’ll never make it out alive.” Star couldn’t suppress the laugh that escaped her lips at his comment. “Now come on, we should see if the princesses are ready to meet with us,” he added as he turned away from the city and headed back inside the drafty old castle.

“Maybe he’s right,” Star said aloud to herself before turning around and following her friend through the empty room, closing the doors to the balcony behind her with just a thought. Her parents had done a number of things wrong and yet she had moved on from it, so maybe Inferno could as well.

They arrived outside the throne room just a bit early for their scheduled meeting with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna after eating a quick meal, but so had Ursa and Inferno, so at least they had some company. Even Axel wound up making her way to them after a few minutes, looking positively exhausted after another day of pushing herself too hard down at the shop. Star and the rest of her friends took turns catching the tired earth pony up on what she had missed during the day and she updated them on the progress she had made with the new sky chariot. Apparently it was in the final phase of its design and would be ready to reproduce on a larger scale within a day or two at the most.

“I am sure that Celestia will be ecstatic when she hears that,” Star said as she continued to whittle away the minutes. “Plus it means that I won’t have any problems convincing her to allow Brass Heart and Dawn to escort us to the empire.”

“Why would we ne- oh, for the love of Luna! I completely spaced the fact that we need somepony to fly us there,” Spark gasped as he slapped a hoof in his own face. “I’m so used to having Downpour or Draft around that I didn’t think about who would pull the chariot and I didn’t really talk to the royal guard that Celestia had pulling my sister and I around, so I don’t think he would be up to the task.”

“Well that’s kind of rude,” Inferno commented. Spark looked as if he was about to reply, but that was when one of the princesses’ servant informed them that they were ready to begin the meeting and whatever argument the blind stallion had been about to make was lost in the shuffling off hooves as they made their way towards the ornate doors at the back wall of the main hall. Star shoved the doors open and she and her companions entered as a group. Celestia and Luna were waiting inside, the younger of the alicorns looking far better than she had earlier that day. They waited for their subjects to come inside and then finish bowing before either of them spoke.

“Hello everypony,” Celestia greeted them with a smile.

“We trust that you have all had a productive evening,” Luna added as she too smiled down at each of them. Star and her friends all nodded in unison.

“I suppose that we should get right to the heart of this conversation then,” Celestia continued. “What have you all decided as the best method for achieving our goals?” Star cleared her throat as she attempted to gather her thoughts, which took a moment due to the herbs affecting her mind. Thankfully, Spark seemed to notice her hesitation or had expected it and answered the question for her instead.

“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, after some thought and a bit of debating and planning, we have decided that Star, Ursa and I will take a sky chariot west, to the coast. From there we will head north, skirting the danger that the Crystal Mountains pose and entering the empire from that direction,” Spark explained.

“What danger would that be?” Luna asked with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

“We believe that Windigos have been drawn to the northern border because of the conflict between our countries, your majesties” Ursa replied. “It would explain the trials that Downpour and Backdraft faced on their initial trip north.”

“I see,” Celestia replied approvingly. “Then you have thought this through far better than I could have hoped.”

“We have, princess,” Star replied, having finally gathered her wits enough to feel comfortable addressing her rulers. “We will then head northeast, into the capitol, where we will be able to confront Duke Doré Langue and hopefully end his tyranny once and for all,” she continued in a voice that became more assured of itself with each word that she uttered.

“You have all shown a good deal of wisdom in planning this mission,” Luna complimented. “What will Alexia and Inferno be doing during the time that you are gone?”

“I will continue working on the fleet of chariots you have requested to be built, of course, Princess Luna,” Axel replied. “Even if they are successful in halting the duke’s twisted plans, there is no telling how many ponies have been permanently affected by his magical deception. It would be best to plan for any actions that might still be taken against our country.”

“And I will assist her to the best of my abilities,” Inferno added. The second task that she was to complete had no bearing on the princesses goals and thus it remained unspoken, much to her mother’s approval.

“I would like to take this opportunity to make a request,” Star stated. “Since Downpour and Backdraft are off attending to the problem in Cloudsdale, we will need able bodied pegasus to escort us to the Crystal Empire.”

“Did you have somepony in mind, my faithful student?” Luna asked, though she most likely knew the answer already.

“Yes, princess,” Star replied with a nod. “We would prefer it if Corporal Heart and Private Glory were the ones to take us, as I have a well established… er, report with them already,” she continued. Both princesses nodded their heads in approval of her request.

“I see no reason why we cannot accommodate your request, so long as Axel is finished with their services, of course,” Celestia told them, casting a questioning glance in the blonde mare’s direction.

“I have no objections to that,” Axel replied. “The chariot is basically finished and I will only have to start teaching other ponies to help reproduce the vehicle.”

“Good… and are there any other matters of importance that need to be discussed at this time?” Princess Celestia questioned.

“Not that I am aware of, my princess,” Spark replied.

“Then I believe that we can call this meeting to an end,” Princess Luna stated. Each of the ponies bowed low to their diarchs and were met with respectable nods. With the meeting called to an end, everypony soon filed out of the throne room quietly, the large doors banging shut behind them. Star yawned from exhaustion as soon as she and her friends were out in the main hall once again. Though the days were getting shorter, the small mare felt as if time was creeping by slower and the herbs weren’t helping to keep her alert by any means.

“Well I’m beat,” Spark confessed as he stretched out each of his long legs one at a time. “I suppose that I’ll be heading off to bed now. I’ll see you ponies in the morning.”

“Good night, Spark,” Star replied as he began walking slowly towards the stairs.

“Night,” Inferno called after him, to which the blind stallion replied with a casual wave of his hoof before leaving.

“Yeah, I think he has the right idea,” Ursa agreed. “We have a long day ahead of us all tomorrow, so don’t stay up too late now,” he chuckled. The three girls bid him a good night as well before he left and then they were all alone in the large room.

“I’m not that tired, to be honest,” Axel said as she turned away from the stairs and back to her friends, “but I suppose that I should get some sleep, so that I can see you off in the morning.” As if she wouldn’t wake up early either way, Star thought, although she simply smiled.

“Me too,” Inferno replied with a yawn.

“Mhmm,” Star mumbled in agreement. “Let’s get to bed, Inferno.” The little dragon nodded her spiked head and then began to follow her mother over to and up the spiraling staircase, the claws on her small feet clacking in slow but perfect sync with Star’s hoofsteps as they walked. Axel followed close behind, her normally quick pace slowed somewhat due to the two girls ahead of her. As they approached the top of the stairs the sound of the throne room doors swinging shut echoed throughout the room and Star wondered whether or not it was her mentor, off to tend to the tortured dreams of her subjects for another night. Perhaps there would be no nightmares for her after all.

“Night, you two,” Axel said as she turned down the hall towards her own bedroom. “Sleep well and all that.”

“Night, Axel,” Star quietly replied as she stumbled along with Inferno to their waiting bed. She flung her bedroom door open with magic and stepped into the dark room, sloughing off her cloak and kicking away her boots with each measured step as a smile began to creep across her muzzle at the thought of getting underneath the snug blankets. She closed the door behind her, leaving only the glow of the moon and stars to guide her. Inferno didn’t have to worry about getting undressed though and quickly hopped up onto the mattress and squirmed her way between the silky sheets, sighing with contentment as she laid her head against the soft pillows.

“We have a long day tomorrow,” Star commented as she crawled in bed beside her daughter. “I’ll wake you up to go get some breakfast and then you can join me while I fetch Brass Heart and Dawn.”

“That sounds good to me,” Inferno replied as her eyelids drooped closed. “Goodnight, mom,” she added sleepily.

“Sweet dreams, honey” Star replied, hoping that her own were pleasant as well, despite knowing that most ponies weren’t getting so lucky lately. Even dreams were tainted by the encroaching darkness of Doré Langue’s touch. The small mare took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, attempting to push the thought out of mind as she closed her violet eyes, the dim light of the stars fading from view as sleep gradually overtook her.

Author's Note

Sorry about the lateness of this chapter, but at least things are beginning to progress a bit more quickly. I still feel that the emotional conflict between Star and Inferno could have been explored in more depth, but then the chapter may have been bogged down with too much angst, oh well... Everyone will be leaving the city in the next chapter though and starting their journey to the empire. Excitement is sure to follow.

Ch.6 Confessions of a Conflicted Mare

~Chapter 6: Confessions of a Conflicted Mare~

Whether by Princess Luna’s intervention or due to Nature Spark’s herbs, something helped Discipula Star sleep peacefully through the night and she opened her eyes feeling refreshed and ready to begin the day. She rolled over onto her side and saw Inferno, curled up in a tight ball and sleeping just as soundly as her mother had. Though the unicorn would have preferred to let the little dragon rest for awhile longer there were still a few things that needed to be done before she and her companions left Canterlot to begin the long flight to the Crystal Empire. Inferno mumbled incoherently a moment later as Star gently nudged her awake. The serpentine girl opened her large, yellow eyes and yawned widely as she rolled over to face the unicorn, smiling softly while she bid her mother a pleasant morning.

“Did you get enough rest?” Star asked as she begrudgingly pushed the covers off of her small body and sat up in bed, leaning against the ornate headboard for support.

“I did,” Inferno replied with another yawn before she too kicked off the blankets. “What about you? Any more nightmares?” she asked as she stretched her stubby arms out and then her tail, wings and each leg.

“Nope,” Star told her. “I slept like a foal all night.”

“Good,” Inferno replied. She sat up and threw her legs off the side of the bed, sliding on to the carpeted floor a moment after. “I can go get us breakfast if you wanted to take a bath. It’s likely that you won’t get another chance for awhile.” Star shook her head and proceeded to climb out of bed, standing on wobbly legs as she shook the sleepiness from her mind.

“Maybe later,” the unicorn answered. “For now I think that I would like to get some tea, since I didn’t actually get to have any yesterday.”

“Okay, let me just use the bathroom for a minute and then we can go,” Inferno said as she ambled slowly across the bedroom.

“Take your time,” Star told her. She began to gather up her clothes and pack her saddlebags. Inferno nodded her head and headed into the bathroom, closing the door behind her and leaving her mother to pack for the journey ahead.

Star took a seat on the floor as she floated her boots and cloak over to her, putting them on one after another, while the grogginess in her head started to fade. She only hoped that Spark had enough herbs to last them for awhile, because she hadn’t slept so well in days and it felt nice to wake up gently, rather than being frightened awake by bad dreams. They would also need to buy some food and a few other things while in town, she thought, as she tossed her cloak over her back and pulled the sash tight around her waste, tying it with a casual flash of magic. She knew that the princesses would provide them with enough funds to stock up before they left and she only had to hope that Brass Heart and Dawn would still be able to pull the chariot once it was fully loaded with her, Ursa and Spark inside.

“Alright, I’m ready now,” Inferno stated as she exited the bathroom, her face still glistening with droplets of water from splashing her scaled viasage to help herself wake up.

“You may want to grab some clothes,” Star suggested.

“Why, is it snowing again?” Inferno asked as she turned towards the tall windows, which were still covered by thick curtains.

“I’m not sure,” Star replied. She hadn’t thought to check, but it was better to be prepared regardless. Inferno pulled back the curtains and peered through the window, her short tail swishing back and forth habitually as she examined the morning sky. “Well, how does it look?” her mother questioned.

“I don’t think that it is going to snow today, but the clouds are gathering as far as my eyes can see,” Inferno replied as she turned away from the glass with a shrug. Since dragons could see a fair distance further than ponies, Star was inclined to believe that a good portion of Equestria was probably blanketed by grey clouds. The weather was still growing steadily more severe day by day and Star began to wonder if Windigos held some blame for that fact.

“I suppose if it isn’t going to snow, then you don’t have to bundle up,” Star told her daughter, “but I’m definitely going to keep my boots on,” she added with a laugh.

“That’s probably for the best,” Inferno agreed. “Now, let’s go get you that nice, hot cup of tea.” Star smiled as she got up from the floor and followed her daughter out the doorway and into the better lit hallway, where they passed a couple of ponies cleaning on their way to the stairs.

“Good morning,” Ursa greeted as he spotted the two girls just about to turn the corner and go down to the dining hall. “I see that you managed not to sleep in today,” he observed, quickly trotting over to them. Star noticed that his normally unkempt mane was falling more or less flat along his neck, so it was obvious that he had gotten up before she had, but he still looked rather chipper as he smiled at them.

“Yes, although I did consider going back to sleep,” Star replied as the emerald coated stallion caught up to them. “I don’t think I’ve slept that hard in a long time. It was a shame to give it up.” Ursa just laughed as they began to descend the stairs, following just a couple steps behind his friends.

Inferno craned her spiked head back and asked him, “Have you seen Spark or Axel yet today?”

“No, but I’m not sure if that’s because Axel already left for the shop again or if the nights spent working have finally caught up with her,” Ursa replied.

“I would bet on the latter,” Star said, “but there’s a good chance I’d lose that bet,” she added with a smirk.

“That mare does seem to have a limitless supply of energy,” Ursa admitted. “If only we could find a way to harness it for ourselves.”

“We could probably keep the entire Equestrian Military awake for weeks,” Inferno joked as she stepped off the last stair and spun to her left, towards the entrance to the dining room.

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Ursa chuckled in reply.

“Hey, wait for me!” Star turned around at the sound of Spark’s call and the blind stallion bounded down the stairs. He stumbled once near the end, but managed to keep his hoofing as he made his way over to his friends.

“It’s so nice of you to join us,” Star said as he made his way over to them, the green light emanating from the tip of his metallic dagger guiding his every step.

“Good morning,” Inferno greeted the lanky stallion. He soon skidded to a halt on the slick tiles.

“Are you three going to get some breakfast?” he asked as they resumed their walk to the dining hall. “I could certainly use a little something right about now.” As if on cue, his stomach rumbled loudly, causing Inferno to giggle in reaction. “I told you so,” he added with a grin.

“Yes,” Star replied, “although I will most likely just stick with tea for now.”

“Well I’m going to get my fill of fine cuisine while I have the chance,” Ursa said as they approached the next room, where the smell of a hot breakfast was beginning to creep out from the cracks in the doorjamb. “I can’t imagine that we will be eating that well while we’re traveling.”

“Hmm, maybe you’re right,” Star admitted. “I guess it couldn’t hurt to enjoy a peaceful meal while I have the opportunity to do so.”

“To bad they don’t have any gemstones,” Inferno griped. “But maybe I can get a couple from Gentle Gem when I see him next. There are bound to be some unsuited for enchanting.” Star just sighed and shook her head as she pulled one of the twin doors open for her companions.

“Thanks,” Ursa mumbled. He entered the dining room and headed straight for the table laden with food.

“I’m sure you’re right about getting some gems from him,” Star commented. “If for no other reason than because he is a bit of a pervert.” The little dragon just laughed as she followed the crystal pony.

“Oh, he’s just a harmless old stallion,” Spark defended. “And you have to admit that it is sort of humorous.” Star wasn’t so sure that she agreed with his opinion, but she didn’t bother arguing the point because she spotted a few steaming kettles of tea and their scent beckoned her across the large room.

“Hopefully Axel ate something before she left this morning,” Star mumbled aloud, utilizing a simple levitation spell to pour herself a cup as she spoke. “Would you like some tea as well, Spark?” she asked. She carefully blew on her own beverage and glanced over to the unicorn inquisitively.

“I’m sure Axel will eat whenever she gets hungry and yes, I would love a cup of tea right about now,” Spark replied. “I don’t suppose that there is a chance of one of those kettles containing Dragonwell tea, is there?”

“I seriously doubt that,” Star replied as she grabbed a much cheaper green tea and poured him a cup. “Just because the castle chefs provide good food, doesn’t mean that they spare no expense while making breakfast,” she laughed. “Dragonwell isn’t exactly cheap you know.”

“Yes… but a stallion can dream, can’t he?” Spark asked wistfully. Star floated his tea in front of him and scoffed quietly. The blind stallion felt out the cup and grasped it with his magic, taking a small sip as he strode over to another part of the table, where various fruits were sitting out for ponies to take. “Perhaps it would have been better had Celestia never given me some to try in the first place,” he sighed, though he continued to sip on the common beverage anyway.

“Is that what Celestia drinks?” Star asked, realizing that she knew far more about Princess Luna than she ever would about the older alicorn.

“It’s her favorite,” Spark replied. He lifted out a shiny red apple and held it aloft, alongside his cup as he turned away from the buffet and started off towards the opposite table, where Ursa and Inferno were already sitting down with plates full of various baked goods. Star decided to grab a few items for herself and then joined them for breakfast once she had finished, taking small sips from her cup the entire time.

Once they had finished eating, Star and Inferno left their friends in order to meet with Brass Heart and Dawn Glory at their respective homes. The pegasus were still unaware that they would be making the long journey to the Crystal Empire and the unicorn only hoped that they would agree to escort her and her companions, though she knew that Princess Celestia or Princess Luna could just as easily order the soldiers to do so anyway. She would much rather leave the choice up to them though, because forcing somepony to put their lives in danger seemed wrong to her. It certainly hadn’t worked on Spark, at least, not at first.

Inferno had spoken the truth when she had said that the cloud cover was far reaching, Star noted, as she gazed up at the dark haze above them. The snow hadn’t yet fallen though and it even appeared as though some of the ice had begun to melt away, but the city was far from warm, not that her daughter seemed to notice. Inferno walked along beside her mother at a steady pace, growing only slightly winded by the time that they reached the plain, stone face house in which Brass Heart resided. Star immediately walked up on the stoop and knocked twice, wondering if he was even at home. The question was laid to rest as the white stallion pulled open the front door just a second later, his mane still damp, because she had once again caught him just as he was stepping out of the bath.

“Star,” he greeted her with a smile, “we really have to stop meeting this way. Ponies may start to get the wrong idea about us.” It was a simple enough statement, uttered in a completely unserious way, but Star felt her smile falter for just a moment none the less.

“Umm, good morning,” she replied, trying to keep her cheeks from blushing as they had the last time she was put in the same, awkward situation. “May we come in?”

“Yes, of course,” Brass Heart replied as he stepped back into the house. “Make yourselves at home.”

“Thank you,” Inferno said. She followed him inside along with her mother, who was doing her best not to stare at the pegasus’s toned muscles as he led them through the short hall into his living room, which happened to look a bit more presentable than the last time she had seen it. It appeared as though her recent visits had given the corporal ample cause to tidy up a bit, though she had to admit that it didn’t really do that much to make the place seem any less like the den of a single stallion.

“So, should I even ask what brings you two here today or shall I just grab my boots so that we can be off to pick up Dawn and head over to the old shop?” he asked with an amused glint in his light blue eyes as he spoke.

“Well, I suppose that you are half correct,” Star replied. “We do need to go to Dawn’s house, but we won’t be heading over to the shop just yet, there are a few things for us to discuss first.” This seemed to intrigue the winged stallion and he took a seat while he waited for her to elaborate. “Ahem, my friends and I will be leaving for the Crystal Empire today,” she began to explain, “which means that we will need some help getting around, considering that none of us are pegasus.” She smiled and tried to gauge his reaction, but Brass Heart’s face was as reserved as ever; just one of the reasons why she hadn’t expressed her feelings yet.

“I see,” the corporal replied. “Please, go on.”

“I am aware that this mission comes with more than its fair share of risks and I would be remiss if I were to not make that fact very clear-”

“Oh, just ask him already,” Inferno interrupted with an annoyed tone at her mother’s carefully considered response. “Or better yet, I’ll do it for you,” she said as she turned to Brass Heart. “What my mother is trying to ask is whether or not you would be willing to pull their flying chariot to the coast, around the Crystal Mountains and into the heart of enemy territory.” It was a rather blunt way to ask, but Star had to admit that the directness was a welcome relief from her own stumbling words.

“Is that all,” Brass Heart asked. His face broke out in a smile. “It’s sort of my duty to face dangers like that for the good of Equestria and it is always a pleasure to escort you, Miss Star.”

Star blushed slightly as she heard her daughter whisper, “That’s because he’s in love with you,” but thankfully, the corporal didn’t seem to hear her. It was getting to be a bit of a chore trying to hide how she felt from the pegasus, but Star was still managing at the moment, though Inferno wasn’t making it any easier on her.

“So I guess that means that all there is left to do is for us to go and get that slacker, Dawn,” Brass Heart said as he got back up from the chair, giving a quick shake of his wings to help their plumage lay flat.

“I suppose so,” Star agreed. She and Inferno got back up as well. “Is he at home right now?” the unicorn asked as they all left the house, pausing momentarily at the front door to give the corporal a chance to slip into his boots and throw on his cloak.

“As far as I know,” Brass Heart replied. He locked the door behind him and gracefully hopped off his front stoop, the slick ice creating no obvious challenge to the agile pegasus. “I don’t know of anyplace else that he would have gone anyway. I’ve told him to be ready every morning, just in case Axel needed our help again.” Ever the committed soldier, Star thought, as she listened to him speak. She began to wonder if it would even be possible for him to make room in his life for her, should she ever tell him how she felt. The unicorn then realized that she was getting ahead of herself anyway, because she was still having trouble gathering the courage to voice those feelings.

“Now isn’t the time fo-” Star stopped herself, realizing that somewhere along the way she had begun to answer her own thoughts out loud. The very idea made her face burn brightly and she quickly glanced away and attempted to correct her mistake with more words. “Er, what I mean to say is, now is the time that we could really make use of the flying chariot,” she hurriedly corrected, hoping that the slip of words hadn’t been as painfully obvious to her friends as it had been to her. If either of them noticed though, they certainly didn’t act as if they had. “Walking around in the cold isn’t much fun,” she added with a groan.

“I don’t think that it’s that bad,” Inferno replied with a smile, while performing a quick spin on her heels with her arms reaching up to the skies.

“Well that’s only because extreme temperatures aren’t as hard on a dragon’s tuff scales,” Star retorted. “If you were a pony then you might agree.”

“I guess that we’ll never know,” Inferno replied as she ran back up to the two ponies, “unless you’ve happened upon a spell that can turn a dragon into a pony sometime during all your studies.”

“I can’t say that I have,” Star told the dragon, “though I suppose that it could very well be possible, if somepony were well versed enough in magic to even attempt such a thing.” An alicorn seemed like the only one who could potentially pull something like that off, but she couldn’t see any reason for either of the princesses to try their hooves at it.

“So you say that we’re to leave for the Crystal Empire today, huh?” Brass Heart asked as they continued down the cobblestone streets, passing by a few shops and residences that seemed to be alive with activity since the snow had ceased for a couple of days. The constant blizzards over the past few weeks had left the normally thriving city rather lacking in activity and Star was glad to see the change.

“Yes, the sooner that we can put an end to the duke’s devious plot, the better it will be for all of us, Equestrians and Crystal Ponies alike,” Star replied.

“I’m sure you’re right,” Brass Heart said with a nod of his blonde maned head. “I must admit it surprises me that Princess Luna would send you on such a dangerous quest though. I would think that she would have rather sent one of her night guards or somepony else whom she hasn’t grown so close to.”

“She would,” Star admitted, “but I made the decision to go on my own and she decided that it should be my choice.”

“Ah, well that would explain it,” the corporal laughed. “I should have known that you wouldn’t allow your friends to run off by themselves.”

“Very true,” Star said with a flash of white teeth. “And somepony has to keep them in line, after all, so why not me?”

“I suppose young Inferno here will be joining us as well?” Brass Heart asked. The question seemed to deflate the serpentine girl’s good mood just a bit and Star sighed deeply as she glanced over at her.

“No, I have asked Inferno to stay behind this time,” Star replied sadly. “Her safety is far too important for me to put her at risk for a selfish reason such as wanting to be together. There are a few things that I need her to do while I’m gone anyway and at least she will have Axel for company.”

“I’m sorry if I have touched upon a sore subject for the two of you,” Brass Heart quickly apologized. “I meant no harm in asking.”

“It’s okay,” Inferno assured him as she tried to put on a smile. “I understand her reasons, even if I may not like them.” No doubt getting the gems from Incendiaura had something to do with her sullen response, Star thought, though staying behind in and of itself was hard enough as it was. “Just promise me that you will take good care of her for me, okay?” the little dragon requested of the soldier.

“I pledge on my honor as a royal guard to the princesses that not a single perfect hair upon her head or flank will be marred in the slightest,” the pegasus assured her as he dipped into a bow. Inferno simply laughed in reply, but Star just looked away out of embarrassment that he had referred to part of her as perfect.

“That’s good to hear,” Inferno replied before hurrying across the street. Brass Heart and Star followed after the little dragon, walking side by side in a mostly comfortable silence. The unicorn would cast the occasional glance the pegasus’s way when he was looking elsewhere and she could almost swear that did the same. Perhaps opening up would be a good idea after all, Star admitted to herself, beaming brightly at the thought of what that would mean for them both.

“Wake up, you lazy good for nothing excuse for a soldier!” Bras Heart called from outside of Dawn Glory’s house. It was a fairly tall, old building in which a few homes were arranged in a sort of complex, one atop another. Knocking hadn’t worked and rather than banging on the door even more obnoxiously, the three friends only had to hope that the private would hear his corporal’s shouts and come downstairs to see what he needed. It hadn’t worked so far though.

“Maybe he isn’t home after all,” Star suggested with a small sigh. Time was wasting away and she wasn’t to keen on having to hunt Dawn down, but they wouldn’t have any choice if he had gone somewhere.

“Dawn!” Brass Heart tried again to summon his friend and this time he was met with successes as the blue maned stallion finally graced them with his presence. Dawn looked a bit tired, with dark rings around his eyes from lack of sleep and he yawned as he peeked out the open door.

“What’s with all the noise, Brass Heart?” Dawn asked. He blinked in the face of the morning light. “Are you trying to wake the whole damned neighborhood or something?”

“I told you to be ready in case Axel needed us today,” Brass Heart retorted.

“Ugh, I could have sworn she was finished needing our help,” the tired pegasus groaned as he stepped outside, not bothering to even don some sort of clothing before he shut the door behind him. “I didn’t get much rest last night, so I don’t think I’ll be able to stay awake if we have to sit around that shop all day.”

“I have some good news then,” Brass Heart replied. “We have just been given a new mission, so I hope you’re ready for a long trip, because we’re escorting Star and the others to the Crystal Empire today.” Dawn just stared at him and snorted in disbelief.

“He’s not joking around,” Star assured him. “Nature Spark returned yesterday and the princesses decided that it was time for us to strike back against Duke Doré Langue.”

“Oh, in that case I should probably grab my gear before we leave,” Dawn replied. He turned around and hurried back inside. “I’ll just be a minute.”

“Alright, but try to be quick,” Brass Heart called after him. “I think Star here is starting to get a little cold.” It was probably because of her verbal stumbling earlier that he thought that, but in reality the small mare was surprisingly warm in her fuzzy boots and old cloak, though she knew it would be in her best interest to buy some new clothing before she left.

“We’ll still have to gather the supplies we will need before we can depart,” Star told her friends while they waited for Dawn’s return. “We’ll need to get enough food to last for the trip there and back, just in case we are forced to make a quick retreat and can’t stop anywhere long enough to procure more.”

“Everypony will need plenty of cold weather gear as well,” Brass Heart added.

“I’ll have to ask Spark if he has any of the spare gems for the chariot left and if not, then I can see if Gentle Gem won’t send you all off with a couple more, just to be safe,” Inferno told them. Star nodded her head slowly as she listened to her daughter’s suggestion.

“That is an excellent point,” the unicorn admitted. “We can’t forget about a map as well. I know Ursa is from the empire, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he knows the entire country’s layout by heart.”

“I’ll be sure to grab us weapons as well,” the corporal stated. “I can only imagine the resistance we will be met with upon our arrival to the capitol.” Star’s mind flashed back to the last time she had been forced into a conflict; a griffon’s life had been taken by her hoof that day. The Wyrm Stone would be all the power she required to defend herself, but the haunted mare wasn’t sure that she could stomach using it again. At least she had gotten some practice with an offensive spell though. The black char mark on the ceiling and floor of her room in the castle could attest to that fact.

“I think that you will only have to worry about Dawn, your self and possibly Ursa, although I can’t fathom how he would have escaped the duke’s clutches without some sort of weapon,” Inferno replied.

“Very true,” Star agreed. “I know that I haven’t seen Spark without his dagger once since he returned from the hippogriff settlement. I get the feeling that he probably sleeps with it on these days.” Quite a change from the laidback stallion she had met just a month and a half before, she mused.

“Well, Dawn and I can take our wing blades, although I’m not certain whether either of us could pull the chariot while wearing them, but at least that would keep one of us ready for battle during the trip,” Brass Heart said as the door behind him opened again.

“Okay, we can head out now,” Dawn informed them. He walked down the stairs, having bundled himself up in thick boots and a pale blue cloak. “Point the way, oh fearless leader,” he chuckled, causing the corporal to roll his eyes in response.

“Sometimes I just don’t know why I put up with you,” Brass Heart replied with an insincere sigh and a smile.

“That’s just because I’m your only friend,” Dawn jested as they all started on their way down the icy sidewalk.

“And isn’t that just a little bit pathetic,” Brass Heart shot back with a shake of his blonde maned head.

“Yeah, a little bit,” Star chimed in, earning herself a playful switch from Dawn’s tail. “What? He said it first,” she laughed.

“I see how it is,” the private replied. “Everypony is going to team up against poor defenseless Dawn. Well, at least Inferno is on my side, right?” The little dragon threw her clawed hands up in surrender.

“Hey, don’t drag me into this,” she told the pegasus. The three ponies just laughed again as they hurried across the street for a pony pulling a chariot who had been kind enough to let them pass first.

“So, what exactly is the plan for dealing with the duke?” Dawn asked once their laughter died down. He had been left out of the loop thus far and didn’t know anything about the mission. “Are we supposed to just waltz on in and tell him to surrender? Because I have to be honest, I don’t think he would.”

“We haven’t exactly gotten that far in our plans,” Star admitted. “We’ve been more concerned with getting into the Crystal Empire, since he no doubt has those griffon mercenaries patrolling the skies along with the crystal guard.”

“That does pose a bit of a problem,” Brass Heart agreed. “We will have to assume that Doré Langue has the entire Crystallite military at his disposal, unless we find proof otherwise. Keeping that in mind, I am left to believe that successful breaching of the capitol’s borders will be next to impossible with the number of us that there are.”

“We thought as much,” Star replied.

“I hope that means that you’ve developed some sort of plan for sneaking by undetected,” Dawn commented.

“Not quite,” Inferno told the pegasus. “They plan on meeting up with the resistance that has formed, somewhere in the city of Calvary.”

“We only have to hope that they will know something that we do not,” Star added. “Perhaps there is even somepony who has managed to infiltrate the duke’s ranks without having their mind warped.”

“That sounds like a bit of a long shot to me,” Brass Heart replied, “but I suppose that I don’t have a better plan at the moment.”

“Yes, well, that is about the way I feel too,” Star admitted. “Between Windigos, griffon mercenaries and the duke himself, the odds seem to be stacked against us. If we can somehow manage to expose his corruption to the majority of the crystal ponies though, then I’m sure the princesses could use the Elements of Harmony against him.”

“Then we don’t necessarily have to succeed in capturing Doré Langue,” Dawn observed. “We only have to expose him as an enemy to both countries and allow the princesses to take it from there.”

“That sounds about right,” Inferno agreed.

“Still, that is all easier said than done,” Brass Heart retorted.

“Mhmm,” Star mumbled in agreement, “which is why we should get to the duke as soon as possible, before he can do more damage.” Both of the soldiers nodded their heads and soon quickened their pace, while Star picked up her daughter and placed the dragon upon her back, since she could run much faster. Inferno didn’t argue, accepting the fact that the need to hurry outweighed her own reservations about riding on her mother’s back like a child. “Hold on tight,” Star urged as she tried to keep up with the two agile pegasus running ahead of her.

After arriving back at the castle with Inferno, Brass Heart and Dawn in accompaniment, Star found Spark and Ursa waiting for her return in the main hall. The stallions both called out greetings to her and her companions as they walked through the spacious doorway and trotted across the polished floors. Inferno hopped off of her mother’s back near the entrance, choosing to end the slight embarrassment that she felt as soon as she possibly could. The unicorn didn’t hold that fact against her, because she knew her daughter was simply growing out of the age where that was still acceptable behavior in public. The young mare had to admit that the thought made her a bit sad.

“Welcome back,” Spark greeted them as they came to a halt just a yard away from the blind stallion. “I sense that you brought Brass Heart and Dawn Glory back, just in time for us to turn around and go buy the supplies we need,” he chuckled. Inferno just sighed from annoyance, since it seemed that they had wasted time. It wasn’t as if they could have known that they would be turning right around however.

“Did you already procure funds from the princesses?” Star asked, her surprise at their forethought showing once again. It was nice to be able to depend on Ursa and Spark for planning and other things, of course, but she was beginning to feel a bit useless over the past couple days.

“Yes we did,” Ursa replied as he tossed a bag of bits to each of his friends. They were fairly large bags; a little larger than both of Star’s hooves put together or one of Ursa’s and packed fairly full of the gold coins. It would be plenty of money for them to buy everything they would need for the mission.

“And we have a rough list of important supplies,” Spark continued. “There may be a few odds and ends that we’ve forgotten, but I think what is on here will get us through the trip there and back.”

“Shall we divide up the list and each tackle part of it?” Brass Heart asked. Although it wasn’t really his job to go shopping, Star was thankful for the extra hoof and decided that he could assist her while the other four split into two teams of their own and each group could take a third of the list. She told her friends as much and they all seemed content with the idea.

“I’ll take Inferno and we can go procure the gems for the sky chariot,” Dawn stated, to which Inferno replied with a satisfied nod of her head.

“Then Ursa and I will buy some food,” Spark replied.

“I suppose that leaves Star and Brass Heart to take care of the other odds and ends,” Ursa commented.

“I’ll have to stop by the barracks and pick up our weapons,” the corporal stated.

“We should also buy some medical supplies,” Star suggested, “because my healing spells can only go so far.” The blonde maned stallion nodded in agreement.

“Then let’s get going,” Dawn said as he turned back to the large doors that they had just entered through a few minutes before.

“Alright, but we should meet back at the shop when we’re done,” Star replied. “I wouldn’t want to take off without saying goodbye to Axel,” she explained as she left the castle with Brass Heart by her side.

The six friends split up just outside the front entrance, with Inferno and Dawn heading for Gentle Gem’s store, Spark and Ursa making their way to the market district and Star following Brass Heart as he walked down the path on his way to the military barracks, where his and Dawn’s gear would be waiting for them. The few patches of hardier grass that managed to stick up from the frosty ground crunched underhoof as the two ponies walked through the outer gates and down the worn track. Star could feel the bone chilling breeze gaining strength as it passed through her dark mane.

“Good morning, Corporal Heart, sir!” The two soldiers standing on either side of the entrance to the short, easily defendable building shouted out upon seeing their commanding officer. It was one of the very few times Star had been around Brass Heart and other soldiers at the same time, barring the time she’d spent with him and Dawn, of course. It was an odd contrast to the slightly more laidback way the pegasus carried himself with while off duty.

“At ease,” Brass Heart commanded as he passed by, with Star trotting along beside him.

“I sometimes forget that you’re an authority figure most places,” Star commented as the thick metal doors of the barracks were opened for them.

“Yeah,” Brass Heart chuckled. “I blame Dawn for that. He thinks that because we’ve been friends since we were colts, I should have to treat him as such and unfortunately, I generally will. That’s only when we aren’t in the presence of our superiors or on a mission though.”

“Unless that mission is escorting me someplace,” Star corrected.

“Haha, I suppose that’s true,” Brass Heart admitted before walking up to the low counter, behind which sat an older looking unicorn who wore a flat expression as he watched the corporal approach. “Corporal Brass Heart, making a formal request for weapons and amour to suit myself and Private Dawn Glory for a mission, under the authority of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.” The graying maned stallion looked only mildly curious as he quickly jotted something down on a sheet of paper and floated it across the counter to the corporal. A nod of Brass Heart’s head was the only reply before he was off, down the hall with Star trotting along by his side.

They traveled down almost perfectly identical corridors, yet Brass Heart didn’t hesitate once. His face was stoic and eyes set straight ahead as they walked along. Star could easily see the soldier behind that steely blue gaze. It was quite a different perspective of the pegasus for her to have seen and she began to realize how little she actually knew about the corporal. After a few more minutes he stopped in front of a door that appeared to be just the same as every other door she had seen, except that this one had two guards standing to either side.

“Wait here for me,” Brass Heart quietly told her as he walked up and the soldiers quickly saluted. He snapped his hoof up to his head and gave a quick salute of his own before showing them the paper that he had been given by the surly looking unicorn at the front desk. The guards read it over and then stepped aside to give him passage. “I’ll only be a couple minutes,” he called back to Star before entering the room and closing the thick, metal door behind him.

Star stood on the other side of the narrow hallway, her violet eyes drifting about the place as she waited patiently for Brass Heart to procure his and Dawn’s wing blades, along with whatever other items the pegasus deemed necessary. She briefly considered trying to converse with the guards, but they didn’t look quite as friendly as the corporal did while off duty and she wasn’t sure that they were even allowed to socialize when guarding the room. Most likely not, she figured. True to his word though, Brass Heart walked back out of the armory just a few minutes later.

“I told you that I wouldn’t be long,” he said with a hint of his familiar smile. The pegasus was sporting a set of large saddlebags now as well and two sets of wing blades could be seen poking out of the top.

“What else did you happen to grab?” Star asked as she matched the guard’s grin, before turning around and walking back the way that they had just come.

“I thought it prudent to grab some light armor and a couple of other pieces of equipment that we may have a need of at some point during this little excursion,” Brass Heart explained. “You can never be too prepared you know.”

“I suppose that is true,” Star admitted. “Was that the only business that you needed to attend to here?” she asked. They turned a corner and continued through the low light of the building all the way back to the entrance.

“Mhmm,” Brass Heart replied, “at least, that is the only thing that I can think of at the moment.”

“Then the next task is to purchase some much needed medical supplies,” Star said. They walked past the front desk and out the front entrance of the barracks, the bright light of the sun outside forcing both of the ponies to squint. Somepony definitely needs to put more light sources in there, Star thought, as she blinked a few times while her eyes adjusted. “We could go to a few stores and find what we need, but I may have a quicker solution,” the unicorn told the corporal when they started back up the path to the main roads leading into the greater city.

“Quicker is certainly better,” the corporal commented.

“My thoughts exactly, which is why we’re going to stop by the hospital and pay a little visit to my friend, Doctor Suture,” Star explained.

“I’ll follow your lead then,” Brass Heart replied. The two ponies turned the next corner and started down the hill. The unicorn glanced over to the stallion walking beside her a few times before finally deciding to speak and once she’d started, it was impossible for her to stop.

“How come I never see you with a marefriend?” Star asked before she could silence herself. A few awkward seconds went by without the pegasus replying and she began to think that she’d offended him somehow. Thankfully he had only been thinking and a casual shrug of his shoulders let her know that he was perfectly fine.

“I’m not sure,” Brass Heart answered. “It may have something to do with my job…” He sighed softly as they continued to plod across the cracked stones that made up the sidewalk leading into the older parts of Canterlot. “Okay, I’d be completely surprised if it didn’t have everything to do with my duties as a soldier,” he amended afterward.

“How so?” Star questioned. She didn’t want to pester him, but figured that the more she learned about her friend, the easier it would be to confess her feelings for him. It wasn’t working yet though and there was something else bothering her now.

“I’m not a mare, so I can’t be sure,” he chuckled. “If I had to venture a guess though, I’d say it is because of the danger I put myself in o a regular basis. Most ponies don’t care for that much uncertainty about whether or not they’ll see their loved one again. That’s probably why my relationships don’t last long.”

“That makes sense,” Star admitted.

“What’s your excuse?” Brass Heart asked her. Star took a moment to contemplate her answer. Part of the reason that she didn’t have a special somepony was because of her reputation as Princess Luna’s protégé. Many of the stallions she had dated in the past seemed to get a bit intimidated by her position, though there was no real reason for that, at least in Star’s opinion. Perhaps that was part of the reason she had taken such an interest in Spark’s sister, Surinam, because the actress hadn’t been fazed in the slightest when she’d found out.

“I’m not sure,” she finally replied. Star blew her purple and blue bangs from her eye in a huff. “Studying under the princess and traveling Equestria looking for artifacts seems to put a strain on my relationships, so that is most likely a large piece of the problem.” The pegasus nodded his head slowly in understanding as they trotted across the street.

“I can imagine how that would be,” Brass Heart admitted. “Maybe we’re just interested in ponies who are incompatible with us,” he joked. There was a bit too much truth in his statement for Star to laugh though.

“Maybe you’re right,” Star replied with an insincere smile as she stared at the ground. The unicorn glanced up a little later and noticed that they’d made it to the hospital, which elevated her mood quite a bit. “We’re here.”

“So we are,” Brass Heart observed before turning his sights on the small mare beside him. Star glanced over just in time to see his head moving towards her and his stunningly blue eyes beginning to close.

Brass Heart’s lips pressed against Star’s before she knew what was happening and though the insecurities of her own ego screamed for her to break away from the kiss, her body seemed to move of its own volition, leaning into the connection as the corporal raised his forelegs. One of his hooves gently brushed across her withers as the other pressed against the back of her delicate neck and pulled her in closer. She moaned softly as her mouth began to open, allowing her longtime protector’s tongue access. Brass Heart seized the opportunity she’d given him, his hooves caressing her softly as his tongue began to explore her more passionately.

Star’s mind was in shock at first, but slowly her thoughts began to fade out until the only thing that mattered at that moment was the feeling of Brass Heart’s firm, but gentle touch against her body as they stood in a loving embrace, while the cold winds swirled around them. He was almost a head taller than she was, causing the young mare to rise to the tips of front hooves with one back leg lifting up from the ground naturally as she leaned further into the kiss. She began to probe her tongue into his mouth tentatively at first, but then more forcefully as she gained confidence in the maneuver. Her eyes slowly closed and the world around seemed muted as she wrapped her forelegs around his muscular shoulders, while he slowly stroked the crest of her black mane.

The world felt safe to Star while she was holding onto Brass Heart, almost as if no matter how much pain the war brought, she would be protected from it. She could feel the rise and fall of his chest and the fevered beating of his heart against her as they held each other close. Every twitch of his well toned muscles sent her body trembling with ecstasy and the muffled sounds of his desire meshed with hers as she felt herself being lifted up higher and closer to him. She eagerly explored his body, running her hooves against the silky smooth plumage along his large wings. She was nearly drowning in bliss.

Then it was over and the two ponies pulled away, stealing a few more quick pecks as they both opened their eyes again. Star released the stallion from her warm embrace and sank back to the flat of her hooves, standing motionless for a moment as she gazed at Brass Heart, his white coat practically glowing in the late afternoon light of Celestia’s sun. The pegasus stared back at her with the same mixture of admiration and pleasant surprise, his mouth curling up at the edges as he cleared his throat, but something didn’t feel right to the unicorn.

“I’m so sorry,” Brass Heart suddenly said, taking a step back and allowing his eyes to drift elsewhere. “That was completely unprofessional and I-”

“No, it’s okay,” Star assured him. “I’ve actually been hoping that you would do that for awhile.” It was the honest truth, but she still couldn’t shake the feeling that it was a mistake, though she couldn’t say why she felt that way at that second.

“Really?” the corporal asked eagerly, his blonde tail swishing behind him with a childlike excitement that she hadn’t expected from the usually stoic soldier. “I’ve wanted to do that for so long, but I was afraid that you didn’t feel the same way…” His smile began to fade, as if he could see the hesitation in her eyes. “Is something wrong?” he asked.

“No… I mean, yes… or I’m not sure,” Star sighed quietly. The kiss had felt so right in the moment, but as the afterglow of her passion began to fade, the small mare was left with a nagging feeling that it wasn’t the right time for them to be exploring their feelings for one another. “We should get the supplies,” she told him and then resumed walking towards the large hospital at the end of the street. Brass Heart watched in stunned silence as she passed by and then began to follow her.

“Star, I’m sorry if I overstepped my boundaries back there,” the soldier apologized as he caught up to her. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“It’s not that,” Star replied. “I just- Can we talk about this later?” she begged as they approached the front entrance of the sprawling complex.

“Yes, of course,” Brass Heart replied as he held the door open for her. She entered the hospital without another word, cursing silently at herself for being so fickle.

The walk through the hospital was awkward at best, but eventually Star and Brass Heart stood outside of Doctor Suture’s office, both of them unsure of what to say or if talking would even be advisable at the moment. Knock. Knock. Star rapped on the door and waited in silence, knowing that the pegasus was looking at her, but too nervous to return his gaze. A few seconds crept by agonizingly slow, until the dean of the hospital finally answered her door. The orange maned mare’s face lit up in a smile, with just a touch of wrinkles in the corners and she quickly opened her door the rest of the way.

“Star, it’s good to see you again!” Dr. Suture welcomed her. “Please, come in. Is there something that I can help you with today or is this simply a social visit?” The older mare’s bright orange eyes evaluated the morose looking soldier by her friend’s side.

“Suture, this is my, uh… friend, Brass Heart.” Star replied to the question she’d known was coming. “We actually came to get stocked up on supplies, but I did want to talk to you as well,” the younger unicorn continued. She walked over to one of the plain, slightly uncomfortable looking chairs and sat down. Brass Heart followed her over and took the only other available seat in the room, aside from the doctor’s.

“Which would you prefer to begin with then?” Suture asked. She shoved a few stacks of papers across her desk so that she could see her guests without having to peer around them. Star noticed that there were large boxes to the side of the desk as well, stacked with even more paperwork. The doctor obviously hadn’t been lying when she’d said that leaving the hospital would be a tedious process.

“I can take care of the supplies if I can have the assistance of one of your nurses and the list from Star,” Brass Heart offered. The corporal was clearly trying to escape from the discomfort that Star had created and she figured that it was probably for the best. He grabbed the list as soon as she lifted it over to him and he quickly exited the room, the resounding bang of the door causing the black unicorn to flinch. She took a deep breath and blew it up towards her forelock with a sigh.

“That means we can talk,” Star stated somewhat happily.

“It would seem so,” Suture agreed. “Now, first things first, what is going on with you and that royal guard?” she asked, much to the younger mare’s chagrin.

“He’s a… well, I’m not sure,” Star admitted. She had tried not to let the tension between her and Brass Heart show, but had apparently failed pretty terribly. “He’s acted as my escort for the princess more times than I can count and he’s a great friend, but…” she trailed off as she tried to find the right words to express her conflicting emotions.

“But you want him to be more than just a friend?” Suture offered. It summed up some of the problems that the smaller unicorn was dealing with, but it failed to convey one important aspect of her thoughts.

“Yes and no,” Star replied rather poorly. “I do like him as more than a friend, but there’s somepony else that I have feelings for as well.” The pale yellow mare across from her nodded her head understandingly.

“And this other pony, do they feel the same way about you?” the doctor questioned. “Because it is fairly clear that he does.”

“I don’t think so,” Star answered simply. It was easier than delving into the fact that the other pony was actually a mare. “I suppose that I really don’t know for sure though,” the younger mare admitted.

“That may be the problem then,” Suture replied.

“Yes, I think it is,” Star agreed, “but that isn’t the only thing that I wanted to talk with you about.” Her need for closure with Surinam could wait.

“Oh, no?” Doctor Suture’s eyebrows rose inquisitively.

“It’s about Inferno,” Star explained as she folded her forelegs atop the messy desk and rested her head upon them. “I asked her to stay behind.”

“You asked her to stay? As in, stay in Canterlot while you travel to the Crystal Empire?” Suture asked in disbelief. The last time that they had spoken, the doctor had been expecting the little dragon to make the journey with her mother and the revelation that she would not be was very surprising.

“Mhmm, I decided that it was too dangerous for her to come along,” Star replied morosely. “She took it pretty badly at first, but I think that she has come to accept it now.” It had seemed that way to her at least.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that things have worked out, but at the same time, I’m sorry to hear that you will be parting for so long a time.”

“Me too,” the black unicorn agreed. “I’ve asked her to do me a favor while I’m gone though.”

“What would that be?” Suture asked as she picked up a pen with her magic and quickly jotted something down on one of the many pages littered across the surface of her wooden desk. There were notices and forms, but all of it looked completely dull.

“She’s going to visit her mother and try to get the gems that we need to repair Spark’s eyes,” Star explained. “I cannot be sure that she will succeed, but it isn’t like either of us has had much luck looking elsewhere.”

“True, although I can blame part of that on my hectic schedule,” Suture replied. “I would offer an alternative means if I had any. I know how much Inferno must detest the idea of asking her biological mother for anything.”

“That is true, but she knows how important this is to me and I believe that she has far better odds than I ever would. Incendiaura is not my biggest fan, to put it mildly,” Star said with a weak laugh. “How has everything been progressing for you lately?” Doctor Suture shrugged her thin shoulders noncommittally before taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly.

“I’m starting to finally make a dent in this pile of paperwork, which is a good sign,” Suture replied. “I still have quite a few decisions to make regarding the staff and who will take up my position as dean of the hospital while I’m gone, but with any luck I should be ready to assist the military within a week or so.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Star told her with a genuine grin. “Whereabouts are you planning on working from or do you have any idea yet?”

“Ha ha, well, I’m a little bit more focused on getting this place sorted out at the moment, but I can only imagine that they may need some assistance up north. I am sure that the conflict will reach our cities soon, unless you and your friends actually manage to stop the war.” Suture sounded hopeful, Star acknowledged, but not entirely convinced that they would succeed in their endeavor.

“I’m sure that they will be pleased to have your expertise,” Star replied as she sat back in her chair. “I do hope that your services are not required though, I must admit.” The doctor smiled back at the young mare across from her.

“I suppose that would make two of us then,” Suture agreed. Knock. Knock. Knock. The sound of somepony tapping against Doctor Suture’s door caused both unicorns to glance in the direction of the office entrance. The knocking had been forceful and precise, exactly the sort of sound Star expected of a soldier.

“Come in,” Star called out to Brass Heart. The pegasus entered just a second later, with a new saddlebag hanging down on the opposite side of his the saddlebag containing his wing blades. The new, cross marked bag was stuffed full of bandages and most likely everything that Star had written on her list, which meant that they would be leaving soon. The black mare groaned quietly as she forced herself up from the uncomfortable chair she had been sitting in and turned back to the doctor. “I guess that the two of us should get going,” she told her friend.

“So soon?” Suture asked disappointedly. She rose from her seat and made her way around the large desk separating her from her friend. “I guess time is of the essence, but it was lovely seeing you again,” she continued as she pulled Star into a quick hug. “You be very careful out there. I don’t want to have to bandage you up when you get home.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be extra safe,” Star assured the older unicorn. “I’ll have four strapping young stallion’s protecting me, after all.”

“Lucky you,” Suture said with a wink and a giggle. “I’ll be sure to keep an eye on Inferno for you while you’re gone,” she added in a more serious tone as they broke apart.

“I would really appreciate that,” Star thanked her friend and then turned towards the exit, where Brass Heart was waiting patiently for her. “If you can’t seem to find her at the castle, just ask one of the servants where she went. There’s a chance she might either be at Gentle Gem’s Enchanted Gem Shop or at an old warehouse, where Axel has been designing the new flying chariots for the military.” Suture nodded her head a few times before Star eventually pulled open the office door with a quick flash of white magic.

“I’ll see you when you return,” Suture said with a smile and Star nodded her head in reply, flashing her own sparkling teeth before leaving the doctor to get back to the paperwork waiting on her desk. It had been a quick visit, but Star was glad that she had gotten to see her friend one last time before leaving for the empire. Departing took most of her willpower, knowing that there was a distinct chance it could be the last time she would ever see the doctor, but she slowly walked down the sterile corridors just a few steps behind Brass Heart.

“Did you have a nice visit?” the pegasus asked, seeming to have had his fill of uncomfortable silence for the day.

“Mhmm,” Star mumbled in reply as she trotted up beside him, “I just wish there was more time in a day, so I could have stayed for a little while longer,” she finished.

“Don’t worry so much,” Brass Heart told her. “We’ll go up north, take care of the duke and be back here before anypony even gets the chance to miss us.” He shot her a reassuring smile and it did cheer her up just a bit, although she still couldn’t seem to muster a smile of her own, but that was only partially due to her concerns about their mission.

“I wish that I could have your faith,” Star said as they turned the corner. The front doors of the pristine building sat at the end of the last hallway. “I’ve tried to maintain a positive outlook, but every day my surety seems to dwindle a little more. Our task seems insurmountable right now, even though I know that the princesses wouldn’t have given us this mission were they not positive that we had a good chance of success.”

“It is perfectly understandable,” the corporal assured her. “Not only is this your first mission of this sort, it is also the first time you will have ever purposefully thrown yourself into danger and conflict.” He looked like he was going to place a hoof on her back while he spoke, but suddenly changed his mind, most likely fearing that the tension between them would grow worse.

“Yes, but I seem to be the only one affected at the moment,” Star replied agitatedly. They stepped outside the hospital and were unhappy to find that the snow had begun to fall during their absence. Large flakes drifted gently down upon the city and whatever warmth the sunlight had been providing was slowly sapped from the earth, much to the ponies’ mutual disappointment. “Spark and Ursa haven’t purposefully gone to battle or been involved in a war either, yet they both seem to be coping rather easily,” she continued, doing her best to ignore the frost that was slowly beginning to accumulate over the back of her cloak.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Brass Heart replied. He continued to crunch along the icy sidewalk in the direction of the shop where they were supposed to meet said companions. “Have you bothered asking either of them how they’re actually feeling? You may be surprised to find that their calm surfaces hide a much more conflicting tide beneath.” They were wise words, Star thought, although she was fairly certain that Ursa would have mentioned something during one of their conversations. The crystal pony’s only real concerns were of Backdraft and his wellbeing. “You appear to be that way at least,” the corporal continued, undeniably referring to the reaction that she had made to their kiss earlier. Star sighed imperceptibly and looked away, hoping that he would drop the subject. She wanted to explain herself, but it was difficult to even sort her thoughts on the matter, let alone try to express them clearly. He seemed to take the hint and the rest of the walk passed in relative silence, minus the natural sounds of the city.

Star and Brass Heart weren’t the first ones to arrive back at the old warehouse; Dawn and Inferno had beaten them there, though only by a small margin. Axel was present too, relaxing in one of the few worn down chairs surrounding a messy worktable. The little dragon was pacing back and forth impatiently behind her as they waited for their friends’ return. Brass Heart slipped the medical bag off and then the saddlebag containing his and Dawn’s weapons, allowing them to drop to the floor gently before following Star over to their friends and taking a seat beside her at the dusty table. Inferno stopped her methodical walking and joined them a moment later, her yellow eyes bright despite the low light of the musty building.

“So, I take it that you had some success,” Inferno stated as she glanced over her mother’s shoulder at the bags lying on the floor. The gleaming tip of one set of wing blades could be seen poking out of Brass Heart’s saddlebags, a sharp reminder of the danger her mother would be facing.

“Yes,” Star simply replied. “Doctor Suture set us up with the medical supplies we needed and Brass Heart picked up a few things from the barracks.”

“I trust that you brought my wing blades as well?” Dawn’s eyebrow rose inquiringly.

“No, you’ll have to do without, Dawn,” Brass Heart quipped. “Of course I grabbed your weapon and a few other things that might be useful,” he added with a smirk. Dawn simply rolled his eyes in reply.

“They’ve had a little luck as well,” Axel said, motioning to one of the chariots resting just a few yards behind her back. It wasn’t her newest creation that she gestured to; instead Star saw the prototype that the earth pony had allowed Spark, Strata and Inferno to use during their trip to the hippogriff settlement. It had suffered a few scrapes and dents, but appeared to be in working order. “I looked over the vehicle and replaced one of the gems, so she should have no problems getting you to the Crystal Empire,” the bubbly mare assured them.

“We also have a few spare jewels that Gentle Gem was kind enough to sell us for a cheap price,” Inferno added. It wasn’t free, Star mused, but then again, they had been given a hefty sum of bits by the princesses, so that wasn’t much of a loss. “Axel will have to show one of you how to replace them, but it shouldn’t be that difficult.”

“That Gentle Gem is quite a character,” Dawn stated. Everypony nodded in silent agreement, except for Inferno, who failed to stifle a laugh.

“Are you sure that chariot will hold everypony?” Brass Heart asked as he eyed the flying chariot. It was a smaller model and was fitted with only enough straps for one pony to pull it. “I wouldn’t want to slow us down by having to switch places with Dawn every few miles.” Axel seemed to understand his concern and her tongue poked out from the corner of her mouth as she thought about the problem.

“I suppose that the only solution is for you all to take the military model then,” she replied. “I have the drawings that I need to build more. It will just take a little extra effort without the prototype to work off of, but I can manage.” The corporal nodded his head in thanks.

“Thank you, Axel,” Star said. She stared over at the vehicle in question. The two pony model was in much better condition and had a healthy layer of metal sheeting that would help to protect those riding inside. It was obviously a bit heavier than the original, but with two pegasus to pull it the weight issues would be easy enough to deal with. “Have either of you seen Spark and Ursa yet?” she asked as she turned her attention back to her friends.

“Not yet, but I’m sure that they’ll be returning any time now,” Inferno told her mother. “Spark just probably stopped to smoke or something,” she continued with a casual flick of her black spiked tail.

“Well then, is there anything that we can assist you with while we wait for them to meet us here?” Brass Heart offered.

“If there are any last minute adjustments that need to be performed on the sky chariot, now would probably be the best time,” Dawn agreed.

“It couldn’t hurt to double check,” Axel admitted, her demeanor becoming livelier as she readied herself to do what she loved most, working on a mechanical invention. “It would be in your best interest to suit up in your weapons and whatever armor I heard clicking around in Brass Heart’s bag. We’ll want to be sure that the harnesses can accommodate the full range of your wings and sustain the tension with the added weight.” The blonde mare quickly wrapped a band around her messy mane, tying it in her signature ponytail so that it wouldn’t get in the way as she worked. “Another quick test flight with all of us inside might be beneficial as well.”

“Okay, but one thing at a time,” Dawn chuckled.

“It will take us a few minutes to get this gear on,” Brass Heart explained. Axel’s head made a nodding motion, but it was clear that her mind was already distracted by the polished metal of her creation.

Brass Heart walked past Star, pausing momentarily to say, “We need to talk about what happened,” before heading over to the bags on the floor and busying himself with removing the swords that he and Dawn would be fitting onto their wings. The unicorn knew that she needed to explain herself to the pegasus, but their current situation wasn’t conductive to an emotional conversation. She was hoping to wait until they had a bit more privacy, just in case her feelings got the best of her. That was no reason for her to amend her usual behavior however, so she walked over to lend her assistance to the two soldiers.

“Here, let me help you with that,” Star offered, picking up Brass Heart’s wing blades with a steadfast levitation spell.

“Thanks,” Brass Heart replied. He turned around and allowed her to slide the swords over his outermost plumage until they sat right on his corporal joints, then she quickly latched the straps that would hold the weapons in place. “I can get the chainmail,” the pegasus informed her as he bent over and grasped the metallic covering in his teeth.

“Did you need some assistance too?” Star asked Dawn as she turned away from his superior officer. The blue maned stallion had gotten the swords put on, but was still struggling to latch them in place.

“That would be great,” he replied with a thankful smile. Star finished the task in a flash of white light and then stepped back to allow the soldiers to finish getting their gear on. The end results were certainly intimidating, the unicorn acknowledged silently. Both pegasus wore the classic dark grey helmets, with deep blue crests. Their chainmail was the same matte color of grey, except for a small lightning bolt insignia done in brass which signified them as royal guards to the princesses. Their wing blades were perfectly maintained and held a wicked edge which reflected even the minimal light that managed to creep into the old building. They wore boots instead of metallic shoes however, which caused Star to smirk a little despite her best efforts not to do so.

“What are you smiling about?” Dawn asked in confusion.

“Oh, nothing,” Star lied. “I just haven’t actually seen either of you wearing your full armor in, well, I can’t even remember how long.”

“And I wish that we had no need to wear it now,” Brass Heart flatly replied before making his way over to the armored chariot sitting behind the table, where Inferno was still waiting patiently for Spark and Ursa’s return. Star followed him over, while Dawn was busy trying to get his armor to sit comfortably and Axel was still preoccupied with whatever had caught her interest under the flying vehicle.

“Look, I know that we need to talk and I think that it would be for the best if we got it out of the way before we leave,” Star told the corporal.

“Okay, then let’s talk about it,” Brass Heart replied. Star just shook her head and glanced around the room to each of her friends.

“Not right here, but once you finish helping Axel, we can slip outside,” the unicorn replied in a voice barely above a whisper. The blue eyed stallion appeared to be unhappy with her response, but mumbled his reluctant agreement never the less. “Thank you for, well… for being patient with me right now,” Star said as she turned away from the pegasus and went over to join her daughter at the table once again.

“I take it that you finally told Brass Heart how you feel and he rejected you?” Inferno asked in a consoling voice. “Even if he did, I still think that it was better to have told him,” she added with a half smile.

“No,” Star replied, shaking her head slowly. “I mean, yes, I told him how I felt… some what, but he didn’t reject me.”

“Then what’s the reason for all of the tension between you two?” the little dragon questioned suspiciously. Star took a moment to silently curse the fact that the serpentine girl was far more perceptive in such matters than she would ever be.

“It’s, uh… it’s complicated,” Star admitted unhappily. The word didn’t quite convey the full nature of her current issues, but it sufficed as a temporary answer to assuage her daughter’s interest for the moment.

“I’ll take your word,” Inferno replied as she leaned back in her chair and clicked her forked tongue disapprovingly, “for now,” she added as she resigned herself to waiting once more.

After Spark and Ursa had returned from their excursion into Canterlot’s shopping district, Star found her opportunity to speak with Brass Heart in private. The two ponies snuck out the open doors of the shop while the rest of their friends were busy going through their supplies to make sure that nopony had forgotten everything. The corporal had been surprised by Star’s sudden insistence that they leave, but that surprise quickly turned into stone faced stoicism as he realized what she wanted. It was obvious that after the way the unicorn had reacted to his advances, he was wary of what she would have to say to him.

Star couldn’t blame him of course, because she hadn’t exactly been forthcoming with her problems. Brass Heart had opened himself up to her, exposing the tenderest aspects of his personality and she had spurned him. True, she hadn’t actually given him a final answer on the matter, but that was probably even more damaging than if she had. The black mare’s heart felt like it was beating at half speed as she took each step towards the exit, with the corporal just a short distance behind her. Each thrum physically hurt in her chest. She had made her decision though and was adamant that she make it known, before she caused her friend anymore confusion than she already had, even if she had to hurt him once more in the process.

The snow had continued to fall while they waited for their companions to meet them and a healthy coating of the stuff had settled over every available surface that the crowded city had to offer. There wasn’t a single street or rooftop as far as Star could see that wasn’t frosted over. Her breath came out in plumes of vapor as she led Brass Heart around the corner of the building, where they wouldn’t be as easily spotted should one of the others come to investigate their sudden disappearance. The pegasus followed her silently, the weight of his armor causing him to sink down, clear through the blanket of snow that obscured the sidewalk from view.

“I guess that I should start by explaining why I reacted in the way that I did,” Star stated. She absentmindedly bit her lip while trying not to let her gaze wander away from the soldier’s steely eyes.

“No, I should start by apologizing,” he replied quietly. “I thought that there might have been something between us and I could have sworn that I felt you kissing me back, but clearly I miss read the situation.” He cleared his throat and shifted his weight from side to side as the unicorn continued to stare back at him. “I overstepped my boundaries and I can only hope that this won’t ruin the friendship that we have together.” Star offered a weak smile before closing her eyes with a soft sigh.

“No, it- it’s not that at all,” she replied.

“Then what is it?” Brass Heart asked, his flat expression finally revealing some of the confusion that she had made him endure for a good portion of the day.

“I felt something too,” Star admitted. She hated to see the corporal so flustered by her actions, but knew that what she was going to tell him most likely wouldn’t help to alleviate any of the bothersome feelings. “You are an amazing stallion and I can’t thank you enough for everything that you have done for me over the years.”

“But…” It was clear that Brass Heart wasn’t too keen on the direction that their conversation was headed.

“But I don’t think that I can do this right now,” Star told him, her voice falling to little more than a squeak as she tried to fight back the tears she could feel welling up in the corners of her violet eyes. “I can’t ask you to wait for me. It wouldn’t be fair to you, but I want you to know that I do feel the same way. I wasn’t lying when I said that.” The pegasus huffed in reply a dismissive response that nearly broke the emotional dam that she had put up. “You can understand that, can’t you?” she begged. Brass Heart was quiet as he looked away from her, seeming to stare off at something behind the wooden fence surrounding the back of the shop, though the teary eyed mare figured that he just didn’t want to meet her gaze.

“No,” Brass Heart finally responded as he turned back to face her. “No, I’m sorry, but that just isn’t good enough,” he reiterated. “I fell for you a long time ago and now that I gathered the courage to express those feelings and you’ve admitted that you feel the same way, I’m supposed to just sit off to the side and wait like- like a good little soldier!?” The normally reserved stallion’s face welled up with hurt as he spoke and each word was like a nail being driven into Star’s heart. “Don’t you think I at least deserve to know why? Why we can’t be together?” he questioned. Star wiped away a few stray tears that had managed to escape, but couldn’t reply past the lump that had developed in her throat, so she nodded her head once instead.

“I- I can’t because, well… I just nee- ugh!” Star tried to choke the words out, but only managed to start sobbing as she stared back into her friend’s face. This time Brass Heart didn’t hesitate as he placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder and pulled her close. The small mare buried her face into his chest and wept for what seemed like hours, but in reality was probably just a few minutes. Once she had regained some semblance of control and the corporal felt her shaking taper of, he stepped back and dropped his hoof to the ground once again.

“Please, Star. If there is something that I can do to make this work then please, just tell me,” he pleaded, his own eyes beginning to grow watery.

“I need closure,” Star blurted, her eyes fixed firmly on the snow beneath her.

“What do you mea-? Oh…” Sorrow filled Brass Heart’s face as his words trailed off. “This is about Suri, isn’t it?” Star couldn’t bear to look up at him so she simply nodded her head again. “You still have feelings for Spark’s sister, Surinam, and that’s why… Damn, I’m so stupid!” he berated himself. “I suppose that I should have caught on sooner. I saw the way you look at her when you think nopony is watching, the same way I’ve stared at you before.” Star could hear the sound of his chainmail scarping against itself as his head sunk low. “You love her, don’t you?” he asked in a quite voice that cracked once from the emotional strain he tried to hide so well.

“I- I’m not sure,” Star answered as she forced her eyes back up to him.

“Does she at least love you back?” Brass Heart asked her. “Does she at least love you like I would, like you deserve to be loved?” The unicorn just whimpered intelligibly. “And yet you’re willing to push me away for what, the chance that she may one day wake up feeling the same way that you do? Is that how little I actually mean to you?” His words rose in volume, which only served to amplify the trembling of his voice as Star squeezed her eyes shut.

“I just need to know,” Star responded demurely as she sank to her knees on the cold, damp ground. She could feel the bite of the ice against her bare hide, but it didn’t make the slightest difference to her and she watched her tears sink into the snow. “I just can’t move on until I have a final answer from her,” she tried to explain, but it seemed that the pegasus had heard enough.

“We should get back,” Brass Heart replied without any hint of emotion in his flat tone. “We wouldn’t want anypony to worry about us… or get the wrong idea,” he added as he started walking back to the front of the property, leaving the small mare weeping in the shadow of the warehouse.

Star stayed huddled over in the same position until her legs started to go numb and her tears ran dry. The salt on her cheeks stung in the cold wind and she used her magic to lift a small pile of snow, using it to clean any trace of her sorrow away as best as she could. A few more minutes passed as she stared blankly at the ground, the snow now marred by her and Brass Heart’s hoofsteps. Eventually, she began to feel as numb inside as she was on the outside and the sorrow turned to anger towards her self. She had chosen the miniscule possibility of maybe one day being with somepony who was nothing more than a close acquaintance over a promise of love from a friend who had protected her for years.

“Mom!” Inferno’s voice called over the blowing winds. “Mom, everypony is ready to leave, but we need you first.” The sound of her daughter’s voice was enough to force Star to stand back up, but she walked with a careless stride, her mind too preoccupied with the dismal thoughts she was harboring. Even so, the unicorn knew one thing above all else, she wanted closure from Suri if she ever returned home. It was the very least that she felt she deserve. “Oh, there you are,” Inferno said with a smile as she spied her mother walking out from around the side of the large building, but that smile slowly vanished once she sensed something was wrong. “What were you doing back there?” the little dragon asked, perplexed by the unicorn’s sullen body language.

“I was just doing some thinking,” Star replied. It was the truth, though only a small portion of it. “Is the gear all loaded up?” she asked, plastering a fake smile across her face to hide the inner pain she was trying to ignore.

“Yeah…” Inferno replied, still seeming a bit unsure about the situation. “Everypony is just waiting for you.”

“Then we should go up to the castle and let the princesses know we’ll be leaving now,” Star replied calmly as she made her way to the open doors. There were events happening all over Equestria and even beyond the country’s borders; events that far outweighed one mare’s personal issues, Star decided, as she entered the shop. Whatever mistakes she had made in the past, whomever she had hurt in life, whichever path she wished she could have taken to reach a different destination, none of that mattered right then. The only important thing that she needed to concern herself with was ending the war and coming home to her friends and family. “I’m ready,” she stated as she stared across the room at her friends, who were all waiting around the chariot for her to return, even Brass Heart, who had seen fit to reapply his normal expressionless gaze. Star saw a flash of anger in his blue eyes before he looked away. “Let’s go,” she added afterward.

Author's Note

I can't believe that I actually got this chapter done in a week. I even racked up a couple hours of overtime at my new job. Couldn't have done it without caffeine of course. So, this chapter was quite the interesting one to write and I know a couple people that might not be too happy with how it ended, but I hope that it was written well enough that they will still find it enjoyable, despite the train-wreck it contains.

Ch.7 Betrayals

~Chapter 7: Betrayals~

The Princesses had seen them off hours before and now Discipula Star sat in the sky chariot, musing over the wreckage of her day. It was far from the worst the mare had ever experienced, but it was also far from enjoyable. The awkward chariot ride served as a perfectly horrid ending to the fiasco. It was possible fate just had a sort of twisted sense of humor that the unicorn hadn’t yet grasped, but she was beginning to wonder if things really even happened for a purpose. It was a nagging uncertainty that she tried her best to ignore as Ursa and Nature Spark slept beside her. She had tried to rest as well, but the vehicle had never been designed for comfort. It was built for the military, where luxury was low priority. Between the night chill and the cramped quarters, sleep appeared to be nothing more than a distant desire to be left unfulfilled.

Star sighed with discontent as she draped her foreleg over the edge of the chariot and rested her weary head upon it, staring off into the starry skies as she listened to the steady tempo of beating wings mixed with the soft breathing of the stallions sleeping to her left. It was most likely for the best anyway, the mare mused, because without having smoked some of Spark’s herbs she would no doubt be visited by nightmares again. They were becoming the one constant she could count on. Her friends and the princesses were the other constants, though her emotions seemed set on distancing herself from the former as much as possible. Her relationship with Brass Heart had certainly changed at the very least and the fault was entirely her own.

The only thing that the corporal had ever asked of Star was her love and despite how she had felt for him, something had prevented her from reciprocating his feelings. The way she felt about Surinam had been the excuse she’d used, but deep down she knew that pursuing Spark’s sister would be a lost cause. Whether or not Suri was attracted to mares held no real weight anymore, because she had made her feelings toward Star painfully clear before leaving. It left the raven maned pony wondering what the real cause of her trepidation could be as she watched the gleaming moon slowly climb above the world. Star had always blamed the few stallions that she had dated for the pathetic way that all of her relationships had ended, but perhaps she had unconsciously sabotaged them herself. Delving into her own psyche had proven it to be a very confusing place full of contradicting emotions and ingrained fears, so anything was certainly possible.

A sudden drop in altitude frightened Star from the self-dissection of her thought process as Brass Heart and Dawn Glory began to descend from the clouds. Her head snapped around as she looked for the cause of their sudden change in direction, but the small mare could see no threat around them. It occurred to her that they weren’t exactly hurrying towards the ground either, merely drifting lazily down like a leaf carried on the autumn winds. They weren’t in any sort of a hurry so she had no reason to worry, but curiosity was still present as she peeked down below the vehicle.

“Why are we landing?” Star asked, her gentle voice raising in volume just enough to get the soldiers’ attention without disturbing her sleeping companions. Obviously they had assumed everypony else was sleeping, because the sound of her question caused both of the pegasus’ wings to snap out in surprise for a moment.

“Mother of Celestia!” Dawn exclaimed. His voice cracked with laughter as the sudden fear quickly faded. “I thought you three were asleep. You scared me half to death.” He chuckled briefly and then shot a playful glare back at the unicorn. “Anyway, we’re landing because this chariot is exhausting to drag around. Brass Heart and I just need a couple hours to rest and then we’ll be ready to leave.”

“Is that alright with you?” Brass Heart questioned a bit vehemently. The words stung a little, but Star figured that if anypony deserved his anger then it was her, so she simply nodded her head and resumed sitting in silence. It wasn’t long after that the wheels of the vehicle bounced off of the frosty ground and the pegasus reversed the force of their wings to slow the formidable momentum that they had attained. Ursa groaned quietly and rolled over as much as he could, considering the cramped space that he was sleeping in, but Spark didn’t even twitch. At least some ponies were getting a full nights rest, Star thought, as she glanced away from her friends and out at the dark hills and valleys stretching out around them.

“You’ll have to wake up either Shpark or Ursha if you plan on shleeping now,” Dawn informed Star. He tried to speak around the metal clasp in his mouth which elicited a sigh of pity from the mare, whose horn began to radiate white light as she quickly unfastened the soldier from the straps around his back and chest. She then turned to the corporal, but Brass Heart had already gotten free of the chariot and stepped away just before she could offer her assistance to him as well.

“I’m not so sure that I could sleep even if I wanted to,” Star admitted. “I’ll just keep watch and try to get a few hours in while were flying tomorrow.” Dawn shrugged his shoulders and yawned.

“Suit yourself,” he mumbled sleepily, “but I have to get some rest or we might just fall out of the sky… and nopony wants that.” He smiled weakly and picked his bag up off the pile of supplies sitting just behind the front wall of the vehicle. It took just a few seconds for him to wrestle a couple blankets out and then he wandered off, presumably to find a relatively level area to make into his bed. Brass Heart hadn’t even bothered grabbing extra blankets. The blonde mane pegasus had immediately walked off into the shadows instead. Star hadn’t done anything to stop him. It was obvious to her and most likely everypony else that he was sulking and she was the last pony whom he would want to see right then. Even Dawn had been wise enough to give their friend his space.

“Only I could manage to wound a royal guard with words alone,” Star mumbled quietly to herself. She brushed a few strands of purple and blue hair from her face as she leaned back on the uncomfortable seat. The lonely mare tilted her head back and blinked her weary eyes a few times, staring up at the plethora of stars suspended in the fathomless blackness above while she waited for time to creep ever so slowly by. It was going to be a very long night, she thought unhappily, but at least something was happening now and that was infinitely better than waiting around Canterlot while her friends were putting themselves in danger without her. Another sigh escaped her slender lips as she shifted around once more, which caused another slight stirring of the crystal pony to her left before stillness reclaimed the night around them.

Snap! Star’s eyes sprang open in bewilderment as her mind tried to recall where she was and why. She remembered that the princesses had seen them off the evening before and after being momentarily inconvenienced by two soldiers enforcing the curfew, who had received a stern tongue lashing from Brass Heart, they had left Canterlot and flown throughout a good portion of the night. The unicorn’s violet irises flickered back and forth wildly as she scanned the immediate area around the chariot. Her companions were still sleeping soundly, so the sound that had awoken her could not have been made by any of them. Perhaps it had only been in her dreams, she thought. That only raised more concerns though, because she was supposed to be keeping watch while everypony else slept. It seemed that her insomnia hadn’t lasted long enough however.

Crack! The second sound had come from the tree line just a couple yards beyond the spot where Brass Heart had made his bed, not that a flat spot and single blanket qualified as much of a place to sleep. Star began climbing out of the chariot as quietly as she could manage. Her small hooves touched down silently one after another without waking her friends and then she headed towards the mysterious noise that had pulled her from the nightmares she’d been stuck in. Some animal had been walking near the edge of the woods more likely than not, Star figured, but it couldn’t hurt to be certain. The hazy light of early morning wasn’t yet enough to illuminate the space beyond the outermost branches blocking the small mare’s view, so she continued past Brass Heart, walking forward until she was close enough to peer through the leafless limbs.

“H-hello,” Star whispered. The slight stutter to her words was enough to make the unicorn realize that she was a little more frightened than she had originally thought. When no answer came after a few moments she tried again in a slightly louder, but no less shaky voice. “Is somepony there?” Crunch! Another branch broke from somewhere in the shadows causing her heart to skip a beat as panic set in, but the feeling was short lived once the reply she had been waiting for finally arrived.

“Star, is that you?” a familiar voice asked and a tall figure stepped out from behind the cover that the forest provided. Backdraft blinked down at her in confusion as the sunlight washed over his grey muzzle, sparkling in the depths of his steely eyes. Star was no less shocked to see her friend staring back at her, but a smile spread across her face soon after as she cleared the last few steps separating them and jumped at the lanky pegasus. Her forelegs wrapped around Draft’s slim shoulders as she squeezed him tightly and laughed.

“What in the wide world of Equestria are you doing here?” she questioned, her voice cracking with ecstatic relief that the noise had been nothing to fret over. “You nearly gave me a heart attack, you jerk!” The small mare punched him in the shoulder much harder than she had intended to, though her friend simply laughed it off.

“I could ask you the same,” Draft replied with a bemused grin. “Aren't you supposed to be in Canterlot?” Star released him from her forceful embrace and took a step back as she shook her head, causing the dark mane falling over her neckline to shine in the golden daylight.

“Well, I was assisting Axel with the new sky chariots that the princesses wanted her to build for the military, but after we finished the prototype and Spark returned, Celestia and Luna decided that we should accompany him to the Crystal Empire,” Star explained. “So the five of us left late last night and decided to camp here. We had planned on meeting up with you, Downpour and the soldiers outside of Cloudsdale, but you clearly aren't there anymore…”

“No,” Draft muttered disinterestedly. His gaze was focused on the field behind the unicorn, where the chariot and their friends rested quietly. “Is that Ursa sleeping in the chariot?” he asked a moment later.

“Mhmm,” Star mumbled in response. The joy that lit up her friend’s features upon hearing the news was enough to return the ridiculous smile to the mare’s face as she watched him take a few steps past her. “He’s been worried sick about you since the day that you left,” she added as she followed him back to their makeshift camp.

“I’ve missed him too,” Draft readily admitted, “but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to pass up this opportunity to mess with him while he’s asleep.” A mischievous grin stretched across his face as he quietly approached the slumbering crystal pony, taking care not to wake Brass Heart and Dawn as he crept ever closer to the stallion he loved. “Ursa…” Star could hear him whisper quietly as he leaned over the side wall of the vehicle. The emerald stallion’s ear twitched in response but he still didn’t wake, so Draft leaned in closer until their faces were mere inches apart. Star could tell that the pegasus was trying hard to contain his laughter as he stuck the tip of his tongue out and quickly flicked it across Ursa’s cheek before ducking out of sight.

Star heard the crystal pony groan while absentmindedly swiping a large hoof across the cheek that Draft had just licked, but he still didn’t wake from his peaceful slumber. A few seconds later the pegasus peeked over the side of the chariot once again and this time a quiet snicker managed to sneak past his lips. He leaned in once more and stole a quick kiss before jumping back quickly and clamping a hoof over his mouth. This time the effect was enough to cause his coltfriend to stir from the dreams he’d been experiencing. Deep blue eyes shone from behind heavy eyelids as Ursa blinked a couple of times. His thick forelegs stretched up towards the cloud dotted skies as he yawned deeply, a slight smile turning up one side of his face.

“G’morning,” he mumbled quietly to Star, who was the only other pony awake that he could see at the moment. Star for her part tried to contain the telltale smirk that was tugging at her cheeks when Draft held a hoof in front of his mouth as a silent signal to be quiet about his presence. “I was just having the most pleasant dream… or at least the end was enjoyable enough anyway.” His special somepony beamed knowingly from just out of sight.

“Lucky you,” Star replied casually as she walked around to the other side of the vehicle in an effort to pull the burly pony’s gaze in the opposite direction of Draft’s hiding spot. “What was it about?”

“Who, you mean,” Ursa replied with a contented sigh, as if Star would really have to give the question any thought to divine the answer. The unicorn rolled her eyes imperceptibly before responding.

“Fine. Who was it about?” She snickered as the top of Draft’s head slowly rose up just behind Ursa. The crystal pony didn’t notice, even as a few strands of the pegasus’s flowing grey mane brushed gently against his back in a stirring of the breeze.

“Who do you think?” Ursa answered with a rhetorical question and a smile that Star could only have described as stupidly loving. It was adorable, but not enough to stop her or Draft from having a bit of fun at the crystal pony’s expense.

“I’m going to go ahead and guess that it was about that pony looming up behind you,” Star said in a completely serious tone as she nodded her head at the place behind his left shoulder. A perplexed furrowing of the brow was the only reply from Ursa as he slowly turned around on the stiff bench of the sky chariot. He was tackled over by a flash of grey before he could make sense of what was happening. Star watched a tangle of grey and emerald limbs wrestling around frantically in the vehicle, accompanied by fluttering strands of gray and blue manes. Draft was alternating between trying to kiss the crystal pony and tickle him, laughing all the while. Ursa responded with confused shouts and flailing, but the element of surprise was on the much lighter pegasus’s side and he’d pinned his coltfriend within moments.

“I got you,” Draft laughed as he gripped the large green wrists and held them firm against the backboard of the chariot.

“Draft!?” Ursa shouted in ecstatic surprise. “Is that really you?”

“Nope, I’m just a figment of your romantically deprived mind as it attempts to reproduce a hallucination of the original,” Draft retorted with a wink.

“What in Tartarus are you doing h- you know what? I don’t even care,” Ursa admitted before quickly arching his neck forward and placing his lips against the smaller stallion’s own. Star glanced away out of a combination of respect and slight discomfort at the public display, but she couldn’t really blame either of them. They had been apart for weeks and the resulting effects of a surprise reunion were only to be expected.

“Did you miss me?” Draft asked as he pulled back from his lover’s lips to stare into the pools of the crystal pony’s eyes. His grip began to slacken a bit as he melted into his lover’s warm embrace.

“Ahem, not at all,” Ursa lied before playfully turning up his snout in feigned disinterest. “Okay… maybe just a little bit,” he replied a second later, peering down from the corner of his eye as Draft closed the distance between them yet again.

“Who in the hoof!?” A flash of green magic nearly blinded everypony near the chariot as Backdraft was suddenly yanked up from his position atop his coltfriend. “We’re being attacked!” Spark shouted loudly as he suspended his friend a couple yards above their heads with a strong levitation spell. The blind stallion’s magic had definitely improved, Star thought, as she stared in stunned silence at the scene before her. Common sense kicked in soon after and she tried to explain what was happening while Ursa stared up dumbfounded, too confused to voice his objections to the magical ensnarement of his coltfriend.

“Spark! It’s just Draft!” Star shouted, trying not to laugh because of the absurd situation. Draft couldn’t speak because of the force surrounding him, so he stared silently down at the three ponies below him with a look of genuine surprise frozen on his face. “It’s just Draft. We’re not under attack,” the black mare giggled.

“Huh?” Spark mumbled in confusion as his horn continued to glow. A gentle light radiated out as he felt out his friend. “What the- I mean… what’s going on?” The blind stallion’s magic dissipated immediately once he had confirmed the identity of the intruder. Draft managed to catch himself with his graceful wings and gently dropped back to the ground near the chariot as Star began her explanation, holding back amused giggles with every word.

All of the commotion from before had been enough to wake the last two of Star’s sleeping companions as well and now they all sat around a small fire while Star did her best to make a decent breakfast out of the supplies that were available for her to work with. That meant that their meal would consist of fresh fruit and some cooked spinach for the first couple of days, after which they would be forced to eat the provisions which held a slightly longer lifespan. Hot tea was on the menu as well, thanks to Spark having bought a nice supply while back in Canterlot. It was over said breakfast that everypony sat listening while Draft caught them up on what had occurred during the siege of Cloudsdale. It sounded to Star as if they had been having an even worse couple of weeks than she had been having.

“We waited for days after Rainbow Strike sealed off the city, just hoping that we would eventually find some way inside, but when search after search turned up nothing, the captain of the royal guards decided to change tactics and plant ourselves around the fortress,” Draft continued after taking a sip from his steaming cup.

“Where are the others now?” Brass Heart asked, his silence having been forgotten for the time being, though he still seemed to be set on avoiding Star’s pleading eyes.

“Most of them are on the ground, just outside of the city and a few others are in the skies surrounding its walls,” Draft replied. He blew on his tea softly to cool it and took another sip.

“Then what are you doing all of the way out here?” Spark questioned. “I may be blind and may have been asleep for a while, but I can’t imagine that we’re already close to the city.” Draft shook his head, not that Spark could tell.

“You’re right, Cloudsdale is still a few miles off, but late last night somepony left the city, er, some griffon that is,” the pegasus explained. “I was sent to follow him because I’m the fastest flyer in our group.” Spark nodded his head knowingly at the explanation.

“So did you catch the bastard?” Dawn asked around a mouthful of apple, the juices trickling down his already sticky chin. Draft hesitated before giving a slight shake of his head.

“No, whoever it was managed to outfly me,” he replied.

“Don’t beat yourself up over it, Draft,” Ursa said as he draped a foreleg over the slender stallion’s shoulders and fixed him with a loving gaze.

“Yeah,” Draft mumbled sheepishly. “Anyway, how long before the five of you have to leave for the empire?”

“The sooner the better,” Brass Heart replied flatly.

“But first we’ll see if we can lend a helping hoof to all of you,” Dawn added immediately after. “Perhaps a few more willing bodies can make some difference.” Draft nodded his head while giving them all an appreciative smile.

“It’s definitely worth a shot… thank you,” he replied with a quick squeeze of his foreleg, which was still wrapped around his coltfriend’s body.

“Do you have some way of contacting your brother to let him know we’ve arrived?” Spark asked as he stared blankly into the cup of aromatic tea between his hooves. Draft nodded his head and started to bare his chest. It took just a moment for the blind stallion’s friend to correct his mistake.

“Mhmm,” Draft mumbled. “We were each given a Call Stone to keep in contact during the siege. I’m out of range way out here, but as soon as I get close enough I can tell Downpour and Strata that you’re all here.”

“Alright, well then we should finish up breakfast as soon as possible so that we can leave,” Spark said with a curt nod. He drained the last of his hot drink in a few quick gulps and stood up. “Ouch… that wath much hotter than I exthpected,” he moaned with a burned tongue lisp. The others couldn’t hold back a few stray laughs as the overeager pony headed back to the sky chariot, leaving them to clean up the breakfast mess. Star didn’t mind and it didn’t appear as if anypony else did either.

“Celestia and Luna sent the captain to head up this mission?” Dawn asked, although it sounded as if he was merely thinking aloud.

“The loss of Cloudsdale would be terrible were we not at war, but during this conflict it is completely unacceptable,” Brass Heart told him. “Equestria would be left unable to defend itself.”

“There are still the Elements of Harmony, right?” Ursa asked. Star glanced over to the crystal pony and sighed, but decided to explain the situation just as the princess had explained it to her.

“Not only would the princesses have to enter the Crystal Empire and then get close enough to focus the power of the elements on Doré Langue, they would also face the reaction of the crystallite ponies,” Star told the foreign stallion. “How do you think your ponies would respond to an attack from the rulers of Equestria?”

“They would turn the heart on you,” Ursa replied in a quiet voice, his expression cold as he began to understand. Draft looked up at him, steely eyes questioning his companion’s answer.

“The heart, I think the duke spoke about it when I first met him, but… i-it’s foggy,” the smaller stallion said, using his free hoof to brush an unmanageable hair behind his ear. “What is the heart?”

“As Equestria relies on the elements of harmony to protect them from serious danger, so too does the Crystal Empire have a very old, very powerful relic,” Ursa began in a solemn tone. “Beneath the Crystal Palace you can see a large heart carved out of the most flawless crystal. When the empress first took seat upon the throne she used this mystical relic to amplify the compassionate love she felt for her ponies across the entire nation. Should something ever break the peace that Empress Serenade created then her vengeance would be amplified by the Crystal Heart instead.”

“The empress was taken by Doré Langue’s minions though,” Dawn reminded him. “Celestia and Luna would have nothing to fear from the heart.”

“Unless the duke has figured out a way to use it for his own devious means,” Draft gasped as he sat rigid, his foreleg falling from Ursa’s waist.

“Would that be possible?” Star questioned, equally concerned over what it would mean for everypony in Equestria.

“I cannot say for certain,” Ursa admitted. “I have no doubt that the duke will try his best to find a way though,” he added soon after.

“As serious as this news may be,” Spark interjected, “it changes nothing about the mission we have been given. This news simply adds to the urgency of us stopping Doré Langue before anypony else is forced to suffer.”

“But first we had better help detain Sergeant Strike and squash his little group of traitors,” Dawn said as he slowly got up from the ground, warmed by the fire and stretched his wings out into the cool winter breeze. The blue maned pegasus took a deep breath and walked past the others, to where his armor rested beside the sky chariot’s harnesses.

“Dawn is right,” Brass Heart agreed flatly. “The more time we waste sitting around, the closer the duke will be to reaching his goals.” The corporal rose to his hooves and followed after his fellow soldier, though he had seen fit to sleep in his armor and started to attach himself to the vehicle first.

“As much as I would rather stay right here,” Draft sighed as he lifted his leg off Ursa, “I think that they have the right idea.” He stole another quick kiss from his unsuspecting coltfriend and then sprang up with a push of his slender wings. “I think that we may very well have a chance now that everypony is together again.”

“Besides Suri, Axel and Inferno,” Star breathed quietly. Once they had reunited with Downpour and Strata she might feel a bit better though. White light enveloped her horn as she rose from the ground and created a small cloud above the burning flames in the midst of the campsite.

Rain fell from the newly formed cloud and the fire was snuffed quickly, but Star had already turned away. She headed back to the waiting chariot as the cloud evaporated behind her. The others followed her lead and had soon retaken their positions. Star sat on one side of the chariot, Spark on the other and Ursa was wedged between them. Brass Heart and Dawn took a running start and were airborne easily enough, while Draft took up the rear, flying slightly above his friends to keep watch over them as they soared through the clouds, closing the distance on Cloudsdale and Sergeant Strike.

“Downpour should be somewhere up here with Strata.” Draft’s voice fell quite in the wind, but Spark had heard and relayed the message to Star and Ursa, who informed Brass Heart and Dawn soon after. The clouds were thick this close to Cloudsdale, a result of the smoke constantly billowing out of the forgeries. No smoke came from the city today as Star saw whenever she managed to sneak a glance at the hovering fortress beyond the veil of clouds. Even the rainbows that normally spilled forth from the reservoirs beyond the walls had dried out to a mere trickle over the weeks of neglect with nopony left to maintain the weather. Already Equestria seemed a bit darker for it.

“He’s up this way!” Draft shouted down to the sky chariot, breaking Star’s gaze on the distant city as she scanned the sky above.

“Is that them?” Star asked. She pointed out a small gap in the thick cover and those who could see followed the gesture with their eyes.

“I think I see movement,” Dawn replied. Draft’s sudden takeoff towards the spot was enough to confirm their suspicions. The soldiers veered around and followed after him at a much slower pace. Downpour and Draft were already waiting by the time they had arrived to the vantage point in the sky.

Star closed her violet eyes in concentration as they neared the cloud landing, her focus fixed upon the cloud walking spell she had taught to Spark not long ago. A flash of light and tingling in her hooves was proof that she could still cast it just as easily as she ever had and a second burst of power graced Ursa with the same magic. Spark cast the spell on himself just a moment later, the task posing no problems now that he had honed his magical abilities. It surprised the gifted mare to see such an improvement in somepony who had been hard pressed to perform even a simple teleportation spell not long ago. She bounced off of the bench as the chariot’s wheels touched down, the unexpected force stirring her from her thoughts.

“I must admit,” Downpour called out from the landing as he watched his friends unload from the armored vehicle, “that I didn’t expect to see everypony so soon.” The stocky pegasus chuckled and took a few steps forward, raising his hoof in Nature Spark’s direction. Star watched as the blind unicorn rose his own hoof in return before bumping it against his friend’s and cracking a smile.

“I didn’t think I’d see you this soon either,” Spark joked. Using his magic to feel out everything around him was an ingenious solution, Star had to admit, but she still knew that it would never make up for his actual eyes. “Where is Strata at? I figured that we would be interrupting something.” Downpour answered his friend’s question with an icy glare directed in Draft’s direction.

“That bucking idiot told her that I cheated on her and now she won’t say a word to me,” he replied angrily as he continued to stare daggers at his brother.

“You did what!?” Star gasped in horror. She knew well enough that Downpour was brash and didn’t always think his actions through, but betraying Strata like that was something else entirely. “Where is she now?” Downpour nodded his head to the east and Star headed that way, her steps slow and measured as she picked a path over the soft surface of the massive cloud. “I hope she kicked your sorry flank up and down the street for that one. How could you be so stupid?” Star continued to lecture him even as she jumped a small gap and walked around a smaller cloud in her path.

There were no clouds left to block out the sunlight in this place and magnificent rays of golden warmth cascaded around Star as she continued on her way. Every cushioned surface seemed to reflect a different shade of blue, purple or orange and it all mixed with the off-white of the clouds in a way that nearly took the young mare’s breath away. The true beauty of Equestria had a way of making itself known when she least expected it, but sightseeing would have to wait because sitting a few yards away, bathed in soft light and weeping softly was her friend, Strata. The hippogriff glanced back at the sound of somepony approaching her and then away again just as quickly.

“Strata, do you mind if I sit beside you?” Star asked, knowing that there were many times when sympathetic words would only make the situation worse. She hoped that this wasn’t one of those instances.

“It’s fine,” Strata replied. She tried to quell the choking sobs caught in her throat, but it would not have made any difference since Star could plainly see the salty trail that her tears had left behind. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s not just me,” Star answered as she walked up to the sullen falcon-pony hybrid. “All of our friends are here to help with your mission.” Strata snorted, though it sounded closer to a whistle coming from her sharp beak.

“I should have known that your princesses would grow impatient,” she replied as Star took a seat beside her on the large cloud’s springy surface. “I’m not so sure that a few extra hooves will make much difference though. Cloudsdale is truly a triumph of pegasus ingenuity, shit… the ingenuity of your whole race.”

“We can figure all of that out later,” Star assured her friend. “I’m more concerned about you, Strata. I just heard what Downpour did.”

Humorless laughter escaped the hippogriff’s beak as she turned her gaze to the vast emptiness beyond the edge of their cover. The usual fire in Strata’s brown eyes was quelled by sadness and she took a deep breath as she blinked in the bright light from the burning sun. Her resolve had grown weak and the temporary wall she had built crumbled as her lower mandible began to tremble. She closed her eyes just as new tears spilled out, rolling down the soft feathers on her face and disappearing through the clouds beneath her claws. Somepony below might mistake them for a sign of coming rain, Star thought, as she placed a hoof on her friend’s back.

“I trusted him,” Strata choked out in heaving sobs. “How could he betray me like that? Like I mean nothing to him?”

“You’ll have to ask him that,” Star replied softly as she slowly stroked the hippogriff’s back, trying to offer what little comfort she could. “Not now though… whenever you are feeling up to it.” Star gasped in surprise as Strata nearly knocked her over, burying her tear soaked cheek against the smaller mare’s chest and sobbing unrestrained. There was little else the unicorn could do, aside from doing her best to console a friend that needed her. “How did you find this out?”

“I overheard Downpour talking to his brother about it yesterday.” Her reply was muffled but understandable. “Draft wanted him to tell me, but he said he wasn’t going to and then I confronted him an- and…” The hippogriff paused to suck in a few ragged breaths. “There was yelling and screaming and I said terrible things to him.”

“Shh,” Star cooed softly, “I’m sure that Downpour knows you were just hurt.” Strata just choked out another sob. “I can go talk to him for you, if you’d like,” Star offered a few seconds later.

“Maybe later,” Strata whimpered. “For now, I just want to cry. I’m sick of trying to be strong every day, of holding everything in.” Star smiled and laid down on the cloud, sinking in just a bit further as Strata rested her head on the unicorn’s side. She had stopped crying and was content to simply stare out at the horizon, allowing the sun to dry her eyes. The pain was still there of course, but having a friend close by seemed to be helping her deal with it much more easily. “Thank you, Star,” the hippogriff sighed.

Downpour stared down at the cloud beneath his hooves, cringing with each word that was spit at him. It hadn’t taken Star long to have the usually boisterous stallion stammering and whimpering each of his replies to her barbed questions. His betrayal of Strata’s trust and love had opened the gates of the unicorn’s anger, plus she had wanted to give the pegasus a piece of her mind since the first day she’d met him. He was far too reckless and self-absorbed. Somepony needed to confront him before his relationship with Strata crumbled beyond repair. Everypony else simply stood by and watched as she took the task upon herself, except for Brass Heart and Dawn who had disappeared.

“Were you out of your little pony mind!?” Star questioned. Her hooves shook in anger as she fixed her gaze on the mess on his blue maned head.

“Sort of…” he mumbled quietly.

“How could you treat her that way? I thought you loved her!?” Downpour winced again at the sting of Star’s words. “Out of all the things you could have possibly done, this is by far one of the lowest.”

“I tried to apologize,” Downpour replied. “It was a stupid mistake an- and, well, I know I don’t deserve it, but I just want a second chance.” The stallion’s shoulders trembled slightly as he spoke. “I just want to talk to her…”

“Oh, Downpour,” Star sighed, her rage subsiding as she observed his crushed demeanor, “I doubt that Strata feels like talking with you right now. Maybe with a little time you two can work this out, but…” The pegasus lifted his head and gazed up into her violet eyes. She slumped as the last trace of fury was drained from her heart. “You hurt her very badly.”

“I know,” Downpour admitted.

“How did it happen?” Star asked. Everypony else noticed the change in conversation and began to disperse from their places around the chariot, giving her an opportunity to speak with her friend alone. “I know that you didn’t just wake up one morning and decide to buck everything up.” She smiled at the sullen stallion, but his usual humor was nowhere to be seen. The mare had been so mad at him just moments before, yet she knew that he was punishing himself far worse than she would ever be able to. He was silent for a short time as if trying to speak past the shame was too difficult a task for him to accomplish. “Downpour, I cannot help unless you talk to me,” Star urged.

“It was during our trip to the empire,” Downpour sighed, his usual boldness having evaporated in the light of truth, “not long after I had first learned about Draft and Ursa.” The pegasus’s words came slowly, but Star stood in rapt attention, hoping that his misdeeds had been blown out of proportion. “I was having trouble dealing with the fact that my own little brother was… well, you know.”

“That he’s gay?” Star asked. He just nodded his black maned head in reply. “It was really that much of an issue for you?”

“I- it’s hard to explain why,” Downpour groaned, “but yes, that’s sort of what started this whole mess.” Star opened her mouth to protest and tell him that he needed to take responsibility for his own bad decisions, but the downtrodden stallion held a hoof up to silence her, as if he already knew what she was going to say. “I know that it was no excuse for what I did next, Star, but you have to know my state of mind at the time.” Downpour lifted his gaze from the ground and the unicorn could see streaks running down his dust coated cheeks, a testament to the quiet tears she had forced out of the stallion with the verbal lashing she had given. “My mother was never fond of the sort of, erm… lifestyle that ponies like my brother lead. I’m not certain of her reason, but I know that I was always told that it was wrong for two colts to love one another past friendship.”

Star’s brow furrowed as she replied, “That may be close minded, but no matter how pious your mother may have acted, that still doesn’t really explain why you thought it would be okay to cheat on Strata, to break the trust shred between you two.” She watched her friend fidget back and forth on his hooves before suddenly stomping against the cloud. Thump! The sound was stifled by the plush surface, but the pegasus’s frustration was not.

“I dealt with it the same way that I’ve dealt with my problems for years now,” Downpour continued in a voice caught between anger and sadness. “I had been using some of Spark’s medicine.” Star knew the pegasus really meant some possibly dangerous drug, but didn’t bother to correct him. “It was slightly, um, addicting to say the least and I fell back on the numbness it provided when my anger started to get the best of me.”

“So you were pissed off and high,” Star restated without the mincing of words her friend had used, “and for some reason decided that sleeping with somepony who isn’t your marefriend was a good idea.”

“Ponies,” Downpour corrected in a whisper.

“What!?” Star asked, wishing that she had misheard.

“Nothing,” he dodged. “I went to a bar later that night and after a few drinks… you know the rest by now, more or less.” Star watched him drop his gaze back to the cloud beneath their hooves, not that it mattered much since he hadn’t been capable of meeting her eyes during the entire conversation anyway. “I know how stupid it was and it’s not the only terrible choice I made that day, but you have to help me convince Strata that I should get another chance. I would do anything to take it back if I could, Star, honestly. I just want her to talk to me again…” He sucked in a shaky breath and choked back a sob as he awaited her response.

“Downpour…” Star thought about what she could say to provide her friend even a little comfort, but his transgressions could only be forgiven by Strata and she wasn’t speaking with him at the moment. Trying to force the headstrong hippogriff into a conversation with Downpour would only cause problems, so there wasn’t anything to be done. It was best to let the wound bleed a little more before trying to mend it, as much as it would pain the both of them to do so. “I still think that you’re going to have to give this one some time,” she sighed.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Downpour admitted, leaving Star to stare back at him in stunned silence. “I just need to wait for the right time to try and fix this mess I made.” Not only had the formerly brash stallion agreed with her, he had decided that patience would be the best course of action. It was a pleasant surprise to see some maturity from him. “I just hope that she can forgive me… one day.” Star just nodded her head silently and smiled. Perhaps he had taken a few steps back not long ago, but today he had taken a small step forward and sometimes the first step could be the most difficult of all.

“I’m sure she will,” Star told him. She couldn’t help but to wrap her forelegs around his neck for a quick hug, hoping that it would ease the pain, even if only by the tiniest margins. He shirked back slightly at first, but soon melted into her as the last of his tears dripped from the stubble that had started to sprout from his chin. Weeks on the road had left the pegasus tired and the emotional blows he suffered had taken their toll to be sure, but she could tell that even the little sympathy she had to offer was making all the difference in the world right then.

Downpour cleared his throat as he pulled back from her and said, “We should probably go to the others now and figure out our next move. I’m sure that the captain will want to speak with all of you before attempting to infiltrate the city again.” He dried his tattooed face and donned the brutish mask that he wore so well.

“I suppose that you’re right,” Star sighed. A night with almost no sleep had done little to refresh her, but it couldn’t be helped. There were more serious problems to worry about and with that in mind she turned back to the chariot, walking off in the same direction that their friends had gone just moments before.

“Do the princesses really believe that you five will be enough for us to finally get through the city’s defenses?” Downpour questioned as he followed her across the widespread cloud cover. “It’s not that I don’t have faith in you, but Draft, Strata and I have been working with an entire platoon of trained soldiers and we still haven’t managed to find a way in. I’m having trouble seeing how a few more ponies can change that fact. Cloudsdale was designed as a stronghold that can sustain itself for months while cut off from the outside world… perhaps even years.”

“Don’t you remember what Celestia and Luna said? The bonds of friendship between us are strong enough to overcome any obstacle, even a floating fortress full of traitors and cowards,” Star replied, though she wasn’t as sure of her own words as she may have sounded. It seemed to her as if the bonds between them were slowly dissolving and the thought frightened her more than she wanted to admit.

“Ha ha, yeah,” Downpour chuckled. “I’m not sure what I was so worried about. As long as we stick together then I don’t see how we could ever fail.” Hopefully he was right, Star thought. “We’ve come this far after all.”

“Mhmm,” Star murmured. “I’m sure that Celestia thought bringing all of us together once again would prove an auspicious move and I trust in the wisdom of her and her sister.” Downpour nodded curtly as his eyes fixed on their friends, grouped just a short distance away. The other ponies were facing the pegasus city and speaking in quiet voices as they approached.

“I trust that you two have managed to push aside Downpour’s personal issues for the time being,” Spark said, not bothering to face them even though he had obviously sensed their presence. “I don’t mean to be rude, but there are more important issues for us to tackle at the moment.” The blind unicorn’s brief lapse into his casual demeanor had vanished again it seemed.

“Yes, we’re ready to meet with the other soldiers whenever you are,” Star replied, doing her best to reassert the measured control on her emotions that their situation demanded. “I’ll go and get Strata, then Draft and Downpour can lead us to the captain.”

There was some cover to be found near the forest below Cloudsdale and it appeared as if that was the location of the soldiers that they had all come to assist. It was a bit close to enemy territory in Star’s opinion, but she supposed that the captain wouldn’t see it that way. The floating city was still above Equestrian soil and no number of traitors would change that fact. It was a dangerous position to have put her ponies in, but not without its benefits. The campsite was close enough that Star could even see what remained of the Rainbow Falls as Brass Heart and Dawn pulled the sky chariot down the rough dirt road. Flying would have been dangerous, so the two had decided to touch down at the edge of the forest and continue on hoof from there. At least it gave her a chance to see what remained of the falls before the rainbows dried up completely though, the small mare mused.

It wasn’t long after Star pulled her gaze away from the scenery that she noticed four other guards, one unicorn and three pegasus, stepping out from the shadows close by to meet them on the trail. They all wore the same shining armor that Brass Heart and Dawn were encased in, but their faces were gaunt and eyes heavy from exhaustion. She was just beginning to wonder how they had managed to get so close without anypony spotting them, especially in such a sad state, when Spark spoke up from the other side of the vehicle and explained the method of their silent approach.

“They’ve been cloaked in some sort of spell,” he quietly informed his companions.

“A look-away spell most likely,” Star replied. “It isn’t full proof by any means and anypony who knows what to look for could have seen them, but it certainly helps to keep wandering eyes from picking up on your location.” It was one of the dozen or so spells that the unicorn had in her arsenal, although she hadn’t needed to cast it in quite a while. “I should have expected as much from the military.”

“You’ll have to teach me that one sometime,” Spark told her, the corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk. “I’m sure it would be a useful trick.”

“Halt! Who goes there?” One of the pegasus, who seemed to be the highest ranking of the three stallions, called out to the chariot as it slowed to a stop in front of them. Star and her friends were quiet as they let Brass Heart speak for them.

“Corporal Brass Heart and Private Dawn Glory, by the request of Princess Celestia and Luna of Equestria,” Brass Heart replied in a strictly business tone. “We were sent to lend our assistance with the siege on Cloudsdale. The two civilians, Downpour and Backdraft are accompanying us.” The corporal nodded his head back and Draft waved a hoof at the guards for confirmation, though they could already plainly see him.

“I’m not sure what the princesses are hoping to accomplish by sending two more soldiers and a few extra civilians, but they would know far better than I,” the head guard replied with a shrug of his broad shoulders. “We’re happy to have the help, sir.” He lifted his right foreleg up and saluted, to which the corporal replied with a quick salute himself.

“You three can keep to your post, we’ll find our way to the camp,” Brass Heart assured the stallions.

“Yes, sir!” the three replied as Brass Heart and Dawn resumed pulling the vehicle down the wooded trail.

“It looks like they’ve had a pretty rough couple of weeks,” Dawn observed once the other soldiers had disappeared back into the shadow draped tree line.

“You’re right,” Brass Heart agreed. “It looks as though they haven’t been getting much sleep lately, though I suppose that shouldn’t come as a surprise.”

“Nopony has been sleeping well since we arrived,” Downpour called out from his place at the rear of the group, where he walked just a few steps behind Strata. “At first I thought that it might just be me, what with the stress of being part of a siege and all, but everypony seems to have been having some sort of nightmare each night.” That statement caused Star to perk up, because she had been suffering the same problem for a week or more. It seemed that her mentor hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d said that everypony was experiencing the bad dreams.

“Could it be something that the duke has done?” Star wondered aloud.

“It certainly seems too widespread to be mere coincidence,” Spark replied, slowly scratching his chin as he spoke. “Maybe he’s gotten somewhere with the Crystal Heart already. Could that cause nightmares for the rest of us?” He was clearly asking Ursa, even if he didn’t face the emerald stallion while doing so.

The crystal pony sat upright on the chariot bench and replied, “That is a very good question.” He was silent for a moment as he contemplated the possibility. “I suppose that if Doré Langue managed to actually corrupt the heart it could have some sort of adverse effect such as nightmares, but I cannot say for certain. I would hope that the two are unrelated, because our job will be infinitely more difficult with him wielding that sort of power.” Spark nodded silently once the larger stallion had given his opinion.

“We’ll just have to be even more wary during our mission,” Star chimed in. Overthinking the situation would do little to help anyway, so the sight of the camp up ahead was her excuse for dropping the subject. “This is the spot, right, Draft?” she asked the youngest of the pegasus escorting her.

“Mhmm,” Draft mumbled from above her. It seemed that he had taken wing at some point during their walk, but she had been too focused on the conversation to notice. “There should be another group of guards stepping out to meet us anytime.” Before he had even finished speaking, Spark was already nodding towards a large, dark green shrub on the edge of the wide path. Three more soldiers, two unicorn and one pegasus this time, stepped out from the cover of the serrate leafed foliage, weapons at the ready as they approached with caution in their weary eyes.

“Don’t move!” It sounded to Star as if these soldiers were even more restless than their counterparts further away from the camp. “You’re surrounded.” Sure enough, a glance around revealed three more guards drawing up the rear.

“Stand down, soldier,” Brass Heart replied calmly. “I am Corporal Brass Heart and this is Private Dawn Glory of the Equestrian Royal Guards. We have business with the captain.” The formalities never ended for the military, Star mused.

“On whose orders?” one of the unicorn asked, sounding a bit suspicious and for good reason. Rainbow Strike’s betrayal had obviously made all of the other soldiers more wary of one another’s true loyalties.

“By the orders of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of Equestria,” Brass Heart retorted a bit more forcefully. “Now stand aside, because we can hardly afford to waste more time at this point. The corporal flashed a metallic badge signifying his rank in the military, which seemed to put the newcomers at ease. The five guards stepped away from the path, hooves held up in salute as their comrades passed by on the way to the group of large tents gathered just around the corner.

“They’ve got another spell working over the campsite,” Spark observed quietly as he stared straight ahead. “Most likely the same sort of spell that the patrolling stallions had cast on themselves,” he reasoned. It seemed likely to Star as she peered around the collection of makeshift barracks and lookout posts.

“How can you tell?’ she asked him.

“I can sort of… I suppose sense is the word to use. I can sense the residual magic that’s lingering over this place,” Spark explained.

“Interesting.” His new way of seeing went beyond just sensing objects nearby it seemed. Star began to wonder what else she may have done to him when the spell failed, but before she could ask the cart slowed to a halt in front of the largest tent in the clearing. The makeshift command center was a squat, blue structure with very plain features. It had been tied up to a few tree branches and staked down with thick ropes on each corner. It wasn’t much to look at, but Star imagined that it served its purpose well enough for the captain.

“This is the captain’s tent,” Downpour said as he trotted up along the side of the immobile chariot, stating the obvious in a way that only he could.

“You three can wait here for now,” Brass Heart called back to Star, Spark and Ursa. “Dawn and I need to have a word with our captain, but we’ll send for you when the time comes to plan a new strategy.” It was the most words he had said to Star all day, though she realized that it was only because everypony needed to be told.

“You know where to find us,” Spark replied as he crawled out of the vehicle. The corporal simply nodded and walked away, vanishing through the hanging cloth that served as the command center door. “Downpour, Draft, do the two of you mind taking a stroll with me?” the blind stallion asked. His face was buried in his saddlebags as he rummaged through them in pursuit of something he had packed. Spark paused in his search and then added, “Star, you can come along as well if you’d like.”

“Umm… okay, I suppose,” Star replied.

“What about me?” Ursa asked, sounding just a bit offended at not being included, until he saw what Spark pulled out of his belongings. “Oh, never mind. You four have a good time. That stuff will just put me to sleep.”

“That’s why he didn’t offer, sweetie,” Draft chuckled.

“Oh, I see,” Star said. She’d finally realized out what the purpose of the walk was and had to keep from slapping a hoof in her own face at how long it had taken her to figure it out. “Let’s go,” she continued, her smile dropping away as she noticed Strata’s sullen form slinking past the group. “On second thought, I think that I’ll just stay here,” she amended.

“Well come find me if you change your mind,” Spark said with a shrug of his shoulders and then the three friends headed down the same dirt path that they had just arrived on, leaving Star to console Strata while they were off smoking herbs.

“You don’t have to stay here for my sake,” Strata said as she leaned against the side of the sky chariot. “Just because Downpour is a selfish asshole, that doesn’t mean you should suffer.”

“No, I don’t mind at all,” Star replied with a carefree smile. “The three of us can just find a place to talk instead. Right, Ursa?” The crystal pony shot her an indignant expression, but buckled at the sight of pouting that she responded with.

“Ugh, if you insist,” Ursa sighed. Star smirked as she hopped down from the chariot and started walking off to find a quiet place for the three of them to sit down at. There were soldiers scattered about every part of the campsite, but she was determined to talk in private and the others had nothing better to do at the moment, so they followed dutifully as she searched the entire clearing. It wasn’t long before she discovered a suitable collection of logs that could be used as seats, just near the far end of the camp.

“That still doesn’t give him an excuse to do what he did,” Strata argued with a frown on her face. “How can I ever trust him again?”

Star sighed, staring back into the grief stricken depths of the hippogriff’s brown eyes. Despite having told Downpour to give the situation some time before trying to apologize again, the hypocritical unicorn was attempting to resolve the issue on her own. She hadn’t made much headway though; even with what encouragement Ursa saw fit to offer. The crystal pony shifted on the log he was using as a seat and glanced between his two companions waiting for the answer with actual interest.

“I must admit,” Ursa began with a short sigh, “Although I may not be very fond of Downpour most of the time, he does care about his friends and he cares about you most of all, Strata.” The hippogriff snorted dismissively in reply. “I mean it. He spent the whole trip back from the empire panicking over how he was going to tell you, but he just didn’t have the heart to break yours.”

“No, he didn’t care enough to stop himself from sleeping with another mare,” Strata scoffed. “He was just too much of a coward to come clean about it after the fact. And where is he now? Huh? I certainly don’t see him here trying to make amends.” Star grimaced and swiped a loose strand of hair from her eyes.

“That’s mostly my doing, to be honest,” Star admitted. “I was the one who told him to be patient and give you some time to mull things over before talking again.” Though he agreed more readily than expected, the mare thought. “He truly would want nothing more than to talk to you and beg for your forgiveness, but I don’t think it would matter much right now.” Strata dropped her gaze to the earth and nodded slowly.

“I suppose you’re right,” she sighed. “I’m just, ugh! I’m furious with him!”

“I know,” Star replied, the corners of her mouth turned down unhappily. “I really believe that stallion would do anything to make it up to you though, if you would just give him another chance.” Strata smiled softly and laughed.

“Since when are you his spokespony?” the hippogriff chuckled. “Is he blackmailing you with something even worse?” Star laughed quietly and shook her head.

“Of course not.”

“Star was simply being rational,” Ursa agreed. “The two of you have rather… erm, short fuses. I can see why time to cool off would be beneficial as well.”

“Exactly,” Star said with a nod. “Can you honestly sit there and tell me that you would have listened to his side of the story without punching him or worse?”

“Well, maybe once or twice,” Strata admitted, “but that’s only because he deserves a couple well placed shots to the face and that would still be letting him off easy.” She glared unhappily out at the shaded trail that Downpour had taken with his brother and Spark. That was proof enough for Star that she had given sound advice to the two quarreling lovers.

“I can only imagine how you must be feeling,” Ursa said as the hippogriff turned away from the empty dirt path and back to her companions. “I’m not sure what I would do if Draft ever betrayed me like that. I- I’m not sure that I could forgive him.” He closed his dark green eyes and was quite for a few moments before speaking again. “I would like to think that I could forgive him if he apologized and showed me that he was genuinely sorry, but I’m just not certain.”

“They say that time heals all wounds,” Star offered, not knowing what else to say for comfort.

“They’ve obviously never had their heart broken,” Strata replied quietly.

“No, I suppose not,” Star mumbled under her breath as she looked up at the leafless branches stretching overhead. The sun had vanished behind the thick clouds that hung around the forest below the floating city and now a paltry grey light was all that managed to reach the group as they sat near the edge of the military encampment. The black mare shivered slightly when the breeze picked up and she peered longingly over her shoulder towards the sky chariot, where her cloak waited in her saddlebags.

“Where are you off to?” Ursa questioned as he watched Star stand up from the log she had been resting upon.

“I’m just a little cold,” she replied. “I’m going to the chariot to grab my cloak, so if you want me to grab anything, tell me now.”

“No, I haven’t gotten a manecut in a while, so I’m pretty warm still,” the shaggy stallion replied. “Check around and see if Brass Heart and Dawn are ready for us though, because I’m getting really bored with waiting here. We don’t need to be wasting all of this daylight for nothing.”

“Yes, you’re right,” Star agreed. “I’ll check on them.” Her violet eyes fixed on the largest tent, situated roughly in the middle of the clearing and then she took off at a trot, sidestepping only when one of the many soldiers happened to cross her path. Getting Brass Heart and Dawn to hurry was more important than keeping the chill away, so the unicorn had decided to take care of that business first. She walked up to the thick cloth tied closed over the doorway and hesitated for just a second before pulling the string to loosen it. “Sorry to interrupt, but don’t you think that we have wasted quite enough time,” she called out as she pushed her way into the tent.

“Star!” Brass Heart shouted. “This is the captain’s tent and you do not enter without permission!” His unexpected outburst surprised Star and she tripped over her own hooves as she stepped back in surprise. Thud! She dropped to her flank on the cold earth and blushed crimson from embarrassment.

“Corporal, I don’t think that there is any reason to scare the poor girl half to death,” a mare’s voice scolded. “I’m sorry, but I don’t believe that we have been formally introduced. I am Captain Gale and you are..?” Star stared blankly up at the white maned pegasus, who wore a gleaming helm and nothing else at the moment, too shocked to make her lips form words. “Corporal, is this a friend of yours?”

“That is Discipula Star, ma’am, the personal protégé of Princess Luna,” Brass Heart replied flatly. The captain’s electric blue eyes flickered to her subordinate and she nodded her head understandingly.

“I see,” the captain replied as she shifted back in her seat, taking up a more casual position on the civilian’s account. “Well, on you hooves, Star. What is so important that you needed to push your way into my tent?”

“W- where’s Dawn at?” Star asked. She hadn’t actually meant to give voice to the passing thought, but she’d blurted it out from surprise. The captain’s eyes were mesmerizing and caused the slim mare to radiate with an intensity that could take unsuspecting ponies by surprise.

“That’s why you interrupted?” The captain questioned. “I sent the private to find your friends and let them know that I would be ready to see you all shortly, but obviously some ponies are more impatient than I expected.” Her light blue face broke out in a brief smile before reverting to an emotionless state. “What is it that actually brought you here?” This time the younger mare stood up from the floor and found her voice.

“I am very sorry to interrupt, ma’am,” Star apologized as she quickly brushed the dust from her backside with a flick of her long, dark tail. “We just have an important mission to take care of and were getting a bit impatient. I should have known better than to barge in like I did.”

“Yes, you should have,” Brass Heart chimed in a noticeably annoyed tone.

“No harm came of it,” Captain Gale replied. “Just get permission from now on, Miss Star. I will not grant special privilege to you just because you are the princess’s student, after all.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Star said with a nod. “I’ll wait outside with the others for now. Just send for us whenever you are ready.” The unicorn turned for the door and hurried out, but she managed to catch the next words, spoken at little more than a whisper as she exited the sparsely furnished command tent.

“I really cannot fathom what the princesses are thinking by sending her and her friends into enemy territory. It’s liable to get them all killed.” The captain’s voice caused Star to pause as she glanced back at the bold eyes on the other side of the room, until the cloth door obscured her line of sight.

“That was pitiful,” Star groaned aloud as she headed over to the waiting sky chariot, where she had left her belongings.

“Hey Star,” Dawn called out from the edge of the clearing. He cantered up into view, accompanied by Spark and the pegasus brothers who had gone to smoke with him. “The captain should be ready to meet with you all soon.”

“Yes, I’ve figured out as much,” Star replied as she dug her cloak out from the top of her bag. “I stumbled in there just a moment ago.”

“Oh, so you’ve already met Captain Gale then,” the private laughed. “She’s a bit intense, isn’t she?” Star just nodded her head as the memory of those captivating eyes flashed in her mind.

“Mhmm,” Star mumbled. “I should go fetch Ursa and Strata so we’re ready when the captain wants us.”

“Good idea,” Dawn agreed as he watched the unicorn toss her cloak on with a brief flash of white light. “We’ll wait right here for you.” Spark and his friends joined the soldier near the chariot while she trotted back to the others.

“Ursa, Strata, it’s almost time!” Star shouted over to them, waving a hoof in the air to catch their attention as she did. The two got up from the circle of logs and made their way over to her quickly, despite having to weave through the soldiers hurrying about the place.

“Have the others returned from their walk?” Ursa asked as he slowed to a walk beside Star, who had turned back the way she’d just come from.

“Yes, they’re waiting by the sky chariot, because Captain Gale wishes to meet with us so that we can plan the next move,” Star answered while leading the foreign stallion back to their friends.

“You know Captain Gale?” Strata asked with genuine surprise.

“Not really,” Star admitted. “Before today I only knew the captain by reputation, but what a reputation it is.” The stories of the captain’s prowess in battle were known by nearly everypony in Canterlot, whether young or old. The stories about the mare with eyes that glowed blue were certainly true enough, so many of the other tales that had once seemed exaggerated might be as well, the unicorn thought.

“She does leave quite the impression.” Strata chuckled quietly as they arrived at the chariot, where everypony else was already waiting.

“It should be any minute now,” Star muttered to nopony in particular. She crawled up into the chariot and took a seat on the stiff bench while she waited with the others, yawning just as her eyes caught sight of the first snowflake she had seen in a couple days drifting to the earth. Another followed it and another after that. Soon the entire sky was filled with soft, white flakes that clung to every surface they could. Everypony seemed to move as one, readjusting whatever clothing they had chosen to wear. Ursa was the only exception, unbothered by the chill of the early evening weather.

“The captain will see you now,” Brass Heart called from the opening in the tent. Star groaned quietly as she stood up and jumped back out of the vehicle and followed her friends inside. At the very least she would be escaping the snow, though the coldness emanating from the corporal was another matter entirely. There were no chairs, the small mare noticed, so everypony was forced to stand in front of Captain Gale’s desk as she cleared her throat and prepared to speak. Her bright eyes stole the breath from each of them in turn.

“I am Captain Gale,” the middle aged pegasus began, “and you are all a bunch of troublesome nuisances.” Star could hear one of the stallions trying to stifle a laugh and she nearly choked on her own breath from surprise. “But the princesses have ordered you to help and asked me to use your services, whatever those may be… So let’s discuss the situation and see what we can come up with, shall we?”

Celestia had set the sun hours ago and her younger sister’s celestial powers were already hard at work, raising the moon to its peak. Down in the forest below Cloudsdale, Star and her friends were working just as hard, though they all had much less to show for it. Every plan that they suggested, every possible angle, was dismissed by Captain Gale as being doomed to failure. The constant dismissals and berating of ideas had worn on everypony’s nerves. Tensions were high and tempers flared when Spark took a few steps back and grunted in annoyance. He was the only one not intimidated by the captain’s icy stare, so the effect of her glaring was lost on him.

“I need to step outside and cool off,” the blind stallion griped. “I’ll be back in five minutes. Let me know if you find a solution while I’m out,” he added sarcastically. Not wanting to miss out on another smoking session, Star decided it best to excuse herself as well, though not quite so rudely.

“I, uh, I should probably go check on him,” she mumbled a moment after he had left the stuffy tent behind. “I’ll be back in a few.” The exhausted unicorn hurried out behind her friend, hesitating only slightly as her hoof sunk down into a thick covering of snow that had managed to drape itself over the entire clearing during the course of their meeting with the captain. “Spark, are you around here?”

“Yeah, I’m by the chariot.” His reply was followed by a short coughing fit, lending proof to Star’s assumption that he was smoking.

“Do you mind if I join you?” she asked. Spark simply shrugged his shoulders and sent a small joint floating over to her.

“This is getting really old.”

“She has been making fairly sound points though,” Star replied before bringing the herbs up to her lips and taking a long, slow breath of the thick smoke. “The city is like one big floating brick. I just don’t see how we’re expected to get inside the walls.” She leaned against the chariot as relaxing waves of pleasure began to radiate through her limbs, eliciting an assuredly odd looking grin as she took another puff.

“What about that look-away Spell?” Spark asked. Star offered the rolled up paper back to him and laughed dryly.

“I’m sure that they’ve tried that a few times already,” she replied. Spark rubbed a hoof over his bloodshot eyes and sighed deeply in frustration.

“We don’t have time for this,” he complained. The tip of the joint flared bright red as he took a long drag and held the smoke in for a short time before exhaling. “There’s just no way in Tartarus that we can get through the city’s defenses. Rainbow Strike is sure to have his stallions watching for enemies every second of the day.” The blind stallion’s words caused his companion’s breath to catch in her throat as she stared up at him in shock.

“That’s it!” Star cried happily, her violet eyes alive with fevered thoughts of a solution to their current predicament.

“What? What’s it?”

“Rainbow Strike won’t let any Equestrian through the gates of Cloudsdale,” Star replied, her voice still ringing with glee.

“Yes, I just said that,” Spark responded flatly. He fixed her with a puzzled expression, but the young mare was already caught up in the excitement of her idea and failed to notice. “How is that good news?”

“We just need to send in one of his allies!”

“Mhmm… well, you’ve lost me, but I like the enthusiasm,” Spark chuckled, “so let’s go back and have you explain it to everypony at the same time.” Star smiled back at him and nodded eagerly. She was almost certain that her plan would work, if only she could manage to cast a certain spell.

Star took off towards the command tent at a steady trot and called back, “Hurry! I want to get started on this as soon as possible,” before ducking through the door, leaving Spark to catch up with her just a few moments later.

“So you’ve wasted enough of my time then?” Captain Gale’s question cut through the awkward silence of the tent as Star tried to catch her breath and start speaking all at the same time.

“No… well, yes, but I- I had an idea.” Star stumbled over her own words as she tried to explain the plan she had come up with. “Rainbow Strike won’t attack us if we aren’t us.”

“I already told her that she wasn’t making much sense,” Spark interrupted. “But we should at least hear her out. Princess Luna fully trusts in Star’s judgment, so we should at the very least offer her the benefit of the doubt.”

“We just have to disguise ourselves as allies of those traitors hiding in the city,” Star expounded. “If we can make ourselves look like crystal ponies then he may let us in the city. We may even find out what drove him to betray the princesses. Everypony’s eyes turned back to the captain once Star had finished speaking. They were all waiting for her to tear apart their friend’s suggestion and expose its flaws, but were soon caught by surprise instead.

“What exactly do you have in mind?” Captain Gale questioned with peaked interest.

“I think that I have a spell that we may be able to use for this,” Star replied. “I’ll have to practice it for a bit to make sure that I can still remember how to perform it, but with a little luck I think it will do the trick.” The light blue mare behind the desk folded her hooves atop one another and leaned in, interest etched on every feature of her stern face as she waited for more. “I can disguise some of us as crystal ponies and we’ll stroll right into the city underneath the former sergeant’s muzzle.

“Could that really work?” Dawn asked from his place beside Brass Heart.

“Yes, I think she may actually be on to something,” Brass Heart replied quietly. Even if he was upset with the unicorn, the corporal had to acknowledge a good idea when he heard one. “What do you think, captain?”

“It’s extremely risky,” Captain Gale replied in a measured tone. “If he catches on, then I have no doubt Rainbow Strike will kill whoever tries this…” She fell silent for a moment and Star feared that her plan was over before it had even begun. “But we don’t have any other choice as far as I can see.”

“This all relies on Star being able to cast this spell on enough of us to take back the city though,” Downpour reminded them. “I know that you’re good at magic and all, but it seems like that would be difficult for anypony to pull off.”

“It would be,” Spark agreed with a curt nod of his head. “But if anypony can do this it’s her.” Star beamed over at him, glad to have the faith of a friend backing her up.

“I’m with him on this,” Draft agreed. “Star is our best bet for success.”

“I suppose that settle it then,” Captain Gale said as she sat up straight in her seat and fixed the group with a deadpan stare. “I would suggest that you all make peace with your demons before tomorrow, because there may not be another chance after that.” Star swallowed dryly at the forewarning, but her resolve was unwavering. They needed to snuff out Rainbow Strike’s treachery as soon as possible and the small mare intended to do just that, no matter the consequences. The princesses were counting on her and her friends to succeed, after all.

“How long do we have to prepare?” Strata asked. Her voice was much less forceful than usual as she spoke up from her place near the front door of the candlelit tent. “How long will this plan take?”

“Just long enough for me to perfect the spell,” Star replied.

“And how exactly are you planning on doing that?” Brass Heart questioned. “If I recall correctly, you’ve never actually seen the duke nor any of his soldiers.” Star’s eyes flashed wide as the truth of the corporal’s statement cut through her previous excitement like a stray lightning bolt on an otherwise gorgeous afternoon.

“I… I hadn’t thought of that,” the unicorn reluctantly admitted. Her idea had crumbled before it could even really begin to take shape. “Damn.”

A hush fell over the gathered occupants of the command tent as yet another plan fell through before it could be enacted. Star slumped visibly at having over looked such a vital detail. Things were beginning to look hopeless and they hadn’t even started their real mission. She could hear whispers from her friends as she stared down at the dirt floor underhoof. No doubt whispers about how stupid a mistake she had made, the youngest of the group mused. Somepony cleared their throat a moment later as if preparing to speak, so Star reluctantly lifted her gaze back to the captain, expecting to be berated for having wasted precious time.

“I’ve seen Doré Langue up close,” Draft said, breaking the silence with a few honest words. “And some of the palace guards as well.”

“So have Ursa and me,” Downpour agreed.

“You two don’t have magic though,” Spark replied flatly, “at least, not the kind that can disguise somepony’s identity.”

“But maybe we can describe them to Star and have her create the illusion from that,” Draft hopefully suggested. Both of the brother’s turned to the unicorn, awaiting her answer. “Well?”

‘I- it’s… possible?” Star hesitantly replied. “I can certainly make an attempt.”

“That’s good enough for me,” Downpour said with a grin. “I suppose that it’s up to Captain Gale to decide though.” Star and her friends fixed the captain with their pleading eyes as she quietly contemplated her answer. Light blue hooves tapped rhythmically against the hardwood desk for a short time before finally coming to a rest.

“I do not see how this little project of yours could impede on my work, so I will allow it,” Captain Gale sighed. “I will however, ask that you be sure not to get in the way of me or my soldiers while staying here. Draft, Downpour and Strata, the same goes for the three of you as long as you are off helping your friends.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the brother’s replied in unison. Strata simply nodded her confirmation of the rule.

“I will be working to find a backup plan should this scheme of yours fail to garner the results we require for victory,” the captain explained. “I received word from the princesses shortly before your arrival and they gave me two days to break Rainbow Strike’s hold on the city. You have until tomorrow night.” The older mare’s words hung heavy in the muggy air. Star and her friends had only a day to ready themselves and she was uncertain that they would find success.

“Very well,” Brass Heart replied with a quick salute in his commanding officer’s direction. “I would make a request though.” The captain’s vivid gaze fixed on the corporal with only mild curiosity. “Please, allow Private Dawn and myself to keep working with them while we are here.”

“Yes, of course, corporal,” Captain Gale replied with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “I had assumed that much was to be expected.”

“Oh, well thank you, Captain Gale,” Dawn chuckled. The captain didn’t return his laughter, but instead dismissed all of them with a wave.

“Good luck,” she called after them as they filed out of the single opening into the snowy night outside. A soft, white blanket had draped itself over the whole of the barren forest, falsely claiming tranquility despite the den of traitorous enemies floating high above. Star closed out the image of the night sky and took a deep breath, allowing the herbs to relax her and ease some of the stressful pressure that she could feel creeping ever so quickly into her thoughts.

“I suppose that we should find a quiet place and get started then.” The unicorn peered around the clearing and inevitably settled on using the area around the flying chariot. It was one of the few places that they could be sure nopony would bother them. “I just need the help of Downpour, Draft and Ursa for the time being, so everypony else may want to take this opportunity to sleep, while you have the chance.”

“Heh, well you don’t have to tell me twice,” Spark chuckled. He crouched down slightly and stretched each of his long legs out in a satisfying stretch before yawning and taking the first few unsteady steps toward the vehicle, where his saddlebags held his blankets and their lightweight tents. “Good night,” the unicorn called out as he slung the bags over his back and strolled off to find a flat place to make camp. The others followed suit until there were only three left around the snow covered chariot.

“First things first,” Star finally spoke. She dug around in her own bags with her magic for a few seconds before eventually pulling out a rather thick book that appeared to be made up of various scraps of paper and notes written in precise script. Downpour, Draft and Ursa’s faces each hardened with determination to equal her own. “I will find the spell we need, while the three of you describe the duke’s appearance and his mannerisms.” The moonlight was just enough for her to read the texts, but it was disappearing fast as the weather worsened around them. The young mare’s horn glowed brightly and she illuminated the area around them with the glow of her horn. “We have quite a few preparations to make if we expect to have any chance of victory.” The three stallions nodded once and soon started discussing each and every little detail they could recall from their single meeting with the enemy, while Star scanned over page after page of her notes, looking for the transformation spell she needed to perfect in one day’s time.

Author's Note

After a very long wait, I present Chapter 7. Star and the others have reached their friends and began the first part of their mission, sidestepping her personal issues for the time being. She's not too bad at that is she?
Well, I had expected to have this up at least a week earlier, but unforeseen circumstances have left me working seven days a week, so it took a bit to finish. I hope that it lives up to the wait and I'm glad to be writing this story again, even if only a little at a time. I actually rewrote the first quarter at one point because I had been having trouble getting back into the flow. I hope that doesn't have to happen again anytime soon. Expect another chapter sometime this month. I wish I could be more presise, but summertime has left me very busy.

I. Discipula Star

~Prologue~

“The pursuit of magic is as infinite as the pursuit of knowledge and no great power may be used until it is first understood.”

~Scroll Wyrm the Scholar (Year 299 of Discord’s War)

Darkness surrounded Mi Amore Serenade, the Crystal Empress, who sat alone in the depths of Duke Doré Langue’s dungeon; the stallion whom she and her husband had placed so much trust in that they’d positioned him as steward of the Crystal Empire’s throne in the unlikely event that they were unable to rule. Such betrayal was the least of the empress’s worries at that moment however, because the sound of approaching hoofsteps echoed somewhere out in the oppressive blackness, sending a sickening shiver through her body. There was no way for Serenade to tell how long it had been since she’d awoken as the duke’s prisoner, unable to use her magic due to some unknown curse that had been placed upon her while she was unconscious, but every so often, Doré Langue would take a trip down into the depth of his lightless, damp prison to check up on his captive. He would stand above Serenade, spouting insane ideas of acquiring a power beyond anything that the world had ever seen and all the while trying to use his magic to force thoughts into her mind. At first the empress had assumed that the traitorous duke had gone insane and fought back against his mental attacks, but then he had brought another unicorn with him into her cell.

Though Doré Langue’s demented ranting had made Empress Serenade uneasy, it was this other unicorn who truly terrified her. The first time he had come into her prison, the younger pony hadn’t spoken a single word, choosing to stand back and watch as the duke had berated her and screamed about getting his due. This mysterious other stallion’s dark green eyes had stared into the empress’s sapphire ones from the darkness, boring into her in a way that his companion’s magic never could. It took three more visits before the menacing stallion had finally spoken to her, calling himself Sombra. He showed her a book on that visit; a book of ancient spells and forgotten magic. The intimidating stallion also talked of gaining power, but unlike the duke, whose speeches sounded like nothing more than impassioned delusions of grandeur, Sombra spoke calmly and with an unwavering conviction that chilled the empress to her core. She believed every terrible word that the unicorn spoke and it frightened her totally and completely.

There was a scraping sound as the key to her cell door was thrust into its lock, followed by a sharp clicking and the grating of rusted metal against rusted metal as somepony forced it open. Serenade wanted to close her eyes, but fear held her lids in place. The empress stared towards the entrance, shivering in the dim light that spilled in; silhouetting Sombra as he slowly entered the musty chamber in which she was imprisoned. Torchlight reflected off of his green eyes as he turned around and pulled the door closed behind him, leaving the room pitch black once again.

“Now now, my dear, sweet Empress Serenade,” Sombra cooed to her in a voice dripping with faux concern, “there is no need to look so afraid. I didn’t come here to cause you too much harm… yet.” The black stallion took a few, slow steps towards the alicorn and she tried to back away, but the chains around her slender neck and limbs dug into her flesh and held her in place.

“Wh- why are you doing this? What do you want from me?” Empress Serenade asked, her voice betraying the terror that she felt inside. “You two have poisoned my husband’s mind and taken me prisoner, so why not just claim the throne now? Why keep me chained up down here?” The empress choked with emotion as she questioned her captor, but no tears spilled down her dark pink cheeks. They had long since dried up and worries about what the two vile stallions were going to do with her beloved Adagio were to blame.

“I am afraid that I cannot claim credit for the emperor’s current condition,” Sombra replied as he took another step towards her in the darkness. “That victory was thanks to my former teacher, Doré Langue. I must admit that I didn’t think it would even be possible for him to get inside the mind of an immortal, but I suppose he is nothing if not persistent when it comes to grasping the power that he feels he is owed,” he calmly explained. “In fact, this entire plan was his idea, believe it or not.”

“You’re both monsters!” Serenade screamed at him in a voice rasping from dehydration.

“I suppose from where you’re standing, or sitting as it were, the duke would seem like a monster, but you would be wrong about that,” the large, dark grey stallion replied with a smile, as he leaned in closer to Serenade’s pale face. “You see, Doré Langue is just a stallion like any other, but sadly, being born into royalty has left him with an heir of entitlement and a craving for that which he cannot have. Those were the qualities that made him yearn for the powers of an immortal, but they are also the qualities which make him weak. I, on the other hoof, have had to struggle and fight to get where I am today, but that has tempered me and made me strong.” He took another step and the empress cringed. “I am the true monster here, your majesty. It is a quality to be admired, would you not agree?”

“Go to Tartarus,” Serenade replied before spitting in Sombra’s face. He simply smiled back at her and wiped a hoof across his sticky, grey cheek.

“That is very unbecoming language for somepony of your status to be using, your majesty,” Sombra told the empress in a measured tone, before suddenly striking her across the face, breaking the skin above Serenade’s right eye and knocking her to the cold, stone floor, where she lay in a daze. “Just because I haven’t yet figured out how to destroy you, does not mean that I cannot cause you pain, Empress Mi Amore Serenade,” he added vehemently, as his horn began to glow with magical energy. The empress squeezed her sapphire colored eyes shut as electric pain washed over her entire body, sending her into violent convulsions that rattled the chains which bound her to the wall.

“Please… no more…” Serenade begged the stallion as he stood, towering over her helpless form with a wicked smile spreading across his features.

“I am getting very close to unleashing the power that I have been so desperately trying to attain,” Sombra stated, as he turned away from the shivering alicorn. “Enjoy your last few days alive.” He glanced back to the empress as he said this, enjoying the sight of her malnourished body curled into a shuddering heap for a few moments and then he was gone. Serenade was left to the darkness again, but given a choice between the lonely nothingness and Sombra, she would have picked the darkness every time.

Duke Doré Langue was waiting for his former student turned partner in the main hall of his mansion when Sombra finally ascended from the sprawling basement dungeon far below. The older stallion was wearing a scowl as Sombra walked over to him, smiling all the while. Doré Langue hadn’t known that his former student was planning on visiting the empress and judging by the look on his crimson face, Sombra assumed that the duke wasn’t very happy with him. The young unicorn didn’t care though; his former mentor was little more than a crazy old fool these days, so he ignored the glaring, orange gaze and continued right past the irritated duke, taking slow, casual strides as he crossed the polished floors.

“What were you doing down there?” Doré Langue questioned, his tone giving away the fact that he was practically seething with rage. “I’ve told you not to enter Serenade’s cell without first asking my permission. She is my prisoner after all.” The younger stallion didn’t even acknowledge that the aristocrat had been speaking to him. “Don’t you dare ignore me, Sombra!” Doré Langue screamed after his former student, who finally turned around to face him.

“I just needed to test one of the book’s spells to see if I had figured it out,” Sombra replied cockily. “Since you insisted that I stop torturing your servants, I decided to try it out on the empress.” The duke opened his mouth to respond, but seemed to be caught between the agitation of having his orders disobeyed and curiosity as to whether or not his partner had managed to perform a spell from Starswirl’s book.

“Well, did it work or did it not?” Doré Langue asked him after a moment. The aristocratic pony’s eyes flashed with wicked glee as the dark grey stallion laughed at his question.

“Oh, it worked wonderfully,” Sombra responded before turning back around and continuing down the hall. Sombra was unpredictable, that much could not be argued, but Doré Langue knew that his former student had an uncanny ability to perform almost any spell that he studied, which made him indispensible in acquiring the power to rule over the Crystal Empire. It was a power that the duke had nurtured in his pupil since the first day he had begun to teach him, all those years ago. Sentimental thoughts like those had no place in the duke’s plans however, so the very instant that Sombra’s erratic nature became a problem, Doré Langue would not hesitate to destroy the willful stallion’s mind. It may have been cruel to think such a thing, but nopony would stand in the way of what the duke knew to be his destiny. He would take the throne and lead the Crystal Empire into a Golden Age, the likes of which hadn’t been seen since before Discord’s reign.

I. Discipula Star

Author's Note

I'm thrilled to be starting on book 2 of The Crystal War trilogy and I hope you all are just as excited to be reading. You can expect much of the same action and emotional turmoil from the first book, although pushed even further. You may have noticed that the rating has been set to mature, but that's mostly as a precaution, so you don't have to worry about this story getting too violent or sexual. Anywho, we open with the Crystal Empress being held prisoner by Doré Langue and Sombra, who seem to be nearing the completion of their plan...