Harmony Rising (DO NOT READ YET)

Chapters

Prologue I - Shadowed Gold
Prologue II - The Capture
Chapter One - Essence Of Loyalty
Chapter Two - Leaf Canopy
Chapter Three - Who Just Screamed?

Prologue I - Shadowed Gold

Twilight Sparkle yawned as she clopped loudly down the stairs from the second floor of her library, gasping blearily as the early morning sun shone through the open window and into her slightly bloodshot eyes.

“Ughh, so many books to read…I must’ve been up most of the night reading. But hey, at least I’ll be ready for that big test! But these books are so…common! I must’ve read them a million times! If only I had a new one! Maybe some ancient histo-“

She was interrupted by a small, timid knock at the door. Recognizing the sound, she trotted over to it and opened it.

“Morning, Fluttershy.”

But there was no one there, just a simple nondescript book with a brown leather cover with a depiction of Nightmare Moon on it. She picked it up with her magic and began to walk back up towards her bed while reading at the same time.

“In ancient days, the land of Equestria was peaceful and prosperous. But then, five hundred years ago, a dark influence overtook the Princess Minor, Luna, and she transformed into the Queen of the Night, Nightmare Moon…"

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“Princess!”

The white stallion galloped in, his hooves clicking on the rough stones as the fading torchlight reflected off his golden armor. His breath heavy, he approached a throne, melancholy in its misplaced splendor.

“It’s worse than we though. The darkness is spreading. I’m sorry, but your sister may not be coming back. The Eastern Outpost of Seris has fallen and Aurivis is exposed and unprepared. Please, you need to do something! I know she’s precious to you, but some things are inevitable. It all comes down to one question. Which is more important; Equestria? Or your sister?”

A glimmering tear broke its fall upon the base of the throne, the flickering torch barely lighting up the room as a gold-shod white hoof slammed down upon the stones before the ornate seat.

“Enough! I refuse to sit passively by as my own sister destroys my kingdom and slaughters my people! Go now. Take three battalions of the Elite Guard to Aurivis. Make sure that you have at least two platoons of archers and the Third Battalion. Last I checked, they were under the command of Captain Mirror Shard. Make sure to take your own battalion as well.”

The stallion nodded sharply. “And the Eastern Outpost?”

“No need, Commander. I’ll take care of Seris personally.”

The stallion nodded once more and began to gallop out once more, the dying torch finally flickering out, the white alicorn’s horn the only visible source of light in the gloom. Staring out of the dim, ancient castle at the dark forest, she whispered softly to herself.

“You’ve gone too far this time, Luna. Too far.”

Looking down at her golden-shod hooves, instead of reflecting the moon as they should, the cursed sky was reflected, making the horseshoes appear dark. She shuddered as the blackness consumed the night, her great magic making hardly a dent upon the shadows. As the blackness spread, Celestia peered out, but saw no sign of her young sister.

Prologue II - The Capture

Twilight Sparkle leaned forward even more, fascinated and drawn in by the

accounts written in the ancient, flowing print of the book. Her eyes unfocused as she absorbed ever more of the text. She heard a faint voice as Spike muttered something about a pony at the door and muttered a noncommittal response, not taking her eyes off of the leatherbound tome for even a single second.

“A Detailing Of The Seventh Year Of The War - An Accurate Account…”

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“CHARGE!”

Commander Skystrafe Galathandros brandished his wingblades and rushed forward with his troops in a headlong gallop. The cloud of darkness in front of them parted in before their torches, revealing the twisted creatures behind the cloud, the hideous Yrch, half-serpentine creatures with strange constructs drilled into their heads that not only allowed them to use magic but also allowed them to stay bent to the will of Nightmare Moon with the strange mind-probe that was created by the Queen of the Night.

The Second Battalion of Equestria scythed through them, cutting them down, but for each yrk killed, another two slithered up in its place. The second battalion turned and rushed back, leaving room for the Third, a battalion of spearponies and halbardiers.

The Yrch were clustered around the walled city of Aurivis, all of them concealed in similar cloaks of shadows. The garrison of Aurivis was sadly lacking, and so Princess Celestia send three battalions, each one numbering almost one-thousand strong, to defend the city with the skills of the Elite Royal Guard.

The first, known as The First Battalion Of The Equestrian Royal Guard, or simply The First Battalion for short, was in the authority of High Captain Sumira, an earth pony mare who had risen through the ranks faster than any other pony in the history of the Royal Guard. Her strength lay in her lightning-swift attacks with her trademark silver daggers, which she could hurl at a moment’s notice.

The Second Battalion was commanded by Commander Skystrafe Galathandros, a white pegasus stallion with an ice-blue and golden jagged-cut mane and tail. The princess trusted him above the other two ponies commanding the battalions.

Finally, the last one was commanded by another stallion, a unicorn named Captain Mirror Shard, famous for his mirror-like blade, which shed blood like water off a ducks feathers. Matching his name once more, both his mane and his shining, rippling coat were shades of gray, his mane just the slightest bit lighter than his coat. He was the oldest of the three, and his silver mane was flaked with specks of an even lighter gray, showing his age.

Commander Skystrafe used his powerful wings equipped with the razor-sharp starsteel blades to cut the entire leg of a yrk off, crippling it and sending it face down in the dry dust. A primal yell echoed from his mouth as he cut at the next yrk in line, taking its head off in a single sweep of the legendary family heirlooms, forged from the metal of a falling star that guided the path of the first settlers to where Canterlot would be built.

The scaly, sickly green head toppled to the ground, followed by the body. He used his left forehoof to wipe a sheen of sweat off of his muzzle. As much as he hated to admit it, the sheer numbers of the enemy were beating them down. He turned to his battalion and gave the order.

“Retreat! Second Batallion, retreat!”

The words left a bad taste in his mouth as he turned and began to fly back to the gate of Aurivis. Suddenly, he felt a strange numbness take hold of him and found that he was transfixed by a dark power. Soon, though, he began to move again, but this time, he began to move backwards.

He touched down and his hooves scrambled uselessly at the dust as he futilely attempted to break the hold of the magic, until soon afterwards, when he felt the dark power take hold of his mind and his vision flashed red and then turned black as he slipped into unconsciousness.

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Celestia flew silently towards the East Outpost of Seris, her white wings hardly even making a whistle as she soared before the blackness of the sky. Her keen lavender eyes picked out a slight movement on the landscape in the corner of her eyes, and she looked down to see a lone pony limping across the landscape below. She angled stealthily downward and began to descend in vast spirals.

As she landed, the earth pony approached her, blood streaming from a gash on her face, the thick red liquid pouring into her eye and veiling her almond-shaped leaf-green eyes and from numerous more wounds on her body, some more severe than others.

Celestia approached her, her eyes filled with concern. Sumira stumbled and fell, her knees buckling under her as Celestia drew close. The High Captain looked up at the alicorn, her green eyes full of anguish. Her voice was raspy and barely more than a harsh whisper.

“Aurivis…gone. All gone, all…gone… Mirror…the Commander…captured…help them…gone to…Seris. Leave me and…help them.”

Celestia shook her head frantically, bending down next to Sumira.

“I cannot, Captain. I need you more than ever now. You know, I depend on you three, and I need your help to get the others back. Tell me, how many of the soldiers escaped?”

“None…Ever pony…all of them…slaughtered…I’m sorry…”

“Sumira, there’s nothing to be sorry for. You did all you could. Now, you need help.”

She placed her long, white horn at the center of the most severe of the wounds and pulsed a gentle flow of magic down it. The wound began to melt closed, leaving only a faint scar which was soon covered over by the lustrous cerulean coat.

Only having time to seal the first one near the war zone, she picked up the High Captain and began to channel her immense magical power through her horn, which began to emanate a blinding sun-yellow aura which expanded by the second until is covered more than two meters of the grass, rays streaking from the great yellow orb like the sun which she controlled.

In an instant, the sphere flashed to over seven meters in diameter, grew a blinding white and suddenly vanished, blinking out of existence like the sun behind a solar eclipse.

Back in the ruined castle, they appeared again, rays of golden light streaking from the windows and doors. Celestia touched her horn to Sumira’s forehead and sent her into a deep magical sleep to recuperate in. Finally, she bent light the captain with her magic to make her invisible in case an odd yrk managed to stumble by, and took off once more, heading towards the East Outpost again, with new purpose and a thirst for revenge.

Chapter One - Essence Of Loyalty

Twilight held her breath at the descriptions of the war in the book, especially thrilled by the descriptions of her mentor’s magic. Her eyes suddenly flicked upwards as she voiced a thought aloud.

“Why didn’t the Princess teach me healing magic? I didn’t even know it still existed! Unless...No way. She was MORE powerful?! But...but...That would mean Nightmare Moon would be too! Oh, I HAVE to see how this ends!

She once again dove nearly headfirst into the book, hastily re-immersing herself in the ancient world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sumira woke up alone.

She groaned and flexed for a moment before realizing that she should’ve been screaming in pain, and yet wasn’t. Looking down at her body, she realized that she was simply healed. Although she had no idea how, her wounds were gone and all that remained was a few thin lines of scar tissue. Flexing a few more times, she finally accepted that she was indeed healed, and even that her belt of twelve razor-sharp daggers was by her side, newly honed and ready for battle.

A wicked grin began to spread over her angular face, and she picked up the shoulderbelt in her hooves, draping it diagonally over her body and cinching the buckle tight. She flipped a dagger in her hoof experimentally, then flicked it at the dead torch on the wall. It slammed in, punching through and burying itself halfway to the hilt in the hard maple wood.

The grin grew larger and she retrieved the dagger, slipping it back into the sheath and walking towards the door. She quietly trotted out, her hooves making barely a sound on the stones. Struck with a sudden thought, she took a sharp left, walking into a dark room full of large cases and ponyquins. She walked to the third case from the left and opened it, revealing a suit of light leather armor tailored to the size of an adult earth pony mare. In fact, it was tailor-made to her. She carefully removed the belt and set it on a nearby table.

She donned the armor, closing the buckles and tying the laces, then once more strapped on her belt and exited the room. As it always was in the war, the land and sky were both black as ink, showing the dominion of Nightmare Moon. She trotted back into the ruined throne room and picked up her saddlebags and a torch, then scuffling through her saddlebags until she found what she was looking for, a flat lump of flint about the size of her hoof. She drew out a dagger once more and scraped it against the flint, causing sparks to shower onto the torch. After several tries, the resin-soaked wood caught, flaring into life with a surging sound.

As it crackled its merry song, the inky darkness fell back, the torch lighting up the rough stones. The mare began to pick her way carefully through the rubble, using the torch as a guide as to where her hooves should be place. Twice, she nearly fell off of the battlements due to tripping on a loose pile of stone. Finally, she reached the final door to the outside and opened it, then bracing herself for passing through the Ward, the magical barrier that kept the castle safe. But when she cantered out of the door, she was horrified to see a huge rift in the glowing white bubble, a glaring crack through which darkness was even now beginning to seep through. Sumira uttered a foul oath, knowing full well how important the Ward was. She stopped in front of the crack, gauging it’s magnitude, which was no less than thirteen meters across and twice that in height. She briefly contemplated asking a unicorn to mend it, but quickly discarded the idea. Only Celestia had the massive, raw power to generate and maintain a magical shield of such size and strength as to protect the great, ancestral fortress.

"Sivin! Rimi'e! Where are you?"

At her familiar voice, two unicorns, one a mare and one a stallion, crept out of a dimly lit tower, their heads low as they slunk towards the Captain. She signed in exasperation. Sivin and Rimi'e were former slaves, freed from Nightmare Moon before...well, nopony really knew WHAT happened to the ponies that she captured, save that they were never seen again. Sumira had a small suspicion, but never voiced it to anypony save herself. The two used to be Luna's retainers, full of life and energy, but ever since they had returned, they could not speak, and went everywhere with their heads low and their eyes sad, seldom showing any other emotion. Celestia had told Sumira in private that parts of their souls had been taken by Nightmare Moon, and they would always be as such.

As they drew close enough for Sumira to speak to them, she pointed a hoof at the gash in the Ward, clearly highlighting it.

"You see this, you two? From now until this gap is gone, I want at least one of you to be here, awake and alert at all times. Don't let anypony you don't know in unless I'm with them or the Princess is. Got it?"

They nodded slowly, and she did the same in return before galloping off into the darkness, the torch in her mouth a font of glowing light.

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“Unnghhhh…”

The silhouette of a stallion uttered a bestial groan as pain once again surged through his body. His normally impeccably spiked mane was torn and disheveled, and his brilliant white coat was matted and filthy. He was hanging from his forelegs, shackled in chains, and his hind legs were also chained down, stretching him just far enough to cause intense, excruciating pain whenever the chains were tugged, but not far enough as to put him into a blissful state of unconsciousness. Nearby, an older stallion was caught in a similar scenario, both of them enshrouded in a dense cloud of darkness just dense enough to cloak their identities.

A clanking sound emanated through the room and the stallion groaned once more, the great iron chains stretching his forelegs until they threatened to pop out of their sockets. His hind legs were in the same predicament as he strained against the pain. After what seemed an interminable amount of time, the pressure finally began to ease and he slumped back down as far as he could. His light blue eyes, though not empty and dull, were tired, worn and haunted from suffering.. His mouth dropped suddenly as the door to the torture chamber crashed open, and in stepped a magisterial black alicorn. She was clad in light blue armor and trailing clouds of stars hung in her ethereal mane. In any other situations, she would be beautiful, but her cold, slitted eyes betrayed her inner evil. She smiled maliciously at the first stallion. He was a unicorn, his cutie mark a silver sword, his mane and coat both a dull gray. His normally perpetually busy violet eyes were glazed over, and he hung without struggling, like a marionette with its strings cut through.

As her gaze shifting to the second, younger stallion, her mouth twisted into a contemptuous smirk as she saw his eyes, which though not sharp as before, were still focused, staring at her attentively. As she spoke to him, her words were like oil sliding upon ice, smooth, yet tainted with cruelty

“Hmm. Still resisting, are you, Commander? I didn’t realize your will was so strong. It will be harder than I had imagined to break you. But don’t worry. Soon enough, you’ll join your friend over there. Then we can begin with the real fun!” She pointed to Captain Mirror Shard, smiling once more as he made no move whatsoever. Skystrafe looked at him with horror as the Queen of the Night rolled back the veil of shadows, revealing the hollow shell of his dearest companion. His normally shimmering coat and mane were darker and had lost much of their inner lustre, and his eyes looked like that of a dead pony. Chancing a quick glance around, he saw a third set of chains, and his breath caught, before realizing that the chains were empty. He allowed himself an inner sigh of relief. Sumira had escaped.

"So, Commander, does it hurt? Does it sting to know that you're about to have everything taken away from you? Now you will know MY pain! Now you will suffer for what I suffered, and for what you and everypony gave my darling sister!" She spat the last few words out as if they could kill Celestia then and there.

The alicorn fixed Skystrafe's gaze, her icy, catlike eyes boring into his own. His eyes dropped as his lips began to move, forming words. His voice was haunted, creaking with strain as he spoke a single syllable.

“Why?"

Nightmare Moon stepped back a pace as if struck, the word appearing to pain her almost physically. Then her eyes narrowed and she stepped forward once more, drawing her face close to his.

“You know full well why, you pitiful thing. You lavished everything upon Celestia. She raises the sun, after all.” She let out a mirthless laugh. "And what do I get? Nothing. I'm just the little sister, the one that makes the moon and stars, those little unnecessary objects that nopony cares anything for. I will be downtrodden no longer!" The white pony shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry. I truly am. You feel so alone, and you can't seem to understand how much your sisters cares about you. It must be a sad life, to be so ignorant of the truth." Enraged, Nightmare Moon pivoted and lashed out, catching him in the stomach with her back hooves. He let out a weak gasp and went limp, his mind fading to darkness filled with twisted, dark dreams.

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Celestia’s wings pumped, driving her forward with great speed as she streaked towards the East Outpost, which loomed on the horizon, cloaked in darkness. Her horn shone with her fury turned to magic, lighting up the sky like a comet as she cut through the darkness. Thoughts were blazing through her head, but one burned brighter than the rest.

How dare she? HOW DARE SHE!?

A single pony on the ground noticed her golden trail. Sumira began to sprint, breaking from her forced-march pace into a full gallop as she raced after Celestia. Her legs were like liquid springs, flowing, shifting as she shot over the grass, her hooves barely skimming the ground. Only then did she notice the Outpost in the distance and saw the convergence point between it and Celestia. She muttered something under her breath and changed her course, this time racing towards Seris as fast as her legs could take her, the torch still clenched in her mouth beginning to sputter, almost of its own volition. As she drew closer, so too did the torch grow dimmer. Finally, as she touched the first stones of the remains of the cobble road, it flickered and died altogether, leaving her in the thick, sinister darkness.

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Commander Galathandros bolted up from an uneasy sleep on the chains to a loud crash. A bright, almost blinding glow shone through his eyelids, and as he opened them, his mouth fell open. Princess Celestia stood in the doorway, her eyes and horn blazing as she clashed with the Queen of the Night. They each vied for dominance as their swords flickered and darted like silver snaketongues, each surrounded by the respective magical auras of Nightmare Moon and Celestia. But slowly and surely, Celestia was gaining the advantage. Even with the sun blocked, her magical reserves were still vast and her magic could guard better against each strike and move the sword faster. The dark alicorn knew then that she had met her match. When Celestia was enraged, she truly became a goddess. Her pupils were gone, her eyes pure glowing white with raw magical power, and Nightmare Moon knew she couldn’t stand much longer in a fair fight. So instead, she put up a magical barrier and used the brief reprieve as Celestia beat at the shield to swing her sword to the side, placing the edge at Skystrafe’s throat.

“Back down, Celestia, and go, or I’ll slit this pathetic creature’s throat and leave him to rot.”

Celestia’s sword stopped midslice, and hovered quivering in the air, poised to break the shield. Slowly, she let the blade drop until it touched softly to the ground. She turned to go, and before she could react, Nightmare Moon raised her sword and chopped at her neck. The embodiment of the sun knew that she couldn’t turn fast enough, and braced herself for the end.

It never came.

The sword was torn from the dark creature’s magic and as the evil mare started in surprise, it clattered to the ground alongside a silver dagger, sounding a ringing clang. The high window was shaded as the form of a pony wearing armor appeared in it, and Sumira leapt into the room with a startling warcry. Celestia snatched up her sword once more and aimed it for the black alicorn’s throat, just missing as the regent of shadows swiftly morphed into mist and darted away, accompanied by chilling laughter. The sword, however, continued on it’s track, instead severing the chains that bound Skystrafe’s forelegs and hind legs. He dropped to his hooves, grinning a halfhearted smile as his legs, weakened from hanging for days, gave way beneath him. There was a soft clang beside him, and he looked to the side to see his wingblades sitting there, shining invitingly in Celestia’s glow. She approached him, smiling tenderly.

“I found them in the armory on the way in. I thought you’d like them back, Commander.”

Digging deep inside of himself, Galathandros found a hidden reserve of strength and slowly lifted himself from the ground, grabbing the blades in his hooves and fitting them in their proper places before closing all of the buckles that held them in place. Feeling the familiar weights upon his wings, his spirits were lifted and he stood to attention and saluted.

“Commander Skystrafe Galathandros reporting back to active duty, Ma’am!”

He turned next to Sumira, but she was already next to Celestia.

"You have to get back to Meneus! The Ward is broken!"

The other two ponies sucked in a startled breath, their eyes widening in horror. Celestia shook her head sadly.

“If this is the case, there is no time to lose. I fear my sister may have orchestrated this rescue from the start. Hurry, we must be off."

She quickly freed Mirror Shard, placing the unconscious pony gently upon her back with magic, then breathed deeply and began to channel power to her horn once again.

The sunlike orb of teleportation began to envelop them, growing all the time, until it flashed and vanished just as before. They appeared in the tower, and looked on in horror just in time to see the crack in the Ward widen beneath the assault of a group of Yrch. Fortunatly, Nightmare Moon was nowhere to be seen. Celestia set down Mirror Shard and began to tend to his wounds as Sumira and Skystrafe galloped out of the tower to the creatures below. The rage of the commander was palpable as he took flight and looked down upon the group of hideous creatures, only a raiding party of perhaps three dozen. Wielding his wing-blades, he swooped down from his arc of flight and used gravity and his considerable agility to tear apart almost seven of the creatures in only a few seconds. On the ground, Sumira was wielding a dagger in each hoof as she stabbed and sliced with lightning speed, every so often flicking one of the weapons at a distant target with incredible accuracy.

In only minutes, the group of creatures was down to a single snakelike being, a rare blue yrk, an aberration among the strange race. He was encircled by the two grim attackers, which at unseen consent rushed in and simply slashed him cleanly in half. From his rent belt pouch, a lightning-shaped stoppered crystal bottle three-quarters full of faintly glowing scarlet liquid slipped out and tumbled to the ground, skittering on the stones. Celestia soared down from the tower, looking in awe at the vial before whispering to herself,

“Of course. It all makes sense.” Her voice became louder as she turned to the two ponies, holding the vial firmly with her magic. “I know how we’re going to defeat Nightmare Moon. We must find the Six Lost Virtues of Harmony; Honesty, Loyalty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter and Magic. With them, we can dispel the chaos that has overcome Luna and win this war. This vial contains the pure essence of Loyalty. Each of these Virtues is aligned to a pony. Only when all six are present can their true potential be unleashed.”

Skystrafe stepped forward to touch the bottle, but when his hoof came in contact with the crystal, it let out a chiming sound and the glow’s brightness increased dramatically. He stepped backwards in surprise, and the stopper popped from the mouth of the bottle, the liquid flowing out and towards the commander. It coalesced upon his wingblades and finally, the glow faded, replaced by two scarlet gems, only retaining a tiny pinch of their glow. The wingblades hadn’t remained unchanged either. Instead of being simply starsteel now, there was gold filigree and inlaid rubies surrounding the great glowing gems. Sumira and the Princess looked on in awe. Breaking the silence, the Princess spoke first.

“You always were the most loyal, Skystrafe. Now we know why. You are the physical embodiment of the Spirit of Loyalty. Now, we have a long journey ahead of us. We must find the rest of the Lost Virtues, the Elements of Harmony used to defeat the Discord so long ago. Will you two join me?”

The two other ponies nodded without hesitation.

“With pleasure, Princess.” That was Sumira.

“It is my honor as the Embodiment of Loyalty.” This time, it was Skystrafe. Celestia smiled sadly.

“It dismays me to have to use these artifacts of magic on my own sister, but as far as I can tell, it’s the only possible way to resolve this war. Thank you. I am proud to call you my friends. Now come, we have much to prepare for.”

She led them through the winding halls of the castle to a large, ornately carved wooden door. Opening it, she walked forward. The other two walked in behind her and saw a completely blank room, containing nothing but a single huge, golden chest with a small, perfectly round hole where the keyhole should be. Celestia slid her horn into the hole, pulsing rays of magic down it until there was a click and the chest cracked open. The magic pulsed once again, and she withdrew a great golden-hafted battleaxe with a massive crystal blade covered in gossamer engravings of gold and platinum depicting a stylized sun. The pole was capped with a gigantic brilliant-cut golden topaz. Sumira and Skystrafe gasped at the sheer beauty of the workmanship. She also pulled out a large suit of pale green metal armor, strangely stylized with emerald and more topaz swirls sculpted with powerful magic. She donned the armor and slung the axe through the attached harness where she could pull it out easily with her magic. As she finished, the white stallion shifted to the armory, where he put on his own suit of golden armor.

With Celestia in her strange, alien armor, Sumira in her sculpted leather armor and Skystrafe in his Commander’s golden armor, they stepped out of the castle, where Celestia renewed the Ward once more before the three stepped out upon their great journey towards the unknown, searching for the Elements of Harmony.

Chapter Two - Leaf Canopy

Twilight momentarily put down the book and went to fetch a hoof-ful of

hay-fries, munching thoughtfully on them as she returned to the book.

“Hmm, *munch munch*, so that was the original form of the Elements? A liquid? Intriguing…How much magical energy is needed to change state of matter like that…? The armaments are an interesting turn of events as well…What kind of metal is that armor made of, and where is that battleaxe? The wingblades as well appear to be missing. And I suppose I shouldn’t leave out High Captain Sumira’s daggers…I wonder where they all went?”

She called Spike over to her with a yell.

“Spike! Take a letter!”

The young dragon bounded over, pulling out a quill, scroll and small bottle of ink from Celestia knew where. “Ready!”

“Dear Princess Celestia, I recently happened upon an interesting book about the War of Sun and Moon. It detailed the events, and I would like to inquire about where some of the artifacts are, especially Commander Skystrafe’s wingblades. The opportunity to examine the original condensed form of the pure Elements would be once in a lifetime. It mentioned a strange suit of green armor as well. Could I inquire about the materials composing it?

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.”

Spike exhaled his purple-and-green flame, burning the letter to magical cinders and sending them to be reconstructed in Canterlot. Afterwards, the purple unicorn went back up to her bed, eager to resume her reading.

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The bright fire crackled in the center of the camp as Skystrafe honed his wingblades with a whetstone. The rhythmic rasping echoed around, matched by the same from Sumira. Celestia’s massive battleaxe had no need of sharpening, cloaked as it was by a magical aura of protection, but she still had plenty to do as she stoked the fire, spitting a skewer of apples above the flames for their dinner. There was a clacking of rock as Skystrafe pulled out a different whetstone, an honing whetstone with a much finer grain to put a perfect polish upon the blades. He replaced the coarser one in his saddlebag and began to draw the new one across the blades.

Suddenly, he went quiet as he heard an ever-so-soft rustle in the bushes behind him. He motioned for silence among the other two and crept towards the bush, jumping into it with a snarl. Out of the other side he tumbled, carrying with him a young unicorn mare, her eyes and mane a rich brown and her coat a vivid shade of green. She looked about the same age as Sumira, but slightly smaller, with a slight, wiry build and a powerful longbow strapped to her back. Sumira looked appreciatively at the massive weapon, nearly as long as the mare herself was. It was crafted of a dark orange-ish wood with a quiver of two dozen white arrows with stylized fletching resembling leaves. She instantly flipped, and before Skystrafe could react, it was he that was pinned and not the other way around. She snarled at him angrily, her brown eyes flashing.

“What did you do that for, you ugly pegasus clod? Do that again and I’ll toss you over a tree!”

Sumira leapt at her, knocking her off of the stallion without harming her. She stood protectively in front of him. “Touch him again and it’ll be you who gets tossed, you-Whoa!” She was suddenly jerked off her feet side as the unicorn’s horn flashed a bright green and knocked her backwards almost three meters. She was winded by the sheer force of the blast and lay on the ground, breathing laboriously. Skystrafe hauled himself to his feet and advanced upon the unicorn, brandishing his wingblades threateningly. She attempted to knock him back like she had done to Sumira, but a strange bubble emanating from the great crimson gems upon his wingblades neutralized the magic, deflecting it and sending it into a nearby tree, shaking the tree violently.

As she looked on, the Princess decided to intervene. She stepped forward calmly, her very presence quelling the fight. She spoke in a soft voice, firm, but not unkind. “Stop. What's even the point of what you're doing?” She then stepped forward to the stranger, looking at her enigmatically. “If you would, tell me, what is your name?”

The unicorn bowed, stammering slightly as she addressed the monarch. “M-My name is Leaf Canopy…But you can just call me Leaf. I live here in the Moria Forest, in the Heart of the Forest, the one place left that the armies of the Night Queen haven’t found.” The other pony’s ears perked up, the very words lifting their spirits. It was Skystrafe that spoke first. “I’m sorry for my assault. It’s been a long time since we’ve been without fear. Please, could you lead us to this Heart of the Forest, Miss Canopy?

The green and brown pony waved her hoof, dismissing the title quickly and easily. “Aahh, it’s nothing, I was just surprised. And like I said, call me Leaf.” She beckoned to them, then took off through the forest, blasting rocks and branches aside with her magic, her horn almost perpetually glowing green as the debris flew. Sumira had a hard keeping up and kept getting hit in the face, while Skystrafe and the Princess could simply fly. After more than seven hours of a forced march, Leaf slowed down, leading them into a massive clearing. In the center, there grew a single massive yew tree, dwarfing all the other trees around it. It’s trunk was at least fifteen meters wide, stretching up nearly out of sight, low clouds parting around the top. Leaf walked up to it reverently, speaking of it fondly.

“This is the Heart of the Forest, the Greatwood Yew. A myth exists among my tribe. They say that this was the first tree, and that all other trees sprung from its branches. It was fully grown even before the two Princesses came into being, and now, this ancient tree watches over the world, breaking the will of all evil that enters the clearing and transforming the creature into a Morn tree, a tree with black bark and dull gray leaves. Because the trees sprout from pure evil, they always look forlorn and gloomy. Look around at the trees surrounding this clearing. These are the Morn trees. Be warned, because the Heart will find evil in your heart and punish you for it.

Celestia stepped forward, her lavender eyes solemn. Her horn touched Leaf’s and she kept contact for only a few seconds before pulling back, nodding gravely. “I see. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, Burl Bark.”

The other three looked at her like she had grown a second horn. None of them, not even Leaf, had ever heard of anypony named Burl Bark. Leaf spoke, confused. “You…you must have the wrong pony. I told you, my name is Leaf Canopy!” Celestia responded promptly. “Yes, it is. But it was not always so. Have you ever wondered why both your parents were earth ponies, and yet you are a unicorn? Why they were blue and orange, and yet you’re leaf-green? Why even your powerful magic is the color of the earth?”

Leaf shrugged, not entirely at ease with the oddly intrusive questions. “They told me that they had found me at the base of the Greatwood Yew.”

Celestia shook her head, a hind of a sad smile touching her angular face. “That’s true, but it’s still not the full story. You were chosen, Leaf, chosen from all the foals in Equestria to become the Dryad Spirit, the true spirit of nature. Every hundred years, a new foal appears at the heart of a great forest in a grand cycle. The Dryad Spirit from one thousand years ago was the first one I met. He was a stallion named Burl Bark. His coat and mane were both brown, his eyes a brilliant yellow. Your cutie mark is the same as his.”

She pointed at the stylized tree upon the mare’s flank, notwithstanding the shocked expression upon Leaf Canopy’s face, who quickly jumped away. “Whu…What? Nonononononononothere’snoWAYI’manythingspecial! I’mjustaregularunicorn. SureI’mgoodatmagicbutIcan’tbesomecrazynature-spirit-thingthat’sjustimpos-“ The Princess quickly stifled the blabbering unicorn with a hoof and smiled a bit.

“I remember much the same response from Swamp Flower, the last Dryad Spirit. Everypony reacts somewhat dubiously when they are singled out, and you have a great and very unique gift. The Dryad Spirit is bestowed with great magical strength, as they draw their power from nature. Everywhere nature is, they can cast spells of exceptional strength, but when they are cut off from all things that spring from the earth, their magic is drowned, their legs becoming weak and their mind falling into unconsciousness. So take care, as your gift is tempered by danger.”

Leaf stepped back, her eyes seeming to grow glazed as she refused to accept who she was. She was about to break into another unrestrained babble, but Skystrafe stepped forward and plugged her mouth just as Celestia had done.

“Believe me, Leaf, I know how you feel.”

She looked at him and wrenched his forehoof away from her mouth, her eyes ablaze.

“Know how I feel? KNOW HOW I FEEL? How could you possibly understand? Have you ever been the embodiment of the entire natural world? WELL?” Skystrafe simply looked at her, then slowly and deliberately spoke. “No, I can’t say I have-“ He was cut off by her rage. “Then how could you know how I feel, you moron?”

He softly smacked himself in the forehead with his hoof. “Alright, let me rephrase that. I don't know exactly how you feel, but I can certainly guess. I mean, I'm kind of the living incarnation of loyalty and all.”

Leaf stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment, then began to mutter out an apology. Skystrafe intercepted her midsentence and shook his head.

“No need to apologize. I know how it feels to have a heavy weight slung upon your shoulders.”

Leaf nodded gratefully, then looked down again. “I-it’s just, this is so unexpected. It just sort of came out of the blue, and I’m not really sure how to respond, y’know?”

Sumira looked from one to another, utterly lost. “I’m not going to pretend I know what you guys are talking about…I deal in daggers and facts, not ancient spirits, so I believe that we should get going on our little quest. Oh, and Leaf? If you wanna come, you’re always welcome to join.

Contrary to the expectations of the others, Leaf sadly shook her head, declining the offer. “I’m grateful for the opportunity, but I must decline. This is where I belong, and this is where I made my life. See this bow?”

She instantly pulled the massive longbow from her back, using her magic to nock and pull an arrow, shooting it at a stump lying about one hundred and fifty meters away. It slammed into the old wood, hitting the exact point that she was aiming for and the arrow burying itself halfway into the rotten stump. This entire action was completed in less than three seconds. The other ponies gasped. Even as a commander, Skystrafe had never once seen an archer with the speed and precision as this one. Her powerful magic once again came into play, the incredible force of it able to pull the huge strength of the bow. It must’ve been at least a two hundred pound pull, yet she drew it like it was a toy. She then used her magic to completely deconstruct the stump, retrieving her meter-long arrow in a matter of moments.

“I made this bow from a branch of the Greatwood Yew. I call it the Druidic bow, because it seems that whenever the arrow strikes a dead or dying tree, it blossoms back to full bloom. The power of the Heart of the Forest is indeed powerful. And the forest…it is dying. It needs me. Without me, even the Heart will succumb to the influence of the Dark Queen. Look closely at the trunk of this great tree.”

Sumira turned, inspecting the trunk closely for the first time. Now that she looked more carefully, it was covered in small scars, almost like pinpricks compared to the massive size of the tree. She turned to Leaf, a question in her eyes. Leaf answered before she could voice it, however.

“These are the marks of my arrows. I'm keeping this thing alive.”

Unexpectedly, Celestia stood up, brandishing her horn. “If you truly wish it, Leaf Canopy, I can protect this tree and all it stands for.” The green mare’s mouth dropped open slightly, then clamped firmly closed as she shook her head.

“I’m sorry, but I c-“

Sardonic laughter echoed through the clearing, shutting Leaf’s mouth as a dark red pegasus stallion swooped into the clearing, brandishing a heavy flail in his forehooves. His sickening smile grew wider as he saw what appeared to be the two ponies that had escaped, and one more pony, green with brown eyes and mane. His voice was cordial, but carried an undertone of distaste and contempt. “Ah, there you are, Commander. I’ve been looking everywhere for you and your lady friend. Nightmare Moon would like to have a word with you in person.” Looking around, Sumira found that Celestia had vanished without a trace. In response, the cerulean mare drew two daggers as Skystrafe flared his wings, revealing the razor sharp blades. Leaf, on the other hand, wasted no time with subtleties or intimidation. She instantly drew the bow and released, the arrow angrily hissing off and slamming into the flail, knocking it from the pony’s hooves and sending it spinning off into the forest. His black eyes flashed angrily, and when he spoke, his voice was cold and hostile, having lost all pretense of saccharine intent.

“Very well. In that case, I’ll have to carry that message back to my mistress. You’ll regret the day you ever did this, you foals!”

Leaf actually giggled to the other two ponies. “Hee hee hee! Isn’t it cute? He thinks that I’m actually going to let him live!” The bloodred pegasus’ face was instantly coated in a sheen of cold sweat as the mare’s magic swiftly pulled another arrow from out of her quiver. Judging from the force that had ripped the flail away from him, the bow was incredibly powerful, and she could shoot it with amazing accuracy. For the first time since he had enlisted in army of Nightmare Moon, he wondered if he was perhaps not as invincible as he viewed himself. A bully at heart, he was used to brutalizing poor, emaciated ponies for what frugal money they had and what crops that they somehow managed to grow in the endless night, and facing a trio of powerful, well-armed and highly trained warrior ponies didn’t seem like a pleasing prospect.

Of course, just like many bullies, he attempted to bluster his way through it.

“Let me live? If I had my flail, I would kill you before you could even draw your little toy! But you, as a cowardly mare, decided to knock it away before you could even face me! I coul-“

“ENOUGH!”

Everypony jumped at the sound of Skystrafe’s voice. It was livid, full of rage and relishing the prospect of beating the other pegasus’ face in. “I will retrieve your flail and face you in single combat by my right as a Commander!” The other pegasus cursed inwardly. He had heard the rumors of the great Skystrafe Galathandros, and though he was never one to play fair, even Nightmare Moon respecting the ancient rite of trial by combat. If he refused, his life was forfeit anyway.

After a brief hesitation, he decided that the only chance he had was to fight and hope that the stories of the commander were mostly exaggerated. He nodded sharply and the commander suddenly blasted off, causing grass to blow in the wind of his acceleration. He bolted around the trees, his sharp eyes taking in nearly everything. Finally, he found the flail, lodged in the crotch of tree with Leaf’s arrow still deep into the wooden handle. Grabbing it in his mouth, he was taken aback by the weight. It was a heavy weapon, and the pony that wielded it was certainly strong. He would do well not to underestimate the stallion. In just a few minutes since he took off, he slammed back down into the clearing, the foe’s weapon grasped in his teeth. He let it drop in front of the red pegasus and retreated to the other side of the clearing, flaring his wings once more.

As soon as the fight was declared, he began to edge slowly towards the stallion, his starsteel blades reflecting the light of the campfire that was even still burning. The crimson pegasus looked at them with some apprehension. The blades were legendary for spelling out the demise of all who even looked upon the commander or his friends with hostility.

There was a blur of motion as Skystrafe took to the air, forcing the other combatant, whose name was Windstreak, into the sky. This was not an arbitrary decision. His wingblades were tailored to his wings, letting him fly with no compunctions. A flail, by comparison, was large and unwieldy, made for ground use. It unbalanced him, giving Skystrafe a definite advantage. Windstreak began swirling his hooves in a circular manner, building momentum in the flail. As Skystrafe grew closer, Windstreak lashed out with the flail in what would surely have been a fatal blow, had it connected. Instead, it struck thin air, its only purpose to unbalance him and make it easier for Skystrafe, who attempted a standard wingblade maneuver; spreading his wings and soaring in a straight line at his opponent, aiming for his neck. Unfortunately for Skystrafe, Windstreak had been trained in aerial defense and utilized the standard counter, a fast spin in midair. The razorlike blade slid only centimeters past his neck, audibly slicing the air like a deadly whistle.

The spin performed by Windstreak had a second purpose. As he swung, the spiked steel ball whirled around with him, bashing into Skystrafe’s back with an incredible amount of force, knocking him out of the air. He landed on his belly, winding himself. He managed to struggle to his feet, flaring his wings again, when Windstreak landed as well. The red pegasus quickly lashed out with the flail, which Skystrafe just barely managed to evade. His back was killing him, his breath coming in short gasps as he ducked and wove around the deadly weapon. He cursed inwardly. He had lost the advantage on the ground, and he was too pinned down to take off again.

Examining Windstreak’s technique, he suddenly realized that he had a chance, and only one, if he could manipulate it just right. Ducking and dodging, he led Windstreak in a circular dance around the clearing, waiting for him to get annoyed. Once he was suitably enraged, Skystrafe decided that any more toying would get dangerous. He cut inward, his back to the Greatwood Yew, giving the pretense of being cornered. This was it. The timing had to be perfect. A second off and he was dead.

Windstreak smiled maliciously, clearly thinking that he had won. He aimed a last, massive overhead smash at the head of the Commander. Just as he was about to be hit, Skystrafe quickly shifted to the side. The flail, instead of sticking in his skull, stuck into the massive root of the enormous tree. The red pegasus tugged at it, attempting to yank it out, when he suddenly felt a searing pain in his upper-left chest. He managed to look down, seeing Skystrafe at the other side of the clearing, then suddenly fell to the ground, dead, his heart sliced in half.

Suddenly, the corpse began to shimmer and fluctuate like a liquid. Then it suddenly exploded, shooting up. Still shimmering, it began to mold itself into a different shape. When the shimmering stopped, there was left a black tree, it’s dull gray leaves fluttering in the slight breeze.

Skystrafe walked a few shaky paces, breathing heavily, then collapsed, falling into unconsciousness. The last thing he heard before darkness took him was Leaf muttering, "Delayed reaction, huh?"

Chapter Three - Who Just Screamed?

Chapter 3

Twilight’s mouth fell open in obvious wonder, her eyes transfixed by the words. “Moria? I remember hearing about that forest in legend…It’s supposed to have vanished into thin air more than three hundred years ago. I wonder what became of it…? Oh! There I am again, talking aloud while I read! I need to stop that. Anyway, I-“

“BUUUUUUUUUUUUUURP!”

A massive belch rocked the library. The book’s pages flittered slightly in a warm wind as a scroll plopped down in from of Twilight. She looked at it a bit strangely.

“Spike? Why did this land in front of me?”

Spike pattered up the steps, laughing sheepishly. “Sorry, Twilight. I’m practicing directional message-receiving. Apparently, it’s a little bit louder.” Twilight looked at him, waiting.

“Okay, a LOT louder.”

She chuckled and rubbed his spines, before reaching out with her magic and unrolling the scroll.

“My dearest student, Twilight Sparkle,

Oh dear. I’m sorry that you have to learn about such a horrific occurrence. But if you must know, I will first address the question of what my armor is made of. It is Cervidish in origin, forged by the deer. It is a metal known as adamantus, world-renowned for it’s incredible durability. It is also the only known metal that does not corrode or tarnish in any way. Unlike the other objects that you inquired about, however, my armor is kept in my personal sanctum in the top of the highest tower in Canterlot, locked with several nearly-unbreakable magical locks.

The weapons, however, were a different matter. Originally, I kept it with my armor, until I realized that it would perhaps not be a good idea to leave all of them in one place. Therefore, the axe, as well as the daggers, the wingblades, and one that you seem to have forgotten, the sword of Captain Mirror Shard, have been scattered to the corners of Equestria. I believe the wingblades were taken especially good care of, and hidden in the one place in Equestria that nobody would look. I wouldn’t recommend looking for them. If memory serves, each of the artifacts had a magical guardian put in place to protect them. It would be extremely dangerous. Also, because their intentions are noble and I created them, your usual trump card, the Elements, will have little or no effect.

Speaking of the Elements of Harmony, I recently got a new *statue pedestal** for where Discord was mounted. I’ve been thinking of putting a statue there, a statue of Discord just for old time’s sake. I just don’t exactly know how I would explain it to him, though. Any ideas?*

Your teacher and friend,

Princess Celestia.”

Spike groaned as he saw a familiar mischievous grin cross Twilight’s face and walked toward her. “Don’t…even…THINK…about…it. Twilight, you heard- er, read the princess! Doing what I KNOW you’re about to do would be dangerous! Even the Elements wouldn’t work!”

“Oh come on, Spike, where’s your sense of adventure? I’ll just get my friends and then it won’t be that dangerous. We can handle anything! Just come with me!”

She trotted quickly out of the library, her saddlebags simultaneously filling with various items, including the book of history. First, she walked to the Carousel Boutique, knocking as delicately as possible on the door; it had been painted just yesterday.

“Hey, Rarity! It’s Twilight!”

The door popped open, the fashionista stepping gracefully out with a sleep mask still half-on.

“Twiliiiiiight, darling, much as I appreciate you visiting me,” She took a short break to yawn deeply. ”Do you think you could’ve found a better time? It IS only six.”

Twilight frowned to herself, muttering. “Hmm, no, that can’t be right…I started reading at almost seven…Wow, I read all day and night?” Spike chimed in. “Yeah, you did. I had to pull your face off the book before you started drooling when you fell asleep.”

Twilight looked at the door again. It DID look a bit drier than it should for a new coat. She shrugged it off, turning back to the white mare in front of her.

“So sorry, Rarity! I lost track of time. But would you like to come to Canterlot with me? I’m investigating something, and even if I need your help with it, I need to do some research first, so you could have a day or two to spare!”

The mask seemed to fly off of its own volition, Rarity rearing and yelling in excitement. “WA HA HAAA! Canterlot? How could I refuse? I’m so flattered that you would think of me first! I’ll get packed right away!” She galloped inside at full tilt, instantly prompting a cacophony of loud bangs and crashes, culminating in a loud smash similar to glass shattering. Thus, it was a mystery to Twilight how Rarity’s mane and tail were completely untouched when she resurfaced, her saddlebags neatly packed with a large quantity of indiscernible objects, most of which were crafted of one kind of fabric or another. She made to step out of the door before suddenly remembering something important.

“OH! I nearly forgot my dear sister in the excitement! So sorry, Twilight, just a minute!”

She dove back in, closing the door, which again vibrated against a second orchestra of whacks and thuds, and a slight mingling of voices.

“Oh Sweetiiiie! I’m taking a short vacation with my friends. Hold down the boutique until I get back, that’s a good filly. Goodbye, dearest!” “Okay! Bye, Big Sister!”

She once again sauntered back to Twilight, this time a slight ruffle in her mane that she combed out so quickly that Twilight couldn’t tell if it had truly been there. She stepped out of the door and joined the lavender mare, following her as she walked towards Sugarcube Corner and the party pony that lived there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“OhmygosharewegoingonasuperawesomeamazingadventuretobeatDiscord becausehebrokeoutofhisstoneprisonbutFluttershyactuallymakesfriendswithhimandwedon’tneedtoousetheelementsofharmonyand-“

Pinkie’s mouth was quickly plugged by Twilight as she bounced, quite literally, off of the walls at Sugarcube Corner, predictably hyperactive.

“All I heard was Discord and Elements of Harmony…And this only has to do with one of them. We’re just going to Canterlot, so come on. We all know you’re coming.” At Twilight’s words, Pinkie finally took to her hooves instead of the sky.

“Well of COURSE I’m coming, silly filly! Now let’s go!”

“Not quite yet, Darling. You don’t think we’re going to the crème de la crème of Equestrian cities without the others, do you? Oh, I can take Fluttershy to the royal gardens! It’s very beautiful, and best yet, it’s very…clean!”

Pinkie nodded at a speed that was not possible for normal ponies and zoomed inside, packing and grabbing her saddlebags in less than three seconds. For a moment, Twilight just stared, mouth open, then facehoofed and spoke.

“Ugh…Let’s just go get Rainbow. She’s usually still in her house this time of day.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, Leaf, you coming or not?”

Leaf jumped in surprise. Celestia was standing by her, flanked by Skystrafe, and Sumira, who had spoken. Leaf had been practicing her aim by repeatedly slamming arrows into the iron ball of the flail, set up on the other edge of the clearing. So far, it was four hundred thirty six out of four hundred thirty seven, and the one missed shot was driving the archer pony crazy. She looked at the three, at their hopeful faces, their anxious hooves.

“Uhmm…Well, if Celestia can protect the forest…I guess…What I’m trying to say is…YES! YESYESYES! I’d like it more than almost anything! It would be the greatest thing EVER! I’m ALWAYS in this forest! So maybe just once or twice, I’d like to see what the world looks like without…you know…TREES!”

Celestia nodded, and her long horn began to shimmer with magic. Even Leaf took a pace back. Being the Dryad Spirit, she knew what powerful magic was, and this was the very embodiment of it.

Then the ringing started. Her horn began to smoke and let out a sound like a chiming bell. Suddenly, a blindingly brilliant corona of pure white light surrounded them. The other three ponies’ eyes widened, their pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks.. Then the corona expanded, until the entire forest was sheathed in pure, blinding light, which gradually faded to a translucent wall of yellow. Leaf cast her head around, swiveling her neck, gaping at the dome that congealed in the air above the trees. It finally peaked in the clouds, just above the very top of the Greatwood Yew.

There was suddenly utter silence through the entire forest.

Finally, the silence was broken by Leaf as she used her own magic to lift herself about two meters of the ground, her eyes closed in bliss as she started chanting over and over, “YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YE-“

As soon as she landed and opened her eyes, she noticed Sumira, Skystrafe and Celestia looking at her. Skystrafe quirked his eyebrow.

“Ehem,” muttered Leaf, clearing her throat in an effort to retain her dignity.

Suddenly, the three smaller ponies heard a sound that they had never heard, nor expected to hear, a rich, full laughter that could only have come from one pony. Celestia was nearly doubled over, her enormous battleaxe sliding from its harness. She was laughing, laughing harder than any of the ponies had ever seen anybody laugh before, tears streaming from her magenta eyes as she continued laughing. And, as everybody knows, laughter is infectious. Soon Leaf began to laugh, then Sumira, then finally Skystrafe burst into laughter. Soon they were all rolling own the ground, nearly drowning in their own mirth.

At length, the hysterics began to simmer down. As the last tear was shed, Celestia was the first to recover. Choking out a few last very un-regal giggles, she recovered her axe and replaced it where it was supposed to go. She coughed in a similar fashion to Leaf, and stood up. She then used her magic to pick up the other three and set them back on their feet and gently scraping the dust off with a magically conjured brush. After the three managed to squirm out of her grasp, their moment of mirth was swallowed again. The darkness was still permeating everything, the only light being cast by the faint glow of the wingblades and the unicorns horns until Sumira managed to strike up a torch. The crackling fire drove the shadows back ever further until they were standing in a pool of light.

Celestia took out a map, unrolling it with her magic and peering carefully at the lines upon it, quietly muttering.

“Hmm, we could…no, that wouldn’t work, we need to find Mornvale…But only Luna knows where it is, and, well…I know it’s in Amius…But that won’t work, that path is…That one’s a Nightmare Moon checkpoint…Ceminista was taken too. But…Aha! This could work.”

She turned to the other ponies turning the map so everyone could see it.

“We need to get to Amius forest, there’s something important there. Both of the normal paths, however, are blocked. One is blocked by a checkpoint, and the other goes through the walled city of Ceminista, which was one of the first cities taken by Nightmare Moon’s army. The only option is to cross the Sheerside mountain range. There’s a little-known mountain path here that takes you to a pass, but it’s dangerous. Because of this, it’s very seldom-used, and therefore exactly what we need. Do you all think you’re up for it?

“Of course we are. Why else would we be here?”

Skystrafe was behind her, his wings spread, his eyes narrowed.

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have let you shield the forest, would I?

That was Leaf, standing in front of her, her horn glowing as she pulled a leaf of some unidentified plant from her saddlebags and began munching on it. She continued to do this for quite a while, prompting glances from the rest.

“And what about you, Captain Kyasa?”

Sumira jumped at the use of her last name. “Huh? Oh, well, of course I’m coming! Otherwise, I would’ve gone back to my family’s farm and done what I could to help them!”

"Whoa whoa whoa. You’re last name was Kyasa, and in all the years I’ve worked with you, you NEVER TOLD ME?”

Skystrafe facehoofed, then shook his head.

“Oh, nevermind. I know now, so whatever. Hang on, now that I mention working together, whatever happened to Mirror?

“I used my magic to teleport him from Seris to the castle. He should be recovering soon. And yes, I got him his sword.” Celestia replied. Then she continued speaking. “Well, since you’ve all agreed to come, shall we? We have a long day’s march before we’re even out of Moria.”

The small crew nodded, and began to follow Leaf on a hidden path to the eastern edge of the forest.

About three hours through the forest, Sumira was complaining.

“Ugh, I swear by the armies of Nightmare Moon that if one more branch whips me, I’m going to break something, probably a tree.”

Of course, it was at that time that Leaf’s magic released a branch which sprung back and slapped Sumira in the face.

Sumira’s eyes widened and her pupils shrunk to the size of an acorn and she ran up to the tree, spun around and bucked the tree as hard as she possibly could. The tree groaned and shook, and at her repeated kicks, the roots began to buckle. Before Leaf could stop her, she had uprooted the tree, sending it crumbling into another tree with a thunderous crash. The other tree creaked and moaned, but held, and finally both trees sat still.

Leaf ran up to the cerulean pony and glared daggers into her eyes, until she casually smacked Sumira in the face. Sumira dropped her face and staggered back, and when she raised her face, it was about four centimeters from Leaf’s. The green pony’s eyes were full of rage, and as she slowly drew closer, she began to yell.

“Listen to me, you idiot. We may be sort-of friends, but that doesn’t mean you can kill trees that I’ve spent years upon years trying to keep alive! I don’t care how many times you get smacked, you are NOT to do that again. DO YOU HEAR ME, you ARROGANT FOAL?!”

Sumira nodded quickly, not wanting to face Leaf’s rage, and more notably, her longbow. Leaf then picked up a branch of the fallen tree, hit the terrified pony in front of her several times and turned away with a hmph, keeping one twig. As she passed Skystrafe, she suddenly glared at him, and he shook his head quickly and succinctly. Leaf smiled slightly and went back to leading them through the forest, Celestia now carrying an unconscious pony on her back.

As they sat down for a lunch of packed oats and grass, Skystrafe whispered into the ear of the now-conscious Sumira, “Remind me never to cut a tree again in Leaf’s line of sight.”

Leaf’s ears perked up at hearing her name and she half turned, growling threateningly. Skystrafe suddenly noticed a small pile of ash in front of her.

“Hey, Leaf, what’s that pile of ash?”

“It’s the burned ashes of that twig I kept. I’m holding a funeral for the tree.”

Unfortunately for him, Skystrafe couldn’t stop the single snort of laughter from escaping. Leaf rounded upon him all at once and leapt at him, bowling him over as they fought. Watching, Sumira began to munch on some leaves.

As the fight finally settled, Skystrafe was left half curled on the ground groaning as Leaf trotted away.

“Oh sweet Celestia, why is she such a good fighter?”

Skystrafe managed to choke out. “Sumira, please, the medical kit?”

Sumira yawned, acting bored.

“Why’s that? I got beaten up too, and you didn’t help anything.”

“Oh, please don’t be that guy right now, NOT right now. I think my wing’s broken. How am I going to fight with a broken wing?”

“Ugh, fine. Since we need you to fight, then I’ll get the…

“No need, Sumira.”

Celestia stepped in, and holding her horn to his wing, the bone mended, returning the wing to its normal appearance. Skystrafe leapt up again, flexing the wing to make sure it was functioning correctly.

“Hear that, Sumi? I don’t need your stinking first aid kit!

A drop of sweat rolled from Sumira’s nose.

“Did you just…call me….Sumi?”

Skystrafe took the hint, then took off.

“Sorry, but I’ve been beaten up enough for today, Sumi!”

Sumira, for the second time that day, snapped.

“SKYSTRAFE ELEUTHEREN GALATHANDROS, GET YOUR UGLY WHITE FLANK DOWN HERE OR I SWEAR BY CELESTIA NOPONY WILL EVER FIND YOUR REMAINS!”

The voice that responded sounded very far away.

“How in Celestia’s name did you find out my middle name?”

Celestia sighed. Obviously, Skystrafe still had yet to find out that Celestia kept a complete and public record of the name of everypony in the army. Her horn glowed, and Skystrafe was pulled back down to earth.

“Both of you, calm down. Do we have any idea where Leaf went?”

Skystrafe shrugged. “I would imagine she needed to let off some steam. Also, could you put me down?”

Celestia rolled her eyes and let her magic go, dropping Skystrafe almost two meters to the ground onto his stomach, driving the breath from his body.

“Ugh, couldn’t you have just *cough cough* lowered me another meter?” Celestia’s response was instant and uncompromising. “No. Now let’s go find Leaf.”

That was when the screaming started.